#did anyone read that one chapter haha. this has been kicking around in my head forever. most conceited post

[mybiasisexo]

Entangled - Part 1

Pairing: Chanyeol x Reader

Chapter Warnings: Language | Alcohol Consumption

Word Count: 4.2k

Author Notes: Hello! This is my first series!!!! Idkw I'm so excited, but I am. Nervous too aha. For the past 2 years this has been my damn baby, and tbh its taken me this long because I just love editing it so much haha. But its time to let this baby walk!

If you have read The Wedding, the first 2 chaps are p much the same, but i implore you to give these a read! I've changed quite a few things!

Pls enjoy :)

“You’ve been staring at that sheet of paper for days now,” Kang Seulgi, your best friend, and roommate, points out. She sits across from you at your pale wooden dining table, hands curling around the warmth of a chipped mug to press against the pout of her mouth. The elegant announcement currently clutched in your hands has your full attention, so you miss the judging lift of her eyebrow.

That being said, you do catch the amusement in her tone.

Biting your lip, you run a finger gently over the thick white parchment. In a dazzling gold script reads, “because you have shared in our lives and supported our love. We, Im Nayeon & Kim Junmyeon, invite you to our wedding….” Above the words is a picture of the two mentioned, smilingly sickeningly sweet at one another as their noses touch, arms wound around each other like the expensive ring around Nayeon’s finger.

You think you are going to be sick. 

“Have you RSVP’d yet?” Seulgi asks, oblivious to your inner turmoil. She swirls her spoon around her drink, the metal drags agonizingly against the bottom of her glass.

Her words yank you out of your dark haze, away from the invite that has been haunting you for days now.

“I will,” you answer simply.

She scoffs, eyes rolling in a dramatic flair. Leaning forward, she places her cursed cup down, focusing on you. “Honey, the wedding is in a couple weeks. You need to RSVP now before he starts harassing you. I’m honestly surprised he hasn’t yet.”

You wince. You know Junmyeon well enough to know it’s only a matter of time before he does just that.

“Do you want me to do it for you?” She gently asks. She hums and tilts her head questioningly. Reaching for your hand, she pats it comfortingly and it works in its purpose.

“Please?” You reply timidly. The relief is still evident in your voice, if her pretty laugh is any indication. You pout, rude of her to be getting a kick out of your evident distress.

“Who knew you hated weddings so much.” She shakes her head before pulling out her phone, typing away to Junmyeon no doubt.

You release a slow breath through your flared nostrils and give into the nagging temptation to peek at the invite now laying haphazardly on the table. 

No, you don’t hate weddings.

You just hate that yours wasn’t first.

You wouldn’t label yourself as a bitter person.

But ever since you received the rather abrupt news of the wedding, you have been consumed with bitterness.

Three years ago, you were planning your wedding.

You had a wonderful man in your life who you were mere months away from calling your husband. It was a relationship those around you envied, one that left little doubt for failure. Forever was inevitable. 

Unfortunately, forever was a lot shorter than anyone could have imagined.

Three years later and you now watch as one of your friends takes that dream of yours and makes it their own.

You’re happy for Junmyeon, really truly are, but his wedding is a grim reminder of your failure, only leaving you with this unanswered question:

Where did you go wrong?

“All packed?” Seulgi asks weeks later.

You nod, dragging your unreasonably overpacked suitcase into the living room.

“Thank god we’re not that close to Nayeon,” Seulgi muses. “We get to wear our own dresses.”

“And get to spend more time on the beach.” 

The both of you cackle.

Neither one of you dislike the bride-to-be, although in the five years you have known her due to her connection to Junmyeon, you haven’t really formed a bond any stronger than being acquainted. You always assumed she was probably intimidated by the fact you both were female and close to her boyfriend, bringing out that strange sense of competition, or boundaries, keeping you all from growing closer despite efforts made. She has a particular distaste for Seulgi, what with her being Junmyeon’s ex and all.

The term “ex” didn’t really fit what she is to him. More like a routine fling throughout college that fizzled out the moment he met Nayeon. The two were never official–although, you are sure, she wouldn’t have minded had they been.

“Speaking of people being in the wedding….” You begin. Seulgi, who is leaning against her suitcase that’s just as overstuffed as yours, stiffens at your tone. Her eyes widen, expectantly waiting for you to reveal the one thought that has been eating you alive since you received the invitation. You take a deep breath, here goes nothing. “Chanyeol will probably be there, huh?”

The color drains out of your best friend’s face.

“I didn’t even think of that!” She yells. Her hands cover her face in shock and she’s walking over to you in a hurry, pulling your hands into her now clammy ones, gripping them for dear life. “It won’t be a big deal, right? It’s been years! Plus, I heard he gained a lot of weight since his time abroad–you know how they like their greasy food there. Nothing to worry about! You look fantastic!”

Tears prick at your eyes as you swallow down the growing lump in your throat. Three years… and now you will have to confront the biggest regret of your life.

“You’re right,” you push through the ball of tears, feigning positivity. “We’ve had time to move on. We can totally be adults about this. I’m fine!”

