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#but i noticed i asked nearly every single question. otherwise it was silent
mainfaggot · 6 months
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just spent 1 hour and 20 minutes making cringe fail conversation with my crush I think I'm overwhelming to be around also she does not like me guys this is bad
#i was leading the conversation and asking her questions about her degree/life/family/hobbies#ALSO WTF WE GRADUATED FROM THE SAME HS#so i chatted w her about that too#but i noticed i asked nearly every single question. otherwise it was silent#but not awkwardly silent? like she seemed comfortable in the silence but i felt awkward#like i was imposing on her peace...#also i was trying so hard to be slightly humourous but not self deprecating#and also to not talk about myself#too much..#god i think i was too obviously nervous and talkative#i just cant stand the silence its too heavy for me..#i don't think shes half as interested in me as i am in her#i also don't think my interest comes from a good place.#honestly.#i kind of just want to be understood by someone#and she very well could be not the right person for that. like for me#it's kind of like my interest in her is selfish and projecting this idea on to her#i think it would be best if we could just . become friends first so i can sort my shit out in the meantime#but i dont think she needs anymore friends#again. it feels like im entering her space and that shes graciously allowing me to do so#more out of pity than out of genuine willingness#kind of like i was acting with this other classmate#but to be fair that other classmate and i dont talk anymore bc i pitied her social ineptitude and she ended up being homophobic and racist#i didn't view myself as her savior or anything but it was arrogant of me to stick around bc i felt sorry for her(?)#arrogant or .. i dont know I genuinely felt bad for her bc she reminded me of myself before i learned how to wear a mask in social settings#i dont feel bad though she was an asshole#anyway what the fuck should i kill myself#z.post
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centaurisolarflare · 1 year
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Very important question.
Will you do.
Crush hcs.
For Konig?
- desperate anon
You’re right, desperate anon, this is a matter of upmost importance. Of course I will, thank you for the ask! 
- This man isn’t going to know what the hell to do with himself. König getting a crush has about the same disruption to his daily function as getting a legit brain disease. 
- God fucking forbid you start flirting with him. Somehow you also having a crush on him would make him so much worse at handling his. He’s like a deer in headlights and someone may actually have to smack him on the back of the head to recalibrate him. 
- He’s not used to having a crush, okay? He very rarely gets close enough to people to get attached, let alone for them to get wedged somewhere irremovable next to his heart. 
- I feel like he wouldn’t really notice he’s got a crush formulating until its way too late to even try not to fall for you. He just sort of absently recognizes that he actually enjoys being around you – as opposed to most everyone else he knows – and there’s so many things about you that are interesting, and you’re kind and helpful and you can startle a laugh out of him so easily and oh shit, oh fuck, he has a crush????
- Once he does realize, he goes straight into panic mode about it. Do you know? Can anyone tell? He feels like everyone can tell how his face heats up under your attention, even when he has his hood on. Everyone has to know, God what if you’re just being polite by not telling him to get lost? There’s no way someone like you would even consider returning his affection. His anxiety flares up hard and he’s going to convince himself over and over again that you actually hate him and a thousand other equally unrealistic things. He’s absolutely horrified you’ll reject him, and he doesn’t want to make you uncomfortable so he just… doesn’t do a damned thing about his crush. 
- That’s the other struggle of it too – this man falls hard. The amount of time it takes him to recognize his own feelings pretty much ensures that they’ve been long-lasting and real enough to mean he really, really likes you. He likes you, alright? He likes you. Even just thinking the stronger word is terrifying. 
- So, in all this mess of nerves and self-doubt, König pulls away from you. He backs up, retreats on all fronts. If he isn’t around you, if you never find out how he feels, then this whole situation, the fluttering bird trapped in his chest, can’t hurt him, right? Right? He talks to you less; he spends less time with you. You’ve got to talk to him or otherwise confront him about it to snap him out of it. He’s still out of his mind worried and hyperaware of every single thing he does, but if you say you don’t want him to distance himself? If you’re upset that he has? He’s too devoted, and perhaps too selfish, to deny you. 
- Speaking of, this man has Gomez Addams levels of devotion and admiration. He’ll do anything for you, and most of the time you don’t even have to ask. He’s bashful and mostly silent about it but his crush seeps through the gaps behind each favor, every insistence at being helpful, every kind gesture, every small gift given. 
- Everything reminds him of you. Or maybe it’s just that he’s always thinking of you. Who’s to say. But he does, you’re on his mind nearly all the time. He doesn’t want to say he’s obsessive, but he’s definitely excited each time he learns something new about you. 
- I think he’d really value your opinions. He loves knowing what you think of everything, and he treasures being someone you trust with your honest thoughts. I think he’d really be affected by noticing he can tell when you’re shaping your presence to deal with someone. Like your polite “I need you to clear these papers before our next mission” way of interacting with personnel on base. His heart aches for a bit when he’s startled at hearing you swap into your “costumer service voice” when you take a phone call. He isn’t as social as you, and he’s definitely not as socially graceful as you, so he doesn’t have many demeanors to swap into. But you do; you’ve got various outward ways of acting and speaking for dealing with situations in the way that gets you, and often your team as well, the most favorable result. He admires your ability to navigate being sociable like that. But right now… he knows, he can hear, how the voice you use with him is yours. You speak with him as yourself, wholly and entirely you. He can’t figure out what it is about it, but he holds the realization tight against his heart. Also, on a more trivial level, I think if you guys were out shopping for civvie clothes he’d definitely get something for himself purely because you said it looked good. 
- Does he have family? Is he close with his family? I don’t fucking know, I’ve never played these games, sue me. But in my head, he grew up on a farm and he’s got fairly good relationships with his relatives. Sure, they bicker pointlessly sometimes, but they’re there for each other always. I think his family would be that specific kind of rural kind and willingly helpful vibe. The types where no matter what they’ll be like “oh I haven’t seen you in so long, it’s so lovely to see you, you’re too skinny! König haven’t you been feeding them? Skin and bones, you are, I can’t believe my son/brother/grandson/nephew/etc isn’t feeding you. I thought we rasied him better. Come, sit, I’ll make you schnitzel.” Anyhow, I think he’d start thinking about if you’d like his family way before he ever says anything about meeting them. Again, idfk, but in my head he’s really close with his grandma specifically, and it would mean the world to him if she approved of you and if you liked her. He knows she’ll like you though because he’s definitely told her about you when he’s been home on leave and then she bugs him all the time to bring you home and he’s like “Oma please, I’ve only just started dating them” and she just harumphs and grumbles about it. 
         -- Also, it literally does not matter how trained or involved in the military you are, you’re getting the shovel talk from several siblings and cousins. They’re very familiar with König’s anxiety and they know how much he likes you, which means they’re aware of how much damaging potential you have. They just want to make it known that they have access to a plethora of spots where no one will ever find your body; or, if they feel like being particularly thorough, a drove of pigs who will eat you, marrow and all. 
I hope you see this and enjoy anon, I wish I could tag you directly. Thank you again for sending me an ask! <3
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sun-sakura · 2 years
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My nocturnal serenade (Moondrop x GN! Reader) Part 5
The silence that followed was long.
You blinked several times. You opened your mouth to say something but nothing came out. Did he just say a your mom joke?' If you hadn't just seen it with your own eyes, you would never have believed it. You took off your hat, starting to rubbing your eyes. You took a deep breath. "You know, i consider myself a pretty calm and patient person, and i think i've had a lot of patience with you these days" Moon seemed not even to be listening to you, busy doing who knows what with your phone. You felt your eye twitch slightly. "So now, be a good boy and give me my phone back and i'll turn a blind eye to the fact that you stole a staff member's personal item and invaded their privacy." Moondrop gave no sign of listening to a single word you said. He even chuckled at something that was being shown to him, quickly typing in a response soon after. That's it, you'd had enough. Throwing your hat aside, you began to approaching him, slowly lifting your shirt sleeve. His movements were swift, within moments he had gotten back on his feet, standing up to his full height. "And tell me, what are you going to do otherwise?" he leaned forward, continuing to tower with that irritating grin on you. He dangled the phone just above you, at a distance you couldn't have reached. And he knew it. "How are you going to punish me, short stuff?" "I'm going to start by climb you like you're a tree and making sure you feel every single one of my fingernail pressed on your body, jolly face". He chuckled, his eyes seemed to lose that constant red glow for an instant, turning an almost blue light. Under other circumstances, you would have asked him a question about it, but your only goal at that moment was to get your precious phone back. And maybe even punch that annoying constant smile of his, in addition. You start to approaching him again, which Moondrop responded to by moving away with every step you took. "Ooh to be crushed to death by a koala, now i'm really getting scared~" in a matter of steps the space behind him was gone, yet it didn't seem to bother him. Your eyes widened as you saw him jump back, standing dangerously on the edge of the structure. Part of you was secretly concerned, but the anger and frustration was simply too much. "You want your precious phone back? Come and get it" then, something happened that left you completely stunned. Moondrop began to fly, literally. It took you several moments to notice the shiny metal rope poking out from behind his back. That had to be the one holding him. "What's wrong? Having second thoughts already, little guard?" you silently studied the distance between you. It was very little indeed, little further than the length of your arm. A normal person would not have thought twice about turning around and declaring defeat, of course. No person with an crumb of sanity would have really jumped. In your case, however, the previous days of little sleep and constant stress had momentarily wiped out any remaining sanity. It was for this reason that you climbed with agility, throwing yourself into the void "here comes a shooting star!" you swore to see Moodrop's white side turn even more deathly pale. When your bodies made contact, you clung so tightly on him that you swore you nearly tore a piece of the fabric of his costume. The impact was so violent that it caused you to grunt in pain, several areas of your body protesting vividly. Perhaps you had actually forgotten that despite appearing soft and comfortable, he was still a robot. "Are you crazy?!" the rope that now held both of you up began to rock violently, shaking you in every direction so quickly that your head soon began to spin. 'Okay maybe i should have thought about the possibility that it wouldn't be able to support our weight' you released a deep sigh of relief as that violent rocking ended, and with it its creepy creaking. Trying to ignore the deep emptiness that was beneath you, you raised your head, meeting Moondrop's irritated face, just a few inches away. You gave him a hesitant half-smile, "So...you come here often?" You had to admit, the situation was pretty awkward. Your legs were gripping his waist as if he was worth your life, which in a way it actually was. Looking for a more comfortable position, you removed one hand from behind his neck, grabbing the rope. You still kept one arm around his neck, for added security. Yes, if someone had walked in at that moment and looked up, you would have had a lot of explaining to do. "I can't believe you actually jumped just because of a stupid phone" "Well, when you put it that way, i actually do sound pretty stupid" "what an idiot".
More seconds of awkward silence.
"Uhm Moon?" "What?" "I just remembered i'm afraid of heights". You tried to ignore the shaking in your hands, but it wasn't working, plus your legs were starting to hurt, so much you were straining your muscles. "Yeah? And why should i care?" sometimes you had several doubts about his intelligence, as in that case. But of course you were careful not to tell him. Calling on what little patience you had left, you gave him the calmest, sweetest smile you could muster "Maybe you could, i don't know, put me down? On the ground? Where my feet can both be on a solid, stable surface so that i don't have a panic attack in about five seconds?" Moondrop blinked several times in response, giving you a look of total zero interest. Then, he smiled. "Well, if you insist" you released a sigh of relief, glad that for once he had decided to cooperate. The contact of his hands on your hips made you shiver silently. They were cold, like the rest of his body anyway, but the chill still seeped under the thin layer of your shirt, coming against the warmth of your skin. "Thank you Moo-" Wait. Had he just grabbed you by the hips? The sudden parting of contact between your bodies had the effect of a cold shower. "Moon! No no no! It's not funny! Moon stop please!" your legs flailed in panic, cleaving the air around you. You clung to his arms so tightly that some of your fingernails snapped. Several emotions flashed across your face in that succession of moments. You felt light-headed, your breathing quickened and you had a strong feeling that you were going to throw up in a few seconds. Moondrop laughed at your panic, watching you struggle against the air for a few moments before drawing you closer to him again. "Oh that was gold" you squeezed him so much that your knuckles turned white. You hid your face in the crook of his neck, trying to regain control of your breaths. Sweat ran cold down your neck, causing you to shiver several times. Moondrop's laugh shook you softly, vibrating inside your chest. "you know y/n, when you're scared you're quite cute" "put me down". He decided to ignore your abrupt mumble, continuing to chuckle quietly. His hands continued to grip your hips, in a firmer grip this time. Even his body seemed to have taken to warming up, emitting a pleasant warmth. Under other circumstances you would have found it secretly soothing and comfortable, but the only thing you wanted to do at that moment was to get your feet back on the ground. "Are you mad at me?" "I told you to put me down" "aw come on, you didn't really think i was going to let you fall, don't you?" "Moondrop." Your eyes burned slightly from the small unshed tears, but you refused to show him how much the situation had really scared you. "alright alright big baby, you win" the rope holding you up began to move, starting to lower you down. However, after several feet it got stuck. "that's strange" Moondrop started fiddling with the cable, trying to unlock it. A few moments later, the rope began to squeak noisily, making sounds that were not at all comforting. "Ops." In the blink of an eye, you were both falling.
Moondrop sat back down with a grimace of pain, massaging the back of his head, checking that his circuits were okay. "Man that's hurt" how Sundrop could throw himself into that ball pit every day, he had no idea. He got up on his feet again, removing from his hat the several balls that had gone into it. "Are you still in one piece y/n?" he turned around with a smile, watching the whole ball pit. He waited in silence, waiting to see you pop up a few feet away from him, probably with a colorful string of insults. He waited. And waited. And waited. His smile began to falter. "Come on you stupid human, quit with the drama and come out" Nothing. The smile disappeared from his face. "Y/n, are you still there?" silence was the only response he received.
[Hey guys, sorry for taking a while to update. The holidays are over and i have finals coming up. Because of this, i won't be able to update as often as before from now on, i hope you understand. This chapter contains some of my hcs that i plan to post along with others in another post. What do you think will happen in the next part? I will give you a hint: you are not ready.]
[Comments are always appreciated <3 ]
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whosscruffylooking · 3 years
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Bad Bounty Chapter One: Reunion
Sergeant Hunter x Fem! Bounty Hunter
Word Count: 2k
Warnings: Maybe mutual pining? Nothing too gross.
A/N: hunter was already attractive in season 7, but i managed to suppress my feelings for an ANIMATED character. alas, the bad batch has cursed me and i have finally accepted that he is my latest comfort character.
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“You hold onto friends by keeping your heart a little softer than your head.”
“Clone Force 99. Welcome back, ” Commander Cody extends a hand to Hunter who firmly shakes it.
“Apologies for showing up late, we-”
“Got stuck handling some unexpected complications during a mission. I understand Sergeant Hunter,” Cody winks.
“What have you got for us this time Commander?” Crosshair mumbles, twisting his toothpick around between his teeth.
“This one is going to be a bit different boys. It’s not exactly…sanctioned by the GAR. Let’s call it a favor for an old friend of mine.”
Crosshair straightens up, suspicious of Cody’s statement, “We may bend the rules from time to time, but we don’t do favors.”
“This is an efficient mission that ultimately will aid us in the war, provide you some easy target practice…and helps me relieve an old debt I have to pay.”
“Is there a reason you can’t do this yourself?” Hunter questions.
“We’ve been called into battle. Besides, this separatist encampment is one we have failed to infiltrate time and time again,” Cody responds.
Hunter shifts, struggling to comprehend where this is going, “What does attacking a separatist encampment have to do with repaying a debt?”
“There is a Senator stationed on Drahgor III…a corrupt senator at that. One who has a significant bounty on his head. My dear old friend is a bounty hunter I met on Ord Mantell. Your job will be to take out the clankers and retrieve any data you can from the main database. Meanwhile, my bounty hunter friend will secure the bounty and you’ll go your separate ways.”
“Who is this Bounty Hunter?” Crosshair inquires.
“Glad you asked,” Cody exclaims, “Y/N!”
The clone troopers twirl around to see you approaching them. Your manner is conservative yet confident. One thing you have become an expert at is never striving for attention. Instead, your presence demands it.
You nod at the troopers, “Clone Force 99, it is a pleasure to be working with you.”
Surveying the team, your eyes first fall on Crosshair. His distrusting look reaffirms the defense you raised long before wandering onto the landing platform.
Gotta keep an eye on that one.
Next, you glance over to Wrecker. A massive lug of a man, but he has the noticeable demeanor of a gentle giant. Something about him reminds you of a plush toy you once owned as a child.
Tech catches your attention next. He is clearly the intuitive one. He will either be a pain to deal with, or a beneficial asset.
At last, your eyes meet Hunter’s. Such a tiny gesture of nothingness feels like you’ve just been thrust into a timeless world of something far more significant. You quickly dismiss your gaze, but soon find your eyes wandering back to him. His eyes are already on you.
Tech quickly picks up on your silent interaction and nudges Hunter to break him of his trance. Hunter quickly snaps out of it and clears his throat. He is dumbstruck by his response. His heart beats recklessly.
Taking note of his counterpart’s vitals, Tech is left unsettled by the quickening of Hunter’s heart rate. “Hunter, I need you to focus on your breathing. Your heart rate is abnormally high.”
Setting your sight once more on the rugged clone trooper, you catch the ever-changing hue of his cheek…the one that isn’t covered in dark ink. A hint of red paints his untouched skin.
He clears his throat, “Erm-thank you for alerting me Tech. I’ll be aboard the ship.”
Cody shrugs his shoulders at you, “I guess you’ll brief them on the ship. Have a safe trip.”
“Thank you Cody, ” you clap him on the shoulder and follow the rogue crews lead onto their ship.
++++
𝙿𝚛𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝙳𝚊𝚢
“Where are we going to go? We need somewhere we can set up camp that isn’t easily tracked, ” Echo declares.
“There is one place I can think of, but I’m not sure that Hunter will be a fan of the location, ” Tech announces apprehensively.
Hunter lets out a groan and tightens his fist.
Wrecker laughs, “Hunter doesn’t like this idea! Which means I like it even more!”
Glaring at Wrecker, Hunter abruptly stands and stomps off into the cockpit.
“Where is it?” Echo inquires. He leans in, intrigued by the atmosphere that has suddenly befallen the Marauder.
“Let’s just say…we’d have to get help from an old friend.”
“Ha! An old friend!?” Wrecker blurts out, “Try an old fla-”
“That’s enough, ” Hunter commands, having regained his composure, “We will attempt to make contact this evening and if we have no response by the morning, we will seek out other options.”
++++
All night Hunter stayed up, much to the dismay of his crewmates, awaiting an incoming communication. His mind told him that it would never come through; his heart made him believe…or at least hope otherwise.
He stretches his arms into the air, releasing a hardy yawn. Tech enters the cockpit, “Anything?”
“Nothing, ” Hunter responds with a hint of despair clouding his words.
Just then, a muffled echo transmits through the comms unit. Hunter nearly falls out of the captain’s chair as he scrambles to the commlink.
“This is Phoenix 178095 trying to contact Clone Force 99. I repeat, this is Phoenix 1780-“
“Copy Phoenix 178095, this is Clone Force 99,” Hunter announces almost frantically.
The only response is silence…until, “Hunter? Hunter, is that you?”
The rugged clones grasp on the comlink tightens, and he touches it to his forehead. His eyes are locked shut, his breath unsteady.
“Yes. It’s me.”
You hear his guttural voice and suddenly, your memories which you’ve strived to suppress come flooding back, knocking the wind out of you.
Attempting to swallow the lump that insists on crowding your throat, you press down the transmitter button, but fail to express your thoughts.
“What?” A menacing voice echoes out, “Lothcat got your tongue?”
You chuckle, pressing the comlink to your forehead, “well if it isn’t my favorite piston head.” Piston head, a nickname you have used to refer to Crosshair for as long as you can remember. You find it fitting because term is in reference to a droid, similar to the droid-like manner in which Crosshair carries himself.
“So!” Shouts a third, brooding and somewhat childish voice, “Are we bunking with you or what?”
“Yes Wrecker, you are more than welcome to stay here.”
“Thank you, ” Hunter softly says into the comm’s mic. His voice still brings warmth to your soul, although the communicator slightly alters it.
“Get here safely.”
“Always do.”
“I know, ” you affirm and disconnect the commlink.
Looking around at the empty room, which mere seconds ago was filled with the sound of your closest friends’ voices, you feel once again plagued by loneliness.
It has been nearly three years since you last spoke to them. Choosing to once again shove your feelings down deep inside you, rather than let the pain consume you, you prepare for their arrival.
++++
“Maybe one day we will meet again, when all of this is over. Perhaps then we will have the freedom to say all that we have long held in, ” you exhaust yourself in the effort to fight back the words that are bottled up inside of you.
A void and emotionless, expression spans across his face as he finally acknowledges the weight of the moment. A single tear threatens to spill over, and he clenches his fist to fight back the giant hole that is forming in his heart.
“Y/N, ” he utters, “I-”
“Hunter! It’s time for us to go, ” Tech calls out.
++++
Your entire body jerks to a standstill when you hear the hum of their ship landing.
Hunter feels a sudden sickening sensation throughout his body.
“Deep breaths, brother. You don’t want your little reunion to be overruled by sweaty palms and rosy cheeks, ” Crosshair teases.
Hunter groans, “We are here for a short period of time until we can safely get back to Kamino. Until then, this is strictly business as usual.”
“Whatever you say Hunter,” he flicks his toothpick into the garbage receptacle with perfect aim.
The leader of the clone force, known for being courageous, daring, and valiant has abruptly shifted to a timid and uncertain man. But that’s just it. He felt like a man. A feeling only familiar when around you. Every other day of the rotation, he is merely a defective clone—a misfit who despite his enhanced abilities, is thrown into combat, aware of the fact that he is completely dispensable. Because he is merely one of hundreds of thousands of others just like him, he feels like he is just another carbon copy dispersed off of a factory line. Yet, around you, he never felt that way.
He watches out the cockpit window and sees you emerge from your homestead. His heart somersaults.
“Shall we disembark Hunter?” Tech asks.
He nods.
You are so lost in your thoughts that you hardly notice the troopers exiting their ship. It isn’t until Wrecker has scooped you up into his arms that you are jostled back to reality.
“Wreck!” You cry out in excitement as you wrap your arms around him.
Crosshair lends you a wink that you flirtatiously mirror. It’s always fun seeing him fight back a cheeky grin.
Tech is clearly holding back, so you eagerly close the distance between you two and envelope him in your arms. Initially, he hesitates but rapidly works up the bravery to reciprocate.
Chuckling at his hold on you, you tease, “I don’t know who gives the stronger hugs! You, or Wrecker.” He quickly releases you and straightens his glasses.
“Who’s this?” You motion towards the pale, almost sickly-looking clone. In fact, he looks more like a machine than a clone.
“I’m Echo, ” he extends his hand to you. Accepting it, you introduce yourself in return.
Hunter appears from behind the group. Suddenly, you lose the ability to think straight, let alone speak. His eyes meet yours and you share a somber smile. Each taking a step toward each other, you close the distance between you. Unable to resist any longer, you throw your arms around him, drawing him tightly to you.
For a moment, he stands frozen. Hunter has imagined the feeling of taking you into his arms again more than he would like to admit. At last, he pushes his thoughts aside and encircles your waist with his strong embrace.
You can feel his heartbeat slowly accelerate; at least your heart isn’t the only one threatening to beat out of your chest. You seemingly melt into each other. His hands softly tracing circles on your lower back.
Knowing that this moment cannot last as long as you’d both like, you hesitantly pull away from him. His hands grip at your hips as if he is begging you to not stray from his grasp. Your heart yearns to pull him back into your embrace and to stay there with him forever.
Becoming aware of the world around you once again, you feel your face flush into a crimson red.
“Why are they just standing there like that?” Wrecker leans down to whisper to Tech.
“Sometimes, the most important messages do not need to be said with words,” he responds softly.
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Note
Okay for A Prompt:
First time saying something that hurts them (after they gotten together) with Geraskier
Jaskier has not said a word in over four hours.
