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heresathreebee · 1 year

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Eddie Munson | Stranger Things || Public Sex // Temperature Play

Pre-Season 3 Setting; 3.5k words; NO BETA/ SELF EDITED, Swearing, Reader Lives In The Trailer Park And Has Siblings (mentioned only), Best Friends to Lovers, Implied Beef Between Reader and Billy Hargrove (+ brief appearance at the end), Heatwave Plot, Stripping, Slightly Pervy Eddie, Ice Play, First Kiss, Groping, Ruined Clothes, Unprotected Rough Sex (wrapt it before you tap it), Fainting, Grinding, Cum Play

Previous | Masterlist | Next: Prince Paul Free Choice: Teratophilia!

The heatwave that hit Hawkins was setting all the worst records. It's the summer of 1985 and Forest Hills Trailer Park doesn't have much. At least the Munsons had a couple fans and a screen door. That's how Eddie found himself stripped down to his underwear and laid out on his couch trying to catch the tiniest breeze in history.

And he was not alone.

Eddie propped his feet up on the coffee table and his eyes glued shut because you, a long-time friend, were also barely clothed on his couch and trying to beat the heat. Your trailer had ten kids in it, all of whom got kicked out before sunrise and called home by sunset. Until then, you were stuck fending for yourselves. Most of them went to the pool, but ever since Billy Hargrove became a lifeguard, you were determined to stay away from him as much as possible.

"You know, the mall has air conditioning," you suggested hours ago.

Eddie had replied simply, "they kick you out for loitering if you don't have money, and I'm tapped thanks to that parking ticket."

"Well… fuck," you had muttered.

Sweat dried and reformed on his skin as the breeze petered in and out of existence. What he wouldn't give to return to the shower or lay in a bed of ice, but the water bill was high enough and the ice maker took way longer than it advertised to refill. He couldn't even try napping the time away, he was too sticky and uncomfortable.

Groaning, you picked yourself up from the couch (leaving behind noticeable dark spots on the seat and the arm you were laying) and trudged over to the freezer with a cup. Eddie's eyes followed you only as long as you had your back turned. He watched clandestinely as your hips swayed with every step, droplets of sweat rolling down your back and your calves, hair frizzed out to the max. He probably looked the same, right down to the drenched, sheer underwear.

He was a little too preoccupied with his watch to look away from you as you turned around and made direct eye contact with him. You either didn't notice or didn't care enough to comment and returned to the couch shoving ice in your mouth and holding the glass to your glistening forehead. You sat in a dry spot-- the middle of the couch, so close that your knee bumped his.

"How can you stand wearing that thing?" Eddie hadn't meant to comment on your bra, but the words were out before he could take them back. He prided himself on keeping his long time crush on you a secret-- he never wanted to lose you just because he was having not so platonic thoughts about you and your body, you were far too important to him. But if you minded, you didn't say (truthfully, the heat was making you too irritable to think of anything else).

"If I take it off, are you going to be weird about it?"

It took Eddie a full minute to process what you said. You could see the metaphorical cobwebs coming off the cogs of his brain for a second and his eyes widened in shock. You watched him gulp nervously and shake his head. His permission mattered to you about as much as your modesty, which given the circumstances was at an all time low, and soon your structured boob holder was dangling off the television set. Eddie had the courtesy to avert his eyes and you rewarded him by pressing the biggest ice chip you could find in his hand and watched him pop it between his pink lips and suck.

"Do you think we could go pool hopping?" Eddie asked after a fashion (and with his eyes glued shut again).

You rubbed another piece of ice on your forehead and felt it melt swiftly to nothing against your skin. "Well first we'd have to get dressed enough to cross town, and I'm not doing that. Do you think the police station has air?"

Eddie scoffed. "I know it doesn't. That chief Hopper's a damn cheapskate…"

You laughed together and settled back into silence, the only sounds now were the icemaker, the fans, and children (your brothers and sisters most likely) running wild in the park. Soon enough, your cup was near empty, and you sat up too late to get the last piece. You watched in disbelief as Eddie popped the last one into his mouth again and whined pitifully.

"Eddie! That was the last one!"

He grunted at you and shrugged, but you weren't having it because he had not once taken the initiative to get up and get ice today. You climbed onto your knees and glared at him, leaning so close that he backed away almost in fear until you were bent over him and sneering.

"Open your mouth and give it to me."

You reached out a hand to his parted lips which snapped shut just in time to protect his treasure. He turned his head like a petulant child and put out a hand to hold you back-- accidentally groping your naked chest and he turned beet red.

"Sorry, sorry!"

"You're gonna melt the rest of it, Eddie," you complained.

His hand moved to your waist and he stood his ground. "You can have it, OK? But I don't want your dirty fingers in my mouth!"

You rolled your eyes and scoffed. "How am I going to get it then?"

Both of your eyes met and the same thought occurred. He wouldn't pressure you to, but unbeknownst to either of you, the thought of swapping ice like a piece of gum was intriguing to both parties. You conceded and let him sit up, slightly nervous as you watched his jaw unclench and his lips open in invitation (preferably not for your "dirty" fingers as he called them). The thought of the sweet coveted ice cube disappearing has you surging forward unexpectedly and making Eddie grunt as your mouths collide clumsily. Your tongue brushes his as you take the ice into your mouth and you pull away quickly, completely unaware of his stunned, horny expression or the thin string of saliva still connected between you two.

You moan with your eyes closed and miss Eddie gulping hard. There was no way his flimsy, cotton briefs could hide the half mast that had become his cock. He managed to cover himself with his hands and watched you flop onto the couch with a satisfied purr and your breasts jiggled wildly which also drove him crazy.

Maybe this is hell. Maybe this is purgatory, the metalhead nineteen year old thought as he looked over your tempting, bare form. You looked like a concubine in a renaissance painting, or a woman in a Heavy Metal comic. It's not like he hadn't noticed your body changing over the years but to be curious about it for so long and now be faced with it? It was killing him to keep his promise to stay neutral about his carnal desires.

Eddie sat up and leaned his elbows on his knees and tried not to groan as his full chub was unceremoniously squeezed between his belly and thigh. All he had to do was wait it out. You would fall asleep and he could skip to his bedroom and rub it out and try not to look guilty when he came back to sit with you. He listened to your breathing slow until it was barely audible and counted backwards from twenty.

But when Eddie tried to stand, your voice piped up. "I can't take this anymore. Maybe the pool won't notice if we sneak in and hide in their showers."

The idea was tempting, but he knew how much you hated the thought of running into Billy. After the 'photo fiasco,' you were devastated to lose your position at the local church to save face, even when you proved the girl in it wasn't actually you.

"It's not my mouth that's hot," you complained, "it's everywhere, Eds. It's my back and my head and my skin and my lungs. I need it everywhere!"

"I know what you mean..." and then an idea came to him. "Stay right there, don't move-- or open your eyes!"

You made a noise and lifted your arm anyways, but one quick bark and you annoyedly put your arm back over your eyes with a huff. Eddie strutted over to the icemaker and checked inside. The bucket was working overtime and only a quarter of the way full, but it would do. He tested his theory out by lifting one cube and rubbing it against the back of his neck. Instantly his eyes rolled back into his head and he moaned lasciviously.

"The hell are you doing over there?!"

"Eyes closed!"

You growled in frustration and flipped over face down on the couch, bearing your back in the hopes of cooling it down some. You listened to Eddie's hurried steps back to the couch and a thunk of something heavy on the coffee table. You weren't paying any mind until something cold dripped a satisfying line up your back and something freezing was rubbed up your spine between your shoulder blades. You gasped and arched away from the touch. Even though it felt good, the sudden temperature change shocked your system and ripped you out of your lethargic state and into reality.

You whipped your head around to find a nearly naked Eddie (you had forgotten about either of your states of undress until just now) kneeling on the floor holding a couple of ice cubes in his hands and hovering next to you. He looked a little apologetic, but he was determined to show you his plan.

"Look!"

You watched as Eddie rubbed a couple of ice cubes against his stomach and up his chest. His flesh took on a pink hue and his nipple tightened as he passed by them, but the look of pure satisfaction that crossed his face was enough to make you squirm. You knew he couldn't reach his back to the fullest potential and neither would you be able to, but at that moment, that was exactly where you needed to cool down first.

You popped your head into the cradle of your arms and arched your back in the opposite way. "OK. OK, do me. If you get my back, I'll get yours."

You had meant to say it like it was sunscreen, but the flash of darkness that passed through Eddie's eyes made you conscious of the accidental double entendre. You purse your lips and let him choose.

There wasn't much to decide-- Eddie wanted to help, ulterior motives be damned. He nodded his head and breathed deeply as he put his ice laden hands back on your body, the cubes melting even further and soaking your heat irritated flesh pleasantly. He gulped again when your ankles crossed and you buried your face in your arms and he could almost convince himself you were just as aroused as he was. In no time, the ice completely melted, and Eddie was left to massage his still cool hands over your drenched skin. Once the sweet coolness wore off, you lifted yourself off the couch and turned to him.

He averted his eyes instantly and covered his crotch, having forgotten that your bare back meant you had a bare front too, and he couldn't live with himself if you saw how affected he was.

Meanwhile, you reached over to the icemaker and took your own handful of ice. "OK, your turn. Up on the couch and turn around."

Eddie did as he was told and could not look you in the eye. You did catch notice of the bulge in his briefs but didn't linger on it. You knew boys get hard at random– it didn't mean anything (probably). Eddie hunched over away from you, one hand propped on the coffee table and the other on the couch arm. Goose pimples formed and more of his skin tinted pink as you ran ice over his lower back, sliding up his flanks, caressing his rib cage and up between his shoulder blades. By the time you reached his neck, you were breathless.

Eddie was unmistakably tense. The muscles of his back twitched and you could hear his own controlled breathing and realized this feeling was not exclusive to you. You wanted nothing more than to wrap your hand around his neck, pull his head back and shove your tongue down his throat like you almost did earlier.

"Eddie..." you didn't mean for it to sound like a sexually charged gasp but it did, and Eddie also noticed.

He finally turned around and you both sat together-- fingers pruned from the ice, chests heaving, pupils blown wide. The energy sparking between you was electric and you threw caution into the wind as you walked on your knees closer to him and stared at his parted lips. Eddie met you halfway, a hand gripping your head and the other catching your hip as you collided into each other, kissing for real for the first time ever.

How could something so wrong feel so right? You were making out with your best friend and pressing your body against his felt like two puzzle pieces finally clicking together like they had always belonged. Eddie pulled away and you followed, straddling his lap and rubbing yourself against the prominent hump of his arousal and moaning in tandem.

"Fuck, I--" You cut Eddie off with another kiss. You didn't want to think anymore. Thinking meant stopping and realizing maybe this wasn't a smart idea and that couldn't happen, not right now. So you buried your hands in his wild hair and tugged, forcing his head back to expose the neck you have dreamed of biting for literal years. Your fantasies about what Eddie would sound like were nothing compared to the real thing, so deep in his chest it rumbled and your nipples tightened painfully. You felt his hands lock on your hips and hold you down as he rolled his ridged, clothed cock into your throbbing clit.

You practically threw Eddie against the couch cushions. "Take them off. Take them off now and fuck me."

He knew you meant his underwear but he didn't want you to leave his lap to remove yours so he reached for the band of your panties and pulled hard. You saw a few thick veins flex in his forearms before a distinct and sharp riippp alerted you to the tear of your admittedly already ruined underwear. He tried to find purchase to rip another hole in the crotch, but the fabric there was so drenched in your slick it was literally impossible to hold onto. Instead, you reached your hand to find the uneven tear in the back and snapped one of the leg holes there, tossing the thing aside and touching yourself for relief.

Eddie openly stared at your breasts now, his mouth going dry as he worked mindlessly to undress himself and the sight of your fingers working over your sex was driving him insane. His cock sprung free and slapped against his stomach with an audible bounce. Your hooded eyes fell to the thing and he groaned as he watched your expression turn savage.

A few quick adjustments, and suddenly you were sliding down his length. It took all of his concentration and strength to force you to go slow-- you were clearly hurting as a pathetic whine left your trembling lips and tears instantly left streaks down your face. He was too big to take without preparation and being wet for hours was not enough. He almost flipped you over to take control, but one grunt of your name and you seemed to regain higher brain function enough to understand that he didn't want to hurt you.

He felt the muscles in your thighs relax and let you control how deep he took you. After a few gentle rocks in and out, you were finally fully seated and hips flush against his own so you both sighed in relief. It was impossible to know who started it, but soon you were both rocking your hips and fucking each other in soft earnest. The shocks of electricity felt like the same shocks that rubbing ice gave you, and it was seconds before your entire body was shaking violently and you were screaming as your orgasm slammed into you.

Eddie's ears become hot at the sound and sight of you absolutely losing it on top of him. He sat up quickly and grabbed you by the throat when your eyes rolled back and you went completely limp in his arms. He was so scared you were passing out that he stopped fucking up into you and he helped you lay back against the couch, panting and shaking your arms and calling your name. It was several minutes before you were able to answer him.

"Jesus Christ," Eddie sighed as your eyes finally focused and glanced lazily at him. "Are you Okay?!"

Your gaze wandered over the ceiling as you gathered your thoughts. "Yeah. Of course I am."

Eddie gave you an incredulous look and scoffed, running his hands through his hair and making it look even wilder. "Thought you croaked. Scared the hell out of me, actually."

You laughed unexpectedly, and felt Eddie's legs tense under you as your pussy tightened rhythmically around his meat still buried inside of you. You might have kept laughing if Eddie's hands didn't tighten so hard on your thighs that they were bound to leave bruises. "Ouch!"

He didn't even apologize. Eddie didn't know a girl's body did that and now he would never be able to make you laugh again without being reminded of that motion. It was a struggle to meet each other on this side of reason, but when you did, you realized he still hadn't finished.

"Not to be a buzzkill, but..." you couldn't find the words to say it, but Eddie instantly understood-- you probably weren't on the pill. Disappointing the both of you, he pulled out until his cock, now swollen and an angry red, bobbed out and slapped his belly again before resting atop your mound. It gave you another idea. Your hand drifted down and pressed him against yourself, then began to leverage your hips and watched Eddie's mouth drop open and stare at you. "Is this okay? Is it... good?"

Eddie could do nothing but nod-- the discomfort of the heatwave completely forgotten as the feeling of your sex consumed his every working braincell. As if on cue, his hips began to mimic your movements, and Eddie's fingers dug deeper into your thighs just above your knees. Sweat beaded beneath his bangs and tricked down his jaw before dripping onto his chest and drawing your eyes over his newest tattoo, a black widow on the prowl. The expression he wore on his face was chock full with emotions-- lust and confusion and disbelief. He was unsure of himself, surely thinking about the consequences of your actions inbetween the strokes over your sex against his slick, twitching cock.

"I love this Eddie," you purred. "We should have done this a long time ago."

That put a small smile on his previously forlorn face. "Fucking happy to do it anytime you want, princess."

You hum and halt all of your ministrations, throwing your hands above your head and looking deep into his eyes. "Then take what you want and come on me, Dungeon Master."

Tomorrow he would curse you for calling him that, but for now, Eddie shifted his position to take his place on top of you, mourning not being able to be as close as he wanted due to the impossibly worsening heat around you. He slipped his cock back inside your heat and grabbed an ice cube from the melted bucket and shoving it into his mouth before using it to mouth at your nipples and start thrusting into you again. His strokes were deeper this time, more in control, and he delighted in the sound of you moaning beneath him and placing your feet on the small of his back.

"H-uh... fuck... E-Eddie... fuck!" He could tell you were ramping up to another orgasm but he wouldn't make it that long. He promised himself he would make it up to you till the end of time and pulled out just as the first rope of cum spattered against your labia. All of his nerves felt raw and his hands shook as he emptied himself on your stomach and thighs. He opened his eyes and closed them instantly, leaving an afterimage of your fucked out face and cum covered body. You would surely be the death of him.

BONUS

Billy spotted a couple of familiar faces in the heavily occupied pool. Eddie Munson had his arms around a girl and they were talking really closely in a corner of the water like two lovebirds in their own nest. He blew his whistle and called them out, watching with some satisfaction as they parted with glares at him, though they didn't go very far.

Who would have thought those two, and then Billy paid them no more mind.

Previous | Masterlist | Next: Prince Paul Free Choice: Teratophilia!

So close! We're almost to the end!!!

#kinktober 2022 challenge #eddie munson smut #eddie munson x female reader #tppkinktober2022 #joseph quinn character fiction #black reader insert #three bees writing

76 notes · View notes

laiwalane · 1 month

Note

hey, could you please write something with sally mckenna and the countess?🤍

i really love them, their biggest fan for like three years but there are almost no fics with them and i really liked your fandom list and writing style (?) so, wanted to ask for smth like fluff or smut, but not too short if it’s okay💅🏻

oh yea.

