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detroitbecomeyandere · 3 years

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Hey There Little Red Riding Hood.

Werewolf Gavin x Little Red Reader.

You wrap the fresh bread in soft cloth and place it gently in your basket along with a bottle of mead, herbs and vegetables from your garden and some dried and fresh meat. The weather was starting to turn chilly and as the only other member of your family it was your responsibility to look after your aging grandmother in times like these, she was still the same fiery woman who has raised you after your parents died. But just because she thinks she's a woman in her fifties doesn't mean her body agrees, the seventy year old had pain in her joints and hands whenever the weather turned cold and could hardly cook for herself. Glancing out your window you see the sun was starting to set but there should be more than enough time to get to grandmother's before dark. Slinging your red cloak around your shoulders and locking your home you set off into the woods.

You know this path so well you could walk it blindfolded, the scenery is so familiar it almost felt more like home than your actual house. The leaves have begun their change and the whole forest just feels warmer despite the nip in the air, perhaps you'd stay with grandmother this winter to enjoy the snow covered woods. You pull your hood to keep the cold from making your ears chapped and start to hum to yourself completely unaware of the hungry eyes following you.

Gavin follows you closely never losing sight of you, everything about you is devine and he had thought so from the moment he saw you. He was a recluse and lives deep in the woods by himself never wanting contact with the village closest to him but every now and again he needed to trade pelts for other goods to keep him going. That's when he saw you, your big soft eyes that reminded him of a doe, your soft laughter when your friend made a joke, your scent almost made his heart leap from his chest. He knew then that you were his but he didn't approach you to worried he'd lose control so close to the full moon and harm you, he'd go to you when the time was right and until then he'd have to be content.

That was three years ago now, he always told himself that tomorrow would be the day, tomorrow would come and he'd find himself on the outskirts of the village watching you from the trees unable to approach you. So here he was again, following you to your grandmother's. Tonight was harder than ever before with the full moon tomorrow, every instinct in him screaming to throw you down and claim you as his. Gavin was about to give up the walk with you and head back home to deal with his urges there when a sudden wind blew by and he caught you on the wind, you were fertile right now. And like that every rational thought flew from his mind as his inner beast started to take over, the last bit of his humanity hanging on wouldn't let him take you on the forest floor, your first time needed to be special. So he gave your unsuspecting figure a final glance before dashing head.

Unaware of the danger you walk to the door of the home and knock, the walk had taken longer than expected due to some trees down in the path and it was dark by now. You'd have to ask some men in the village if they could clear it for you when you get back. Knocking again you hear a soft "come in" come from the back of the house, stepping inside you notice that the fire was nearly out so after latching the door you set you basket down and work to build the fire.

"Sorry I'm late grandmother, some trees were down and it was kind of a hassle climbing over them." You hear a small hum in acknowledgement and continue, "I'm going to see if Luther can clear it when I get back, I'll ask if he can bring some to you too. Grandmother have you eaten yet? I can make you something to eat, I've brought bread and meat."

In your rambling you don't notice the figure approaching you and your hood blinds your peripheral, a large hand lands on your shoulder and you are pulled from the hearth and spun around.

Gavin hears your heart speed up as you come to the realization that this was not your grandmother, you start to scream and push his arm away but he wraps his other arm around your waist pulling you into him and forces his tongue down your throat. With strength that impresses you the stranger lifts you with the one arm and sits you down on the nearby table. When you start to run out of air he pulls away and sweeps everything off the table and onto the floor. In the warm light of the fire you see the man and vaguely recognize him, he takes advantage of your shock and forces another kiss on you this one a little more tender than before. The man forces your back onto the wood beneath you and starts to bunch your skirts up to your knees and just like that your fight is reignited and you pound against his chest.

When he pulls away a string of saliva connects the two of you, one of his hands catches your's when you try to scratch his face. His other hand holds your face as his thumb sweeps across your bottom lip and mumbles to himself "What soft lips you have, the better to kiss."

"Stop please.. where is my grandmother. You didn't hurt her did you!"

He buries his nose into your neck and inhales "How kind you are, here you are pinned underneath a beast and all you can think about is your sweet old granny." His teeth graze your skin as he grinds his manhood onto your clothed cunt, "Don't worry sweet one, she's safe." He pulls away from your neck and pins your hips down to the table, taking your skirt between his teeth he pulls it to your waist and glances up at you. "I really wanted to wait, but you are just so tempting. You should really stay out of the woods so close to a full moon sweetling. But I know you'll forgive me for being selfish just this once."

And with that he disappears between your legs and presses his tongue flat against your slit groaning as your taste fills his senses. You tasted sweeter than any berries in this forest. You grasp his hair and try to yank him off you but he ignores your pulling and instead wraps his lips around your clit and starts to swirl his tongue around it. Your spine arches as a jolt of pleasure shocks you, you've never felt anything like this and your body welcomed it relaxing into his grip. Gavin hears your heart go steady and he knows he has you, he prods your entrance with the tip of his tongue before pushing it into you. He growls into you when he feels your walls clamp down onto him and he goes feral on you, sloppy eating you out while his thumb makes tight circles on your clit. Switching again he sucks on your bud and replaces his tongue with two of his fingers, he scissors them inside you trying to prepare you his knot.

You pull him closer to you as the pleasure starts to build to an almost unbearable tightness in your stomach. Every gasp and moan pushes Gavin into a more animalistic state. Just as the knot is about to snap he pulls away from you, you don't get the time to mourn the loss before he is pushing his swollen cock into you. The small amount of prep before did nothing to ease the burn as his cock pushed into you, your eyes water and hiss in pain when he gives you no time to adjust to him. Gavin shuts his eyes as he finally fucks you, none of his fantasies came even close to the way you feel around him.

A whimper brings him back to reality and he opens his now yellow eyes and sees tears streaming down your cheeks and your brow drawn together in pain. He stops his thrusting to cup your face in his callused hand and forces you to meet his eyes. "I'm sorry sweetling, I can't help myself. You're just everything a big bad wolf could want." He presses soft kisses to your lips and gives you a moment to calm down. Once he feels you relax around him he looks back at you, "What big eyes you have, the kind that drive me mad. Keep them on mine." His thumb swipes another tear away as he pulls out until only his tip is inside you, Gavin rolls his hips and sheathes himself fully again. His eyes stay locked onto your own as he repeats the motion several time slowly working you open and once you roll your hips back into his he picks up the pace, letting the animal inside him take over again.

The man above you terrified and excited you at the same time, your mind knew this wasn't something you wanted and yet your body succumbed so quickly, you didn't know which was the right feeling to have and all you did know was that you wanted more of him in the moment. You wrap your legs around his waist and pull him closer to you, the trapper growled again as the angle let him in deeper and through his parted lips you saw his teeth were becoming pointed before your eyes. The surge of fear only heightens your pleasure as you feel the knot start to build again rapidly.

Gavin smells you fear and it pushes him more into animal than human as he starts to pound into you, trying to force his knot into you before it swells completely. The only thing running through his mind is "breed", the werewolf in him completely taking over as his nails grew into claws and his fangs fully formed.

At the feeling of something bumping against your opening you raise your head a little and see a knot on his cock, transfixed you watch as it grows and as it starts to work it's way inside you. The added stretch burns a little but it's soon forgotten when you see it fully disappear inside you and suddenly you feel so full that you are pushed off the edge and your vision goes white. You grasp his forearms to try and ground yourself as you cum and your eyes flutter closed as you let the sensation wash over you.

He growls as you cum around him, your walls squeeze in a vice like grip. His claws dig into the cape beneath you and he rips holes into it when he feels his knot catch on your walls locking the two of you together. He continues to rut into you trying to forced himself as deep inside as possible, once his cock head kisses your womb he cums. Gavin shoots thick ropes of cum directly into your womb and he howls as he finally becomes one with you. After painting your insides white Gavin looks back to you, your eyes are glazed as you look up at him, your skin flushed and covered in sweat. Leaning down he captures your lips again, this time you return the kiss and drop your legs from his hips as your body goes limp. Soon enough all the pleasure leaves you and your mind starts to clear and the fear from before returns.

You try to pull away from the kiss but Gavin follows your lips so you try to wiggle your hips out from under him hoping to pull yourself off of him and get out from under the man. But when you do you feel him locked inside you and he growls into your lips before pulling away slightly with a dark chuckle, "I know you must be eager for more sweetling, but you need to stay still. I can't guarantee that I won't try to fuck my knot deeper into you, let's just enjoy the moment." He wraps your legs back around his waist and lifts you off the table, the both of you groan at the position change and you have to bite back another moan as he starts walking to the back of the cottage. He lays the two of you onto the bed and nuzzles into the crook of your neck, humming back to you the song you sang on your way here.

#detroit become human #yandere #dbh gavin #kinktober 2021 #soft yandere #yandere werewolf #lemon content #a/b/o smut #tw: breeding #long post #mod beau #i think i fixed all the typos

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omgrachwrites · 3 years

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Her Prince - Prince Hal

Pairing: Reader x Prince Hal (The Hollow Crown)

Summary: The man that comes to visit you at your woodland cottage - the man that you’re falling in love with - is a mystery. When you discover what he’s hiding from you, it turns your whole world upside down.

Warnings: fluff, angst, ooc Hal probs, mentions of blood

Words: 2569

Disclaimer: So, I know that none of this would ever happen but I’m a hopeless romantic?? Characters will be ooc probably

A/N: I promise that I will be getting back to my usual fics but I had a really shitty day in work and I had to make my self feel better. The Hollow Crown was one of Tom’s superior looks! Hope you guys enjoy and please let me know what you think, I love you all! xxx

I've been living to see you Dying to see you, but it shouldn't be like this This was unexpected, what do I do now? Could we start again please?

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The day was swelteringly hot and you were in front of your woodland cottage, tending to your herb garden. You were the best healer in the village and the townspeople ventured out of the safe confines of their stone walls to come and seek an audience with you in your forest cottage. As you were tending to the thorned plants, your hand slipped and you near enough sliced your hand open.

You gasped out into the silent air as thick scarlet blood blossomed on your palm but before you could do much about it, you heard the gallop of horse hooves in the distance, getting closer with every breath you took. Then, he called out to you and your heart fluttered with anticipation.

“Good afternoon, Y/N,” he beamed as his horse came to a stop.

You blushed as you looked at Hal’s handsome face, he was handsome enough to be a Prince with his honey brown curls and sparkling blue eyes, “hello, Hal,” you smiled as you sat on your little stone wall, your legs hanging over the edge, “it’s nice to see that you’re not half dead this time,” you laughed, recalling the first time you met him. He’d been injured and if you’d waited longer to heal him then he’d be dead.

Hal sighed, teasingly as he dismounted from his horse, “must you always mention that every time I come to visit you?”

You laughed as you reached a leg out to lightly kick at his knee, “of course, I’m never going to let you forget it,” you smiled and he rolled his eyes. By the look of his flushed cheeks, he’d been riding a long way today and you thought that he might care for some refreshment, “would you like some water? Or milk and honey, perhaps, to cool you down?”

Hal smiled and opened his mouth to reply but he hesitated when he caught sight of your slashed palm. He tutted and reached out for your hand, running his gentle fingers over the cut, “you’re hurt,” he lifted his concerned eyes to meet yours and you bit your lip as your eyes dropped down to his lips for a split second.

“It’s alright,” you breathed, “it’s just a cut from some thorns.”

“Here,” Hal smiled as he reached into his satchel bag and pulled out some fresh smelling cloth, “I don’t think that my healing skills are quite up to the level of yours, but I always keep some with me, just in case,” he chuckled and wrapped your hand in the bandage.

It was so courteous of him that you couldn’t help but stare at him, flustered and searching for something – anything – to say, “I’ll go and fetch you that glass of water,” you laughed nervously as you turned away, grimacing when his pleasant laughter followed you into the cool interior of your cottage. It was such a relief to be out of that heat, if only for a couple of minutes.

Quickly, you poured him a tankard of water before walking out into the scorching sun again. Hal gave you a grateful smile as you handed him the water and he drained it in one swallow, gasping as he smacked his lips before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. You had to fight back a giggle.

“By God, I needed that, thank you, Y/N,” he smiled as he sat beside you on the small wall, his leg pressed against yours. Your cheeks flushed at his close proximity.

Over the few months that he had been coming to see you, you had grown to care for him, in fact you were falling in love with him. You wondered who he really was, “have you got an outing planned for tonight? I know that you prefer to collect your ingredients at night,” it was so nice that he’d remembered.

You bit your lip nervously as you tucked a loose strand of hair behind your ear. You could hardly tell him that you were going to the Royal Palace, Hal had already expressed his distaste for King Henry and the Prince of Wales, you didn’t want him to think any less of you. The King had heard of your skills and he’d invited you to court to speak to you about taking the post of physician when his current one retired. You were very grateful that word of your skills had reached the King’s ears.

“No, no outings tonight,” you felt your cheeks grow hot and the lie tasted bitter on your tongue.

Hal sat on your stone wall with you, keeping you company for a little while longer, and when he took his leave, you sent him off with raspberry tartlets which you had drizzled with honey and baked golden brown. For as long as you lived, you would never forget the way he smiled at you so sweetly as he cupped your cheek, before he brushed his lips against yours, as gentle as a whisper.

When he pulled back to look at your reaction, your heart pounded so loudly in your chest that you were afraid that he’d heard it and you felt pleasant tingles all over your body. When he found no sign of hesitance – you would have to be a fool to reject him – he pulled you closer and kissed you deeper. You stood on your tiptoes to meet his kiss as you allowed your fingers to run through his curls as you kissed him in the peaceful little clearing. Long after Hal had left, your lips still tingled from the memory of his intoxicating kiss.

Later on that evening, you were being escorted down the never-ending hallways by a Palace guard – how people found their way around this castle, you had no idea – you were dressed finely for your audience with the King, a dress from green silk that you’d made yourself. You were so nervous and the guard must have sensed it because he gave you an encouraging smile.

“Everyone has is worrisome before meeting the King,” he chuckled, “the common folk prefer the Prince.”

Your eyebrows shot up in surprise, “they do? I have never met him; will he be at court today?” you asked with interest.

“I think not, he’s been in the tavern often, of late.”

You grimaced to yourself, spending time in the tavern was not wise for the future King but you kept your thoughts to yourself. As you entered the Throne Room and saw the old proud King on his Throne, you wanted to bolt out the way you came in but you forced yourself forwards until you were kneeling at his feet.

“Your Majesty, thank you for seeing me,” you kept your head bowed as was the custom.

“Please, rise my child,” with a small smile, you got to your feet and looked at the King, “Miss Y/N, I have heard great tales of your skills and accomplishments. I believe you’ve healed quite a few soldiers in my army?”

“Yes, Your Majesty, they often come by my cottage, it’s the quickest path to the castle.”

“Quite,” the King nodded, “I thank you for your service, my physician has grown old and his methods are not what they used to be. If you would, return three days from now and we can truly see what you can do.”

A slight sting of annoyance shot through your body but you would never let it show on your face, you would rather show him now but to argue with the King was to wish for death. Before you could accept, the door to the right of you opened and the King sighed as he shook his head, you were too nervous to see who it was.

“Finally, my son, you need to extend your apologies to our guest for being late.”

“My apologies,” a soft distracted voice came to the right of you, the King gave the Prince a sharp look and the Prince of Wales sighed as he walked in front of you, “please accept my apologies, my lady,” when he looked at you, his eyes faltered and his mouth opened in surprise.

Tears sprang to your eyes as you practically felt your heart crack as you stared at Hal – your Hal – he was the Prince? Words couldn’t describe how you felt but if you had to use one word, it would be ‘betrayed.’

Keeping your voice steady, you looked back at the King, “may I have your leave to go, Your Majesty.”

“Of course,” the King inclined his head.

As soon as the King replied, you bowed once more and escaped from the room as quickly as you could without actually running. You heard Hal say something to his father before you heard his quick footsteps follow you, “Y/N!” you shook your head and kept walking, refusing to look back at him, you wouldn’t let him see you cry, “please!” his voice broke and you couldn’t help yourself, you had to stop and look at him.

Well, you didn’t look at him, you kept your eyes on the floor, “Your Majesty,” you mumbled as you saw Hal’s feet walking closer to you.

You felt a warm gentle hand on your chin and you allowed yourself to look at his face, he looked so apologetic and his eyes almost looked wet, “we should talk.”

“As Your Majesty wishes.”

Hal looked sick as he rubbed his thumb against your cheek, “please don’t call me that, nothing’s changed between us.”

“Nothing’s changed?!” your sadness quickly turned to anger and you momentarily forgot where you were, “everything’s changed! Why didn’t you tell me? By God!” you gasped as you slapped a hand to your forehead, “I’ve been rude to you! And you’re the crowned Prince! I kissed you!”

Hal bit his lip as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to treat me any differently, and technically, I kissed you,” he chuckled.

“Why?” you asked, holding back the tears, “why would you kiss me? Was it for something to laugh about with your noble friends,” your eyes went blurry as a wave of sadness washed over you.

“No, Y/N! Angel, no, I kissed you because I love you!”

Your heart stopped in your chest but it wasn’t from happiness, it was from overwhelming sadness, you would have longed to hear that just a few hours ago but now, you would rather that he didn’t say anything, “you can’t say that,” you shook your head as you backed away from him and Hal’s face fell, causing you to look away as you felt a stab of pain shoot through your heart.

“It doesn’t make it any less true,” he mumbled.

“I have to go,” you sighed as tears slid down your cheeks and ran over your lips, “goodbye, Your Highness,” walking away from him was the hardest thing you had ever done – especially when he was calling after you in that broken voice – but you had no other choice. He was the future King.

A year later, you were in your chambers at the palace, you hadn’t seen Hal since you had said goodbye to him. He’d been staying at his castle in Wales, though it wasn’t far away enough to make you forget about him. It was a particularly rainy day when your apprentice came bursting through the door with a shocked look on his face.

“Y/N! Y/N! Have you heard the news?” he was out of breath from running and it made you laugh.

“Calm down! What news?”

“The Prince is back, he’s in the tavern in the village, the word is that he’s abdicated the Throne for a peasant girl.”

You were so shocked that you dropped the empty beaker you were holding, letting it shatter across the ground, “are you,” you cleared your throat as you tried to gather your thoughts, “are you sure?” when Arthur nodded, you gulped and looked at him nervously. He’d probably abdicated the Throne for a pretty girl that he’d met in Wales but he used to love you and there was a sliver of hope in your chest, you had to go and see for yourself, “can you keep an eye on things here?”

“Yes, but where are you going?” Arthur frowned at you as you grabbed your cloak but you shook your head without another word.

Your riding had got much better while you were staying at the castle and you got to the tavern in a surprisingly short amount of time. You hoped that Hal was still here. As you opened the door to the warm tavern a hushed silence fell over the patrons as they stared at the newcomer. You didn’t have to search far for Hal because he was in the middle of everyone with a pretty blonde woman perched on his lap. His eyes widened as he looked at you, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as he swallowed. Hal had seemed to become even more beautiful in the year that he’d been away. He looked like an angel.

The woman sneered at you and you realised that he hadn’t abdicated the Throne for you at all, you were such a fool. Offering Hal, a sad smile with tears sparkling in your eyes, you turned to leave, walking out into the cold evening air again. You had barely mounted your horse before you felt a strong arm wrap around your waist from behind and a warm hand came to brush your tears away.

“Why are you crying petal?” he whispered.

You could feel the fissure in your heart widen and your knees almost buckled at the sound of his soft voice, “because you’re you a fool,” you sniffled as you turned to face him, “abdicating the Throne for that woman.”

Hal let out a surprised laugh as he shook his head, “I haven’t abdicated the Throne for her,” he jabbed his thumb in the direction of the tavern, “I’ve abdicated it for you.”

Your heart soared as you gasped, searching his face for any deceit, instead you found nothing but love, “me? Why?”

Hal grinned as he cupped your cheek, “isn’t it clear my dear? Because I love you, I would rather give up my future rule than lose you.”

Tears sprang to your eyes again but for a completely different reason and you rested your hands against Hal’s firm chest, “was your father angry?” you couldn’t believe that this brave handsome man had given up everything for you.

“Furious,” Hal rolled his eyes, “but I don’t want to live without you, I love you, Y/N. I would like nothing more than to live the rest of my days with you by my side.”

You smiled as your fingers curled through his hair as you gazed up at him, “I love you too,” you pulled him into a passionate kiss and at the first touch of his lips, you gasped, it felt like coming home, “I’m going to have to find a new post,” you laughed, you couldn’t go back to the palace now.

Hal only chuckled as he pulled you in for another kiss, for the first time in your life you had no idea what was coming next. However, you couldn’t find it in your heart to care, you had your Prince and that was all that mattered.

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@smiithys

#prince hal #hal #the hollow crown #prince hal imagine #prince hal fanfiction #prince hal x reader #prince hal x reader insert #prince hal x y/n #prince hal x you #you x prince hal #hal x reader #hal x y/n #hal x you #you x hal #tom hiddleston #royalty au

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thebiscuiteternal · 3 years

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Wei Wuxian and/or Lan Wangji visit the Unclean Realma

Okay so this is sort of cheating, but it turns out I actually already have a story for this that I just kinda forgot to post anywhere? So I've prettied it up for this. Set in a timeline where Jin Guangyao survived the temple incident and Lan Xichen and Jin Ling managed to argue for life imprisonment instead of execution.

__________

Three days after Jin Guangyao is warded into a little house on the edge of the Cloud Recesses, word comes from up north that all of the inter-sect liaisons and visiting disciples have been expelled from the Unclean Realms and no one new is being permitted to enter.

"Should've guessed the Headshaker would throw a tantrum about the trial. It's all he's good at anyway," Wei Wuxian hears being muttered among a knot of gold-robed cultivators.

He... has a bad feeling. A feeling that warns him this likely isn't so simple as that.

The wine having soured in his stomach, he leaves the jar unfinished and goes to collect his things and Little Apple.

Then he heads towards Qinghe.

He's long been used to cold stares and angry muttering at his presence, but the tone takes on a distinct change once he crosses the border. There's not one word mentioned about the Yiling Patriarch, or even demonic cultivation in general.

No, the people who whisper at his presence seem to think he's here as a spy, or even an assassin for the Lan.

He'd laugh at the absurdity, except the implications behind the rumors leave him cold.

After all the gossip, he's unsurprised when the guards at the gates of the Unclean Realms tell him in no uncertain terms to get lost. Even though he knows it probably won't help (and it doesn't), he lays out that he's here on his own terms, without any knowledge of the Lan sect. Turned away still, he decides it would probably be better to set himself up a camp rather than trying his luck at an inn.

Using a paperman out in the open forest is considerably more dangerous than indoors, but the questions in his mind keep eating at him until he groans and flops against Little Apple's side, relying on the donkey's bulk to keep him grounded as he activates the spell.

The thing that bothers him the most is the quiet.

He could count the number of times he'd been to the Unclean Realms on one hand, but whether in war or peace, the place had always been almost as bustling as Lotus Pier. Right now though, as he floats around the courtyards and into the hallways, he is met with faces blank as stone slabs and conversations spoken so lowly that he has to strain to hear.

None of it is good.

He gleans over the course of following several knots of disciples or servants that the isolation adopted by Qinghe Nie was not on the orders of its sect leader.

Rather, the elders and disciples have closed rank around him.

As he thinks about it, he can start to understand their reasoning. One sect leader was murdered, and all of their supposed allies turned their heads from the issue until the murderer went after them as well. A second sect leader was murdered in a similar fashion, and two of the supposed allies had actively argued for the life of the killer.

Why wait to see how little their supposed allies would care if something happened to a third?

___

He's starting to get tired, but he can't leave until he's seen Nie Huaisang himself.

As luck would have it, a maid passes by his hiding spot with a large bowl of soup and a pot of tea, both of which have the sensory tinge of qi-infused herbs commonly used to treat a minor deviation.

She doesn't sense a little wisp of paper clinging to her sleeve, and he rides along as she enters a garden deep enough within the Realms that it's clearly not meant for visitors.

A lone figure sits in a chair, staring in the vague direction of nothing in particular, and Wei Wuxian makes a tiny involuntary noise that thankfully doesn't translate through the paperman.

Nie Huaisang looks absolutely wrecked.

His eyes are rimmed in red, either from the qi deviation, crying, or both. The effect is worsened by the sheer exhaustion that creates shadows on his face and bows his shoulders. His hair is unbound, his clothing is wrinkled, and all of it put together makes Wei Wuxian wonder if he has slept at all since that night at Guanyin Temple, let alone during the trial.

The maid silently lays down the tray and fixes a cup of tea with honey, then gently presses it into Nie Huaisang's hands, making sure they are fully holding it before pulling away.

"Thank you, Hui-er."

The tell-tale rasp of a voice recovering from having blown itself out screaming makes the little paperman rustle as Wei Wuxian shivers.

He should leave.

He's seen what he came for, he really should lea-

"Wh- hey!"

Oh, shit.

He tries to flutter out of reach, but Hui-er is surprisingly quick and he finds himself snatched out of the air.

"Leave that with me, please."

"Zongzhu... are you sure?"

He doesn't see any noticeable change, but something in Nie Huaisang's expression must convince the maid, because she nods and places his paper form into an outstretched hand.

"Would you kindly give Min-jie my thanks for the soup?"

"Of course." Hui-er bows and heads back towards the garden entrance.

Once they are alone, Nie Huaisang sighs quietly. "Hello, Wei Wuxian. I suppose I should have expected you to come poking around."

There's no anger in the words. Except for the rasp, one could almost mistake it for his teasing from their class days.

But he genuinely can't remember a single time in their lives that Nie Huaisang ever full-named him, even at his most irritated or upset, and hearing his courtesy name fall from his mouth makes Wei Wuxian feel ill.

Little paper arms wrap around long fingers and their bruised knuckles.

"You should leave," Nie Huaisang says, gently stroking the little paper head with a fingertip. "The sides have been chosen again, and you already know what it's like on the wrong one."

He does.

He also knows what it's like to be grievously wronged.

If the possibility of avenging everything Wen Chao and Wen Zhuliu had done had been taken from him... if he'd had to sit there and listen as the cultivation world decided they still deserved to live...

Little paper arms hug tighter.