You clear your throat as the crack in your voice echoes off the walls, it doesn’t ease the burning sensation.

“You’re more than fine!” Seulgi is quick to reassure, swaying your connected hands. “You’re successful and sexy and rich! He’s not worthy of the bottom of your heels.”

You hug her tightly, laughing at her attempt to cheer you up.

Once separated, you take a calming breath and try to smile. “Let’s get this show on the road.”

Your taxi arrives shortly after and the both of you wobble your luggage into the vehicle. Seulgi gives the driver the address to the ferry and you throw her a quizzical look. Her little sister is supposed to be joining you both as your shared plus one. Seulgi mentions something about her finding another way there and will be joining you later, much to your dismay.

The closer you get to your destination, the more your apprehension dims as excitement takes its place.

The wedding is going to be held at one of Junmyeon’s father’s swanky hotels on a beach in Jeju Island. You all had spent a spring break there your junior year of college and it was magical, for many reasons.

Despite the bittersweet memories, you are looking forward to being around beautiful scenery and old friends. Life, as always, gets in the way, and it has been a while since the whole gang has been able to spend some quality time together.

You all missed each other so much that you turned the wedding into an excuse to have a reunion vacation with the old gang. Well, minus Junmyeon who will be on his honeymoon. He did go out of his way to pull some strings to cheapen your rooms so that you all could stay longer, bless him. 

That’s all Seulgi and you can talk about on the ferry as you enjoy the cool early autumn breeze on your face, chilly from the stinging spray of water.

Finally, you arrive at the island and hail another taxi, bringing you to the vaguely familiar hotel.

Whistling slowly, you crane your neck, blocking the sun with your hand as you take in the hovering Greek inspired hotel.

“It’s bigger than I remember.”

“That’s what she said,” Seulgi mutters instantly, almost robotically as she squints up at your new home for the next few days.

Her words make you shake your head. “We’re not even with the guys yet and they’re already rubbing off on you.”

She winces, realizing what she just said. “Old habits?”

You both laugh and head inside, checking in easily. You can’t help but glance around every few minutes. One, because, holy hell this place is magnificent, all whites and golds and pillars and painted angelic sceneries on the high ceilings, seriously something straight from a fairytale. Two, because you’re keeping an eye out for familiar faces.

Your suite is on the sixth floor and your jaw drops at the luxuriousness that is your shared room.

“This is bigger than our apartment.” Seulgi states in awe. You agree with a nod, taking in the gentle fabrics of your bed and the rainforest showerheads–yes, heads, plural. There’s three to be exact–and the floor-to-ceiling windows that open up the back wall of the living quarters, revealing the tranquil scene of the beach you are going to undoubtedly be spending the majority of this trip at, hopefully intoxicated. 

You both don’t have too much time to gander, dinner is at seven and it’s already past four.

Junmyeon is a character for sure, so it comes as no surprise that his wedding will be running a little differently than the typical. That being said, the first of Junmyeon’s three day event is what has been deemed a ‘pre-ception’ party, where all the guests will be having dinner and saying hello to the lovely couple. 

Tomorrow, for those involved, will be the rehearsal, as well as the bachelor and bachelorette parties, with the following day being D-day. Both Junmyeon and Nayeon wanted to have a more western type of wedding, so they would be having a ring bearer, a reception, bridesmaids and groomsmen.

You got all of this information from your other best friend, who just so happens to be the best man to the groom, Oh Sehun. He has been texting you nonstop the past couple days, keeping you informed on Junmyeon’s big day. He didn’t want to outwardly lead it on, but you can gather just how happy he is for his other best friend, and takes great pride in having such an important role.

Making this a reunion trip is also his idea.

You are nearly a hundred percent positive Chanyeol is going to be in that group, but have been trying to ignore it and remain optimistic for Sehun’s sake.

After getting ready, you head down to the ballroom where the dinner is being held. It’s just as beautiful as the rest of the hotel. Wide, with gold and tan walls. The back wall has arched windows carved out to show the glowing sunset ahead. A string quartet sits in the far left corner. In that same area, against the far wall, is lined with rectangular tables piled high with different kinds of food, filling the room with a mouth watering aroma. Twenty or so round tables, each one with ten chairs, dot the rest of the floor. One more rectangle table sits at the front of the room where the future bride and groom sit with their close families. 

At least thirty people have already arrived, and you’re glad you decided on the olive-green floor-length silk dress that fell off your shoulders elegantly. Everyone in the room is of higher class and you know ‘cheap’ is a word none of them have heard in decades, if ever.

“We should quickly get our food and grab a table before they all fill up,” you strategize. You both bolt for the food, getting a bit of everything. Once content, Seulgi runs for the closest empty table, while you snatch two enormous unopened bottles of red wine, ignoring the way the server hesitantly tries to stop you, lord knows you’re going to need them.

Junmyeon and Nayeon stand at the front of the table at the head of the room. Junmyeon is glowing, it’s the only way to describe the smile on his face as he embraces everyone that approaches him. As you watch, his gaze is drawn over to you, locking eyes. You jump, startled, and he chuckles before motioning for the both of you to come over.