Phantom Passion

pairing: Sally McKenna x The countess

warnings: idk just sex

tags: light dom/sub, gentle sex, first time, soft talk

_______________________________________

The flickering candlelight illuminates Elizabeth's room in warm orange tones, casting shadows on the pale skin of Her Majesty the Countess. Her eyes are partially closed, and her lips sigh as soon as Sally breaks away from their kiss. Beautiful.

Being with Elizabeth in any romantic capacity is still something Sally can hardly believe. For Sally, Elizabeth is perfection, something so precious that she certainly shouldn't be allowed to touch her. And yet it is there. Elizabeth chose her, although it would have been enough for Sally just to be in Elizabeth's life. She would never have expected that these desires would come to this.

–Relax.– Sally whispers, running her fingers over Elizabeth's shoulder. They pull back the bra strap, leaving room for Sally's lips to touch the skin.

–Let me help you relax when you've finally given yourself a minute.

Elizabeth grins, no doubt fully understanding what Sally means; that the Countess runs a hotel day in and day out, being an immortal vampire, where it seems none of the staff can last a minute without her sensitive guidance, that such moments of escape from reality happen so rarely. No wonder Sally is so grateful for these moments. For such a limited time that can be devoted to her. Her. her Countess.

And yet Sally blinks, puzzled and immediately worried, when Elizabeth's hand falls on her arm, gently pulls her back.

– Countess?

- Just a minute. – Elizabeth doesn't seem annoyed or angry - just curious, all her movements resemble a white cat.

Until now, she had refrained from their intimacy, returning the bra strap to her shoulder and wiping her lips.

– Before we continue, I have to mention something.

Sally has to hold back her laughter. Believe me, Elizabeth will say this in the same tone as at a military meeting.

- Yes?

She didn't expect a sigh in response to this.

– That's exactly what I wanted to mention. Listen, Sally.

Elizabeth's usually stern voice softens at the end of her words, and she reaches out to take McKenna's hand.

– I don't want to complain about what we are... We've been close until now. You were just a wonderful partner, with whom I never even hoped to experience something like this...

the praise makes Sally tremble inside.

–Anything for you, Love– flashes through her head at the speed of light, but she doesn't dare interrupt her train of thought.

–That's what's bothering me, Sally.– she says, as if reading a ghost's mind.

Sally stops smiling and, in turn, a smile appears on the Countess's face. She runs her thumb over Sally's arm.

– Don't worry about it. The only thing that's starting to bother me is that you never think about yourself when it comes to us being together. I'm flattered that you're putting me in priority, but that's not what I want, you know?

Sally goes to deny it, ready for her usual chatter. She's here for Elizabeth's pleasure. Whatever she wanted, she would get, and it was Sally's duty to take responsibility and ensure that the Countess enjoyed herself in any way. Isn't this the ideal love in her understanding?

But she hesitates. Elizabeth's knowing look is too sincere for Sally to ignore, and, unwittingly, the fantasies that come to Sally when she is alone flash through her mind. She feels warmth begin to flow to her face.

–I guess that means I'm right.

Sally bites her lip.

–I shouldn't lie to you, honey. But you're the only one who matters, at least for now. After I saved you, I realized that I couldn't let you go anymore. And I'm being more honest with you now than ever.

– I know that, Sally. Her voice gets firmer, and Sally stops, looking down. There's something about that voice that touches her. She wants her cheeks to stay just warm, not burning.

– I understand how you feel about all this, but I don't want our relationship to be so one-sided.

For a moment, Sally is about to object, but the moment she looks back at Elizabeth's face, she stops. She knows her well enough to know when she's serious, and McKenna has little opportunity to try to change her mind. Not that she really wanted to. In any case, Elizabeth's conclusions are more than understandable to her.

– All right.– Sally says.

–Then please, Sally. I would like you to talk to me about what could improve this for you.

Sally looks down again. Her heart is pounding louder. He purses his lips nervously. She would like to say that she does not need to ask for anything, but that would be a lie, and her fear of disappointing the Countess with her desires does not outweigh the terrifying thought of lying to her.

– I want to emphasize that I liked those few times when we were already close, and I would not take anything away from it. In other words, having sex with you is just something

She's breathing raggedly. She's still looking down when Elizabeth's free hand strokes Sally's shoulder and cheek.

Sally's lips tighten. Her fingers touch the back of the hand touching her, and that's enough to make her speak.

– Iwant you to touch me.– Sally says, and her voice sounds like thunder in the silence.

Elizabeth smiles. Her thumb strokes Sally's lower lip, which spreads them apart. She's waiting for a kiss. Elizabeth's hands stroke Sally's neck and shoulders, pressing down on them to put her back on the bed. To her surprise, Sally just blinks at Elizabeth with her hands on either side of her.

– There is only one thing I need from you in return– Elizabeth bends down, and Sally longingly waits for what she will say, barely able to take her eyes off the countess, but fascinated by the clarity of her shoulders, arms, and stomach.

– Don't worry and don't think that you need to take control into your own hands. I'd really like to see how you behave when you comply.

Sally nods instantly.

A smile before Elizabeth tears the gap between their lips. Sally's eyes close with a buzz. Her mouth opens slightly, welcoming the touch of the Countess's tongue on her own, she shifts slightly on the bed.

Unable to move, and not needing to, he moans in a kiss when Elizabeth's knee slides between her legs and presses against her crotch.

Biting Sally's lip, Elizabeth changes course, instead wrapping one arm around the ghost's wrists and letting her now free hand wander. Sally lifts herself up to help her slide under her back, undoing the clasp of her bra; after a few seconds, Elizabeth drops it, and Sally's breasts remain in place. The Countess, of course, had seen her naked before. However, when she raises her arms above her head and gives Elizabeth such freedom of movement, she has never felt so vulnerable, and Sally's chest rises from breathing.

She slides her fingers up the center of Sally's torso, causing a slight tremor. They slide over McKenna's chest, experiencing her light caress on the nipple. In response, Sally's teeth grab her lower lip, her body twists slightly under the hand holding her wrists, and the corner of Elizabeth's lips curves. Sally didn't expect to like it so much. Perhaps she had spent less time in reality than she had imagined, and was too caught up in her own ideas of what was best for Elizabeth.

Elizabeth's hand reaches out further, wraps around her breast and gently squeezes, pinching the nipple with two fingers. Sally is sobbing. This sound is reserved only for those cases when she is alone, touching herself, imagining that she is in the power of Elizabeth, and she tilts her head to one side with her eyes closed.

– No need to be embarrassed, Sally

Elizabeth bends over, her breath at Sally's ear makes her shudder.

–Although I admit you look amazing.

She kisses the bare neck of Sally's turned head. They deepen as they descend, tasting the biting of the skin; Sally gasps.

Sally bites her lip. Would she dare to say the words that are on her mind?

— me... I don't mind if you leave footprints. She smiles.

Elizabeth's kisses lead her to the hollow at Sally's collarbone, where she sucks on the skin.

– I've been thinking about you a lot already -oh! – She is interrupted by her own moan as Elizabeth's mouth moves further without warning, her tongue moving up to Sally's nipple.

– Yes, that's it... –Making another, much more breathless moan, Sally's back arches and only brings herself even closer to her mouth sucking on a nipple. Her other breast still remains in Elizabeth's attentive hand, continuing to tease.

Sally tries to speak, to say something encouraging, but she never realized how much she can take her breath away.

Elizabeth's mouth is gorgeous. And her fingers, too, all the way down to the almost sly smile on Sally's chest, as if she admires every reaction Makenna has to her.

Her breathing becomes heavy as soon as Elizabeth's mouth leaves her chest. No matter now, Elizabeth's hand slides down Sally's body, following her waist to her hips. She is slow and teasing, her gaze penetrating Sally, forcing her to wait, squirm, while she anticipates where this hand will go.

– You're so beautiful. –The compliment makes Sally flinch.

– You look great as it is. I'm struggling to understand why you were so hesitant to tell me what you really wanted.

Sally is silent on this, fascinated by the process.

Elizabeth grins. Her hand slides over the red lace of Sally's underwear, her fingers dancing on the way to her lips under the material.

Fingers slide up, pressing on Sally's clitoris; she whimpers.

Elizabeth smiles as she watches Sally choke on the ongoing teasing, Sally watches her partner's face from under half-closed eyelids.

– How ready are you to do this?

– Anything. –Sally's blush deepens at how quickly she answered.

–Maybe we should slow down the first time– Elizabeth teases.

She presses harder, swallowing the excited twitching of Sallm's legs in response.

–Although I could do without both hands to really take advantage of you offering yourself to me. –Wouldn't it be too much of a request to tie your wrists?

Sally shakes her head—in fact, she would beg for it immediately—but first she has to check.

– No, I think you'll be fine. Aren't you?. –

– God, you're still asking, just do it. – Sally replies.

Elizabeth smiles with delight, which Sally doesn't often see from her

– You can wait for me right here.

The hand between Sally's legs retracts; she nods, holding her hands above her head, even when Elizabeth releases her. She hasn't had any doubts for a long time.

Moreover, she is delighted.

To make up for the lack of rope, Elizabeth takes her tie.

Sally can't help but run her tongue around her lips. The soft skin on her hands, the confident expression on her face - Sally's thoughts go beyond tying, and it should be noticeable, because Elizabeth blushes, although she also smiles.

– I should have guessed that you like specificity in sex. Just like me in other things.

Sally nods, feeling herself blush. She watches as Elizabeth comes closer, wrapping the tie around her hands.

– This is not the best option. Elizabeth says. –But I don't expect you to try to escape no matter what.

–I wish I could run away. – the ghost laughs.

Elizabeth's smile returns. She strokes Sally's now bound hands, slowly assessing her body. Over her breasts, down her stomach, her thighs are caressed and finally Elizabeth takes hold of Sally's underwear belt. Sally inhales sharply-nervously, but excitedly-as Elizabeth pulls her panties off her hips and throws them aside.

–It's beautiful. – she says, perhaps more to herself than to Sally.

She steps back to admire the view in front of her. Hungry eyes meet Sally's gaze, she reaches behind her back to take off her bra.

–You're perfect like this. – To think I could have gotten this sooner.

Sally's already ragged breathing becomes sharper as she examines the figure in front of her. Her small but strong figure, lust in her eyes; Sally's ready requests for touch are stopped only by Elizabeth diving in for the same. She bends over Sally again, caressing every inch of skin she can find.

They're kissing. Insatiable, their moans merge together, Elizabeth squeezes both of Sally's breasts before, still kissing Sally, she strokes Sally's body and spreads her thighs.

– Mm—

Sally's forehead wrinkles during the kiss, she shudders in despair, gasps when the kiss is interrupted.

– Oh one thing first, Elizabeth

– Yes?

– I hope you didn't forget the lubricant?

Knowing that Elizabeth will only tell her to calm down again, she stops herself from further ranting, explaining that this has nothing to do with a lack of arousal.

Elizabeth looks at her pointedly, takes a glass box of oil from their personal belongings and places it on the edge of the bed, as if to show her that everything is under control, returning with a caress to Sally's open thighs.

Elizabeth settles in front, putting her hands under Sally's legs to separate them. Her hand is on Sally's pelvis, and Elizabeth's exhale touches the ghost's crotch.

She's shaking.

Moving lower, the lips kiss the inside of Sally's thighs. They're slow. Loving. And yet it's agony, the more they step on Sally's hips, the more her body begs them to move on. Elizabeth's tongue runs over Sally's lips, stopping right at her clitoris. Her body shudders. Almost trembling with anticipation alone. The tongue makes teasing circles before licking the clitoris with a wide movement. Sally moans hoarsely, throwing her head back, and realizing that she cannot pull Elizabeth's head closer, instead clenches her bound hands into weakened fists and swings her hips forward.

– Oh, my love

Sally lets out a groan. He is able to control this as long as the tongue continues to work its way around her, right up until it touches the tip of her clitoris, and the licking ends with the tip of Elizabeth's tongue. Strong sparks of pleasure make Sally's back arch.

– Aah, oh—oh-oh-oh... this...”

We've been dragging our feet for a long time.I won't torture you this time. – Maybe Elizabeth is saying this in a joking way, and maybe not.

The tongue moves to a wider licking, allowing Sally to sigh and her body to relax a little. She's breathing. Inhale, exhale, getting comfortable and closing your eyes to enjoy the pleasure. Elizabeth's attentive eyes watch her movements, how her body relaxes before forcing her tongue to move faster. Another sharp kiss. Sally throws her head back with a groan as Elizabeth's lips wrap around her clitoris, gently sucking on it.

Her legs wrap around Elizabeth's toned back to catch on to something, anything.

Even the lightest fingertips make her shudder. A light, dancing touch on her thighs, Elizabeth stroking her skin. It's electrifying.

Elizabeth's kisses on Sally's clitoris, her eyes fixed on Sally—just one look could make her melt into a puddle. Lustful, loving and impatient.

– I really like just listening to your voice and moans.

Sally's lips tighten in one of those moans when Elizabeth's tongue returns to her sweet spot. Nodding, Sally lowers her head on her raised hand, swaying her hips and involuntarily pressing against the Countess's mouth. Part of her desire is for her hands to be untied to keep a beautiful woman sucking on her clitoris. The rest of her, a much greater part, succeeds in letting go of control and putting herself at Elizabeth's mercy. Who better to take care of her?

Elizabeth proves it. She reaches for the bottle of lube she brought earlier, but not without lifting her mouth to meet Sally's gaze

Elizabeth's gaze is too sincere for Sally to ignore, and unwittingly, the fantasies that come to Sally when she is alone flash through her mind. She feels her face starting to warm up.

Sally bites her lip.

You can't beat around the bush with Elizabeth, and maybe that's one of the things Sally loves about her the most.

– We'll try a little bit and we can stop whenever you want.

Elizabeth smiles. She starts to lubricate her finger.

–You could have mentioned it once or twice.– she teases.

The smile on Sally's face softens. She watches Elizabeth's finger approach, calming her nerves. Elizabeth's free hand reaches for Sally's face, cupping her cheek.

She's ready. This is indicated by her nod, and she inhales deeply as part of Elizabeth's finger slides into her. It's slow and careful. It's like Sally has never had sexual partners at all and this is her first time.

– Relax.

The movements of Elizabeth's tongue and finger are simultaneously stunning. Sally's legs and thighs tremble from the onslaught of pleasure, shaking from head to toe. Her hips are getting heavier, her breathing is getting faster—it's almost enough to make her dizzy.

However, by the time she's practically choking on pleasure, she's overwhelmed with embarrassment as she reaches the limit, barely able to handle so many things at once.

–Uh, Elizabeth, I think...Ngh, wait a minute.

And Elizabeth does it quickly, her finger slips out of Sally, and her mouth ends with a final kiss on Sally's clitoris. She looks at her questioningly

– All this is cool, of course. But you pulled that damn tie too tight. My hands went numb. Untie me. – Makenna commands.

Elizabeth reaches over Sally's head to untie her tie, stroking the place where the skin came into contact with the fabric. All this time, Sally is trying to catch her breath.

– You don't think anything like that, I'm thrilled about it, honestly, but I want to focus on you in the end.

– In any case, this is my miscalculation. Elizabeth says, her arms wrapping around Sally's body, pulling her into an embrace. A hand strokes Sally's head, followed by a kiss.

– I take it I should continue?

Sally nods. It doesn't take her long to relax. burrowing into her shoulder with a grateful grunt. Her heart calms down, and soon all she can wonder is why she became so sensitive in the first place.

Sally is now lying completely free, Elizabeth's fingers and tongue continue their actions. But soon it becomes not enough for her, and by the small hints that her body is able to show, she asks for more. Elizabeth understands, she always understands and adds a second finger.

Sally moans long. Her hips swing up and down, she is already close, but she tries to stretch her pleasure as long as possible. Elizabeth's movements become faster and eventually Sally reaches her peak, making a hoarse pornographic moan.

– This..It was fucking awesome, the ghost says, trying to catch his breath.

– I know. – the Countess says.

It was also exhausting. She lies down next to Sally and hugs her.

– I think we need to take a shower.

– Wait at least five minutes, darling. Elizabeth grins.

– Only next time. The Countess purrs. – You'll be on top

____________________________________

Hope you liked it, dear requestor

#writers block #american horror story #sally mckenna #the countess #american horror story hotel #Sally mckenna x the countess #lady gaga #sarah paulson #ahs

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nightingaletrash · 1 year

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So what's the tea between Alistair and Solana? Why'd he leave her?

Well it mostly comes down to the whole 'putting Loghain through the Joining' thing.

Solana carried around a decent amount of guilt over the consequences of her actions in her origin, with Lilly being imprisoned in Aeonar and Jowan's poisoning of Eamon which led to Connor's whole deal. Rationally, she knew that shit was going to hit the fan no matter what she did, but as she accomplishes more and more as a Warden, it forces her to wonder if things really were that inevitable. Maybe if she'd fought harder, backed Jowan up more readily, they could have escaped without him resorting to blood magic. Or maybe she should have accepted the inevitability of the situation and just told Irving about the plan.