Nie Huaisang finally smiles. Or tries to, anyway, and the attempt is both painful and worrying. "I see. Stubborn as ever. Fine, I will tell the guards not to block your way the next time you visit."

When he has made his way back to camp, back to himself, Wei Wuxian feels drained in more ways than just physical or spiritual tiredness.

He... he should tell Lan Zhan that this isn't just some petty show of spite on Nie Huaisang's part.

But that's all he'll tell.

That's all he’ll tell.

#mdzs #wei wuxian #nie huaisang #fanfic

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greensaplinggrace · 3 years

Note

.........anyways, talk to me about how after 500 years, mal and darkling still can't say 'i love you' without making it a) sound like a joke, b) sound like a threat OR c) one of them being 'this' close to dying

I love how you send me this ask and then have the gall to ask me if I'm okay in the tags of my (admittedly very chaotic) Malarklina post! Like wtf this is so angsty! I mean it's also some great insight into their characters and their relationships with the word love, specifically in regards to each other. But now you've given me Emotions (tm) about these two idiots and I can't stop thinking about this.

Anyways, Mal says it first.

For weeks he's planned it: the perfect moment, the perfect words. He'll take Aleksander out to a field of blue irises and lay a quilt atop the grass. Then he'll lay Aleksander upon it.

It will be intimate and tender. Like Mal's done with Alina hundreds of times before and Aleksander has done the same in turn, the both of them speaking softly into her ear, bodies pressed so tightly together.

Except this time, the words won't be for Alina.

This time, Mal will take the other man into his arms as they always do at night. He will press kisses into Aleksander's skin, tell him that he's beautiful, that he's special, that he's wicked and kind and tastes of chocolate. And then Mal will tell him - he will. In that perfect, beautiful moment, he'll tell Aleksander he loves him.

The trip is planned for tomorrow afternoon, supplies packed and horses readied. Mal is nervous, palms sweating. Even after hundreds of years his heart still races like a lovestruck teenager when he thinks of them. It is an emotion he'd thought he'd lose as he grew older. One that has instead grown stronger, fiercer, more debilitating than ever.

His mouth tastes of sand and his mind flashes to their long, drawn out history. All of the ups and downs and violent, deadly strikes at each other's weaknesses. He thinks of Aleksander's scars and Alina's hair and the mark of an arrow just a hairs breadth away from his own soft heart - things he should be over by now. But he's not, and Aleksander's not. And they are all, probably, not.

So Mal is nervous and excited and maybe a little bit in love. He wipes his sweaty palms on his pants and reminds his racing heart of the way Aleksander had brushed his hair from his forehead the other night, fingertips feather light against Mal's skin and expression softened by adoration. He reminds himself of the way Aleksander had tucked his face into Alina's neck and curled around her under the covers, Mal's hand pulled over his side and held tightly to his chest.

Mal doesn't have to remind himself that he loves Aleksander. That one comes like breathing.

All he has to do is say it.

Aleksander is himself, of course, the night before. Not at all nervous. Instead watchful and sharp, slate grey eyes following Mal around the house in dedicated vigil. He's trying Mal's patience, ready to pounce on any piece of information Mal might let slip about his plans - observing and waiting under the likely impression that he appears the predator - but Mal has known this man for centuries and finds himself only amused by the evidence that Aleksander is dreadfully curious.

Mal raises a brow at the other man's impenetrable gaze and reveals nothing. Aleksander goes to bed frustrated that night, and Mal can't say that either he or Alina are unhappy with the development.

The next day, they ride out on a bright, sunny morning. The wind ruffles Aleksander's hair and puts a blush on his cheeks. Mal imagines that he looks much the same, grinning widely over at the other man, heart pounding, as they ride all the way to the meadow.

Then he spreads out the quilt, lays Aleksander upon it, and presses kisses into his skin.

And that is all he can do with his mouth, for the entire afternoon, words dead on his tongue.

He does not say it.

He cannot say it.

They return home later that night pleased and sated, quiet, with the words, as always, left unspoken between them.

---

Afterward, the months pass in a blank, formless blur. Mal tries to focus on other things, like patching the roof of their small cottage and tending to the garden and dedicating inordinate amounts of time to making both Alina and Aleksander flush. He tries very hard not to think about that day, and the night before, and how certain he'd been of his bravery.

He feels like a coward.

And then the riders come, with swords and guns and fire, burning their life to ground in an instant, and suddenly Mal doesn't have the time to feel much of anything anymore. He runs from the house, pulled along by Alina and pulling her in turn, barely dodging the whistle of a bullet, and thanks every Saint he can remember for the sight of Aleksander's dark figure at the treeline.

Zhenya is a beauty of a horse, strong and lean with a coat of pure silken white. Aleksander tugs at her reigns to calm her, seated upon Ilya at her side, and wastes no time in turning them both in the only direction they can flee as Mal pulls himself and Alina onto Zhenya's saddle.

Alina turns with a whip of her hands, brilliant light blinding their pursuers, and Mal follows the blackened trail of shadows that coalesce all around them.

Hoofbeats chase them for miles, the sound of pursuit relentless and daunting. Mal doesn't have his bow; he doesn't have his gun. Alina shivers against him in the cool night air wearing nothing but a thin shift, and Aleksander looms ahead of them dark and dangerous but ever so weary, haunted by weeks of insomnia and nights spent awake.

They are going to die. His partners. The people he loves.

They are not ready for this.

And they aren't ready for the cliff, either - the end of the forest and the sudden break in the earth. Aleksander shouts, Ilya rearing, and Mal only has a moment to even think to pull on Zhenya's reigns before she's bucking, whinnying in terror, and Mal is sent flying through the air.

He hits the ground with a curse, tumbling forward and scrambling desperately at the loose dirt for anything to halt his progress. There's nothing - nothing - and everything goes white.

"Alina," he gasps, mind blank except for the sheer, mind numbing terror that she could already be gone. And when he finally reaches the cliffside and the floor falls out from underneath him, all he can do is feel his heart plummet to his stomach.

He chokes out a yell and clenches his eyes shut, still reaching for anything that could keep him here by Alina's side - by Aleksander's side. Then a hand closes around his wrist, grip hot and hard and painful, and Mal is met quite suddenly with the solid ground again as his face meets the cliffside.

He swings for a second in the air, attempting to find purchase along the rocks with his feet, and looks up to see Aleksander above him. The man is wide-eyed, lips parted, staring down at him as if his entire world is coming to an end, fingers white with the strength of his hold on Mal, and Mal thinks for one bright, clarifying second that oh, this is what true fear looks like.

He wonders blankly if Alina would have seen it on himself not two seconds ago when he'd believed her dead.

"Don't let go," Aleksander tells him - demands of him, the controlling bastard.

He's looking for a promise, Mal realizes. But his voice is shaking, arms unsteady, cheek painted in red. Blood drips down his chin from a wound on his forehead, face pressed against the cool earth and eyelashes fluttering. His grip on the edge of the cliff is weak at best, and Alina's shouting voice is too far away to share some of the weight.

We're going to fall.

"We're going to fall."

Aleksander blinks at him for a second, bleary eyed. Then he swallows, breaths coming out shorter, heavier. Mal's known him long enough to realize when panic is setting in. "What?"

"I'm sorry," Mal tells him, because he is. Because he wants nothing more than to be with these people forever.

Alina, he thinks again, and wishes fervently that she were here.

Aleksander is shaking his head, swallowing roughly, lips forming a pained, desperate "no." But no sound slips out. His grasp slips, fingers loosening, and Mal can see him straining to keep them both in place.

"I love you," Mal breathes out, overcome with the sudden desire to say it again and again every day for the rest of their lives. "I love you. I'm sorry. I love you."

"No!" Aleksander roars furiously, eyes wide and expression stricken, thunder cracking in a blackened sky.

Mal lets go.

Aleksander exhales sharply, face going white as his grip slackens, fingers grasping at nothing but air. "N-no."

And Mal falls.

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delldarling · 3 years

Text

all that matters | merrick

chasing truth | chapter nine male faerie x gender/body neutral reader 7803 words lemon | teasing about relationship, communication about feelings and past relationships, kissing, nipping/mild biting, hair pulling, oral, hands, lube, penetrative sex, banter & talking during sex chapter index? or chapter eight?

⊱ ────── .⋅ 🜁 ⋅. ────── ⊰

For a moment or two, you can bury the knowledge of Faerie behind the facades you've come to know and care for. You've known Gar as nothing more than a handsome, nerdy human being for years, and Merrick? Sarcastic, awkward Merrick has been one of your closest friends over the past year and change. It's safe to say that you've spent ample time in their presence, trading jokes and building stories you know you'll share for years to come.

That false screen over their true selves won’t ever last now though. You know what lies under their glamour, and you know them too well. You can't ignore the things you've seen. Neither you nor Merrick will ever doubt Gar's morality and honesty again. Not when it comes to those he cares for. Not after what he’s told you and Merrick about his Court.

The car doors close in quick succession, one after the other, echoing down the dim, silent street. No one comes to investigate. No lights flicker behind the curtained windows, and no one cracks open their door. It's a relief, and yet a mild disappointment, knowing what you're all about to do.

“This still doesn’t sit particularly right with me,” you say softly, words barely more than a breath tickling your lower lip. You clutch your bag to your chest, fingertips digging into the seams to better distract yourself. Ditching the car and taking another makes sense, but just because it makes sense doesn’t mean you have to like it. Or approve of it.

Merrick can’t quite look you in the face, but Gar only shrugs. “It’s not the kindest option, not by a long shot, but we can’t travel on foot,” he says. Part of you wants to cringe because Gar doesn’t mean we, he means you. “Besides, we need to make it to where we’re staying in the next few hours, and this is the quickest way to tempt Roran closer without putting any of us in danger.”

You turn, eyeing the cars lining the street, and sigh. More stealing. It’s fairly silly that you’re worrying about this kind of crime, especially when you’ve already been riding around in a stolen car all day with a faerie assassin. You can’t stop the itch of the thought in the back of your brain, which probably means this is how you’re attempting to compartmentalize everything.

“I won’t even break the seatbelts this time,” Merrick tells you, cautiously placing his hand on your shoulder, fingers feather light. Relief eases the tension around his eyes when you don’t move away, and he sighs when you step into the circle of his arms. “If you don’t want to witness it,” he whispers, leaning his head against yours, “then I suggest you keep holding me. He’s right though. We can’t keep the same car, not after we clouded the whole thing with glamour.”

“I know,” you say against his neck, enjoying the warmth of his skin against your cheek and temple. “I get it, the whole thing, but it’s not going to stop feeling wrong just because I know it’s necessary.”

Merrick breathes deep, and you can already tell that he’s going to keep trying to explain it away. “If we thought that-”

“You don’t need to defend yourself. We’ll get in the new car, we’ll head to our stop for the night and it’ll be fine. I just… Need to compartmentalize, and that’s rather new.” You sigh against his neck, the tickle of breath making him shiver. Merrick shifts, hands leaving your back and sliding up your shoulders until he can cradle your face in his hands. His thumbs stroke over your cheekbones, tender and careful, and you can’t think to do anything but blink up at him.

“Or I could distract you?” He offers, and bends his head down, covering your lips with his. A few hours ago and you would have been too tired, too on edge and hungry for food to let him try this, no matter how attracted you are to him. But everything with him, regardless of the fear and adrenaline, is still brand new and leaves your fingers aching, eager to keep him close. Even with all that you’ve learned, Merrick still feels the same, warm skin and calloused fingers, and it’s familiar and… comforting. When his mouth opens, breath hitching as you lean in against him, you find yourself wondering how eager he’s been for more of this. More of you.

Merrick puts his whole body into the kiss, pressed against you from chest to thigh, the taste of floral tea filling your senses as his fingertips carefully stroke behind your ears. He hums into your mouth when you roll your tongue and even though your eyes have fallen closed, you could almost swear that a brilliant light is beginning to shi—

“Hey!” Gar shouts hoarsely, and something hard bounces off of Merrick’s forehead. When the two of you stop kissing, eyes darting to the small item rolling slowly away from you, it turns out to be a small, wizened acorn, cap long lost. The two of you turn to look at Gar with startled expressions and find him trying to hold a fierce scowl on his lips. A muscle in his cheek jumps, betraying his amusement.

“I hope the both of you realize what happens every time that starts up! And if you do then I suggest you take a moment to reflect... You don’t,” Gar says after a moment, stalking closer with a steady frown now on his lips. “Merrick, you light up like a firefly every time you touch! You may as well be a torch in the middle of the street!”

Merrick’s mouth opens, attempting to disagree, but his lips curl and his nose wrinkles, like he’s tasted something off.

“You do. I’m over here jimmying open a car door, trying to steal it, and suddenly there’s a blazing light in the middle of the road! Everyone on this street is probably going to come out here, and-” Gar freezes when you shush him, eyebrows rising.

“Everyone is going to wake up if you’re shouting!” You snap, embarrassed but mostly tense because you still cannot quite believe you’re both being chastised for a handful of kisses. Both of the faeries grimace, shoulders hunching like they want the ground to swallow them whole. “I’m never going to say this again,” you mutter, already regretting your interruption, “but please: Go back to stealing the car, and Merrick and I will discuss his—his enthusiasm.” The frown on Gar’s face promptly vanishes.

“Enthusiasm,” he mutters, a goofy smile replacing his initial ire. He looks slyly at Merrick, but then holds up his hands in surrender when Merrick glares. “Right. Stealing. I’ll be quiet until it’s time to go.” He turns on his heel, heading back towards an old looking Datsun, a ridiculous little spring in his step. You’re fairly certain Merrick is going to make him pay for that later.

“So,” you say, your heart suddenly ricocheting off of your ribcage before it settles back into place. “You… You glow?” You have to fight not to laugh, though Merrick notices straight off. His eyes narrow before he sucks a deep breath in through his mouth.

He tries, twice, to say something, but ends up shaking his head and closing his eyes, breathing out through his nose. “Apparently,” he finally settles on. “You make me happy, make me- forget myself. Or forget everything else. I can’t guarantee it won’t happen again, but I’ll be more conscious of it.”

“Is that a normal thing?” You can’t help asking, laughing quietly when his shoulders slump.

“For my sake, I hope it isn’t. We should go though. I believe Gar is finishing up.” He nods his head in Gar’s direction, but you don’t even look towards your friend. Your eyes are caught on the collar of Merrick’s shirt, replaying everything Gar had confessed to earlier in the car.

“Gar doesn’t lie,” you murmur. “You agreed, he can’t have been lying. After everything he’s been through.... Is there any way—”

Merrick presses his lips together until they’re nothing more than a slash across his face. “If what Gar says is the truth, then none of us should have lived the lives we have.” Merrick grits his teeth, hands growing loose in their grip on your arms and nods towards Gar again. “Back in the car. Roran might not be close yet, but it still isn’t safe. The last thing we need is humans with guns seeing us stealing vehicles.”

You have to agree with that, but you still can’t help wondering about it all in the ensuing silence. Gar worked as a Guard in the Court of Land for the entirety of his adult life. He refused the Queen’s direct orders to kill a disobeying gardener, but... The Fae aren’t supposed to be able to disobey their monarchs. After Gar’s confession, he and Merrick had shared a serious, silent conversation with only a look. One you had no hope of deciphering and while you know you can’t actually do anything about Gar’s situation, you can’t stop yourself from worrying about it. You turn it over and over in your mind as the three of you drive away, meager belongings in hand, and time slowly slips away from you. You barely notice when you leave the main roads behind, but when the car pulls to a stop in almost full darkness, you lift your eyes. Gar has parked in the driveway of a rather ornately decorated cabin, surrounded on all sides by tall trees. You glance back down the drive, but all it reveals is more forest. You must be out in the middle of nowhere.

“I thought we were heading to a hotel?” You ask, confused as Gar gets out, grabbing both his bag and your own before you can even think to take hold of it..

“I said I knew how to use the internet, not that I was going to head to a hotel.” He gestures to the surrounding woods, trees shading parts of the cabin from view. “Hotels, or motels even, have too many witnesses. Even if we lock down on any glamour use and I hide my hands and ears?” Gar makes one pointed look Merrick’s way, eyes roving from his face, to the way he carries himself. Both of them have always been lovely, and Gar definitely has his fair share of admirers—Em comes immediately to mind—but Merrick?

With his fair curls, and the utter disdain he directs at just about everyone who shows him attention that he doesn’t want, he’s always stood out. Never mind that he hides his ears, and the great tattoos of his wings, you were hardly the only person who had been unable to tear your eyes away from him every time you met. You’re still not sure how he managed to hide so much of himself for so long, especially after all the times he’d hung out on camping trips or went out for drinks. Yeah. Gar doesn’t have to say anything else. No matter where you go, there is going to be someone who won’t be able to forget Merrick’s face, or demeanor, or both.

You glance back at the cabin as Gar passes you by. The clean windows and paved driveway, and the careful tending done to the planter boxes hanging from the windows...

“Did you book us an Airbnb?” You can’t help asking, rushing to keep up when Merrick starts walking to the door too.

Gar throws a sweet grin over his shoulder, cheek growing a shade darker with green. “Two bedrooms and everything. I’m going to leave you and Merrick to get settled,” he teases. You would like to kick him for that one, but you can’t actually deny that a few moments alone with Merrick will be pleasant. “And I’m going to grab food from a supermarket. I’ll be less... conspicuous by myself,” he says idly, like he’s still thinking everything through. He unlocks the door, not even bothering to set down the bags to do it, and then sweeps inside.

Gar is a whirlwind as he moves through the cabin, turning on lights and dropping your stuff in the small, but cozy main room. He gives you enough time to get through the door, checking out the small windows in the common area and the kitchen, and then turns to leave. He clasps Merrick’s shoulder once, nods his head at both of you, eyes already distant and then he’s gone, back through the still open door. You take a few steps after him, mouth opening to call out a goodbye, but he’s vanished. You blink, confused, because he didn’t even take the car, but then… Well, you knew already that the only reason they hadn’t left town on foot was because of you.

“That was weirdly intentional,” you mutter, quietly closing the door. For a moment, you hesitate, hand over the lock, mind racing. You can’t really ignore the fact that you don’t need any food. They’d brought plenty of things from the apartment in the array of bags that Merrick had brought in. Maybe he’s really just trying to give you and Merrick some time on your own? And he has the key, you remind yourself, finally locking the door. You turn, quietly wandering around the little cabin you’re going to be staying at for… who knows how long. You can feel Merrick’s eyes on you, but he doesn’t actually follow until you head into one of the bedrooms. Both of the rooms are medium sized, clean, and better than any standard motel, that’s for sure. The decor all has some kind of woodsy theme that makes you wrinkle your nose, but Gar might appreciate the irony of it, what with his tree affinity. We’re not X-Men, slips back into your head, making you smile wryly.

Merrick slides past you, groaning as he flops backwards onto the bed. His hat slips off of his head as he bounces, his curls falling in a picture perfect halo around his face. With no one else around, you’re not sure if his hair looks so bright because you don’t normally see him with his hat off, or if it’s because he’s beginning to glow in your presence. You bite back a smile.

“How are.. How are you holding up?” You ask, sitting so you can kick the knock-off keds down on the floor. You stay where you are at the lower corner, but after a moment you pull your legs up to cross them, noticing the storage space under the bed. The place is definitely lovely, but it’s still out in the middle of nowhere, and unknown. You wonder if anyone ever gets over wondering if something is underneath the bed, but you can’t bring yourself to get down and check. The momentary image of Roran waiting underneath has your heart speeding, though you’re not sure whether you want to laugh or shiver.

Merrick swallows, but summons up a smile for you. It’s not brilliant or blinding, but it’s real, if soft. “To be honest, I’m not actually sure?”

“You don’t have to know, Merrick.” You reach out, tugging a wrinkle in his trousers, just under his knee. “I’m asking if you need to talk about things. If you don’t want to—” You stop when Merrick shakes his head.

“I’m… I’m happy, because of you. Because you found out about me and you didn’t run. And... I’m hurting because of Roran.” His cheeks tense, which likely means he’s gritting his teeth again, trying to puzzle his way through the labyrinth of his own feelings.

You take a deep breath, unsure as to whether he’s going to be okay with the line of questioning you’re opening up, but you have to do it. It’s not even that you have to know, but Merrick very much looks like he needs to talk about it. He might not get another chance, not without Gar around, and you’re not sure he wants to do that, not after what you heard in the car.

“...Is Roran your ex?” You ask, fully expecting a wince and closed eyes, or for him to immediately look away.

“Are you going to be surprising me like this forever?” He asks instead, laughing softly. You give him a small smile, but otherwise continue to stare. Human or Faerie, the question he asked isn’t actually one you can answer and keep truthful, and besides, you’re trying to get him to open up. You don’t want to push, or have him change the subject so quickly. “Not exactly,” he finally says.

“Merrick,” you softly chastise, because you know there’s more to the both of them than that. He sighs, brows furrowing, but finally begins to speak.

“We made no declarations. Roran had plenty of other lovers and I didn’t mind. I—I was never much interested in anyone, but I didn’t mind passing the time with Roran. My interest in him was sparse, at best.” He frowns, like he realizes how that sounds and pauses to lick his lips. “I cared about his well being and I enjoyed his company, especially as a friend, but my interest lay in my work. In fulfilling the orders the King gave me, and I never felt like I had anything left to truly give him. Not really.”

“Did he.. Think you were exclusive to him?” You ask, drawing your knees up to your chest and wrapping your arms around them. You can’t deny that it’s an awkward feeling, knowing this. But Merrick has been by your side for a year, and you knew he was keeping secrets. It doesn’t change your feelings, however strange it might be, finding out that he’s been with others, but the knowledge does put a different spin on what you witnessed back at your house. “I’m not condoning anything, his actions or—I’m just trying to understand where he’s coming from,” you rush to say, when Merrick looks slightly pained.

“Not exactly,” he says again, and truly grimaces when the words pass his lips. “He asked for my love, asked for any scrap of attention I would be willing to throw his way, and for a time it was easy. I always liked him, and giving him that much had never really been a problem. But before I came, I told him I wasn’t his. That my heart was my own.” Merrick sits up, and he looks torn, staring down at his empty hands. “I told him I wouldn’t die, and that, I think, is what he was initially angry about. He thought I’d died, and I never made the effort to correct that worry.”

That you might be able to understand.

“Okay, that I might agree with,” you tell him softly, shrugging when he looks at you, dark eyes wide. “Do Faeries apologize? Because leaving someone who cares for you is one thing, but letting them think you’re dead is… a little much. Granted, we’ve been raised very differently, so I can’t actually speak for him.”

“I, yeah, I do owe him that,” Merrick agrees. “But my heart—it’s yours, now,” he tells you, voice low and fierce, and desperately earnest. His eyes search your face, trace your slowly smiling mouth and you’re suddenly very thankful that Gar decided to vacate the premises for a while. “I can’t change how I feel, though by Air I tried at first. But I don’t want to change how I feel about you. No matter what happens with Gar, or with Roran, I want to stay with you, if you’ll let me.”

Your chest feels as if it’s all tangled up in knots, nerves and worry utterly strangled by the sudden tidal wave of softness. “I want you to stay, too,” you say, eyes drifting to the leaf pattern on the bedspread. “Even if you do change your feelings, you’ve been in my life for a year now, and.. I see you in the future, you know? If it’s with me, then great, if it’s as friends? I can see that t-”

Merrick leans in close, your name on his lips, interrupting the awkward string of words spilling out of you. “Then I won’t be leaving,” he assures you, his curls crushed against your forehead. “Not for any of them. I can’t turn away from this, and I have to help Gar, but I won’t leave,” he whispers, watching you closely, like he’s afraid you might disagree. You reel him in for a kiss instead, trying not to let your eyes linger on the way his lips tremble, but then he’s smiling against your mouth.

⊱ ────── .⋅ 🜁 ⋅. ────── ⊰

It almost doesn’t make sense, knowing you’d spent hours in your bed with Merrick, exploring each other, mapping out every inch of each other’s flesh with fingers and mouths… And all of that was less than two days ago. While it had been happening, it had felt like the only thing that mattered, like you’d never forget it. Your heartbeat had been so loud in your head that you could barely hear yourself think beyond the next touch, the next kiss.

After the day you’ve had, after everything that’s happened since you forced yourself to grab a few hours of rest in a stolen car, part of you wonders if there aren’t things you imagined. Did Merrick really like it when you touched his ears, or bit at the lobe of them and traced the cartilage with your tongue? Had he really made you fall to pieces so quickly on the kitchen counter, or had it only seemed that way, with adrenaline and hope and lust running high?

The first touch of his fingertips under your shirt is electric though, and the callous on his thumb catching at your hip makes you shiver. Regardless of the time you’d taken before, or how fast or slow things had actually happened, the chemistry between you is a heady thing.

Merrick’s kiss is slow, and more than just the press or slide of his lips on yours. It’s the pause before he kisses you, the beat as he pulls away, mouth parted, his breath soft against your skin before his tongue touches your lower lip, and then his mouth closes, sucking slightly, like he’s trying to taste a drop of honey that he knows was left behind.

How are you supposed to keep quiet with such attention focused on you?

The first soft gasp has Merrick’s hands skimming over your middle, hand coming to rest on your heart, to gauge your pulse before he tries to get your shirt off of you. Part of you thinks you should tease him and struggle with the material—he’s always trying to undress you first, isn’t he? But you’re too eager to get his mouth back on yours, to curl your hand into the curls at the base of his skull and pull, exposing his throat for kissing.

As soon as you do that, as soon as your fingers are tangled in his hair, Merrick glows. You don’t bother to point it out, you don’t really want to halt things at the moment, but you bite at his neck, wondering if any marks you leave will glow too.

His eyes close when you pull a little harder, his cheeks grow ruddy with color and then you let your own eyes unfocus, losing yourself in the feeling of him under your hands. He runs just slightly warmer, though you’re certain that could be your imagination. The heat of him against you feels wonderful though, and leaves you wanting more. You slide a hand along his back, reveling in the change of temperature, and sigh when he shudders under the sweep of your fingers.

He doesn’t pull away—his breath is coming faster as you suck at the skin of his neck—but Merrick’s hips shift, his legs settling to either side of yours and then he’s groaning, erection rutting against your thigh, trapped in his trousers.