“Junmyeon spotted us,” you inform Seulgi, who is slurping down an oyster. She nearly chokes. You pat her back a few times as she drains her glass of wine in seconds.

“Alright, let’s go,” she coughs, rushing over to the star couple.

Junmyeon practically cheers your names as you approach. “Thank you for showing! I know it’s quite a distance from Seoul.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” Seulgi dismisses as he pulls her in first. You try not to study Nayeon’s reaction. You do catch her smile faltering briefly before they separate. Junmyeon goes after you next, arms wrapping tightly around your shoulders, swaying you both before letting go. 

“It’s so good to see you guys!” He continues in that gentle voice of his.

“Likewise,” you answer earnestly. It has been a long while since you last saw him.  “Congrats on taking the plunge.”

“Thank you.” Nayeon is the one to answer, wrapping an arm around Junmyeon’s waist. He tucks her under his arm and kisses her hair. You realize then that neither one of you had acknowledged her.

“Can you believe it?” Junmyeon asks in awe. “I’m getting married!”

“You are!” Seulgi cheers, a bit too excitedly. 

“You were probably the most against it amongst us all,” you say, nudging his free arm and you both share a laugh.

“Yeah, but love can change your mind on a lot of things.”

You smile at his words, trying, as always, to not make this moment about you. 

“So, where is the rest of the gang?” You ask, needing to change the subject. “I was sure Sehun would be here by now?”

“He’s here somewhere. I know that most of them just checked in, so they’ll be coming down a bit later.”

“Alright, well, if you see them let them know we’re here! We won’t keep you any longer.”

“Thanks for coming,” Nayeon says to your retreating backs.

You pause once you see a broad figure at your table, right beside the seat that you claimed.

“I knew it was your table because who else would have that much food on one plate? Not to mention the wine….”

You scowl and fold your arms. “Don’t be jealous we have fast metabolisms, Sehun.”

He laughs drily and meets your gaze through the dark strands of his overgrown bangs with mocking eyes.

“Don’t flatter yourself, Dear. You’re not as young as you used to be.”

You scoff and he breaks, laughing his signature laugh that can only be compared to a monkey. He at least tries to cover his mouth with a hand as his shoulders shake. You fight the urge to throw something at him. 

“Are you going to insult me all night or are you going to give me a hug, asshole?”

He swiftly gets up from his seat, his long lanky body hovering over you as he draws you into a much-needed comforting hug.

“God, it feels so good to see you,” he gushes quietly into your hair before pulling away. He’s only ever nice to you in private.

“I miss you every day,” you reply, not needing to say anything else for him to know what you mean.

Sehun moved outside of Seoul for his job two years ago, and since then you have only seen him twice in person. It has been hard on the both of you, since he’s like the big brother you’ve always wanted, and you the little sister he feels the need to protect. 

Sehun is a very stoic individual, not one to show emotion openly, but despite that, there was something about you that allowed him to let his guard down and open up to you rather quickly. Allowing you in during a time in his life when that wasn’t so easy for him to do. You did the same, and it brought one of the most meaningful friendships you’ve ever had.

He goes to greet Seulgi before heading over to the buffet with you trailing after him like an imprinted duckling. You refuse to let up, teasing him until you return to the table, with you sitting between your bestest friends in the world..

“Can you believe he’s actually getting married?” Sehun asks, voice light in mild disbelief.

“It was definitely unexpected,” Seulgi chimes in.

“He’s growing up,” Sehun, who is three years younger than the groom, sniffs. You rub his back comfortingly.

“He looks so happy,” Seulgi continues, attention given to the man of the hour. “I hope to one day be that in love.”

“Goals!” Sehun cheers sarcastically, causing Seulgi to cut her eyes at him.

“Shut up! I’m being serious!”

“I know you are.” He takes a bite and chews it thoughtfully. Once he swallows, he leans back into his seat. “But you’re right. He’s, like, the happiest a person can get.”

“It makes me want to throw up,” you mutter, tasting that familiar sour sting of bitterness on your breath. Sehun glances over at, concern painting his face. He catches your words despite yourself. He doesn’t make any move to get you to elaborate, instead taking another bite of his food.

A loud raucous gains the attention of all the attendees and you watch three guys collide into a server carrying a full tray of flutes of champagne. Everyone and thing goes crashing to the floor in a not so subtle entrance.

“I don’t know them,” Seulgi declares, shielding her face from the trainwreck unfolding to save herself the second-hand embarrassment. The boys try to get back to their feet, but it takes time as they slip on the expensive liquid, legs tangling together as they try to save face.

Now is the perfect time to take pleasure in your friends’ mortification.

“Byun Baekhyun!” Junmyeon hisses. “Kim Jongdae! Kim Jongin! What are you doing?”

The three finally pull themselves off the ground and are bowing profusely to everyone around them when Junmyeon’s stern voice fills the silence, causing them to all wince. Their faces turn beet red as they approach him with tails tucked between their legs. 