Geralt doesn’t notice at first. His mind is otherwise occupied trying to plot the best course to drop Jaskier safely off at Oxenfurt and then get himself back to Kaer Morhen in time for winter. Winter seems to be hitting hard and fast this year; it’s just past Saovine and the air is already bitterly cold.
He only notices Jaskier’s silence when he realizes that Jaskier is shivering, but hasn’t voiced a word of complaint. He hasn’t rhapsodized about warm fires and hot drinks, started loudly composing his elegy for when he freezes to death, or even dropped a single pointed hint about borrowing Geralt’s cloak.
Geralt pulls off his cloak and hands it to the bard. “Here, take this.”
Jaskier offers a thin-lipped smile in thanks, but doesn’t reply.
***
Jaskier has not said a word in over six hours.
“Leaves are changing colors,” Geralt says, starting to get desperate to start a conversation. He’s never commented on the changing colors of the leaves ever before in his life. He doesn’t know why humans lose their heads over leaves when they turn red and orange; they fucking do it every year. When Jaskier doesn’t reply, he adds, “They’re pretty.”
Jaskier only hums in agreement.
***
Jaskier has not said a word in nearly nine hours.
When they stop to set up camp for the night, he doesn’t comment. He silently starts to set up camp while Geralt goes to hunt them dinner. When Geralt returns to the campsite with a rabbit in hand, he finds that Jaskier has started a campfire and is sitting by it, staring into the flames. He doesn’t even have his lute out, which is how Geralt knows that something is truly wrong.
Geralt comes to stand next to Jaskier, waiting for Jaskier to acknowledge him, but the bard doesn’t even look up at him. Geralt has no idea what to make of it. Jaskier’s anger is usually loud and dramatic. Even when he does give Geralt the silent treatment, he usually makes damn sure that Geralt knows it by filling the silence with pointed sighs and sidelong glares. Geralt finds this matter-of-fact quiet unnerving.
“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong?” Geralt finally asks.
“Nothing at all, Geralt.” Jaskier’s voice is perfectly pleasant, another clear indication that something is amiss. Jaskier is never this pleasant. Nor does he ever call Geralt by his actual name. No, it’s always “dear heart” or “my love” or “my darling witcher.”
“Bullshit,” Geralt says. “That’s the first thing you’ve said to me since we broke camp this morning.”
“Hm,” Jaskier says. “And what was the last thing you said to me before we broke camp?”
Geralt wracks his brain to recall their conversation. “Are you angry at me because I told you not to kill Valdo Marx this winter?”
“Of course not, though I maintain that it would be highly justified because he is a spineless cad and a—” Jaskier takes a deep breath. “Do not try to distract me by bringing up Valdo Marx, Geralt.”
Geralt can feel a headache forming behind his eyes. “Speak plainly, Jaskier. What did I say to make you angry?”
Jaskier’s chin juts out a little. “When we were talking about Kaer Morhen.”
Geralt remembers their conversation from earlier. Jaskier asked a lot of questions about the climb to Kaer Morhen and the keep itself, and Geralt tried to describe it the best he could in a way that wouldn’t make Jaskier worry about him spending the winter in a crumbling castle.
Jaskier pitches his voice lower in a dreadful imitation of Geralt— Geralt often thinks it’s a blessing that his lover is a bard and not an actor. “I’d never ask you to join me at Kaer Morhen.”
Geralt blinks at him. “That’s what you’re angry about.”
“Yes, that’s what I’m angry about, Geralt!” Jaskier picks up a stick and throws it in the fire. “We’ve been fucking for almost a year now and I was starting to think that it was more than just sex. Even if it was just sex, we’ve been friends for nearly a decade. You’ve met my family. You’ve met my friends. And yet, I learn that I’m not good enough to join you in the hallowed halls of Kaer Morhen. Why don’t you want me to meet your family, Geralt? Is it because I’m a bard? Because I’m a man? Because I’m me?”
Geralt tosses the rabbit down and sits down next to Jaskier. “I wasn’t telling you that I’d never take you to Kaer Morhen because I don’t want you there. I was trying to tell you that I would never ask that of you.”
Now it’s Jaskier’s turn to look bewildered. “What do you mean, you wouldn’t ask that of me?”
“You follow me on the Path for most of the year,” Geralt says. “You get to rest at Oxenfurt. You have a warm bed, all the Est Est you could ask for, all your friends. I wouldn’t ask you to give that up to sit in a drafty old ruin.”
Jaskier opens his mouth.
“If you say I’m a drafty old ruin, I’m eating this rabbit by myself.”
Jaskier closes his mouth.
“You would hate Kaer Morhen,” Geralt tells him. “It’s cold. The climb is hellish. Half of the keep is falling down and we spend most of the winter working to keep the rest standing. There’s no luxury to be had there.”
Jaskier slips his hand into Geralt’s. “Dear heart,” he says, voice softening. “I’m not going to pretend that I don’t love the luxury that Oxenfurt affords. I love the warm bed and the Est Est and seeing Priscilla and Essi. Even Valdo, though you’re never to repeat that on pain of death. But I’ve been traveling the Path with you for nearly a decade now. I’ve slept in the most unspeakable places known to man. I’ve gone weeks without baths. Voluntarily! And I’m not going to pretend that I don’t occasionally fantasize about taking up residence at a court where I’ll never need to smell myself again—”
Geralt looks away.
Jaskier cups Geralt’s jaw with his hand, guiding his gaze back to him. “But I wouldn’t trade traveling with you for anything. There’s no bed or bottle of wine on the Continent that can compare to spending time with you. There is nowhere I wouldn’t happily follow you.” He pauses, considering. “Plus, I would love to pick your brothers’ brains. I’m sure they all have fascinating stories.”
“So that’s what this is about. The ballads.” Geralt’s lips twitch at the resultant squawk of protest. “Would you like to come to Kaer Morhen with me this winter, Jaskier?”
Jaskier leans over to kiss him. “Dear heart, I would be honored.”
First times prompt meme
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Note
Its my 3rd request already? Well shit. Could you do a dom Sirius and James and sub Remus and fem reader.. Punishment. In a classroom.. For not doing their homework- And just like... Put EVERY SINGLE ONE of the kinks that you have- When did I turn into a kinky bitch😫
Why are you being bad?
Ft. James‘ and Sirius‘ big dick™️
Read the username and knew the request was gonna be good, Enjoy!! <3
Warning: 18+
---
You had been busy all afternoon yesterday, planning some prefect stuff with Remus. Both of you had been so engrossed in the planning, that the potions essay had completely slipped your mind.
„Fuck they’re gonna be mad. This is the third time we forgot!“ Remus panicked.
„Shit!“ you swore „I knew that we had forgotten something!“
„I don’t want to be punished“ Remus whined „I barely healed from last time. My ass fucking hurts!“
You sat down on the bed and buried your face in your palms, silently thinking of an excuse.
„What if“ you hesitated „What if we just lie and say we did do it. And – and we say that some Slytherins attacked us from behind, vanishing the essays?“
Remus gave you a hopeful look. „You think that’ll work?“
You bit your lip. „It has to otherwise we’re fucked mate.“
Remus snorted. „Don’t call me mate, I’ve fucked you before.“
You laughed at that and took his hand in your own. „Right, lets go.“
---
Remus and you were in your seats, behind Sirius and James. The two doms had been in a sour mood all morning, something about Quidditch being cancelled. Remus‘ hand was squeezing your thigh hard and your leg was bouncing a fucking mile a minute.
„What if they know?“ Remus said.
„If you keep acting like a scared bitch of course they’ll know Rem!“ You whisper-yelled.
„Shut the fuck up, your leg is about to go into cardiac arrest!“ he hissed back.
You instantly stopped bouncing your leg and instead took his hand to calm yourself down. Remus gave you a shaky smile, gripping tight.
„We’ll be fine“ you said, not believing anything you said. Remus just nodded.
„Where are your essays?“ The Professor asked and it took you both a second to realize that he was talking to you.
You chose to answer. „Um- we don’t have it Sir. There have been some difficulties.“
The moment you said that the essay wasn’t done, James turned around to give you a hard stare, jaw already clenching. Sirius let out a small chuckle and nodded to himself, before he turned slowly in his seat to glare at Remus. Your fellow sub nearly crushed your hand.
„We can explain!“ Remus blurted out towards the teacher, but his eyes were trained on Sirius as he spoke. „Could we talk after class, Sir?“ The question was actually directed to Sirius and James.
Sirius just gave him a tight smile and turned around. James didn’t though, he kept staring at you until the Professor told him to turn back to his book.
„Alright, stay after class then.“
---
You told your teacher the same lie you wanted to tell your angry doms and nearly cried with relief when he said that you could hand it in the next day. The moment you two were alone in the classroom, James and Sirius came bursting through the door and threw their bags in the corner. James locked and soundproofed the room, before he stood next to Sirius, crossing his arms over his broad chest.
Sirius took a breath to calm himself and cracked his neck. It was dead silent.
“We know you lied.”
Remus nearly fainted next to you and you chewed your lip anxiously.
“We didn’t lie, Sir.” Your voice was somehow steady and you kept eye contact, shivering a little.
James lost his cool and Sirius had to hold him back from slamming you against the nearest surface. Believe it or not, Sirius was the cold and detached type during punishments, while James lost control of his rage.
“I’ll give you one last chance to tell the truth.” Sirius said, voice still calm.
This time Remus steeled himself and responded. “We didn’t lie, Sir.”
“Alright” Sirius said, a little anger laced his voice now and he turned to the other dom “James, they’re yours.”
Not needing to be told twice, James ripped his belt and tie off and barked out a “On your knees, head down.”
You two dropped to your knees and bowed your heads. James took the belt and tied it around Remus‘ hands, pulling so taunt that the boy winced. Moving towards you he bound yours with the tie and stood up.
“This isn’t gonna be a fun punishment like you’re used to.” Sirius said as he made himself comfortable on the chair, crossing his arms, legs spread wide. He had the regal confidence of a king, looking down at you nonchalantly. “We will stay here as long as it takes for you to confess.”
James took over. “Forgetting your essays after you told us that it’s already done is one thing, but to look at us and lie twice?!” James voice was getting louder with every word and you both trembled “That’s blatant disrespect. We’ve been to lentient lately.”
He took off his blazer and unbuttoned his shirt, rolling up the sleeves. He crouched infront of Remus and grabbed his chin. Remus raised his head but kept his eyes casted on James’ chest out of respect.
“I know that she can be a brat” James mused and gripped harder, bruises already forming on Remus’ chin “but you should have known better baby.”
Remus sniffled and you saw his eyes gloss over, not because James was hurting him, but because of the scolding. Remus hated being bad.
“And you” James yelled, voice hardening when it came to you, knowing he could treat you a little rougher that the werewolf “just can‘t stay out of trouble huh? Do you like making us angry?”
Heaven knows why but James’ tone irked you, sometimes punishments made you feisty. It’s not like everything was your fault. Yes it had been your idea, but you never forced Remus to play along.
For now you decided to keep your mouth shut, not wanting to make it worse for Remus, you loved him too much for that. So you took the blame. Sighing, you nodded, albeit with attitude. James noticed and took off his ring.
Slap.
Your head whipped to the side and you bit your lip from making any noise, but you couldn’t help the little hiss that escaped you.
“Lets try that again” Sirius said this time, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. You glared at him from under your lashes, forcing out a “Yes. I understand.”
Slap.
You bit your lip harder and James noticed and slapped you for the third time. You heard Remus‘ distressed sounds and reigned yourself in. Bowing your head you let out a meek, “Yes, Daddy.”
“Yes Daddy, what?” James sneered.
“Yes Daddy, I understand that it is my fault and I will take my punishment like a good girl.”
“Atta girl” Sirius laughed “Stop trying to play tough.”
The biting undertone made you want to get up and slap them back, but you just clenched your jaw and swallowed your anger.
James stood before you two with his legs spread and hands behind his back. He was oozing dominance and the powerful stance turned you on and scared you at the same time. Remus was affected as well, not daring to move a single inch.
„We have decided to let you do the work“ James grinned menacingly „Skirt off and bend over the desk.“
You stood and flipped your skirt up, struggling a little with your bound wrists.
„God, can you do anything right?“ James groaned and flipped the skirt up, pinching your skin. He couldn’t help it, you just made him lose his mind.
As James was taking off your restrains Sirius took something out of his pocket. You felt him press the toy on your clit and whined a little, pushing back against him.
„Stay still greedy girl“ Sirius muttered and pressed the toy inside of your wet cunt, pushing it in so deep that it pressed against your sweet spot.
Your hands were free and you stood up straight again, gasping when the vibrator turned on. You knees buckled and you had to steady yourself on the desk behind you.
The two doms watched you, biting their lips, veins in their arms flexing as the balled their fists. Sirius and James just wanted to fuck you so bad, but they had a point to make.
„Look at her“ Sirius teased „can‘t even hold herself up.“
James chuckled, licking his lips as he watched you throw your head back and moan loudly.
„Well she is a slut Pads, m‘not surprised.“
You looked at them again, wincing when the vibrations got worse and your legs trembled.
„Don‘t you dare come little girl“ James warned „you‘re already in enough trouble. C‘mon get up, time to pay attention to Remus.“
„Yes, Daddy“ you whimpered, voice breaking.
„Up, boy“ Sirius commanded and Remus scrambled up, head still bowed. He quickly unbuttoned Remus‘ pants and pulled them down, forcing him to bend over the teachers desk by his neck and held him there.
„We have a little game for you.“ Sirius drawled. „Our darling girl is going to punish you with the belt Remmy.“
Remus whimpered softly as Sirius dragged his palms across his sore ass, the skin still red from another punishment. „Hush, I‘m not done. Your Daddy is going to put your favorite vibrator in your tight litte hole.“
Remus was panting now, the way Sirius was whispering in his ear made him leak precum on the table. „If your cum, she doesn‘t get to.“ James finished, giving you a mocking smile when you gaped at them.
„But Remus can‘t hold back for shit-“
James had your head bend backwards in a flash, your neck cracking with the sudden movement as you were forced to look up at the ceiling.
„I‘m done with your fucking games“ James roared at you and your eyes glossed over because of the painful tilt of your head.
„Daddy-“ Remus tried but Sirius spanked him hard.
„I‘m sorry! I‘m sorry! Please, I‘ll be good“ you wailed as James bit down hard on your shoulder, sharp canines drawing little pearls of blood.
„If I hear one more complaint out of your whore mouth we won‘t touch you for an entire month. You won‘t get our attention at all. Do. You. Understand?“
„Yes!“ you sobbed „Yes! Please don‘t!“
He let you go and you knelt down in front of the dom, leaning your head against his thigh as you cried for forgiveness.
„I didn‘t m-mean to“ you hiccuped and James stroked you head lightly. „Prove that you‘re a good girl and your daddies will forgive you.“
Yes, you would prove it. You would make them proud. That was all the motivation you needed and you got up, wiping you tears as you made your way over to Remus. Taking his face in your hands you gave him a slow kiss, whispering a secret „I‘m sorry“ and bend him over the table again.
Remus grit his teeth when he felt the first punishing slap of Sirius‘ belt on his already sore ass. He wasn‘t weak by all means, he is a goddamn werewolf, it was the pleasure he was worried about. See, Remus had a thing for pain.
Both of your vibrators came to life at the same time and you let out simultaneous moans. You nearly dropped the belt and your knees buckled, Remus forhead banged against the table as he groaned from the back of his throat.
„Keep going“ Sirius commanded, the doms watching you closely.
You started to spank Remus again, the other boy was a whimpering mess, sweat dripping down his back.
„Ah please“ he begged, legs clenching to hold his release „please, enough!“
„Five more Rem“ you pleaded „please hold it, five more then you‘re done!“ Youe own voice cracked with the threat of an upcoming orgasm, the vibrations so strong you felt them on your clit.
„I can‘t!“ Remus cried, words garbled. „Ah- no!“
The belt had directly hit his swollen balls from behind and Remus came hard, his cum coating the teachers desk.
„Fuck“ you whined when James arm wrapped around you waist and pulled you back to his chest. His other hand slid inside of your clenching hole and pulled out the toy, taking away your privilege to cum.
„Please“ You were a mess, dripping tears and shaky legs.
James directed you to sit on Sirius lap, the latter cooed and kissed your tears away.
„Hush baby, you know Daddy hates crying. I‘m gonna give you a choice now“ Sirius said, a dangerous glint in his pretty eyes.
„Either we punish Remmy again and you get to cum“ you heard the boy plead in the background, not able to handle another punishment „or we don‘t and you won‘t get cummies. What will it be baby?“
The doms knew that they weren‘t being fair. They were far to agitated to play nice, angry because of the cancelled game and your disobedience. They wanted to be merciless.
Through the fog of your despair you glanced back to make sure Remus was alright. Seeing him all bruised and teary made your heart ache. Fuck, you thought, fuck you Remus Lupin. Fuck you and your cute face.
You decide to not cum and spare him.
„Don‘t punish him“ you said with a heavy heart „I won‘t cum.“
Sirius gave you a pleased smile and kissed you hard. James dragged Remus with him, sitting down and made Remus kneel on the ground at his feet.
„Good choice puppy“ Sirius said, stroking your cheekbones with his thumbs „only good girls put others needs before their own.“
Youwere confused as you stared at your dom. „Daddy?“
„Cum whenever you like“ Sirius said and you felt him push inside of you with a hard thrust.
You gasped, holding onto his shoulders as he pushed up inside of your hot pussy, groaning at the feeling of being so deep inside of you.
„You gonna tell Daddy the truth now?“ Sirius pressed, wanting to hear you confess.
„I‘m sorry Daddy!“ Your voice was high pitched and it was difficult to breathe with the force behind his thrusts.
„Try again“ Sirius moaned, pushing you down to meet his thrusts and you shrieked when his cock hit your sweet spot brutally.
„We lied!“ you wailed „We‘re sorry please!“
They had been torturing your body and mind the entire afternoon and you just wanted to cum. You just wanted to sink into the haze of your release.
„Good girl“, Sirius growled before his hand came down to stroke your clit swiftly. Your mouth fell open in a silent scream as you screwed your eyes shut, cumming hard around him. Sirius‘ balls tightened at the sight and he came inside of you, teeth biting over the same spot as James did.
„God puppy“ Sirius praised, his voice trembling „take my cum fuck yes-“
You heard James let out a shout and saw him cum in Remus‘ mouth, forcing him down so deep that you couldn‘t make out his face from the side.
„Swallow or m‘not lettin‘ you up boy.“
Remus‘ choked as he swallowed eagerly, pulling away to show James his empty mouth. James gave his cheek light taps as he murmured a „Good bitch“
Grabbing him under his arms James pulled Remus up, cuddling him against his chest. You sat there for a while, enjoying the manly smell of your doms and their hands tracing your bodies.
„What have you learned?“ James voice still had an edge to it, but it wasn‘t as aggressive anymore.
„We won‘t lie again.“ Remus and you said in unison.
„And?“ Sirius pressed.
„We will tell you when we can‘t finish our essays on time.“ You said, hiding your face in his soft neck.
„We forgive you.“ James said now, reaching over to coax your face out of its hiding. „You did good.“
James‘ praises were always comforting because the dom was a lot harder to impress that Sirius. His voice was completely relaxed now and you saw Remus already fast asleep on his chest.
Maybe lying wasn‘t the best idea after all.
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zarcake-writes · 3 years
Text
Berries and Cinnamon
I like Karl Heisenberg. And I was in the mood for something sweet, loving, and slightly sad. Enjoy!
The village is quiet as a bitter wind whistle past the rickety homes and down the muddy little side streets. Most of the houses are dark; only smoke rising from chimneys to show proof of inhabitance. The outline of Castle Dimitrescu is barely visible against the gloomy night sky.
Karl Heisenberg is alone on the muddy streets. The farm animals that usually roam the village during the day have retreated to the safety of their homes. While the cold weather keeps the villagers inside.
He curls his lip when he passes one of the houses. The smell of animals and wet hay is a scent he cannot grow accustomed to. Most of the village reeks; the stench of decaying wet wood and shit is so oppressive it clings to his coat. Personally, Karl finds the entire place to be an affront to his senses.
But worst is the people. Pious fools who consistently grovel and pray at the feet of Mother Miranda; yet cower in fear at the sight of the Lords.
Alcina revels in the fear. It feeds her massive fucking ego. Donna refuses to interact with any except for the few who work in her house. And Moreau is a disgusting freak whose only concern is the occasional validation that Mother Miranda may give. Karl, though, is not sure if he wants to be feared or validated.
A harsh wind blows past him, shaking the trees and nearly taking the hat off his head.
Snow is in the air. And with it, the promise of a harsh winter.
The human villagers have been in a panic about having enough food and supplies for the coming season. Karl has heard plenty of prayers, seen the offerings to Mother Miranda and the Lords in the tiny church. A few brave villagers even approached his factory at one point, asking for metal scrap.
Reluctantly, he gave them a few sheets of metal.
The humans of the village may fear the coming winter. In an attempt to survive, they give offerings to a Mother Miranda, a fake god. Their stoves are stacked with logs, and they cower under moth-bitten blankets hoping to see next spring. Karl does not share their fear.
He revels in the sensation of the cold slicing through his coat. Cold so sharp it reminds Karl of rust-coated metal. The frost-cold ground seeps through his mud-drenched boots. And as chilled wind bites his cheeks, Karl feels almost human.
Almost.
As Karl comes to the edge of the village that borders up to the forest, he stops. The woods are dark, and the path is barely visible through the overgrown brush and ever reaching trees. There are no lamps or torches to light the way. There is not even a sign. Yet, a trail of smoke rising above the trees comes from deeper within the forest.
He enters the dark forest. Immediately, his eyes adjust to the gloom. Similar to the village, the woods are quiet and cold. The trees creak in the wind as an owl screeches, causing every small creature to scuttle into the brush for safety.
Karl dislikes the forest almost as much as the village. There is not enough metal that sings for his touch. Not enough metal that is eager to bend beneath his command. The trees do not listen to him, roots do not break, and every fucking stone gets caught under the toe of his boot. The only good thing is the smell. But even then, the forest smells too pure. He feels like a trespasser.
The path ends in a small clearing with a small cabin in the center. It is surrounded by the remains of a wooden fence that fell to ruin long ago. A chicken coop is behind the house. Karl cannot stop himself from sneering at the smell of chicken shit. A small raised garden in the front of the house.
The cabin looks abandoned, but the black smoke climbing out of the chimney says otherwise.
Karl’s heart speeds up as he approaches the cabin. The stone pathway beneath his feet is new.
The metal lock on the door sings out to Karl. It would be easy for him to unlock the door using his powers, but he promised to stop doing that. The key in his pocket will do just fine.
Inside, the cabin is warm. The slow-burning fire in the fireplace casts the room in a golden light as shadows dance on the wall. The scent of mashed berries and cinnamon lingers in the air.
All the irritation and anger that was bubbling beneath Karl’s skin melts away. A single word comes to his mind: home.
The cabin is small but decorated by someone who loves their home. Pictures of people Karl does not know to hang on the walls. The faces are familiar, and he has heard their stories, but he cannot remember their names. Knick knacks and precious items linger in every part of the room.
On the opposite side of the room is a small makeshift kitchen area that is too small for one person. The stove is old and partially broken, but the sink and cabinets are new. A vase of flowers sits on the dining table. Next to the table are two chairs; one is partially pulled out, while the other is tucked away. A pang shoots through Karl when he notices the jacket and items piled on the unused chair.
A small couch sits in front of the fireplace. A blanket is lazily thrown over the back.
To his right is a partially opened bedroom door.
Karl shrugs off his coat and hangs it on the coat rack near the door. A familiar jacket is the only other coat hanging. His hat goes up next. And his boots are placed next to a pair of feminine boots.
The floorboards creak beneath Karl’s weight.
“Fuck, shut up,” he whispers.
The floorboards do not listen.
As Karl pushes open the bedroom door, the hinges squeak. He freezes, expecting the room’s occupant to wake up. But the room is quiet. And the form in the bed does not move. Behind him, the fire crackles.
