#The Nose™ appreciated truly | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

youvebeenlivingfictional · 2 years

Text

To Have Loved and Lost Part Three

Previous Part | Masterlist | Next Part

Pairing: George Russell x Reader

Rating: M

Notes: Hiiiii welcome baaaaaack thank you for reaaaaadiiiiiiiing

Warnings: Angst; Gilded Age Manners™; pining; The One That Got Away; not a traditional happy ending...A lot of angst this week.

Summary: Had Mr. Russell recognized you? Your name? Surely something had jogged his memory; his expression had swirled with a darkness, the look that a ferryman cast at the sight of heavy clouds pushing in from the distance.

You were in such a miserable mood that you nearly seized on the first house you were shown to get the entire process over with. You couldn’t wait to flee New York.

But, on second thought, you knew that Franklin would hate it. That almost compelled you more deeply toward the purchase—but you reconsidered. This home would be a hub for your entire family’s business in Manhattan, not just Franklin’s. It would be the home that families were brought into for Franklin’s business contacts; it would be the home where Eleanor would meet with her suitors.

There were precisely three things wrong with the first home:

It wasn’t far enough up the avenue

It was too small

The previous owners were unknown to New York society

The four following homes that you were shown were far more expensive than the first, but more likely to suit your needs. You weren’t entirely sure what Franklin was willing to spend—at moments, you truly weren’t entirely sure if he cared about securing what was already in his coffers. A house was an investment. But putting so much in beyond the property itself—for furnishings, decoration, linens, cooking apparatus, dishes, what have you—may not have been something Franklin was interested in.

“I’ve a few notes from the house tours I took today,” You informed Franklin over the soup course. He wrinkled his nose just a little.

“Must I read them?” He sighed. You pursed your lips before glancing back at one of the attendants.

“Will you please tell Kate to fetch the small red notebook on my vanity?”

The attendant gave a small bow before hurrying from the room. You turned back to the table, taking up your glass of wine.

“How was the remainder of your work day?” You asked.

“Alright, I suppose, though...The tannery is in shambles.”

“I’m sorry to hear it.”

“It shall take a good bit of work to get it up and running again. It seems that the previous owner pried every bit of machinery and storage not explicitly agreed upon in our contract and sold them off.”

You hummed thoughtfully, swirling your wine around just a little. You couldn’t blame the previous owner. If you were in business with Franklin, you think you’d want to ruin his prospects, too. You looked up as Kate hurried back in, your notebook in her hand. You took hold of it, opening it and beginning to leaf through it for your notes.

“You seemed rather short with Mr. Russell this afternoon,” Franklin commented as you searched. You take a few moments, feigning leafing through your notebook still, despite having found your notes already.

“Did I?” You asked as lightly as you want.

“Very.”

“That was not my intention.”

“You managed not to frighten him off entirely, thank heaven.”

“What do you mean, frighten him off?”

“He’s expressed an interest in my tannery.”

“...I see,” You settled on the proper page. “How fortunate.”

You began to rattle off the aspects of the first house, the one that you nearly took—but all the while, your mind was combing through every second of your interaction that afternoon. It stuck on your mind through the stonily silent evening spent reading (you, with a book; Franklin, with the evening edition of the paper). You appreciated the lack of conversation, however. It let you think about Mr. Russell.

It felt untoward to even think of him as George. He was more than an arm's-length from you now—he was a world away.

Your mind was crowded with thoughts of him even as you readied yourself for bed. You hardly noted Kate asking you if there was anything else that you needed, and once you realized that she’d spoken, you offered a flighty little smile and a shake of your head.

“G’night, miss.”

“Goodnight, Kate…Thank you,” You tacked on, turning to look at her just as she left. She stopped just long enough to give you a small smile and nod before she shut the door fully. You sighed, leaning back in your seat and eyeing yourself in the mirror, your face bathed in candlelight. Had he recognized you? Your name? Surely something had jogged his memory; his expression had swirled with a darkness, the look that a ferryman cast at the sight of heavy clouds pushing in from the distance.

You pushed yourself up from the vanity, taking slow, measured steps over to your trunk. You knew that beneath your spare slips, stockings, and combinations, there was a small burlap sack, neatly folded and holding a bundle of correspondence and newspaper clippings. It was one of the only things that you’d brought and kept from when you’d left Stevensville to join Franklin in San Francisco. It had only been a few months after George had left—after his letters had stopped.