“Harder,” he whispers, and for a second you’re not sure whether he means you to use your mouth or the hand in his hair, but a twitch of your wrist answers that question. His mouth falls open and you have to release his neck so you can lean back and take in the sight. It’s—It’s intoxicating, seeing how much you affect him. You’re not sure if you’ve ever seen someone so eager for you, and then his eyes open, wonderfully dark underneath those pale lashes and arousal grows so strong in you that the ache of it is painful.

“What do you want?” You ask, voice low as his eyes trace your lips. You have to ask, because you’re not sure what you want, if you want to feel his mouth again, or use your mouth on him, or maybe-

“Everything,” he whispers, because it’s the truth, and that’s all that matters to him.

You huff out a laugh, knowing you probably look punch-drunk off of his kisses, off of touching him at all. “Merrick, as wonderful as that sounds, we’re going to have to narrow things down.”

He barely looks sheepish, though you catch his eyes darting to your bag near the side of the bed.

“I packed… Things?” He says, and his tone is so unsure that you want to pat his cheek.

“I could have sworn I looked through that bag,” you mutter, fighting a smile, but Merrick sits up on your thighs and you let him go. He looks, well—He already has sex hair, with the way you’ve been yanking at it, and neither of you have actually gotten there. Gar is going to have a field day when he comes back.

“Did you check the side pocket?” Merrick asks, and he leans over the edge of the bed, pants riding low on his hips and exposing the dimple on his lower back. He tugs at the zipper, fumbling about and comes up with lube and condoms, and a handful of other things you’d kept in your bedside drawer.

“Are all faeries this prepared?” You tease, smiling widely when he rolls his eyes. “Or am I just terribly lucky?”

He doesn’t respond, just hops off of you—and you can feel the difference now, as it’s cold without him—and pulls off his clothes like he has no sense of modesty. It’s always a rush, seeing him bare this way. The tattoos of his wings are still impressive, catching your eye and drawing your gaze over his shoulder and bicep as he turns to face you fully, but then your eyes lower and your breath quickens.

“I can’t get enough of this,” Merrick murmurs and he looks so damned earnest, sitting down next to you on the bed and leaning over you so he can brace himself up on his forearms. ��The way you look at me. For so long I thought I was imagining things-” And you do laugh when he says that.

“You thought you were?” You ask, reaching up to trace a fingertip over his cheekbone and down his jaw. “At first, I thought I had a chance, but then we were friends and... Honestly, I was sure you didn’t like anyone. I watched you reject person after person and was convinced that I’d only ever fooled myself. The other day when you joked about sharing a bed? I thought—”

Merrick frowns. “I was trying to be sly,” he murmurs, wincing when you raise an eyebrow.

“It came across as a joke, after the way I’ve seen you talk to other people.”

“I didn’t mean it like-”

“I know,” you hasten to say, slipping your arms around him and tugging at his shoulders, wanting him closer. “I know that now,” you correct, pleased when he’s nose to nose with you. “But I didn’t then. That’s why I grabbed your hat and reacted like I did. Every time you said something even remotely similar, I convinced myself that I was only hearing what I wanted to hear. I was only hearing what I thought about when you weren’t around.”

“You fantasized about me?” Merrick asks, and he sounds entirely too gleeful about that.

“...Did you fantasize about me?” You shoot back, knowing it will likely shut him up.

“Yes,” he says instead, completely surprising you. “I… I felt like I shouldn’t have, but I kept thinking about the way you talked to me and I was lonely and—It was more than once,” he blurts with a sigh, and he looks like he hates the fact that he has to tell the truth.

You just grin at him, feeling ridiculous, until Merrick shakes his head, and gets back to kissing you. Apparently he’s decided the time for talk is over. Or at least, talking about this subject is over. His kisses trail down your neck though, which you suppose means he’s decided on what he wants, and you can’t really complain.

He uses tongue and teeth as he moves down your body, hands kneading gently at your thighs, stroking with fingertips and pressing with his thumbs. He lingers at your hip for a moment, sucking kisses into the skin there that you know are going to ache later, and then his hand is on you.

He definitely remembers everything he’d learned back at your place. He knows how to stroke, how much pressure to use, how to curl his fingers just so, and your thighs are starting to tense and his mouth isn’t even on you yet.

“Merrick,” you murmur, clutching at the blankets under your hands. You want to watch him, want to see his pink tongue lick—but you’re mildly distracted by that glow of his, shimmering softly over the walls. The light is on in the room, ceiling fixture bright, but there’s movement to the light on the walls that matches the rolling of his shoulders and the arch of his back.

His mouth closes over you, tongue flicking.

“Fuck,” you say immediately, tensing when he pauses, waiting for you to relax under his touch. He doesn’t use his teeth here, that’s for sure. There’s just his tongue at first, hot and wet, and his breath, soft against your bare skin. Then Merrick sucks until his cheeks have hollowed out, fingers curling just right and you have to bite your bottom lip, using the pain of your own teeth in your flesh to try and keep yourself from thrusting your hips up into his face.

He pulls off of you with a wet pop, leaving you whimpering and can’t help the little smirk he directs your way before he speaks. “You don’t have to be gentle with me,” he tells you, smirk growing a little wider. “You’ve seen some of what we can do. You can let go,” he assures you, hand still working you over, tongue sliding over his lips, like he’s chasing the taste of you on his own skin.

“Sure,” you say shakily, and then your eyes are nearly rolling into the back of your head as his mouth closes over you again. You’re fairly certain he’s doing it just to leave you breathless, to leave you speechless. “I’ll just—just go to town,” you mutter, rolling your hips, but only just. “You could probably, uh, could just pick me-”

Merrick stops using his hand on you, hooks his arms underneath your legs and lifts your hips as he kneels on the bed. He curls his arms around you to hold you in place, legs hanging over his shoulders, and rolls his tongue over you before he starts sucking again, making soft noises that are driving you crazy.

“Oh, oh, fuck, you’re going to-” Your hands are totally tangled in the blankets now, having dragged them with you as he lifted you partially off the bed. You’re going to lose it if he keeps up with this, blood rushing towards your head, leaving your face feeling hot and your thighs shaking against his ears.

You shout as you come, trying to arch your back, to get closer to his mouth and pull away from it, all at once, but Merrick is holding you too tightly. After a moment it gets to be too much and you’re gasping, panting and reaching out to try and slap at his knee, though you can’t quite reach. “Enough,” you say once, and Merrick slows, but he doesn’t pull his mouth off of you until you wail the word. For a second you think he’ll just drop your overstimulated self back to the bed, but Merrick is more careful than that. He lowers you down, revealing his messy face and heavy lidded eyes. His cock slides over your most sensitive parts as he sets your ass in his lap and carefully takes your legs off of his shoulders. Your calves feel like they won’t hold you up for a week.

“I’m going to die,” you say, all dramatics, and then Merrick is chuckling, wiping at his lips.

“I hardly think you will,” he says, confident in his words. “But if it was too much, I have no problem ceasing while we’re ahead. Soon enough, Gar will be back and...” He licks his lips again, frowning slightly as something occurs to him. “Did I glow, like Gar said earlier?” You can’t help laughing, but that only makes you move against him, leaving the both of you making soft, shocked noises.

“Would you—would you like to find out?” You ask, breathless when he presses himself between your legs.

Merrick hesitates, nearly frowning for a moment before he settles on an easy, slightly awkward grin.

“It’s a bit of a toss up,” he explains, eyes tracing you from head to toe. He lingers on the spots he’s kissed, on the way your mouth is parted, breath still coming heavy, like it’s being drawn up from the absolute depths of your lungs. “I want to do the things that could potentially lead to me glowing.” He can’t seem to stop himself from rolling his hips, from rutting in between your thighs and leaving himself trembling at the touch. “But do I want to know if I’m actually making a fool of myself?”

“Making a fool of yourself?” You repeat, laughing. “Is that what happens when faeries glow during sex? They’re considered fools?”

“Maybe not fools,” he amends, looking a little awkward as he tucks a few stray curls behind his pointed ears. “But… Horribly transparent. You can see how much you affect me, and leaving our emotions laid bare?”

That you can understand. Granted, you don’t think you’ll ever mind the fact that he shows just how much he wants you. That he’s incapable of hiding how he feels when you touch him. You desperately want to kiss him again, to return the gesture. You might not be able to glow, but you’re fairly certain anyone looking at you can see how you feel—especially now that you’ve both laid it all out in the open.

“Come here,” you urge, crooking a single finger.

He pauses, dark eyes darting between you and himself, and you see the thought cross his mind. He could try and press inside you, he wants it, but—Merrick leans over you, arm stretching until he’s braced himself next to your shoulder, as close as he can get without being inside you. His hair falls back into his face.

“Kiss me,” you say, stroking your hands along his sides and up and over his shoulders. You have to concentrate, keep yourself from getting distracted when the pads of your fingertips catch on the wing tattoos. They have such texture, and one day you’d love to trace those lines with your tongue, if he’ll let you.

Merrick falls back into kissing you like he’s never left. Tilts his head and slots his mouth along your lips, soft at first and then his tongue finds yours, sweet and warm. He starts grinding against you, making you shudder underneath him because you’re still oversensitive. You’re not sure you have the energy in you for more than lying here, for hooking your ankles behind his back as he works himself to completion inside you, but just the thought of that has your pulse speeding again.

When he pulls away from the kiss to breathe, you reach up to try and adjust his hair, tucking the curls back once more, but you don’t actually succeed in anything other than making it look messier.

“Lube,” you remind him, when he seems plenty content to simply stare at your face, blinking slowly. He jumps at that, snatching at the pile of things he’d left on the bed when he’d stripped off his clothes and shakes his head once he has the bottle open, tilted over to spill the gel into his palm.

“So you want to witness my shame?” He asks archly, and that tone of his is all an act. You wonder how many times you fell for it, how many times he said exactly what you were thinking and you wrote it off, purely because of his tone and-

No. There’s no need to dwell on it, not now.

“I have witnessed it,” you say instead, breathing out slowly as you reach for his hand. You slide your fingers through the lube and then reach down to prep yourself, watching his face all the while.

Merrick looks gutted. He swallows, eyes intent on your hand, on your fingers, stroking and pressing into you and he snaps the lube bottle closed. He tosses it over the edge of the bed, pressing himself close again so your hand brushes against him every time your fingers move.

“At some point,” he says hoarsely, and your eyes get caught on the gel starting to drip over the edges of his hands. “I would like to watch this. Just this, but—” He glances at you, gauging your reaction and joins in. You’re shaking again, watching his face, feeling his fingers move in tandem with yours, but the feeling is a lot and eventually you let him take over. Merrick breathes out when you pull your hand away, eyes flicking up to meet yours, and licks his lips. “We’re on a bit of a deadline,” he murmurs, looking just a slight bit disappointed by that fact.

“Then hurry up,” you tease him, though it’s a little hard when he’s touching you this way. When he’s making your thighs tremble all over again. “I want you at least once before we get interrupted.” Before Gar gets back, before you have to crash for the night because you’re exhausted, before—Before you have to get up tomorrow, and possibly get back on the road to who knows where. This would be the absolute worst time for Roran to find us, crosses your mind and your heart speeds for all the wrong reasons.

“Noted,” Merrick says, breaking through your thoughts with a smug smile as he removes his fingers. The first stroke of him against you has you clenching your hands in the blankets again. Just the wet slide of his cock against you is enough: lust sweeps over you in a tidal wave, your thighs shifting like they’re trying to spread, even though they’re open already.

When he takes himself in hand though, when he finally presses into you? You lose a few moments, just enjoying the heat of him, the feeling of fullness.

Then he’s glowing.

There’s no hiding it from him this time. His eyes aren’t closed, and his face isn’t pressed into your neck, or your body, intent on bringing you pleasure first. Merrick blinks when the glow is cast on the walls. It’s not enough to blaze through the window and the closed blinds, but he sees it now, and his face turns an absolutely lovely shade of pink.

He doesn’t stop his movements, or try to stop himself from glowing. He takes a couple quick breaths and thrusts into you, gasping when you tighten around him reflexively.

Merrick doesn’t do things by halves. He doesn’t rush you, doesn’t pound into you, chasing after his own pleasure, he builds it between you. It takes long enough that when you realize time has passed, you’re fairly sure that Gar must have returned, but—But Merrick’s hands are sliding over your body and his hips are pressed against the back of your thighs, and you don’t have time to think.

He whispers your name and his eyes are so heavy lidded, he looks like he could fall asleep where he is. You think the only reason his eyes are even open is to watch you, to see the look on your face every time he pulls back, only to slide back in, leaving you languid and terribly warm. You’re going to ache tomorrow.

As soon as the thought crosses your mind, you see that Merrick is clenching his jaw, trying to keep the slow rhythm he’s got going, but his hips are stuttering. You tug him close, angling your legs until they’re tight against his ass and he groans, being so deep inside you.

“I want you,” you murmur. “Merrick, I-” But then he’s nearly shouting as he comes, burying his face in your shoulder as he shakes apart and you can hear the front door closing. Merrick doesn’t bother trying to quiet himself, just pants against you until he’s finished, until he can sit up on his own. The smile he directs your way is mildly embarrassed, but mostly smug, especially when his pulling out leaves your legs shaking.

“Have you decided yet?” You hear from the main room of the cabin, followed by bags being set on the small kitchen counter.

You raise your eyebrows, wondering what exactly Gar means. Merrick’s shoulders tense up a little though, and you think back to what was happening before the two of you started this much needed romp in the sheets.

“...What does he mean?” You finally ask, sitting up slowly and glancing around the room. You’re going to need to clean up, and never have you wished more that Faerie glamour or magic came with a quick spell for messes. A quick snap of your fingers or the wiggle of a nose would be quiet and unobtrusive right now.

“Give us a moment,” Merrick calls out and gets off of the bed with a sigh. “I’ll—Let me help you, first,” he says, focusing on you after a moment. “Once we’re both clean we can discuss it.”

Gar gives you both the asked for privacy. He retreats to the other empty room so you and Merrick can dart into the shower. It’s barely big enough for the both of you, but the water is hot, and the pressure isn’t horrible. Once you’re both cleaned up and clothed, all three of you find yourselves back in the main room, sitting around the small pot belly stove, a fire crackling inside of it.

“So?” You find yourself asking, when neither of them make a move to fill the silence. “What are we deciding?”

“Not we,” Gar says, lips twisting wryly. “Just Merrick.”

“What is Merrick deciding then?” You ask, exasperated with the non-answers. You know you’re going to have to deal with this regularly, now that you know what both of them are, but it’s still irksome.

“I need to decide what I should do about Roran,” Merrick finally murmurs, letting you take his hand when you reach for it. “We always have the option to end his life, but I would rather not,” he says, directing his stare straight at Gar. “I want to convince him.”

Gar stares at Merrick, resigned, like he’d never expected another answer. Maybe he hadn’t. According to Faerie standards, or maybe just Gar’s standards, Merrick is apparently easy to read. “Then you’re going to have to figure out a way to draw him in that doesn’t involve cutting my head from my shoulders. He won’t be lured in by us just standing around again either. He’s going to be eager to get us apart, to take you hostage, if need be,” Gar reminds you, with a tip of his head in your direction.

“If he finds me first-”

“I’m going to con—” Merrick starts, and then he’s knocked to the floor, with Gar straddling his prone body and holding a shaking hand over his mouth. You’re on your feet with a shout.

“Don’t make promises you’re not sure you can keep,” Gar bites out. Your heart is racing. You didn’t even see him move, he was just—there. “Don’t leave yourself open to even the possibility of lies. You know better, Merrick. You know better. Don’t let sentimentality cloud your decisions.”

“How about we calm down?” You ask, knowing you likely sound a little silly. You know they can’t lie, you know it does something to them, but it’s- You hadn’t quite realized it was all so serious. The lying.

Gar gets off of Merrick and points a finger directly at you, still staring at his friend. “You have someone else to worry about now. Someone who cares, deeply. You don’t know if you’re going to convince Roran. Try, sure. But don’t—” Gar cuts himself off, and takes a deep breath, letting it out very, very slowly.

“I’m not tired,” he says after a moment. “But you two probably are. Get some rest, I’ll stay up and keep watch.”

That, more than anything else in the last hour, feels utterly surreal. Keeping watch is something that happens in fantasy novels, out in the wilderness, waiting for bandits. You don’t keep watch in an Airbnb, in modern times, waiting to see if a lonely Fae assassin shows up on the doorstep.

“That’s a good idea,” Merrick murmurs, and lets you pull him up to his feet. He still clasps his hand on Gar’s shoulder as he passes, like he doesn’t mind in the slightest that Gar just knocked him to the ground with nary a thought. They’d been close to the fire too, and worry makes the scene play out differently in your head. If Gar had taken one more step forward- You can’t let yourself get angry or defensive about this. They’re faeries and no matter how long you’ve known them, how much they care, you don’t know everything that’s at stake.

“I’ll come back after I grab a few hours rest,” Merrick promises, and escorts you back into the bedroom you’d both claimed as your own. You want to protest, to say you can take the next watch, but even with the Sight now, you’re not sure you would even have a chance of alerting them if someone like Roran showed up. What you’d witnessed in the square, and what you’d seen just now in the main room spelled it out all too well: Human eyes simply can’t move fast enough.

⊱ ────── .⋅ 🜁 ⋅. ────── ⊰

...turn the page?

#exophilia #faerie boyfriend #fae boyfriend #faerie x reader #fairy boyfriend #male faerie x reader #d.darling writes

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melanielocke · 3 years

Text

Lost in the Shadows - Chapter one

Lucie, Cordelia, Thomas and Alastair are spending the summer in a small town at the edge of a forest. Lucie hopes she can finally tell Cordelia how she really feels, while Thomas hopes to get to know Alastair a bit better. Alastair and Cordelia are glad to get some time away from their family and their parents separating. But something is not right in the forest. People are disappearing, and a creature warns Thomas that he is in danger, that a debt to a powerful being has not yet been repaid and they will need to combine all their abilities to stop what’s coming, and save Thomas.

CW: past toxic relationship, past abuse, mentions of alcoholism, PTSD It won't be super gory, but can be creepy

Tag list: @foxglove-airmid @alastair-esfandiyar-carstairs1 @nott-the-best

Tagging @julywood because Thomas is one of the main characters

AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/32505550/chapters/80620474

‘Are you finished packing, Lulu?’

Lucie heard her father’s voice from behind the door of her bedroom, but she didn’t respond immediately. She was working on her story, and needed to finish this chapter so she could email it to Cordelia. She needed to concentrate, and that required blocking out all sounds coming from the outside world. The chapter had taken a bit longer than anticipated and the ghost of one of Cordelia’s dead boyfriends had somehow made its way into the chapter. Fictional Cordelia had had many boyfriends and all had died tragic deaths to make way for the next. She currently didn’t have a boyfriend and Lucie wasn’t planning another one yet. The real Cordelia had only dated her brother James for a while a year ago. Lucie didn’t think she wanted real Cordelia to have a boyfriend either.

The door opened and her father peeked inside. ‘You haven’t started packing at all, have you?’

‘I need to finish my chapter for Cordelia,’ Lucie insisted. ‘She will be stuck in a very long car ride with only Alastair for company and she needs something to occupy herself with.’

Lucie would be staying the summer with her parents in her grandmother’s manor, whereas her grandmother would be traveling to southern Italy with a couple of friends. While Lucie was usually excited about spending her summer there, she had feared it would be lonely considering her brother James wouldn’t be coming this year. He’d graduated school and he and his best friend Matthew were going to travel across the continent by themselves. She’d feared she’d be alone all summer, but then Thomas, her closest friend besides Cordelia, had convinced his parents to travel to the same town this summer, renting a cottage nearby her grandmother’s house.

‘Alright, I’ll pack for you,’ her father said. ‘But if you find your swimsuit or your sparrow plush toy is missing, then I will not be held responsible.’

‘Jack is coming,’ Lucie insisted, referring to her sparrow plush toy she’d once named after Jack Sparrow, and she put her laptop away to put her plush toy in her bag.

After a short moment of contemplation she put her new pink bikini and an older black and red striped one piece in there too. There was a lake close to grandmother’s manor and Lucie expected she’d go swimming regularly. She returned to her laptop, and tried to think of a good ending for the chapter. She didn’t like to end everything in a cliffhanger, but the story needed to remain intriguing.

‘No clothes? Underwear?’ her father asked.

Lucie considered just bringing everything suitable for the summer but realized they didn’t have that much space in the car. So instead she opened her closet, picked out some tops, skirts, dresses and jumpsuits and put them into her bag. She would probably regret leaving something behind later on but there was no time. Just to be sure, she went over the closet again and added a couple more dresses. She couldn’t leave her new yellow wrap dress behind, she’d sent Cordelia a picture of her wearing it a couple of weeks ago after she’d bought it and Cordelia had commented that she looked gorgeous. Lucie suspected it was just Cordelia being nice but the comment had still made her heart run wild.

She added enough underwear to last her several weeks and then went back to adding clothes at random until the bags were full.

‘Done,’ she announced, and she went back to her laptop, finishing her chapter.

Adding in a ghost was a difficult choice, but Lucie had decided fictional ghosts behaved similarly to real ghosts. Lucie had never seen a ghost of a dead boyfriend though. She hadn’t seen Jesse Blackthorn even once since he’d died four years ago.

When the chapter was finished, she emailed it to Cordelia, hoping she would receive it before she and her brother left home. Cordelia had almost not been allowed to come stay with her family this summer, her father tended to be strict and wanted to keep Cordelia at home. There had been some trouble lately at the Carstairs home though, and Cordelia’s mother had decided it would be good for her to go spend time with Lucie. Cordelia’s brother Alastair had decided to come with her, although Lucie wasn’t sure why. Either way, Lucie had decided she and Cordelia were going to have the greatest summer ever.

***

Thomas hadn’t been this excited about going on a vacation with his parents in a while. The small town where they’d be staying sounded boring, and certainly wasn’t the location most boys his age wanted to spend the summer, but then Thomas wasn’t interested in drinking and partying all night and would much rather explore forests and go swimming in lakes with Lucie Herondale. That wasn’t the main reason he was excited though. A week ago, Lucie had confirmed her close friend Cordelia Carstairs would be staying the summer with her, and a couple of days later Lucie had informed him Cordelia’s brother Alastair would be coming as well.

Thomas had gone to school with Alastair for a year, Alastair a year ahead of him, and at the time Alastair had been rather awful, especially to Thomas’ friends James and Matthew. To be fair, Alastair’s jokes about Matthew behaving like his mother were funny. Matthew did behave like his mother, always coming to collect him when he’d spent too much time around Alastair. Why he’d fallen in love with Alastair anyway, he wasn’t sure. He’d been intrigued by the mystery, he guessed, Alastair’s sad eyes and vicious tongue.

But after that year, Alastair had changed schools, and had gone to school with Lucie and Cordelia instead and he’d heard much from Lucie about him. Alastair had defended Lucie from bullies had kept to himself and created this image of someone who was untouchable, no longer a bully, but he would destroy you if you even considered hurting his sister or her friend Lucie. Thomas was once more intrigued. While James and Matthew were still angry, Thomas had decided he must have changed and he was thankful Alastair had protected Lucie, heaven knew that girl knew how to get herself into trouble.

Thomas checked his phone for the millionth time. He was done packing, but his parents were not. Lucie hadn’t send any new texts and Thomas suspected she needed to pack or finish the latest chapter of her novel before her parents left. She’d listed some ideas that might help him spend more time alone with Alastair, although Thomas was not yet sure if he wanted that. He wasn’t out to anyone but Lucie yet, and although he intended to tell his parents, he wasn’t yet sure how. He wasn’t yet sure he was ready for a relationship, and although he liked Alastair, he was also a bit intimidated by him.

Barbara had sent a message, and Thomas opened it. It was a picture of her and Oliver in front of the Eiffel Tower. Barbara and her boyfriend Oliver had gone to Paris to celebrate their two year anniversary and to celebrate Barbara graduating as a nurse.

Thomas texted a response and put his phone in his bag and walked outside, checking to see if his parents needed any help. A couple of gnomes were running around the garden. Thomas didn’t mind them, they took good care of the garden, and were far from dangerous, but they could get up to mischief. He’d learned that whenever cookies, forks or socks went missing, it was usually the garden gnomes. They lived in forests sometimes, but also liked to build their homes in human gardens. Of course, most humans had no idea they were there, but Thomas could see all sorts of strange creatures. Most were harmless, so Thomas never minded much. He didn’t seek out the supernatural, but he didn’t mind its presence.

Both his mother and Barbara had the same gift, and although Eugenia didn’t she had learnt to see the gnomes. Thomas had found out everyone could learn to see the supernatural if they knew what to look for and knew it was out there. Most people didn’t believe so they didn’t see, but Eugenia had grown up with a mother and siblings who saw everything whether they wanted to or not. She had always known what was out there.

Eugenia and her friend Kamala would be spending the summer in India this year, they’d saved up for months for their big trip. Thomas suspected they might be more than just friends but so far Eugenia had not confirmed this.

‘We’re almost done,’ his mother promised, handing him a plate of cookies. ‘Give some to the gnomes, will you? To show them our thanks for taking care of the garden.’

Thomas went into the backyard where even more gnomes had gathered. It was difficult to imagine most people could look at this scene and see nothing out of the ordinary, when several gnomes were running around, holding something shiny in their hands.

‘The car keys,’ Thomas groaned out loud and he put the plate of cookies on the ground.

‘You can have these, but please give me the keys back,’ he said.

The gnomes said something, but Thomas didn’t understand their language, and then attacked the plate of cookies, dropping the car keys in the process. Thomas picked them up before the gnomes realized anything, and picked up the plate as soon as it was empty. Gnomes could be monsters when it came to cookies and they didn’t have table manners, they just attacked any food they saw. Thomas couldn’t blame them.

Thomas quickly washed the plate and put it back with the others before joining his parents again, who were finally finished with everything.

‘Feeding the gnomes again, Sophie?’ his father asked. ‘Are you sure that many cookies are healthy for them?’

His mother shrugged. ‘They’re gnomes, Gideon. Who knows what’s healthy for them?’

His father couldn’t argue with that logic. Thomas wondered if there would be gnomes too at the cottage where they would be staying, or if other creatures would show themselves. Thomas had learned that if there was a myth or any kind of story depicting it, it probably existed somewhere, but most such beings were very rare and so far Thomas had mostly encountered gnomes.