Either way, she carries an increasing sense of guilt that doesn't really lessen after she lets Jowan flee Redcliffe. So she buckles down on what Duncan taught her - that Grey Wardens do what they must, no matter how ugly, if it means stopping the Blight. So she gets her hands dirty working with Bhelen, she recruits every stripe of person and being that comes her way, and she always chooses what is best for Ferelden and not for herself.

Alistair, therefore, is a bit of an exception. He was someone with whom she felt safe and happy, where she wasn't just a mage or a Warden, just Solana. And that meant the entire world to her. It was the one concession she allowed herself to have against the Wardens, against inevitability.

But she knew how badly Alistair didn't want to be King, and wanted to try and find a work around for him so that his nightmare wouldn't have to come true. So imagine her luck when she's rescued Anora, freed from Fort Drakon, and is asked to have a private word with the Queen; Anora offers an alliance where Solana supports her bid for the throne, and asks that - if possible - she spare Loghain's life. It's not ideal, but Solana agrees that should Loghain stand down, she'll spare his life.

Now, Solana called a group meeting to tell the others about the arrangement, but Eamon insists that he needs to talk some things through with Alistair before the Landsmeet and so he's absent when the others discuss it. Meaning he's completely horrified when Solana not only spares Loghain, but acquiesces to Riordan's recommendation to make him a Warden.

And suddenly there's a hard line drawn in the sand - either she can be a lover and go against her deal with Anora to do as Alistair wishes, or be a Warden and uphold Duncan's principle that Wardens do as they must, not as they please.

And Solana chooses to be a Warden.

It wasn't something she did lightly. In fact, it was the hardest choice she'd made by tht point, and she even begged him not to leave. But he did anyway, leaving both of them heartbroken.

But Solana still carries a torch for Alistair. She put her foot down with Anora over the prospect of an execution, and now she searches for a cure for the Calling, not for herself and the Wardens, but for him. That the rest of them could be cured is simply a side benefit. She knows that she hurt him deeply and that he'll never forgive her, but if she can cure his Calling, then maybe he can at least live without an inevitable doom hanging over his head. And that alone would be enough for her.

As for how Alistair feels... I haven't quite decided yet. Still hurting, still yearning. Not able to forgive her, but not able to forget her either.

It's complicated for him, and quite simple for her, so all in all, it's very messy.

#annoyed-galaxy #dao #solana amell #alistair theirin #solana/alistair #basically it's a messy breakup and it's definitely all eamon's fault no doubt about it #if it's dao and it goes wrong. blame eamon.#good news: she did see jowan again and saw the good he was doing which helped her realise that sometimes #bad shit has to happen before the good shows up #it doesn't fix everything about how she feels but it helps

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nicobaka · 3 years

Text

CLEARING UP AND EXPLAINING SOME THINGS THAT PEOPLE TEND TO MISUNDERSTAND ABOUT GRAY, JUVIA, AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP

(warning: spoilers. It's also gonna be some LONG ass shit lmao. Sorry for typos in advance)

I heard a lot of people hating Gruvia for things that they misunderstood (or just straight-up dismiss/ignore) about the ship, and so I thought I'd clear up and explain some of those here because I just think all this hate towards the ship is unnecessary especially when most of their reasons of why they hate the ship aren't really valid or reasonable.. I mean, yeah, you can dislike and hate it all you want, we all have different preferences. But the level of hate Gruvia gets for reasons that are already proven false and untrue is just unbelievable. Like people saying Gray is somehow "controlled" by Juvia, or that Gray has "Stockholm syndrome" when Juvia never even tried to kidnap Gray... And worse is when people start to spread misinformation and slander the ship, spreading hate and negativity towards the ship for reasons that are again, proven to be untrue.

[ GRAY'S BIG TSUNDERE ASS ]

Gruvia is not one-sided, it's just that Gray's a big frickin Tsundere and that he refuses to show affection, so he may come off as cold to her sometimes. Although later on he realized that he should accept his feelings for Juvia rather than pushing her away and trying to run away from his own feelings before he regrets it, so now he has become less of a Tsundere and is trying to become a better person for her (but still a Tsundere lmao)

[ GRAY'S PAST AND CHILDHOOD TRAUMA ]

Gray does not dislike nor hate Juvia, even from the very beginning after they just met. Hell, even right after their fight in their first meeting. After their first actual meeting, Gray even helped her, saved her, made her happy, and even smiled with her. He wouldn't have done all that if he disliked her. He wouldn't have said he has no problem with Juvia joining the guild if he disliked her. He wouldn't hang around with Juvia inside and even outside the guild if he disliked her. He wouldn't have worried and felt bad about her not passing the exam of he disliked her. He wouldn't have carried her running away from danger even though she already said she can run away by herself if he disliked her. He wouldn't have agreed to going out with Juvia, which clearly meant as a date to her, if he disliked her. He wouldn't have lived with her for half a year if he disliked her. He would have agreed with Juvia leaving him alone if he disliked her, but instead he hugged her, thanked her, and cried on her arms. He wouldn't have sacrificed himself for her safety if he disliked her.... I can go on and on for hours with this honestly. But the point is, he clearly doesn't dislike nor hate Juvia. He even said he's grateful for having Juvia always by his side.

It's just he didn't wanna get too attached to her. He has always thought ever since as a child that it's his responsibility / fault whenever someone he cares for dies. He blames himself for it, consciously or unconsciously, and puts the burden upon himself. He feels like whenever he gets too attached to someone, they would leave him and when that happens it'll be his fault. That's the reason why he seemed cold to her sometimes, it's that he doesn't wanna get too attached to her, afraid that she would just leave him like the others...

"I'm going to avenge my mother and father!"

"I wasn't... able to do anything..."

"It's your fault, Gray." (Lyon)

"It's my fault that Ul died 10 years ago"

"No matter how much time pass, it won't change the fact that it's my fault Ul's dead!"

"I lost both mother and daughter..."

Him trying to push Juvia away by being cold to her is most likely something he did unconsciously, since he himself wasn't really sure about his feelings for her and having the fear of loosing his loved ones before, at least when it was just starting. But as we already know, his attempt of trying to not get too attached to her wasn't successful. It didn't have any chance of being successful to begin with since the reason why he didn't want to get too attached to her and why he had developed the fear of loosing her in the first place is because he's already attached to her from the beginning. He was the one to save her, worries about her a lot, cares for her, protects her, and spends a lot of his time with her, which made him even more attached to her. Which explains his expression at that one recent official Gruvia art which some fans didn't like... He looks like he feels like he shouldn't fall in love with Juvia, but he really just can't help it.

And when it actually almost happened, when Juvia almost killed herself for him, it finally became clear to him what he feels about her, and he realized that it was stupid and cowardly for him to try and avoid Juvia and his very own feelings, because of his damned childhood trauma. He could've lost all the chances he had with her forever, with all those efforts she spent on him all be put in vain. And now that he realized this, that doesn't make the fear of loosing her disappear. It can't be erased just like that. But instead of avoiding, hiding, and keeping his feelings like before, he's trying to improve and be a better person for her that can protect her no matter what.

[ THE LOVE POTION THINGY IS NOT CANON ]

The episode about Juvia buying potions made her look bad for some fans. It was not in the Manga. It's not canon. The part where Lucy expected Natsu to confess (which was seen in the same episode) is canon, since it is from the Manga. But the part where Juvia buys love potion and uses it to try and get Gray is not in that chapter, nor is it in any chapter in the manga, meaning it's not canon and is an anime-only part. Well personally I found it quite funny, but some fans really hated Juvia on that one.

[ JUVIA IS NOT A YANDERE B*TCH ]

I saw a lot of people referring to Juvia as a "yandere" and portraying Juvia as such.. Juvia is NOT a yandere girl who will kill you if you reject her and shit. If anything, she's the opposite. She can NEVER hurt Gray. She'd rather kill herself than hurt Gray. When she thinks she's making Gray uncomfortable, she immediately apologizes. When she thought she disrespected Ul's death anniversary by saying it should be a happy day for Gray because it's their anniversary (she didn't know it was Ul's death anniversary at first), she felt very sorry and disappointed in herself. The reason she couldn't approach him at the start was because she didn't want to make him and his friends uncomfortable, and because she isn't used to socializing with other people (add the fight with Phantom Lord which caused the guild a lot of trouble, plus how people always disliked and pushed Juvia away). Basically, Juvia has, or at least had social anxiety. At first, she couldn't approach Gray because she was extremely nervous. Juvia also wasn't as bold as she is now towards Gray at the start, she was shy and was shown to even stutter a lot trying to express her thoughts to Gray and the guild members. Yeah, she becomes extremely mad when someone threatens Gray's life, but that's just like Natsu being mad when someone threatens to kill Lucy. Or Gray being mad when someone threatens Erza's life. Or Mira being mad when someone threatens her siblings lives.. But Juvia didn't even actually kill Meredy (the one who did threaten to kill Gray), but instead even became friends with her! A yandere would do the total opposite. I think that if Gray ever rejects her, she wouldn't even be mad at him, but would probably be very depressed and think a lot about what she did wrong.. She was even willing to give up on him in Tartaros Arc, when she had to kill Gray's father, she thought she doesn't deserve to love him anymore after what she did so she was willing to finally give up and leave him alone... When yanderes are the kind of people who'd go as far as to kill every other person close to you just so they can have you for themselves...

But Gray himself does not want her to leave. Even though he seems annoyed with how Juvia is clingy towards him and all that, in reality, he doesn't want her to leave. He hugs her and says "thank you" to Juvia for being the one to "kill" Silver, saving his father and finally letting his father rest in peace, so that Gray didn't have to kill his father himself. Silver himself wanted to die and even thanked Juvia for that so I don't really understand why people hate her because of it. And if Gray disliked or hated Juvia, he definitely would have agreed about her leaving him alone.

The main reason why Juvia acts like this is because she's trying to show her love for others that she wasn't able to show before, since she was always rejected, avoided, disliked, and even hated by others. She's always pushed away by others. So now that someone (Gray) didn't push her away and showed care for her, she didn't want to miss the opportunity of finally feeling loved and being able to share her love.

And Gray, together with the guild, accepted her. She wants to feel loved and accepted, so she's trying all her best to not be seen as someone gloomy or unlikable that others used to think she is. She does things that she thinks would make them happy, she does things that she thinks would make them accept her. But since she never really knew how to interact with other people before she joined the guild, and the people she used to be with were toxic as hell, she comes off as awkward sometimes. But she's growing, together with Gray and the guild, she's growing.

[ THE LOVE RIVAL" THING IS JUST FOR COMIC RELIEF AND WAS NEVER SERIOUS ]

She may say "Love Rival!!" when someone's getting close to Gray, but it's only put as comic relief and she was not actually serious about it. Even Lucy, the one whom she always calls her "rival", never took it seriously. If Lucy did, she would have never approached Gray ever again, or hated Juvia for it. If Juvia was really serious about her so called "threats", they would have kicked her out of the guild long ago. Plus, she may act like that, but in reality, she cares for and is willing to sacrifice for her friends, including Lucy. And Lucy herself knows that. Even Gray knows when she's just joking around and even called her out for joking at serious times.

It's sad that people say that they are concerned about Gray and Juvia "forcing" herself into him when they don't really actually think about and consider what Gray is actually feeling towards her.. Gray loves her, she loves Gray. Just let them be happy. Gray has lost too much, at least let him enjoy being with Juvia.

Anyways, I'M NOT FORCING YOU TO LIKE THE SHIP, WE ALL HAVE PREFERENCES. But I'm just trying to make you understand both characters, their relationship and development a little more. Well, this is mainly just from my perspective tho. Especially with all the hate this ship gets and how misunderstood both characters are and the things they do. And if you got to this part, thanks for reading all of this lmao this is my first time posting something like this in Tumblr, I hope it wasn't that confusing.

#fairy tail #fairy tail anime #fairy tail manga #fairy tail 100 years quest #fairy tail official art #fairy tail ships #gray fullbuster #juvia lockser #gruvia #hiro mashima

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mashounen2003 · 2 years

Text

Tails through the looking glass

[Link to Archive of Our Own: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22501933]

Alright... I had the idea of writing a scary story for Halloween, even though I'm not a Halloween fan at all. However, the idea soon began to mutate into a story that ain't scary in the least, something more like a meditation on the fear itself and other stuff... You know what? I better start telling the story once and for all.

Summary:

Long-time after Fiona Fox has left the Freedom Fighters and gone with Scourge, Tails is alone in his house and faces his true worst fears. Set in the Archie-Sonic comics' universe. A sort of analysis of both Fiona and Tails, with Scourge being shown as the bastard he actually is.

Tails is coming back to his home/workshop after sharing a movie night with his friends and colleagues on the Freedom Fighters. Given the season they were in, the movie they saw this time was a horror one... or was supposed to be that: the two-tailed fox had spent the entire two hours bored like a mushroom, and he had to resist the temptation to point out each and every one of the blatantly implausible and absurd elements and events in that B movie Sonic chose so wisely.

If his friends tried to make him experience the "unique feeling" of watching a horror movie, they'd never make it. In no way would he be scared. Not after seeing much worse things, with his own eyes, for years.

The memories of people roboticized or killed in front of him, in addition to all those whom he saw for the last time leaving Knothole for a mission against Robotnik... Tails manages to put aside those memories, drag them to some far corner of his mind and seal them tight, in order to have that radiant and cheerful smile again; the one he always does, no matter what.

Once inside the workshop, Tails loosens the metal rings on his wrists and take off his gloves. Due to the manual work he usually does with the machines in the workshop, his fingertips are already calloused; his hands are also full of many superficial cuts, along with some other deeper cuts; they have several superficial burns, mostly caused by silly accidents with the soldering iron, and also an acid burn covering the back of his right hand, which for a long time will be left without fur covering it. Then he proceeds to prepare everything to take a shower.

A few minutes later, hot water is already falling inside the shower, and the bathroom is filling with steam. There's a turntable leaning on a shelf and protected from moisture, and is playing music from a vinyl record.

[Soundtrack: Clair de lune – Claude Debussy]

Tails had built that turntable from scratch (as he usually does with many things in his workshop), then he had downloaded songs to his computer and had transferred those songs to vinyl records also manufactured by him, only to be able to listen to those songs with that legendary sound he had heard so much about. The fox is brushing his teeth before taking the shower and going to bed, but when he finishes, he just stares at himself in the mirror...

On the other side of that same mirror, he sees a mobian red vixen approaching him from the side and hugging him. Her hands are stained with engine oil, but the mirror's Tails doesn't seem to care.

"I just finished repairing your plane." The red vixen tells him.

"So fast, Fiona?" The mirror's Tails responds.

"It was just a piece of the engine a bit outta place, and that allowed the oil to seep. It wasn't hard for me to find it."

In the real world, that vixen named Fiona used to wear a white and yellow leotard; it looked a little too revealing, but it didn't make Tails uncomfortable, especially since Bunnie was already wearing a similar outfit since he had memory; she also had a yellow bow tied to her hair, on the top of her head. One day, she betrayed the Freedom Fighters and left with Scourge, the Moebian doppelgänger of Sonic, and a few days later she was seen wearing clothes that had evidently been chosen by her new boyfriend and unfortunately made her look like a prostitute: a black, sleeveless, low-cut top; very tight leather pants; two black belts with studs, loose and crossed; black elbow gloves; black boots with steel toe caps, and the same bow she used to wear in the hair. However, now the Fiona imagined by Tails in the mirror wears a totally different outfit: she has the same white and yellow leotard she had before leaving the team, but she also wears a black leather jacket with yellow edges, as well as black pants rolled up so that her legs and knees are exposed but her thighs ain't; she wears heavy black and yellow boots with steel toe caps, and brown fingerless gloves; she still wears the yellow bow but uses it to tie a ponytail and the ribbon's tips are visible from the outside. [based upon some designs made by SapphireD (https://www.deviantart.com/sapphired/art/New52-Fiona-669746282) and MetalPandora (https://www.deviantart.com/metalpandora/art/Collab-Fiona-Fox-redesign-780221225)].

"Well, the plane had that oil leak for a whole month, and I couldn't find it in all that time!"

"Maybe looking for small details is just not your strong point."

"And is it your strong point 'cause you're studying Medicine and that skill is very necessary when you work as a doctor?" The mirror's Tails looks her straight in the eye.

*gasp* "Have I been so obvious when trying to gloat sneakily?"

"Heh... By the way, I have a gift for you. It's on the table."

"What? That stack of papers?"

"Look at what's written there, and you may find it interesting."

On the other side of the mirror, Fiona leaves the bathroom, only to return a while later.

"This... This is a scientific paper." She, confused, tells the mirror's Tails.

"It's about something of Medicine, a possible cure for NIDS." The two-tailed fox responds shyly, looking down and to the side. "I thought you'd be interested. I didn't wanna give you something too cheesy; on the contrary, I wanted to give you something related to... Well, related to how smart you are, and this was the only thing that came to my mind-"

The mirror's Tails is surprised by Fiona hugging him again and kissing him.