Your fingers curled and uncurled into your palms as you considered it. Then you dropped to your knees, shoving the lid open. With an almost ravenous madness, you pushed the piles and piles of clothing out of the way. You went still when you saw it—the dark little sack shoved into the very back corner of your trunk. When you’d left your mother's boarding house, you’d had to bundle them into the front of your corset. You’d cinched them tight, just beneath your breasts, saving them from your mother’s inevitable trunk inspection. When you’d arrived at the boarding house you’d as a break from the journey, you’d carefully worked the stack of letters away from where they were pressed to your belly still. You’d had to gently peel away an envelope stuck to your skin, and found irritation and slight indentation where the stack had been pressed to you.

You’d tied the bundle with twine and tucked them into the burlap sack then, carefully hiding them in the bottom of the trunk. It had only been unearthed time and again to add the odd newspaper clipping about George—his success, his swelling businesses. You’d reread his letters so rarely that looking through them now could feel like a fresh wound, present a shock to your system. You reached in with trembling hands, closing your fingers around the rough fabric and drawing it out onto your lap. You slowly lowered yourself back onto the floor, unable to take your eyes from the fabric.

You couldn’t open it. No matter how many times you urged your hands to, no matter how many times you tried to spur yourself into action, you couldn’t do anything but sit and stare. Why did you keep them? You should’ve gotten rid of them when he left you there. You scrabbled back on the floor then, whirling around and pushing yourself up. You ran at half tilt to the fireplace, and raised your arm to pitch. But the fabric unraveled, and you heard something clink against the floor. You froze, and slowly lowered your head to look at it. Your heart ticked up at the sight of a cufflink glistening in the firelight. You leaned down, taking up the cool metal.

You turned it back and forth in the firelight, eyes catching on the woven silver design. You remembered the night that George slipped it into your palm with a tender smile, just after you’d given him your favorite hair ribbon. You could still see it if you closed your eyes—the way he’d tucked the green fabric into his jacket pocket, then reached down and unbuttoned his cufflink. He’d leaned in, pressed a tender kiss to your cheek, and murmured, “The exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine.”

It was Shakespeare—he’d told you so. A tale of star-crossed lovers.

You’d glanced over your shoulder then and warily eyed the empty doorway to the barn before drawing George in for a kiss. He’d given it happily, and chased it with more, delighting in your smile and touch.

Now, your fingers curled around the cufflink, and your eyes filled with tears. You raised your arm again to throw the letters to the fire, but then it fell, as if your strength had simply been sapped. You dropped the bundle and the cufflink to the floor, whirling away from them as your breath caught in your chest. You drew in unsteady, shaking gasps, chest tightening as you tried and failed to air in any deeper. You braced your hands on the lid of the trunk for just a moment before you shoved it down again and lowered your shaking body to sit.

You heaved in tight, thin breaths. Your eyes swam with tears, muddying the sight of the burlap sack and the glinting of the cufflink where they still sat on the floor. You used to yearn to be free of that boarding house in Stevensville, but just now, you wanted nothing more than to return to it, to the sneaky glances and stolen kisses, and the evenings spent sneaking out and laying in the tall grass with George, gazing at the stars and murmuring tender promises.

You wanted nothing more than to open that burlap sack, find a way to lower yourself inside it, back into the past, and into his arms.

Tag list: @foxilayde ; @wretchedwisteria ; @massivecolorspygiant ; @amneris21 ; @buckybarneshairpullingkink

#George Russell x Reader #George Russell x You #George Russell/Reader #George Russell/You #George Russell fic #George Russell imagine #George Russell the Gilded Age

37 notes · View notes

cowboyhorsegirl · 1 year

Note

my eyes spy a character opinion ask game, so you know what im here to do.

i want the opinions™ on the emh!avengers 👀

(or just tony, and 2 other characters of your choice if the avengers is too many characters.)

thank you so muchhhhhh for the ask! :D

i started trying to answer this by narrowing down which 3 characters to put up on the bingo board and you can clearly see how well that went jfkdsljfdfk