Checking the car one last time to see if they had everything, Thomas got into the passenger seat next to his mother who would be driving, his father behind. Thomas had gotten too tall to fit in the backseat of this car and sitting there for a long drive would be unnecessarily painful. Besides, Thomas was better at reading maps than his father, and if they got lost they would depend on him to find the way.

As they drove, Thomas couldn’t help but think of Alastair Carstairs. Why had he decided to join the Herondales? Thomas didn’t think he was particularly close to Lucie, although he knew Will Herondale had a weak spot for anything that carried the name Carstairs. He wasn’t surprised the Herondales had invited him along. Could he be thinking of Thomas? And would Lucie’s plans to get them to spend time together help, or only make everything worse?

***

‘I cannot get this bag to close,’ Cordelia complained.

‘Perhaps that’s because there’s a limit to how much fits in there,’ Alastair said without looking up.

He was finished packing, of course. Cordelia, on the other hand, had decided she had not yet enough clothes packed and with some suggestions from her mother and aunt Risa had tried to add more.

‘Don’t you have another bag for me?’ Cordelia asked, annoyed.

She loved Alastair, but sharing a room with him was a bit too much and they’d gotten on each other’s nerves. They were currently staying with their aunt Risa, their mother too, but Risa’s apartment was a bit small for all of them. It was a temporary situation and Cordelia hoped that after the summer she and Alastair didn’t have to share a room anymore. At least in the Herondale manor, there were plenty of rooms and Cordelia intended to get one as far away from her brother as possible. Alastair tended to be neat, and his half of the room was always perfectly in order, whereas Cordelia was a bit messier, and both were irritated with the other.

‘You can check if any of my bags have some space left. Or you can leave the bag opened and put it in the car like this and hope it doesn’t end with clothes littered everywhere.’

Cordelia went to the building’s parking garage and to the car and put the bag there, half open, making sure nothing fell out. No one but the two of them would be fitting in there with how much Alastair had packed. Cordelia couldn’t imagine he’d need all that, but she knew better than to attempt to convince her brother he could leave something behind.

Back inside, she saw Alastair sitting on his bed, vaguely staring into the distance as if he was daydreaming.

‘Alastair, stop doing that,’ Cordelia said.

Calling his name usually brought him out even when his senses were closed off from the world around him. Alastair had an ability that Cordelia best described as him being Harry Potter’s pensieve. He could revisit his own memories, and if they allowed it, other people’s memories as well, as well as bring people with him into memories. Alastair tended to stay out of other people’s memories, but could get lost in his own. Outside their family, no one knew about it and Alastair preferred to keep it that way.

The Carstairs family had always been aware of the supernatural, of course. Once their father Elias had carried the magic sword cortana and fought evil creatures with it. That had been a long time ago though, and Cordelia owned cortana now, but she had never used it to fight anything beyond straw men in the backyard. She didn’t have any abilities though, not beyond her connection the sword, nothing like Alastair’s odd memory. Neither of them understood why he was that way.

‘Were you revisiting your break up again?’ Cordelia asked then.

She knew he’d been revisiting that memory over and over lately, although she didn’t understand why. It couldn’t possibly make him feel better, could it? Of course, Alastair wasn’t exactly known for making the healthiest choices when it came to coping.

‘Charles has been texting me,’ Alastair said, his face blank. ‘I made sure that when I broke up with him, I was very clear about not wanting him to contact me. I wanted to see if there was anything I said that might have made my meaning unclear, any invitation for him to keep texting me.’

‘I don’t think Charles has ever listened to a thing you said,’ Cordelia said. ‘That’s his problem, not yours. Have you blocked his number yet?’

Alastair didn’t say anything.

‘You can block him,’ Cordelia insisted. ‘And you should. It’s creepy how he keeps texting you.’

As far as Cordelia was concerned, Charles had been creepy long before that, ever since he began a relationship with her brother despite Alastair only being sixteen at the time when Charles was six years older than him. Charles must have known how wrong and creepy that was, even if Alastair hadn’t.

Alastair hadn’t told anyone about his relationship, not ready to come out yet, which must have been convenient to Charles. Cordelia had only found out four months ago when she’d started to worry about Alastair, how he’d seemed more nervous and prickly than usual, how he’d lost weight from not eating. Reluctantly, Alastair had told her about his relationship, and Cordelia had been horrified to learn just how much abuse he’d accepted, believing that was how relationships worked. After a month of Cordelia trying to convince him of how toxic Charles was, Alastair had broken up with him. She’d been very protective of him ever since finding out, and was glad he’d decided to come stay with the Herondales with her this summer. Some time away from everything would be good for him, right?

Then Cordelia had found out Alastair had been keeping even more secrets from her, this one surrounding their father. Cordelia had always loved her father and looked up to him, a former warrior who’d slain the supernatural horror that had taken his brother and sister in law, a former hero who’d fallen ill in later life. A while ago their cousin Jem, who was a psychiatrist, had visited, despite their father trying to keep him away from their family, and he’d noticed Alastair was not doing well after an anger outburst. Cordelia and her mother had always assumed Alastair’s moodiness and anger outbursts were just him being a difficult teenager, although at eighteen he was getting a bit old for that. Jem, familiar with mental disorders, had recognized symptoms of something more.

He had recommended Alastair see a therapist. After some pressure from both her and Jem, Alastair had gone and he’d been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder. Cordelia had found out father was not sick, but addicted to alcohol instead. Alastair had spent years protecting her from the effects, attempting to take care of father while he was drunk so she have the illusion of a normal childhood. Now that she knew, she guessed she understood a bit better why Alastair had thought what Charles had offered was love.

‘I guess I can block him,’ Alastair said.

‘I’m serious,’ Cordelia insisted. ‘You have to stop revisiting bad memories, you’ll only get hurt again. I don’t like seeing you hurt.’

Alastair took his phone out his pocket, presumably blocked Charles’ number, and put it back.

‘Are you ready to go, Layla?’ he asked.

When Cordelia was young, she’d loved the story of Layla and Majnun her mother used to tell her, and Alastair and her mother had taken to calling her Layla.

‘Ready when you are,’ Cordelia said. ‘Lucie just emailed me the latest chapter of the beautiful Cordelia. I’ll have plenty to do on the way.’

#Alastair Carstairs #Thomas Lightwood #Cordelia Carstairs #Lucie Herondale #Lucelia #Thomastair #tlh #the last hours #fic #fanfiction #paranormal au

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elles-writing · 3 years

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Enchanted - Fili x fem!reader - Cinderella AU

A/N: I recently seen there was Cinderella (2015) in TV, my favourite Cinderella story! (But they are all kind of smashed together, so🤷‍♀️)

This is mainly for lovely @guardianofrivendell , I hope you will like it!

(Also, c'mon. Kili wouldn't even come here.)

This is different style from what I am writing - this is more a fairytale-telling style, but I tried. I'm quite happy quite the result, so I hope you will like it too!

Once upon a time, there was a lovely, beautiful maiden, named Y/N. Though her life wasn't a fairy tale at first glance, sometimes things change the way it seems like one.

There wasn't a time when Y/N didn't thought about her old life, and when did it changed. But she remembered her mother's last words.

The two things that you truly need in your life, are courage and kindness. Remember that, my dear.

Life with her two step-sisters, who argued almost all the time (except for when there were trying to provoke Y/N), and the evil woman who married her kind and selfless father, was, well, interesting, to say at least. It wasn't very exciting, either - her life was constant routine of doing all the chores, and then falling asleep in her little room.

She dreamed of magic, that would make life exciting, and every night, when she looked up for the stars, she would think about a prince, who would run away with her and never come back.

Little did she knew, her life was about to go into a different direction very, very soon.

The day they got the invitations, her sisters were excstatic. One of them told Y/N to prepare them dresses, along for their mother. Y/N thought it was one of birthday partiest of their many friends, and didn't thought much of it. She spended the whole day by sewing and measuring, cutting and measuring once again.

However, when she decided to take a stroll in the evening void of darkness, soft light was coming out of the post box. She curiously stepped closer, and opened it. Her eyes widened when she noticed envelope in heavy, good quality paper. The name and adress on the letter was in beautiful calligraphy, perfect, as if it was made by...

Y/N shook her head. Don't be naive. But the tiny little spark of hope and child-like wonder in her believed it was something magical about it.

She opened the envelope, and took out an...invitation? She curiously red futher, and her eyes widened. It was an invitation for a ball!

With greatest joy, we are happy to announce that prince Fili is ready to find a wife. In occasion of Prince's birthday, there will be thrown celebration, where is invited every daughter of our beautiful kingdom, who is interested in being Prince's wife.

There was also a date and time. Y/N couldn't believe it. She got her invitation. A dreamy smile stretched across her lips, and she started to dance.

She hid her invitation in the pocket of her dress, and quickly hidded it into the back of her drawer.

When the day of the celebration came up, she realized she forgot to make her own dress. She worked on her sisters' and mother's dresses she didn't got enough time to work on her own.

They left, and she was there alone, in the big house. It used to be place full of joy, but now it was empty and sad. Y/N looked around for some dress she could use or alter, but she wasn't that lucky.

She sat to the garden, and her good friends - three cats, who stayed there, and sometimes slept in her room - came with loud meowing.

As if they could talk. It sounds like they are mad, Y/N thought. One of the cats - black cat with golden orbs - studied her face, as if she wanted to give her piece of her mind. But, instead, she started cleaning her paw.

"No, of course not. They aren't home? Oh, as if that - alright, I won't swear, but that woman living here and making her her maid-" Y/N frowned and stood up, carefully walking into the direction of the voice. She found an old woman, talking to little mouse.

"Good evening, c-can I help you?" The woman turned to her.

"Oh, do you happen to have a piece of bread and some milk, dear?" Y/N nodded, remembering the leftovers from dinner.

"Oh, of course we have. I'll be back in a moment," she said. She knew the woman from somewhere - but where did she knew her from?

When she came back, she gave the piece of bread and cup of milk to her. The old woman thanked her, and ate it as if it would be the most delicious thing she have ever eaten.

"What is happening, Y/N? Why that long face?" Y/N looked up on her, and sighed.

"Do you know about the ball, in palace today?" The woman nodded, and Y/N sighed.

"Well, I got an invitation, but...I don't have any decent dress." The woman let out a humming, deeply in thought.

"Well, perhaps I could help you out," she said. Y/N frowned.

"How?" The woman jumped up.

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself, my dear. Let me just-" she stood up and all of sudden, there were tiny little sparks, then falling down as a sparkling dust.

Stardust, Y/N thought.

A young woman stood there, in simple dress with flowing skirt, a wand in her hand, and happy smile on her lips.

"I'm your fairy godmother," she introduced herself. Y/N blinked.

"But they don't exist. It's all just a fairytale," she said. Her fairy godmother furrowed her brows.

"Oh, dear! What are you teaching you these days, tsk," she let out and looked around.

"Do you happen to have, uhm, pumpkins?"

"Oh, uhm, yes, we do, over there-" She pointed to the corner of the garden, where a few pumpkins grew. Her fairy gotmother walked there and curiously eyed each one of them. Then, she took one of them.

"This one will do!" Before Y/N could argue, her fairy godmother tapped the pumpkin by the tip of her wand, and stepped aside.

Y/N's eyes widened, as there wasn't a pumpkin anymore, but a beautiful coach instead. Her fairy godmother looked around once again, and spotted the three cats.

"We also need horses, and stagecoach man..." The cats wanted to run away, but it was too late. All of sudden, there were standing three horses. Y/N runned to them.

"James! Oh, look at you!" She turned to face her fairy godmother, wonder in her face.

"How did you-you really are my fairy godmother," Y/N sighed out. Her godmother proudly smiled, and pointed towards a lizard, sitting on edge of fountaine.

"Well, now we also need...lackey!" She looked around, and spotted a bird, who was eating some tiny bits of leftover bread.

"Now, let's go, my friends, we don't have much time left!" She said with a proud smile on her face.

"Let's go dear! It's going to be really fun, I've heard they have chocolate cakes and-" Y/N catched her hand.

"I would love to, but-my dress, it's-" her fairy godmother turned to her and nodded with serious expression.

"Oh, you're right! Hm, yeah, this could work," she said and the tip of her wand created glittering ribbon in the air as she moved her hand. Little sparks danced across her dress, hair and face, and soon, she had dress she would never imagine even in her wildest dreams. Y/N gasped.

"They are beautiful! How did you-how can I thank you?" Her fairy godmother smiled and tapped the tip of her nose by her wand. Little sparkles fell across Y/N's face, and she let out a giggle.

"You, my dear, will have fun. Thanks to this, your mother and sisters won't recognize you," Her smile became a frown as she looked down.

"What about the shoes? You can't wear these!" Y/N looked down and blushed.

"Well, um, alright, but please no heals, I can't walk in them," the girl admitted rather shyly. The godmother thought about it for a moment, and told Y/N to close her eyes. When she was done, she said she can open them. Y/N gasped - they weren't shoes on heals, they were simple and comfortable, but lovely to look at.

"Now, if anyone asks you your name, tell them you're Cinderella. And remember - the spell will wear off exactly at midnight. Then, everything is going to be just like before." She explained carefully while they walked to the coach. When Y/N stepped inside, she noticed the details. It was surely the most gorgeous coach she've ever seen. She looked out of the window and waved farawell to her fairy godmother. The answer were just tiny little sparks.

When she arrived, there was a music playing already, and she could tell the celebration was in full swing. She peeked inside by the corner of one window, and noticed the Prince - he talked to his brother and seemed rather bored and terrified. Y/N giggled at that thought of the Prince being terrified of dancing with all those women and girls, trying to figure out who will be his future wife.

Prince Fili was rather nervous. He wasn't sure if he should be really there - but as much as he wished to be with his horse on a ride through forests and meadows, he also knew he was doing a favour to both the kingdom, and perhaps himself too. His brother found a lady he was happy with on similar celebration, though the other part of the story was she was the only one, who wasn't falling to his feet after he winked at her and said something flirtatious. Now, he was trying to calm Fili down. Or tried, at least.

"Look, Fee, all those ladies are here, so don't worry. There is a big chance you will find one that will like you for you, and you'll like her too."

"Or not. How did you made it last time?" Kili's face scrunched.

"Well, um, tripping over your feet after you've been trying to flirt with her whole evening, and pouring red wine on her light dress isn't the best way to start a courting, if you ask me." Fili chuckled.

"But it worked out."

"Now I'm not sure which one of you is the older one," their mother said and they both turned to her.

"Fili, dear, don't be nervous. Just be yourself. There is no reason to worry. And you," she turned to Kili,

"Try to not walk while you drink wine," Fili chuckled and Kili rolled his eyes.

"Now, the celebration will start soon, so remember what I said," she added and disappeared into crowd to talk to some of the ladies and their mothers personally.

Y/N walked through the palace, and nobody asked her for her name. Everyone was in awe - who was she? Who was the gorgeous princess?

When she walked in, she was making sure she won't trip over her feet. The whole room went quiet, the musicians stopped playing - and one question filled the air.

'Who is she?'

The Prince turned his attention to where everyone looked - and he realized all those surprised gasps and looks of awe were right.

A beautiful maiden, a young woman perhaps, he couldn't tell, stood there, with soft silver - golden dust on her nose and cheeks, creating sparkling freckles, her hair in soft waves falling over her shoulders, her dress looking as if they were made of stardust itself. Her hands were covered in long white gloves, up over her elbows, with little silver flowers around the edge, and soft smile was spreaded across her face. She started slowly walking down the few stairs, hoping she wouldn't trip over her dress.

She was almost there...

It was all quick - she was suddenly falling down, but instead of meeting the floor, she was met with a pair of strong arms, and deep chuckle above her.

"Careful here. The stairs are tricky," He helped her to stand up and her cheeks burned.

"Prince Fili," She said. A smile spreaded across his face.

"At your service, m'lady," He softly kissed the top of her hand, while looking his blue eyes, deep into her eyes.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Prince Fili," she said with pinkish cheeks. Perhaps the magic gave her courage to say something?

He smiled.

"The pleasure is all mine, my lady. May I ask you for a dance?" She nodded and soon, they were dancing across the dance floor. The music was playing again, and other pairs joined them soon.

"Your dance skills are excellent, my lady."

"You aren't bad yourself," her eyes widened at her sudden courage, but he only laughed.

"Have we met before? I'm sure I'd remembered as good dancer as you, my lady."

"I don't think so, my lord." Fili looked down at her. She was just turning around, as it was another step in the dance.

"Would you tell me your name, m'lady?" He blurted out. He wanted to talk to her whole night. He wasn't interested in all those other women and girls - especially now, when there was her, who he could actually talk to.

"You may call me Cinderella," she said. Fili thought about it. He've never heard this name before, but it was nice to finally adress her properly.

"Well, in that case, lady Cinderella - would you like to slip out to the gardens, so we could talk more in private?" He was waiting for her answer, and when she nodded and said,

"I'd love to, my prince," He breathed out in relief.

"Call me Fili, please," He said, and when they were near the glass doors, leading to gardens, they slipped out without anyone noticing.

They walked through the gardens, and talked about the ball, Fili's life and what not. When they walked around daisies, Y/N carefully picked one up. Fili's eyebrow rose in curiousity.

"There are many other flowers you can pick in the garden, my lady," She shrughed her shoulders.

"I like daisies. They are beautiful, and yet delicate and simple. They may seem ordinary, but I love them," He hummed in response and picked one too.

"May I?" He asked. Y/N nodded, curious what he was about to do. Fili placed the daisy to her hair behind her ear.

"Done," He smiled. He took her hands into his, and she gave him a curious look.

"Can we dance? Just us two, without etiquette," he shrugged his shoulders to make it seem more casual.

"I'd love to," was her answer.

They silently danced for a while, when Y/N frowned.

"Sorry, I just stepped on your toes-"

"It's okay, I actually happened to step on, uhm, all those ladies' toes and..." He looked away with embarassed face and Y/N giggled. Fili gave her a dreamy smile.

"My lady," he said and interwined their hands. Y/N hummed.

"You've been my best company through the whole celebration. I know this may be a bit too fast, but-" A sudden clock strucking sound caught Y/N's attention.

First.

"I-I'm very sorry, Pri-Fili. I've had an amazing time with you, but I have to leave now," She muttered before running through the gardens and around the castle.

Second.

One of her shoes slipped down, but she didn't got the time to take it back. She kept running.

Third.

Her dress were getting lighter and shorter, she noticed soft sparkles in the air around her.

Fourth.

She quickly came into the coach, and they barely made it through gates, before they were closed.

Fifth.

The lizard and little bird were now inside of the coach, the bird flying away.

Sixth.

It's been a short while, before the coach was getting smaller, and Y/N noticed soft smell of freshly cutted pumpkin.

Seventh.

She looked out of the little window. The night was bright, the moon was full, too.

Eight.

Her dress were almost back to how they looked like before, the sparkling dust was out of her hair and away from her face.

Nineth.

Her glowes were away, and the pumpkin crushed. Y/N and the lizard fell down to the ground, where were two cats, but still one horse. Y/N sat up and took all of them with her.

Tenth.

Y/N could see the roof of the house she was coming back to.

Eleventh.

The horse was smaller and smaller, and then he stopped - and Y/N quickly placed them all down, when the horse was a cat again. James.

Twelveth.

And everything was the way it was before. Except for...

Y/N looked down and picked up the shoe. The only thing that stayed the way it was.

The following days, Y/N couldn't stop thinking about the prince. Sure, he was kind and handsome - and that was probably enough for him to stay in her head ever since. But there was something else, which made her sad. He didn't knew her real name.

In palace, Fili was going through all the adresses, just to find out there was nobody with the name 'Cinderella'. He looked up when someone entered the door. It was his younger brother, Kili, who was more likely to catch attention of many maidens, also thanks to his shameless flirting and straight-forward attitude. But he was already courting now, the lady had both sharp tongue and mind, and soft heart. Fili was watching his brother, because he usually didn't had this expression on his face.

"What happened, Kee?" Fili asked. Kili looked over the table, full of mess.

"I will help you to find her," He said.

"I've got an idea." Fili's brows furrowed. This was never a good sign. Kili noticed his expression, and sighed. Fili could tell something was troubling him.

"I know it may be stupid, but what if we would just let all the ladies to try on the shoe?" Fili's eyes widened.

"Kili-"

"Nah, I know it was stupid, sorry Fee-"

"That is the best idea you've ever had!" Kili's eyes widened.

"Wait, what?!" Fili hugged his brother, but soon both their faces scrunched.

"That will take a while," Kili muttered and Fili nodded.

"I will start sooner then. We need to find her!" Fili said and started ordering to get his horse ready.

He won't give up.

It took days, and no maiden fitted the shoe on so far. It was as if the shoe itself was either becoming too big, or too small, so it wouldn't fit. But Fili was determined to find the woman of his heart.

Y/N was living her normal life, back in her old routine. Her mother and sisters would complain about the woman who danced with the prince, that she had him for whole evening and neither of her sisters got to dance with him. She smiled when they couldn't see her.

When after a few weeks Fili found the last house, he had a little spark of hope left. She could be there, but also not.

When they entered the house, two young women were right there. Fili didn't thought much of them, but he let them to try the shoe on. It didn't fitted to any of them, and they were about to leave, when he noticed a person hiding behind the corner.

"Come out, don't be shy," he smiled. When she stepped out, his surprise grew.

"Try the shoe on, m'lady," he said. The young woman nodded, and, surprise surprise, it fitted perfectly!

"So, lady Cinderella," He smiled.

"I'm-my name is Y/N, my lord," She looked down, but he softly lifted up her chin, so she would look at him.

"Only Fili, Y/N. For you always Fili," He stood up, and they stepped out, hand by hand. Y/N could hear her sisters and mother to yell, how was it possible - but it felt like it was far, far away.

Fili and Y/N came back to the castle, where they had beautiful wedding. When the time came up, they ruled the kingdom with kindness and justice. The people of the kingdom couldn't wish for better King and Queen.

And that all thanks to kindness and courage of heart, but also some sprinkles of magic...

#fili x reader #filixreader #fili #the hobbit #the hobbit fanfiction #cinderella au #kili #au #kili x reader #the durins au #kili durin #fili durin #dis #fili fluff #fili friday

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ecclais-fouoras · 3 years

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Sometimes moving on is good

Chapter 10&11

(11&12 on wattpad)

Chapter 9 here

Somehow both of you had managed to get your vacation at the same time, and you were planning to surprise Diane with a trip during the two weeks off you both had.

She was collecting strawberries in her garden and you were watching her from the window like you usually did when she was out. This time you decided to have fun and go find her to help. It was the morning and your flight wasn't before the afternoon.

You dressed to go out and came out the house and behind her so you could surprise her with soft kisses.

Your hands pulled her hair to the side as you pressed your mouth against the back of her neck, moving further to her jawline nibbling her skin quietly as your hands caressed her sides greeting her by kneading both her breasts.

"Oh hello there...what are you doing ?" She playfully asked as she giggled.

"Well I Wanted to meet my neighbor have you seen her anywhere ?"

"Haha very funny...are you single by any chance ?"

"Yes I am, just don't tell my girlfriend I said that."

She set her box down before turning around and pointing at her house

"I think she lives here but most of the time she spends at her girlfriends house"

"Oh really ? Her partner must be a very nice person"

"Not really she's quite annoying I've heard"

You pretended to be offended for a second before replying.

"hah babe ! I am not annoying..."

She kissed the pout on your face and rested her arms around your shoulders to hold you while yours circled her waist. You both held each other for a few minutes, or was it hours ? Just enjoying the feeling of your bodies against each other, being close.

Her head resting against your neck as the sun was heating her skin keeping you in a warm embrace.

"Are you done with the strawberries ?"

"Almost why ?"

"I'll give you a hand so we can go home quicker"

"Okay we'll get started then"

"I will"

She bent down to pick up the box filled with the red fruit and you smacked her ass as she yelped, "hey !"

"Oops I thought there was a fly right there, wait here it is again" you said before slapping her again before grabbing her by the hips and pulling her close. She moaned at the feeling of your leg between hers.

"What is it about strawberries that gets you going like this y/n ?"

"I'm pretty sure it's not the strawberries."

"Well.. what Then ?"

"It's the paints"

She got up and began picking the berries up and placing them in her basket. You caressed her butt one last time before adding.

"Yeah...it's definitely the paints"

"Get to work y/n"

You took your own box and mimicked her movements. Filling your box up you picked one and brought it to your lips to have a bite.

"Hey put that down"

"Try me" you ate the fruit, moaning at the taste of it.

"You didn't even rince it, that's nasty"

"No it's not, besides you don't put any chemicals in this, it's good for my immune system"

"Yeah it'll be good when you have a little worm growing inside you, y/n"

"Whatever you say babe... At least

Come on and have a taste"

You picked one up again this time holding it between your teeth and moving your head closer to diane's, pausing in front of her lips, waiting for her to bite down on it.

"It's silly y/n"

"Mmf...comMfe..on" after some esitating she finally tasted the strawberry before you spit out the leaves and kissed her softly.

She giggled the sugary taste making your kiss more special.

"I'm really not going faster with you distracting me"

You got back to gardening, and once there was no more ready fruits you both went back to the house, hand in hand except for the recipient you held.

After some washing and tidying up you floped down on the couch her upper body resting on your lap as you massaged her temples with on hand and played with her hair with the other one.

"Baby ?"

"Mmm?" She groaned eyes still shut.

"Sit up please I gotta fetch something reel fast"

"Okay.." she sat up and waited as you disappeared to your office for a second.

You came back with your keys and put on your shoes at the bottom of the stairs.

"Can you grab your coat and put on your shoes again ?"

"Wh..wh..what's going on ?"

"Just trust me babe ?"

"..the things I do for you"

"Take your phone and keys too and meet me in the car baby"

"Wait...y/n !?? Where are we going ?!"

Chapter 11

WARNING ⚠️ SMUT (very slight mommy kink nothing too crazy)

You were both driving to the airport and you had managed to get her to bandage her eyes for the trip, after waiting at the airport you finally had hopped in the plane your baggages in the hold.