"Thank you, Miles. And don't worry: I not only realized your intention, but the gift was spot on, too."

He turns to her, and they share another kiss. Meanwhile, the real world's Tails just watches with a sad smile...

"Look at those two, so happy together..." It's said by a voice with the same timbre and pitch as his, apparently coming from nowhere. "Right now, you could be part of that scene, if you hadn't been so pathetic." But the tone of that voice is more mocking, and also more sinister.

Tails looks at the side of the mirror and sees someone looking almost exactly like him. That guy has more fluffy, brighter and lighter-coloured fur, just like his form of Turbo Tails, but they don't have the red set of gloves and a cloak, and their eyes have red irises. Tails turns around and sees this being is also in the real world.

"Who are you? How did you get in here?!"

"Hey! I am you. Be a little more respectful of yourself, at least."

"You look like my Super form."

"I know you think Turbo Tails is your Super form. But it ain't like that, they're two separate things... And you offend me by assuming I'm your Turbo form."

"What are you talking about?"

"With fifty power rings, you reach the Turbo form. But I'm your Super form, the one you can attain only with the seven Chaos Emeralds."

The two-tailed fox doesn't feel good to see that being similar to his own Super form but as someone separated from himself: Knuckles had told him seeing such things is never a good sign and it often implies an unstable emotional state in which he's probably losing control over his own Chaos powers.

"So... You're a figment of my imagination." He deduces.

"Yes, I am." SuperTails answers. "And you dunno how ashamed I am to be that."

"But what the hell is going on? Why now you appear here and take any chance to point out some flaws I supposedly have?"

"'Cause you really have those flaws!"

"And what if you explain what they are? What did I do wrong? Why is my own goddamn Super form taking shape of his own just to s***-talk about me?!"

SuperTails, apparently jaded, closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose while shaking his head. "It's amazing how you can be so dumb. 'IQ of 400', my ass." He lowers his hand again and looks back at Tails. *sigh* "Anyway... I guess I'll have to gather the patience I've left and to tell you this as if you were a five-year-old. Have you ever thought about why Fiona betrayed us?"

Tails is momentarily surprised by the question, but this doesn't last long. "I never thought about it in-depth, I must admit."

"Then it's time for you to make better use of that prodigious brain of yours. Are you gonna settle for a superficial image of Fiona? Remember her behaviour throughout the months she spent in our team."

"Well... She seemed a little distant."

"And do you know anything about her past?"

"Just some things Mighty told us, having met Fiona a while ago: she survived by stealing treasures from abandoned temples, working with Nack's twin sister."

"As you can see, she wasn't as happy as you and the other Knothole villagers in her childhood. Not to mention she was in Robotnik's prisons and was used to create an infiltrator robot. All the horrible things you were forced to see during the war? She surely suffered them in her own flesh. Now, do you remember what she said when she betrayed us? You know, 'not being able to trust anyone', 'the survival of the fittest' and all that crap."

"Yes..."

"Compare that to the tough childhood she had."

"Yeah... Possibly there was more than one who betrayed her trust. She always thought her parents abandoned her, even when that remains unconfirmed, with her parents still missing."

"There you have it: she was afraid that would happen again-"

"What? But why would she think that?"

"'Cause her past began to come to light, and everyone started looking at her badly! Don't you remember?! Don't you remember how uncomfortable she felt when having to talk about what she did before joining us?"

"True... We weren't accusing her of anything, but she looked and sounded like she thought we were."

"Precisely. Now tell me..." SuperTails puts a hand on his shoulder and sounds more friendly. "What do you think about the idea of having a romantic relationship with her?"

"You mean having that relationship now?"

SuperTails makes a short laugh that ain't mocking this time. "Oh no, of course not. Making it a reality would be a Herculean task, that's for sure. No, I mean having had a relationship with her before she betrayed us... You know, a little exercise, to think in retrospect a bit."

"If you mean that... For a moment I thought... Well, I thought there'd be some way to make it work. But now I see it'd have been totally inappropriate-"

SuperTails suddenly starts laughing out loud.

"Hey! It's not funny!"

"But of course it is." SuperTails says, suddenly sounding serious and angry again. "Surely now you say that because of the age gap. But you saw people being killed or roboticized right in front of you, you suffered losses because of Robotnik, you trained for war since your body and mind allowed it, you grew up in a world plunged into a war that hardened you, you still have a deep-rooted quasi-military discipline because of it, you did with your childhood a lot of things many other children wouldn't even have dreamt of doing, you reached levels of Chaos power so high that for a moment you had the whole world's destiny in your hands, you also had to carry the world on your shoulders even without having that power or without being aware you had it... And you had to kill someone once."

Tails now wanna cry, after SuperTails forces him to recall the horrors of war again, and especially when, at the end of his monologue, that incarnation of his power makes him remember that particular episode...

"What happened with Auto-Fiona doesn't count, 'Super': I destroyed it by accident, I was fighting for my life, and it was just a robot-"

"Now you say it, now you can use reason and see everything, but it's clear what you felt at that precise moment... What you felt didn't let you use reason. In truth, you not only felt you had almost lost your life, but also you had just killed someone. Or am I wrong?"

"N- No..."

"Aw, don't feel so bad... It's better to face the past, have they told you? Unfortunately, your beloved Fiona didn't learn that lesson. Scourge stopped her from doing so."

"And what does that have to do with anything?"

"We had already agreed Fiona probably felt desperate shortly before betraying us. She felt everything was falling apart, everyone distrusted her again, she was gonna lose everything... If someone had suddenly appeared in her life, giving her something looking like an easy way out of all that, how do you think she'd have reacted?"

"She'd have been very vulnerable. If that person had had the necessary skill, she'd have obeyed everything they tell her, without thinking twice- Wait..."

"What? Are you seeing it now?"

"Yes... Scourge was that one."

"Well, you should have seen this a long time ago, asshole."

"But how?! How could I have known?"

"You know all this because you met Fiona, you saw her, you lived with her. But you were so obsessed with her, you had the judgment so cloudy that you were totally unable to put two and two together... And you betrayed her."

"Okay, I dunno what the f*** you're talking about anymore. I didn't betray Fiona, I'd never have!"

"But you did, moron." SuperTails pauses. "When you claim to love someone, even if you say it to yourself, you tacitly take an oath: the oath to ensure the well-being and happiness of that person you love. All kinds of love have this in common, not only romantic love, but also family love, love to friends, and love to people in general. 'Cause to protect people as a Freedom Fighter, you have to love them; the Freedom Fighters' oath would basically be an express form of that 'oath of love', don't you think?"

"That's a way of putting it, yes."

"Well, you broke two oaths: the one you did as a Freedom Fighter, and the one you made when claiming to love Fiona."

"But I'd have given anything for her!"

"Bulls***! You weren't able to use your brain for something useful! You didn't comfort Fiona or be a good friend to her when she needed it, 'cause you were so obsessed with having a strictly romantic relationship and eventually having sex with her-"

"HOW DARE YOU-?!"

"Oh, c'mon, don't play a prude... With the exception of asexual people, almost everyone at your age begins to have those little perverted thoughts. And I know very well you ain't asexual and, more importantly, you not only liked Fiona's personality but also her body."

"That doesn't mean I don't feel ashamed of having had such thoughts about her."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever you say... Where I wanna go is that you should have accepted that being just a friend for Fiona was enough; you should have focused only on that, you should have shown her the good things in the world she never had the opportunity to see, you should have been by her side, and that'd have 'immunized' her from the sinister plans of bastards like Scourge. If you had truly fulfilled your oath, you'd also have sacrificed your own happiness and desires in favour of hers, you'd have accepted the possibility that she may not end up being your girlfriend... And you'd have intervened in Fiona's life when it was known she was secretly dating Scourge."

"But wouldn't that have meant breaking my oath anyway? It'd have been against her will-"

"That doesn't matter, because she had already fallen into an abusive relationship."

"A- Abuse?! No, that's not possible. Yeah, the relationship between Scourge and Fiona is unhealthy, but not abusive."

"Where do you think she got that 'survival of the fittest' quote? She'd have died several times if that principle ruled the world. For months, she worked and got engaged to the Freedom Fighters, a team that represented the opposite, that helped and protected the innocent, the weak and the helpless. And she did it as a field medic. What can be more altruistic than that? And starting from this, have you ever been a little baffled 'cause she suddenly invoked this sort of 'Social Darwinism'? Are you really gonna tell me that never made you raise an eyebrow?!"

"..."

"On the other hand, Scourge does believe in the survival of the fittest. That's to be expected: he really had the power to impose his will on others. But getting Fiona to think just like him... The Fiona you knew would have never done such a thing; therefore, Scourge could only have made it possible by putting those ideas in her head when she was vulnerable."

"Like when he posed as Sonic... Yeah, it had to be at that time! Then, when everyone started asking questions about her past, he also revealed his true identity, Fiona felt she had gotten into trouble, she didn't know how to react, and Scourge manipulated her-"

"And those who manipulate someone precisely in those moments, when their victims are emotionally weaker and more fragile... What are they?"

"..."

"Say it."

"Abusers. Yes... Fiona was abused."

"Scourge was the biggest menace to her well-being and happiness, along with Eggman. This was obvious since the moment the relationship between them became known."

*snif* "I understand..." Tails says to SuperTails, as the latter starts walking around him, without looking at him.

"You had the power to neutralize that menace to your beloved's life, and you didn't."

*snif* "Stop it, please-"

"You had the knowledge to understand Fiona's problems and make the rest of the team understand... and you didn't."

*sob* "Enough-"

"You had an oath to keep! And you broke it!"

"STOP! I'll right my wrong!"

"It's too late! At this point, surely Scourge has already killed her on the inside, has destroyed her soul, erased the personality of that girl you fell in love with. One example will suffice to prove this: now she acts like someone a few years older, as if she tried to mimic Rouge and it didn't work out; even you were convinced by that subpar performance, you forgot she was still just a girl only a few years older than you, and now you talk about how inappropriate it'd have been for you to date her... And Scourge made Fiona his slave. He may even have already killed her for real and left her corpse lying like an old rag."

SuperTails approaches his face to Tails's, from in front of him, as Tails is crestfallen and tries to hold back tears.

"Fiona was the only one who paid the price... And you are the only one to blame."

"RRRAAAAAGH!"

*CRASH!*

...

Tails stands still for a long time, his arm extended forward, his fist stuck in the mirror that is now broken but miraculously doesn't fall apart, countless cracks spreading through the glass from the crater left by the punch. As for the incarnation of his own Super form, there's no trace of him.

He slowly relaxes; he withdraws his hand, letting some pieces of glass fall but making the most of the mirror remain in place; he looks at his bruised and lacerated knuckles... and gets in the shower to bathe. His hand hurts, but he doesn't care anymore, not after feeling even greater pain.

The turntable automatically changes the vinyl record...

[Soundtrack: The shadow of your smile – Johnny Mandel & Paul Francis Webster, version of Ella Fitzgerald]

The bath takes a little longer than Tails expected: his injured hand makes things slightly harder. While bathing, the fox notices too much water is accumulating in the bottom, so he checks the drain and sees a mass of golden and white fur piling there.

*sigh* "Seriously? Am I already moulting my fur again? So soon?"

He bends down to remove the fur and leave it on the side of the shower. When he gets up and turns around...

"Wha-? FIONA!"

Indeed, the red vixen was there, relaxed, leaning against a corner of the shower, wearing the same outfit with which he had imagined her when he was staring into the mirror.

"But of course it's me! Who were you waiting for?"

"Y- You shouldn't be here-"

"Worried about me seeing you naked? Remember: you technically always walk through the streets naked."

"I don't mean that. What about Scourge?"

She doesn't answer, just walks towards him slowly, but without moving her body seductively. Then he sees the rain pierces Fiona's body as if she wasn't there.

"You're another figment of my imagination, right? You ain't real."

Once she stops, she leans against the wall again. "Am I real enough for you, at least?"

Tails hesitates for a few seconds, and then he suddenly hugs her tightly, as she slowly returns the hug.

He has realized something about fear: there are things that scare in such a way that they make you run away, and there are other things that scare you a lot more and leave you paralyzed instead. The two-tailed fox has just felt the kind of fear that paralyzes him: the fear of failing, of failing his loved ones specifically, of not living up to the duty entrusted to him, of causing pain and suffering to others by either doing something wrong or doing nothing.

"I miss you so much... I know there was nothing between us, and perhaps there'd never have been even if you had stayed. But I don't care." He still hugs Fiona, trying to keep her from seeing his face. "Admiring your intelligence, helping you in everything you need, listening to your voice, sitting together to share stories, beholding you from afar as if you were the most beautiful sculpture ever... It'd have been enough. But I didn't do any of that... I failed you..." He undoes the hug. "Do you think I have a chance to right my wrong? 'Cause I could continue to have you, an unreal version of Fiona, in my mind, but I'd prefer the real world's Fiona if there was a chance to bring her back-"

Fiona interrupts him by putting a finger on his lips.

"I think you better stay with me, with the one you call 'unreal'. In the real world, it's too late to save me."

"No..." He starts to cry again. "No! There has to be a way! *sob* I know I can do it! I can rescue you from Scourge! I can bring back the Fiona who I fell in love with-!"

"Recovering from the abuse doesn't work that way, Miles: after having gone through something like that, I'd never have been the same again, and perhaps I wouldn't have recovered or been able to start a relationship with anyone ever again. But anyway... I already told you, you can't do anything else-"

"WHY NOT?!"

Fiona answers his question, a few seconds later. The expression on her face gives the impression she's calm, so the answer turns out to be totally unexpected.

"I'm sorry, Miles... I'm not here anymore. Not in this world."

Both remain silent for a long time, and Fiona remains strangely calm. Meanwhile, Tails takes a few steps back, rests his back on the wall, and lets his body slide slowly until he ends up sitting in a corner on the shower's floor. The water continues to fall on his face, preventing him from seeing, but he's still and with his eyes closed.

As far as Tails is concerned, everything is over. His worst fear has come true: it's totally plausible Fiona is already dead, and although Scourge was the one who killed her once he got fed up with her, now her blood is in the young fox's hands.

--------------------------------------------------

About an hour later, Sonic arrives at the workshop and calls for Tails. He receives no answer, so he looks for him all over the place, finally finds him in the bathroom... and there the hedgehog is shocked by what he sees: his "little brother" sitting in a corner of the shower's floor, with a blood-stained shard of the mirror in his right hand and a long, horrible cut along the inner side of his left arm. Tails has bled a lot, but the Chaos energy in his body closed the wound, replenished the lost blood and kept him alive.

The fox is doing almost absolutely nothing, seems to ignore what's going on around him, and barely stays awake. All he does is whisper one same phrase every few seconds...

"I failed her."

--------------------------------------------------

Author's Note:

This story is set in the "Archie-Sonic" comics' universe, not in my fanfics'. It could be located sometime shortly after Issue #197, the end of the "Bold New Moebius" story arc. On the other hand, I also tried to write something that serves as a replacement for "Worth the effort", the B story of Issue #172.

You see... "Stargazing", the B story of Issue 151, was written by Tania Del Rio: it was centred on Nicole and Sally, was a very sweet story, was well written, had a lot of SallyXNicole subtext but that subtext felt natural and really convincing (in fact, this story is responsible for me now starting to shipp Sally with Nicole as well as supporting SonicXSally), and was in the antipodes of the misogynistic crap Penders was writing at the same time.

"Worth the effort" was written by Del Rio too, but that story was about Amy Rose training with the sole purpose of getting "Sonic-senpai" to notice her. I dunno what you guys think, but it saddens me Del Rio, the talented writer behind a story as progressive and deep as "Stargazing", would later write something about someone (a woman, more exactly) whose whole life still revolves around Sonic... Unless Del Rio's original intention had been precisely to warn about Amy's obsession and dependence, trying to make it clear it wasn't something good, romantic or healthy. Although SEGA's mandates may have f***ed things up (again), and this was Del Rio's only option when writing a story about Amy. Anyway, there's something that can be rescued from this: with Del Rio writing instead of Penders, Julie-Su was finally portrayed as the competent, independent fighter she's supposed to be; it's a shame this story had focused on Amy instead of Julie-Su.

Anyway... I thought that, after Fiona's betrayal and everything that happened in the main story of Issue #172, the most appropriate as a B story for that same comic issue would have been something about Tails dealing with feelings of guilt for having "failed her" and let Scourge manipulate her. Such a story would also have been useful to talk about abuse and give a better explanation of the sudden change in Fiona's behaviour and ideas. However, what I just wrote, this specific way of addressing those issues, has a little bit of gore, violence that ain't caricatural at all, a rather grim tone, some curses, the implied nudity of someone taking a bath, implied suicide attempts, mention of puberty stuff, broken hearts, ghosts, a preteen with war traumas, among other things that, regardless of whether it's okay to talk about them, wouldn't have been approved by the comic's publishers.

And that thing of SuperTails as someone separated from Tails, and Knuckles having warned about what that could mean… Yep, it’s based upon the British comic’s Super Sonic.