Tony Stark

EMH!Tony characterization AND character design is so fucking *clenches fist* just!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know i've talked about EMH!Tony specifically at length before but unfortunately the words simply aren't coming to me right now to describe how much i like him (I like him so, so much). One thing I will say is that I miss the way his nose looked in the first episode before they finished yassifying his character design. He still looks great after they change it, but S1E1 "Iron Man Is Born!" Tony is my desi king and i adore him <3

Steve Rogers

I love EMH!Steve so much, I feel like of the multiversal Steve's, this Steve is much more self-assured, specifically in the period of time immediately after he is found in the ice by the Avengers. His character design took some getting used to, but honestly by the end of S1, he had fully won me over to the point where I no longer feared for the structural integrity of his top-heavy weight distribution and actually liked how Shaped he is.

This Steve is a bastard who's first name is Malicious and last name is Compliance, and we love him for it. I adored how you could see him actively loosening up around the other Avengers as he spent more and more time with them. The difference between Steve just out of the ice and Steve at the end of S1 is so palpable and it's incredibly satisfying to see him come into himself more as he adjusts to the future and to his team.

My only complaint is while i was enthralled by the [REDACTED] story arc, I'm still very salty about the fact that Steve is basically MIA for like. half a season :/ which considering the whole show only lasted two seasons is upsetting :(

Janet Van Dyne

I actually managed to pull together some coherent thoughts about Jan here, but the long and short of it is that I love her I'd marry her I'd die for her I'd kill for her she's a bestie she's my ride or die she's so high maintenance she's got terrible taste in men she's got incredible taste in women she keeps tissues in her purse but she never cries in public.

Her character design.... literally what is there to say? Perfection, perfection, perfection, *chef's kiss*, absolutely not a single note because she is flawless.

I also have a very soft spot for scenes in which her teammates protect her from huge explosions while she's Wasp-sized <3 <3 They all care about her so much and she's so fierce and competent but it's also so lovely to see her teammates having her back when she needs it :')

Bruce Banner

Honestly EMH!Bruce Banner is my favorite iteration of Bruce Banner/Hulk that I've seen yet. I really really really really appreciate how, even though Hulk has comedic moments, his character is not reduced to comic relief. And I loved how the show portrayed Hulk's and Bruce's relationship with each other, the way they're both distinct personalities who are both good people that ultimately want the same things (acceptance, the chance to do & be good in the world) while also being caught in this struggle to balance power and control between them that sometimes catches them at odds with each other. Extremely compelling stuff.

I love both of their character designs separately. I also love how both of them interact with other people, namely Clint. EMH S1 especially is rife with bruceclint fodder if you're interested in that ship!

Dr. Doom

Oh my god, what's NOT to love about EMH!VVD???? Truly, EMH is Victor Von Doom's world and we're all just living in it. He has such a commanding presence in the (sadly few) scenes that he's in, and I love how whatever the Avengers/Fantastic Four are doing is always incidental to what he's got planned. Like, yeah, he gets that they're trying to stop him but he truly could not care less about it and that's so hot of him.

My headcanon is that every single character in EMH has a daddy kink for Dr. Doom and NO i am not projecting and if i were what of it? Mind your business.

Hank Pym

Now Hank... Hank is a tough one. I don't think it's any secret that I despise him, and for all of S1 and most of S2 that was very true. The problem with Hank is that politically, I fuck with him the hardest, but unfortunately for him I do not watch animated children's TV shows from the early 2010s to get my politics validated. And unfortunately for ME, EMH made the character who has the best politics also the most annoying motherfucker in the series. *spits*

But the thing is, Hank makes a very intense about-turn in characterization somewhere in the middle of S2. Basically, what happens is that at the beginning of EMH, Hank is Ant-Man, some time in late S1/early S2 (I can't really remember whoops!), Hank stops being Ant-Man and it's all very angsty of him, and then the big characterization change happens when Hank is revealed to have created a new superhero persona by the name of Yellowjacket.

All of this mostly makes sense in canon, but even so it's kind of jarring, which is almost 100% due to the fact that the creators of the show knew they only had like 3/4ths of a season left to tie up all the loose plot threads as best they could. Because of this, the show ended before I could really see how New-And-Improved Hank deals with a lot of the personal, interpersonal, and professional conflicts that plagued him during S1, which would have been really fun to see and to judge if he really had changed as much as it seemed like he had. It's all very interesting. IDK how I feel about it.