The bedroom is small. The bed, which can barely fit two people, takes up most of the space. A pile of clothes lay on the floor near the foot of the bed. Paintings of the ocean and a field of flowers dot the walls. Karl has spent countless hours memorizing every swirl and color of the paintings.
Tucked into the bed is a woman. She’s buried beneath several layers of blankets. Karl can smell the lingering dust on them.
The mere glimpse of her makes his heart speed up, and his hands grow clammy.
For the longest time, Karl hated that she made him feel like a young man who has never been near a pretty girl. He hated the sweaty palms and word vomit he spluttered. He felt so weak that he decided to avoid her. But he couldn’t stay away for long, and he could not imagine chasing her off.
She shifts in bed but does not wake up.
Karl pulls off his shirt, tossing it into the pile near her bed. He winces at the noise his necklaces around his neck make. Even when set onto the bedside table, they still make a jingling noise. Even his belt clinks as he undoes it.
But still, the noises he seems to constantly make do not wake her. Karl is grateful.
Karl pulls the blanket back. She’s curled up on her side wearing a thread-worn nightgown. Carefully, Karl climbs into bed with her. He gets as close as he dares. The sweetness that clings to her skin is dizzying. He can't stop himself from reaching out and placing his arm on her waist. 
She jolts at his touch and begins to move away. Karl hears her heartbeat speed up. He can smell the panic and fear already rising.
“Just me,” he rumbles in her ear.
She relaxes and leans into him. He feels the relief in her body.
“Karl,” she whispers.
He hums at the way she says his name. For the longest time, he detested his name. Karl. What the fuck is a Karl? Everyone else must agree that the name is terrible because no one calls him that, not even the family that Mother Miranda formed. Miranda herself hasn’t called him Karl since he was a child. For so long, he has been Lord Heisenberg.
But she calls him Karl. Karl. Karl. Karl. Karl. Whether she’s yelling at him, laughing with him, whispering to him in the darkness, or moaning his name with a reverence that should be saved for a church service, he loves how she says his name. He’s even begged her to never call him Lord Heisenberg, call him Karl. Only Karl. Karl. Karl.
“Karl?”
“Hm?”
“Did you hear me?”
“No.”
She rolls over in his arm to face him.
The orange glow of the fireplace slips through the cracked bedroom door, casting the faintest hint of light in the room. The curves and dips of her face are darkened, accentuating her features. The tip of her nose is highlighted, as is the plumpness of her cheeks. Her lips stand out the most. Karl has the urge to taste them, to taste her. But she can see the soft exhaustion in her eyes.
“I asked how your day was.”
It was shit, he thinks.
“Oh. It was fine,” he says.
Her eyes narrow. “Karl.”
He can’t keep her gaze. She knows him too well. Knows that when his jaw clenches, and he blinks twice that he is lying or avoiding the question.
But Karl can’t stop himself from lying to her about his day. He spent most of it with Mother Miranda and the other three Lords, so of course, it was a shit day. But he can’t tell her the truth because she will no doubt want to know why his day was shit. How can he tell her the religious leader of their village is a fucking cruel bitch? How would she react if he screamed about the other Lords? Moreau is fucking disgusting. And Angie is an annoying fucking freak. Not to mention the dick-cutting mega-bitch that is Alcina.
And worst is he can't explain to her that his shit interactions with the Lords and Mother Miranda were because of her. 
All the Lords and most of the village know that Karl Heisenberg has a sweetheart he's trying to keep a secret. Angie asks irritating questions. Alcina gets this unhinged look in her eyes. While Mother Miranda is silent on the topic, but Heisenberg knows she is plotting something. He could see it with the slightest tilt of her head. The only one who doesn’t bother Karl is Moreau.
The sinister glint in Alcina’s eyes combined with Mother Miranda’s silence made Karl’s skin crawl. He knows they can hurt her, kill her, or experiment on her. Karl knows he needs to make some kind of claim on the woman in his arms before those two bitches can act.  
Her hand cups his face, bringing Karl’s racing thoughts to a stop. He refuses to look at her. His face will reveal too much. She whispers his name, so soft and sweet, and he cannot refuse her anymore.
He meets her gaze, and she sees it all. The anger, hate, pain, and fear burned in him. But she does not push him away, only smiles and runs her thumb along his cheekbone. Her hands are gentle but worn from working in her garden behind the house.
“I will not pry for details, Karl. But you can be honest with me. I won’t judge you for having a bad day. We all have them.”
“I haven’t just had a bad day, sweetheart.” He clasps her hand that is still holding his cheek. “I’ve had a bad life.”
His voice cracks at the end. Body growing hot with embarrassment and fear of her judging him for the emotion that screams for release in his chest, Karl looks away. He cannot bear to see the rejection in her eyes. 
But her silence is loud. Karl's ears begin to ring as his body grows hotter and hotter. He wants to scream for her to say something, anything. He wants her to push him away now for being a weak, broken man.
She does none of that. She sits up in bed, making sure to keep a hand on Karl, and readjusts her pillows. When she lays back down, she is sitting up. She smiles and opens her arms, welcoming him home.
Karl curls around her body, nuzzling his face into her chest. The tears in his eyes bleed onto her nightgown. If she feels the dampness grow on her chest or feel his trembling against her, she says nothing. She is silent as fingers moving gently against his skin. And slowly, the overwhelming emotion that nearly consumed Karl fizzles out until it is all gone.
“Your tits are soft,” he mumbles eventually.
She snorts. “Kind of like your gut.”
“Your tits aren’t hairy like my gut though.”
“And my tits are probably quieter. No grumbling from digestion.”
He hums in agreement. The only sound from her chest is the gentle beating of her heart.
“Go to sleep,” she whispers.
He opens his mouth to reply, but her fingers begin to move up and down his bareback. Nails that she keeps short and blunt leave soft trails along his back, taking care to ghost over the numerous scars. He can’t form a response, only hum at the sensation.
“Go to sleep, Karl,” she whispers again.
Her hands move up towards his head. She gently pulls at his hair, starting from the ends before pulling at the base of the strands. And with gentle fingers, she brushes through the knots in his hair, careful to not yank or hurt him.
Being in her arms is the closest thing Karl has ever been to having a home. Mother Miranda was no mother. And the other Lords are not his siblings. They are no family, just pawns that Mother Miranda will use as she pleases.
And used him she did. She took everything from him, turned him into a monster by making him perform terrible experiments. He’s numb to the monstrous things he has done and continues to do, that Karl does not feel human. Fuck, he hasn’t been human in so long.
But in this tiny cabin, in the arms of the woman he loves, Karl has a home and a family. And he feels human.
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wafflesandkruge · 3 years
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One Early Morning in Os Alta
Nikolai accidentally drinks one of David's experiments and becomes obsessed with solving the mystery that is Zoya Nazyalensky. The Triumvirate is his most unwilling audience as he attempts to piece together where she goes at night with nothing but his caffeine-fueled brain and a chalkboard.
Written for the @grishaversebigbang mini bang! Thank you so much to the amazing @kolarpem (x) and @denndrawings​ (x) who created beautiful art for this fic 🥺 ❤️  
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In their three short years of marriage, Genya and David had developed a morning routine. David, eager to get to the labs early so he could have the room to himself, would wake at the crack of dawn like clockwork and share a few sleepy kisses with her before getting on his way. After a few more hours of much-needed beauty sleep, Genya would commandeer some breakfast and find him tinkering away at whatever project Nikolai had put him to. It was a comfortable rhythm, a familiar constant in their otherwise hectic lives.
But today, Genya was just drifting off to sleep again after being woken by her husband when the door to their bedroom slammed open to reveal a very disheveled David. His glasses were slightly more askew than usual and his kefta rumpled. Genya let out a small yawn.
“David? What’s wrong?”
“There has been a development.” He didn’t elaborate further as he strode over to their wardrobe and pulled out her kefta. She tugged it over her head without question and followed him sleepily out of the room. They’d been together long enough that she’d learned not to try to get him to elaborate. He’d either clam up for hours trying to find the right words or talk in circles trying to fully explain a very easily explainable situation. Only the Saints knew what it was this time. She just hoped it was something easily resolvable so she could go back to sleep. Perhaps a puppy running loose in the labs, or an Inferni who’d burned off their eyebrows and wanted her to Tailor them back. Simple things.
But instead of the labs, David pulled her into Nikolai’s bedroom and Genya knew it was going to be a long day. Tamar and Tolya were already seated on a sofa, both with their arms crossed and similar scowls on their faces. Zoya was absent. And Nikolai was animatedly scribbling on a large blackboard that had been wheeled to the front of the room, “ZOYA NAZYALENSKY” scrawled at the top in large letters and circled three times for emphasis. The rest of the board was covered in near incomprehensible writing and doodles.
Genya frowned as David pulled her down into the seat next to him. “Did you steal that from the Little Palace, Nikolai? How will the children learn?”
Her king didn’t answer. He seemed busy working on a doodle of what looked like a five legged tiger on a corner of the board. David patted her hand absentmindedly as he opened his notebook and started scribbling as well.
“Is anyone going to explain this to me?” Genya asked mildly as Tolya slid a cup of tea towards her. She supposed the Triumvirate had seen worse, and their king acting like a man possessed didn’t rank particularly high on their list, but she still didn’t appreciate being woken up early for this. If anything, the twins should have just knocked him out and then everyone could get their well deserved rest.
Tamar crossed her arms. Her short hair stuck up in every direction as if she’d just rolled out of bed. “Well, your genius husband over there,” she starts, her tone not quite complimentary, “was working on one of his little experiments again.”
Genya nodded distractedly as she removed a small mirror from the inside of her sleeve. David took it from her obediently and held it up as she began Tailoring away the dark circles under her eyes. It wasn’t a substitute for her lost sleep, but it’d have to do for now.
“Coffee with a mild strain of parem in it for an extra stimulant,” David explained as she moved on to bringing more color into her cheeks. “Since you’re always complaining about the Little Palace’s coffee leaving you groggier than before.”
Genya’s hands stilled as she offered David a small smile. Even after knowing him for this long, his kindness never failed to surprise her. “That’s lovely, dear. But how does that relate to Nikolai acting like...this?”
Both of them jumped when Nikolai let out a rather concerning cackle. He had moved on from the deformed tiger to a caricature of someone who looked alarmingly like General Pensky. Genya scanned the board, barely able to decipher his scribbling. Secret lover...treason...illicit rendezvous? She furrowed her brows.
Tolya glowered at them from his spot next to his sister. “Nikolai drank David’s experiment. And now he refuses to administer the antidote because he wants to observe his behavior for the sake of science.”
“That’s not strictly true,” David said as he handed the mirror back to Genya and picked up his pencil again. “I don’t have an antidote ready. Instead of taking the time and labor to manufacture one, we might as well just wait for it to wear off naturally.”
Tolya opened his mouth again to argue, but then a piece of chalk flew by, barely missing Genya’s nose. Nikolai slammed his hands on the table and her tea splashed out of its cup. 
All four of their heads turned towards their king. His shirt was buttoned incorrectly, his hair wild, and a distinctly unhinged look in his eyes. His jacket was tied around his shoulders like a cape. It had to be the worst Genya has ever seen him, though there had been that time when Kirigin had convinced him to do a few shots of that whiskey from the Wandering Isles and he’d been convinced he was a saint—
“Friends!” His voice was entirely too loud for the intimate setting. “I have gathered you here today to solve one of our most pressing problems.”
“Our empty coffers?” Genya asked with a yawn.
“Impending war on three fronts?” offered Tolya.
“My brother’s incurable love for five hour poetry recitations?” 
David continued silently taking notes in his book.
“No,” Nikolai declared with an empathetic shake of his head, “we’re here to discuss the mystery of...Zoya Nazyalensky.”
He stepped to the side and for the first time, Genya was able to see the entirety of the blackboard he’d been writing on. Not a single inch of it had been spared from his rather enthusiastic scrawl and doodles like he was preparing to give them the world’s most fascinating lecture on the enigma that was Zoya. Genya felt a headache incoming.
“Perhaps we could do this at a more reasonable hour,” she began, but Nikolai smacked his hand against the blackboard which sent up a giant cloud of chalk dust.
“Nonsense! There’s no time like the present, and Zoya is away so it’s the perfect time to speculate upon her true intentions.” He waved his arm towards a bullet point at the top of the board, but in his eagerness, nearly knocked the entire board over. Genya let out another yawn and sank back into the couch. Maybe he wouldn’t notice if she dozed off.
“Where does she go at night?” Nikolai demanded as he began pacing furiously. The papers pinned to the board fluttered in his wake. “About once a week or so, the palace guards tell me she’s seen walking on the grounds late at night, alone. She’s almost certainly meeting with someone. But who? And why?”
“Are you sure you don’t have an antidote?” she whispered to David.
“Positive.” He scratched his ear, a sure sign he was lying. Genya sighed. She supposed she’d have him make it up to her later. She knew better than to talk him out of one of science moods. 
“A lover!” Nikolai continued. “She has a secret lover!”
Genya knew for a fact Zoya had no one in her heart other than their king as much as she liked pretending she hated him and his entire existence. In her own opinion, it probably had something to do with the very expensive gifts Nikolai routinely offered because Zoya was nothing if not a creature of luxury. Still, she took a sip of her tea and raised an eyebrow. “Oh? Do go on.”
“At first I thought it was General Pensky, but he’s been stationed at the border for over a month and the night walks haven’t stopped. So that leaves no other option than…” Nikolai’s eyes narrowed. He executed a sloppy about-face that any army commander would have had him running laps for and pointed an accusing finger at Tolya. “You’re Zoya’s secret lover!”
Tolya frowned and crossed his arms. “I would rather go back to Novyi Zem and become a jurda farmer. Less chance of sudden death.”
Nikolai grabbed at his hair. “But if you’re not seeing Zoya...and Tamar isn’t– you’re not right?���
“I’m married, Nikolai.”
“Right, right, right,” he muttered. He turned back to look at his board. “Then there’s only one other answer.”
“We all go back to bed?” Genya suggested.
Nikolai turned to her, an oddly intense look in his eyes. “How could you suggest we all retire when Zoya is plotting against the throne?”
Genya blinked. “How exactly did you get there?”
“It all makes sense!” Nikolai babbled excitedly. He waved his arms in excitement. “The late night walks. The secrecy. Why she’s always so mean to me—”
“She’s mean to everyone,” Tamar interjected.
“She’s working with the Fjerdans! Or the Shu! Of course, I should have seen it from the start…”
Genya tuned him out again as he went back to drawing on the board while muttering to himself about how the Fjerdan’s diabolical plan to have Zoya seduce him was working too well. She put her head on David’s shoulder and focused on the page of notes he was working on. Except instead of notes, it was a sketch of a woman’s face. Her face. As she watched, his pencil scratched out the curve of her lips, one corner lifted in a half smile. “What are you doing, dear?”
“Studying something beautiful,” he answered without a moment of hesitation. 
Genya’s lips curled into a smile as she let her eyes shut. “You’re sweet today. Maybe we should let Nikolai poison himself more often.”
“There’s a seventy percent chance his heart would give out if we attempted this more than once a week.”
“Regicide,” Genya said with a sigh, “How romantic.”
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lunarfly · 3 years
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Harmione Essay: the most underrated H/Hr hug
The Harry Potter movies did a great job at showing one part of book Harmione - they share lots of hugs. But this seemed to shift the attention from book Harmione hugs to movie Harmione hugs. And the situation is worse than you’d think. Many Harmione fans not only underrate some book hugs, but most don’t even know the existence of them. I’m going to be discussing the most underrated hug shared between Harry and Hermione. The one that happens in HBP after Dumbledore’s death. Here’s the hug I’m talking about:
They [Harry and Ginny] had reached the hospital wing. Pushing open the doors, Harry saw Neville lying, apparently asleep, in a bed near the door. Ron, Hermione, Luna, Tonks, and Lupin were gathered around another bed near the far end of the ward. At the sound of the doors opening, they all looked up. Hermione ran to Harry and hugged him; Lupin moved forward too, looking anxious. 
In this scene, Harry had just seen Dumbledore’s dead body and Ginny was taking him to the hospital wing on McGonagall’s orders. Right as Harry stepped in, he looked around, everyone started looking at him and Hermione jumped in his arms and hugged him. 
At first glance, this may seem like a regular H/Hr moment, just another one of their hugs. It may seem like nothing special, we don’t get a unique description of the hug like we did in OotP, for example, when Hermione “threw herself into a hug that nearly knocked him flat.” So you may think it’s not s big deal at all.
But it is.
We have quite a few things to keep in mind while analyzing this hug, one of them being the phrasing. As I said, this hug doesn’t get a unique description but there’s still one thing to note:
At the sound of the doors opening, they all looked up. Hermione ran to Harry and hugged him; Lupin moved forward too, looking anxious.
Hermione didn’t just wrap her arms around him, she ran to him. She was probably standing at the other side of the room but as she heard the “sound of the doors opening”, she immediately saw Harry and ran up to him just to hug him! It’s such a sweet moment.
That’s not all though. It isn’t only cute, it’s also deep and emotional. To understand this, we’ll just have to take a look at the context of this hug, which gives it most of its depth and beauty. 
Here’s a rather long (sorry!) scene for some context:
Dumbledore turned back to look out of the fiery window; the sun was now a ruby red glare along the horizon. Harry walked quickly from the office and down the spiral staircase. His mind was oddly clear all of a sudden. He knew what to do.
Ron and Hermione were sitting together in the common room when he came back. “What does he want?” Hermione said at once. “Harry, are you okay?” she added anxiously.
“I’m fine,” said Harry shortly, racing past them. He dashed up the stairs and into his dormitory, where he flung open his trunk and pulled out the Marauder’s Map and a pair of balled-up socks. Then he sped back down the stairs and into the common room, skidding to a halt where Ron and Hermione sat, looking stunned.
“I’ve got to be quick,” Harry panted. “Dumbledore thinks I’m getting my Invisibility Cloak. Listen. . . .”
Quickly he told them where he was going and why. He did not pause either for Hermione’s gasps of horror or for Ron’s hasty questions; they could work out the finer details for themselves later.
“. . . so you see what this means?” Harry finished at a gallop. “Dumbledore won’t be here tonight, so Malfoy’s going to have another clear shot at whatever he’s up to. No, listen to me!” he hissed angrily, as both Ron and Hermione showed every sign of interrupting. “I know it was Malfoy celebrating in the Room of Requirement. Here —” He shoved the Marauder’s Map into Hermione’s hands. “You’ve got to watch him and you’ve got to watch Snape too. Use anyone else who you can rustle up from the D.A., Hermione, those contact Galleons will still work, right? Dumbledore says he’s put extra protection in the school, but if Snape’s involved, he’ll know what Dumbledore’s protection is, and how to avoid it — but he won’t be expecting you lot to be on the watch, will he?”
“Harry —” began Hermione, her eyes huge with fear.
“I haven’t got time to argue,” said Harry curtly. “Take this as well —”
He thrust the socks into Ron’s hands.
“Thanks,” said Ron. “Er — why do I need socks?”
“You need what’s wrapped in them, it’s the Felix Felicis. Share it between yourselves and Ginny too. Say good-bye to her for me. I’d better go, Dumbledore’s waiting —”
“No!” said Hermione, as Ron unwrapped the tiny little bottle of golden potion, looking awestruck. “We don’t want it, you take it, who knows what you’re going to be facing?”
“I’ll be fine, I’ll be with Dumbledore,” said Harry. “I want to know you lot are okay. . . . Don’t look like that, Hermione, I’ll see you later. . . .”
And he was off, hurrying back through the portrait hole and toward the entrance hall.
So I’ve highlighted the parts to pay the most attention to.
Basically, Harry rushes into the common room after meeting Dumbledore, Hermione asks him what has happened and she notices that Harry looks worried and is in a rush. She asks him what has happened and she’s anxious because she’s already worried just by seeing the look on his face. Harry answers “shortly” and runs to get the marauders map and Felix Felicis to give them to Hermione and Ron. He explains everything to them quickly, leaving out the details, and tells them what to do with the map and to take the Felix Felicis because he’s sure that Draco has achieved something which means no good. And now he’s off to this dangerous mission out of Hogwarts with Dumbledore where his life could possibly be put in danger! Just imagine how Ron and Hermione feel right now. Their best friend is taking a huge risk and is taking part in fighting the dark arts and he might not even return. They’re both looking “stunned” and Hermione is gasping out of horror! That’s right. Her worries and fears are sky-high. And now, after this short explanation, while Harry is “racing”, “speeding” and “dashing” to do everything in time and he’s going so fast that he’s running out of breath, “panting”, he’s just going to leave without saying proper goodbyes. The fact that this is all happening in such a rush is extremely important and meaningful because Hermione doesn’t even get to say a proper goodbye, she’s so scared and worried that her eyes are “huge with fear”, she doesn’t know what’s going to happen to Harry, whether she’s even going to see him ever again, she’s ready to reject the liquid luck so Harry can be safe, she’s trying to convince him to take the liquid luck, even after Harry says he’ll be fine with Dumbledore. She’s giving him the look of disapproval but before she can say another word and say a proper goodbye, he’s off again, hurrying to meet Dumbledore and his own possible death.
Just imagine how Hermione is feeling right now. And if that isn’t bad enough, Harry’s prediction actually comes true and death eaters start attacking! Ron, Hermione and Ginny barely survive the attack just by luck, literally. And now, when it’s all over and Hermione’s standing in a room in the hospital wing, desperately waiting for news along with the whole Order, Harry comes in. And she completely loses it. She runs to him and hugs him. Now do you understand the emotion in this scene? Both of them nearly died, she was probably going crazy thinking what could’ve happened to him, Harry was thinking and worrying about her too (”How long had they been away? Had Ron, Hermione, and Ginny’s luck run out by now?” “ Would he be responsible, again, for the death of a friend?”) and now they finally see each other and Hermione is probably feeling lightheaded knowing that he’s safe (compare to the DoM scene in OotP) and she hugs him. She just can’t do otherwise. And all of the unsaid “I’m so glad you’re safe” and “I’ve been so worried about you”s are all expressed through a beautiful and emotional embrace.
Now we know how deep this scene truly is. And imagine how beautiful this scene would be on screen. So much lost potential. 
It brings a smile on my face imagining a worried Hermione running all the way across the room and flinging her arms tightly around Harry, hugging him and both of them looking so deeply relieved. Then quickly breaking apart as Lupin approaches “anxiously” and asks what Hermione doesn’t have the courage to ask. 
The continuation of this scene is also nice. It’s Lupin who asks how Harry is, while Hermione stays silent but still stays next to Harry.
Nobody answered. Harry looked over Hermione’s shoulder and saw an unrecognizable face lying on Bill’s pillow, so badly slashed and ripped that he looked grotesque.
This shows they are still standing near each other. 
And  later everyone else seems interested in the conversation about Dumbledore’s death and Snape’s betrayal but Hermione doesn’t say a word. Like she’s still petrified from everything that’s happened and now this happened too. 
Hermione clapped her hands to her mouth and Ron groaned.
[...]
Almost against his will he glanced from Ron to Hermione, both of whom looked devastated.
She looks “devastated” and doesn’t say a single word until Harry directly asks her, it almost reminds me of the scene at the hospital when Ron was poisoned.
“So if Ron was watching the Room of Requirement with Ginny and Neville,” said Harry, turning to Hermione, “were you — ?” 
“Outside Snape’s office, yes,” whispered Hermione, her eyes sparkling with tears, “with Luna. We hung around for ages outside it and nothing happened. . . . We didn’t know what was going on upstairs, Ron had taken the map. . . . It was nearly midnight when Professor Flitwick came sprinting down into the dungeons. He was shouting about Death Eaters in the castle, I don’t think he really registered that Luna and I were there at all, he just burst his way into Snape’s office and we heard him saying that Snape had to go back with him and help and then we heard a loud thump and Snape came hurtling out of his room and he saw us and — and —” 
The rest is irrelevant. I just thought I’d mention that Hermione is whispering and she’s almost crying, on top of all of the battles and duels she went through and all the worries and fears she had before seeing Harry alive, now she’s shocked from the news of Dumbledore. This girl is so strong. 