The way SuperTails talks about different types of love is based in part on how the ancient Greeks saw it: "Eros" was the love you feel when you're crazily in love with someone, "Philia" was a strong friendship such as camaraderie (for example, what's between Tails and Sonic when their friendship is well written), "Storge" was the family love, "Pragma" was the love in a long-standing relationship, "Philautia" was love for oneself (of which narcissism would be a negative variant), "Mania" was what's experienced when one is already insane, and "Agape" was the altruistic, unconditional love for all humanity (the kind of love every Freedom Fighter should feel in fulfilling their duty, as SuperTails tells Tails in this story).

Anyway... Is Fiona really dead? Or is her ghost just something invented by Tails's mind? Is he under the influence of a sorcerer, as has happened so often in comics? Or is he actually losing his mind? The answers to these questions are at the discretion of each reader.

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susiceri · 3 years

Text

Some great scares

Zarbon took a deep breath and stared at the camera. He looked back at the screen where he could see what he was going to do and closed his eyes. Was he prepared for that?

"Today ... I'm going to start the first dungeon ..." he slowly opened his eyes to look languidly at the camera. "Why are you doing this to me? You know that video games with monsters give me a lot of creeps and in the dungeons there are a lot of creatures ..."

He exhaled slowly to try and calm himself, and then grasped the controls. He didn't know if he would get to do the whole game as his fans asked him, but at least he was going to complete the first dungeon. He would do it for them.

"Come on, blondie. Let's go", he said as if he was encouraging the character.

Zarbon moved slowly through the corridors of the scenario. He really liked the setting he had, related to nature and water... It was quite relaxing. The setting, because what the music was... It was a bit creepy.

"It's okay... I just have to be careful...", his eyes scanned every corner in search of the funny monsters and it didn't take him long to feel a chill when a carnivorous plant stood up before him.

Luckily, he was already in control of how to kill those nice plants, but he knew there would be new enemies, so he remained vigilant.

He continued on his way solving the puzzles that he found in his path and being careful not to lose any life to the bugs that crossed his path.

However, at one point Zarbon watched in horror as a giant spider fell from the ceiling, intent on devouring him completely.

"Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!"

He began to move both hands desperately, trying to give the spider in question a good slash.

"Go away, leave me alone! Die at once! How the hell do you kill this spider?!", he yelled somewhat hysterically as the arachnid swayed back and forth.

Only when he pulled away and managed to calm himself could he see the weak point of his enemy and, more calmly, he slowly approached to give it a true thrust.

"Ok ... It's not that difficult," he whispered, still feeling scared through all his body.

His footsteps became more secure as he entered a spacious room with a nice decoration for his taste.

"This is better now", he said much more calmly as he entered a smaller room that was in the center of the wide... And he automatically regretted his words. "Am I locked in ?! Wait... I have to face a skeleton! So creepy!"

With his heart racing and keeping distance with his enemy whenever he could, the green-haired man managed to open a gap for him in defense and emerge unscathed and with a useful trophy in his saddlebag.

A good time passed without too much shock as he explored and continued to defeat giant spiders and carnivorous plants. It seemed that despite remaining nervous, he had finally managed to calm down and was facing challenges more calmly... But tranquility never lasts long in a dungeon.

Zarbon's expression turned terrified as he found himself face to face with a large three-headed serpent that, worse still, were skulls.

"Doesn't matter... It's just one more enemy... I'll get closer slowly and...

"Buuuuuuhhhhh!"

A high-pitched screech rose from his throat as the controls shot out of his hands. Luckily they had wrist straps and they stayed dangling... But that didn't matter to him at the time. He turned and threw a mass of nerves towards whoever had dared to scare him, imagining it would be Dodoria... But his eyes only found darkness, which further frayed her nerves.

"W-what ...? W-who's there?", he asked into the air as he took cover behind the back of the chair, ready to jump and attack at any moment towards whom had dared to scare him at such a critical moment.

But all that fear faded as he saw a small white hand waving in the air to get his attention.

"Down here, uncle Zarbon!"

The golden eyes of the green-haired man met the smiling face of the boy who was looking at him with amusement.

"What a scare you have!"

A sigh of relief escaped the older man's lips, who automatically scooped up the little changlong and sat down properly as he placed the kid on his lap.

"That's good for you, little one. You can't do that to me if you want me not to have a heart attack”, he said, kissing the peak that crowned the little head. "Have pity on me, okay, Kuri?"

The boy nodded, leaning against Zarbon's torso and smiled. He liked to tease the general from time to time, but obviously he wasn't going to do anything that might hurt him.

"Keep playing, I'm looking at you," he said, hugging his legs as he watched the snake that had ended up killing the protagonist when Zarbon had lost his concentration.

Thus, the two princes concentrated on the screen, solving the rest of the riddles that remained until they reached the final room.

"Now a dangerous one is coming, right?" Kuriza asked when he saw the great door open.

"That's how it is..."

The changlong slid off Zarbon's lap and crawled onto his back, his face peeking out from behind the older man's mane.

"For the record," added the green-haired man, pointing at the camera, "I am doing this for you. For all the support you give me"

A few moments later, the two pairs of eyes stared at the screen with heavy hearts, with some fear to see the final boss of the dungeon...

When Zarbon's heart seemed to leap out of his chest completely when he saw the look and heard the laugh of the one who was going to be his enemy.

"Gods, he's so handsome!" Wait... wait... It's the one on the game's cover! It's... A Demon Lord?

Kuriza leaned on the elder's right shoulder and took a good look at that character.

"I'm a demon too, but we don't look alike... Eugh! Why did he do that with his tongue?"

Zarbon's eyes were shining brightly at that moment. Maybe... Maybe he would enjoy that game. And maybe he'd try to finish it.

"Okay, let's see what you have prepared", he said, gripping the controls with determination. "Come get me, Ghirahim"

@lilfriezatyrant combining db and tloz? Yes, pls

#dragon ball #dragon ball z #zarbon #kuriza #dbz fanart #tloz skyward sword #ghirahim #skyview temple #Zarbon the gamer

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aspoonofsugar · 4 years

Note

Hey! I've seen the fans asking questions about Levi and him being too bent on his promise to kill Zeke that he's turning a blind eye on what's happening aka Eren's genocidal attempts. I read your posts on this chapter so far so I also want to know if you think levi doesn't actually care of the events around him?

Hello anon!

I have talked about Levi here and here and I think these two asks convey what I currently think about him.

In short, no, I don’t think he doesn’t care. He is just choosing Zeke as the main target of his hate and resentment because he has always hated Zeke, his death is linked to the promise he made to a person he loved and he has just lost comrades and almost died because of Zeke specifically.

At the moment killing Zeke is in Levi, Hange and probably everyone’s mind the easiest way out from the current situation because, as far as they know, Eren needs Zeke in order to use the Coordinate. In other words, if they kill Zeke, they can stop the Rumbling without addressing the elephant in the room Eren is. At least, this is one possibility/reading, but because of the chapter’s pace we can’t be sure of it.

As a matter of fact the chapter did not show us how every character feels about Eren right now, why each character arrived to the choice of joining the alliance (the only ones which were elaborated a little bit on are Connie and Jean) and what the plan exactly is (is it simply to target Zeke? Is it to target Eren? Can they even “choose” who to target? Will they have to confusely attack the Founder? Where even is Zeke? Did he blew up in Eren’s transformation? Is he even in the path dimension? Did he leave it?).

In other words, we have no idea of how each character feel about the alliance or the plan or the idea of possibly killing Eren and/or Zeke. I think we will be shown in the next chapters, but as for now, we can only wonder.

So take my reading above as a simple possibility. What is sure is that Levi is still focused on killing Zeke and the fact Isayama highlighted it again in this chapter is probably because it is something central to Levi’s character right now. This doesn’t mean he doesn’t care about anything else. This chapter alone shows he deeply cares about Hange for example judging by his interactions with them. It also shows something more aka that Levi and Hange are specifically given a choice:

They can just accept that they have grown old and that they should leave the responsibility of guiding society to others with whom they disagree or they can just keep on fighting:

They both choose to keep on fighting. Hange chooses to keep pursuing knowledge, while Levi to keep pursuing revenge. Now one could argue about Levi’s pursue of revenge being right or wrong, but the point at least as far as the chapter goes is that he does not give up and chooses not to live only of regrets.

I think that this is the point the chapter is trying to made in a sense. To feel “pride” for one-self and what one believes even if this does not mean the characters have already overcome their flaws.

Thank you for the ask!

#snk #snk 126 #levi ackerman #asksfullofsugar #anonymous

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theshinobiway · 5 years

Note

Hello there! Let me just start by saying I love the way you write. As someone who wants to publish one day, I find your style beautiful and inspiring. Now for my request, could you maybe write a scenario where Neji would end up falling for someone who is like his fanboy/fangirl? Kinda like the Sakura to his Sasuke if that makes sense. So sorry if it doesn't. Whether or not you choose to acknowledge this request, I hope you have a lovely day/night and please keep writing my fellow Neji lover ♥️

Okay first off,

May or may not have gotten a little teary reading this. You have no idea how much hearing that actually inspires me to continue writing! I often look back at my own writing all the time and feel like it sounds pretentious or too try-hard-y but hearing that people actually find it beautiful is, well, incredibly touching and feels like awonderful accomplishment as a writer. I hope I can do your request justice!

On the prompt: This is actually a really sweet prompt that I’ve mused about before! I tried to keep the story as gender-neutral as possible since you specified both. I hope you don’t mind that I took some liberties with giving the reader some medical jutsu because it just flowed well with the story. Since my last two Neji prompts were a little heavy I tried to make this one fluffier, and I hope you enjoy it! Thank you for for contributing to the blog!

Also SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG, LIFE HAPPENED BUT HERE I AM AT LIKE 3AM LOCAL TIME FINISHING THIS, ENJOY A 13K FIC AS MY APOLOGY.

Request Scenario – Neji Falling for his Fanboy/Fangirl

Neji Hyuga - Who You Are

“He’s so cool!”

“Woah, that technique!”

“He’s obviously a genius.”

“That guy didn’t stand a chance.”

A boy with long, brown hair stood over another, sprawled on the ground. His fist was at his fallen opponent’s face, perfectly still. As he rose from his completed match, you were in awe at how fluid every movement from him was—even out of combat. Still, what was the most cool was how his face didn’t contort in some ridiculous jeer or stupid grin. No, he was completely assured of his victory from the beginning, and his expression was disciplined, collected.

You were taken from the start.

[…]

Neji never paid any mind to any of the girls and boys that fawned over him in your class, let alone you. In fact, he was rather snarky and aggressive when they overstepped his wide boundaries. But you made sure that you stood out in ways that mattered. You remembered his birthdays, his favorites, and made especially sure to mind his preferences when he was around you, intentionally never getting on his nerves, and especially never speaking on his behalf as the other ‘fans’ did.

It didn’t take a genius to see that he hated people speaking for him. You stayed silent, letting him speak, and when he asked you about your portion of a group activity, you gave him straightforward answers—but with a smile, of course. You didn’t expect special treatment from him, you merely knew that keeping your professionalism in a school atmosphere was the right thing to do.

You knew that he knew you liked him, you made it clear when he asked you outright one day and he sneered at your answer. He was harsh, slamming you with a rejection to the confession he had intentionally solicited from you. You weren’t perturbed. He was rude, but it was his way. You told him it was what it was, and that you hoped he wouldn’t treat you any differently because of the answer—after all, you had always liked him, but most importantly you had always acted as you meant to. Neji raised a brow, but the vaguely disgusted look didn’t leave his face. It hurt, a bit, knowing this was a clear rejection, but you weren’t dissuaded. You meant what you had said.

You still gave him gifts for the occasions, but not out of the blue—he hated that, too. When Valentine’s Day came around, you especially made sure to never make him anything sweet, knowing he hated sweets. When all of the other gifts ended up in the trash when he left the academy that day, you noticed you didn’t see yours. When his birthday came around, you made sure you had taken note of some concept you noticed him looking for in the library and bought him a book accordingly. You didn’t mind that he threw most of the things people got him away, but you quietly noted that you saw your book in his slightly ajar bag some days after, or that when he sat eating lunch alone in some place the others couldn’t get to, the (healthy) granola bars you had made him seemed to have made their way into his lunch.

But you didn’t say anything. Because you knew that when Neji liked something, it was clear enough. And when he didn’t, it was just as clear—the other ‘fans’ just didn’t want to accept that forcing their way on him wasn’t the way to treat him, let alone anyone. You never wanted to force Neji to be what he wasn’t.

And, while he would never have admitted it to your face as an academy student, it was what made you at least bearable to be around.

[…]

“Hyuga Neji, Rock Lee, Tenten.”

Your heart sank a bit knowing you wouldn’t be on the same team as the one you admired. Still, you couldn’t be bitter: it was a good choice for the composition. The other ‘fans’ of the Hyuga weren’t as forgiving.

“Seriously? Her of all the kunoichi?”

“Such an eyesore.”

“Watch her get a big head after this…”

“She had better not interfere.”

“Look at that grin, what a sk-“

“Shut up!”

You slammed your fists on the table, and immediately the room silenced. The instructor announcing the teams turned to look at you as well, caught off-guard. You knew you had everyone’s attention, which was exactly what you wanted. If there was one thing you couldn’t stand, it was that mob-mentality bullying you had grown so accustomed to with the other “fans” of Neji.

“Tenten was the best choice for his team! She’s the best weapons user that’s probably ever been through this academy, so she’s the perfect choice! You all know exactly how skilled she is, so shame on all of you for talking trash about her just because of your petty jealousy!!” You huffed in the direction of the dissenters, already knowing exactly whom had been speaking. They hadn’t changed from the same girls in all the years at the academy.

You knew of all the other fans after all, and they had gotten to know you quite well, which is why you were mildly surprised they had dared say anything around you. You never leveled with just how petty they could be. ‘And frankly,’ you thought, ‘being a bully had nothing to do with admiration!’

You turned your head to Tenten who was shocked but sent you a small smile of gratitude. You knew the girl had thick skin—another reason she was likely on his team—but words could hurt. You shot her a thumbs-up and brushed your shoulder at her, and Tenten gladly returned the gesture. ‘Just brush it off.’ Lowering yourself back to your seat. The presenter clearly had no idea what to do with the situation, so he cleared this throat tentatively before continuing.

“Al..right…Next team, Team Four: Hitomi Tanaka…”

You focused your eyes confidently ahead, ignoring most of the dirty looks that had been sent your way, but occasionally returning the glare if you saw one out of the corner of your eye. Most of them immediately turned their heads away so you could focus again.

The one glance you didn’t see was from the root of the problem in question, who raised his brow at you and narrowed his eyes. He studied you for a moment, scrutinizing your every move, looking for some self-serving purpose. When he couldn’t find any—and he had never been able to—the corner of his mouth twitched ever so slightly before he turned his gaze ahead once more, lost in his own thoughts.

[…]

“(Y/n), You will be accompanying team Guy on this mission as the squad’s default medic-nin, providing additional aid and support where necessary.”

“Understood!” You chirped happily, letting your enthusiasm glow in full view. Tenten gave you a high five, glad that their first mission was with a familiar face—and you both trusted each other.

It had been almost a year since your teams were assigned, and your abilities as a medic-nin had become more apparent with time. Because of this, you had been assigned to this mission to assist team Guy in their first solo venture without their sensei. It was a C-rank with a moderate chance for conflict, so you knew to be on your guard. But still, you had only seen Neji periodically since then—occasional joint training exercises with your own team, a mission or two with Tenten or Lee when Neji was occupied—you hadn’t had much time to get to talk to Neji, and you were excited at the chance to finally show him how much you had improved. Your admiration from him had hardly waned during the time of distance.

This was to be your first mission with him, and you knew you were going to give it everything you had. You realized still that you wanted his approval more than anything.

[…]

“I want to help!”

“Then stay out of the way and do your job.” Neji’s voice cut deep, though you brushed off the pain. There was no worse feeling than the scorn of someone you admired so much.

“Just because I’m here as a medic-nin doesn’t mean I’m useless in combat!” you protested, but the glare from Neji the second you finished told you well enough to keep your mouth shut. He wasn’t going to budge, and you knew that much. If anything, he found it disrespectful that you were going against the squad leader’s—his—judgment call.

“You’re right, you’re not useless.” Neji’s voice perked you up. He was giving a compliment..? Suddenly you felt excited. This was what you always wanted. But, seeing his face filled with mockery, your expression fell immediately.

“You’re a burden. And, after this mission, I’ll consider myself lucky in that I will not see you again.” He turned on his heel, making his way to the front and in position, and your stomach dropped lower than it had probably ever been. Hearing those words from him almost made you want to cry. Tenten, who had seen the exchange from her position, gave you a pitying look from where she was. She symbolically brushed her shoulder at you.

‘Y/N, just brush it off. He’s just like that.’