Your laughing only intensifies. Baekhyun hears it and immediately turns his head to glare at you. You’re mildly impressed by how easily he finds you, but then realize that’s pretty hilarious as well and double over, stomach knotting almost painfully.

Junmyeon pulls them to the side and reprimands them quietly for a moment before sending them off. They trudge over to your table, inhabiting the majority of the empty seats.

“Well, that’s one way to make an entrance,” Sehun says. Jongdae throws his upper body onto the table, arms sprawled out. His fingers nearly touch your food and you pull your plate protectively to yourself as he groans.

“Jongdae stopped suddenly and we were too close behind him,” Jongin explains with a pout on his little lips and you’re instantly filled with pity towards the man. Jongin out of all people doesn’t deserve this.

Sehun shakes his head. “I would say something, but it seems Junmyeon beat me to the punch.”

“He told us not to embarrass him further, or we’re out of the wedding,” Jongdae informs as he sits up. The same time Baekhyun orders Sehun to ‘respect his hyungs’ before going for Seulgi’s bottle of wine, pouring himself a glass. Seulgi watches in dismay, not enjoying the fact that she’s now apparently sharing. 

As surprising as it sounds, both Baekhyun and Jongdae are the eldest friends you had in college, alongside Junmyeon and one other. Despite their age, they often acted like the children, getting you guys kicked out of many places with their loud shenanigans. Jongin is the same age as you, Seulgi, and Sehun. How he ended up with those two crackheads this day is beyond you, though you’re sending your regards.

“Are you hungry?” You ask him. He sits on Sehun’s right, but that doesn’t stop you from stretching out some noodles from your plate, drawing it to his face before he can even answer your question. He smiles gratefully and takes a bite, humming in gratitude, and you have to resist the urge to coo at him. It’s actually hilarious because he’s a whole ass model! His nickname in school was Adonis because, well, he’s beautiful. When you first met him, not going to lie, you had a crush on him, but the more you got to know the gentle, soft, teddy bear, the more your maternal side came out. Now, he’s just a very well sculpted baby in your eyes.

“Where’s my bite?” Jongdae asks. Jongdae is an interesting character, to say the least. As previously stated, Jongdae, Baekhyun, and--fine, no need beating around the bush--Chanyeol were wild and free in college. Yet, despite him being loud and always down for a good time, he was brilliant, one of your smartest friends, and observant. He loves fiercely and is always aware of his surroundings. 

You shrug. “Make your own plate.”

“You’re mean!” He whines.

“You’ll give me a bite, won’t you, sweetheart?” Baekhyun tries his luck, tilting his head flirtatiously. Baekhyun is the mood setter. He has such a magnetic personality and can become friends with a tree, you swear to god. He was on a first name basis with all the professors--including the ones that didn’t even have him as a student. He’s so funny, can leave you in stitches with a simple facial expression, and gets off on making others happy. Despite being a social butterfly, he kept you all close, and there was no denying you were all the ones he chose to be his found family. 

You don’t even spare him a look as you point in the direction of the buffet. You hear him suck his teeth before Jongdae is smacking his shoulder, pulling him up so that the two of them can follow your instructions. Jongin scrambles after them once realizing they didn’t invite him and you chuckle to yourself as they try to shove him away, claiming that you can just feed him.

Nearly instantly, the seat Baekhyun previously occupied on Seulgi’s other side is taken.

“Yerim!” Seulgi shrieks, throwing her arms around her little sister.

“Nice of you to finally show up,” you huff, narrowing your eyes at her accusingly.

She has the gull to blush and grow shy. “I know, I know. We were supposed to come together.”

“Yeah, but then I get the news that you found someone else to come with? And some boy, no less!” You place a hand over your chest. “I’m hurt.”

“He’s not ‘some boy’.” She rolls her eyes before perking up. “He’s a man.”

“Oh, you look absolutely smitten,” Seulgi purrs. Yerim’s cheeks flare once more and you realize that she does, indeed, seem to like this dude, despite this being the first time you’ve ever heard of him.

Yerim is four years younger than you and Seulgi, and despite knowing Seulgi throughout all four years of college and meeting her family a few times during that time, you didn’t really grow close to Yerim until her sister became your roommate. She spends an awful amount of time in your condo, and you now consider her a sister of your own. She isn’t very familiar with your college friends, because once she was introduced you all had gone your separate ways, but you and Seulgi thought it would be nice for her to come to Jeju Island and  meet the boys. That is one reason why you are kind of confused as to how she was not only able to come here without you, but bring a date as well. Though, to be honest, it is very on brand for the wild girl.

“Well,” you begin, voice higher than normal. There are too many successful relationships going on around you lately. “Where is he?”

“He should be coming down soon. Have you all said hello to Junmyeon yet?”

“Yeah. Still in shock this is actually happening,” Sehun says.

You pinch the skin below his elbow, only accessible because he has the sleeves of his black button-down rolled up to his bicep, and he yelps. “Nope. It’s real, bro.”