I know I wrote a little more than I should’ve but I just really love this moment. Their care for each other, their worries and their fears, that’s what strengthens their bond. They have the most emotional relationship out of everyone in the series. This hug was truly beautiful and much, much more than just a hug. 
And to end this essay, I thought I’d give you something about hugs (they happen over 5 times between H/Hr in the books) in general:
“We love to feel loved, and we love to feel good. Hugs satisfy both needs. When you touch someone affectionately, sit or stand close to them, gaze into their eyes, or wrap them in a big bear hug, our body responds on all levels: emotionally, cognitively, and physiologically.
Oxytocin — the human love drug — is also released when we hug. This hormone reduces blood pressure and stress hormones. According to Medical News Today, oxytocin ‘contributes to relaxation, trust, and psychological stability.’ Over time, it makes us feel bonded with another person.
Oxytocin provides feelings of pleasure, contentment, happiness, and even euphoria. These feels feel great — and they’re good for you.”
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hlizr50 · 3 years
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Update: The Raven and the Songbird
Chapter 6
A little pain relief for everything I've put you through
Read on AO3
When Azriel landed in the training ring he shook his head, exasperated with himself. Now that he was here, what exactly did he plan to do? He couldn’t very well find Gwyn’s room, shake her awake, and beg her to forgive him.
He took a moment to survey the ring, racks of wooden weapons, steel, shields. The Valkyries had grown from desperation to get Nesta on the right track to three females surviving the Blood Rite to a small legion of Illyrians, priestesses, and other fae. They would be outgrowing the space soon, and he pondered that as the stone glowed blue in the moonlight.
Gwyn had never spoken much about the Blood Rite, not that he could blame her. The Illyrian tradition was barbaric under normal circumstances, and much more so with Briallyn’s meddling – with the intention of killing all three of the females. Azriel couldn’t help but grin to himself.
How spectacularly had her plan backfired.
He had not admitted that Cassian was not the only one sleepless and mortified that week, but where the general was a barely-contained force of will and expression Azriel was schooled in hiding his emotion. He’d had to stay stoic – to find Briallyn and Koschei, to support his brother while his mate fought for her life. But his relationship with Gwyn had begun to develop by then, as well. Slowly. It was all he could do some days not to fly in and destroy them all. She had already suffered unspeakable horrors, and the possibility that she had been at the mercy of Illyrian males – bred with a thirst for blood and flesh – had been nearly unbearable.
When that general is finished hurting her she has to feel the soul-crushing terror of watching the next soldier take his place because you don’t come to save her.
He ran a hand through his onyx hair, remembering Nesta’s words. His shadows seemed to wither around him, drooping over his shoulders and wings. How had it come to this?
The shadowsinger sat himself down on the ground, knees drawn up. He rested his forearms on them and gazed at the ink-dark sky painted with stars. Much like his High Lord, seeing the stars had always been a comfort to Azriel – a reminder that he was free from the prison of his upbringing, that he had escaped and had replaced his father and brothers with a family that cared for him and showed him what love and brotherhood really meant.
His found family had grown so much in such a short time. He was grateful for that, for so many reasons. Rhys had emerged from Under the Mountain a broken male and Feyre had helped piece him back together. She had quickly become a glue for all of them, holding them tight and treating them with such love that Azriel was often awed by it. It wasn’t hard defending her, being dedicated to her safety as High Lady. She was far more than a monarch to him.
Then came Nesta and Elain, and what a storm that had been. Cassian and Nesta were meant to be since the beginning, but that path had been long and painful, and not just for his ears and the new… sanitation concerns for public living spaces in the house. Sometimes he was surprised that he counted Nesta as his friend. She had been intentionally hurtful so many times. How often had he seen the pain in his brother’s countenance because of something she had said or done? And yet now he understood her, maybe more than he cared to admit. She had been hurting and afraid and overflowing with self-loathing.
He had hurt Gwyn for those very reasons.
Gwyn.
He felt his shoulders and wings sag with the weight of Nesta’s questions tonight. Accusations thinly veiled as questions, and each one like a carefully crafted throwing knife plunged into his gut. He’d made her cry for at least the third time in as many weeks. Training and working to exhaustion, and not being able to sleep because of the worsening nightmares – nightmares that had cruelly transformed to remind her that he had abandoned her.
Even his shadows felt heavy.
The spymaster hung his head, shame like a blanket smothering him in summer heat. How could he ever forgive himself for causing that pain? It was a fate he had personally prevented, and now she was forced to experience it in her dreams. Because of him. Because he was a coward.
Azriel let his eyes drift closed and focused on his breathing. Sleep would not be an option tonight, and he could only pray that the priestess was sound asleep in the house, getting the rest she so desperately needed. Training didn’t seem to be in the cards either, as he sifted through the torrent of thoughts and emotions. He just needed to sit and think. And in the morning, he would speak with Gwyn as soon as he could. He would fall to his knees and beg for forgiveness if he had to.
“Azriel?”
The inky tendrils flitted to life around him at the sound of that voice. Cauldron damn him, of course she would find him now. But part of him was relieved to be able to talk to her so soon – that she was even here.
“Azriel, are you alright?” His heart squeezed at the softness of Gwyn’s voice, music to his ears – a sweet melody with harmonies of concern and kindness. How could she still be so kind to him?
“I don’t deserve to be asked that. Especially not by you,” he murmured, staring down at the stone between his feet.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Azriel.” Her soft footsteps seemed to echo in his head, a ringing alarm that she was coming closer. He didn’t want to run from her, but his heart was still racing. How could he face her inevitable rejection? He noticed her shadow fall over the space between his legs and when he looked up she was crouching in front of him, eyes shining with sincerity. “You deserve for people to care about you. And I do. I won’t just leave you out here alone when anyone could see the weight of the world pressing down on you.”
Gods, but wasn’t that exactly what he had done to her?
The shadowsinger had no air in his chest as he studied her. The expression on her face was difficult to describe – caring and teasing and scolding all rolled into glittering ocean eyes and the slightest quirk of her full lips. She rose and his gaze followed as she held her hand out to him, beckoning him to stand with her. It took more courage than he cared to admit to place his violence-scarred hands in hers, but their warmth spread through him like sunshine warming his bones as she helped him to his feet.
She didn’t let go, and that gave him the strength he needed.
“Nesta found me at the river house tonight. She had… a lot to say,” Azriel began as he saw color bloom on Gwyn’s cheeks. She looked down to their hands.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for her to –“ He squeezed her hands and she snapped her head back up to meet his gaze.
“I deserved every single bit of venom she threw at me, Gwyn. Do not apologize.” The shadowsinger looked down, then, unsure how to move forward or which of his many transgressions he should address first. So he asked, “Is it true? About the nightmares? That… that I don’t come for you?” He could feel the emotion catching in his throat, cracking his voice. His eyes burned as he looked back to the priestess. Her lips were pressed together as she tried to keep the silver lining her eyes from spilling down over her cheeks.
“Yes,” she whispered, lashes lowering as the silent tears fell. Each droplet was a nick in his heart, the guilt and pain salting those wounds. How could she be so strong, to endure this agony and yet hold the hands that caused it? He released one of the hands and lifted it to her face, hesitating with his fingers a breath away from her cheek. Azriel had his mouth open to ask if he could touch her when she leaned her face into his palm. He brushed at her tears with his thumb before bringing up his other hand, cupping her jaw.
“Gwyn,” he breathed, pleading silently for her to look at him. The shining pools that opened to him were so enthralling, depths shimmering with trepidation. Gods, what he would do to bring back the joy in those eyes. “I will always come for you. No matter what. And I will never be able to forgive myself that there might be any part of your mind or your heart or your soul that could believe otherwise.” He watched as she took a shuddering breath, but her eyes held his and he was emboldened.
“I’m so sorry, Gwyn. For all of this. I was a fool and a coward and I let my guilt and my fear own me. And it only hurt you.”
Gwyn’s hands covered the scars on his own as she pulled them away from her face, returning them to their place entwined between them. Azriel stayed silent and her head tilted as she studied him.
“What could you possibly be afraid of?” she released a hoarse, hiccupped laugh. The shadowsinger could only gulp down a breath and look toward the stars.
“I… I was afraid of the feelings I was developing for you. And of the pain I would feel when you would see all the things I have done and the monster that I am and run away from me. Or that you would be hurt because of this darkness inside of me.” His eyes had returned to hers and, while he saw understanding swimming there, her expression was uncompromising.
“Have I not been hurt already?” Her bluntness shocked him, and he felt the slightest twinge of panic that told him to run. Her fingers tightened like a vice around his hands and he saw her eyes darken, as if she knew what he was thinking. “Don’t you dare even think about running away, Azriel. Not now. I deserve better from you.” Even his shadows seemed focused on where their hands touched, intent on keeping them tied together.
She did. She deserved so much better. Better than what he’d done. Shame washed over him that he could have thought to flee from her. Again. He had already wronged her… too many times. But he had come here determined to right those wrongs. Azriel wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to give her what she deserved, if he would ever be good enough for her. But he sure as fuck was going to try.
“You’re right,” he conceded, that panic replaced by resolution and a faint, foolish glimmer of hope. “I’m not going anywhere.” She grinned softly and he thought his chest would burst from relief. They were still here, together, talking. They were going to figure this out.
“Why did you run, Azriel? If you care for me, like you say,” she demanded, that sea-deep stare piercing straight into his soul. “Why? Why are you afraid of me seeing who you are?”
He should have known that she would demand an explanation. Gwyn was strong and confident. She knew her worth and what she deserved, and him sharing the story behind all of his idiotic decisions was the very least of that. But he was not prepared, and he didn’t want to. He never wanted to darken others’ lives with his history.
“That’s… a long story, Gwyn,” he huffed, hoping that might be the end of it. But he saw her eyes, determination and challenge and fire blazing blue in the moonlight.
“We have all night.” She released his hands and gestured to the darkness around them. She would not be deterred, would not back down until she accomplished her goal. It was one of the many things he admired so much about her. “Should we sit?”
Azriel found himself smiling as he nodded, sitting cross-legged on the stone. Even though the impending admissions rang as a death knell in his mind, it warmed his heart to know that she cared so deeply – that she wanted to know the worst of him.
He had put her through enough, and he could relive his pain and push out his fear for this night, if only for her.
“I don’t know where to start.” He scratched the back of his neck, a nervous tick he was usually good at hiding. But then Gwyn – that sweet, incredible, special female – gathered his other hand with those long, pale, graceful fingers and he felt the tension ease. He looked at her, taking in the beauty and serenity of her features. Freckles were scattered over cheeks stained pink, an encouraging smile crinkling the corners of her eyes.
“The beginning seems like a good place, don’t you think?”
So that’s where he began.
~~~
Azriel was not proud that he could not find the strength to look at Gwyn as he walked her through his story, but he could still hear and feel her reactions. And he dared a glance at her from time to time, trying to read everything her eyes were saying. He told her about the cell he was kept in as a child, how little touch or affection or love he had experienced, and how the shadows around him seemed to move and react and speak. She clutched his hand tighter when he told her about what had happened to them, that his brothers had set fire to them to see how he would heal. She hadn’t said a word, but he smelled the salt from tears and felt impossibly soft strokes of her thumbs over those scars.
He explained his time in Illyria and the fearsome reputation he and Cassian had to maintain, simply to make up for the circumstances of their birth. And while Cassian had been brute force and power, Azriel was deadly calm, precision, intellect, terror. He admitted to her how he had hoped to find validation in his role as spymaster under Rhysand’s father, and that he could truly revel in his duties under the right circumstances.
“Those soldiers I killed in Sangravah,” he told her. “I would have enjoyed dragging out their deaths as long as possible for what they did to you.”
Gwyn’s hands were so gentle around his as he told her how much the death and darkness grated against his soul, and how he’d had nothing to tether him to the light. He talked to her about Mor, a waste of literal centuries. And then, somehow, he told her about Elain. Not that he’d loved her, because he never had. But that he’d felt entitled to her, like he deserved what his brothers had found with the other two sisters. That he was the third brother and she was the third sister and that was all that mattered. His entitlement, his lust and desire for the bond - as opposed to love for the person - just another ugly facet of his true self.
“So I suppose that brings me to you, to these past few weeks.” Azriel made sure to meet her gaze for this. “I panicked after the necklace, because I wasn’t prepared for what it would do to me to see that hurt in your eyes. And when I told you things would go back to normal I still didn’t know what to do. I thought distance would be best between us, because I knew you would be able to draw me out of myself. And that was dangerous.”
The shadowsinger’s throat burned with emotion when Gwyn smiled softly. He could see so much roaring in her gaze, but there was no sign of pity or disgust or fear. Azriel ran his free hand through his hair before resting it atop their other clasped hands. Wetness burned his eyes, but he didn’t care.
“When I found you in the rain that night, I could smell your tears and I saw your hands – split knuckles and bruised, swollen fingers. And,” he choked down his feelings even as the tears began their descent, “and I was torn apart with the guilt. It was my fault that you were doing that to yourself. I might has well have put those marks on you with my own two vile hands.” Azriel closed his eyes and let the tears fall – not many, but enough. The silence rang through his ears, his history hanging between them. He waited for the fear, the rejection, especially when she drew her hands away from his. But his eyes snapped open when delicate calloused fingers stroked his cheeks. Gwyn had risen to her knees to dry the wetness on them, her stare a storm of trust and understanding... and compassion.
“Thank you for telling me your story, Azriel,” she whispered. “I see you. You have nothing to fear. I’m still right here.” Then she smiled brightly, and he unraveled.
“Gwyn, I don’t know if you can ever forgive me – I wouldn’t blame you if you couldn’t. But I care for you as more than a teacher, more than a friend. You are a light in my dark life and these past few weeks have been miserable without you in them.” Her smile widened slightly and he reached out a thumb to catch a stray tear that had fallen from those precious, beautiful eyes. He felt his own grin pushing his cheeks against her warm hands.
“I care for you, too, Azriel. As more than a friend.”
He held that watery stare until she released his face. She stood up, brushing off her knees before reaching her hands to him again to help him to his feet. He tilted his head curiously at the determination flashing in her eyes.
“Here is what’s going to happen,” she began, looking down at her hands in his. “Before we pursue anything… romantically, I need to be sure that this isn’t something that will happen again.”
He opened his mouth to speak but she pressed her fingers against his lips. “We both have darkness and fear and I understand that. But if you feel it taking over, I need you to come to me, to talk to me. Because if I open my heart to you and this happens again – if you insist on shutting yourself off from me or deciding for me what I deserve or want – I will be heartbroken.” The confession left Azriel raw.
“What can I do, Gwyn? How can I reassure you?” He could hear the desperation in his own voice, but he couldn’t find it in him to care.
“We are going to go back to how things were before this mess.” She had returned her hand to his and gave both a squeeze. A shadow darted down around them, as if to approve of the contact. “The way it was that led us to realize that we feel the way we do. And you are going to prove to me that we can have what we had before I found out about that stupid, lovely necklace. Do you think you can do that?” He could have fallen to his knees seeing the hope in those ocean eyes, mirroring the spark of hope inside of him. It was something he hadn’t dared to let himself fully feel with her.
“I will.” Azriel’s voice was low and rough. “I swear it.”
“And then we can decide what comes next. And I can prove to you that your hands and your darkness are just as important to me as the rest of you.”
He was grinning like a fool, he knew. He still had a chance, because Gwyneth Berdara was the definition of grace and love. And by the Mother he would not screw this up.
He felt more than saw her wrap her arms around his back, pulling herself into him. For a moment he was frozen by the intimacy of it – shocked by her initiation of it – but he quickly let his arms settle around her waist. He breathed in, pulling her tighter, and leaned his cheek on the crown of her head.
“Don’t let me down, Shadowsinger,” she muttered into his chest. He chuckled and dared to move one hand to comb through her hair. “I want to see… what comes next.” He wanted to see, too. He wanted to know what it was like to look to the future and see more than dread and loneliness and exhaustion. He could see it with her.
“I wouldn’t dream of it, Berdara.”
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johnsamericano · 3 years
Text
𝓓𝓪𝔂 16:
ℓєє נєиσ
23 days of NCT masterlist.
taglist: @notbeforelong @whathamelon @mrcarbonatedmilk @curieouscapt @unknown5tar @gjheaaa @ajhdr @silent-potato
warnings: oral (male receiving), jealous Jeno, mentions of drunk sex, Jeno in those tight pants skaters wear 😭
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“Watcha looking at?”
Jeno jolted, his eyes abandoning the pair of skaters practicing in the ice-rink. Just as he stopped watching, he heard a loud thud. You were laying down on your back, your partner sprinting towards your giggly figure.
“Are you alright?” He helped you up, his hand holding your waist naturally. “Stop laughing, you could’ve gotten yourself hurt.”
“I’ve fallen so many times that it doesn’t even hurt anymore, Jaems.” Jeno’s blood boiled at the name. You wouldn’t even call him by his name, while your partner had the privilege of having his very own nickname. “Let’s practice the death spiral.”
Jeno’s partner looked at him with curiosity, she’d never seen that look in his face before.
“Don’t tell me you’re planning on switching partners.” Jeno shook his head, tearing his gaze off You to finish tying his skates.
“Never, I was just studying our competition.” Right after finishing his task, he extended his hand towards his friend. “We need to practice hard, we’re only a few days away from the competition.”
You didn’t even spare him a glance as they entered the rink, too focused on finding the perfect way to hold Jaemin’s hand.
“Okay, we’ve got this.” You high fived him, getting in position to start your routine all over again. “Hey, Lee! Quit staring at us.” Apparently, you had taken notice of his gaze.
“I wasn’t!” The slight blush in his cheeks said otherwise. “Ignore them, Irene.”
As much as Jeno considered training with you in the same rink a blessing, you seemed to despise him. Maybe it was because of that time he called you untalented when he was a teen, or maybe it was because of that time he left the morning after having drunk sex with you, but who knows.
Nationals were held a couple of days later. Thankfully, you didn’t have to travel anywhere this year.
You cheerfully greeted all of the people you’d met during the past competitions, wishing them luck as Jaemin called you out to get ready.
You dressed in the beautiful black dress with small diamonds around your sleeves, Jaemin wearing a matching outfit, the tight shirt making his chest and shoulders look broader. You were both provided with a thick coat to cover you from the ice rink’s cold.
“You ready?” You went out of the dressing rooms, holding his hand tightly.
“We’re gonna do amazing.”
As you waited for another pair to finish their routine, a handsome Lee Jeno approached you.
“Ready to lose?” You scoffed, looking at him in disbelief. “What? There’s no way you’re gonna win against us.”
“May I remind you who won a golden medal last year?” Now it was his turn to scoff, both of your partners looking at the scene unfolding with curiosity.
“Wanna bet?” His face inched closer to your own, breath fanning against your slightly flushed cheeks.
“Deal. If I win, you’ll have to treat me and Jaems dinner.” That damn nickname again.
“Fine, but if I win, you’ll call me Jeno from now on.” It wasn't the deal he'd originally thought of, but the sudden mention of your partner made his blood boil with resentment.
You stared at him, squinting your eyes.
“Fine.” You finally replied as your name was being called through the speakers. “Break a leg.”
You threw your coat at him before entering the ice with Jaemin holding your hand, the crowd cheering loudly for the country's favorite pair. You skated around, warming up your legs as you waited for your music to get started. You stopped at the middle of the rink, placing your hand behind the nape of Jaemin’s neck to start your routine.
The melancholic sound of violins filled the place, your legs moving backward as you started your well-practiced routine.
Jeno watched everything from outside as Jaemin lifted you between his arms, holding your waist tightly as you looked at each other with passion, almost as if thousands of people weren't surrounding you, as if you were the only ones in the room.
Jaemin threw you in the air, your body rotating a few times before you landed in his arms again.
Your routine was filled with emotions, each movement expertly performed, the crowd bursting into cheers as the end of your song approached. You both nailed a triple axel, perfectly synchronized. Jaemin grabbed a hold of your hand, your back slowly bending as he spun your body around, forming the infamous death spiral. Adrenaline pumped through your veins as Jaemin carried you once again, arm between your thighs as he gave a final spin to end your performance. You smiled at each other, proud of your nearly excellent performance.
You skated out of the rink, grabbing a few flowers the crowd had thrown at you. Your trainers waited for you, seating in a bench where you'd receive your final score.
Jeno’s piercing gaze could easily be disguised as a normal competitor's jealousy, but deep down, he knew that wasn't it. He wanted to be the one by your side, he wanted to hold your hand just like Jaemin did. He wanted you to smile at him the way you did with your partner.
As expected, Jeno lost the bet. He was frustrated, to say the least, not only because he didn't get the highest score, but because every single reporter that interviewed the golden medal winners would ask about their relationship.
‘They’re not together.’ Jeno wanted to tell them, but he knew you could handle the situation yourself, telling the reporters you were only friends.
“Just ask her out already.” Irene sat down on a bench beside him, the silver medal hanging from her neck.
“What?”
“Jeno, everyone knows you're head over heels for her. You're not exactly discreet.”
“I really don't want to think about that now.” Irene hummed, staring at Jeno while he closed his eyes, attempting to ease his turbulent mind.
It wasn't until he heard the sound of steps coming his way that he opened them again, his orbs going wide at the sight of you.
“You did amazing today.” Well, that was unexpected.
“Are you mocking me?”
“What? No!” You were suddenly regretted trying to lift his spirits. “Your routine was amazing, Jeno.”
You called him by his name. A small laugh couldn't be helped as his face turned bright red.
“Come, I have a consolation prize for you.” You extended your hand his way, your pretty fingers making a ‘come here’ motion.
“Why are you suddenly being nice to me?” He hesitantly took your hand, letting you drag him all the way to the dressing rooms, away from the curious eyes of reporters.
You didn't answer his question, instead, locking the door behind you. He gave you a puzzled look, his thick eyebrows joining in a small frown.
“I heard you talking to Irene.” You shyly confessed, playing with the hem of your black skirt. “How old are you? 10? Why didn't you just tell me instead of acting like an ass?”
“Okay, first, I acted like an ass once, and I was twelve, what were you even expecting?” He took a step closer to you, hands almost over your waist. “And second, I thought you hated me, why would I confess to someone who clearly doesn't like me?”
“Why would you assume I hate you?”
“You don't?”
“I mean, I don't even know you that well. We've trained together for years but we've barely spoken, except for that time we slept together after drinking.” The distance between your bodies was now null, chests pressing against each other. “But I would've definitely accepted if you’d asked me out. I kinda like that bad boy vibe you give.”
A smile creeped up his lips, hands settling right above the curve of your ass.
“You said you had a consolation prize for me.” You cocked an eyebrow, noticing how the atmosphere had changed in less than a second.
“Oh, really?” Your hands teased the back of his thighs, slightly tugging at the flexible material of his pants.
“Lately I’ve been having trouble remembering that night we shared a year ago, mind helping me freshen up my memory?”
“Well maybe if you hadn’t left the morning after, you wouldn’t have to be reminded, cause it would be a daily thing.” There was a pinch of resentment in your voice as you pulled his pants down, sinking into your knees to caress his growing bulge.
“Don’t tease.” He warned, grabbing a hold of your hair and slightly pulling it back. “I was scared...” he resumed your previous conversation. “Irene and I don’t have the best chemistry, unlike you and that friend of yours, so I feared not being able to skate with her anymore, I didn’t want to lose that small spark that makes us worthy of a medal, even if it’s just silver.”
“But still, you didn’t have to leave me hungover and confused in a hotel room. That was mean.” Jeno chuckled, breath hitching as you pulled out his length from the black boxers.
“I promise to make it up to you...shit.” He groaned as you flattened your tongue against his tip, the pressure driving him insane.
“You better.” You fitted as much as you could inside your mouth, massaging the rest of it with your hands as you bobbed your head.