The flight was calm and Diane didn't complain about being blinded, your hand was on her thigh, keeping her grounded through contact.

When you were almost there you decided it would be too stupid not to let her see the landscape from up here especially since you weren't sure it would be this sunny when you left. So you tapped her shoulder before whispering in her here that you were going to take it off. She blinked a few times at the sudden light around her, she confusedly looked at you before you said

"I couldn't let you miss this"

Pointing out the small window as you were passing the few lakes and swamps surrounding the colorful fields.

"Oh good...this is beautiful y/n...where are we ?"

"..well this is...ouh you almost had me... nice try baby"

"I had to try"

"You'll find out soon we're almost here"

The rest of the time was calm between the few kisses you shared and the ones you pressed to her neck while your fingers rode up and down her thigh.

When the flight was over you got back your stuff and found the car you'd rented.

You took of her blindfold and she gasped

"Y/n are we in france ????!"

"Really ? What gave it away ? Let me guess the car's plate"

"Well there's an F and the shops have french names"

"Then Yes we are "

"I don't even know what to say y/n...i.. I'm..thank you I guess"

"No need to thank me..baby i wanted to take you on a trip so here we are. Don't get to comfortable cause we are driving for an hour an a half maybe"

"We ? Oh honey you are driving"

"How come ?!"

"It's your trip and I don't know where we're going"

"True"

After driving for around 1h15 you arrived where you were staying, it was a small farm that you had rented, away from the city but not to far so you'd still be able to go visit some stuff. It was a quiet place surrounded by fields and Forests.

"My god baby this place is Wonderful, how did you find this ?!"

"My grandma lives a few minutes away, I used to ride my bike here when I was 5."

She looked saddened all of the sudden for some reason and you couldn't help but hold her in your arms for a second before asking her what was wrong.

"..will you teach me ?..how to ride I mean"

You pulled back slightly raising your brows

"You don't need any help riding me ?...Oh you meant the bike"

"Yes I did you pervert...m..my mother never took the time to teach me"

"Well it'll be my pleasure, surely we can borrow my grandma's we hen we go there tomorrow"

"Wait...what ?"

"It was supposed to be a surprise so you wouldn't be anxious but your meeting my family tomorrow, we're having dinner at their house".

"Why didn't you tell me !? Y/n ! You know how I need to prepare for these...do they know how old I am ? What are they gonna think ?"

"Diane calm down baby..they know all that already they don't care as long as you make me happy and I love you...now let's put these inside I want to show you around before we settle in."

You both put your things inside the house and got ready for a small walk outside.

You went buy the animals that were there, a few goats, donkeys, horses and normand cows all enjoying their grass behind the wooden fence. She looked around eyes shining with amazement, feeding the animals and holding your hand as you went through the small paths protected by the leaves, the sun shining through them leaving dots of light on her face and her bare shoulders. You found a spot near a small fountain where you dipped your feets inside the cold Water, snuggled together while listening to the sounds of birds chirping and animals running though the trees. Your eyes Met each other and you were both driven by the desire to press your lips together, bodies tightly wrapped against each other, you started making on on the soft grass, the green plants tickling her ears as you started prepping up on your elbows on both sides.

Lips trailing downward to her neck, biting collarbones, hands running over her body, curves finding her hair to cup her cheek lovingly. Her breath getting shallower by each pressing of your lips, each touch of your fingers against her skin, eyes flying closed as she enjoyed the feeling of having you have her here.

The sun warming up her skin and water drowning out her sounds, little whimpers fell out of her mouth as you took your breast in one hand, lips starting their way down her body. Taking of her shirt and bra, leaving her chest available for your wet attacks, sucking her nipples as she moaned against you.

Your hands playing with each of her buds while you went down on her, she shivered in anticipation when she felt you take off her panties with your teeth, before she opened her legs welcoming you with her dripping pussy.

"So wet for me my baby"

".. please...I'm close already"

You wasted no time devouring her, between the soft licks on her clit and the sweet sucking of her lips, you had her on the edge quickly, her hips grinding hard against your jaw, fist grabbing anything she could hold, the grass, your hair, her skirt.

"Does that fell good baby ?"

"Uh..uh B..BABE...Y/N I..I'm gonna cum ....AH.!!"

she came when you entered her with two fingers, curling them inside her clenching walls. Bending her back until she snapped shaking in your arms, Your teeth grazing the skin there, drinking up her juices.

You looked up and pulled her panties back on and her skirt back up before coming up and kissed her while whispering.

"I love you"

You walked back to the house after she regained some strength, settling your things in the room before fixing each other something to eat, after you were both finished you washed the dishes while she looked outside again, admiring the landscape.

"I'm done sweetie do you want to go in the jacuzzi ?"

"There's a jacuzzi ?"

"Well it's a hot tub, outside but still"

"Baby i don't have any swimsuit"

"That's a good thing I packed one for you then"

"Well in that case lead the way"

She put on the two piece you'd picked for her, it was a green color that complimented well her red hair, and hugged her curves perfectly. And you had your swim shorts with a bikini top.

"Baby you look so hot in this Diane"

"you know me well babe it's a nice color"

"Hop in then babe, the waters warm just how you like it"

You lented your hand to help her in and she settled herself on your lap, straddling your things.

"There was plenty of room not that I'm complaining but you didn't have to sit here"

"I can get off if you want"

"Well I'm not stopping you if you wanna get off on me like.. go ahead I'll be happy to watch."

"You know what I meant, I can get off of you"

"I don't want you to"

"Good, me neither"

She began kissing your neck while her hands untangled your bikini straps fingers dancing on your nipples as you moaned.

"Let me make you feel as good as you did mommy" she was shocked at the words that came out of her own mouth, never would you had thought it was something that turned her on but you have her a reassuring smile and went on.

"Well go ahead then"

Her hands went down while she kept nibbling your collarbones, underneath your shorts immediately circling your clit, digits dragging through your folds, she build up the pace and grounded her hips down on your thighs, also getting wet from the interaction.

"Go ahead...baby...fuck yourself on mommy's lap"

After a few minutes you both came moaning each others name, her hips grinding with force on your lap, her fingers stroking you in rythme. You rested your head against hers breaths evening out, hands caressing her hair.

"This is going to be a great vacation"

"I love you y/n"

"Me too baby..me too"

#sarah paulson fanfiction #diane sherman x reader #diane sherman #sarah paulson characters

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emmelineparker308 · 4 years

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Father Dearest Part 4

Fandom: Harry Potter: Golden Trio Era Pairing: Harry Potter x reader Summary: Your third year at Hogwarts is about to start and with it come a lot of new changes. Harry, your best friend and crush, is in trouble from some man named Sirius Black. You try desperately to keep Harry safe but what happens when you find out some heartbreaking, mind shattering information about your father? Warnings: angst, long writing lol! A/N: Enjoy! Please like and reblog if you like it!!

“Did you hear about what happened to (Y/L/N) during DADA?”

“Oh my god, do you think that she is being abused at home?”

“I knew it, I knew that there was something off about her.”

These were the whispers that followed you around for the rest of the week. Harry, Ron and Hermione would throw a dirty look at anyone that even dared to look at you wrong and maybe due to that, and the fact that other more threatening news was flooding Hogwarts, the incident that occurred in the DADA class was forgotten from almost everyone’s mind.

The only thing you had been looking forward to after Moony’s class was Hagrid’s first lesson. Looking forward to it seems to be too happy a phrase to use. You had heard from Fred and George who already had their Care for Magical Creatures class that Hagrid had them caring for some crazy dangerous creatures. In fact, most of the castle was muttering about Hagrid’s lessons and you were apprehensive of what monstrous creature Hagrid would introduce to your lot. To make matters worse the Gryffindors were paired with the Slytherins for Magical Creatures. After the encounter in Lupin’s class Malfoy had been a bit more reserved in talking back in class but you were sure his tongue was going to wag in Hagrid’s class. As you made your way down to Hagrid’s hut you found that the Slytherin Prince was already there, barking all sorts of rubbish that is puny crew was lapping up. Pansy Parkinson, a toad of a girl, was hanging on every word that drew from his lips.

“Wait till my father hears about this, that Dumbledore’s got this oaf teaching class. Honestly this whole school is going to hell,” he stated disgustingly as Hagrid was fixing something up in his garden. Harry who heard the remark turned around fuming, you had to grip his arm and hold him back before he launched himself a Malfoy.

“What is it Potter? Got something to say?” he taunted Harry.

“Last I checked your father was sacked from being a governor of Hogwarts after threatening the other governors. So, having your now unemployed father hear about the news of Hagrid’s post doesn’t really carry that much weight,” you recounted as the gryffindors sniggered and Malfoy turned red. You knew that the Malfoy’s were rich beyond measure and that his father technically didn’t need a job to survive, however it still managed to bruise Malfoy’s ego.

“At least I have a father, what was it that the boggart said? Right, ‘You’re scum, and I never wanted you’,” Malfoy stated smirking at the effect those words had on you. You froze up beside Harry, and Harry seizing the chance of you letting go of his arm grabbed his wand and threw a spell at Malfoy.

Malfoy was about to retaliate when Hagrid came walking towards you booming, “What’s goin on ‘ere? You lot be’er not be causin’ ‘rouble ‘his early in.” Hagrid lead you into a clearing at the edge of the forest and went on to explain what the lesson was for today.

You who had been beaming at him to show your support felt a pricking sensation in the back of your head. It was a sensation you had grown accustomed to over the past summer, a feeling of being watched. You didn’t know what it was but the past summer when you were taking your nighttime walks or when you were running errands for Remus on the weeks of the full moon you would feel this weird sensation. Nothing ever came of it, you would turn around constantly, checking your surroundings yet you would find nothing, no one was watching you. You didn’t want to alarm Remus, who (you were sure) would lock you up in the house all summer had you disclosed this information to him.

The feeling stopped the last few weeks of summer vacation, you were sure that due to all the excitement and busyness of packing up for Hogwarts you mind simply didn’t have time to make you feel uneasy. However, the feeling was back, you instinctively turned around, you were met with nothing but trees and shrubs. There was a slight rustling of a shrub but just then a sudden breeze had started from nowhere and you heard Harry scream. When you turned your attention back to the class you saw Harry riding on a Hippogriff. Had Harry not looked like he was going to vomit, the site would have been majestic. You knew all about the hippogriffs having stumbled across an old Care for Magical Creatures textbook of Moony’s. You were slightly jealous that Harry got to ride one, and even more impressed at Hagrid for not showing a dangerous creature. Sure, the Hippogriffs may look intimidating, and yes they can cause serious harm but that’s only if you were daft enough to disrespect them.

As Harry touched down, you along with the rest of the Gryffindors cheered. Harry was placed back onto the ground by Hagrid and you were about to get his attention to ask for a ride yourself when Malfoy pushed you out of the way. Thankfully, Dean was able to catch you before you met the floor. “Yeah, you’re not scary at all are you, you big chicken,” you heard Malfoy confidently strut to the Hippogriff. Before any of you could stop it, Malfoy was attacked, and Hagrid was fussing over him saying that Malfoy would be fine. It took ‘Mione and you to scream that Malfoy needs to go to the hospital wing for Hagrid to snap out of his panic and carry the oaf who was now moaning in pain. Dean who had been holding you still, let go of you almost as if you were made of hot iron and apologized under his breath and sprinted to catch up with Seamus.

You were about to yell out thank to Dean for catching you when you turned around and realized the reason for Dean’s sudden odd behavior. Harry was still watching Dean with an emotion that you were not able to place filling the green irises that you were so familiar with.

“How much trouble do you reckon Hagrid’s gonna be in?” Ron asked as you all made your way towards the castle.

“I don’t know. Knowing Malfoy’s father, we haven’t heard the last of this,” you somberly stated.

The next few weeks went by in a blur, Malfoy moaned over his arm, which in your opinion had nothing wrong with it. You saw him catch a piece of parchment you had thrown at him with his bandaged hand without so much a thought, or a bit of pain. He just put on a show whenever he thought people weren’t paying enough attention to him. The oaf. Urgh. You would purposely throw things at him and place heavy books atop his “broken arm” whenever you had the chance. Alright you suppose it was very mean to laugh in his misery but in your opinion had he just listened to Hagrid’s instructions nothing would have happened. Hagrid obviously felt awful and kept apologizing, but Malfoy was still a git about it. He was going on and on about how he was going to have Hagrid sacked and Buckbeak killed. Once he said it very loudly in front of Hagrid that it brought the happy giant man to tears. You, being the ever so kind and patient person, you were, “accidentally” pushed Malfoy into Bowtruckle dung while he was still laughing getting dung even into his mouth.

Aside from Malfoy there was a rather awkward situation that occurred between Harry, McLaggen and you. McLaggen was a showy upperclassman, he was the epitome of the stereotypical Gryffindor. Tough, and brash, but not exactly the brightest of the bunch. He stalked up to you during one morning, chest puffed out and toothy grin plastered over his face. To you he resembled more of an ape than a boy but that didn’t stop some girls from eyeing him. “Hey (Y/N),” he charmed as he pushed Harry and you apart and sat down between you.

“Top of the Mornin’ to ya, McLaggen,” you sarcastically stated. Harry and Ron snickered at the disinterest in your voice but McLaggen clearly didn’t get the hint (again nOt tHe bRiGhTeSt bUlB)

“Listen so the Hogsmeade trip is coming up,” he started.

“Is it? I didn’t know you could read a calendar,” you retorted but he chose to ignore your statement.

“I know that this is your first trip to Hogsmeade and for a bird it’s just sad to go alone. I know that you’re probably fretting over it but not to worry, you to accompany me,” he finished his proposition. You were actually dumbfounded for a second at his remark. He hadn’t even asked you out, he told you that you can go with him.

“McLaggen, though I’m sure that would be, er- well fun isn’t the right word, tolerable, it would be tolerable. I will not be going alone. However, if I ever find the need to be in the company of a donkey, I’ll let you know,” you hotly stated and walked away.

“Mate she just called you an arse,” you faintly heard George bellow out over the laughter that filled the Great Hall.

Soon it was time for your first ever Hogsmeade trip. You offered to stay with Harry when you realized that he wouldn’t be able to go with you, but he told you to go have fun. While on the way to Hogsmeade you noticed Ron nervously looking at you, he always looked like he wanted to say something but after sneaking a peak at Hermione he opted to stay quiet. Once you got to the village even Hermione started acting odd, glaring at you every once in a while. Upon getting the clue, you jogged on ahead of them, citing that you wanted to buy Harry something and went into Zonko’s Joke shop. As you made your way out of Honeyduke’s you felt an arm wrap around you, but no one was near. Vanilla and Pine Cones. “Harry, no way, how?”

“Fred and George gave me this wicked map,” he explained getting out of his cloak. “It showed me a great route to take without alerting Filch.”

“Great. I was starting to get bored. Let’s go into Three Broomsticks and get a butterbeer. I’ve never tried one,” you stated while dragging him along with you.

“Where’s Ron and Hermione?” Harry asked as you found an empty booth in the corner. Madame Rosmerta, the bartender had given you a rather weird look when you went to counter to place the order.

“They were acting odd once they got here. I decided to leave them alone,” you stated. Your butterbeers came and you both drank the liquid, letting it fill you with warmth. You dragged Harry around with you through the entire village. From Honeyduke’s Harry brought enough sweets to last till Christmas, you had made a comment on it when he said that more than half of it was for you. From Zonko’s you brought Ron the Screaming Yo-Yo he had mentioned wanting. You even walked over to Madam Pudifoot’s but one look at the pink exterior and you pulled Harry with you in the opposite direction.

“Harry,” Hermione exclaimed, as Ron and she came out of the joke shop. Ron looked rather glum until you handed him your package. He opened it and almost tackled you onto the ground in a hug.

Hermione rolled her eyes at the action and kept talking to Harry, “How did you get here?”

“Never mind how,” Ron laughed, “Harry, we’ve got to go into Zonko’s there’s some wicked stuff in there for pranks.” As Hermione hit Ron, you noticed Madame Rosmerta outside of her pub.

“Hey ‘Mione, look who it is,” you diverted their attention to the bartender who was talking to the Minister of Magic, he was looking rather intimidated by her antics. You looked over at Ron who was very red in the face as Hermione took to teasing him about his crush on dear old Rossie.

“Sirius Black?” you heard her say over the chipper of the crowd. Almost immediately you felt movement from you back and you knew Harry was making a beeline for Three Broomsticks. Without another thought you placed an invisibility charm on yourself and walked in Harry’s footsteps.

“Sirius Black? Come now Minerva why would he be coming to Hogsmeade of all places?” you heard Rosmerta ask as McGonagall started to explain the horrendous crimes that Black did. You huddled in a corner far away from everyone in the room but still close enough to hear the conversation. You felt a warm presence next to you that you guessed to be Harry.

“In the darkest times, when James and Lily Potter had to go into hiding Sirius Black was appointed as their secret keeper. He was the only one in the world that knew about their whereabouts, and when it came time to, he betrayed them,” McGonagall explained as tears welled up in your eyes.

Poor Harry must be going through a tsunami of emotions right now, you worried. Knowing that Sirius Black was after him was one thing but now realizing that he was the sole reason his parents were killed must be doing a number on him. You could tell he was shaking, and you felt around for his arm and held on to it.

“So, you think what? That he wants to finish the job You-Know-Who started and kill the boy?” Rosmerta questioned.

McGonagall’s lips stretched into the thinnest line you had ever seen, “Rosmerta the fact of the matter is that he still remains Harry’s godfather. Not only that, that poor girl (Y/N), she has no clue of course.” Your head was spinning from all the revelation that was happening but at your name your ears perked up.

“Oh, that lovely doll, the one with brown eyes and black hair,” Rosmerta added, “I just saw her in my shop, she’s a splitting image of her mum, it made me tear up a bit. I will say her eyes and that hair, that she got from her father. She reminds me so much of her mother, even smiles the same way. (Y/L/N) was such a wonderful woman.”

“”Metra, my dear,” Fudge interrupted, “The lass has no idea that her mother was Estella (Y/L/N) and that her father is Sirius Black.”

Taglist: @missmulti @may-machin @magicalaquarian @junkersandroadies-son @prongsyy @cute-but-weirdo @lozzybowe @minecraftlover444 @selmeuuh @play-morezeppelin @ilovespideyyy @wecouldbreakthedistance

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frostmarris · 4 years

Text

Day 7: Knights, Dragons, and Druids

Pairing: Shikamaru Nara/Sakura Haruno/Kimimaro Kaguya

Rating: Teen & Up

Content Warning: some peril I guess but thats about it

Additional Tags: Medieval Fantasy, Plant Magic, other magical creatures, sakura is stubborn

Summary: Sakura makes a discovery that probably should have been left a secret.

Notes: ok i lied, one last entry for the @naruto-fantasy-week

I've had about 1k of this written for months and months and it just so happened to fit the last prompt almost perfectly. Sakuras not a druid but theres def some plant based magic going on

This is TECHNICALLY the first chapter to a multichapter fic, but im just gonna leave it as a oneshot for now and maybe come back to it one day

Enjoy!

Violet Lines

The morning sun barely reaches over the top edges of the stone wall surrounding the castle gardens, daybreak just beyond and peeking into view. Birds chatter and sing as they welcome the sun and, if she listens closely, she can almost hear the sounds of the morning market far, far behind her on the other side of the palace.

The castle is already awake and bustling, but there's no one else out in the gardens just yet - at least no one who might stop her.

Sakura spares a moment to watch the first few rays of daylight make their arrival before she continues onward, glancing over her shoulder only a handful of times as she passes between rose hedges and meticulously maintained trees, winding her way through the garden on a path she'd long-since memorized. The skirt of her gown drags over the grass and the toe of her riding boots occasionally peek out from under the fabric as she walks, her steps light and leaving the earth as undisturbed as possible.

She spies one of the groundskeepers pruning a bush of peonies and ducks behind a tree despite knowing he's unlikely to try to deter her.

(It's even less likely that he knows where she's going.)

Waiting until his head is turned, Sakura hurries forward and passes more flower hedges, smiling to herself at the scent of the blooms and the way a breeze makes them dance and bow to her. She's almost to her destination, close to the wall and the more open expanse of the garden behind her. Ducking under a low hanging branch, her fingers trail over the bark of the tree until her hands meet a ripe peach, gently plucking it free with a pleased hum before she carefully slips it into her satchel - a treat for later.

As the vegetation grows more dense and the sounds of the castle seem to become more muted, Sakura finally arrives at the cluster of cherry trees, low branches almost braided together with how closely they're entwined, creating a twisted wall of tree and leaves. Undeterred, she reaches out to gently brush her fingers over one of the branches, politely stepping back as the trees seem to shudder.

There's a low groan and a rustling of leaves as the trunks twist and turn outwards towards her, the branches untangling and bowing away to reveal the curtain of ivy covering a sturdy oak door, set into the stone wall. The vines and leaves raise on their own, pulling away from the door to allow her access and bunching up out of the way. Smiling, Sakura reaches for the smooth, golden handle, the finish unfaded despite how many times she'd traced her fingers over the curve and delicate filigree over the years.

The door opens easily and silently, a cool breeze gently blowing her hair back as it travels through the passage to meet her. Hitching up her skirts, Sakura assuredly steps inside, the ivy and cherry tree branches returning to their prior positions as she pulls the door shut behind her.

The cobblestone path is covered with patches of thick moss that creep up the sides of the walls, the passage just wide enough for her to reach her hands out on either side of her body and her fingers just barely graze the stone. More vines and branches arch overhead, lining the domed ceiling of the passageway and nearly fooling her into thinking she's merely walking under a canopy.

But no daylight permeates through the foliage and her hidden path would be bathed in darkness were it not for the fluorescent mushrooms that dotted the ground and walls here and there, bathing her way in a soft blue light.

The space does not match what should be on the outside, her path straight for much longer than the width of the stone wall, but she's long since stopped trying to make sense of it.

As she walks, Sakura begins to gather the skirt of her gown in front of her then awkwardly tuck it between her legs, miraculously managing to not trip all the while before she reaches behind her to grab the two halves. Bringing the fabric back around to her front, she ties it off and successfully girds her loins, revealing the brown leggings she wears underneath. By the time she starts folding her long sleeves up to her elbows as well, the path begins to slope downwards slightly, just barely at first before the cobblestone path becomes steps as the decline increases.

It's silent save for the sound of her breaths and her footsteps, her boots occasionally meeting stone rather than moss. The path levels out after a minute or so and Sakura pulls a ribbon out of her satchel, beginning to tie her long, loose hair up and out of the way. The braided plaits at her temples help keep her hair back, but it's the golden circlet that stops her bangs from falling into her eyes.

By the time she's satisfied, her ascent begins, more cobblestone steps appearing in front of her as the passage takes her upwards once more. The path levels out again after a couple of minutes, the steps ending just feet away from another oak door. Several clusters of those glowing mushrooms grow around the doorframe and Sakura simply reaches for the handle, easily pushing it open. Daylight greets her as she exits the secret path, entering a small clearing in the forest.

A thick ring of trees and underbrush surround the large cherry blossom tree in the center of the meadow and a branch lowers towards her, offering Sakura a handhold as she steps through and out of the door embedded in its trunk. She knows she's fairly deep in the woods, far deeper than anyone in the castle or the town dare enter, but she greets the forest with a smile, closing the door behind her. Moonflower vines move to cover the door once more, having pulled away as they sensed her approach, and the large leaves spiral around the trunk of the cherry tree so thickly, the bark is almost invisible.

The tree stands alone, no wall or path behind it, and leaves no suggestion of the passageway it hides. It's a mystery she's simply chalked up to magic, no longer concerned with its origin or purpose after years of using the hidden doors to visit the woods. She knows it's her own secret treasure - why else would her namesake hide the doors?

Listening to the rustling of leaves in the wind and the singing birds above, Sakura continues onward through the clearing and into the forest, fairly certain of her destination. The tall bushes and shrubs that create a makeshift wall between the ring of trees shake and pull away as she approaches, creating a clear path for her.

"You're worrying your lady in waiting sick, you know."

She'd only made it about five steps out of the clearing and into the trees when the familiar voice greets her and Sakura can't hold back her surprised gasp, turning sharply to the right. She spots him almost instantly, the sunlight that's broken through the canopy glinting off of his armor as he leans against a nearby tree with crossed arms.

He's not wearing his full set, just the breastplate and pauldrons, so his tired expression is on clear display as he eyes her with an almost disapproving look.

"And you, Sir, shouldn't be sneaking up on a lady on her lonesome in the woods." She cuts back, turning on her heel to continue onwards. "Now, if you'll excuse me."

Shikamaru sighs, running his gloved hand over his hair, pulled back high in his usual style, as he pushes off from the tree and follows after her.

"You shouldn't even be out here, Sakura." He calls after her, delving slightly into that rather inappropriate air of familiarity - as he always did when they were alone. "Especially not on your own."

She doesn't reply, but does slow her pace slightly to allow him to catch up to her, listening to the sound of his footfalls on the forest floor - heavy and loud compared to her own.

Sakura doesn't question how he managed to get here before her. The walk through the hidden passage always takes much longer than it feels, but she's surprised he's finally managed to find the exit after all this time. She used to be able to make it to the woods and back without seeing hide nor hair of the captain of her personal guard, but he'd been getting better and better at finding her over the years.

"What are you even doing out here?" Shikamaru asks, at her side but just a pace behind her. He's eyeing what she’d done to her dress, obviously disapproving but not making any comments in regards to it.

"Running errands," She replies, his arm held out for her to hold as she climbs over a raised tree root.

"What errands could a princess possibly have in the middle of a forest?"

"I just need to grab a few morels," Sakura states matter-of-factly, smiling as she spots a pair of nightingales flit down to lower branch closer to them. "There's supposed to be a really good patch of them out this way."

"Mushrooms? " Shikamaru asks incredulously, rubbing a hand over his face. "That's what all this trouble is for? Mushrooms that I'm sure the kitchens already have on hand?"

She doesn't answer and simply picks up her pace, very pointedly not looking at the knight.

Groaning in frustration, he follows after her and easily catches up, his frown deepened after a moment.

"Wait a moment ," Shikamaru says suddenly as it seems to click. "This is for that witch isn't it?"

"She's been sick the past week and mentioned them the last time I visited, so I thought I'd surprise her," Sakura avoids addressing the part where he said 'witch', acting as if she was just out getting a gift for a friend - which she was.