He ruffles your hair in retaliation and you allow it because he’s letting you off easy.

He gives his attention back to the newcomer as the three stooges rejoin. “I’m Sehun, by the way. You’re Seulgi’s sister?”

“Yerim.” She smiles politely and shakes his hand. “I’m the prettier sister I know. You can tell her.”

He’s visibly taken aback by her words, not expecting them. Seulgi would never say something like that. But it’s only a second before he’s smirking, nodding appreciatively. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

She introduces herself to the other guys who do the same in return and you’re all chatting when a familiar voice chills your blood. “There you are!”

The body that belongs to the voice easily slides into the seat next to Yerim, using her shoulder to steady himself. “You saved me a seat.”

“Of course, I did, Honey.” She rests her much smaller hand over his that still cups her bare shoulder and you think you might’ve blacked out for a second. 

The whole table goes silent as the newcomer finally checks out who he’s sat with.

Once you lock eyes, the color drains completely out of his face and the fear you feel reflects deep within his irises.

It is him.

Park Chanyeol.

series m.list | main m.list

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[sweater-daddiesdumbdork]

Attack Of The Winter Wolf: Revealed

Summary- 7.7k Alpha Steve x Little One Reader. Steve and you pack up in the Stark Jet and head across the ocean, this time to Norway. Steve seems to think that there will be the answers needed to help your friends for good. Divider made by @firefly-graphics

Warnings- None

A/N- Those that have stuck with me through this, thank you. I hope this isn’t turning into a “what the hell are you trying to do Amber” kind of deal. Haha. I don’t have any real answers, its just whats coming out. Anyways, thank you for reading, as always its so appreciated to hear what your thoughts are on it. Happy Howling 🐺💙

Chapter Three / Masterlist

It was a rush the following morning, Steve and Tony were busy checking over the jet being loaned for the mission. Meanwhile Pepper showed you around the giant Stark Towers. The last time you had been here you were unconscious, not remembering any of it. Pepper’s heels clicking against linoleum, while you rushed after the fast paced Alpha who was doing two tasks at once. But once she led you on the elevator, hitting some buttons, she tucked her tablet under her arm, turning her attention to you with a relaxed smile. 

“Dr. Banner has been wanting to officially meet you.” She stated as an explanation for the elevator ride. Twiddling your fingers, you shuffled foot to foot a bit nervous, only knowing the doctor had been where Steve rushed you to first when Pierce injected you. 

When the elevator door dinged and the two of you stepped out to what looked like a medical wing. A dark haired man stepped out while flipping through a chart muttering to himself when Pepper cleared her throat. “Bruce, you have a visitor.” His head lifted, blinking at them from over his glasses frames, confused as to who would want to intrude on him. But then recognition crossed his features and he snapped his clipboard shut, striding over. 

“Y/N! Pepper told me Steve was coming back this way for help, and I was hoping he would bring you.” His hand popped out to shake yours. You welcomed it with a tilt of your head, drawing in his scent. A part of you recognized him, the hint of warmth and freshness. 

“ Dr.Banner a pleasure… Steve told me what you had done for me, thank you for everything.” 

Bruce sputtered a bit, giving a shrug. “Ahh, I wasn’t able to do much, just send you along to someone better able to handle what happened to you. Umm, do you have a few minutes? I just really would like to ask you a few questions about your experience. If you are okay with that of course.” He added almost shyly and you smiled reassuringly. 

“I have no problem with that Dr.Banner.” 

“Bruce please.” Bruce looked expectantly at Pepper who checked her watch and nodded. 

“We got time, Tony will have Friday call for us when the jet is ready.” Bruce immediately turned on his heels and led the two of you towards his office. 

Steve went through the jet, checking all the gear stashed on board as well as settling in the controls chair to make sure he was familiar with everything before leaving Stark towers. Tony plopped in the one next to him, making the Alpha in Steve rumble at the intrusion but Steve was able to placate him. 

“So off to Norway huh?” Tony leaned forward to enter the coordinates in the dash for the autopilot. “What's in Norway that can help you with everything?” 

Steve growled as he continued going over the controls. “You saw the file Fury sent along Stark. You know exactly who is there.” 

“Okay you got me.” Tony finished what he was doing and turned the chair to face Steve. “I also know he's basically a recluse now and the chance of you getting him to talk is almost nada, zip, zilch. What makes you think he's gonna spill what you need.” 

“I have my ways…” Steve said coldly, his wolf growling softly at the other Alpha in his space. 

Tony gave a mock shiver. “Alright alright… just be careful okay? I know we're not on the best terms Steve but I do have a lot of respect for what you are trying to do.” 

Steve arched a brow and shook his head. “We’re not enemies Tony, I don’t happen to agree or appreciate that stunt you pulled with Ross. But I think now my stance on that shit is known. We can disagree and still be fine.” Tony next to him brushed it off while continuing with the switches, making his own adjustments to the system. 

“I know Steve, it was still a shitty move on my part, bringing Ross into your home, where your mate was after everything that happened. But she certainly put me in my place.” He laughed, recalling how you kicked all of them out.