You shot her a half-hearted smile back and brushed your shoulder back in response, but his words were stuck replaying in your head. As you hid yourself, waiting for the encounter, you tried to gather as much courage as you could. This wasn’t the way you had always envisioned your first mission with your longtime crush. Maybe it was just you, but for some reason, Neji felt much colder than he had been even at the academy.

As you heard the battle begin, you readied your weapon just in case. Then, when you heard Lee cry out, obviously injured, something within you lit like a torch and you couldn’t stay still. You never hid behind the scenes for your own teammates, let alone here in hostile territory. You had been preparing a new technique for months and you finally were confident in its use. Especially now. You heard unfamiliar footsteps thud towards you, the weight was too heavy to be a comrade. As you readied your technique, you were prepared to do your job the right way, even if it meant proving Neji wrong. For once, there were bigger things at stake than impressing your crush.

[…]

“I told you to stay put, and you disobeyed!” Neji raised his voice, something he never did. But despite your current victory, his pride appeared to be speaking on his behalf.

“I realize you gave an order. But given that it was a stupid order, I elected to ignore it!” The words fell out of your mouth before you could stop yourself. This was so uncharacteristic of you; going against the object of your affections, your squad leader, but as you worked tirelessly to heal Lee, halfway exhausted from the combat and the chakra exertions from your healing palm, you couldn’t keep your mouth shut. The irritation of what you knew could have been avoided was still currently draining precious chakra.

“You’re a medic-nin with no combat ability-“

“No combat ability?! I don’t think you know what that means, considering that my interference is the reason your comrades still have their organs intact and the mission didn’t carry on for another exhausting few days as we tracked them down again! Medic-Nin doesn’t mean walking-first-aid kit, Neji, it means I have a specialized skill set! And if your team—”

“If they failed their duties, then it’s not on you to interfere, it’s on-“

“YOU!” You finally raised your voice, barking back at Neji, who stood over you. His head jerked back and you saw the anger flash in his eyes, but you ceased your healing immediately to stand up and stare at him, eye-to-eye the best you could. Tenten pulled your shoulders back, trying desperately to deescalate the situation.

“You’re the squad leader, and for all the time I’ve ever spent admiring you in my whole life, you were absolutely the worst one I’ve ever seen! And, I’m not surprised after seeing the way you’ve talked to them this whole mission—and now me—it’s no wonder your teamwork is garbage! Who wants to work under someone like you?! Your pride comes before their well-being! I have no confidence in you as a leader to prioritize us, your teammates, and its clear your teammates are just as intimidated by you as they are the enemy!” You huffed, your fists balled and your knuckles turning white. “And you think that their failures are on them? No, you want to be the squad leader, you assume the responsibility—your team’s failures fall on you!”

You saw Neji immediately move towards you and you felt the anger radiating off of him in waves. Tenten lurched forward in time to hold Neji back, separating the two of you, shouting at the both of you to calm down.

The person you admired from the beginning, that anger that you saw in his eyes, the momentary snap of killing intent…was that really the person you admired for so long?

The mission ended when you returned to the village, but Neji had given you the stern silent treatment ever since, and when you were dismissed from the assignment room, he had left without a word. You grimaced at the report he was likely to make about your insubordination, but Tenten gave you a knowing look.

“(Y/n), he isn’t the kind to be…that spiteful. If the mission was a success, he’ll want to focus on that. It was his first assignment as squad leader, after all…” You offered a small smile to Tenten and Lee, knowing they appreciated you sticking up for them.

“I hope so.. but in the future, you two… don’t let him talk to you like that anymore. He needs to learn to look after you all, too.”

“I think you’re right, (y/n). Don’t get me wrong, he’s actually better now still than he used to be, but…” Tenten looked off, exchanging looks with Lee, who nodded.

“Neji-san is improving day by day! My rival refuses to remain weak in any area, and so I know he’ll improve as a leader, too!” Lee gave you his trademark thumbs up and flash of teeth, and you giggled back.

“Well, even if I’m not on a team with you three from now on, I hope I’ll see you around!” Both nodded and you waved, bidding them goodbye on your way.

As you walked home, though, the weight of your words bore down on you. You had never been that harsh with anyone in your life, let alone Neji, and you know there was a better way to handle it. You’d make things right. Because, after all, nothing ever would stop you from doing the right thing—not even Neji.

[…]

“We need to talk.”

You weren’t the kind of person to let arguments set without resolution, so you had spent the better part of three weeks tracking him down and contemplating what to say. He was skilled at avoiding you—and you knew he was avoiding you, because that was just who he was—until you cornered him in a remote park.

“Leave.” His brows narrowed, teeth grit, and body tensed in agitation. He knew you had tried to find him, and he also knew how to avoid fans—he had been doing it for the better part of his life, anyhow. The only reason you caught up was because he had become sick of putting forth the effort to avoid you.

“You’re going to attack me? Since when were you ever a slave to any of your emotions, let alone anger?” You huffed, standing your ground. “You’re better than this. And I know you are. That’s why I’ve always admired you.”

As you always seemed to, you caught him off-guard with your blunt confessions. Still, his steely-eyed approach didn’t waver. He let a small ‘hmph,’ obviously deeming you a non-threat, and returned to his cool demeanor.

“I’m not going to ask for forgiveness from you.”

“You don’t need to, I’ve forgiven you already whether you’re asking or not.” You crossed your arms, playfully returning his snark. Neji, after so many years, had weathered at least a little to your impenetrable wall of positivity.

“Oh? You’ve graciously forgiven me, I see?” Neji was sarcastic, but you knew him too well to pay it any mind.

“Yup, and you don’t have a choice about that. We all make bad calls, and I actually owe you an apology too.” Your demeanor softened as you finished until you paused meaningfully for a moment and sighed, letting your shoulders drop. You took a breath before making eye contact, letting him know you were serious. “You were under a lot of pressure for your first leadership mission, and I shouldn’t have snapped at you. I could have stated my concerns better. I’m not happy about the way I handled myself. Insubordination isn’t something to be proud of, either… I’m sorry, Neji.”

Neji, despite you being the one apologizing, looked like you had punched him in the gut. You waved your hands at him, defensively.

“Hey hey, you know me. I’m not trying to be the better person here. You should know I say what I mean. I don’t care if you apologize officially or not, it’s water under the bridge now. I just want to make things right, whether we see each other in the future or not...though, hopefully...yes?”

Neji shook his head, same expression on his face. There was a momentary silence between the two of you until he broke it.

“When I tell you to stay put, I mean it. I don’t take chances.” Neji looked off, monotone as always, hands on his hips. You quirked your brow at him, wondering if he had missed the point of all your protests on that mission. Until it hit you why he had commanded you to stay safe, and you blushed in realization.

When Neji turned back to you, he caught your face a deep scarlet and was startled. He waved you off, grumbling about you taking it the wrong way. Still, you couldn’t help but giggle and followed him, hoping that this particular good mood would make him more agreeable to a proposal for lunch.

It didn’t, but you were glad enough that you had made up with him. He coldly dismissed your offer and made his way off. Even then, he was sweet too… in his own way. He didn’t like you, but it seemed he wanted to assure your well-being, even if he could still cut you off at any time.

[…]

When both Neji’s team and yours went through the Chunin exams a year and a half after you graduated, you were worried sick about…his predicament. Knowing what you did about the participants involved, you prayed he wouldn’t come to meet her during the exam.

Your team had decided unanimously to go through, but the second exam was wreaking havoc on you. You lost your own scroll within the first day to a surprise assault, and now you had the task of finding not just one, but two scrolls. It seemed unlikely, until you noticed in the distance a team arguing over whether or not to open theirs preemptively. You caught the jump on them in their disoriented state right as they tried and your team’s well-timed ambush earned you an earth scroll and left them unaware. Not that you really had taken anything they wouldn’t have lost, anyway—there was a disqualification for breaking the rules of the exam.

Still, you were worried you wouldn’t find the other scroll in time, and you definitely didn’t want to run into the team that stole yours again—you had barely escaped with your lives. By a stroke of luck, you ran into Neji’s team during the exam.

They looked at you cautiously, but Neji was aware immediately that both teams held the same scroll, making a fight between the two of you pointless. That, and with Lee in a pitiful shape after his encounter with the sound-nin, your impulsive act of healing him—and disregarding conversation until you finished, you had a one-track mind on the matter—softened the situation. With Lee feeling better, you both drew up a temporary ally-ship. As a repayment for your medical services, Neji scouted two teams in the vicinity with heaven scrolls and you both planned out your assault. It was pointless to have two Konoha teams fight when allyship was far more lucrative.

When you both finally made it to the tower with a day and a half to spare, you immediately learned that there were no on-duty medic-nin permitted to assist the passing participants. After having a few choice words with authority, you resolved to take care of both teams, using your chakra reserves carefully over the next few days to revitalize both your team—and Neji’s.

When you finally got to Neji, he wasn’t as torn up as some of the team, though he did sustain a few nasty bruises from the second assault. The problem was that they were under his jacket…and his mesh armor.

“I-I need you to…” Gods, you couldn’t even say it. It was also fruitless to hold back your blush, but Neji narrowed his eyes at you.

“Work quickly, before the other teams catch on that we’re working together…and mind your manners.” He quickly unzipped the jacket and tugged off the armor as you stammered over something about ‘I just need to see the bruises to know what I’m dealing with’ and ‘what kind of person do you think I am?!’

Now in full view of him, you couldn’t even bear to look. You took glances to see where the injuries were localized, but immediately averted your eyes when you began. Neji kept his gaze locked on you the whole time, and you weren’t sure if his stare was really meant as threatening as it came across. It was hard to process anything besides your chakra control. You’d never felt flustered about this sort of thing before, but he always made you notice these sorts of things, and right now it was simply embarrassing.

“Are you done?” His voice brought your attention back to reality. Neji glanced down, and you followed his line of sight. Your hand was solidly on his bicep, your healing quite finished. In your lost thoughts, you didn’t recognize you had stopped and your hand rested there…of its own accord, obviously.

In all your training sessions for tactical withdrawal, you weren’t sure any of those recorded times came close to how fast you tore out of the room in that instant, yelping and stuttering a quick apology in your stupor towards the door. Neji, on the other hand, sat motionless on the bed, hands pulled into his lap, face solidified into a stern expression, and eyes locked on the door that slammed shut behind you as he waited for the slight tinge of color that had crept on his face to secede.

[…]

The preliminary rounds were difficult, but you and another of your teammates managed to pull through the first round by the skin of your teeth. Your third wasn’t as lucky, and you made note to see him later, his injuries not so bad because he had surrendered in time. The rookie teams quickly made note of how you and team Guy knew each other, and at that point, the atmosphere between the leaf-nin was friendly enough to socialize comfortably. Lee was forming friendly, competitive bonds as well. It made sense, of course: even if this was an exam, you all fought for the same village.

When Tenten’s round came, you were also shocked at how the sand-nin kunoichi quickly dealt with the girl you were barely on-par with. This filled you with a sense of dread for the upcoming fights. Still, you were concerned over your best friend, and took a small break to see her in the wing. When you came back, your eyes locked on the screen and your heart stopped.

During the preliminary matches, your worst fears came true—Neji was to face his cousin from the main branch. And during, all the progress you had seen in him after the last year of working on his anger fell apart in those thirty minutes. You felt nothing but pity and sorrow for the girl trying her best, and you knew firsthand how words from Neji cut deep. She was just like you—she admired him, honestly, and you could feel the sense of loss from what once was a close sibling-like relationship.

When Neji moved to kill her in the final act, you felt your legs jolt forward of their own accord before the Jounin were leagues ahead of you. When the orange-clad kid made an oath to get back at Neji, you were too lost in thought to process what was going on. You only hoped that if this kid would beat Neji—and you seriously doubted he would, because it was Neji—that some positive change would finally stick. Lee diplomatically handled the situation, telling the two to save it for the final matches, and you whispered words of praise for him when he returned to the balcony.

Neji, on the other hand, caught immediately the look of abject disappointment on your face. Disappointment in him. But in true and prideful Neji fashion, he scoffed at you, deciding to ignore you for the rest of the rounds. You couldn’t read his eyes, but that was his intention after all.

When Lee fell to the boy from the Sand, you experienced your second round of heartbreak that day. Once the matches concluded, you all but rushed to see him. He was being prepared for transport along with the other injured attendees to be transported out of the forest, but the medic-nin relayed his condition to you after you protested that you were his friend and a fellow medic-nin in training.

It wasn’t good.

You leaned against the wall in the hallway, look of horror plastered over your face. You felt the tears begin to sting your eyes as the words from the medic in front of you passed over you and he left, the hall suddenly eerily quiet. You didn’t notice that someone had walked up to you and was speaking to you until a hand rose and snapped in front of your face.

When you glanced over at Neji, jolted, his face impassive at your tear-stained cheeks.

“He’s not well, I take it?” The bite that was in Neji’s expression earlier was gone, but his voice held the same amount of emotion as always—none, perhaps with a hint of vague impatience.

You managed to shake your head, tears threatening to spring anew. You hated having to be the one to break it to him, but today had been emotionally taxing. Your sorrow at Neji’s match was forgotten now, your attention focused on Lee.

“How bad?” He moved forward, but you caught his eye twitched as your expression worsened.

“He…his legs…they think they’re…” You couldn’t finish, your voice cracked, and you shook your head furiously, unable to say the words, the tears streaming down your face as you clutched your hands your face. You tried to regain your breath, to force the words out, but it wouldn’t come. You knew it was unprofessional, un-shinobi of you. But you couldn’t stop.

Neji also didn’t ask you to.

You heard a sigh and a warm arm came around you, pulling you into a firm embrace. You almost gasped at the sudden contact, but your face was buried in his jacket. The part of you that always admired him would have been squealing with joy, but that wasn’t who you were right now. You clutched onto him for dear life, letting yourself cry and shake, Neji standing completely still to allow you to let it out.

“I’m going to make sure that kid from the sand knows…he’s made a terrible mistake.”

That was enough for you to know. Neji was still the person you always admired. A year ago, he would never have moved on behalf of Lee. Now, Neji had his own resolve, one that didn’t take kindly to those who assaulted his precious teammates. You hadn’t seen the encounter in the forest with the sound-nin, but somehow you knew that had to have been similar to this fury…no, this was a deeper anger, one you felt as his fingertips unconsciously dug into you as he spoke. But Neji would need to be calculated for this match, because that Sand-nin, Gaara, had no qualms about killing. At all.

“Please.. be careful… that guy is…” You buried your face deeper into his jacket, unable to help the outpouring of your emotions, trying to pull yourself together. “Please, please be safe, Neji.”

“…I promise.”

[…]

Neji had kept you busy during the month-long training period between the previous exams and the final. While you had your own match to prepare for, you both decided it would be best to train together along with Tenten. In addition, your opponent had been the particularly deadly nin that would have killed your teammate in the preliminaries had he not surrendered. This would be a difficult match.

You weren’t completely sure, but you picked up a sense of urgency that Neji directed towards you during your training sessions. Neji was much stricter and harsher with his critique during your spars than previous session pre-exam, and he made sure to leave little room for error. You secretly hoped you wouldn’t need to face him in the final rounds, as both of you could already tell the inevitable outcome. If it weren’t for Tenten’s positive attitude, you might have been overwhelmed with how serious Neji was. He wasn’t going easy on either of you.

“How long were you neglecting your physical spars? You’re not going to heal the enemy to death. Get up.”

After what seemed like the umpteenth time you had landed in the ground, your shoulders were crying out from the pain. Nevertheless, you groaned as you rolled over, drawing your elbows up under you in an attempt to push yourself up. One of your arms gave out midway and you tumbled back down, the side of your face hitting the ground as you winced.

“Is that all you’ve got?

“Ugh, I’m trying.”

“These exams have the fatality ban lifted, simply ‘trying’ is the last step before dying.”

You cringed at the thought, admittingly not knowing what the outcome could be at this point either. Your opponent was able to secrete poison from his body in both a liquid-like substance as well as blowing poisonous gas from his mouth and nose. Close combat was pout of the question. Still, it didn’t hurt to be prepared.

“Neji, lighten up. (Y/N)’s team isn’t a taijutsu specialty like ours. They aren’t as focused on-“

“It doesn’t matter what their specialty is, Tenten.” Neji snapped back, startling the kunoichi. Despite being used to it, Neji’s calloused nature was never pleasant to experience.

“If you’re furious about something then we’re not the people to take it out on, Neji.” You snapped back on her behalf, finally regaining your balance on your feet.

“What did you say?”

“You’re taking something out on us! You never told us what happened when you returned to the compound aft-“

“Silence.” Neji’s voice had a dangerous uptick and something flashed behind his eyes that you really didn’t like. “My affairs are none of your concern, and….” His voice dropped multiple levels. “…clearly nothing did, or else you know I would not be standing here.” His voice dripped with acid, burning a painful hole in the conversation by the end. Both you and Tenten stood there awkwardly for a moment, exchanging glances.

“(Y/N) is…we’re just concerned, Neji.” Tenten covered for you, knowing where your heart was.