Jeno could feel himself growing harder inside your wet cavern, length twitching at the feeling of your tongue swirling around it.
“You’re going to be the death of me.” Slowly, his hips started moving back and forth, matching the pace of your head which was now controlled by his hand. “That’s it, I’m close.” His low grunts and moans had your core aching, clenching around nothing in an attempt to relive it. “Just a couple more hours and I’ll take you back to my apartment. I can’t wait to have that pretty cunt around me.” You whimpered, sending vibrations down his cock and causing his cum to spill inside your mouth. The salty liquid painted the back of your throat, involuntarily making you swallow it. “Come on, the reporters must be waiting for you.” With both hands below your elbows, he helped you up, pulling his pants back up before leaving the room with you following closely.
“There You are!” Jaemin spotted you, Jeno immediately running away to avoid rising any suspicions. “What were you doing in that dressing room with our enemy?” He dramatically gasped. “Am I being replaced? Hold me, I might faint.”
“Stop it, you drama queen. We were just...talking.”
“Mhm.” He grabbed your hand, lacing your fingers and shooting a glance at Jeno. His deep frown made Jaemin smile. “Oh, and y/n?” You looked at him. “Wipe that drool off your chin, darling.”
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sugako · 3 years
Text
sweetness
osamu xf!baker!reader sum: your unrequited crush on the man you sell to is weighing heavily on you until one little party later it isn’t an issue cw: 18+ minors dni, a lil fluff, a lil angst (reader is sad bc they don't think samu feels the same), mentions of drinking/alcohol/party (no one is drunk during), kinda confessions, first time with each other, nipple play, oral (receiving) wc: 3.5k a/n: hi !! uhh i have had this is drafts for months bc i struggled to post it and idk why,, it's def a little longer than usual and little more plot-heavy(ish) but i hope you all enjoy pussy king samu <3
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It felt as though you were admiring him from a distance even when he was standing right beside you.
The afternoon that the owner of Onigiri Miya had called up your small bakery to partner with his business you had been overjoyed. Honestly, you were still happy, it was just tinged by something deeper or different now. You were certainly still happy to sell your goods through the business, but your feelings had really gotten the better of you.
The day, actually the moment you met Osamu you told yourself to get over the petty crush you had developed within minutes of meeting him. His big, tall frame made you feel as though he could wrap his arms around you and everything would be okay. His pretty, steely eyes and soft features relaxed you, made you feel at home.
A week later you were groaning into your pillow when he texted a simple, polite compliment about your baked goods. Desperately, you hoped that the fuzzy feeling would melt away any day now.
Every single time you had to see him again and again to drop off your bi-weekly delivery, the feelings didn’t fade. If anything they grew stronger. The quick, comfortable banter you shared made your chest fill with molten gold that always seemed to harden into a tough little peach pit, strangling the words from your throat whenever you got back into your car.
A month later you were crying to yourself at 2 AM about how you couldn’t get over him even though you hadn’t even been close to a relationship. It was impossible. How were you supposed to get closure from someone you were merely business partners with.
You cursed the way your heart sped up when you got a new text from him. Over and over again you had to remind yourself that it was purely business.
Onigiri Miya (Osamu): Hi, do you want to swing by tomorrow? Lunch is on me
Fingers swiped over the keyboard, groaning as you asked what you should bring for the restock, not realizing it had been two weeks already.
Onigiri Miya (Osamu): Everything is selling fast, but I won’t need anything for a bit, just wanted to chat not about business
Without hesitation you agreed. Even if you were sure he didn’t feel the same, it wouldn’t hurt to keep up a personal relationship with a business. The fact that he had texted you deep into the night without prompt didn’t make it into your busy mind.
Those two little texts were how you found yourself taking a deep breath outside the Onigiri Miya a little after the lunch rush. You stepped into the nearly empty building, immediately greeted by Osamu’s soft, low voice.
“I have to run to the back, but I put a plate for you out.” He calls, disappearing just as the door closes behind you.
It’s painful to admit how your heart swells at the gesture. Your favorite onigiri of his is neatly plated in front of a corner seat at the bar. The two other people on the opposite side of the store are quietly chatting, paying no mind while you settle into your seat. Before you can take a bite he’s bustling back in.
“Sorry ‘bout that, got a call.” He says, leaning over the counter in front of you. The way his broad chest is squished by his shoulders.
“No worries.” You say just before biting into the food. He snatches one of the rice balls from your plate, but your mouth is too full and you’re too grateful to protest. “So,” you begin after you swallow, “what did you want to talk about?”
You can’t tell whether the air is thick with awkward tension or if it’s just you.
“I mean, obviously not business.” As you speak, a strangled, little chuckled forces its way out of the back of your throat, but you take another bite of food before it gets out of hand.
He’s silent for a moment, slowly chewing his food. Maybe savoring it or maybe thinking, you can’t quite tell which.
“Can you take nights off from the bakery? I remember you saying ya do a lot of baking and prepping at night.” His expression is impossible to read and you want to tell him that this is, at least for you, business talk, but you hold back and simply answer the question.
“Well, yeah, if I needed to. Uh, why?” You catch how his shoulders tense and lower, his eyes shifting across the windows in the front. Unfortunately, his own anxiety does very little to quell any of your own.
“My brother is having a party and I’m… obligated to go, but I won’t know many people there, they’ll all be his teammates, so I was wondering if you would like to go with me? If you don’t have a… I mean, if you don’t have any plans.” His expression remains still, but there’s a small flush in his cheeks that you catch on immediately. Something in your heart softens with hope.
“You’re twin volleyball brother?” You ask, biting back a smile. “Also, you’ll have to tell me what time the party is and then I’ll let you know if I have plans, but I’m probably free.”
The flush deepens as he recognizes his mistake and slowly blinks, shaking his head. “Yes, ‘Tsumu, the volleyball brother. And the party is next Friday. Around nine.”
Within the limited time you’d spent with him he’d told you about his brother and his old friends. Confidence growing, but not quite steady, you uneasily treaded into your next words.
“Yeah, I’m not working next Friday actually, so that sounds good. Should I text you for the address or…?”
“Meet me here, I can take you. Best to take the train, but it’ll be easier if we go together.”
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Deep in the center of the city, standing close enough to smell the soft fragrance of cologne, you still weren’t sure how easily you had ended up here at the house party filled with strangers hosted by your customer’s pro athlete brother. It was a little much to think about if you took too much pause. Before you could slip into your own brain too much your cheek smushed into the thick muscle of Osamu’s solid back that had suddenly stopped moving, and as you sputtered out an apology the door swung open without him even knocking.
“Hey! Did you really not a-” The blonde mirror image of the man standing directly in front of you eats whatever words are about to spill out of his mouth when he notices you peeking out from beside Osamu. Realizing how ridiculously childish you must look tucked away behind him, you clear your throat and step out so you’re by his side instead.
“Hi, I’m y/n.” You say politely, extending a hand for him to shake. Atsumu’s eyes flit between you and his brother, not bothering to hide a smirk.
“Oh, I know.” He finally says when he takes your hand. Out of sheer embarrassment or maybe anxiety, you feel pricks of heat chase out to your fingertips. The sensation is only compounded by Osamu’s feather-light touch that grazes the small of your back as he tries to lead you past his brother.
“Really,” you start, with a sly little smile, “he’s told me about you’re very impressive-”
“Okay.” Osamu says a little too sharply. He’s glad you’re at ease, but less glad that you’ve immediately taken to lightly teasing him with his brother. “Let’s head in.” The warm breath of his whisper jolts through you and you find yourself nodding, letting his touch lead you.
Just as the door is closing behind you and the excruciating reverb of the music seeps into your ears, you barely catch what Atsumu mumbles before he slips into the crowd of people. “Maybe you’ll finally show her how much ya like her.”
Osamu doesn’t respond, and for a second you think maybe he didn’t hear him, but the way his fingers dig into your back tells you otherwise. You simply pretend that you heard nothing, pointing to the drink dispensers lined up on the kitchen counter across the room. After a quick drink of the sweet, burning mystery drink and after Atsumu started to keep his distance - too busy hounding his one teammate with the dark curls whose name you couldn’t quite remember - things went smoothly.
Time passed quickly, helped on by the dozens of new people you were introduced to. The small talk and repetitive questions had you mentally winded, but Osamu’s constant touch whether on your elbow or back or shoulder grounded you. Instead of feeling your heart race as it usually did when he was near, you only felt calm.
It all came crashing down sometime deep into the night when most of the guests had headed home and those left over passed out, scattered everywhere about the house. Well, everywhere aside from the neat guest bedroom tucked away toward the back that Osamu had pulled you back to when the last man (who had drunkenly tried teaching you how to say ‘volleyball’ in Portuguese) had finally passed out.
The single drink you had gulped down hours ago was long gone from your system, but even without it you still found it easy to speak with him, even as his arms inconspicuously wrapped around your torso and brought you down to lie beside him on the bed. Staring up at the ceiling for a moment while the two of you remained in short silence, a thought came to your head, another thing you want to tell him or ask him. You’re not sure which because in the next moment, when you whip your head to face him, he does the same.
If you had been any closer your faces would’ve smashed together. Any farther away and you wouldn’t be brushing lips. Just as soon as the touch begins, it ends with you scrambling away, stopped from falling off the bed by his strong arm wrapping around and pulling you back to his chest. The silence thickens with every second that neither of you speak, but he thankfully breaks it within the minute.
The words fumble around the front of your mouth like your mouth is numb. “I’m so sorry that-!”
“Well, that wasn’t really a proper kiss.” He says plainly, a smile barely etching its way onto the corner of his lips.
“N-no, it was not.” You whisper. It doesn’t quite feel real when he kisses you for real, and for a second you’re worried you’ve deluded yourself. You sigh into his firm touch, finally releasing the tension in your chest and letting your own lightly trembling hands trace up the space between your chests to settle against his. His body is softer than you had thought it would feel, somehow so much more comforting and homey than you could have imagined.
After an endless moment, his mouth strains against yours as he forces himself to pull away with a little huff. Your eyes find his, bright and hopeful, and still a little bit surprised. Between all your personal longing and resignation that he didn’t feel the same, you hadn’t noticed the way he smiled more when you were nearby, the little blush that dusted his cheeks when you complimented his cooking that first time, and so much more.
“Wanted to do that for a long time.” He sighs, leaning his forehead against yours and letting his heavy eyes close. Hiding your grin in his chest, you nod, wrapping your arms around him and snuggling in closer. When your knee glides against his thigh in an attempt to get more comfortable and flush to him, he clears his throat. “We should get changed if we’re going to sleep here. I have extra clothes in the dresser.”
“Okay.” You nod slightly, not wanting to move just yet. He seems to be with you because, despite his own words, he remains exactly in place with his grip just as tight as ever around your waist. “...Samu?” You finally ask, pulling back far enough to look up at him.
“I wanna kiss you again.”
“Okay,” you repeat, “then kiss me again.” The crooked, giddy smile you’re giving him seems to tense him up even more.
He inhales deeply through his nose, eyes darkening as they flicker across the planes of your face. “I wanna, but I don’t want to push this unless you feel the same.”
If your tired heart could vibrate any harder it would probably be bursting out of your chest.
“Well, I feel that we should kiss again,” you press a peck to his cheek hoping it’ll steady your next vulnerable words, “because I’ve thought about you a lot, and I really like this.” You emphasize your words by glancing down at the negative space between your bodies and running your hand up the built expanse of his shoulders.
Humming, he cradles the back of your head, gracefully moving to straddle you and ghost his lips over yours. “In that case, tell me when to stop.” The hot breathy fan of air from his whisper barely hits your cheeks before he’s pressing a deep kiss against your lips.
You slot together like perfect puzzle pieces, limbs finding the just the right spots to fit into. Mouths move desperately, passionately and without thinking your fingers start dancing under the hem of his shirt, brushing against the hot skin beneath. With a tempered groan, he uncouples his lips from yours, kissing along your jaw and quickly moving to trace down your neck. The kitten nips and licks against your collarbone send electricity through your bones, forcing you to flex into him, hips awkwardly jutting forward for something more.
“You… you, ah, are so perfect.” You pant, eyes blinking wide open when the calloused tips of his fingers roughly trail under your shirt, up your sides, stopping just short of your chest to flip your shirt up.
Groaning so quietly you barely hear him, he buries himself between your breasts and sighs against your skin. “Yer even more beautiful up close and without all this,” he pauses for the briefest moment to undo your bra and lift it over your head with the shirt, “extra stuff on.”
Scoffing out a short giggle, you relax back, watching how his eyes drink you in as though they’ve been starved. “By extra stuff you mea-!” The quip is promptly cut off by the feeling of his mouth latching around one breast, the other being tended to by his opposite hand. Not a moment later he pulls away, smiling as you let out a pitchy whine.
“Yer pretty mouthy when yer comfortable, huh?” He mumbles, lips ghosting over your nipple while the one in his hand continues to be teased.
“N-no,” you rush to disagree. Judging by the eye roll he gives you, he doesn’t seem to believe you, but he doesn’t say anything more, simply bringing his attention back to your chest.
The way his suckles tiny, bright purple marks into your skin sends heat pooling into your stomach, hips noticeably grinding up against him now. As the seconds drag on, he doesn’t seem interested in anything other than your tits, enamored with the way they feel in his hand and mouth. It’s almost too much, and you feel your stomach tightening with every moment the teasing continues.
“Samu,” you whine softly, “samu, please, can’t s’too much, really need…” The words are jumbled and garbled. You can’t quite sort your brain to come up with anything coherent, distracted by the wet pooling in your underwear and the weight of his body crowding over yours.
“Sensitive tits?” He coos with a sharp glint in his eyes, gears obviously moving in his head for the future. “That’s okay,” he continues while pressing a soft kiss to each of your breasts, “What do you really need?”
“Need you to touch me.”
For a second, his mouth opens but he doesn’t speak. You fear he’s going to tease you, make you explain in lewd detail how bad you need him and where you want him to touch you, but he doesn’t. He simply nods, truthfully too caught up in the intoxicating feeling of your body and too impatient to feel you for the first time to drag this out.
“Good girl, I’m gonna take these off.” He starts, hooking his fingers under the waistband of your pants and underwear to take them off together. Without hesitation, his eyes travel between your legs. “Such a pretty, little cunt.” He hums already squeezing in between your thighs. Obviously distracted, he peppers little kissed up the sensitive skin on the inside of your thighs, still caught up staring at your soaking mess.
“Samu, please…” You whine. While you know he isn’t purposefully teasing, well you don’t know but you don’t think at least, it’s just as frustrating. Your knees lock around his thick shoulders, pulling him closer to your heat.
“Okay, okay, pretty girl.” He grumbles, lapping right at the crook of your thigh and hip. There’s a split second of tense silence wherein he carefully spread your lips admiring the glisten of your slick under the dim light of the lamp. Your entire body is tense with anticipation, legs shaking as they struggled to spread around his wide frame.
And just like that quiet moment is over - he laps you up so desperately and greedily you’re twitching under his grasp, clawing at the wrinkled bed sheets below you for anything to ground you. He doesn’t stop when he shifts your legs over his shoulders and wraps his hands around the bottom of your tummy to keep your jostling hips in place.
When you finally look back down to grab his hand, keeping a vice grip around his fingers, you also glance down for the first time. His dark, hazy eyes meet yours and you completely relax at last.
The feeling doesn’t last long, not when he pushes his tongue into your tight, unprepared hole, slurping all he can get and pushing in as far as he can go. Osamu’s eyes roll to the back of his head at the sensation, your cum dribbling down his chin and coating up to his nose that keeps brushing against your throbbing clit.
With a solid, squelching pop he tears away from you. “Taste so good,” he heaves, lips coming back even as he’s speaking, ghosting over you. He buries himself in your cunt again, this time focusing solely on your clit, cycling through different motions until he finds the one that makes your hips strain under his sturdy hold.
“Feel so good!” You sigh. “Please, please wanna cum.”
Smirking against you, he takes the hand you’re not clinging to back under your thigh and props it against your ass, slowly teasing a finger in. Absolutely gushing now, it slips in easily. You can feel his smile grow again for a moment before he refocuses on your clit, motions speeding up and increasing the pressure with which he worked. It’s impossible to not shudder under him now, especially with one arm only holding you down.
“C’mon, pretty girl, cum.” He murmurs, easily hooking a second finger into you, pumping and curling them in time with his tongue. As he feels you flutter and cream he can’t help but rut into the mattress, cock swelling from the taste of you. The pressure inside is too much and your want to let go is pushing you closer and closer, although it’s his mouth and fingers that really push you forward.
“C-cu-!” The words get trapped in your throat, overtaken by a hushed moan you struggle to bite back, trying - but very much failing - to be mindful of all the half-sleeping people strewn through the house. He slowly brings you down, fingers winding down and tongue lapping up your swollen clit while you convulse at his touch in time with the fluttering of your cunt.
At last, you have to drag him off, needily tugging up on his hands until he lets go. You try to pull him in to kiss, but he hesitates, his strength far outweighing your weak, blissful one and he hovers above you. There’s no reason to ask because almost immediately his fingers that were inside of you, absolutely drenched, come up to his mouth so he can make a show of sucking them dry for you.
“Taste even better than the stuff you make.” He sighs, letting you drag him down to your face. You can smell and taste yourself so strongly on his damp lips, it clouds your already hazy senses.
“Hmm,” you manage out, when he rests his entire body weight against yours, lips pressed into the side of your head. It’s only when you go to shift that you feel him pressing so incredibly hard and flush to you exposed skin through his soft pants, that you perk up. “Samu,” you begin brushing your fingers through his soft, dark hair, “can I...wanna help you.”
“Mhmm,” he nestles against your neck, kissing over the spots he left behind earlier, “in a minute, pretty girl, we have a lot of time ahead of us.”
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lostinthewiind · 3 years
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3AM in the City
Tetsurō Kuroo - Haikyuu
Synopsis: after high school, you don’t see Kuroo as much as you used to, and not nearly as much as you would like. The only exception is when he calls you up at 3AM to go for a drive—an offer you never turn down; and tonight’s events are exactly why you don’t. 
Rating: PG
Warnings: some kissing, nothing you haven’t seen in the movies before kids. A little angsty if you squint?
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As far as you knew, it was just another Friday night you would be spending at home alone, which you didn’t mind in the slightest. As much as you enjoyed going out just as much as the next person, you still knew how to appreciate a quiet night in by yourself.
Scrolling through your phone, the bright, white light illuminating your face in the otherwise pitch black room, you glanced up at the corner of the small device in your hands and took noticed of the time. 3AM. 
Letting out a yawn, almost as if in response to realizing just how late it was, you shifted in bed a little, trying to decide if you should try to get some sleep or keep mindlessly prowling social media for a little while longer.
Before you could make up your mind, however, a notification for an incoming phone call took over your entire screen, startling you a little more than you would like to admit. A small smile toyed at the corners of your mouth as you read the caller ID and answered the call.
“Hello?” You pressed the phone to your ear and sighed, body ready to climb out of bed. You already knew why he was calling . . . it was the only reason he called anymore.
“Hey.” His voice was smooth and casual over the phone, indicating that he hadn’t just woken up, meaning he hadn’t slept at all yet; which wasn’t exactly uncharacteristic of Kuroo. “Did I wake you?”
You shook your head instinctively, even though he couldn’t see it. “No,” you answered. “Just lying in bed.”
There was a short pause before he spoke again. “Wanna go for a drive?”
You had already known before you answered the phone that you would be saying yes to his proposition, but instead of responding right away, you hummed softly, pretending to think about it—pretending you weren’t as eager to see him as you actually were.
“Sure.” You swung your legs over the side of your bed and started searching for some clothes in the dark, unwilling to turn on the bright overhead light and ruin the late-night trance that you enjoyed so much. 
“Meet you in ten,” he said before hanging up. 
“Yeah,” you sighed, even though he was no longer on the other line. Thankfully, you knew this was just the way that Kuroo was—he was just bad at talking over the phone—but you still wished he sounded even a little excited to see you after so long.
Pulling on the same outfit you had been wearing that day, purely because they were sitting at the end of your bed and had been easy to find, you tucked your phone into your pocket and fixed yourself up a little before heading out the door. 
Like always, you waited at the street corner for Kuroo to drive up and pick you up. When he arrived almost exactly ten minutes after he had ended the phone call, you jumped into the passenger’s seat of the incredibly expensive and lavish car he drove. That vehicle was his pride and joy and sometimes you were honestly surprised he even let you inside of it considering how little he seemed to care about you lately.
Before you could even get your seat belt on, he was speeding away from the curb and heading out of your neighbourhood. Glancing over at the man you used to consider your best friend, you noticed the creases between his brows and the way his lips stretched into a thin, tight line. Something was bothering him, but then again, he didn’t ask you to accompany him on mindless cruises at 3AM when all was well in his life.
Knowing that it would be a couple of minutes before he warmed up to your presence and wanted to talk, you turned up the radio and watched the scenery pass by out the window. In the distance, you could see the glowing lights of downtown Tokyo, the bustling hub of the city that you usually avoided due to how busy and crowded it was. 
The city in the middle of the night was a completely different story, however. Maybe it was the way the many colourful advertisements and store signs illuminated the dark night sky, or maybe it was the way the streets emptied out enough for the overwhelming aura to dissipate just enough, but driving through the streets at night brought you a sense of euphoric calm that simply couldn’t be obtained during daylight.
Looking back at Kuroo, you took note of how his face had relaxed, even if just a little. You watched his hands tense around the steering wheel, griping tight before relaxing and tapping his fingers against the leather. Feeling your eyes on him, he finally looked over at you and acknowledged your presence.
“How have you been?” he asked seemingly out of nowhere, as if he just realized he would have to make conversation with you eventually.
Your heart fluttered slightly, joy spreading through you at the thought that he genuinely cared about how you were doing. “Fine, thank you,” you told him. “And you?”
“Okay,” he lied. You knew it was a lie, because even though he had changed drastically since high school, he was still just as bad at bending the truth, especially when it came to you.
“That’s good.” You rested your head against the window and observed the passing buildings and how they grew taller and taller the further into the city Kuroo drove.
As silence consumed the inside of the car once more, you became keenly aware of the music playing in the background; so, when a certain song that brought back a lot of memories started playing, you noticed it before Kuroo. 
Your eyes widened a little as you looked from the radio to Kuroo, waiting to see if he remembered it as well—hoping he remembered it. 
Feeling your eyes on him once more, he cocked a dark brow in your direction. “What?”
“This song.” You gestured lazily to the speaker. “Do you remember it?”
Kuroo chewed on his bottom lip as he listened, and for a moment, you thought he had actually forgotten. Then, a wondrous smile spread across his dimly lit face and he nodded. “Yeah, course I remember.” His spirits seemed to have increased ten-fold. “You always insisted we play it, and every time we did, you would sing every single word. Without fail. Every. Single. Time.” 
A soft chuckle escaped your lips. “What can I say? It’s a good song.” You turned up the volume a couple more notches. 
This time, when the conversation ceased, the vehicle wasn’t filled to the brim with thick tension. Instead, you found yourself thinking back to your days in high school—those incredible three years that you would give anything in the world to return to. Back then, you and Kuroo had been nearly inseparable. Back then, you hadn’t had to fight for his attention.
Back then, you genuinely felt like he wanted to be around you.
Looking to your former-friend and now casual acquaintance, you watched him carefully as he drove, his eyes glued to the road in front of himself. You wondered what had happened. What had gone so wrong that he felt the need to distance himself from you? Had you done something to push him away . . . or was that just the way high school friendships played out?
The question as to what series of events had taken place to get you to where you were now was one that you were unable to answer. The only thing you knew for sure was that you missed Kuroo . . . more than you probably should, but you missed him nevertheless.
Feeling a sudden burst of confidence, either from the inspiring city lights or the nostalgic song, or maybe both, you shifted in your seat to face the man beside you and cleared your throat. 
“Are you going to tell me what’s been bothering you?” you asked matter-of-factly.