Steve glanced at Tony from the corner of his eye and rumbled out a “Thank you Stark, Y/N certainly isn't taking anyone's shit, not anymore.” Tony snorted in agreement to that statement. 

“I don’t think they ever do, Pepper is the same damn way.” 

Steve laughed in return, knowing full well that everything Tony said was accurate about Pepper Potts, Tony had chosen well for himself in Steve’s opinion. For all the tension between Steve and Tony, he respected the Alpha next to him, and knew that finding his packmates was just as important to Tony as it was to Steve. Not to mention finding those responsible for Happy’s murder. Steve turned his chair to face the other Alpha. “I’m sorry about what happened to Happy Tony. I know it’s hard to have lost someone who was family to you.” 

Tony blinked at him, warring with his own feelings about everything that happened. Losing Happy so brutally had taken a toll on Tony, finding the body having been dumped just outside of his territory, he still hadn’t been able to fully come to terms with it. “Thank you. Finding the bastards who did that has become my main priority.” Clapping his hands together to end the topic, he moved to a stand. “You Rogers are ready to go, ready to Captain my jet?” 

Steve waited till Tony moved out of his space before moving to follow him off the jet, keeping quiet about the further mention of Tony seeking out Happy’s killer. After seeing what had happened with Bucky and the rest, he already had his own sinking suspicions as to who killed Happy and he knew Tony did as well. 

“More than ready to go.” Steve stated, coming down the steps off the jet. Tony spoke up right then. 

“Friday, let Pepper and Y/N know that Captain Rogers is ready.” That caused Steve to roll his eyes and fold his arms over his chest. 

“Seriously Tony?” 

A smirk flashed, Tony winked at him. “Come on, I think it's a fitting title for you.”

Bruce was furiously writing notes while you described to him what you remembered being under due to the drug Pierce had injected you with when the AI Friday announced that the jet was ready, as well as Captain Rogers. You and Pepper quirk a confused look at one another, and she rolled her eyes with a sigh. “That's gotta be Tony’s doing I'm sure.” 

You nod in agreement, turning back to Bruce. “Looks like it's time for me to go Dr.Banner…” 

“Bruce.” He was quick to interrupt and moved to a stand to shake your hand. “Thank you so much for this.” He tapped his pad of paper where he had all the notes jotted. “I will put them in my file to share with Shuri. All this is incredibly helpful knowing more about the serum used on you.” 

Giving a vigorous shake back, you smiled genuinely at Bruce, you and your Little Wolf feeling quite relaxed with the man. “If I think of anything, I will be sure to send an email.” The Little Wolf flicked her tail in agreement, half listening while she was napping. 

“Oh! Yes please do with anything you might remember, no bit of information is too small.”   

Pepper walked out with you and joined you in the elevator. Reaching the top of Stark Towers, you both were greeted by Steve and Tony, who waited just inside the jet. As soon as you saw Steve, warmth washed over you, feeling that bond between you two hum happily, your wolves sought each other, in the moment they both were teasing each other, making your mood lift from having to leave once more. The genuine pleasure at seeing Steve melded that away, just as his own did, the wolves happiness being together melded with your own. Steve enclosed you in his arms, nuzzling the crown of your head a moment before questioning if you were all set.

“Tony Stark is funding another trip for us? I’m absolutely ready.” You joked as Steve let you go so you could turn to face Tony who scoffed at you. 

“Don’t let Cap here defile my jet please!” Tony was sure to give you his signature hug, that made Steve rumble a bit although you instead laughed and gave a bop of your shoulder. 

“No promises Stark. Pepper, thank you for showing me around your home.” Embracing her in a thank you. 

“Stay safe and bring my jet back quickly, Cap.” Tony pipped up while walking off the jet with Pepper, cackling to himself at the finger Steve threw up while the doors shut you two in. 

The Alpha muttered to himself while dropping into the pilot's seat and you were quick to join him on the opposite side. You buckled in while he flicked on buttons. “Captain Rogers?” you questioned watching him get the jet ready. 

Steve rolled his eyes as he made sure everything was set and handed you a headset while fitting his own on, the jet rumbling to life around you. “Tony thinks he is very slick, giving nicknames. Apparently Cap is his new one for me.” 

You smirked at him, winking as you settled the headset on and spoke into the microphone. “I think Captain Rogers has its benefits, Steve.” 

His hand went around the handle and started to push it forward, edging the jet forward to take off, the spanse of New York City below you. Much like the night before, you marveled at the beauty only a city could offer. “You would Little One.” 

A voice piped up over the channel, Tony coming over the comms. “I think your mate has a point Cap.” 

Steve growled into the comm for a second while you started laughing in the seat next to him. “Tony! Get off this channel.” 

“It's my jet, Rogers! I will listen in if I want.” He was about to continue when Steve took off his headset, setting the jet on autopilot with the coordinates. 