“If we’re going to sit here and talk about my feelings instead of train, then I’m off to be productive. Goodbye.” Neji scoffed, turning on his heel and made for a new training ground.

“Why do you walk away from everyone who cares about you?!” You blurted out suddenly, already regretting the decision, but also somehow possessed by the question that had been lingering in you for a long time.

Normally, Neji never responded to taunts. And, he never needed to, he was far too self-assured. But this time, Neji’s feet halted immediately and his head snapped back at you in anger.

“Tenten, I need a moment.” You were still calm, giving Tenten a reassuring look before she acquiesced and left promptly, leaving you both alone for a time.

“Are you intent on getting on the very last nerve I possess? You clearly overestimate your importance, here. You’re a vapid and lovesick fan that had the sheer luck of being in proximity to me, but your healing was useful enough to keep you around. I was considerate enough to spar with you in exchange for your aid abilities, and now that I’ve shown a base amount of concern you decide to throw it back in my face?” Neji was immediately on the offensive, wasting no time once Tenten was out of sight. And oh, his words cut deep. The feeling of shame covered your face, knowing that was all he thought of you. He was the person you admired the most, and now he said everything he knew could hurt you.

“Of course I’m grateful, Neji, but it doesn’t mean I deserve to be treated like this. Tenten doesn’t deserve it, either. And I…I never asked you to care about me, so let’s get that straight!” You balled your fists and dared make eye contact with him, only a few feet away from you. “I’ve always admired you, I’ve always watched you succeed, and for good reason! You are a genius, and you know it! But even if I did, I’ve never asked anything of you that you shouldn’t have already done!”

Neji’s face gawked at you for a moment before blinking, thoroughly insulted. He must have imagined you were chastising him.

“No, you know you would never have gotten anything out of training with me, but yet you still…” You bit your lip. “You still asked me to come. Even if it’s just as shallow as not wanting me to die, that’s enough for me. I don’t want anything from you. I don’t! Have I ever asked? Have I ever demanded your attention, your time, or your concern?! I’m never going to do that, Neji! That’s not how I want to treat anyone, let alone someone I admire!” You breathed, still in disbelief that you were letting loose like this for the second time in your life. “You’ve always improved so far ahead of everyone, and now you care about your teammates and it shows, because I completely admire you as a leader, too. But this… it’s not painful because of the insults. I…we both could sit here and take it all day. Honestly, I think we’re just… too used to it by now.” You averted your eyes, Neji’s face deadlocked on yours, remaining unresponsive and silent, his brows narrowing.

“It hurts only because I’m seeing you suffer in silence. And it matters to me that you know you have people that want to look out for you…the same way you look out for all of us. I’m…we’re all not going to force you to open up, we just want to know how we can be there for you.” As you finished you noticed your voice growing weaker, the deadpan and harsh stare from Neji intimidating you. For a few moments, he was silent. He didn’t blink. And then, suddenly, he spoke.

“Get out of my sight.”

You were shocked, the command so blunt as if he didn’t respond to anything you said. He wasn’t moving, but he expected you to. When you didn’t budge, still too overwhelmed in shock by his words, he stepped forward.

“Now.”

“No.” You said it, but you don’t know how in the world you managed, because when you did, Neji’s eyes widened in anger—the same sort of anger you saw during the exams, and you threw your hands up in front of you as though he were to attack. He didn’t move, but you saw his eyes flicker to your arms, and then you.

“I…you’re terrifying me right now, Neji…” Your voice shook, every fiber of your body telling you to get as far away from him as you could. Slowly, he advanced, posture straight, until he was uncomfortably close. You were deathly still, poised defensive.

He suddenly leaned forward, and your foot flew out behind you, moving you further away. He did so once more, and you followed suit. Until you couldn’t move anymore, your back pressed against a tree, and his imposing figure with the darkest white eyes staring down at you, lips curled in a snarl. His looming figure blocked out the sunlight, casting a shadow over you.

“Where’s that bravery you had a few minutes ago, (y/n)?” His voice was soft, but no less menacing. In fact, the quiet inflection in his voice only heightened your sense of danger. You swallowed in reply, never taking your terrified eyes off of him. You felt hot, though not in the romantic sense you always anticipated when you daydreamed of him being as close as this. This was far more sinister.

“...It went with the person I admired.”

Mild shock painted his face, and suddenly he paused, the malice in his expression ebbing from his face.

“...You’ve been caught in a childish daydream for far too long.” He gave a subtle shake of his head, never letting his eyes leave you. “I’m not going to train with a child. You’re on your own after today. Whatever Tenten does after training with me is up to her.” He rose from his position, face eerily calm. He didn’t move away. Suddenly, you realized he wasn’t going to. Wanting nothing more than to be out of that situation, you slowly inched to the side and gave him a wide berth, hurrying out of the training area, leaving him as a lonesome figure in the field.

[…]

You didn’t get a chance to speak with him until the exams, but you felt a sort of embarrassment as you stood near him in the lineup. The crowd had you feeling nervous, and the glare from your soon-to-be opponent was only succeeding in that you had already been feeling vulnerable even before you arrived. You had prepared something sufficient for him, but it was the following matches that had you concerned. Perhaps you would surrender when you could, after all.

You were the second match following Neji and the one orange jumpsuit kid from the previous exam. It was likely to be a quick match, knowing the kid was a two-rate failure that would perform to expectations.

Oh, you were wrong.

The match played out before your eyes in an unbelievable showdown. When Neji revealed his curse seal, you winced and clutched your hand over your heart from the combatant’s box. You had never seen it before but had heard of it in passing from Tenten and Lee. Hearing his past had all but wrenched your heart out, you never knew he suffered so much. This was the pain he had carried all his life. the reminder of how you both had last spoken, the awe you always had of his impassible skill, and the fantastic fight put up by the boy called Naruto.

All in the last few minutes of the match, when Neji had nearly been victorious…it all changed then. Naruto pulled a last-minute clever victory in an uproar, and Neji lay motionless on the ground. You found Tenten in the crowd who exchanged looks of shock with you, and she moved from her seat to go down to the medical wing. You couldn’t bear to do it yourself, though, and merely gave the Naruto a sideways glance as he returned to the competitor’s box.

Your own match was next.

You had concern racing through your mind when you led yourself down to the field. You weren’t sure what the crowd thought of you—perhaps you were another filler match to them until their long-awaited Uchiha/Sand-nin match.

“You sure you ain’t giving up right now? If not I’m sure they offer shared rooms so you can see your friend…”

“Match Two, Begin.”

When your eyes rose to meet him, the world didn’t matter. All that was ahead of you was a certain payback to one ninja that had bloodied your teammate.

“Yeah, now send my regards to both of yours.”

[…]

The ambush came on suddenly from the stands, and your remaining teammate managed to awaken you just in time to see Neji and Tenten rush out of the area behind Hyuga elders, the sand and sound-nin in full assault upon the remaining jounin stationed in the arena. Knowing your techniques, though still in their novice stage, could mean the difference between life and death for those in the surrounding area, you took a stealthy approach, utilizing your scalpel technique from hidden corners of the arena.

Your match had ended swiftly, the endurance training you had begun with Neji and continued with Tenten allowed you to counter your opponent’s close-range poison abilities. You were almost always out of range from his clouds of gas until you had lured him in close enough for a finishing blow. He began to laugh until you whipped around in the last moment and shoved a syringe into his artery.

You had prepared an antidote to his poison—one you administered directly to him, and as the antidote flooded his veins his poisonous gases were neutralized. It was only a matter of time before his actual sub-par Taijutsu was overpowered by your swift movements and precise attacks with the Chakra Scalpel technique. You shoved yourself to the ground to lash out at his Achilles tendon, and rolled to avoid his weight as it came crashing down. Standing over his hunched form with your hand primed with another scalpel just out of reach of the vertebrae on his neck, the match was officially over.

Now, the stray ninja that came after you shared the same fate. You worked to disable their mobility when you saw an opening, leaving the more experienced Jounin to finish them off.

As soon as it had happened, it seemed that the ambush was over. Only a few hours had passed, but those that were caught surrendered, those that were against retreated. Knowing you still had one teammate in your sight with minimal injury and another in the rehab wing of the hospital—he had inhaled far too much poison had needed recurring checkups on his lungs—your thought wandered to Neji and Tenten, hoping they were safe. You didn’t have much time to think as soon you were ambushed by multiple shinobi needing your assistance.

Even as a novice in the coming months, you were stretched thin by Konoha Crush’s aftermath. There were days without a break, and you dreamed of your bed often. On a few occasions, you had passed out from chakra exhaustion, only to stubbornly pick yourself up after a short period to gather what you could and continue. No one stopped you, knowing that your skillset was too valuable to protest.

Tenten came by now and then, and you sighed in relief when she told you that Neji was safe and sound—in fact, things had been apparently better since the attack. She told you of their meeting in the medical wing and you smiled warmly, happy she had been there for him.

She also mentioned that she heard of your match and had shared the story with Neji, and you burned red, nudging her in the side for putting you on the spot like that. She laughed in their characteristic way and let on that in her limited abilities to read of the Hyuga, she had never seen a look so close to ‘impressed’ cross his face as when he heard about it. Tenten gazed at you for a moment, acknowledging that even if he hadn’t come to see you since the exams, it was likely because he was embarrassed by his actions before. Not that he would admit it ever because it was Neji, but she advised that you should see him sometime.

Though your schedule was full enough that in the coming months that any hope you had of seeing your longtime crush and admired one fell to the wayside. In the distance, though, one day in the marketplace as you tiredly picked out ingredients for dinner, pearl-colored eyes caught sight of you through the crowd of people, tracing your every movement and expression with relaxed lids that spoke guilt. As soon as they did, though, they seemed to be self-aware enough to force themselves away, retreating to a familiar road home.

[…]

Sasuke had left the village, and Neji had been sent after. They were back now…in the hospital. This was the news that came to you as you returned your report to the desk.

You had been gone on your own mission. Otherwise, Shikamaru later told you, he considered your medical abilities as a valuable backup for the team. You couldn’t rebuke Shikamaru, seeing the look of defeat that he was barely holding back. You comforted him the best you could, but you couldn’t stop the question that spilled from your lips.

“Where’s…Neji?” You looked at Shikamaru, hopeful, only to see the broken expression of the man who looked at you with nothing but guilt hanging from the corners of his eyes. He bit his lip, knowing you wouldn’t like his response.

“He’s…in critical care. They’ve been working on him for the last few hours.”

Those words echoed like a shot through your heart, and you rushed off before Shikamaru could utter another word. The halls were a blur, your heart thrusting against your ribcage, threatening to make its way through your throat if upset further. You had been in the hospital many times before for supplemental training, and knew the intensive surgical room had a short observation deck above the area that was walled off with glass. It was utilized for students that sat in on procedures, but family members made their way above as well. This time, though, the area was barren and you held your breath.

‘Neji had a huge family, where were they? The room was still in use. Had they left already? Were they wrapping up the surgery? Had something gone wrong? Those rooms were only empty if it was done, or if..no, no, otherwise if they had…been led out…because of….’

Your hand went up to stifle the gasp as you saw the extent of his injuries. The nin were still working, but there were two large perforations in his torso, clean punctures through. That he hadn’t bled out by now was a miracle.

The seconds staring at his injuries were the longest of your life. Time would only resume as normal when a hand came upon your shoulder, and you saw the face of the new Hokage herself.

“Oh Good, I was wondering who I would need to assign to take care of this one when he leaves surgery.”

Tsunade let a sly grin slide onto her face, and at once your worries retreated back, though they hung off in the distance.

“Will he…?”

“Make a full recovery? You should know that these things are never a hundred percent certain.” Despite the partial warning, Tsunade didn’t retract her confident grin and chuckled. “…but it might raise a few percentage points or so if you keep an especially good eye on him after. I’ve heard you’re probably the only one who can, given how this one can get a bit of an attitude, right?”

You sighed in relief, and you felt Tsunade pat your back as she returned to her duties.

“In the meantime, it’ll benefit you to keep watch over the procedure. You might be doing it yourself, one day.”

When the surgery finally ended, you let out a breath that you may as well have held for the whole session. Tsunade had long since left, but you had been joined by Tenten, Lee, and your teammates. The observation room rejoiced, your cheers startling the doctors below for a moment until they smiled at the enthusiastic group above that had been waiting on their friend.

You hardly left his bedside for the days following, gently tending to some of his care when the nurses were swamped with duties. Changing bandages was now second nature to you, as were the rotations. The others occasionally came by, but none of his family came.

This went on for two days until a quiet presence made its way through the door. You had hardly slept, so you weren’t sure you had imagined it at first until a meek figure peeked out around the curtain. You recognized her immediately.

“Nii-san?”

“Not awake yet, but maybe your presence will do the trick.” You smiled at Hinata, knowing that her attendance meant they had indeed made reparations in the time since the exams.

She stayed for a while, and you made small-talk. Hinata was a sweet, kind-hearted girl. She was bashful even in person, but soon your conversation fell to the wayside when Neji began to stir. You both silenced immediately and Hinata waved her hands at you in flustered urgency, and you checked for his vitals. As soon as he had begun moving, he stopped, slipping back into unconsciousness. This began to worry you. You gave Hinata what reassurance you could, but she was obviously shaken by the event.

“I told you he’d stir! Now you just need to come back until he wakes up all the way!” You flashed a grin at her and she managed a meek smile in response, nodding gently before bowing and excusing herself out of the room.

You hoped she really would return, given that she was the only family to pay him a visit since.

That night, you told the nurses about his activity and they put him on watch for the night, closely monitoring for any additional activity or abnormalities. You begged to stay until they finally relented, warning you not to let the hospital head find out about your presence outside of normal visiting hours—you weren’t immediate kin or his actual teammate, after all. Still, it meant another nurse could divert her attention to other patients for the evening, and for that she was grateful.

You felt hopeful that evening, but as the night drew to its zenith and still no change in his condition, you began to get inside your own head. That lingering “what if…?” echoed louder than it had in the days before. You visibly shook your head, frustrated, planting your face in the bed near his arm as you leaned over in your chair, trying to focus on anything but your overwhelming anxiety about his condition. The prospect of losing him, though…wasn’t one you were sure an eternity could prepare you to grapple with. You had to keep hope.

At some point, you must have dozed off into a feverish rest, your head still tilted onto the bed. As you dreamed, you felt as though you were walking with a heavy weight upon your head. You kept attempting to shake it off, to move around in every way you could, but it wouldn’t leave. It was almost as though you had a headache, and suddenly the weight began to bounce on top of your head. A constant pounding of an invisible force shook you in your dreamlike state, until you realized you were no longer in a dream.

“…(y/n).”

Your groggy state let out a small groan as you attempted to move, your body stiff from being in an impractical position for so long.

“(y/n).”

That voice.

You shot up immediately, stumbling a bit as your body had yet to catch up with your consciousness and your eyes shot straight for the brilliant opal eyes of Neji, peering through half-opened lids at you, his hand resting on yours.

He was nearly feverish in this state, though he wasn’t flushed and you knew he had no temperature. Coming out of a coma was always a slow process, not a dramatic event that stories always made it seem. It dawned on you that the thumping had been his hand, still with limited mobility, trying to get your attention.

You cursed yourself that this of all times had to be the moment you fell asleep, and you quickly got to work with checking his vitals and going through routine questions. You had to repeat many of your questions and keep them as simple as possible—he still seemed to be in a state of semi-consciousness—and checking for any discomfort, pain, or sign of undetected ailments. Neji slowly answered and his voice grew stronger as you went along, until he was finally able to ask one of his own.

“Where…How long..?”

“Four days total since your mission. Well, if you include tonight.” You were testing his collarbone, noting how he winced at the lightest touch. Pulling loose the gown’s shirt for a better view, the area was still closed but had an ugly, dark bruise that extended from just below his collar, over past the top of his shoulder, and midway through his upper chest. You compared the length of the bruising around his shoulder to the measurements took previous. It was slow, but they appeared to be decreasing in size and lightening in color.

“Please tell me you didn’t stay…this whole time.” Neji swallowed dryly, flicking his eyes from your hands that examined his bruising and back to your face that was concentrated on your routines.

“I can’t lie very well, you know that.” You smiled at him, gently checking for his pulse and scanning the monitors for his brainwave activity. It was slow, but that was normal. Satisfied that he was in no more pain than expected, you poured him a small glass of water, doubling back over your shoulder to check his painkiller levels, and sat next to him. He needed some faint assistance raising his head to drink, but you kept your motions as gentle as possible. His hand reached up to cover yours as it gripped the glass, but you weren’t confident he could hold it just yet.

He groaned in pain, letting his head fall back on the bed in partial exhaustion. It was almost ironic how tired he was given that he had essentially slept for four days. Without thinking, you caressed the messy hair out of his face, and Neji, in his half-awake state, leaned into your touch, closing his eyes. Your face flushed instantly as you froze. With a confidence you didn’t know you possessed, you leaned forward to kiss his forehead and Neji blinked, looking back up at you with an expression you couldn’t read.