I also want to say that, even though I (mostly) can't stand Hank and I desperately love Jan, Jan and Hank together is a terrible, terrible couple and it's not all Hank's fault either. Hank doesn't trust Jan's autonomy and capabilities in the field. Jan doesn't respect Hank's scientific endeavors and professional passions. Both of them fundamentally disagree on the roles and responsibilities of superheroes in society. It's a mess. I like to believe that if the show hadn't been cancelled, there would have been an arc of Tony and Jan dating each other in order to make both of their real romantic interests jealous, which would have at least made all this back and forth worth it, but alas. Alas...

#EMH #i fucking love EMH can you tell?#tony stark #steve rogers #janet van dyne #bruce banner #victor von doom #hank pym #signed sealed delivered #wellbepoppinbottles #no read more i'm forcibly subjecting you all to my opinions on superhero characters from the early 2010s animated children's tv show i'm #fully obsessed with #send me more bingo board asks <3 <3 <3 it might take me 432783748327 years to answer them but i'll love you for it!

12 notes · View notes

1d1195 · 10 days

Note

brothers are a whole other thing LMAO they’re crazy. they will literally call you the stupidest person they’ve met in their life but then buy u ur favorite ice cream at 2AM.

i always tell my sister that i’m so grateful i had her to help me grow up and that i get so sad when i realize she never had an older sister. her response is always that she never thought of it like that but she thinks she was made to be an older sister. i swear you guys are built different, not everyone can handle being an older sister and i have SO much appreciation for u all !!!

i promise you that your mom is 100% right. she probably ADORES you but just doesn’t wanna admit it bc youngest sibling pride yk ?😭 i refuse to believe otherwise bc i sincerely feel like you’re PERFECT sister material. dependent, funny, mature, so sooo kind.

new songs on rotation !! i’ve rlly been enjoying What I Am by zayn and Tejano Blue by cigarettes after sex

i hope you know all i can think about is Ding part 3 :) like omg it’s just been on my mind 24/7 and i can’t wait to read whatever you have. idk if you have this planned out yet, or not, but how many parts do you see this series being ??

I DID SLEEP HAHA i’ve been feeling off these past few days and i woke up SICK today🙁 it’s not too bad just a sore throat and a runny nose but i do hope it goes away soon because i have a friend’s engagement party to attend on the weekend (but im literally drinking a cold diet dr. pepper rn so i have no clue how i expect to feel better lol)

have the best day ever sam !!!

~🎶

That's so sweet about brothers 😭 I could have used that too growing up!

My sister and I sound WAY less mushy than you and your sister (no shade, just different relationships obviously) but that's so sweet! I can totally see where she's coming from I don't think I could be a younger sister. The vibe would be so off and you'd be able to tell I was not meant to be a younger sister hahahahahaha YOU'RE SO SWEET 😭😭 my sister calls me every day (even when I don't want her to because I have been girl-rotting all week on my vacation and have nothing to report) so I get annoyed with her pretty easily but I do enjoy talking to her. I wish she would put a little more effort into idk taking care of our parents? I don't live at home anymore so I feel like I'm still doing all the grunt kind of work that she could just do because she's AT HOME? but idk. she's a Drama Queen™ or maybe I am and I'm just being bossy 😂

I am putting the final touches on Ding part 3 so it's ready to go for Monday hehehehe I'm really excited about it! I think it will be my favorite part honestly. At least right now. I have it outlined for 7 parts right now! (I think i told someone 8 at one point but I did it in roman numerals and I'm dumb and can't read). But 7 is what I have right now. However it could change because I think parts 4 and 5 could end up being one part. I'm really not sure. Part of my outline for part 5 literally says "filler episode" so it's meant to be a next to nothing update.

UGH! I'm not sure where you're from but I live in New England and it's starting to be spring around here and I usually get a allergy-attack-turned-cold around now and I'm dreading it because it's SO unfair to be sick during the warmer weather. Maybe mix in some water with your Dr. Pepper hahahah Also! I truly believe cranberry juice has medicinal values. OOH I haven't listened to too much Zayn, tragic on my own part. I've heard clips of his new song Alienated though and I'm loving it! I've never heard of Tejano Blue, I will give that a listen as well!