You snickered into the system. “Sorry Tony, Steve is cutting you off. Bye Stark.” You effectively cut Tony off and slipped the head set off, setting it aside while you leaned forward to get a better look out the window, unbuckling in the process. “You know since I have been with you Steve, I have seen things I never thought I would. Look at this.” You directed your gaze at the expanse of the sky before you, baby blue as far as the eye could see, the skyline rushing closer till the two of you crossed over the cities edged, now nothing but the Atlantic underneath you. “Beautiful.” 

Steve settled back to admire what you were looking at, letting some of his worries sink to the back of his mind. “It is… sometimes I forget you haven't seen all this before.” He held out his arm for you to join him, which you pushed from your seat and settled in his lap, his chin resting on your shoulder. “Do you remember much from the last time I showed you?” 

You perch on his knee and look over the dash, worrying your lip. “Mmh barely.” Your eyes roved over the panels while Steve dragged the tip of his nose along the curve of your neck, inhaling against it and letting it settle him further. Both the man and Alpha wanted to enjoy the long flight with you. 

“I guess we will be getting a crash course, Little One.” He rumbled happily while you seated yourself into a more comfortable position in his lap. 

You looked over your shoulder at him, your eyes laughing at his remark and bringing the exact response he wanted. “Really Captain?” 

Tightening his arm around your waist, he nipped at your lips with teasing affection. “Tony isn't the only funny one around here.” 

Steve spent a few hours describing the functions and some of how to fly. Together you both got to watch the sun going down and eventually you started napping in the copilot's seat, even though Steve tried to get you to go lay down in the back. 

These quiet moments, Steve wandered back to his memories, the Alpha in his mind lifting his head from the Little Wolf’s back where he had laid to rest, flicking his ears back and forth a bit at Steve’s thoughts. 

The first thing that came to memory was the stinging scent of smoke.

“Rogers, don't you dare go into that building!” Fury’s voice commanded Steve who stalled in the doorway, peering into Hydras base, nose flaring trying to catch scent of their missing comrades. “You are not commander in this mission.” 

“But Buck and the rest might be in there… I'm going” Steve defied Fury, darting into the darkness and out of sight, Fury's voice echoing behind him. 

“ROGERS! GET YOUR ASS BACK OUT HERE!” 

Steve continued forward, letting his Wolf out enough to sharpen his senses. His eyes picking up the bit of light in the darkened hallways leading deeper into the compound, his eyes glimmer dangerously in the dark looking for any sign of movement. He could sense others nearby, friend or foe though he was unsure. Footsteps silent, Steve once in a while looking behind him tense to make sure no one knew he was there. Glances in rooms showed them abandoned, cleared in a haste to get out before Shield got there Steve was sure. Ahead he heard scuffles and growls, chains clanking and the sound of voices in hushed tones. The Wolf lowered to his belly, quivering in anticipation should Steve allow him to take over. He eased the door open with a creak when relief washed over him. 

There men, most of them in large cages. Familiar scents washed over him and they all perked sensing Steve. 

“Rogers is that you?” Someone muttered while Steve approached, searching for a key anywhere in a nearby desk. 

“Yes, the rest of the troop is just outside. We haven't found anyone though. Where is everyone?” 

“Bolted man, once they heard Fury was coming they grabbed their shit and left. They didn’t have the bodies to defend this place.” Dugan responded as he pushed to the front watching while Steve searched the desk. Steve opened the last drawer, cursing as he pushed aside papers and flung them to the side. Then he was rewarded with a ring full of keys. Rushing over, the two men tried sorting through them, Steve stuffing them one by one in the locks, quick to go to the next till they found another. 

“They left us and their experiments.” Dugan continued filling Steve in while he tried to find the right keys. “Some messed up stuff, they are in the next room I think.”

The Alpha rumbled to catch Steve’s attention. <Bucky isn’t with them.> The mans head whipped up while the lock clicked finally, able to pry it open and release his packmates. 

“Where is Buck?”  

“Bucky… he was brought in there and never came back out.” another said, pointing at the door across the room.

The Alpha rumbled suddenly in an alert and Steve tensed and whipped around when an eerily sharp howl sounded through the building. Dugan pushed the door open, tensing as well. “That's one of them, their experiments.” 

Steve wrangled the keys out of the lock and started to go down the line, unlocking each cage, shifters passing him to get outside. 

“Fury, you have outcoming hostages, they are friendly, don't fire.” Steve spoke into the comm. 

“I hear you Rogers.” Came Fury’s voice in a wave of static. “Any unfriendlies?” 

“No, Dugan notified me they all bailed once they heard we were coming” Steve responded before turning to his friend. “Dugan, get the rest out of here, I’m going to keep looking.” 

His friend bared his teeth at him, bristling at the notion. “You don’t know what's back there Rogers.” 

“If I have to, I will retreat, get these men out of here. I’m not leaving anyone behind.” Steve growled back deeper, the Alpha in him asserting himself and the man backed off with a disgruntled nod. 