“I’m…just glad you’re safe. I didn’t know what to do when I found out, and…just…” You babbled, not even sure of what you were going to say, while he gazed back up at you, your thumb running over his cheek for a brief moment before you caught yourself and turned away, trying hard to contain the heavy feeling behind your eyes that attempted to spill out. You retracted, rubbing your face, taking a deep inhale before a weak hand covered yours as it rested on the bed.

“(y/n)…Thank you.”

[…]

Neji was a little stubborn when it came to medical care, only insofar as Guy’s teachings made him habitually push himself beyond his limits. While the hole in his chest and abdomen had closed, the soreness from those areas was ever present. One thing many did not understand about healing jutsu wasn’t that it was an instant cure unless you were someone like Tsunade. It was a forced regrowth of cells, and those cells were delicate until they took time to completely weave together. The deeper the wound, the longer it took for the cells to settle. It was as if you had only placed tightly-woven mesh made from thin fibers over the wound. The fragile new skin could reopen and tear if not cared for properly.

“You need to take care of yourself! For being a genius, you’re so…just…ugh, wreckless sometimes!” You finished tying the bandage on his shoulder around the same time you finished your lecture.

You weren’t really mad—and he knew, judging by your pouting face as you hurried your care of his arm—but you were very serious about him being careful. You caught a small smile from him as he sat in silence, letting you complete your work, admiring how talented you had become. As you got up and turned to put your things away, you heard him chuckle for a moment before he let out a small sigh.

“I’m not sure there’s anyone in this world that will care for me as you do.”

You paused at his words, your brows raising in confusion. “What do you mean by that?”

“What do you think?”

That statement had so many interpretations and all of them were just as ‘Neji’ as the last; you couldn’t figure where to begin. You turned away for a brief moment, your face contorting in many comical expressions of confusion as you sputtered out syllables in an attempt to fathom some reply. It wasn’t working, you needed to know more. You turned to question him, but his back was to you, silhouette suddenly much further than you remembered as he left without so much as a glance back. “Whe- Hey! Neji!” But despite your attempts, he was gone before you had even finished.

You clenched your fists and pouted. There he was again, leaving without even letting you respond. For being in recovery, he sure knew how to make a swift exit.

“Hey! Seriously! Quit walking off when you make statements like that!”

[…]

As soon as Sasuke left the village, it seemed not long after Naruto had as well. The village was relatively quiet for the next years, and once Neji recovered you made sure to not let your schedule get in the way of seeing him again.

He always seemed to play off your insistence at coming to see him, but you could tell by the way he didn’t protest he actively enjoyed your presence. One rare occasion you had to cancel training plans on him for a mission, you could have sworn his ensuing silence was actually his form of pouting, if Neji were ever capable of such a reaction. When you tested the waters and asked to reschedule for your return, he agreed far too quickly. This surprised you, and you teased him about it, much to his chagrin as he resorted to ‘stern and silent’ once more.

He had been more open in the last years, and you spent hours--made hours--to dwell in long conversation that became as natural as breathing. You didn’t know Neji could be so talkative, but while deep in a meaningful exchange you always were in awe at the thoughtfulness that came from him. Though you had grown up a bit, that admiration from you never completely subsided.

Neji also had brought new, more personal topics on his own accord with you when appropriate. Sometimes they caught you off guard, though you were incredibly attentive to him. In fact, sometime after he had recovered from the mission and knew that you weren’t obligated to stay around, he caught your attention with a strange request.

“Can we speak after training today?”

“I…ah…sure, is there something on your mind?” You tilted your head, now swimming with ideas about what it could be. The inner part of you was dancing with joy, shouting ‘Confession! Confession! Confession!’ but your clearly rational side rebuffed that idea as best it could, knowing that while Neji was occasionally considerate towards you, you didn’t get the ‘crush’ vibe from him. Then again, Neji was someone who knew how to hide secrets from you.

“Yes, you could say that. It’s a conversation far overdue.” He nodded courteously and you scrutinized every motion he made, trying to get a sense for what it was. No indicator of a confession. As he was back on the field and his focus diverted, you tilted your mouth to the side, crossing your arms and thinking as hard as you could.

By the end of training, you were ready to sprint a mile to run off the energy that had built from your anticipation. Leave it to Neji to make you impatient. As the others left, you stood around awkwardly, pretending to be occupied so they wouldn’t hang around too long out of suspicion. When you felt a familiar presence behind you, your heart kicked into overdrive as you spun around, nervous and fidgety.

“Are you alright?”

“Y-Yes! I’m fine! I just, uh…I just have no idea what it is!” You held your arms behind you and bouned on your heel for a moment, chastising yourself and telling you to focus. Neji eyed you in mild interest before he took a breath.

“I owe you an apology.”

Your movements stilled and you observed his features. He was straightforward as ever, his hands balled into fists, and his voice only speaking words he meant.

“You know you’ve never owed me anything.” You smiled at him, tilting your head. This was endearing and uplifting all at once. He really had changed for the better thanks to that fateful match, and you saw the progress before you. He had been gentler, his quick anger replaced with a serene maturity. Neji gazed at you for a moment before briefly closing his eyes to think as he returned his honest gaze to you.

“You’ve always said that, but I wonder…if you really know what support like yours is worth. What it meant…even if I don’t owe you anything, you deserve to be treated accordingly. Being the way that I was, saying those calloused things to you, knowing I didn’t truly mean them and I was lashing out, I was unfair to you. And you’ve always been patient with—” You held your finger up to your lips with a soft smile, and he silenced midsentence.

“You’ve changed for the better in such a short time, and believe me, I can tell in your actions that you mean every word and gesture. I don’t dwell on the past. Knowing you’re trying to change from the person that you were then…is enough of an apology for me. I forgive you, and…I want to see more of that person.”

You were beaming at him. Neji’s cheeks dusted the fainted shade of pink, betraying his forcefully placid expression. It was always so adorable to see him hold back when his feelings were strong. It was the rarest sight, but you committed every moment like this to memory.

“You know, Neji…my admiration of you still grows every day.” You confessed honestly, enjoying the fact that the shade on his face became slightly more prominent.

“What do you mean by that…?!” He nearly stuttered; something Neji never does, and your smile grew wider as you gracefully footed your way around him, making your way for the town.

“What do you think?” You teased as you called back in the distance, Neji startled and frozen at once as you disappeared off.

“Cheeky…” He grumbled with a tsk, moving ever so hurriedly—but calmly—after you.

[…]

It was nearly two years since the exams and you had spent your time building your strength, training, fulfilling missions, and if you were lucky, shadowing Tsunade when she allowed. You weren’t her formal student, but you took after Shizune, finding your strength in poisons and antidotes. Your skills had followed as well, shaping you into a much stronger shinobi than you once were, giving you a modest reputation.

The second wave of Chunin exams came and went, resulting in Neji’s promotion to Jounin and your own promotion to Chunin. When he told you, you couldn’t help but erupt in a bubbly cheer of joy and congratulations, throwing your arms around him and giving him an impulsive kiss on the cheek. Neji was never more flustered in his life, resembling Hinata more so than his usual self. He immediately went rigid and halted responding for a few moments after you broke away from your half-second action, and you waved your hand in front of his face to be sure he was still breathing. This all earned you a stern lecture when he maintained his composure, though as you grinned your way through it you could tell that his heart wasn’t really in it.

News of Naruto’s return and the Kazekage’s kidnapping hit the village all at once, and you were concerned when you realized Neji’s team had been called after the S-rank assailants. You bit your lip when he bid you goodbye, placing a reassuring hand on your shoulder before he went to meet his team. He was older now, and his face was well-defined with gentle angles that your eyes loved to trace, leading back to his beautiful, iridescent eyes. You couldn’t look at him right now though, only grumbling as you fidgeted with your medical pack.

“If you scare me again like that Sasuke mission, I swear…” You meant to warn him seriously, but the hope and confidence you always had in him won out over your fears.

A soft hand suddenly thumbed over your cheek and under your eye, giving you a gentle but unexpected reassurance. Your eyes met and you blushed. Neji was never openly…like this. And you both weren’t…you know.

“I’m coming back. On my feet, this time. I promise.” His hand left your face as soon as it had reached for it, and Neji blinked, the softest of smiles on his face.

You crossed your arms, pouting, but relenting.

“If you don’t and you break your promise, know that I know the most efficient poisons to keep you alive but moderately uncomfortable.” You huffed; your threat not serious in the slightest.

Neji chuckled, turning on his heel and bidding you goodbye, and so you began the long days of wait for his return, your heart slowly disappearing in the distance.

[…]

You settled next to him on the engawa, taking in for a moment the gracious view of his silhouette against the wooden walls and backdrop of the gardens, and the gentle, meditative look on his face. You made sure to leave an ample space between the two of you, not wanting to press on his boundaries, but no sooner had you sat down, he turned his head towards you. His eyes motioned you closer—how did he always do that with just a glace?—and you complied, containing your enthusiasm, scooting slightly closer to him before settling completely.

Neji observed you for a moment, and you could feel his eyes tracing out the contours of your face. You blushed a bit as you always did under his observation, and he let a soft smile. He secretly enjoyed that he could make you react this way.

You looked to a recent bandage on his shoulder, revealed only by the sleeveless kimono top he was wearing. You sat down almost reflexively to adjust it, keeping your eyes focused on rewrapping the cloth. ‘For all of his genius,’ you smiled to yourself, ‘he’s only somewhat proficient at appropriately wrapping injuries.’

Still, what weighed on the two of you was the news of the impending war that was coming. Squad assignments were being given, and very soon you would be in the fight for your lives. It made it difficult to enjoy the quiet moments like these, knowing that this would be a distant memory when you were on the battlefield. You were both tense. And for each of you, concern painted every move you made with one another.

“The war seems to be coming, soon.” You shifted the silence to calm conversation, knowing it was best to speak sincerely from the start. Neji lowered his eyes, the small smile on his face in gratitude that starting the hard conversations was always your strong suit.

“It seems that way.” Neji didn’t seem dismissive, though. On the other hand, his tone told you he received and reflected your own concerns.

“I’m… worried.” You confessed.

“I’m sure, war is never a joyous occasion.”

“No, I mean…I’m worried. For you.”

Neji blinked, seemingly lost in contemplation at your words.

“You always are, aren’t you?” It was less a question and more of a statement of realization, one that seemed to echo deeper within him.

The air was still, save for the soft fluttering of wings as two birds settled on the branch in front of you, letting forth the occasional chirp to remind you of their presence. Neji was reminded, too. Of a question that had hung in his heart for a long time, one he had always been afraid to ask. Was it fear, of the answer, though? Or fear that the answer could change everything?

Now, it was perhaps the only time to ask. He had to know.

“….Why have you always cared this much for me?”

You blinked once, wondering if you had imagined him saying it. When you turned your head to look at Neji, he wasn’t looking at you. His brow was furrowed and his gaze downcast, he seemed lost in thought. You put your hands down from the newly wrapped bandage, settling them on your lap as you blinked once, twice at him.

“Because… it’s you.”

“…That’s it?” He turned and blinked at you in surprise, his face turning to slight confusion, moving each syllable over his tongue as if he was more unsure with each word. “You’ve always cared because I’m…me?”

You couldn’t help but smile. It almost sounded like a shallow answer given your history, but as you reflected on it, it was succinct, simple, and honest.

“It’s all the reason I’ve ever needed.” You shyly looked away, keeping your head turned towards him. “I don’t think any honest affections for someone are solely based on what they do for you. I’ve never wanted, never needed anything from you. It was never about cost, or return, because those are woefully capricious and complicated things. This feeling is simple and constant. It is as it has always been.”

Your eyes returned to his, absorbed in yours, while the smile on your face grew of its own accord. “And you, just as you are, have always been enough for me.”

There wasn’t a word to describe the emotions that passed through his eyes, though his outer face was still. As if of their own accord and without his knowledge, the corners of his mouth twitched, curling up as he couldn’t hold back the soft joy that grew in his chest. Returning to his upright position and painfully aware of the slight tinge of pink on his own face, he returned his gaze forward and away from your searching eyes to avoid further embarrassment. His furthest knee drew up and he rested his elbow upon it, burying the lower half of his face in his palm. Though when he heard your quiet giggle, you saw a small smile return to his face and his eyes temporarily flickered towards yours before returning ahead.

“What about you, then?” You slid a little closer to him, thoroughly enjoying his bashful repose. And he knew it too, from the way you saw him sternly (but not seriously) quirk a brow at you. He lifted his head from where it had been covered by the hand.

“What do you mean?”

“When…?” You pouted a bit, halfway expecting his responding silence. You knew better than to force him to espouse his feelings before he was ready. “I never knew you cared this way…until recently. After the last time we had this chance alone. But it’s no wonder I was drawn to you, you’ve always been admirable in every sense. But I have to ask…with you, why…me?” You leaned forward, but he didn’t move, didn’t avert his gaze ahead. With a few moments of lingering stillness after your response, you turned your head forward in resignation, letting it be.

At least, you thought, you would enjoy the serenity of the garden with him, knowing that what had happened minutes before—the lack of rejection—was a confirmation in itself. The only sound came from the two birds you had seen earlier, both sitting upon the same branch, seemingly having a conversation of their own, a song shared between the two of them. You were almost in a meditative state until his unexpected answer broke through the silence.

“You’ve only ever been who you were.” You turned once more to him, giving him your full attention. His answer wasn’t what you expected, either, though it sounded similar to yours. He was oddly reminiscent about an answer that should have been in the present, until you realized that it all went further back than you knew.

“…Regardless of my actions towards you. And for my younger self, that was surely no small feat of strength.” He sighed, the tinge of guilt hanging in the air.

“Still, our world as shinobi is cold, and yet the warmth from you was constant. We are required to be cruel, but to me, you were ever kind. We must lie, but you’re forever honest with me…even when I was wrong. We must rescind all of our attachments, but you…refused to let me feel alone…” His voice trailed off, the last few words barely audible. His words were carefully chosen—as expected of the composed Hyuga. He gazed at the sky for a moment, lost in his thoughts, searching for those last words that echoed once, twice, so many times through all the memories of your past together.

“It is as you said. It’s always been just you, as you were. How could I…have fallen for anyone but you?”

A fluttering of wings took part of your response, as the two birds previously nestled in the tree in front of you took flight. In tandem, they soared. You heard this, but only part of it. As soon as your eyes locked once more, time spun forward, weaving you both finally as one.

In an action that Neji would later recount as perhaps uncharacteristic for him, he gently, tentatively, leaned down to place a chaste and unsure kiss upon your lips, lingering hesitantly to feel your response. As you pressed back, you felt a small hum or gasp—somewhere between—as if he didn’t expect that the person who had loved him all this time would wholeheartedly return it. No matter how new it was for both of you, the passion was ever apparent in the warmth of your lips that entwined deeper still, one hand lacing with his. Gentle movements of his thumb sweeping over your cheek and caused your heart to resound firmly in your chest as you clutched onto his shirt with your other.

It was surreal, feeling your lips move together in tentative caresses, letting the passions of the moment take precedence over the need for perfection. The motions of the kiss grew deeper in a turn that surprised both of you, and you felt his cheeks hot against yours. Both of you were embarrassed, but this felt so right, and clumsy as it was the closeness that you both desired but now finally had was intoxicating. His lips were soft and better than any of the hazy daydreams that you remembered from when you were young. As he drew away, his eyelashes barely covering his lidded eyes, you found yourself longing for them the moment they left.

Not content to let him leave, you pressed your nose against his in an affectionate gesture before he went too far. He flinched at the contact, but such was Neji and not the feelings he held. He leaned forward once more, resting his forehead against yours, enjoying your warm presence, taking a second to inhale and catch his breath from the romantic exchange. At some point his other arm came around you to press you flush against him. His motions were so slow and subtle you hadn’t realized he moved until you where there, in an embrace that felt heavenly.

“This close is really…” You mused, enjoying the contact along with the new opportunity to poke fun at the all-too-serious man that held your heart.

Of course, Neji was more likely to assume you meant otherwise and he pursed his lips in shock, relinquishing all contact immediately before you caught him, throwing both arms around his torso and snuggling up to his shoulder. He let out a small sound of surprise, his arms drawn halfway up in the air. “I’m teasing!” His eye twitched again before he chuckled at the genuinely adorable reaction from you, finally relaxing and resting his arms around you once more.

“You’re going to be the death of me.” He sighed, complaint as genuine as his half-hearted attempt at agitation. You winked and grinned at him. Neji merely hummed in reply, his hand gently caressing your back as his head rested on yours. You were the only part of the world that existed to him then, and it was all he longed for. It was a moment he knew he would never forget, finally letting himself truly feel the warmth of the one who had always been by his side.

#naruto imagines #Naruto Headcanons #naruto scenarios #Neji #neji hyuga #neji hyūga #Reader insert #the shinobi way #TheShinobiWay #I have another request incoming! It's about 50% complete!

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