"Sakura."

"Just because she lives outside of the town and she frequents the forest and she makes the occasional potion and everyone avoids her, doesn't mean she's dangerous!"

Shikamaru is in front of her in a few large strides, reaching out to rest his hands on her shoulders.

"But it does make her a witch." He says, his expression both concerned and disapproving.

But she simply gives an annoyed huff and pushes past him, obviously done with the conversation.

"Are you going to accompany me on my troublesome errand for my wretched, evil friend, or not?" Sakura calls back, ducking under a particularly low-hanging tree limb.

Sighing with all the weight of the world, Shikamaru takes off after her - uncomfortable with how deep into the forest they were heading, but not about to leave her anytime soon.

The further into the woods they went, the more it seemed to come alive. The canopy shakes and dances in a breeze that blows over the treetops, high above, and the creatures of the forest call and chatter, their voices and footfalls echoing through the trees.

Sakura's expression lights up as the first small, glowing creature appears and approaches her, leisurely flying in her direction and stopping just in front of her. It's body is almost indecipherable through the bright yellow glow, lost in the light like a firefly in the evening. But the pixie's wings are much easier to spot, long and thin like a dragonfly.

It circles her head a few times as she walks, chattering on in a voice that sounds like tiny bells, and a quick glance behind her confirms that Shikamaru is still following her in blissful unawareness.

Unable to either see or hear the pixie, he sends Sakura's back a confused look when she whispers something to herself and is completely lost to the fact that she’s asking a tiny flying creature for directions.

Sakura, however, can easily understand the tinkling bells of the pixiespeak and smiles brighter as it leads her further into the woods, more colorful, glowing pixies appearing through the trees to join them. They fly around Sakura with a chorus of happy, ringing bells, some moving in to land and rest on her head or shoulders while others curiously inspect her guard.

A few occasionally pinch or prod at any exposed skin or tug on the hair at the nape of his neck, their laughter ringing louder whenever he reaches to swat at what he thinks are bugs.

Shikamaru glances around in confusion more than once, trying to find the pesky mosquitoes that seem to be more interested in him than the princess. But he can't spot any pests swarming around him and doesn’t even hear buzzing near his ear when something stings his earlobe, his grimace growing with every moment.

Fortunately for him, they soon arrive at a large, moss-covered boulder, a huge cluster of morel mushrooms circling around the base of the stone.

Grinning and whispering a quick thank you to her pixie guide, Sakur moves to crouch down next to the mushrooms and opens her satchel, pulling out a small knife and a large handkerchief. She begins cutting and collecting several of the edible mushrooms, placing them carefully on the handkerchief and vaguely hearing Shikamaru move to lean against a nearby tree.

"Did you steal that from the kitchen?" He asks with a sigh when he notices the knife, sounding more tired than chastising.

"I'm only borrowing it," She answers, rolling her eyes but still smiling. A few of the pixies leisurely fly around the large stone while others move to land and sit on some of the mushrooms, pointing out the best ones for Sakura to harvest. Before long, she has a plentiful collection and carefully ties up the ends of the cloth, packaging away the fungi and slipping it all back into her satchel.

Before she puts the knife away, she grabs the peach from earlier and cuts it in half, digging out the pit and tossing it off into some nearby shrubbery before cutting a few small slices off of one of the peach halves. She sets those on a flat patch of moss on the boulder before carefully slipping the knife back into the satchel pocket.

Straightening up, she tosses the full half to Shikamaru and starts eating the remainder, a chorus of happy bells behind her as most of the pixies move in to enjoy their treat.

He catches the peach half easily and sends her a raised eyebrow before taking a bite, not noticing the slices she'd left behind.

"All finished, princess?"

Sakura nods and they move to head back the way they'd come. She takes the lead and he doesn't question how she seems to know the way back - even despite the yellow pixie quickly returning to her. They make it all of five paces before something in the brush catches Sakura's eye and she makes a detour to her left, her expression turning curious as she finds what looks to be an old cobblestone path.

It's mostly covered in moss and grass as the forest floor has reclaimed it, but, as she parts the bushes and plants, she can easily long path leading further into the forest. Sakura smiles, ignores Shikamaru's questioning calls, and begins to follow it as her curiosity overwhelms her.

She only pauses when the pixie grabs and tugs a lock of her hair, trying to pull her back towards the way home.

Reaching back, she holds out a hand for the pixie to land on and smiles down at it, Shikamaru coming into view moments later.

"It'll be fine," Sakura says, to both of them, "Just a quick look to see where this leads."

The pixie's bells sound rather reluctant but it stays perched on her hand, a few of the others coming to follow her. Shikamaru, however, has no qualms with voicing his disapproval.

"This isn't safe," He says, reaching for her elbow and glancing around the darkening forest with worry. The trees are growing larger here, with thicker canopies that only let in just barely enough light. If it were the evening rather than the morning, it would be pitch dark.

"No one ever goes this deep, Sakura. We need to head back."

"I've been coming to the woods since I was a child," She says assuredly, following the barely-visible path. "No harm will come to me."

She wasn't completely wrong. Anyone who spent a decent amount of time around Sakura has seen the way plantlife gravitates towards her and how the earth seems to look after her. No one could quite explain it, as she didn't seem to possess any inherent magical abilities, but it was mostly chalked up to the peculiarity behind her birth.

'A gift from the fairies,' the Queen had said when her daughter was born with hair the color of flower petals and eyes as green as the forest. The royal family had tried for years and years to have a child, always ending in failure and heartbreak, until, miraculously, Sakura was born.

People who have seen how fond plants are of Sakura claim that the earth itself had rejoiced in the princess' birth and must have vowed to protect her.

Shikamaru grimaces, tempted to pick her up and just carry her back to the castle. But he knows it'll be better to just let her fill her curiosity now with him there, rather than risk her coming back here alone .

The path continues on for several minutes before the overgrowth becomes thick enough to make it fade away entirely, giving no inclination of which way to head. Sakura frowns in disappointment and is about to reluctantly head back when she realizes she can see light ahead, only viewed from the corner of her eye rather than directly.

A new lead to follow, she heads through a tall wall of brambles that parts for her, a sight that makes her smile and Shikamaru wary.

On the other side is a large, abandoned courtyard.

Huge stone pillars surround the clearing, covered in moss and vines and all mostly collapsed or crumbling, and the brick floor of the courtyard is almost invisible through the grass and weeds. A few trees have managed to sprout and rise, dislodging brick and stone - their large size a testament of how long they've been there.

On the other side of the courtyard is a tall, grassy hill - a huge, lumpy mound of earth covered in waist-high plants and flowers and shrubs. It's too large to see over or even how far back it extends and Sakura and Shikamaru exchange curious looks, the latter letting out a frustrated groan when the former immediately heads toward the hill.

"Sakura," He calls, quickly following after her as she explores, "We need to head back."

"Just a few more minutes!" Sakura replies with a grin, the pixie on her shoulder and others meandering around the courtyard and into the sparse trees. "We're probably the first people here in decades!"

She starts to climb the hill but pauses at how hard the earth is underfoot and, after debating for a moment, she reaches down to clear away the grass in a small spot. She's met with carved stone under the layers of earth and she frowns in confusion.

"Or perhaps centuries..." Sakura mutters under her breath, her curiosity only growing as she continues her climb.

When she finally makes it to the top of the hill, she looks out over the expanse of the ruins before her, shocked at the sight.

"It's a castle!" Shikamaru hears her call from above, inciting him to quickly climb up to join her.

Indeed, despite the forest's attempts to take the land back, the decrepit ruins of what was once a large castle lay before the pair. The only visible stone is the upper parts of fallen towers, the building almost entirely collapsed, where the plants are still attempting to fully encase. Only one and a half walls remain, covered in ivy and vines and almost indecipherable had it not been for their shape, and what's left of a grand stone staircase is mostly obscured by a huge tree, the roots bursting through the rock and climbing up from what was likely the main foyer.

Sakura begins to climb down into the ruins before Shikamaru can stop her and he quickly follows suit, catching her arm when they reach the bottom of the hill.

"I don't like this," He says, quietly but sternly as he looks around the ruins with clear distrust. "We should leave."

She slips out of his grip and wanders towards the staircase and its tree, carefully making her ascent.

"I've never heard any sort of story about a fallen castle in the woods - how long do you think this has been here?" Sakura calls, running her fingers over the bark of the tree as she reaches the top of the remaining stairs and looks out over the ruins.

"It's a grand discovery, yes, but it could be dangerous," Shikamaru is obviously keen to leave and even the pixie's bells sounding slightly worried.

Sakura turns in a circle to take in her surroundings, marveling at how such a thing could go undiscovered for so long. Eventually, however, she sighs and finally nods, turning back around.

"Fine, fine. We'll go. But you'd better agree to come back here with me another time to explore."

Shikamaru groans and rubs the back of his neck but nods as well, unaware of the pair of pixies sitting on his head. His answer and the sight makes Sakura smile and giggle, but her expression is soon turning to one of shock as she feels the stone give way under her feet.

She gasps in surprise as a piece of the staircase crumbles and she feels herself fall backwards and even the tree's attempt to catch her with a branch isn't enough to keep her from falling several feet down the other side of the staircase.

It's a sheer drop and she hears Shikamaru shout her name when he disappears from sight. The bed of moss she lands on isn't quite cushion enough and she groans as she sits up, rubbing the back of her head.

Shikamaru comes running around the corner of the staircase and his relief is immediate when he sees her sitting there, a little bruised but fine.

"See?" He says, moving towards her. "This place is falling apart."

Sakura reluctantly nods and he's just feet away when she feels the ground shift again - and this time she screams as the earth collapses under her and she falls and falls down into darkness.

Her fall is broken by water and the impact winds her as she's fully submerged. Panicking, she instinctively kicks and swims for the surface, gasping for breath when she breaches and manages to grab onto a floating something for support.

It begins to glow fluorescent green at her touch and both the huge lily pad and the hole in the ceiling above give off enough light for her to look around in confusion once she's caught her breath. She's landed in a large underground pond, apparently, the small waves stemming from her body disturbing the surrounding lily pads and making them glow from the movement.

They're huge - large enough for her to comfortably lay with her arms and legs fully outstretched - and the one she's clinging to feels incredibly sturdy under her arms, barely even dipping down into the water from her weight. Considering the thought for just a moment, she carefully manages to climb up onto the pad and out of the water, its surface glowing brighter wherever she touches.

She hears Shikamaru's voice come from above and she looks skyward, shocked to realize just how far she'd fallen.

The light from the hole she'd made casts down onto the pond in a singular beam, a couple feet away from her current position on the lily pad. Her entry point is high above her, at least 50 feet of a sheer drop, and she sees Shikamaru's head come into view as he kneels down and carefully nears the edge as quickly he can, the yellow glow of the pixie guide perched on his shoulder.

"Sakura! Are you alright?!"

"I'm okay!" She calls, kneeling on the lily pad. "I landed in water!"

She can hear the relief in his sigh even if she can't make out his face from the way he's back-lit.

"Just stay right there!" Shikamaru calls, starting to pull away from the hole. "I'll look for a way down!"

Nodding to herself, she looks away from the light to let her eyes adjust to the darkness and fully take in her surroundings. She's in some sort of cavern, though the walls look carved and built by hand rather than natural, and she turns slowly on the pad, the movement sending more small ripples in the water to make the other lily pads glow again. Her gaze follows along the distant walls, the edge of the pond about 40 paces out in every direction, until she spots a set of stairs carved from the stone, leading up and through a passage in the wall.

"I think I see an exit!" Sakura calls, Shikamaru's head popping back into view a moment later.

"Sakura!" He shouts again, voice worried and frustrated. "Don't. Move."

But she ignores him and moves to carefully stand, taking a moment to find her balance on top of the floating plant. Once she feels secure, she looks to the closest lily pad and, readying herself and muttering encouragements under her voice, hops across the small gap of water.

She nearly falls when she lands but the pad stays mostly in place and she continues onto the next one, soon getting the hang of it and smiling at the way the lily pads light up under her feet. The glow lasts a few moments after she's lept onto the next and the one after that, leaving a small trail of fluorescent green footprints.

When she makes it to the shore, she lets out a tired laugh and looks back out over the pond, taking a moment to wring the water out of her hair and gown. The staircase passage she'd spotted is just behind her and she looks up at the hole in the stone ceiling.

She'd gotten all turned around when she fell into the pond but, if the sun had been behind them when they'd arrived at the castle ruins and if she takes the angle of the light beam from the hole into account…

"Head right from the tree, Shikamaru!" Sakura yells, as loudly as she can. "The passage leads out that way!"

"SAKURA."

He sounds furious but she doesn't want to stay stuck in one place while she waits for him. The lily pads had been helpful but, if they were able to survive in a pitch black cave with no access to light, there was no telling what else was in the pond.

She turns and heads into the passage, the stairs tall and sturdy under her boots. The stone arches over her head, just a few feet taller and wide enough for two of her.

Besides a few patches of moss and mushrooms, the stonework is clean and uncovered, not yet reclaimed by the forest. The air is damp and cold and she shivers as she climbs the steps, her soaked clothing doing nothing to keep out the chill. Eventually the stairs end and lead into a long, large hallway of stone - a straight path but with no end in sight.

Sakura knows she hasn't made enough ground to be more than a third of the way towards the surface but, since this had been the only way out of the pond's cavern, it would ultimately lead to Shikamaru anyways. Wrapping her arms around herself, she continues down the stone hall, searching for but failing to find any doors or other passages. The walls are bare besides mounted torches that had long-since gone out and the occasional patch of lichen or mushroom - no tapestries or art or any sign of life.

It's completely dark without the lily pads but her eyes have adjusted enough for her to see well enough.

Still, she almost doesn't catch herself in time when the hallway suddenly ends and drops off into a huge chasm of darkness.

Gasping, Sakura stumbles backwards and grips the strap of her satchel in tight fists. It takes her a few moments, but she can eventually make out the edge of the drop, the stone floor jagged and broken. She still can't quite see how far the drop is in the darkness and she takes another step back, her expression growing unsure and worried.

She may be stubborn, but she wasn't stupid enough to take a leap a faith over a hole that might be 3 feet long or 300.

Groaning in frustration, Sakura turns to head back to the pond when, out of the corner of her eye, she spots a vague light emanating from the other side of the darkness. It's harder to see when she looks right at it, as all things are in the dark, but it's straight ahead and seems to be at the same level of her position.

However, she's unsure if it's just small or very far away.

Shifting her weight from leg to leg as she bites her lip unsurely, Sakura eventually turns around to head down the hall slightly, managing to remove one of the old torches from its hold after a few moments of struggling. Kneeling down on the stone, she opens her satchel and searches for her tinderbox, hoping the water hadn't gotten in her bag and ruined the contents.

She fumbles with it in the dark for a couple minutes before, eventually, she's made a light and, using the handkerchief that had managed to stay dry and what's left in the metal cage of the torch, stands with the flame aloft. Sakura makes her way cautiously to the edge again and peers out over the chasm, grimacing at its size.

It has to be at least a hundred feet - some sort of collapsed chamber with a domed ceiling that rises high above her, intact despite the scene below. There's large pieces of broken stone scattered around the edges and down into the center but, the more Sakura stares at it, the more she thinks she can see a path down and back up the other side.

Grinning at the chance of a way out, she carefully begins to climb down onto the pit, the stone pieces slanted and lying awkwardly, but spaced enough for her to use them as stairs. Her foot slips only twice as she descends, but she catches herself each time and lets out a relieved sigh when she makes it to the bottom, the torch still burning as she holds it high.

It'll take a bit more effort to make her way over and around the rock scattered about her, but she is determined to reach that light and find Shikamaru. Making sure her sleeves are still rolled up, she starts forward and begins to climb up over a particularly large chunk of stone, finding her balance once she's made it to the top.

When she raises her torch just a little higher, the firelight glints off something metallic far to her right and she pauses in surprise, turning to look curiously.

She moves the torch and catches the reflected light again and, with a quick glance back up towards her exit, she decided a small detour wouldn't hurt.

Sakura carefully walks across the several feet of stone before climbing down, making her way through jagged rock towards the direction of what had caught her eye. As she climbs over the last small precipice, she finds a small patch of cleared ground, a figure nestled into the rubble.

The sight startles her and she nearly drops the torch but, after a moment of carefully inching forward, she realizes it's just an odd... statue?

Her head tilts curiously and she cautiously makes her way down towards it, more detail coming into view.

It's the figure of a man, carved from stone that might be marble, though she can't quite make out the color under the layers of dust and cobwebs. The statue is sitting in a reclined position on the ground, one leg stretched out and the other bent and raised slightly while it leans back against one of the huge stone chunks, as if it had collapsed there. One arm lays limp at its side while the other hand rests in its lap, fingers curled slightly. The head is angled down, chin to chest, and carved hair draped over its shoulders, a deep-seated tiredness permeating through the stone.

A mask covers the head, long and carved like the skull of a beast and obscuring the face, but the most peculiar part of the statue is the very much not stone dagger sticking out of its chest.

It's obviously what had caught the firelight and Sakura inspects the jewel encrusted dagger curiously, her fingers tracing around where metal meets stone. It wasn't part of the original statue, she realizes - it had actually been stabbed into the rock with enough strength to crack it.

Sakura frowns sadly to herself, wondering why someone would intentionally harm such an admittedly strange but interesting piece of art.

Her gaze drifts back up to the hidden face and her hand moves to trace her thumb along the jaw, strong and sharp, that peeks under the mask. She leans forward in interest when the action wipes away the layers of dirt and dust to reveal a stark white stone underneath, an otherwise perfectly unmarred marble.

Sakura pauses for a moment before unrolling one of her sleeves and using it to wipe away the cobwebs and dust on the statue's face, fingers tracing the curves and lines of the skull mask and revealing the astounding detail in the maker's craftmanship. When it's decidedly more clean than when she found it, she looks back down at the dagger and decides it has no place in the crafter's original vision.

She grips the handle tightly and pulls, the grating sound of metal scraping against stone sending a shiver down her spine but the knife coming out relatively easily enough. Sakura smiles and shuffles back in her crouched position, only to stumble back onto her rear when the ground shakes.

It surely must be an earthquake with how the cavern rumbles and tremors and she sends a panicked look upward, frightened of the ceiling collapsing. The shaking lasts a few moments before it suddenly stills and Sakura is met with the sound of sand cascading over stone.

She looks to the statue in alarm and gasps in surprise at the sight of the twin, pale green, glowing lights emanating from the sockets of the skull.

She's still in her seated position, knees up and arms behind her to support herself, as the white marble of the statue begins to recede, slowly disappearing to reveal very much not-stone skin and clothing.

It starts from the legs and makes its way upwards, the crack where the dagger had been slowly knitting itself back together until a very human man is sitting across from her.

Sakura stares for another few moments and shrieks when he moves.

The sound makes his head lift, sluggish and tired, and she scrambles backwards - only to find her back pressed against a chunk of rock. The green glow from the eye sockets disappears and, with the light of the torch she still gripped tightly in her free hand, Sakura can see eyes of a similar color open, shaded by the mask but very obviously looking at her.

The man sits up, the hand in his lap clenching and unleashing for a moment, as he continues to stare back at her until his gaze drops to the dagger in her other hand.

She follows his gaze down to the knife with a quick glance but, when she looks up again he's crouched in front of her, the skull mask inches from her own face.

"You..." He pauses, his voice raspy and deep. Those pale green eyes close for a moment and Sakura’s gaze darts fearfully over what she can see of his face before dropping down to his shoulder to note that, besides the skull, his hair is the only thing that had remained white.

She's startled from her thoughts when she feels something warm on her cheek and she realizes it's his hand, his thumb tracing over her cheek in a similar fashion to when she'd touched his jaw.

Sakura finds herself blushing despite the bizarre - and worrying - moment.

"You..." He starts again, his hand still caressing her cheek. "You freed me."

"I..." She takes a nervous breath, shrinking back slightly when he pulls away just slightlu and reaches a hand up towards the mask. "W-well, yes, I suppose, but-"

He removes the skull with slow movements, revealing a handsome face with sharp features. There are red markings edged around the lower corners of his eyes and above his eyebrows and his free hand moves to grip her own, his much larger grip circling around the fist clutching the dagger.

"I owe you a debt of immeasurable gratitude," He says, voice still hoarse but softer now. Sakura stares at him with wide eyes before jumping slightly as he leans forward, her cheeks burning when he rests his forehead against her own.

"My life is yours, as yours is mine." He says, his eyes closing for a moment and his skin feeling like fire against her own.

"I-I-" Her voice is barely more than a whisper and his eyes open again, holding her gaze with an intensity she's never experienced before.

"What is your name?" He asks gently, releasing her fist to reach up and carefully run his fingers through a lock of her hair.

"I-"

"SAKURA!"

They both look up at the distant shout, far off but echoing down the hall Sakura had come through. Her face lights up with relief at the sound of the knights voice and the man kneeling in front of her shifts, his lax posture stiffening.

"SH-SHIKAMARU!" She calls, hoping he can hear her. "I'm here!"

When she looks to the white-haired man again, she freezes in shock. Though his gaze is pinned in the direction of Shikamaru's voice, she can easily see how his pupils have narrowed to slits and that pale green glow has returned, his expression stoney and grim - a stark contrast to the tender look he'd held moments ago.

They hear Shikamaru's voice again and she moves to stand, the man backing away just enough to give her room before he helps her to her feet. The echoing thuds of running footsteps greets them moments before Shikamaru comes into view overhead, absolutely soaked in water and skidding to a halt as he arrives at the edge of the chasm.

He looks around frantically for a moment before his eyes fight the light of Sakura's torch and she lets out a relieved sound, waving up at him. Her call is cut off, however, and Shikamaru's expression turns furious as she feels the white-haired man gently wrap an arm around her waist and pull her back against him.

She glances back at him in surprise, startled to realize how much taller he is than her, and finds him staring up at the knight, his glowing gaze harsh and dangerous.

"Release her," Shikamaru orders, unsheathing his sword in one fluid moment. "Now."

The ground rumbles and shakes again and Sakura gasps, leaning back against him in support before she stiffens at the feeling of a second rumble growing in his chest. An inhuman growl rips through him and he starts to change, growing larger behind her as smoke begins to curl out of his mouth through bared teeth.

The cloud of fog grows larger and thicker until it obscures him from view and Sakura feels the huge, clawed hand gently move off of her waist. She's moved and tucked away in a stone alcove, lifted body off of the ground before carefully placed back down again, the fog beginning to dissipate moments later.

The man is gone but, in his wake, is an enormous bone-white beast, crouched over the scattered stones of the chasm and tall enough to look Shikamaru in the eye as they stare each other down. Its tail, lined with a row of sharp protrusions that look like rib bones, waves slowly through the air, and sharp claws dig into rock, a pair of huge white wings stretching out for a few moments before tucking against its scale-plated body.

Its head looks familiar and Sakura realizes with a start that it wears a skull mask identical to the one the man had been wearing, though this one is sectioned into pieces and a part of its body, those green eyes filling the sockets with a bright glow.

"You are a fool," The dragon says in a voice deep enough to make the cavern tremble, "If you think you can fight me."

Shikamaru looks slightly pale, but his expression is determined as he brandished his sword, his lips curled in an obvious challenge.

There's little warning before the beast strikes but Shikamaru manages to jump down and into the pit moments before impact as the dragon's maw snaps at where he'd been standing.

Stone shatters between its teeth and Sakura is already scrambling out of the alcove and up the side of the chasm to where she'd seen the light before, watching with frightened eyes as Shikamaru lands with a grunt on a large rock chunk several feet down. He leaps forward moments later and onto the dragon's shoulder, but his sword shatters against its scales when he tries to stab it in as an anchor.

Cursing, he keeps ahold of the hilt and what's left of the blade as he manages to scramble upwards, running down the dragon's back and towards Sakura. He's nearly flung off as the beast turns fast enough to give him whiplash and he loses sight of the princess, reaching out to grip one of the bony spines along its back for support. Once he's sure of his footing, he runs again, the sound of the dragon's jaws snapping at the air behind him a terrifying experience.

The massive creature curls and twists as it tries to snatch the knight off of its back and gives a ferocious roar that makes dust rain down from the domed ceiling above. Sakura, who has managed to avoid being smashed by the lashing tail, reaches the top edge of the chasm and presses against the wall of the opposite hall. She watches with wide, terrified eyes as Shikamaru dodges the dragon's jaws, his mouth set in a grim line as he searches for her.

When he spots Sakura, he takes off in a sprint, skidding and sliding down the dragon's back when it rears up on its hind legs suddenly before he leaps off with as much strength as he can muster. It's tail whips at the last moment and ruins his trajectory slightly and Shikamaru lands with a hard grunt against the edge.

His arms and shoulders are over the top of the jagged stones and the armor of his breastplate scrapes against the side as his boots search for purchase. Sakura is quickly at his side and helps heft him up over the edge, just as the dragon turns to spot the pair.

Her lips part but, before she can say anything, Shikamaru grabs her hand and takes off down the hallway, the two running as fast as they can.

"He's just going to follow us!" Sakura manages to shout, keeping up with his pace.

"The passage is too narrow," Shikamaru replies, winded from slamming against the side of the chasm.

They both glance back at the sound of scales scraping against stone and a furious roar to see the dragon's head entering the hallway, its neck long enough to almost reach them before it stops short.

"For its body, at least." The knight grunts, not slowing in his pace as they race towards the light at the end of the passage.

Its moments later when the ground trembles and shakes again and Sakura stumbles, hissing at the sudden pain in her ankle and squeaking when Shikamaru suddenly scoops her up, abandoning his useless sword. He continues running even as they hear a great commotion come from behind them, the sound of the cavern collapsing and the dragon roaring as it tries to force open the passage.

Like dominoes, stone hall begins to cave in behind them and Shikamaru grits his teeth, his eyes widening as the sight of the exit finally comes into view.

They can see daylight, but it's blocked by old wooden boards and a curtain of vines and moss, extending into the passage some feet. As they near, the plants actively retreat, pulling away from the planks and out into the open air or higher on the walls. The action casts more light into the darkness and, hearing the collapsing stone nearing behind them, Shikamaru makes the decision to keep running.