Kuroo glanced over at you for a split-second, blinking a few times in response. He was clearly taken aback by your sudden and direct inquiry, and you completely expected him to ignore you altogether or change the subject. What you didn’t expect was for him to turn into the nearest parking lot, park the car, and let out a long, exasperated sigh.
Worry and curiosity coursing through your veins, you sat silent and still, waiting for him to speak or move or do anything.
“I feel lost,” he finally said, his line of sight falling to his lap. There was a pause, and you were unsure if he was going to elaborate more or leave it at that. When you opened your mouth to respond, however, he continued. “Work takes up all of my time . . . so much so that I’m starting to realize I’ve cut ties with everyone I used to know without even noticing it; not until it was too late. And the worst part is, work isn’t even going well. This corporate ladder bullshit is way harder than I ever imagined. I feel stupid for throwing away everything I had for something I might not ever be able to obtain . . . for something I don’t even enjoy. It feels like it’s all for nothing.”
Your jaw dropped slightly. Kuroo had never been that open about his feelings with you before; not unless you had pried for days-on-end or he was plastered drunk. 
You were unsure how to respond at first, so you did what you usually did when people came to you with a problem; you tried to put yourself in their shoes and then give the advice you thought you would want to hear.
“Well, I’m sure it’s not all for nothing,” you told him. “You didn’t get into business because you hated it. Sure, maybe the spark is a little dimmer right now or you’re going through a really rough patch . . . but don’t doubt yourself over one little bump in the road.”
Slowly, Kuroo turned his head toward you, his dark eyes landing on you for more than a few seconds for the first time that night. “But how do I know if it’s worth throwing everything else away over?”
“It’s not,” you said simply. “No job is worth throwing everything else in your life away over. But the best part is, you don’t have to choose between a career and a social life, and anyone who says you do is just plain lazy or insanely bad at time management.”
Kuroo cracked a smile at that and a puff of air that could be interpreted as a soft laugh passed his lips. 
“So my advice is just try to do better from here on out.” You smiled back. “Everyone has a hard time every once in a while. If the people in your life truly care about you, they will understand.”
“Do you understand?” he asked.
This time, you didn’t hesitate at all. There was no need to play coy or pretend like you cared less than you really did. “I do.” You nodded. “I’ve missed you.”
Kuroo’s eyes softened and his small smile faltered for half a beat. “I’ve missed you too.” 
Before you knew what was happening, Kuroo’s large hand was caressing your cheek and his lips were pressed against yours. Even though it was the middle of the night, you swore your entire world lit up at that moment. You had known you had wanted your best friend back, but this was so much better. This was more than you could have ever hoped for.
“I’ve been horrible to you.” Kuroo whispered against your lips, his fingertips trailing down the side of your neck and sending shivers up your spine. “I know this is a lot to ask . . . but can you ever forgive me?”
“Just promise to call me more than once a month . . . and maybe during the day sometimes,” you chuckled. 
He laughed, his hot breath warming your face. “I can do that.”
“Then yes, I forgive you.”
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Copper and Iron
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Synopsis: Y/N finds themself working as a volunteer in an experiment being done by a famous Robotics company. An experiment on a new AI program meant to allow their autonomous androids to have emotions. However what both Y/N and the researchers didn't anticipate was for their new experiment to fall in love with her human.
Ship: Hinata Hyuga x gn! Reader
Word Count: 9,320
Warnings: Yandere, Emotional abuse,Toxic Relationship, Manipulation, Gaslighting, Blood (from a broken nose)
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There are many factors that go into creating something truly magnificent. Often it takes ingenuity, a creative touch, patience, and a lot of perseverance. Not to mention bravery. Sometimes the creations are timeless, whether that be for a practical purpose like the invention of the light bulb or for a more spiritually fulfilling purpose like music. Despite this innovations such as these change form slightly as time progresses, however if one were to go back and look at something like a table from as far back as physical historical artifacts can be found, it can still be recognized for the purpose that it serves. Whether the table is made of plastic from 100 years ago or even Dysprosil from modern day. However none of that matters in the long run, because as previously stated time continues moving forward and so does innovation. It is very rare that the best inventions are ever made, after all the best creations are always the ones where eventually society can no longer live without them. Imagining a world where the thing an individual is most dependent on is missing, is quite often devastating. That is especially the case when it comes to the newest form of AI technology. And it is on that note that our story truly begins. 
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The towering building of Baseline Robotics™ glimmered as the rolling holographic advertisement displayed along the outside shifted to the customary greeting message as the doors unlocked before Y/N. Walking into the surprisingly empty lobby they immediately noticed that the interior decorations seemed to be going for a theme of alien hospital. Everything seemed to be white or a reflective silver and it was very nearly maddening in it’s sterility. However what caught Y/N’s attention was a stiff pure white couch that laid empty. It seemed like nobody had ever sat down on it, whether that be from fear of staining it or how uncomfortable it appeared to be was yet to be determined. Despite this observation Y/N sat down, albeit hesitantly. Soon people began to enter the building and walk down one of the two brightly lit hallways, turning either immediately left or the right while not a single person entered the large door at the end of the middle hallway.  
They had never been to Baseline Robotics™ as they never really saw a need to before now. AI was an essential part of society and for that Y/N was grateful that robotics companies existed. Without the people who can make the AI that is essential to daily tasks like driving, or customer service life would be far more difficult. And thus cities like Canphia wouldn’t exist. However recently Baseline Robotics™ had begun the shift from functional robots and computer programs to fully autonomous androids. Androids of course had already existed for a few years short of two centuries, but never had they ever looked so realistic. The only thing preventing them from being fully human was the lack of emotions. But since most androids were expensive and thus they were employed as nannies and maids in only the richest households. Being able to get angry or excited would make them neglect their duties and so nobody ever considered creating an android capable of emotions. And thus Y/N had never even considered going into the Baseline building. Besides what would a college student ever need with a robot servant. 
“Greetings! How can we help you today?” A robotic voice asked Y/N as it wheeled closer to them. 
“I’m here to answer the ad requesting volunteers for an experiment,” Y/N responded carefully.
“Follow me!” The robot chirped as it turned abruptly towards the hallway behind it, eventually both Y/N and the robot reached the door that nobody else had entered. The robot whirred softly as it unlocked the door in front of it,”Please enter and someone will be with you shortly.” 
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“Hello, you must be here for the experiment. I’m Researcher Ino, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” The young woman was grinning excitedly at Y/N as she extended a hand towards them. 
Reaching a hand out to shake Ino’s Y/N introduced themself quickly before they were suddenly being taken down a hallway by conveyor belt. It led down a series of short confined hallways before abruptly opening up into a large production floor similar to the ones that create cars. 
“So Y/N before we get started with the paperwork I’d like to ask you some quick questions,” Ino hummed as she looked over the documents displayed on her Holo-Cast. 
“Go ahead Ino.” 
“Why did you want to sign up for this?”
“Well…” Y/N hesitated, to say they were embarrassed at their reasoning for signing up was an understatement, but figuring honesty was the best way to go they continued to speak. “I moved to Canphia about six months ago and it’s been very hard for me to make any meaningful relationships so most of my free time is spent alone at home. I figured that since I don’t really ever do anything I could dedicate my spare time to assisting the behind the scenes science that goes into creating the AI we depend on.”
“Is there anything in particular that’s been preventing you from making friends?” the researcher inquired pleasantly. 
“If you haven’t noticed yet I have a difficult time speaking Katlior so it’s harder for me to communicate.” Y/N confessed with a light shrug as they entered Ino’s office. 
“Well Y/N I believe that you will be a perfect candidate for the experiment. With your help we might be able to finally take the last step in advancing AI technology. Welcome to the team.”
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It had been eight months of working with Ino and Y/N was excited to finally see what all their work was being put towards. If someone asked them if their time spent in the labs was helpful, Y/N in all honesty would have answered no. All they did was take silly personality quizzes about themself and their relationships that inevitably lead nowhere interesting or have conversations with the same four bot programs. The strangest things that they encountered in the lab however were the days where Ino would sit with Y/N and eat a meal while they discussed normal things for two people who are getting to know each other, like hobbies, interests and ideal types of all things. And what made this the strangest of the lab days was the fact that Ino would always take notes during their conversations, so the conversations were always a little awkward. 
Nonetheless Y/N was excited as earlier today Ino had mentioned that they needed to come into the lab a day early. She wouldn’t tell them exactly why they needed to come in but she sounded very excited and that made Y/N excited. 
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By the time Y/N had arrived at Borderline Robotics™ Ino was very nearly bouncing off the walls from how exhilarated she was at what she was about to unveil to Y/N. When they walked in she immediately jumped on them, wrapping an arm around Y/N’s shoulders while talking a mile a minute. “Ah you’re here! I called you in because we’re finally ready to begin the next stage of testing, and I have a feeling you’re going to love exactly what this stage entails. So if you would follow me I need to brief you on exactly what you’re about to experience so you’re prepared for this breakthrough. Okay let’s go!”
“Ino where exactly are we going? Isn’t the lab the other way?”
“Yep but today we’re going somewhere else.”
“...I’m so confused,” Y/N shook their head as they walked down the otherwise silent hallway. Ino grinned as she unlocked a door leading to a spiraling staircase and ushering Y/N to follow her down. 
“We need to go to the lab with the highest security clearance today, after all it’s not every day where you get so far in creating the first autonomous AI with emotions. So yeah, in case you haven’t figured it out yet, that’s what all the testing has been for Y/N. We want to be able replicate emotions in our autonomous AIs. So the information you gave us was used to create a personalized android based off of characteristics that you favored in the tests, and from that we created a personality for your android. She is as realistic as possible and fulfills the purpose you wanted, with a little extra thrown in too!” Ino was still talking very quickly and when combined with the endless winding of the staircase it served to only further disorient Y/N. 
Frustrated at their lack of comprehension on the topic Ino was babbling on and on about Y/N grabbed Ino's arm and stopped her both from talking and walking. “Ino please slow down, I'm not following. What purpose did I ever say I wanted an android for?” Y/N said exasperated. Ino blinked at them, her mouth falling into an open o shape. 
Looking away from them she flushed, when she spoke her speech had slowed down considerably, “Well you didn't explicitly say you wanted her to have a particular purpose but I assumed that you would like it if her purpose was to be a companion for you. You did say that making friends was hard due to your limited language skills so with her you would always have a friend. And on top of that we also gave her the ability to speak every known human language, so no matter where you go with her, she will always be able to help you with the language of that country.” She looked back at Y/N with a shy smile and continued, “She is going to be a complete sweetheart to you. I can tell you that, I programmed her personally. If all goes well with us fully waking her up, you and the other participants will all be able to take home your personalized android to continue testing. Our goal is to see if it’s possible to have an android with a near full range of human emotion that would allow them to do jobs that are stressful, dangerous and need careful action, while still maintaining the capability to de escalate and comfort those in need. Like… search and rescue paramedics or firefighters! And by having willing participants take the androids out and fully immerse them in day to day life, it will definitely prove if it’s possible.”
“What happens to her if the experiment succeeds? After it’s over I mean. Will she be scrapped?” Y/N said as they stared at the door at the bottom of the stairs. 
“Of course not Y/N-san, she would continue living just like how she was before the end of the experiment, minus all the mandatory testings she needs to undergo… Oh that reminds me, before I introduce you to her there are some things you need to know, you know rules and the like,” she said now slowly descending down the remaining stairs to the door.  Y/N now relieved at knowing what was about to happen when they entered the lab, followed after her, ready to listen intently to the rules they needed to follow.
“So first of all since this is an experimental form of AI you are going to have to bring her in biweekly for the first four months for little check ups, as there might be some problems with either the physical body she inhabits or glitches in her programming. If you happen to find any before the next check up feel free to bring her in before then, and we’ll fix her right up! Number two, she needs to be charged every 32 hours. She is able to use the solar panels embedded into her skin to self charge in direct sunlight but if she doesn’t get any direct sunlight and her battery starts to get low, then you will have to plug her in. Number three, while charging with the cord in she is not to do any energy consuming activities, so laying down or sitting are the best options. Light activity such as walking a very short distance is possible but not strongly advised, listening to music or watching children’s television shows will be fine, just make sure she won’t be processing any heavy amounts of information or moving too much. The last thing is less important for you to know but nonetheless, number four she is waterproofed so she is able to interact with water without being damaged. However just because she can wash dishes, walk in the rain and shower does NOT mean she can be fully submerged in water. So no baths or going scuba diving with her. Wading in a pool or lake is possible although not recommended.“
Y/N nodded sincerely as they programmed the instructions into their Holo-Cast so they wouldn’t forget them after leaving the lab, and despite their focus and serious diligence in recording the rules Ino could tell that they were excited. After all they were barely containing a smile as she opened the door to the room where the androids were all just awakening. Y/N looked up from what they were doing as Ino motioned for them to follow her into the room. 
Once in the room Ino quietly greeted her two fellow researchers as she guided Y/N past all the other pairings in the room and over to the single lone android. Ino stopped a few steps from where the android was sitting on the table, there was nothing on the table beside her but the blanket that at one point covered her body before her awakening. Disappointed but not surprised, Ino nudged Y/N forward to meet her while she went to go get the bag of the things the android would need, “Hinata, I have someone here to meet you.” She said, causing the android to turn her head and look at the pair. 
“Hello, I’m Hinata,” she said inquisitively. 
“Hello Hinata, I’m Y/N. It’s nice to meet you,” Y/N responded enthusiastically albeit they did feel slightly uncomfortable due to the others around them already having extensive conversations.   
“Hi!!” Hinata said enthusiastically, she seemed to be a very bright and nearly childlike person and that made Y/N smile softly at her. They truly didn’t know what to say to Hinata and thus their conversations were short, and the silences between them long.  
Ino soon returned with a very large duffel bag and handed it off to Hinata’s waiting arms, “You’re going to be living with them from now on Hinata, that means you can leave the lab!” Hinata looked at Y/N intently and nodded slowly. She was starting to realize what the humans wanted from the other androids and she was wondering if Y/N was the same way. 
“Y/N one thing before you leave, feel free to bring her by anytime you want. We’d all love to see how you’re both doing. Okay?” Ino interjected as Hinata put on her jacket so the pair could leave. Y/N smiled graciously as they agreed to stop by sometime soon. And with that they left with Hinata in tow. 
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The pair were silent as they ascended the stairs, not a word was spoken between them until they got outside of the building at which point the bubble of awkward tension burst between them. Hinata reached out in a move that mirrored the one that Y/N did to Ino not even a half hour earlier. “What am I to you Y/N? I know all of us were created with a role in mind and I want to know the one you think I’m going to play.” Hinata said intensely, her eyes were locked on Y/N as she spoke. 
“It’s embarrassing to admit but I want you to be my friend. I moved here a year ago and despite spending time with my classmates after lectures I haven’t been able to make any real friends by myself due to a strong language barrier between us. I can understand if you-” 
Y/N had looked away from Hinata in shame while they spoke and they only looked back after Hinata’s once hard and quite frankly intimidating voice softened, “Do you really mean you want to be friends? You’re not going to make me into a servant or something?” 
Y/N blinked in shock at how quickly her attitude changed but nodded with a smile, "No Hinata, I’m not going to make you my servant. I want to be friends, although in all honesty I wouldn’t mind if you help with chores sometimes…” They trailed off as Hinata laughed brightly. She intertwined their hands and swung them back and forth as they walked away from Baseline Robotics™. 
“Can we go to a zoo? I want to see a real life hippopotamus Y/N!” Hinata asked excitedly. Y/N nodded as they giggled, Hinata was just so full of wonder at everything and it was endearing. 
“Of course we can Hinata, you little sweetheart.” 
They hadn’t gotten more than a block away when Y/N’s Holo-Cast lit up with a call from Ino. It was strange that Ino was calling them so soon after leaving but thinking it might be important Y/N picked up the call. As soon as they hit the receive option Ino’s frantic voice was heard, “Oh thank goodness you’re okay! You need to bring Hinata back here right now for deactivation befo-” 
“Deactivation? Ino what the hell are you talking about? Hinata hasn’t done anything to me other than hold my hand,” Y/N said while looking at Hinata who looked just as confused. 
“The other androids, they just... flipped out all of the sudden and attacked the volunteers. Most of the humans were sent to the emergency room from the damage the androids caused. We were supposed to have a program put in that stopped them from harming their humans unless they were in direct danger but the volunteers were all just trying to leave to go home and the androids just went crazy unprovoked… Y/N are you sure Hinata isn’t going to-” 
This time Hinata cut Ino off, “Why would I ever want to hurt my friend Researcher Ino? We are even going to the zoo together, I really want to see a real life hippo! Please don’t take me away from Y/N, i really like them… ” Hinata was pouting at the idea of not getting to spend time with her new best friend when they had met. 
Ino paused her pleas as she realized that Hinata must have not seen Y/N as a threat judging by the behaviour Y/N described and the way that Hinata spoke of them. 
In shock from Hinata at all but admitting that she would have lashed out in anger had their conversation gone differently,  Y/N looked at the small form of Hinata who was now crouched down and cooing at a pigeon, having been distracted from the conversation at hand by the small avian’s appearance. “She doesn’t seem to want to hurt me,” Y/N thought, “And if she was going to do it she would have done it when everyone else did. Plus she acts a lot like a child, so I doubt she would do it now.”
Ino sighed, “It’s your limbs that are at stake here. Fine, if you feel safe, then...carry on your way then.” 
The last thing Y/N saw before the call ended was Ino shaking her head in disbelief. With a chuckle Y/N called out to Hinata, “You heard the woman! Let’s roll out.”
“Okie Dokie!” Hinata affirmed, reaching for Y/N’s hand once more. Swinging their intertwined hands between them as they walked to the zoo.
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Two weeks later Y/N and Hinata went in for the first scheduled check up, where amazingly Ino found the same abnormalities in her code as the other androids displayed; and yet she still didn't attack Y/N. Outwardly there was no evidence of violent tendencies anywhere in Hinata. “But the code doesn't lie, so what made her refrain from attacking Y/N?” Ino thought aloud as she watched the physical portion of the check up from a safe distance. 
Everything seemed to be going how it should be going and despite the excitement her colleagues were showing at having a working android, Ino thought that she needed to be deactivated like the others or at least reprogrammed.
When the other researcher finished with Hinata, Ino got an idea. The best way to find out a person's reasoning behind their actions is the simplest way. To ask them. She took a deep breath and walked over, rehearsing what she'd say in her head on the way over. Putting a hand on Hinata’s shoulder Ino carefully asked her the question all the while trying to not to give away her true intentions. 
“Hello Hinata I'm happy to report that the physical evaluation shows you are in perfect condition, Y/N must be taking good care of you," That got a smile and a pleased nod from the android. Ino patted her shoulder and continued, "But I do have a question for you in regards to your code. You see when we were looking at your coding today during the psych testing, we found the same anomaly that caused the other androids to attack their human volunteers, in you, and yet you were the only one not to attack anyone. So I figured I'd ask you what all us researchers were thinking, why didn't you attack Y/N?” 
“They wanted me to be their friend, and I wanted to be their friend too! Friends don't hurt friends Ino,” Hinata said cheerfully. She looked towards Y/N like a child looking to their parent for affirmation of their good behaviour. Y/N smiled at her and squeezed her hand as they watched Ino take notes. 
“Well as much as I would like to take out that particular section of code that created the violent behavior, I have been ordered by the higher ups to leave it in as they don’t want to potentially compromise Hinata. Plus if she says she’s not going to act on it, I suppose we'll just have to trust her," Ino gave a good natured smile directed at Hinata before continuing, "However I will implement a tell that would allow you, Y/N to see if she's getting to a state where she would act violent.” Ino said as she plugged some of the cords that were laying next to the table Hinata was sitting on into the nape of Hinata's neck; quickly pulling out a tablet, Ino typed out a sequence of numbers and letters before setting the tablet back down. Turning back to the pair she grinned, "and now we wait for it to upload, Hinata just make sure to lay down otherwise your balance could get a little wonky. You'll undergo a quick recalibration of the senses and all that, and then you're free."
Hinata nodded and laid down carefully, Y/N kept a hand on her back to help guide her down. Their face betrayed a look of shock and a hesitation that looked closer to fear than worry to Ino as by now Hinata's eyes had turned a milky white to allow for the update to her code to complete.
"Don't you worry about the eyes Y/N, that's supposed to happen. Any update to her code or recalibration of her senses will limit her sight in order to not overwhelm her in the process.  You probably haven't had to charge her using the cord yet but you'll notice her eyes will do that when charging as well."
Y/N shook their head, shaking the image of Hinata sitting in a dark room looking limp with wires coming off her body and her eyes as empty as a corpse. In a quick attempt to permanently banish the thought from their brain they looked at Ino and spoke once more. “And what is the tell you put in, Ino? You're being very vague…” Y/N inquired, wary.
Ino handed Y/N a sheet of paper as she spoke, “Her hair will lighten when she’s in a bad mood, and darken when she's in a good mood. The lighter it is the worse her mood is, the darker her hair is the better her mood is.  If she's sad, it will have blue in it. And embarrassment will create a pink tinge to the tips of  her hair. Both of the last two are because she has no fluids to convey those types of emotions, and with plenty of deliberation between the researchers we determined they’re both essential." 
Y/N was not convinced that this whole "tell" thing wasn't a predetermined plan instead of the on the fly programming that Ino was trying to make it look like it was. After all why else would she have a sheet of paper already printed off with a comprehensive guide to the colouring of Hinata's hair? 
Realizing that Y/N had caught on, Ino hurriedly got Hinata unhooked so that the pointed look Ino was being given wouldn’t turn into another question, "Okay you are both ready to go, see you in two weeks.
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“Y/N can we watch Iron Man again? Pretty please?” Hinata whined. 
“No, but only because you were whining again. Remember what we talked about Hinata, we don't whine to get what we want.” Y/N chided as they put on their coat. 
Hinata slumped down in the chair, she was disappointed in herself for making Y/N upset at her again. She was really trying to act more sophisticated and not like a toddler but everything was so new to her and she wanted to see it all, but it was just so hard to curb her enthusiasm for life when her wants were sidelined to more important things. But she would have to try harder so that Y/N wouldn’t be upset at her anymore. 
“Hinata! Sweetheart, I know you’re sulking out there. Get up and come put your shoes on so that we can go out, my friends are waiting for us at the restaurant and I don’t want to be late,” Y/N called out from in front of the door. Standing up, Hinata smoothed the wrinkles out of her clothes and walked over to where Y/N stood. 
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“Hello Sakura. How are you?” Y/N stood with Hinata beside them as they greeted the back of a person. 
  The woman turned to face Y/N as if she was surprised that they had spoken to them, when she locked eyes with Y/N she immediately began to smile. Sakura stood up, her short pink hair bouncing as she pulled Y/N into a hug,“Y/N! There you are, it felt like you were never going to meet up with us again. Sai and I were missing you.” After pulling away she looked at Hinata and spoke again, “Who’s this Y/N?”
Y/N grabbed Hinata’s hand as they spoke, “This is Hinata, she’s my friend and roommate.”
Hinata was pleased by finally being acknowledged by Sakura, she smiled timidly and waved at the girl, the ends of her hair shifting to a rosy pink , “It's nice to meet you Sakura.” Her voice was gentle when she spoke, she really wanted to appear as mature and polite as possible so that Y/N would be even more happy, so she let Sakura tug her down into the seat next to her. 
Y/N sat across from her and immediately turned to talk to the person next to them. His voice was deep when he spoke and had a strange way of pronouncing Katlio that led Hinata to believe he must be foreign, and therefore probably the Sai that Sakura mentioned. 
Sai had fully black eyes and his arms were covered in slowly morphing tattoos. Hinata was shocked, she didn't know that humans could come out like that, it made her feel very strange, she couldn't quite place the emotion she was feeling when she saw the human.
What she did know was she absolutely hated the way that Y/N was looking at him. 
“Examining his tattoos Hinata?” Sakura teased from beside her, “They are really cool I will admit. But still tell us about yourself. Where are you from, how did you meet Y/N, you know all the good stuff.” She tossed her hair as she spoke although it didn't go very far due to its cropped length. 