I just made my Spring 2024 playlist--it's a lot of old stuff I've listened to in the past (don't listen to the Stuck on the Floor song I have at the bottom--it's for sad-girl hours hahahaha)

Hope you feel better!

xoxo

#🎶

0 notes

vartouhix · 1 year

Text

@godsbox continued from x

❝ officially . . . i'm still gone. ❞ a swing of a leg and one ankle crossing neatly over the other, he'd tapped his pointer finger once against the blithe smile stretched across his lips, a one - sided lock &. key to unagreed silence before letting that arm drop, to join the other in a weightless bracket against his legs ── there's an endlessness beneath them. close to the ceiling of the sky as was viable on manmade things, still, and somewhere in the idle sway of his head with the whip of the wind there could've been some short tiny spark of appreciation that she'd come out this far out, this far up ( some spectacles just better seen up close &. personal. ) but, there's seeds of irritation sewn and jumbled in with all that dirt of the earth too, little clawing buds he'd poke back into the cracks, from one fingertip to another, set to let it all ebb in tandem to the quick sweep of his tongue beneath his teeth : the whole thankless job of it.

midtown. gojou'd ambled to his feet, heels backed at the threshold between air and solidity &. think to himself that that was the tower, now that it'd pinched long enough at the lax backburners of his memory / not a bad view. ❝ it's an embarrassment, to be honest with you. my own oppression is what i let happen. imagine being on the other end ── i'd rather not exist at all. ❞ it's . . . cutting, hummed, but it's chewed through a smile &. the downward tilt of his head in thoughtful regard where, in the end, he'd offer up a hand. a quick safe passage. @vartouhix [⋆·˚•]

The next blink of her eyes was a few nanoseconds longer than usual, lids hiding onyx irises' journey up towards her forehead, dark lashes fluttering. She crossed her arms to rest on her midriff, a soft exhale lost to the wind, the only evidence it happened at all being the quick rise and fall of her chest. "Yeah, yeah. I won't go tattling on you or anything like that," she reassured. Despite sometimes feeling like she enjoyed being busy, she could see how others would grow tired of it. Being "The Strongest™" meant being the one to clean up messes time and time again. She didn't envy him. "Though, as your teaching assistant, I'd like to know you're coming back." The lie slipped past her lips so easily, it would be difficult to discern the dishonesty of it. She didn't think it would be particularly hard to mislead him. Did he even know her well enough to know she worried? she wondered. Being a kouhai was odd like that--wondering if your friendships (or acquaintanceships) extend beyond the societal expectation of taking care of those beneath you.

Eyes fixed on where his body met the edge of the tower, with just the slightest tension between her brows, shoulders not quite relaxed. At his complaints, her head tipped to the side with a curious "Is it?" and the wind took the opportunity to pull strands of pink hair out of the half ponytail she always tied them in. She wrinkled her nose at the tickling from her forehead to her chin, eyes squeezing shut to keep the tendrils out of them. She reached back, untying the small white ribbon. "What would you do if you were truly 'free'--ah!" The exclamation came as her ribbon, apparently also seeking freedom, caught on the wind and blew out of her fingers while they were loose, in the middle of trying to fix her hair. With a pout, Jangmi came closer to the edge, slipping her hand into the one he offered. "Where do you want to go while you're 'still gone?'" Her gaze fell to the world below, and her head spun. She took a half-step back, her grip on his hand abruptly going tight.

#mad it didn't keep half the formatting but we move #godsbox #v.t #au: before there is no tomorrow

0 notes

heich0e · 2 years

Text

been Thinking Some Thoughts™ today about Gojo as a dad

Gojo, who has always been adored, always been VENERATED - but has rarely ever been truly loved.

Gojo, who sometimes thinks it’s the same thing. Thinks those two concepts are interchangeable. Equally-weighted. Commensurate.

Gojo, who swallows down the part of himself that tells him that they aren’t. That tells himself with every gift he has been born with, only having one of the two is enough.

Until he meets you.

And the way YOU love him isn’t what he thought love looked like at all.

You don’t fawn over him, or worship him, or praise him for his mere existence as though his birth was a grace by which the world was consecrated.