He turns slightly to shield and brace Sakura as he barrels into the barrier, his shoulder splintering the centuries old wood and breaking through to let them escape. Shikamaru stumbles and falls, but keeps Sakura from harm as he rolls and clutches her to his chest, landing in soft grass and forest leaves. They barely have a moment to rest and collect themselves, however, and the ground shakes violently and they hear an enormous crash and rumble.

Though they can't see it, they can clearly hear the dragon's roar as it echoes in the open air.

The pair look back at the way they'd come, taking in the sight of a hidden doorway set into the side of a grassy hill. Sakura's eyes grow wide and she sits up, quickly trying to rise to her feet but stumbling as pain flares in her ankle. Shikamaru scoops her up into his arms again and he looks around frantically for a moment, that clever mind of his searching for an escape path.

As Sakura looks skyward, she sees a cluster of familiar glowing colors heading towards them through the trees and she hurriedly points in the same direction.

"That way!" She insists, hearing a frantic chorus of bells calling to her. "Keep running."

"We're lost!" Shikamaru hisses even as he starts off in the direction she indicated, the sound of the dragon's roar and rampage growing louder. "We need to hide."

"Just trust me, Shikamaru!"

He growls but relents, racing into the woods that seems to part a path for them, not a single branch touching or scraping the pair as they escape. The yellow pixie is at the lead of the group as they meet them, swarming around the princess and her captain with alarmed bells and Sakura grips his arm tightly, pointing forward as the yellow ball of light begins to hurriedly guide them out.

"That way! Keep going!"

"Sakura," He says, panic in his voice, "We're lost!"

"Just follow the damn pixies, Shikamaru!"

"The what?!"

If they weren't running for their lives, she's sure he would have been giving her a look as if she'd grown a second head. Gripping her hair with a frustrated sound, she shouts into the air, pleading and desperate.

"Let him see!"

Shikamaru is about to question her, growing concerned, when he nearly trips as a dazzling display of swarming light suddenly surrounds them, the pixies having accepted her request.

They never show themselves to humans but their fondness for the princess and the desperation of her situation won over their distaste for being seen and they show themselves to the knight, the chiming bells of their voices making his ears ring.

He can't understand them but he can most certainly see him and Shikamaru doesn't realize he's stopped moving until Sakura reaches up to grab his chin, physically pull his wide-eyed gaze away from the pixies, and point to the singular yellow glow ahead of them.

"Follow that one."

Shikamaru, bewildered and rather disturbed, nods and breaks out in a sprint again, dutifully following the pixie guide.

The sound of the earth shaking and trees being uprooted grows louder and closer behind them and some of the pixies surrounding Shikamaru scatter and fly off into the woods. A tremor nearly sends him to the ground again and they can hear the roars and growls much too close back the way they'd come.

Sakura thinks she sees a flash white through the trees and she grips Shikamaru even tighter, her expression lightening slightly when she sees a familiar wall of shrubbery ahead. The yellow pixie gives a frantic chime and circles once in the air before following the rest of the swarm back into the forest. When Shikamaru makes to follow, she quickly reaches for his shoulder and points towards the hedges.

"No, no! Keep going straight!" She says, and, despite the worried look he sends her, the knight races ahead, letting out startled grunt when the bushes part for them to reveal the meadow and the singular cherry tree in the center.

"The tree!" Sakura hisses when he looks around like they'd been led to disaster, "Head for the tree!"

They're halfway there when they both glance back at the sound of a large crash and see treetops fall and crumble, the dragon's furious face bursting through the foliage. Its jaws part to reveal bared teeth when it spots them and Shikamaru runs as fast as he can, his expression determined as the beast chases after them.

The moonflower vines and leaves pull away to reveal the door as they approach and Sakura reaches out for the doorknob before Shikamaru can touch it, flinging it open. The moment they're through, she shoves her way out of his arms, lands on her good foot, and slams the door shut behind them, cutting off the view of the dragon's jaws snapping closed just inches away.

Shikamaru quickly grabs her and shields her with his body as he braces for impact, expecting the tree to be torn down around them. But, when there isn't even the barest shake or thud, he cautiously looks up and gently releases her a reluctant moment later, finally looking around their new surroundings.

While he gazes over the moss covered passage in confusion and wonder, Sakura lets out a relieved sigh and collapses back against the wall, her hand over her racing heart. She slides down to sit on the ground, careful of her twisted ankle, and leans against Shikamaru's shoulder when he joins her.

He's quiet for a full minute before he looks down at her, his expression so tired.

"What the hell happened."

#shikasaku #kimisaku #shikasakukimi #sakura haruno #naruto fantasy week #thirrinwrites #thirrinfic

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dragonrajafanfiction · 3 years

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The Crane Team: Bad News

“Once upon a time, there was a beautiful little girl named Vasilisa. She lived with her father, a merchant, and her mother who was just as beautiful as she was. When Vasilisa was eight years old, her mother got sick and was about to die… but before she died, she gave Vasilisa a little doll and said, ‘This doll will help you. All you have to do is give it a little bit to eat and a little bit to drink, every day.’”

It was late at night. Erii and Yoko lay in the same bed in their nightgowns, holding hands, their faces so close together their breaths tickled each other’s noses. Erii’s eyes stared into Yoko’s as she listened closely, clinging to her stuffed bear. She’d heard this story before, but it was her favorite one.

“As soon as her mother died, Vasilisa was sad. So she did as her mother told her. She gave the doll a little to eat and a little to drink and the doll spoke and said. ‘Don’t worry Vasilisa. I will always be here to help you.’” Yoko pulled her body a little closer to Erii and her voice dropped to barely over a whisper. “About a year later, her father remarried to a cruel older woman. The new wife was a woman with two daughters but she didn’t allow her daughters to work. She made Vasilisa do all the cooking, all the cleaning and the laundry and made her take care of the garden and the pigs.”

“Whenever Vasilisa was so tired she was about to give up hope, she would whisper to her doll. And all the chores remaining for that day would be suddenly finished! So the stepmother gave her more and more work. But no matter how much she tried to make Vasilisa fail, the doll would make up for her lack and she would always succeed.”

“One day, young men knocked on the door. ‘We heard there was a beautiful and talented young woman here! We want to marry her!’ They said. But the stepmother would hide Vasilisa and take out her daughters and say, These are the women you were looking for.’ But her daughters were lazy and demanding and didn’t know how to sew a simple button. The men would leave disappointed.”

“One day, her father had to travel far away for business, leaving Vasilisa alone. Her stepmother decided to sell his house and moved them to a gloomy hut by the edge of a dark forest. When her father returned from his work, they were all gone and he could not find them.”

“One day the stepmother said, ‘Vasilisa, there is no wood for the fire… go into the woods and get fire for us from Baba Yaga.’ The stepmother said. The stepmother was sure that Vasilisa would never return from this task.”

“Vasilisa was very scared and asked the doll for help. But the doll advised her to go to the Baba Yaga! ‘Go into the forest before the sun rises to bring back fire from Baba Yaga.’ The doll said.”

“So Vasilisa stepped into the dark forest all alone. While she was walking, a mysterious man rode by her in the hours before dawn, dressed in white, riding a white horse. He was so bright, the forest was lit up by him as he rode by. And then the light faded away. A few hours later, when the sun was high in the sky, a rider came by on a red horse, wearing all red! And then, as the sun began to set… Black horse and a man in all black rode by her. And as he left, she came to a clearing and there was a very strange house.”

“This house had chicken legs for a foundation and it was walled by a fence of human bones. The night had fallen as the rider in black rode by and the skulls on the fence were glowing in their eye sockets. Vasilisa turned to run away, but as soon as she stepped back on the path, she heard it.”

Yoko slapped her hand on the mattress. “Thump! Thump! Thump! Out of the shadows of the night, the Baba Yaga was returning home, riding on her mortar. She was an ugly old woman with a lumpy face and huge eyebrows. Her eyes were so sunken under the folds of her skin that you couldn’t see them at all.

Erii’s hands clung tighter to the bear and she stared, barely breathing.

“Vasilisa said, ‘Baba Yaga, I have come for some fire to take back home!’”

Yoko made her voice soft like a scratchy serpent’s hiss. Her fingers curled like a claw as she pointed at Erii’s nose. “‘If you want my fire… You must first perform my chores. If you do not perform, I will turn your bones into an extension of my fence! First! Clean the house and the yard, then… wash my laundry, cook me some meals for the day!’”

“Vasilisa worked as hard as she could. But as soon as she swept the house, the dust would reappear. She begged for the doll to help. ‘Help me please!’ and the doll caused a breeze to sweep up the dust and hold it in the air. When she weeded the garden, the weeds would grow back as soon as she pulled them! ‘Help me!’ she said to the doll. So the doll caused insects to come and eat the weeds as they sprouted. And so it was. Vasilisa would do the work, but the doll would make sure the work stayed done!”

“Baba Yaga returned to her house and was shocked to see what was happening. She wanted to see how the girl was doing this. So she sat down on the floor of the hut and called Vasilisa.”

Yoko hissed again. “‘I have one more task for you. Separate poppy seeds from the dirt on the ground.’”

“Such a thing was impossible. Poppy seeds and dirt were hard to distinguish. She had no choice but to stand before the Baba Yaga and request the doll's help. When she did… hands with no arms and no one controlling them appeared from the air and perfectly separated all the seeds from the dirt.”

“At this time Baba Yaga seemed to understand and her bushy eyebrows lifted high. And she said, ‘AH!’”

Erii flinched and closed her eyes.

“She hurried Vasilisa out of the house. ‘I want no such power in my house! No! No! This is the power of a mother’s blessing and here is nothing that can overcome it!’ She gave Vasilisa the fire -- a skull lantern full of burning coals -- and sent her on her way home with instructions to bury the skull lantern when she was through with it.”

Yoko poked Erii in the side to make her open her eyes again.

“When Vasilisa got home. The stepmother and the stepsisters were singing and dancing in the garden that evening. Vasilisa didn't realize it but she had been gone for days! Her stepmother and stepsisters threw a party to celebrate her death. When they saw Vasilisa returning with the glowing skull from the forest shadows, they were suddenly terrified and afraid! They tried to run! But fire shot out of the skull lantern’s eyes and consumed them. Their bodies were burned to ash.”

“Soon after that, a rich merchant came by and found Vasilisa living by herself in a beautiful house that she had made all by herself. He wooed her and they married and went back to Moscow. She was so skilled that she caught the attention of the Tsar and lived the rest of her life in the palace.”

Erii clapped her hands in applause.

Yoko stroked her hair. “Now go to sleep. I have to do some more work tonight but I’ll be here in the morning.”

Erii nodded silently.

She was older than Yoko by three years, but Yoko had a hard time remembering that. Yoko was the one who tended to answer all her questions and introduce her to new experiences. Not the other way around. But Erii was amazingly inquisitive and a fast learner. It wouldn’t be long before Yoko would feel younger next to her. She made her way back to her room.

She removed her contacts revealing her splendid fire colored eyes. She walked up to what appeared to be a blank wall, but when she spoke in russian, the simple word ‘Open’. A panel that was seamlessly hidden in the wall opened to a hollow where a retinal scanning device ran a red light across her eye. A door slid open and revealed a hidden passageway that led to a dead end. When she walked to the end of the passageway, she pressed a key code and the wall slid back to reveal the Tokyo night many stories above the ground. The wind rustled her hair and the sound of an ambulance siren floated up from the street far below.

She stepped out of her nightgown and stood in the night air in nothing but her bare skin and scales. Her mind focused on the inside of her body and she pulled hard on her bones, tensing her muscles until it seemed like her bones collapsed. It felt funny, like reaching inside of herself with a third, fourth or fifth arm. She reached inward all the way through her back, feeling her muscles and tendons stretch.

The skin of her back deformed, pushing out a large hump until it split, black blood spattering in an arc onto the tile floor of this hall. It hurt, a sharp pain, like hitting your hand on a table or cutting your finger and she gasped and grit her teeth. From the wounds, two beautiful ivory colored bone wings extended their delicate membranes. Nerve signals told her brain that these new appendages were wet and chilly in the night air. They flapped once to shed the blood from them. The wounds they created would close in a few seconds, the muscles stitching themselves into a new configuration.

Her wings were magnificent in their size. Twelve feet in their full span. They were not only covered in fine silver scales but also in tiny, fine hairlike feathers over the veiny transparent membranes. It’s not that she grew the wings. The wings were always with her. The extra bones hid perfectly under her human skeleton in layers. She had hundreds of extra bones like this, a hallmark of dragon kind. Looking at her was like looking at a beautiful female demon, alluring, yet frightening.

Her lungs expanded in the new space made by the bones extending outside her body and she stepped towards the ledge.

Scales crawled themselves over her skin with a soft rattle noise, fitting tightly together like chain mail. These crystalline scales were as good as clothing and protected her from the cold air outside. Her blood heated itself to a higher temperature than a normal human’s to the point where if she were to get wet, the water would rise up in a steam and she would burn human skin.

The long drop to the pavement below was freedom. She leaped from a running start, her wings fanning out like a tent and catching the air with a firm snap, she slid on the current and her muscles contracted to flap once. The feathers provided extra lift and she was zooming straight up from a single wingbeat into the low hanging clouds.

It was like flying through fog but she could feel where the peaks of the tall buildings were from the eddies they created in the wind. People in those buildings might see a swift passing shadow with burning eyes as she flew by and wonder if they had imagined it. In this way she entered and exited Genji Heavy Industries completely undetected, which was important given the dangers she now faced.

Yoko wasn’t nearly as ignorant as she appeared to be. The questions she asked Crow were a cover and a test. She made it seem like she really didn’t understand Hydra and needed Crow’s help to find dangerous men in their ranks. But it was also a test to see how loyal Crow was to those dangerous men. He didn’t completely fail that test. He resisted the idea of punishing people for their evil deeds. He said that Chisei Gen hadn’t done anything about it, but Yoko didn’t believe that was because he didn’t know about it. No one asked Devil Clan members what happened to them because it was easier to just live under the system they directly benefited from.

Yoko turned on her wing tip and nimbly landed. She was familiar with this area. A series of warehouses in the middle of empty fields where she had walked in grief after Chance’s death. An opening in the roof was covered in a metal panel. It should have been too heavy for someone of her build to lift alone but she lifted it easily and slipped inside.

She dropped twenty feet to a concrete floor. Before she even landed, she realized that someone was here, rolled in the air, flapped her wings to escape. A sword flashed by her head and the person wielding it, landed gracefully.

It was a woman in a kabuki wig and white makeup and a beautiful purple kimono. Her thick socks and wooden clogs didn’t impede her movement at all. She dashed forward and Yoko leaned away to escape her strike.

Yoko reached out and grabbed her wrist and tried to sweep her legs out from under her, but this woman jumped, kicked out with both of her feet right in Yoko’s chest and performed a perfect backflip. She reached in her robes and threw out silver blades that pursued Yoko.

Normally, Yoko would have taken cover and wondered who this person was, but she already knew who this person was and there was no use in hiding from her. She charged, her eyes full of challenge. The woman lifted her sword defensively and Yoko skidded to a halt right before she lashed out, the blade missing her by less than an inch. Yoko grabbed the back side of the blade and absorbed a knee to the stomach to seize the woman’s throat. They both went down but the woman was pinned.

“Take that wig off. You look dumb.” Yoko said, standing up.

The woman obliged and the black haired wig was removed to reveal a cascade of blonde hair. “So you’ve finally been able to defeat me. It’s a shame it took you turning into a dragon to do it.” She said, in a cold voice.

“I just have a dragon’s body. I’m not actually a dragon. I’m still me, Zero.”

“My point stands.” Zero picked herself off the floor. “You say that… but it makes no difference because there are dragonslayers after you.” She wiped the makeup off her face. “I don’t know where they’re from, but the alchemical arsenal they brought was impressive.”

“You don’t know where they’re from? They’re not from Hydra then?” Yoko walked to a box and pulled out a shirt from it. She pulled it over her head as her scales receded. The wings were retracting, the bones snapping and deforming back into her human skeleton.

From her contacts at Hydra, Zero was Yoko’s ace in the hole. She didn’t return to Japan with the others, instead, she stayed in Tokyo under the guise of finishing her Internship. In reality, she had been placed there by the request of Z. She knew everyone in Hydra, including members of the Sons of Amaterasu. She was able to get into the meeting disguised as one of the geishas.

“No. His accent was indistinct. He was hiding it. But he was definitely European. He made a contract with the Sons of Amaterasu. They’re not only planning on killing you but Erii. The European man provided the Sons of Amaterasu with woodblocks to disable her.”

“What?” Yoko hissed. “How do they know about the woodblocks?”

“It’s worth investigating. Anyway, I brought you gifts from the equipment department. Your malleable bones make regular clothes a bit hard to wear so I got something for you…”

“That’s … really thoughtful, but what do you mean ‘anyway’! This is insane. First of all, they have to know about Erii… second of all, they have to know Erii had her brain cut…” Yoko walked after the stoic Zero who opened a box. “Someone had to have been working with Herzog… because I killed him. There was no way he survived! Unless he had two body doubles…”

Zero was staring at her, glaring.

Yoko felt a sudden since of uncertainty but then she recovered. “I did. It was really him. It was…” The last of Herzog was eaten by his own Deadpool. There was no sign of Herzog since. If Herzog was still alive he wouldn’t have allowed Yoko to be bitten by the Light King’s parasite.

“Then Bondarev must still be alive.” Zero said slowly, “Here. Try this on. It’s a body suit made of self healing fabric. You’ll be able to shape shift as you like without losing your clothes.”

“Thanks. I’ll have to tell Erii the bad news.” Yoko took the body suit and folded it over her arm.

“Can she handle that?” Zero asked.

“She’s way stronger than she looks.”

#Dragon Raja

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thecleverdame · 4 years

Text

Gods of Twilight - 10

Alpha!Werewolf!Sam x Human!Reader

Master List (posting schedule is there as well)

Summary: You marry Sam, The King of Lebanon, as part of an alliance between two lands. You soon discover that nothing is as it appears and that your husband is hiding a secret that may end your relationship before it can begin.

Warnings: smut, dub-con, canon-level violence, domestic discipline, spanking

Beta: ilikaicalie

*Chapters 11-26 are available on Patreon. To get access to this and many other stories, subscribe for a pledge of 2.50 per month. CLICK HERE

“Are you mad woman?” Theo yells, slamming the heavy book down on the table with a boom.

“Lower your voice, good sir!” you hiss, taking a step back.

He’s a large man, nearly twice your size and formidable on a good day.

“The Kingdom's coffers aren’t your personal funds,” he spits, coming around the table. “I’m entrusted with great responsibility. Don’t make the mistake of thinking your title allows you unfettered access. If you were anyone else I’d have you stripped and flogged-”

“Watch your mouth, Actuary.” Sam steps into the room and you slink back away from both men.

“My King.” Theo bows, jaw tightening. “Please forgive me.”

“You’ll not speak to my wife in such a way.” Sam glances at you, taking a step to put himself between you and Theo. “Need I remind you you’re in the presence of a Queen?”

“Of course not, my lord. A thousand apologies, m’lady.”

“Do you accept his apology?” Sam turns, handing the power to you. “Or should I have him stripped and flogged for speaking to you in such a way?”

“I accept his apology,” you nod. Theo is glaring at you, nostrils flaring as he tries and fails to hide his discontent.

“If I ever hear of you speaking to her like that again, I’ll take care of you myself.” Sam points a finger at the financier who nods his head in return.

“I understand, sir. I don’t know what came over me.”

Sam looks him over, before reaching to take your arm. You scurry beside him as he marches you down the hallway, several knights behind you. Once in the privacy of your bedchambers, he turns to you, eyes narrowing.

“What was he upset about?”

“I wrote a note, a promise of funds.”

“How much.”

“A thousand shillings,” you whisper, afraid of his response.

“A thousand?” He cocks an eyebrow, taking a step toward you. “Why? For who?”

“There is a woman in the village who takes in wayward children, those that no one else will care for. Her house is full, but the walls are crumbling and they’re starving. There was no bread to eat, no wood for the fire. Not even enough blankets for all the little ones. I had to do something.” You raise your chin, despite your fear of him.

Sam stares at you for a moment, cocking his head in thought. “Why a thousand?”

You’re taken off guard by this question, pausing to explain. “Golda and Phillip helped me estimates costs. She needed a builder for her walls, food and clothes for the children. We created a list of costs and threw in a bit extra.”

For the first time since you’ve known him a genuine smile crosses his face as he chuckles. “Well, it sounds like you did your due diligence.”

“Would you have preferred I ask your permission?”

“No.” He shakes his head. “You seem to be doing just fine on your own.”

It’s almost midnight. You’re sitting in a chair near the fire, reading and sipping tea when Sam returns.

“Are you hungry?” you ask without looking up. Over the last several weeks he’s made a point of having supper with you nearly every night. Tonight however he was noticeably absent.

“I’ll eat later,” he answers, walking over to you. “Get up and get dressed.”

“Now?” You look at him, trying to suss out what he’s playing at.

Sam is trying to put what happened behind you, but you’re afraid you’ll always feel wary of him.

Not to mention your added security detail. A walk in the village flanked by two dozen guards isn’t a walk, it’s a spectacle. Your life has narrowed down to this room and the small gardens within the Castle’s keep.

“Yes, now,” he instructs, throwing a thick cloak over his shoulders. “Put on something warm, we will be outside for some time and snow has started to fall.”

He waits, standing in the middle of the room as you get up and slink out of your nightdress and into a gown. Once you’re fully dressed in a cloak, hat, and thick fur gloves, he ushers you out of the room.

The halls are empty, the stones echoing with footfall as you walk behind him, following for what feels like a lifetime. You descend down toward the stables only to find a garrison of knights readying their horses.

“You’ll ride with me,” Sam instructs, gesturing toward a huge dappled horse that whinnies as it looks at you.

“I know how to ride,” you offer but he’ll hear none of it.

“Tonight you’ll stay with me.” Offering you a hand he helps you onto the steed’s back and then mounts, sliding into the saddle behind you. You lean back against his chest, gripping the horse’s mane as the entire party starts out of the keep and toward the bridge. They move in a choreographed manner, with Sam at the lead, knights two by two behind him.

Moving through the dark streets of the village you're surprised when the first commoner joins the caravan. He’s waiting in an alley and folds into the formation as they continue onward. A dozen other men join before you’re out of the city and then it’s across the drawbridge and out into the fields.

“Where are we going?” you ask.

“You’ll find out soon enough.” He counters, sliding an arm firmly around your waist, pulling you back in a crushing embrace. “Hold on.”

With one hand on the reigns and the other around you, he takes off at a gallop and his men follow. The sound of hooves pounding the ground and the horse's heavy breath is all you can hear as you near the edge of the forest.

You nearly yelp as the horse makes a sharp left, cutting along the tree line, narrowly missing the outstretched branches. As your sight adjusts under the moonlight you can see the open path in the woods ahead. It’s a small, narrow passage and Sam remains in the lead as they ride single file into the shadowy wood.

The whipping wind is made worse by the speed at which you’re traveling. Your nose has long since gone numb and the cloak you chose, while it is the thickest you own, is doing little to keep you warm.

The journey is a long one but Sam slows the horse as he approaches the unknown destination. Without warning the forest is gone and you’re in the middle of a clearing. There are countless torches aflame, surrounding the perimeter and several dozen men and women are gathered around a fire.

Sam jumps off the horse, placing both hands on your hips to help you to the ground, allowing his horse to roam free.

“Are you are cold?” he asks, watching as you pull the hood of your cloak around your head.

“Y-yes,” you chatter, now realizing that you’re practically frozen.

“Come to the fire, you’ll be warmer there.” He heads toward the gathering and you follow, staying close beside him. “They are all like me.”

“Wolves?” you breathe quietly, unconsciously moving closer to him, your shoulder pressing against his arm.

He places a hand at the small of your back, small comfort as you approach the rather raucous gathering. There’s music, an upbeat song playing on a lute as they pass flasks from one man to another. The chatter winds down to a whisper as Sam approaches.

“Your majesty,” a portly gentleman bends a knee with a roll of his hand and there’s a gentle laugh from the group. “We have a visitor, I see.”

“My wife.” Sam takes you by the arm, pushing you forward as you blink back at the faces watching in silence. No one says a word, and there’s a long, uncomfortable pause It’s a small dark-haired woman who eventually steps forward, raising her flask to the fire.

“We are glad to have you, my queen.” Her words are friendly but her eyes flicker from you to Sam with a spark that you make note of.

After a beat, the music resumes, chatter growing loud.

“What is this?” you ask, turning to your husband. “Some sort of secret society meeting?”

“Something like that,” Sam nods. “There is a full moon tonight. Many will shift.”

There’s no calming the uneasy feeling in your chest, as you look around. “Is it safe for me to be here?”

“I wouldn’t have brought you if I thought it dangerous,” he confirms. “I will shift as well. Phillip will stay with you.”

“Why did you bring me here?” you sputter, watching as they begin to undress, stripping down in front of each other.

“Because you need to know what I am, to see it. And if you want freedom, you must know what lurks out here in the darkness. I can ensure your safety because you’re here with me and there plenty of my men to keep you out of harm’s way. But in the dark, alone, it’s not only Luther’s murderous men that roam, it’s also all sorts of wild things.”

He stares at you a moment longer and then takes off his cloak, handing it to you. He begins to strip along with the rest of them.

“Come with me, m’lady.” Phillip appears beside you, guiding you closer to the fire as they wander away, into the field.

You watch Sam, your eyes fixed on his naked buttocks as his whole body contacts in a sudden and violent twitch. His shoulders roll back, neck cocking to the side. The brunette who spoke to you earlier appears beside him, nude and jerking in the same fashion. Suddenly the night is filled with a chorus of moans and howls.

It appears as if Sam’s bones are shifting under his skin, moving in a most unnatural way and then the transformation happens fast. In the blink of an eye, his skin becomes a thick pelt of white fur and instead of the man that was there seconds ago, there is now a giant wolf, the very same that you walked with the woods on that fateful night. The woman beside him is now a smaller coal black wolf, turning back to look at you.

Sam takes off, legs springing to action as he sprints off into the darkness and they all follow. The night is filled with howls and yelps that fade into the distance.