Y/N spun their head to look at Hinata directly in the eyes, they were silently pleading with her to not reveal that she was an android. Hinata didn’t like knowing she had to lie but she understood that she needed to do it to keep Y/N happy. So after sending a reassuring smile to Y/N she turned back to Sakura. Carefully and with practiced grace, as if she was a spider moving across the strands of it’s web to trap a still fluttering butterfly, she began to spin her lie, “Well…it’s not a very exciting story guys. I was born in Canphia but moved away when I was really young. I recently came back to the city and the two of us met through a mutual friend not too long ago and we hit it off. Y/N asked if I wanted to be their roommate after they found out I was looking for a place.” Hinata shrugged nonchalantly after she spoke, Sakura seemed pleased with her answer and thus turned her attention to Sai. Hinata immediately looked over at Y/N with the hope that she did a good job. 
Y/N smiled at her in relief and thinking she looked a lot like a puppy reached over and ruffled Hinata’s hair. So far, having Hinata around was going really well for Y/N because even though they still weren’t the best at Canphia’s unique language they got confidence in knowing that they had someone who would always be able to help them out. 
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When Y/N and Hinata arrived home from the diner, Hinata grabbed Y/N’s hands and stopped them from going inside the apartment. When they looked at her in confusion she giggled nervously, the tips of her hair going light pink for the second time that day, “I saw something in a drama and I want to try it. May I Y/N?” She tilted her head in inquisition and waited for their answer. 
“As long as it’s not going to hurt anyone then sure,” Y/N responded. 
Hinata smiled at them, went up on her tiptoes and placed a gentle, lingering kiss on Y/N’s forehead, “It’s not because I love you, it’s because I love only you. If it’s not you then I won’t have anyone else.” When she pulled away she was smiling very brightly, she had been wondering why the men in movies always did this sort of thing to people they like, but after doing it herself, she could completely understand why. It felt really nice to show affection like that, so much so that it created a small fluttering deep inside her chest.
After a beat of stunned silence Y/N blinked repeatedly at her as they spoke, “Are you quoting an old romance drama at me? Remind me to no longer watch sappy shows with you.” With a good natured eyeroll that Hinata could tell wasn’t genuine annoyance, Y/N dragged her inside. 
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Hinata and Y/N had been meeting up with Sai and Sakura every Saturday for months now and although the number of people who attended, the food ordered and the conversations had were always different, the one thing Hinata could expect during these times was to be ignored by the group of humans and only used as a translator by Y/N. She was always kept at an arm's length and unless she forcefully inserted herself into the conversation nobody would seem to notice she was even there, not even her best friend and roommate, the beautiful shining and incredibly social butterfly, Y/N. 
They used to do almost everything together. From grocery shopping and cleaning, to going out to the movies Hinata and Y/N were inseparable, no matter what they were doing they would always make it fun. Nothing was done around each other without trying to make the other laugh. Throwing popcorn, random tickle fights and long cuddle sessions on the couch when Y/N had a stressful day. Hinata cherished all of the moments they spent together, but now Hinata was not sure Y/N felt the same. 
But then it changed.
Soon Hinata practically had to beg for a simple good morning from Y/N. They had been coming home from school and immediately retreating into their room. They didn’t come out for anything and the light would stay on until very late into the night. Hinata tried everything to get their attention and yet no matter what she did none of it mattered because they never saw it. It was like she didn't even exist to her butterfly anymore. 
Afterall what is the spider who must stay grounded on her web to the butterfly with the freedom to explore not only the skies but the world below.
She even had to go to her last biweekly checkup without them, and those days were always spent together no matter how busy Y/N was. 
Then just that morning Y/N had asked Hinata to come with them to lunch and she was ecstatic, she dressed up nicely and did her hair just the way Y/N liked it. Soft bangs styled to frame her face, with the rest of her hair cascading down her back,  it was perfect for them to run their hands through, but that same hair which was normally a deep purple, nearing black was now a striking platinum blonde. 
She was at one point during the walk to the diner, hopeful that her relationship with Y/N would go back to normal and yet here she was still being ignored after months of the same torture over and over again. And any hope of waiting for things to go back to normal was crushed as the new guy, Neji wrapped his arm around Y/N's waist. He had been flirting with Y/N the whole time and what was making it positively intolerable was the fact that Hinata had to keep translating the flirtatious comments to Y/N. 
And what made it worse were the reactions Y/N gave. With every laugh and turn of their head to hide their flustered face, or the casual touches that Y/N would reciprocate Neji’s advances with, Hinata felt a sharp pain in her chest. Like a knife being shoved in and twisted. Hinata was starting to resent her creators for giving her the capability to feel. What exactly she was feeling was a mystery to Hinata but she knew that it hurt. It hurt a lot.
After over an hour of being positively miserable Hinata had finally had enough. Abruptly standing up she stormed out of the diner. As she left she accidentally knocked over the chair she was sitting in and the clang of the metal chair hitting the floor caused the conversation at her table to screech to a halt. 
 Y/N was extremely embarrassed by her behavioural changes and they apologized for Hinata. Excusing themself, they picked up the chair as they left, catching the door before it shut, thus the bell failing to ring again. When they got outside they were greeted with Hinata leaning against a light post while pouting. Normally Y/N would have simply talked to Hinata about her terrible behavior but they had never seen her hair such a stark white before. Sure they'd seen her hair a light brown or even a natural looking blonde but never white, immediately getting concerned and scared, Y/N walked around to the diner's alleyway where they could still see Hinata while not allowing her to see them. Y/N commed Ino on their Holo-Com to make sure she was available for an emergency visit. 
Hinata was even more miserable now, she was alone in the middle of the day and she had nothing to do. Now she couldn't even send dirty looks to that Neji guy who kept flirting with her Butterfly. The street was mostly silent save for the passing of vehicles along the road, which was a blessing. At least she had the quiet rhythm of the late afternoon traffic to help calm her down. Brushing her now blue bangs out of her eyes, she started to count the cars passing her on the street. At least that would give her something to think about other than Y/N and that stupid human man flirting with each other.
Behind her the door to the diner opened up, the bell above the door rang and soon the sound of footsteps followed. Whoever it was moved towards where Hinata was standing, watching the movement along the busy street. The footsteps stopped behind her and immediately Hinata knew who was standing there. 
“Hey Himiko right? After you left Y/N followed, have you seen them? I just want to see how-” Neji cut himself off as Hinata slowly turned around, something wasn't right with her eyes. They were soulless, empty, and not at all human. Neji staggered back as Hinata began to smile, a smile that didn't reach past her lips. 
Hinata walked towards Neji, enjoying how he was trying to pretend he wasn't scared of her. In a split second of panic Neji wound up and punched Hinata in the throat only to be met with something rock hard that hurt him more than it hurt Hinata. But that was all Hinata needed. In the blink of an eye Neji was on the ground, his nose broken and bloody. 
Y/N was watching this from around the corner in shock. Hinata with her snow white hair had just sent a man crashing to the ground with blood pouring from his face. She stood over the now unconscious Neji, blood dripping from her knuckles. Y/N was shaking in fear when Ino picked up the com they had sent. 
“Come here now,” Ino said before hanging up.
Y/N nodded and walked toward where Hinata was. They stood beside her and offered their shaking hand. “Hinata how about we go for a walk together okay? To clear our heads, maybe we'll go see our friend Ino.” Y/N said tensely. At this point Sakura had seen Neji and was rushing out to go help him thus Y/N felt comfortable leaving him. 
Hinata on the other hand was excited, she hadn't seen Ino in a while and her Butterfly wanted to spend time with her again. Clasping their hand in hers, they began to walk toward Baseline Robotics™. Y/N wanted to vomit due to the sticky feeling of Neji's blood on their hand.
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“So you're concerned because her hair turned white after you spent over an hour using her as a translator so that a guy could successfully flirt with you? And then she punched the same guy who was flirting with you after already being incredibly annoyed by him. Y/N you realize how ridiculous that is right? Hinata did that because she was jealous and didn’t know better than to lash out physically, especially since from what you said he threw the first punch. That registered to her coding as an immediate threat, so of course she removed the threat by incapacitating him,” Ino said as she sipped her smoothie. With a chuckle she set her drink down and motioned to Hinata who was playing with one of the robotic hands on the table while listening in.
“Y/N we made Hinata specifically so that she could emulate human emotions while still being fully autonomous. You have to remember, she's comparable to a puppy, she has you and that's about it at the moment. She probably feels very protective of you since she doesn't know anyone as well as she knows you, and because of that she is very attached to you. So when you bring her places with you and then ignore her in favour of other people it irritates her. Just like how you'd feel if the person you love was ignoring you constantly. She may have copper wires instead of iron in veins but she is essentially human so treat her that way. Then everything will be fine and you won't face that problem again. Okay?” 
Y/N nodded relieved and mildly embarrassed, walking over to Hinata who was listening intently to the conversation. “I-... I think that I owe you an apology Hinata. How I treated you today was unfair, and I swear I won’t allow it to happen again. Come on sweetheart let's go home, we can watch your favourite movie and cuddle, just… let me make it up to you?” Y/N said as Ino's words replayed over and over in their head. 
Hinata grinned widely, her hair slowly darkening at the roots, turning her whole head black once more, the bangs however still remained tinted blue, but in the dimmed light of the lab it was near impossible to notice. She dropped the disembodied arm and grabbed for Y/N’s hands and as the pair made their way home one thing in particular about what Ino said stuck out to Y/N. Did Hinata really do that to Neji because she was in with love Y/N? Y/N didn't really believe it, after all why would she, they were friends.
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Another lunch over and Hinata was excited to go home so she and Y/N could hopefully watch a movie together. Over the course of the week Hinata had been formulating a plan, a plan that she carefully acted on all throughout that day’s lunch meet up. She was just waiting for Y/N to come out of the washroom so they could leave when Sai and Sakura came over to say goodbye after lunch. 
“Hey Hinata before we go, we wanted to remind you to tell Y/N that next week we’re going to eat lunch at the cafe closer to campus. Oh and one more thing... thank you for giving us our Y/N back.” Sai said with an uncharacteristically soft voice before Sakura managed to drag him over to her bike.
 Hinata's hair lightened in the blink of an eye at the comment Sai made, she was on the verge of starting to scream at the pair when the familiar voice of Y/N interrupted her, “What did they say about me? I heard my name but couldn’t quite catch anything else” they asked sweetly. 
She plastered on a fake smile and shook her head, “You don’t want to know.” She laughed awkwardly and held out a hand for Y/N to take. Y/N frowned and took hold of her hand as they walked back home. 
“What. did. they. say. Hinata.”
“They told me that I was ‘too good to be stuck hanging around’ you,” Hinata sighed deeply, really uncomfortable with saying it.
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Y/N had been getting more and more suspicious of Hinata with every weekly lunch meetup. It seemed as though every time that Y/N didn’t understand a remark made about them during those times Hinata would frown and look away as if she was in pain. If they pressed her to say what she'd heard she would confess that the people they were with were insulting them. At first they didn't believe it but now they were starting to believe her, since they stopped getting invited group activities with their so called friends.
Y/N was actually getting lonely from the lack of contact they were getting in the brief amount of time they were actually invited to go and meet with friends. But the greatest sting was when not even a week after their exams finished, the people that Y/N thought were friends had ditched them. And the one person they thought they could rely on was being distant.
It was getting harder to fall asleep every night as the hole in their chest just kept eating away at Y/N, telling them that all their worst fears were true. They had cried themself to sleep as many as six times in the past two weeks. The worst part however was just how exhausting the isolation had become.
The clock read 3:45AM and Y/N was just starting to fall asleep when a loud crash was heard from out in the living room. Thinking it was an intruder, Y/N immediately thought of Hinata and how valuable she would be if some devious rival to Baseline Robotics™ had found out about her existence. Leaping out of bed in a panic to protect her, Y/N grabbed a heavy book and slowly crept their way into the kitchen. The noise continued while Y/N made their way to where the sounds were originating from. Once in the kitchen they continued to creep forward into the living room where they flicked the lights on ready to attack the intruder; only to see Hinata now standing over a now completely decimated roomba. 
“Hinata? What the hell are you doing to our roomba!” Y/N whisper yelled, Hinata only pouted in response and raised her leg presumably to stomp on it again. With a sigh Y/N put the book down and looked at Hinata in the eyes, they were fed up with life, exhausted, angry and very willing to take it out on her, “I'm going to ask you this one more time. What the fuck. Do. You. Think. You're. Doing?” 
Hearing the anger in Y/N's voice Hinata lowered her leg and the colour blue creeped into her hair, “I missed you and I wanted to see you again without having to be around those... humans,” she said softly. 
“But what does that have to do with the roomba, which, need I remind you, is nothing but a vacuum?” Y/N whisper-yelled, they were so very confused.
“Because you love it more than you love me,” Hinata screamed. She paused and ran a hand through her deep blue hair in an effort to calm down before she spoke again “Ever since you got it months ago you've been ignoring me, you said when we first met that you wanted to be friends. Now you ignore me unless you want to go see those humans you call friends when all they do is insult you to your face when they know you can't understand them. I hate the fact that despite being used as nothing more than a translator by you, I still can't find it in me to stop loving you… You're my whole world but I know I'm not yours and that scares me. I'm scared that you will leave me all alone…” Hinata hung her head, if she could cry, she would have. She walked off into her sparsely decorated room and shut the door with a heavy sigh. 
Y/N was left alone once more and as they stood in the oppressive silence of the living room, they realized just how much they messed things up. Their priorities clearly hadn't been straight in a very long time and instead of being the person Hinata needed, they were selfish and used her. “But even though all that, she still cares for me…” Y/N said in muted shock, a hand rushing to cover their mouth, it was sickening to realize, and Y/N’s stomach lurched at the thought. They attempted to look at the floor but everything blurred as their eyes filled with tears. All those feelings of abandonment, of isolation, of loss and desperation; like a butterfly desperately searching, flying high and low to find a particular flower to feed off of, these past few weeks could have been avoided if they had simply looked to their side where Hinata was waiting for them. Hinata, the shy violet that was consistently rooted in Y/N’s life even when they willingly became blind to her.
 Y/N didn't see it before but they truly did love her more than anyone else. And all that it took to come to this realization was facing the potential loss of the only person to still love Y/N even after countless weeks of neglecting both Hinata’s emotional needs, and their own. 
With a newfound determination they looked towards where Hinata's room was. The hallway leading to the bedrooms was still dark but despite this Y/N traversed it with the familiarity of their many months with each other, they needed to make right what they nearly completely messed up. 
Knocking on Hinata's door Y/N called out to her, “Hinata, sweetheart, I'm sorry. I want to apologize to you, I haven't been treating you very well recently and I'm so sorry for that. I got so excited by the idea that I would end up with more friendships than before and I ended up using you. I realize now that I made a huge mistake. The people who I wanted to impress the most turned their backs on me and instead of spending time with you I became a recluse. Everything I thought I knew about the people I cared about was a lie. And I've been so damn blind to all the signs around me that even though I knew that you loved me, I never even realized that this whole time, I loved you back. Avoiding you even though you were the only person who was ever truly my friend was the biggest mistake I could have ever made. And I did it… I don't expect you to forgive me… I just- ... I just really want you to know that I am so sorry for how I've treated you, I never deserved to have someone as kind as you in my life.” 
Y/N's face was hot with shame as tears rolled down their cheeks. Their strength was suddenly missing from their legs and they slid down the wall next to her bedroom door that they had been using as a crutch. 
When the door opened Y/N heard soft whimpers that weren't their own, in the doorway stood Hinata looking like she was on the verge of tears. Everything was silent for a moment as the pair just stared at each other. Y/N knew that in that moment if Hinata could cry, she would have been.
“I-I forgive you Y/N. But y-you have to promise me th-that you won't do that to me ever again. I would never leave you all alone, so if you're feeling upset you could always talk to me. Just don't shut me out again okay?” Hinata hiccupped. She knelt down and put her head on Y/N's shoulder and an arm around their side as tears continued to make their way down Y/N's cheeks. “One more thing… I want you to say that I'm yours. Like they do in all the dramas.” she said gently, she wanted to improve the mood somehow and at the moment that seemed to be the best way to do it. 
“I will, but only if you're going to do the same,” Y/N murmured as they clung onto Hinata's pyjamas. 
Hinata's arms reached around and pulled them into a warm and tender embrace, allowing Y/N to take comfort in finally seeing that they were not alone at all. The duo stayed just like that until Y/N became tired enough that they fell asleep, their hand still bunched up with a fistfull of Hinata’s nightgown. 
⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅
When the beginnings of the golden light of the sunrise entered their apartment Hinata couldn't help but look down at her sleeping lover. They looked so peaceful, so sweet, so pretty, so delicate, just like a little butterfly; lying there with their head on her lap as they clutched onto the hem of her nightshirt in their sleep. Hinata wanted to live in that moment forever. The warmth of the sun hitting her face made her feel energized and the soft fluttering feeling was back, much stronger now, like the beating of one thousand pairs of wings. This time it filled her up so completely she imagined that she had lots of little birds flying through her chest.  As silly as it sounds, to Hinata anything and everything felt possible in that moment. 
It was wonderful, although a small dark flicker passed through her mind. She didn't let it affect her pleasant mood though, after all she did spend so much time carefully weaving her little web. It had taken months for her to carefully weed out the people who were taking her Butterfly from her. Hours upon hours of listening to meaningless conversations, waiting for a phrase that could be twisted around to become insulting or demeaning and then relaying that information back to Y/N in her native tongue. And all of it so that they would realize that she was the only person for them. They didn't need anyone else if she was by their side. 
It was so adorable that they maintained their naïvety throughout their life, but it was also just as dangerous. If she was able to manipulate Y/N so easily then who else would see that and try and take them away from her. Especially because they fell for every word she told them hook line and sinker without suspecting anything at all.
“Yes it is far safer for them to have only me,” she thought as she stroked Y/N's cheek with her thumb. And yet it still weighed heavily on her mind, afterall she was taught that lying to the people she cared for was very, very bad. She didn't like that she was forced to do such a thing to the person she loved more than anything else, but plenty of relationships where one person lies to the other work in movies. After all love is stronger than everyone and everything that would attempt to get in the way of it. Hinata knew that they would be an example of this now that she finally had Y/N all to herself. 
Hinata hummed a soft tune as she picked up Y/N to put them in their bed. They were soon gently slipped under the covers with it, tucked snugly around their body. 
Sitting next to them for a moment Hinata lingered a while, they looked positively delectable afterall. Irresistible in fact. So gathering what courage she had and mixing it with that light floaty sense of contentment she felt, Hinata leaned down and with a soft smile kissed Y/N's forehead as they slept. Torn between wanting to surprise them when they woke up and staying to watch them as they slept; eventually after much deliberation the android stood up to go make them breakfast.
Savouring the moment for a little longer she pet Y/N's cheek fondly, as she thought aloud, “Ino was right, we aren't so different at all. In fact we are perfect together. Copper and iron.”
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athys-obelia · 3 years
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summary: no one's evil au lmfaooo but make it pt. 2
character/s: anastacius de alger obelia, claude de alger obelia, athanasia de alger obelia, jennette de alger obelia
and here's part 1 <3
oh my god okay. okay. so.
ana, claude, athy and jennette - they go on a LOT of vacations
claude complains every single time but anastacius pulls his trump card and sends athy and jettie BOTH after him
u think he's strong enough to say no after that? lmao jokes
and their vacations always go this way:
jennette: isn't this scenery just gorgeous, uncle
claude: indeed it is. and...quiet
jennette: ...too quiet
[cut to anastacius in the distance, fighting a bear as athy cheers him on]
athy + anastacius, hands down the most chaotic pairing yes i will not be taking criticism
they have tea in ana's palace everyday, just the two of them, they're so poised and picture perfect through the entire thing everyone thinks it's just the emperor giving profound advice to his heir
it's actually them deadass scheming,,, ana has no qualms discussing everything from court gossip to military tactics, both of which she's so on top of all the time
if anyone shit talks jennette or claude, this tea party is where their slow and agonizing demise is planned out to the dot
[true story - count sivan once made the fatal mistake of expressing his favour for athy as the next empress, dissing jennette by comparing her to athy sm which inevitably sparked a debate that ranked the princesses. a week after athy's sources informed her of the kindling behind this new debate, the count's sudden divorce became the talk of the town, and the man's business faced bankruptcy all of a sudden. the sivans still haven't recovered.)
athy n jennette were actually allowed to visit kiel in arlanta a few times, except it was too dark at their first arrival, postponing the meeting to the next morning
buttt then jettie can't sleep and she decides on a midnight snack run (their hotel doesn't really have the maids the palace does, but oh well. she's left the palace w lucas n athy plenty of times)
felix tags along btw, he knows this trip is important to the girls since they're leaving the palace without their Overprotective Papas™ for the first time and want some sense of independence, but... she's just so smol n he couldn't bear it if anything happens so he just shadows her
she totally knows he's there
n e ways so there's a juice place right beside their hotel which she aims for, but when jennette reaches it, it's closed
and out of nowhere, a voice addresses her - "hey you, do you come here a lot?" she nearly jumps out of her skin at the brunette, relaxing when she sees he's literally a kid around her age and not a murderer lmfaoo "me neither," he continues without waiting for her, pouting at the closed sign, before he asks for her name and whether she's new in arlanta
she confirms that yes, she's only visiting, and refuses to tell the stranger her name, still feeling strange at being addressed as 'you' for the first time (well, minus lucas, but he was like her brother and had the emotional capacity of a teaspoon, so)
he eyes her. "you're so weird. i've never seen a girl out so late before, and alone too. are you stupid?"
(felix has his sword out at this point)
she's flushing now and has no idea why she's still out here, but then this stranger kid apparently senses her mood and tells her the best ice cream store in arlanta is not too far away
(he also explains he knows someone who's starts doing weird things when she's hungry as well, and tries to defend that ice cream is actually a healthy midnight snack, "you can just take a healthy flavour like strawberry or mango, mangos are healthy,,right"💀️💀)
so jettie has travelled all the way from obelia, she loves her papa but he would have a heart attack if he found out she was ever awake this late?? yeah bc she's never getting this chance again, jennette accepts the offer
the stranger boy seems to be taking the whole "i'm not telling you my name," thing like a joke, and asks what he should call her since 'you' was getting boring
she goes with "lady j" and like a knight, the boy becomes "sir c"
(felix is on the verge of committing a crime - the princesses can only have one knight, after all)
they walk as the the boy navigates the streets in the dark, and she asks whether he's from the academy, seeing his uniform
"of course i am! you could probably tell bc i look so smart, right?"
she snorts. "yeah, that."
she also comes to know that this guy,,,well he might as well be a tourist? she's out here asking stuff like "oh where's the statue of lady alphia?" or "aren't we really close to the museum where they keep the first emperor's sword?" and he goes "lady do i look like your brochure?? but if you turn right from here there's a cool arcade and across the street from there is the best street food vendor you'll ever eat from."
well at least mans had his priorities straight 😌
"so can you take this off?" he asks, pointing towards her dress once they've neared the store
um???????? sir tf????????????
anyways jettie has been living with lucas n her dad farr too long to not take this the wrong way?? "...no?"
the boy raises an eyebrow "look, it looks like an expensive cloak but i promise i'll return it, alright? i gotta hide my uniform."
ohhhhhhh. 😳.
so she unfastens the cloak and because he's kinda just staring at it cluelessly (he can't even tie his shoelaces fight me), jennette sighs and moves the clothing over his shoulder, fastening it in place at his neck
he's literally a tomato when she looks back up and realises that yes, we are way too close rn
bc she's ana's daughter, jennette by default cannot function when she's flustered. so she kinda stumbles backwards like a fish out of water (years of princess training n etiquette? where art thou??) and 'sir c' has to grab her forearm so she doesn't bump into the pillar behind her smfh
the shopkeep is definitely suspicious of this pair that's definitely too young to be out so late, but chalks it down to his sleeplessness
they escape the store with the ice cream before the shopkeep can ask any questions, and 'sir c' escorts jennette back to her hotel. he climbs onto the roof of the building, helping her up as well
(felix wishes he had a magic stone to capture this moment, this is the first time he's seen jennette become such fast friends with someone)
she stands on the roof (it hurts her butt so she doesn't wanna sit)
"my sister would be so jealous right now," jennette murmurs, "she told me her ideal first date would be either a picnic or something like a moonlit walk. we're having like a moonlit picnic."
it's silent for a few seconds the boy speaks up, "is this a date?"
oh-
oh.