From the very day the two of you meet, you appreciate him quietly.

Over time, as that appreciation grows to something more, something BIGGER, he thinks he finally starts to understand it. Sort of.

You show him with your actions more than your words - though you do make a point to tell him how very much you care for him in the moments where the words are most needed, curled up and clinging and so, so vulnerable in a way that he allows only you to see.

But you also challenge him, you criticize him when it’s merited, you put him in his place when he grows too big even for the body he was born into. All in a way that nobody else ever has.

But you do it because you care for him. Because it's how you love him.

And he’s better for it.

And oh, if he thought you’d finally taught him all it meant to truly love someone, imagine how he feels the day the baby - His baby. Your baby - is placed into his arms.

A bundle more cotton than babe. A nose like yours, but a pair of eyes - eyes that to Satoru have always been something he was born to bear rather than to cherish - that look like his. A little pink hat.

And suddenly, looking into two fathomless pools of blue, Gojo understands.

Loving and worshipping have never been the same. Not even close.

But for the two of you - your daughter and yourself - he knows that in that moment and for every one which comes after, he’ll do both.

The baby starts to cry as soon as she realizes she’s being held by someone who isn’t you, a piercing wail tearing from her little throat.

But it’s okay because Satoru is crying too. Unabashedly so.

But he shushes her gently, an instinct to rock her that he doesn’t understand but listens to washing over him, cooing mindless nonsense down at her that he barely registers before it’s spilling from his lips.

He tells her how beautiful she is, how much he loves her, and how much she looks like her mama so both of those things are a given.

And in no time at all she’s been soothed, lulled back to a pacified, tranquil state, while you watch Gojo Satoru fall in love for the second time in his life - all from the comfort of your hospital bed.

#someone asked earlier if i would ever write anything for gojo #this is for u #gojo drabble #gojo imagine #gojo x you #gojo x reader #gojo satoru x reader #writing #jjk drabbles #jjk drabble #jjk writing

664 notes · View notes

lassieposting · 2 years

Note

Why you not posting bae, you ok?? Just insanely deep in Grimoire graft I hope - Backyard Anon

Hooo boy it has been A Weekend BA

I'm. Not okay, but I will be eventually. Very long story short, my stepmother's mental health issues do not mesh well with mine, and hers have been declining for a long time. In the last few months she's made me the target of all her frustration by ghosting me completely, blocking me on everything, etc, and claiming I'm "horrible to deal with" and "causing problems in their relationship". I have been unusually mature and forgiving about this so far because I know she struggles, but on the inside I haven't handled it well at all. I have serious abandonment issues from being ghosted by someone else I cared about, so my own mental health has tanked. I lost what I thought were some of my closest friends over this whole mess, I have started having panic attacks which is a new and thoroughly unwelcome experience, and I have almost committed myself to the psychiatric ward more times in the last few months than I can count - which has always been my greatest fear and something I have tried really hard to prevent. But I have accepted that she wants nothing to do with me because I am a Horrible Person™, even though she has yet to actually tell me what I've supposedly done wrong. Literally all she's done is bitch about me to my mom and then complain that no one listens to her when my mom defends me. Her biggest complaint is that I'm "overwhelmingly negative" which, yeah, she has a point, but hey. My life sucks ass. What does she expect. I have never been truly happy, I don't know how to fake that shit.

Anyway, last night she decided to issue my mom an ultimatum (me or her) and then tried to claim this morning that she never said that, which, she ain't slick and no one involved fell for her gaslighting bullshit. She was willing to make my mom think she was gonna lose her marriage and her home just because she was angry at my mom for "shaming her" for how she's been treating me. Their marriage is now careening for the rocks, her relationship with me has been irreparably shredded, and I have been comforting myself with the fantasy that eventually she'd come out of this bad mental health space and stop being so fucking nasty and want to fix the relationship, and I'll be able to lord it over her, rub her nose in what she's done like a dog and hopefully subject her to the same hurt and loss that she's put me through when I get to announce that she's dead to me.

Tbh she won't care, because she wants no contact with me anyway, but it makes the bitter, vengeful, nasty little person in my heart feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside to think about it.