You can scarcely breathe, looking at Phillip with wide eyes. For the first time your life you are truly speechless.

“Don’t be afraid,” he explains gingerly. “No one would dare to hurt you. Besides, they’re hungry for furry little rabbits, not a human woman.”

“You aren’t one of them?” You inspect at him in the firelight.

“I am,” he confirms. “I’ll have my chance when they return.”

“I don’t know what to say,” you sputter, staring off into the night.

“I suspect you’ll find the words eventually,” he grins, offering you a nip of his flask.

When Sam and the rest of them return they walk out of the darkness in human form, naked and covered in mud and small cuts. Sam is jovial, laughing with a bright smile on his face. His brother on one side and the woman at the other. He finds his clothes, pulling on his trousers before spotting you across the fire and making his way to you.

“I trust you were in good hands while I was gone.”

“Of course.” You force a smile at Phillip who bows his head and disappears. “This is quite a lot to take in all at once.”

“I understand.” He pulls his shirt back over his head, eyes locking on you. “Are you more or less afraid of me than before?”

Gathering your thoughts you start to speak and then stop, choosing your words carefully.

“My fear never had anything to do with...this.” You hold your head high. His brows pulls together, face unreadable.

“I see,” he nods, looking around as people begin a makeshift celebration around the fire. You can’t help the shiver that runs down your spine, you've been out in the elements for hours now.

“You’re shaking.”

“I am not as adapted to the outdoors as you.” Your teeth chatter as you pull your cloak closer around you.

“I’ll take you home.”

He settles behind you on the horse, wrapping his cloak around you as he takes off at a slower pace than you arrived. Several knights trail behind him.

“You’re practically frozen,” he huffs, hot breath at your ear. You’re trembling against him and the arm around your belly pulls you in tighter to him. “I shouldn’t have kept you out for so long.”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll have a hot bath when we return.”

“I will join you.”

You sigh at his words, the two you have not been together in an intimate manner since the belting. You would have opened your legs to him out of obligation if he asked you to, but he hasn’t so much as suggested it.

“I am sorry for what I did to you.” He whispers, pressing a warm cheek against your temple. You’re unprepared for an apology, but even more unprepared for the promise that comes after it.

“I will never put my hands on you in anger again. You have my word. Will you please forgive me?”

Your eyes close as you release a breath.

“Yes,” you turn your head to the side, forehead pressing into his cheek. “Let’s not talk of it again.”

#alpha!sam winchester #sam winchester fanfiction #sam winchester x reader #sam winchester smut

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nad-zeta · 4 years

Note

[ ✨ ] hello! may i ask for an ikesen matchup ^^? i'm usually very awkward and silent around new people and new environments in general and i get really panicky over small things (tiny mistakes, etc.). i'm not often one to start conversation, and even if i do, i just,, stare at them silently and go back to my own thing ^^;; but! once someone gets to hook me in through something i'm interested in and get me out of my shell, i get very hyper and cheery and excited easily around them ><

[ ✨ ] and at that point, congrats, you're my friends that i'll spill most secrets with :D! my interests are usually anime, games, manga, etc. but i also have a big liking to stories and books! and often times if i'm presented with a paper and pen, i *will* doodle, so drawing's also a big hobby of mine (i get really absorbed in doing it ///). back on the friend part, i won't hesitate to yell across the street to get your attention then run and hug you, and just start talking to you in high speed

[ ✨ ] and i am guaranteed to will die for you and your happiness. someone says shit? prepare to get these hands ùwú. i may be short but i am full of love for you. i'm willing and capable of doing Things - just a bit of grumbling but i will do it - but i have a tendency to be kinda slow. but some have said that i'm thorough in the task. half my hearing's basically gone so i might ask to repeat something from you for a bit, so please be patient with me o(._.'' )o and just in general lol

[ ✨ ] last thing!! the matchup is done but another request to everyone reading: please take care of yourself, take breaks and keep hydrated, and be safe out there!! i love all your works hun, and i hope you all have a wonderful day!!

Hi hi, love!🦋❤ Awwww you are so sweet, thank you for the kind words! ☺😳I hope you also have a wonderful day! ❤🦋🌻Thank you so much for the request, and I am sorry I took sooooo damn long with it! I hope you enjoy this, dear! Sending you lots of hugs! 🌻🦋❤

So I match you with.............. Kenshin

You arrived in the past with a bang and somehow despite your tiny frame managed to carry a man four times your size out of a burning building. The whole experience honestly had you on edge. Just as you started to calm down another man dressed in green came riding up to you and the man you had just saved. Hideyoshi, the raven hair beside you called the man as he climbed off his horse and knelt down in front of both of you. He looked up from you and gave you the biggest death stare you had ever seen. He demanded you give him your name and background story. You were so shocked at the whole experience you simply stayed silent. The second he drew his sword you bolted. The simple scare tactic worked too well as you ran away from the men.

Of course, Hideyoshi followed you on horseback through the forest. You ran as fast as your tiny legs could carry you running straight into yet another man. He caught you in his arms and held you steady as you reoriented yourself. Heterochromatic eyes peered down at you. You were honestly super panicked and now apologizing profusely for running into the man. His features softened slightly as he looked down at the frightened creature in his arms, he could hear the sound of horses heading towards him in the distance. He gently wrapped his large hand around your smaller one and pulled you along as he started to run. Finally, he reached his horse hidden among the bushes.

The two of you remained crouched down in the bushes alongside the horses when a calm voice broke the silence, “Lord Kenshin, I have successfully secured us an escape route, if you would please follow me.” Kenshin then swiftly lifted you up and place you on top of his horse, before climbing on behind you. The three of you rode through the night for what felt like ages until you reached a small cabin in the woods. In the back of your mind, you couldn’t help but think this was how you were going to die. Kenshin helped you down the horse and lead you inside. Once inside, you got a better look at the man with a calm voice, and that’s when you realized that you knew him. Sasuke looked at you and instantly knew who you were. While Kenshin was outside brushing down the horses, Sasuke explained the situation to you. It was honestly all too much for your nerves to handle and you passed out.

You woke up in an extravagant room in Kasugayama Castle, you looked around the unknown room and sighed when you realized that it was not all one big dream. From the corner of your eye, you spotted a bunny scurrying out of your room, running in an unknown direction. A few moments later Kenshin appeared with the rabbit trailing closely behind him. He placed a tray filled with food next to you and crouched down beside you, “Sasuke told me that the two of you are from the same village, you are welcome to stay here until you return home.” After that, he swiftly got up and left.

In the days to follow you started helping out the castle staff, it was slow going, but your work was thorough. Something which the maids really enjoyed about you. You had been at the castle for a full week, and you still hadn’t spotted Kenshin again since the day he brought you breakfast.

Tasks done for the day, you made your way to the castle garden to read. After Sasuke had shown you the castle’s library, you had made it your personal mission to read every book within.

You sat in the garden in the shade of a big sakura tree when, suddenly you were surrounded by hundreds of rabbits. You smiled as the fluffballs nuzzled and cuddled you. Suddenly Kenshin appeared, “It’s strange to see the bunnies following around someone other than me.” He took a seat beside you and as if on cue half the rabbits jumped onto his lap and started cuddling him. There was a peaceful silence that stretched between the two of you as you went back to reading.

Kenshin eyes you curiously but then closed his eyes and laid his head down on the soft grass to take an afternoon nap. He never liked women and would usually avoid them like the plague, but you were different. He liked that you didn’t feel the need to impress him or try and wed him like those irritating woman from the different clans.

The next day the same thing happened, as you sat beneath the tree reading, Kenshin appeared. This time he started a conversation with you, you looked up at him from the book you were reading and smiled. Luckily for Kenshin, he had asked about a topic that piqued your interest, and you started chatting with the bunny warlord.

In the days to follow the two of you would always meet under the same tree at the same time. The more days that passed, the more comfortable you were around Kenshin, gradually dropping your guard and opening up. Soon he had made it past your barriers and in your eye, you now saw him as a dear friend

Ooooh how Kenshin loved his upgraded title and this new cheerful side of you. He started giving you the nickname little rabbit cause that is precisely what you were in his eyes. Shy and reserved at first but once out of your shell, energetic and excitable. He loved how you would burst into his room, excited to show him your newest drawing. He would legit steal them and put them on display for all to see.

The two of you would spend hours together, just talking and telling each other cool stories. Sometimes the two of you would just quietly sit in the same room and do your own tasks. Kenshin would do boring admin, and you would get completely absorbed in your drawing.

To be honest the more and more time the two of you cuties spent together the more Kenshin fell entirely in love with you. You were unlike any woman he has ever met. When he opened up about his past to you, you accepted him completely and still loved him without judging. Through your friendship with the bunny warlord, you helped him slowly work through the trama and all the negative feelings he would have. Some nights when he would have nightmares, you would hear him get up and sit out in the garden. You would grab a blankie and go and join him, placing the blanket over both your shoulders as you ask him to tell you about his dream. You may be short, but you were definitely full of love for Kenshin.

During one of his conversations with Sasuke, the ninja, let it slip that you liked mangas and animes. After a lengthy explanation as to what exactly that was, Kenshin got to work. In his spare time, he worked on drawing you your own little anime manga. When it was finally complete, he handed it over to you during one of your tea dates. You excitedly started reading in, and when you got to the end, you found a letter. You carefully broke the seal and opened it. Written inside was a confession of love from the bunny warlord himself. You leapt from the place you were sitting and tackled Kenshin down in a big hug showering his face with little kisses.

Kenshin loves that you show your affection so openly towards him. His eyes will light up in delight, especially if he hears you excitedly yell out his name from across the market street. He knows to brace himself as you usually run and jump into his arms, giving him the biggest hug. For a man that never smiles, whenever you are near or in his arms, he is beaming with pure happiness.

He loves how protective you can get over him as well. Especially when someone is trash-talking him, you are ready to fight. During these times, Kenshin will gently wrap his arms around your waist and bring you closer to him, and nuzzle his nose against your neck and whisper how much he absolutely adores you.

And fear not, no one dare say one bad thing about his little bunny unless they want to lose their head. He knows that half your hearing is basically gone so he will be sure to patiently repeat whatever he is saying to you if you didn’t catch it the first time. Again and if someone dares say anything about getting annoyed with having to repeat stuff to you, he, will, not, hesitate, too, teach, them, some, manners.

Kenshin would go to the ends of the earth and back to keep that beautiful smile on your face. You have saved him from the demons of his mind, and for that, he will be eternally grateful. Just as he has successfully brought you out of your shell, you have successfully brought him out of the darkness of his past and into the light of the future

Often the two of you can be found cuddled together with your rabbit army under your favourite sakura tree. Simply exchanging sweet kisses and interesting stories.

Otherwise, the two of you are spending a peaceful afternoon together in Kesnhins room, each busy with their own task. When Kenshin is done with his work for the day, he will place himself behind you, gently wrapping his arms around your waist, and propping his head up to rest on your shoulder. He will sit like this with you tight in his arms as you continue to get absorbed in your art.

He could spend hours just sitting with you in his arms while watching you gracefully sketch out the scene in your imagination. He will definitely drop a few sweet sneaking kisses on your neck and cheek as you work.

Other potential matches………………. Mitsuhide

I hope you enjoyed this, dear! 🌻🦋❤🥰

#ikesen matchup #match ups #matches #matchups #uesugi kenshin #kenshin uesugi #kenshin ikemen sengoku #ikesen kenshin #kenshin matchup

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nataliedanovelist · 4 years

Text

GF - Where the Crop Circles Grow ch.3

Summary: When things get out of hand at the Pines’ family farm, Ford asks an old college buddy to assist investigating anomalies and Stan hires a farmhand. Who knew asking for help would actually get you somewhere?

For @lemonfodrizzleart. Part of her Farmer AU and featuring her OC, Jackie Asante.

Ao3 link here.

ch.2 - ch.4

~~~~~~~~~~

“Good girl, Spots, good girl.” Stan coached and then turned his head away from the sheep. “Jackie! That water n’ towel sometime today would be great!”

“Shaddup, I’m coming!” Jackie called back, a dark towel over her shoulder as she drew a tub of water. She hurried as fast as she could without spilling much water and hurried into the bigger of the two barns. While the smaller one was for Luna and Truffles, the bigger one was for the sheep. All but one was outside, enjoying the nice weather, while a white sheep with black spots like a cow was taking deep breaths as she laid in the soft hay.

“Atta girl, atta girl,” Stan soothed as Jackie joined his side and put down the metal tub and gave him the towel. “Thanks, now watch this.”

Part of her wanted to look away and the other part of her was mesmerized, so the boss’ order helped Jackie to make up her mind. She rested her hands on her knees and watched as Spots pushed very slowly. Just under her tail what looked like uncooked chicken was seeping out. Stan pressed his mouth tight, a sign he was concerned, and Jackie watched as the farmer gently patted a little head, just by the neck. “C’mon, c’mon…”

Jackie’s eyes adjusted to what she was seeing as the little lamb jerked, not even fully born yet, but already making wee cries. Jackie wondered if something was still wrong, but Stan relaxed and smiled as the lamb jerked around some more, and the new farm-woman was sure everything was alright.

“Well, look at that.” Jackie awed as the lamb slipped out and Spots immediately got up, turned, and began to lick her baby clean.

“Good girl, Spots, good girl.” Stan praised as he petted her neck, her back tender and sore, and therefore it wouldn’t be appreciated to be petted there right now. “Right, we’ll let her clean her lamb as much as she wants to n’ then we’ll just look it over to make sure everything’s as it should be. Most of the time s’long as they’re movin’ they’re fine.”

Jackie nodded, enjoying the scene. Yes it was gross and Jackie could probably use a glass of water right now, but she had never seen anything give birth before, so it was kind of nice to check that off her bucket list. After another minute or so, the new lamb was beginning to stand. That made Stan grin. “That’s it, fellow. That’s it, take your time, now.”

The lamb, now nearly clean, was white all over and already had an impressive coat. Stan chuckled and scooped the lamb up in his strong arms, his long sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his hair tied back. “Sweet Lord, this one’s got quite a coat.”

“Does it?” Jackie asked.

“Oh yeah,” Stan said as he began to gently wash the lamb. “See, most sheep when first born got thinner coats, cuz they don’t need thicker coats inside their moms, but this one’s just a right ole little cloud.” Was his voice becoming more strained? Was he getting choked up?!

Jackie looked at his brown eyes and thought they looked more wet than normal. “Stanley Pines, are you crying?”

“That’s not important right now!” Stan snapped as loud as he dared, his voice still somehow managing to be soft and quiet for the baby. When back in Stan’s arms as he rubbed it dry, the lamb “bah”ed happily with big shiny eyes. The farmer happily gazed at the newest member of the flock until Spots “bah”ed at Stan, making him laugh and set the lamb down. “Alright, alright. Here’s your Dot, Spots.”

Dot nuzzled her mother and began to drink her milk. Spots licked her back as she nursed and Stan stood up to leave them be. “They'll rejoin the herd later. Just keep an eye on Dot to make sure she’s okay.”

“Gotcha.” Jackie followed Stan with the tub since he had the towel.

“Grayback had her lambs last week,” Stan pointed out and he and Jackie watched a gray sheep with a white head and legs snap at a gray lamb and a white lamb, bigger than Dot and much more troublesome. “N’ Clover should have her’s any day now, then that’s all for the season.”

Jackie caught the eye of a big white sheep gnawing on some grass and smiled at Clover as she followed Stan towards the house. “Do they need us to be there?”

Stan shrugged. “Nah, they can do it alright by themselves, but better be safe than sorry n’ be there in case something goes haywire, you know? Just keep an eye on ‘em n’ if things don’t look good call for me.”

Jackie mockingly sallutted her boss. “Yes, sir.”

~~~~~~~~~~

It was Sunday and it rained all day, so while Jackie should be more productive since she rested yesterday, she didn’t really have the energy to do it. Which was fine, nobody else seemed all too keen on doing more than they have to. Stan was watching TV by the wood-burning stove as he used a piece of glass to cut at a long piece of wood and Ford used the extra time to teach Jackie how to make butter.

It really was simple. Jackie had no idea why, but she expected it to be more complicated, but Ford simply took a carton of Luna’s milk and poured it into an electric mixture, let it mix on low for a minute, and then on high for three, then he showed her a special mold the family had, a perfect rectangle shape, but along the edges there would be a forest field with pinetrees. When the cream was separated into butter and buttermilk, Ford put the butter on a plate and poured the buttermilk into a jug to use later for cooking or whatever. Then with clean hands, Ford pressed the clumps of butter together to drain it of liquid, made sure it was clean and smooth, and then packed it into the mold. Then, like magic, Ford flipped the mold over and a perfect stick of homemade butter appeared on the dish, earning him a jaw-drop from Jackie.

“There’s enough milk for another stick.” Ford said and gestured to the mixer. “Would you care to do the honors?”

“Sure! Thanks!” Jackie said excitedly and got to work on making the second stick of butter.

Ford smiled, excused himself from the room, and went off to watch TV with his twin and try to finish knitting that extra blanket for Tate’s bed before the McGuckets arrived in two days.

Jackie counted to sixty after setting the mixer on low and then set it on high and set the little timer to three minutes. To entertain herself, she turned away from the counter and looked out the big window that decorated the wall. Displayed was a beautiful view of the woods and the driveway that housed the red Diablo. All the animals were tucked away safely for the rainy day and it gave the farm an odd appearance. The rain was heavy, but there was no thunder or lightning. Even a little bit of fog played with the grass.

Jackie crossed her arms over her chest and smiled at the scene, until something unusual caught her eye and it made her smile drop. Now, she couldn’t be sure, but swore she saw a little ball of white fluff moving farther and farther away, closer and closer to the woods.

At once Jackie shut off the mixer, snatched one of the boys’ rain jackets from the hooks, slipped it on, and bolted outside. She ran to the driveway, past the small berry garden, and squinted with a hand shielding her eyes from the falling water. Sure enough, a little lamb was skipping and playing in the rain, and soon disappeared in the woods.

“DOT!” Jackie cried out and ran towards where the baby sheep had last been seen. “You come back here! Dot!”

The young woman was too small in the blue rain jacket, the hood often covering her eyes and the sleeves rolling past her fists as she ran, but it would have to do. Jackie’s feet were already chilly, but thank goodness the work boots were doing their job for awhile at least. Jackie paused to look around and try to catch a sighting of Dot, but no white could be seen in the sea of blues and greens and browns.

“Dot!” Jackie called out and walked carefully so she wouldn’t pass the lost sheep. “Dot, here girl!”

The farmhand held herself tightly in the overgrown jacket and blinked the rain drops off her eyelashes. She had never been in the woods before, except for when Stan took her on a Truffles-drawn cart ride through the woods and into town and up to Boyish Dan’s house for lumber in exchange for some wool. But this was different. Last time she was on the main path and safe with Stan on the reigns by her side. Now she was by herself and in the middle of nowhere and she could understand why Stan ordered her to never come here.

It wasn’t scary, rather it had a bigger-than-life feeling to Jackie. As she passed towering oak trees and old pines that housed many sleepy owls and fuzzy squirrels, she had a borderline creepy feeling in her spine, like there was so much more to these woods, like they were hiding something. But that was ridiculous! Woods can’t hide anything, like how a child would hide candy wrappers from their parents. No, it’s just the rain creating a dearry feeling in the forest.

“Dot!” Jackie called again, her face becoming damp and her thighs were cold. “Dot, please! Let’s go home!”

She paused and looked around. She allowed herself a minute to think as she cupped her hands by her mouth and blew into them to warm her cheeks and fingers. It wasn’t terribly cold, but the spring rain did make it a bit chilly and uncomfortable. But then, thank goodness, Jackie heard some bahs coming from her right. She hurried, pushing through branches and bushes, and there she found Dot. The lamb’s back-right leg was caught in a branch by the thick wool and she fought and tugged and pulled but could not get free.

Jackie smiled and went to her lamb. “Dot! That’s what you get for running off. How’d you even escape the barn and the fence, huh girl?”

Of course Dot didn’t answer. Jackie scooped her up one armed and untangled the bush from the wool. Now Jackie could snuggly hold the lamb. Poor Dot was wet and shivering; she may have a slightly thicker coat than other sheep her age, but it still wasn’t quite as thick as it should be to protect her from the bitter cold. Jackie retracted her arms inside her jacket and then unzipped it quickly to let the lamb in. Now Jackie had a closed oversized jacket hanging by the hood on her head and a lamb in her arms. And she was lost.

Jackie looked around the woods for any sign of the farm, but she had strayed too far into it and saw no sign of a clear field. Well, she wasn’t going to find anything by standing still. If she could find that dirt road, then at least she would either hit town or the farm. Jackie carefully stepped over tree-roots and wildflowers and lightly scolded Dot to give her something to occupy her thoughts.

“Dot, just wait until I tell Mama Stan about this. He’s gonna scold you good.” Jackie snorted as she remembered when Truffles snapped at Jackie and Stan scolded at his horse, much like how a parent would scold a child. Really, there was no point in hiding the fact that all the animals were his babies. Let’s just say that when the time comes Stan will make a wonderful father and leave it at that.

Dot licked some droplets off Jackie’s chin and snuggled up against her chest. Jackie was damp, but not as bad as she would be without the blue rain jacket. Really, she couldn’t stay mad at Dot. Moses knows she was nothing but trouble as a kid, but every mistake she had ever made helped mold her into a better person, helped her become the person she is now. And she would like to think she was alright.

Jackie stepped on a twig that snapped and she kicked it aside as she ventured onward. She might not even be heading towards a road. She wished she could see the sun. At least then she would know East from West and could make a better guess on which direction to go. And… oh, crap! She left the butter unfinished! Damn it. Jackie groaned to herself and walked on, but then her left foot plunged into a dip in the earth and was now ankle-deep in mud. Jackie swore loudly and pulled her soaked foot out and walked on. Dot shook in her grasp and licked her hand to try to calm her down.

Jackie rubbed the lamb’s back. “I’m sorry Dot, but I’m having a rough day right now.”

Then something else made her stop in her tracks. Was it… whispering? Or wind through the trees? No, the air was still. Jackie looked around and lifted her hood up lightly to see better. “Hello?” She called out.

The sound was gone. Someone was definitely out there. “Hello, can you help me out?” Jackie called and looked around for a shadow or a light. “I think I went in the wrong direction.”

She was silent and listened carefully through the symphony of rain. “Yes… yes, she will do fine.”

Jackie’s heart skipped a beat. She had seen enough horror movies to know what happens to young women alone in the woods. Jackie turned right around and ran for her life. Dot cried out in shock and uncomfortably, bouncing around, but Jackie ignored her and only held the lamb tighter.

Puddles splashed and wetted her legs up to her knees. The hood fell off her head and now the over-sized jacket was barely hanging by her shoulders. Jackie freed some fingers from Dot to grab the jacket so she wouldn’t lose it and have to explain to the boys that one of their jackets went missing in the woods. Lightning flashed and a few seconds later thunder rolled. The heavy rain was turning into a storm. Dot cried out again and buried her head in Jackie’s chest. Jackie gasped for breath but did not stop running.

Now she couldn’t be sure. She was moving too fast to get a good look at it, but Jackie could have sworn on her life that she saw some sort of triangle on top of something circular, like an upside-down ice cream cone. Or a gnome.

~~~~~~~~~~

The Pines twins had been laughing too loudly over a joke on the TV to hear the door slam when Jackie left. A few minutes went by and Jackie hadn’t joined them in the living room, which was fine, she probably was starting on dinner or wanted to be alone. Her disappearance hadn’t even been noticed until Ford went into the kitchen for some orange juice and he frowned at the electric mixer. The butter was only half done and now a whipped, melting mess. Ford restarted the mixer and after a minute deemed the cream salvageable. If Jackie didn’t want to make the second stick of butter she should have said so.

Ford finished the chore and left the dishes to soak in soapy water in the sink. He went into the living room as Stan laughed at the TV. “Haha! That guy got hit in the head with a coconut!”

“Stanley, have you seen Jackie?” Ford asked.

“Huh? Uh, no. Why?”

The front door flew open as wind howled and lightning stuck and thunder roared. Jackie hurried inside with the jacket hanging by her shoulders, her hair soaked and sticking to her skin, and her lungs nearly empty of oxygen. She leaned against the door and tried to catch her breath while the men stood at the doorway of the living room and stared.

“Sweet Lord!” Stan gasped and helped Jackie out of his rain jacket. “What were you doin’ out there?!”

“Dot… got… out.” Jackie panted, swallowed and handed the sleepy lamb to Stan, who was completely dumbfounded. “I caught sight of her escaping just in time. Poor thing ended up stuck on a bush.”

Stan was at a loss for words for a minute, but then cradled Dot in one strong beefy arm and wrapped around around Jackie’s shoulders. “Here, let’s get you warm n’ dry. Sixer, go get a towel or two, will ya?”

Ford nodded, hurried for the bathroom, and Stan walked Jackie into the living room. He pulled a short stool out in front of the wood-burning stove and gently guided Jackie to it. She could walk on her own, she was only cold, but she was grateful for the help and decided not to fuss. She watched as Stan slipped off his red button-up and wrapped it around Dot like it was a blanket. Jackie smiled at seeing Stan rubbed the lamb dry and how his eyes sparkled and shined. Dot licked his strong chin and he chuckled and scratched Dot under her chin.

“I wonder how she got out.” Jackie said quietly.

“Must be a whole somewhere in the barn.” Stan guessed. “We’ll take a look tomorrow.” He looked up at Jackie and smiled kindly at her. “N’ hey, thanks for brinin’ her home.”

Jackie’s face suddenly felt hot, and she wasn’t sure it was from the fire. She smiled and nodded. “You’re welcome.”

Ford then returned and handed the towels to Jackie. She thanked him and wrapped one around her hair and draped the other one over her shoulders. She watched as Stan threw some wood in the fire one-handed, the other holding Dot and then he sat next to her on the floor and let the lamb rest in his lap. Dot yawned and buried her face in his arm, his other hand petting her back. Jackie, without registering her actions, put a hand on Stan’s shoulder.

Ford smiled at the scene before him and decided to go read a book elsewhere.

#GF #gravity falls #gravity falls au #farmer au #fanfiction #jackie asante #stan pines #ford pines #i watched five lambs being born for this fic #help me

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