"i mean- i didn't- i don't- uh."
give her some time lmfao she's loading
"i don't really mind that," he tells her, and she thinks she might just walk off the roof in her embarrassment - who just says something like that?? "you're probably feeling really lucky right now, right?"
jennette: ✊😔
he does look pretty in the moonlight, she admits to herself, listening as he excitedly tells her about his siblings at home and how she should send an offering to the gods since they gave her the good fortune to be on a date with the most good looking one of all four of them
in turn, she tells him about how she spent her childhood away from her amazing dad and had gotten closer to him recently, about her sharp-witted uncle, her sister and friends
(the 'friends' section includes felix and he's melting)
she smiles - it's almost as if, at finding out he treasures his family just as much as she does, they've gotten a bit closer
and he tries to listen. jennette had guessed that his temperament was somewhat like her dad's - her dad didn't know how to listen, always making his opinion known before anything else, though she supposes as emperor he could do that
'sir c', on the other hand, tried his best, his blue eyes focused on her as he almost burst from the unsaid words he was holding back, trying to let her finish. the sight was an odd mix of sad and insanely adorable that she couldn't help but let him tell her about everything he couldn't hold in
sensing she could pass out from her exhaustion nearly half an hour later, and 'sir c' escorts her to her window and helps her sneak in bc "what sort of knight would i be otherwise?!"
(felix can't stop shaking the entire night)
the next morning, jennette's heart is pounding as kiel shows her, athy and felix across campus - the chance is low, but still...
"ezekiel!" comes a voice, and the four watch as a turquoise haired boy waves down the alpheus heir "are these the guests you mentioned?"
kiel introduces the trio to johannes vastia before asking, "where's cabel?"
"at the training grounds, he asked if you could bring everyone there so he could show them around there."
"... they're my guests though?"
athy is quick to befriend johannes (i mean she and his sister are practically the same person, so) and at the grounds, jennette's blood runs cold
(so does felix's)
the brunette doesn't notice her at first, arguing with johannes about something as kiel introduces him as cabel ernst
jennette is hyperventilating?? actually back up is this girl even breathing??
cabel ernst from kiel's letters? the 'loud and obnoxious cabel ernst', who gradually turned into 'my acquaintance cabel ernst', then 'hardworking, passionate cabel ernst', and finally 'my friend cabel'?
she'd actually rather admired this slow build of respect between her friend and the ernst boy, and had even expressed her interest to meet him
"this is the first daughter of his highness prince claude de alger obelia, princess athanasia-" cabel mock salutes the princess before his mouth forms an 'o' and he remembers to bow, "-and here's the emperor's only daughter, her highness princess je-"
andddd his eyes widen comically "-hey, lady, it's you?"
yeah jettie is on the brink of literal death - her entire face reddens as this...cabel, grins at her
she watches as he glances behind her, "and you're the guy who was following us - sup?"
felix flinches "...you knew...?"
cabel shrugs. "i mean you do kinda suck ass at the whole subtle thing."
"don't say it like that," jennette retorts, "felix was trying his best."
"princess 😭😭 you knew as well?"
"uhhhh no?"
athy + kiel in a corner: 👁️👄👁️
they watch as cabel's eyes widen all of a sudden and he just,,,runs away
...🐦...🐦...🐦...
yeah well anyway he comes rushing back a few minutes later, a piece of cloth in his hand "...*huff* here *huff*...you go."
athy totally flips out "jennette is that your CLOAK???!??"
"uhhhhh no?"
"um do you realise uncle would literally wage war at this."
and as if it would make everything better,
"i washed it," cabel offers with a grin
"you didn't," the vastia heir deadpans
"i mean, johan helped a little bit."
kiel smiles murderously at the pair. "johan, did you know cabel took the princess out?"
"wait, you're a PRINCESS??"
your honour they aren't very smart
so the group orders some coffee (milk for cabel smfh) to find out what happened, cabel mentions "date" and everything goes to shit again lmfao
kiel and felix scheme against poor cabel while athy n johan get over that stage pretty quick ("listen. MY sister will be living with ME after the marriage and if your friend wants to be with her he'll have to come with us to obelia." and johan's just like "fine by me ✌️😊") and start planning the wedding
cabel + jennette dip n sneak out of the academy again to get the juice they couldn't the night before bc shit is getting awkward here
on another note, our uncle cius' musical intelligence is actually very high - he can probably play more instruments than i can name tbh, but he feels most comfortable singing and i shit you not, this man has straight up an angel's voice
(didn't like singing in front of others coz he was secretly a nerd and only knew old love songs with deep lyrics, athy found out and educated him)
jennette tends to have nightmares often, most often regarding their family - she's seen her father murder her uncle for the throne, and vice versa, athy admitting her affections towards jennette were a front to get the position of crown princess, her uncle killing her to solidify athy's claim, etc - her family is her everything, so despite however many times these horrible scenes play before her, she's left sobbing uncontrollably
and on these nights, she leaves for her father's room, who holds her close and sings her to sleep
also lucas n jennette are like sibling duo# 1,,, jettie is an active lucathy shipper even though he denies it sm - like their dynamic is just peaceful walks in the gardens as she watches the plants n lucas shi talks the nobility and kiel
claude and athy have a thing for each other's sleeping on each other? idk it's weird
athy once fell asleep on the couch while reading with him, and claude moved her head onto his lap so she wouldn't be uncomfy sitting - well, she woke up to his hand absentmindedly raking through her hair and it was just so soothing that whenever she's tired and he's working or reading, she just plops her head on his lap and zzzz
and claude wondered what was up with that, so she proposed they switch roles and he felt so awkward trying to lay down in front of her lmao
obviously athy noticed and she just started reading, thinking he might be more comfortable if her attention isn't on him completely - she ended up reading out loud while playing with his collar and he just,,,passed out
also anastacius has definitely pulled jennette aside regarding the issue of his heir at some point - she had been hesitant at first before admitting she wouldn't like to be the empress at all
i know we'd all love to see empress!jettie and her sister duchess!athy ruling the court, but i really really really can't see her wanting the title?
so thus start athy's empress lessons, but holy shit her teacher is mean
like this man makes me want to bash his face in?? so he doesn't like the idea of athy becoming empress over jennette at all, all bc of both hers and claude's mothers being commoners
he has one of those long ass sticks that you use in presentation to point at stuff?? idk but basically mans has athy name every region, its lords and their vassals during their first lesson
the first time she gets one wrong, she's too shocked as the stick meets the delicate skin of her forearm to react
now the thing is, wmmap!athy would probably stand up against this bc her dad is the emperor and she's his only heir, but i imagine with anastacius' social nature he holds many parties / balls where she's probably heard claude's mom + diana slander and it wouldn't be unreasonable for her to be self conscious abt it (now she's the emperor's heir while jennette, 100% royal + noble blood, is right there which probably makes her feel even less legitimate)
so she endures it, the light marks on her arms as well as the taunts of his she's too smart to not understand - perhaps this is the price to be accepted in jennette's place?
and honestly, no one really notices until at breakfast a few weeks in, where jennette mentions how her dresses are still so modest when sleeveless dresses were more in fashion - ana is suspicious because athy is always on top of these things, societal trends and such, and claude is sus from the way she hesitates slightly in her answer, "i haven't had the time lately, i suppose"
the lesson after focuses on ettiquete since everyone knows she's good at politics and such already, but now tears of frustration are pooling in her eyes because what the hell?? this guy had made an opinion of her long before he even met her, so anything she did would be wrong in his eyes
he gives her a sinister smile, "tired, princess?"
"no," she insists, keeping her voice level. he's about to spout some other nonsense, when anastacius enters the room, taking a seat across from her
anastacius watches quietly as athy answers the teacher's questions in her "public" voice. he watches as her usually cheery disposition is replaced by something far more...dead, despite the front she puts on for him. he's soundless as she hesitates in her answers where she normally would've been louder, more confident. he stops watching in silence when his niece flinches at the sight of the stick
oh.
he interrupts her lesson, not missing the way she winces almost imperceptibly when he grabs ahold of her arm, announcing, "we're going."
he just- it's just that that was the moment he knew for sure - the sight of his niece emotionally disheveled for the first time reminds him too much of how his own brother had once been, and he'd... he'd promised he wouldn't let anyone hurt his family anymore
he ends up taking her to the port with some of his advisors to welcome some royal guests, insisting that she would learn better from experience rather than books - but the guest delegation gets so boring that he sneaks her out of the meeting n they end up in the streets
now athy has no idea where they are, but apparently her uncle does?? ana has his hand on her head as he navigates the streets of the capitol as if he comes here everyday, using magic to casually disguise the two of them
in the meantime?
felix is at the port trying to cover for them smfh, he makes up this huge story about how the great wise emperor wanted to familiarize his heir with the locals, understand her subjects, yada yada
back at the palace prince claude is currently dragging a man by his collar and only upon jennette's insistence does he throw him in prison rather than literally kill him
(jettie visits him later in prison to give the guy a piece of her mind, after felix's visit he's sporting a few noticable bruises and the prisoner is practically unrecognizable once lucas visits)
back to athy + ana, they end up stuffing themselves with some super good street food as anastacius confesses that yes, he has definitely been sneaking out of the palace ever since he was a lil kid
athy almost mentions that she, lucas n jettie sneak out too but that might give him a heart attack, so
"it's so pretty, uncle cius," she says, gesturing towards the necklace he holds up. once he's paid for it, anastacius fists the necklace, opening it to reveal the jewel pendant - now imbued with his magic and replaced with gold lettering of the word athanasia
and she realises that yes, that's what both him and her dad have called her all her life, haven't they?
"you're my heir, athanasia," he uncle tells her with a small smile, "i am proud of that."
getting teary, she tells him, "i'm really proud of you too, uncle cius," triggering a very flustered + blushy anastacius
this mans craves validation - not from the sycophantic nobility, or the obsequious concubines he'd dismissed all those years ago, but from the family he thought he'd neither have nor deserve
and just the acknowledgement is so large for athy - he wants her as his heir, not because she's his niece, but bc he trusts her to look after his hard work after him??? - yeah she's totally bawling her eyes out
anastacius magics her a handkerchief but my mans magic isn't that strong?? lmao he's used up so much by now that the 'handkerchief' turns out to be some scratchy tissues
awkward amirite
nope! athy laughs at that, offering him a sip of her drink as she magics another straw and a proper handkerchief lmfaoo
n e ways so when they return, everyone's shocked to learn that the crown heir, princess athanasia will actually be joining the official circles as anastacius' temporary aid - he doesn't wanna entrust her to anyone but family, and decides that the best way to learn is by his side
(she's so confused bc lucas doesn't normally bat an eyelash when she wears the prettiest gowns, but he deadass can't look her in the eyes when she's in her aid uniform - it's more like a suit than it is a dress)
yes lucas women in suits >>>>>
everyone is STUNNED when at dinner, claude proposes they leave on vacation??
anastacius is just not having it?? like no, this is not my brother, and he throws a grape at claude to check if it's a clone or sum (¿¿how does that work??)
anyays so he ain't no felix, ana's aim is ass and it hits jettie instead
mans nearly gets on his knees to apologise
long story short everyone preps for vacation, but by some aCCiDeNt claude n athy end up at a different destination than jettie n ana, when she suggests returning to the palace to regroup, mans deadass sulks
"so you wouldn't like to spend this time with your father, despite barely visiting my office for weeks?"
o-oh
so at their return, the nobility starts pestering everyone that the princesses aren't independent enough, yada yada idc so to quell this annoyance, to the girls' joy, they get to move into emerald palace together, while claude and ana stay in the ruby and main palaces respectively
literally emerald palace becomes such a cool place to be in since it's the residence of the only decent people in this family, the brothers spend hours going through the requests of maids who want to be transferred
it's such a busy time because of athy joining the court and jettie starting her studies as well - naturally, since she isn't becoming empress, she'll be getting the duchy claude + athy were to be given in the beginning
speaking of futures, jettie's interest in plants and cooking has definitely branched out into herbs
claude notices her tending to a small garden during his visit to athy and even gives her a few tips (he had been studying medical since he was a kid, and picked it up again when athy was born and the empire stablised somewhat)
this soon becomes a routinely thing, and he actually starts reading up on some herbs and even orders a few for her prospering garden
after a month of her learning from books, claude proposes adding a medic as one of her teachers, and turns out his hunch was right?? she's excelling at medicine and they keep it between themselves for the time being
it doesn't last long though, bc they're on a hunting trip when ana injures his leg
and !! this girl istg, she gets to cleaning and wrapping the wound without blinking an eye, as if it's the most natural thing ever, and claude is just smirking while athy and anastacius and literally everyone else: 🌟💞✨jettie✨💞🌟
literal tears coming out of anastacius' eyes "how come my daughter is smarter than me😭💅"
claude: that's not a very high standard, brother
anastacius: ✨suddenly i'm an only child✨
behold, the people in charge of running an empire everyone 👏👏👏
even though jennette is claude's (unofficial) student and athy is her uncle's heir, they both ask their dads to the debutante
yes athy does dance with lucas, anastacius sent him an invitation even though he wasn't a noble (he's an active match maker 😌) and nobody dared question the emperor's special guest
at the end of the night, kiel gives jettie a letter from arlanta - it's an invitation to the academy during holidays, from a certain brunette
when she brings up the subject, felix lets out a squeak and literally everyone goes silent 😭😭
athy n kiel are just out here DARING him to spill them beans
but anastacius takes on look at his excited lil kid and decides that yups, she's going to get everything she wants
a/n: i literally don't know how many parts this should have lmaoo but y'all made it this far!! thanks for reading i hope you liked it<3
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quillsandtypos · 3 years
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Our Stars Collided- Part 1
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THIS IS THE SURPRISE IM WRITING A JATP SERIES AND IM SO EXCITED. This first one kinda sucks at first, but I swear it gets better the more you get into it.
Words: 2.1k
Summary: The reader has been wondering who the phantoms in the band are. But when she comes face to face with a phantom will she get her answers? (This does not follow all the events of the series)
Pairing: Luke x reader
Warnings: none, except bad writing
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You had lunch this period, you were one track minded in that moment, and b-lining for the cafeteria. But as you passed the lockers your half run nearly turned to a stop.
You had made eye contact with none other than the cute boy from Julie's hologram band. Except every single person in the hallway was acting like they couldn't see him. Which in their defense, they probably couldn't, you were probably going insane.
According to Julie they were holograms. But when everyone else had gasped in shock that they had suddenly disappeared, you continued to watch them. And yet no one else noticed. From that moment on you were convinced yourself that it had been a figment of your imagination. Until now, that was.
You figured it might raise suspicion if you continued staring into what everyone else believed to be nothing. So you hid behind a pole and watched.
Julie seemed to be just talking on the phone to everyone else. But you watched as she continued on her conversation with the supposed hologram. Their conversation wasn't anything interesting, it seemed to just be about what song they were playing in a few weeks; and the boy apologized for being somewhat difficult to work with. As you watched, another sophomore, named Nick approached. You peeked around the pole to see where the boy went and saw that he was staring right at you.
You flew back behind your hiding place. You felt your pulse quickening though you weren't sure if it was because you were afraid he'd seen you or for a different reason entirely.
After you'd calmed yourself down you opened your eyes, you saw the boy standing right in front of you, only a couple feet away. You clapped a hand over your mouth to keep yourself from screaming.
Wait, you can see me?" the boy asked. He sounded just as freaked out as you felt.
You nodded your head, with your hand still on your mouth.
The boy's eyes went wide for a moment. But then he looked like he was deep in thought. "Why can you see me?" he asked curiously.
Your expression went blank for a moment. How could you answer a question you didn't even know? Also did someone give you drugs, or was this actually happening?
"I have no idea, also are you even real?" You asked. You reached out to poke his shoulder, and you felt nothing. "Nope, I'm definitely imagining this," you said aloud to yourself.
You turned and started to walk away. "Wait!" the boy yelled.
"Yes, imaginary person who I have probably made up in my head?" you asked.
He talked as he walked to catch up with you. "I'm real, I'm very, very real. I'm just also dead."
You crossed your arms and faced him. "So you're a ghost?" you asked.
"Yes."
You crossed your arms. "So prove it, how do I know you're not a figment of my imagination?"
The boy paused for a moment to think. "Umm I know there's a student named Julie that goes here and she has fourth period dance class, and you probably don't know that, so how would a figment of your imagination know that?" After finishing his trail of thought the boy looked over at you with a hopeful smile.
You thought over it for a moment which was mildly difficult with that face looking at you. "Yeah, okay, that adds up I suppose." His smile turned into a slight smugness that he had convinced you.
"See, I told you I was real."
You pushed down the heat attempting to rise to your cheeks.
"But how?" you asked.
"Wellllllllll that's a little bit more of a complicated question," Luke explained, as he itched the back of his head.
Somehow, you were still getting more confused. "How is it complicated?"
"That's kinda a long story. But, I can explain some of it," he offered.
You gestured to him that the floor was his.
"Oh, not right now because I'm pretty sure I've made like at least five people think you're crazy already." He gestured around to people at their lockers who were staring at you.
"But I can tell you later, if you meet me at Julie's house, after school," he promised.
"Okay, yeah, I'm not doing anything, and I've been there before so I know where it is," you agreed.
"Cool! I never caught your name by the way," he mentioned.
"Oh it's y/n, and you are?"
"Luke, and I'll see you then!" He waved at you and in a poof he was gone.
It was definitely not a normal way to start your lunch. But you supposed that from the day that they had performed your life hadn't been normal.
Three hours later you found yourself standing in front of Julie Molina's house. You were silently hoping that this was the right house, because that would be a very interesting conversation if it wasn't. Luckily enough, Julie was the one who opened the door.
"Hi, um I'm here to see Luke?" you hesitantly asked.
"Oh yeah, he told me about you, come on I’ll show you where he is.” She closed the door and started leading you through a garden, as you tried not to read too deeply into what she had said. Eventually, you walked down a set of steps to some sort of studio. As she opened the wide white entrance doors you saw all three of the guys you had watched play with Julie a week ago.
You stood in shock for a moment. So you hadn’t been seeing things! You only came back to reality when you heard Julie say your name.
“Meet Reggie, Alex, and you already met Luke. So Reggie and Alex, meet y/n,” she introduced.
“Hello!” Reggie waved.
“Hi,” said Alex.
“Hi,” you responded.
“So now is your time to ask questions without someone thinking you are going insane,” Luke offered, as he sat down on a couch.
“Okay, so you guys are ghosts, right?”
The three all nodded their heads.
“But for some reason Julie and I can see you?” you observed.
“Yes, but we don’t actually know the reason for that. Or to a lot of things for that matter. But we think it might mean that you two are related to our pasts in some sort of way,” the one you remembered to be Alex, suggested.
“Okay, interesting. Do you know why people can see you when you play?” you inquired.
“No, I mean we think it’s because we are connected to Julie and that we are still connected with music, but other than that we have no idea,” Luke said.
You continued asking them questions for quite some time, until you couldn’t think of anything anymore. Granted, there was still a lot you didn’t know, but that was fine with you. Afterall, asking someone how they died felt a little too personal; even if they did make you think you were losing your mind for a week straight.
Eventually your conversation diverged into other matters like school, and music, and of course food.
“You play the guitar?” Luke asked in surprise.
You turned to him from a conversation you were having with Alex. “I mean, I’m not as good as you, but yes,” you admitted.
“Wait, you play guitar TOO?” Reggie asked in awe.
You had to laugh at the sudden fascination with you. “Yes, I do.”
Reggie seemed to be ecstatic. “You have to play something; here, use Luke’s guitar,” he offered.
Alex lightly slapped his arm and you watched the corner of your eye as Luke muttered something along the lines of what the hell Reggie.
“It’s okay, I don’t wanna steal someone else’s equipment, and I usually only play in my room by myself. Besides, you probably don’t wanna hear me anyways,” you pointed out.
“You don’t have to play, but that’s b.s. I’ve heard you’d play and you’re obviously talented,” Julie chimed in. You were slightly embarrassed but you accepted the compliment. Soon enough your conversation died down and it was decided that you should probably head back home as it was getting late. You waved goodbye to the boys and told Julie you would see her tomorrow.
As you ate supper, you realized that even though you had one of the most eventful days in history you could tell no one about it, including your family. Otherwise they would think you were just as insane as you thought you were. But you supposed there were worse problems to have then knowing a band that you couldn’t talk about.
As you got ready for bed you decided to bring out your acoustic guitar.
You started strumming before realizing there was a particular song you hadn’t played in a long while. It took you a couple attempts to remember the fingering for it, but once you did the music started to flow out of you.
“When the rain is blowing in your face, and the whole world is on your case. I could offer you a warm embrace to make you feel my love.”
You then jumped to the melody at a higher octave. You decided to go all out and sing it to your heart's content.
“I know you haven’t made your mind up yet, but I would never do you wrong. I’ve known it from the moment that we met. No doubt in my mind where you belong.”
You strummed a couple more chords before placing your guitar down. You turned around and came inches away from Luke’s face.
“Shit!” you yelled on instinct. You paused for a moment to make sure no one had heard you, but you didn’t hear anything.
“What are you two doing here?” you hissed.
Reggie was the first to open his mouth. “Well uh you see here, we actually have a very good reason for being here. Yep, and Luke’s going to tell you that reason.” He clapped his bandmate on the shoulder, and Luke glared at him.
“Y/n I’m really sorry, but he really wanted to hear you play. And I was super curious too, and we just couldn’t resist,” Luke apologized.
You took a look at them still wanting to be mad, but you couldn’t bring yourself to do it. They looked not unlike sad puppies.
You fake sighed, but you couldn’t fight the smile on your face. “I guess I can let you guys off the hook this time.”
“I swear it won’t happen again,” Reggie promised.
“Next time just knock instead of scaring the shit out of me, okay?” you asked.
“You got it, though I can’t say we won’t scare you. I mean we are ghosts,” Luke teased, with a glint in his eyes that you couldn’t figure out.
You amusedly rolled your eyes at him, “Whatever, Luke.”
The next day you couldn’t really focus on your clases. All you could think about were theories on why you could see Alex, Reggie, and Luke and why everyone else couldn’t. By the time lunch rolled around you were very thankful Julie was in the same lunch period as you.
“Hey!” she greeted you.
“What’s up?” you asked, shutting your locker.
“Just something I want to show you, follow me,” she gestured. You didn’t know where she was taking you but you just shrugged and went with it. She led you over to the next set of lockers and down a set of steps to a pretty much vacant part of the school. And once you turned the corner you heard a very loud ‘surprise!’
“Aeeehp!” you yelled in shock.
“Oh my god, you guys have got to stop doing that,” you said to the three.
“Yeah, they never do,” Julie sighed.
“But anyways, we brought you down here to tell you, drumroll please?” Julie requested.
They all started stomping their feet.
“We want you to join Julie and the Phantoms!” Alex announced.
“Wait, what?” you excitedly asked.
“Well after the little stunt that Luke and Reggie pulled, which I do not approve of by the way,” she sent a glare back at the two of them, “we had a band meeting and decided that we want you in the band, that is of course if you want to be in the band?”
You were positively beaming. “Yes of course I do! But what do you want me to do? You already have two singers and an electric guitarist.”
“Well we always have room for more singing, and I’m just lead guitar. We used to have three guitars in sunset curve, so why not in Julie and the Phantoms?” Luke questioned.
“I’m game if you guys are.”
“So you’re in?” Reggie asked.
You smiled brightly, “I’m so in.”
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