And. Yeah. That's the latest from Lassieville. Thank you for checking in on me, I appreciate you

#personal #delete later

3 notes · View notes

clotpolesonly · 7 years

Note

Merthur + all the numbers

1) Who kisses the other on the nose and the one receiving the kiss blushes?

Merlin loves giving Arthur nose kisses!! his mom used to give him nose kisses when he was a kid, so they’re just such a sweet thing that he’s always loved, but the first time he did it to Arthur he looked so completely baffled and taken aback that Merlin had to laugh. now Arthur just gets flustered, cuz he’s still not used to such innocently affectionate gestures.

2) Who sits on their partner’s lap as they wrap their arms around their partners neck?

Merlin fits perfectly in Arthur’s lap, they both agree. he also greatly appreciates the extra height it gives him. they’re almost the same height standing up, so he loves having the chance to tilt Arthur’s face up to get a kiss.

3) Who kisses the inside of their partner’s palm before reassuring them everything is going to be okay?

that’s an Arthur thing. Merlin’s more prone to full body hugs and neck kisses, but Arthur’s a bit more reserved, especially when he’s upset or anxious (and let’s be real, if one of them is anxious, the other one is too). he’ll hold Merlin’s hand, play with his fingers, kiss his palm or the sensitive inside of his wrist. he’ll just press his lips there and linger. it comforts them both.

4) Who initiates the forehead touch™?

they’re both big fans of the forehead touch. it happens a lot tbh. it’s just so close and intimate without either of them having to use their words, lol.

5) Where do they first say “I love you”?

it’s after a big battle, long past when the emotions have stopped running high. Arthur had almost said it before, when he’d been trying to convince Merlin to stay behind, he’d almost blurted it out but he’d stopped himself. they’d both known what he wasn’t saying, but they’d held their tongues because it felt too much like a goodbye in the moment. they rode out and they fought and they saved each other and failed to save others, and they didn’t say it. not until everything was over. Arthur back in his chambers, coming down from the shaky high of battle. Merlin leans in the doorway, watching. he says it first because he doesn’t want it to seem reactionary, like he’s just saying it because Arthur did. he wants Arthur to know he truly means it.

6) Who wraps their arms around their partner who is cooking?

Arthur can’t cook to save his life, but he loves to plaster himself all over Merlin and watch him cook, lol. (and nuzzle his neck and distract him until he abandons the food and they have to reheat everything later.)

7) Who breaks out the first aid kit when the other gets a paper cut?

Arthur is maybe a tiny bit overprotective. just a bit. Merlin just lets him fuss because he knows by now that resistance is futile. also he sort of enjoys the fact that Arthur openly admits to carrying and worrying now. he didn’t used to allow himself to show that kind of vulnerable emotion. so the fussing is worth it.

8) Who cuddles up to the other on the couch?

Arthur is really very tactile and often in need of reassurance, especially if he’s been under a lot of stress at work. he’ll crawl onto the couch and lay himself flat on top of Merlin, burying his face in Merlin’s neck and wrapping arms around him and all but demanding cuddles. Merlin has no objections, even if Arthur is very heavy and might be squashing him a little.

9) How do they hold each other when their partner asks to be held?

Arthur is the little spoon. he doesn’t always want to admit to that for some stupid irrational reason, but when he really needs the comfort, he’ll let Merlin curl around him from behind and wrap him up in strong arms and make him feel safe and cherished and protected from the world, like nothing can get to him while Merlin’s there. for Merlin, it’s best on the couch, curled up sideways in Arthur’s lap so he can hide his face in Arthur’s shoulder and block out everything else while Arthur rubs his back and holds tight to his hand.

10) Who picks up the other fireman style in a playful way?

if you don’t think Arthur throws Merlin over his shoulder every chance he gets (and gets his ass pinched in retaliation every time), then you are very wrong, my friend.

11) Who brings the blanket to wrap them both up in it?

Arthur does because he knows how easily Merlin gets cold.

12) Who falls asleep on who? What is their reaction when the other falls sleep on them?

answered HERE

13) Who likes to be held and who likes to hold?

they’re both pretty clingy. it switches a lot, depending on who had a bad day and what sort of bad day it was. mostly whoever reaches out first gets to be the hugger.

send me a ship and a number

#Merthur #BBC Merlin #Anonymous #and the answer is

138 notes · View notes