Waiting to make sure they were going to leave, Steve approached the door cautiously, using his senses to pick up what might be on the other side, who might be on the other side. He was praying for a miracle, because nothing but death filled his senses as he eyed the door, drawing in any scent left behind. It was all jumbled, multitudes of men and women have passed through the threshhold, making it almost impossible to pinpoint any specific person. “Well… let's see what's on the other side.” Steve shouldered through the door and a lab stretched before him, ominous equipment stretched on either side. A groan came from somewhere ahead and Steve paused till he heard it again. It was so distinct to him that the hair on the back of his neck prickled, the Alphas own fur raising as well along the ridge of his back, it was another Alpha, but this one they knew. 

“Oh thank fucking god.” Steve uttered as he rushed forward to find Bucky strapped down and Steve started pulling at the straps holding him down. Wires were strapped all over Bucky's neck and chest and stretched to attach to some equipment, Steve started yanking them off as well when finally Bucky started to come around. 

“S-Steve?” His eyes sharpened and he clutched at Steve's uniform, worried that he wasn't real. 

“It’s me Buck, we’re getting out of here.” Steve tried assuring him, keeping his voice light and calm even though he was far from that. He had never seen Bucky so scared. Suddenly the howling started again from the back of the room and both men glanced that way. 

“Whoever it is just keeps doing that.” Bucky muttered when a voice crackled in the comms. 

“In-ing” then static sounded in Steve's ear, making him wince as he pressed his hand over his ear. 

“Repeat? What was that Fury?” 

“In-oming! G-t Ou-” The building started to shake and lights started zapping and popping around them. 

“We ca-t hold hi-, Get O-” Fury yelled into the comm but Steve had to rip it out, electricity zapping through it and breaking it up too much. Bucky gripped Steve tighter, his pupils blown in his panic. 

“What the fuck is it now?!” 

“I don't know… but we gotta get out of here.” Bucky started pulling Steve towards the exit, but whatever was in the back rattled its cage with a savage snarl, and Steve couldn’t leave who ever or what ever it was behind. He stuttered to a stop, Bucky pausing at the door with a shake of his head. 

“Man, we got to go… there isn't enough time.” 

Steve’s hands dropped to his pants and felt madly for the keys he had stuffed in his pocket earlier. “We can’t leave him in there Buck.” He waved his hand. “Go, I got this.” 

Bucky cursed but held tight, refusing to leave Steve behind.  

Steve raced towards the cage to free whatever was inside, shoving the key he used before into the lock and it clicked to open. Glowering green eyes blinked at him from the shadowed part of the cage, but he couldn't make anything else out in the seconds he got the door open. Bucky was screaming his name and when he managed to get the door to swing wide, a bundle of black sprang on his chest, bared white fangs yawning open going for Steve’s throat….

“Steve- Steve?” Your voice cut through and he shook his head a bit to clear it before looking at you. 

“Sorry, I thought you were sleeping Little One.” 

“I was, but the computer started beeping on the dash.” You pointed to a blinking light and Steve leaned forward to check the system, smiling. 

“We're here and just in time to. Look” He pointed out the window at the faint purple in the skyline, the sun easing up beyond the cloud cover to turn a brilliant red and orange of dawn. When Steve took over, he started to drop the jet down. Below the clouds the land turned a deep almost emerald wild green shimmering with mist stretching like tendrils to a spiderweb over the land, still in the early morning phase of waking up. 

You weren't lying earlier when you said you saw things you had never expected. From the rainforest and safari of Wakanda to the lush greenery of Norway, you soaked it all in with awe. So long spent locked away in a room, gazing with longing at the upper windows that offered nothing more than peeks of the sky. Now you soared over the world with your Mate. Even the Little Wolf was in awe, slithering away from where the Alpha was half sleeping and prancing excitedly with joy at the adventure. The Alpha stretched out, arching his back and padded heavily after her, nuzzling her affectionately while her tail waved back and forth, unable to stay still in her excitement. 

“The Little Wolf is excited.” You told Steve and he winked at you. 

“I can feel it. What do you say we take her down?” 

Steve easily maneuvered the Stark Jet down to land in a wide open field bordering the ocean. You followed him towards the doors swinging open and already wolves appeared from the long grass with tilted heads checking out the newcomers. You sidled up to Steve’s side a moment, watching the wolves dart back out of sight in the tall grass and heard their howls break the silence, announcing their arrival. It was a welcome sound, you couldn't detect any hostility in the notes. But their songs were so different. Sounded much older, almost like a language all its own. 

Steve cupped his hand and gave a sharp “We’re here” yip, that was answered resoundingly from all around you, the pack having circled you two and remained just out of sight. His arm lowered around your shoulders and you held your breath, unsure of what to expect. A bellow came, joyful and loud as a tall blonde man, even taller than Steve stepped out, his arms opened wide in greeting. 

“Why what a surprise! Are you here for the Asgard hospitality? I didn't think anything would ever get you to leave your corner in the world.” The over sized man strode towards them rather quickly, and the closer he came the more your eyes widened. You didn't think you had seen anyone who was as bigger then Steve in stature. He clasped Steve's shoulder and directed his joyful gaze down at you. “And who is this lovely maiden you bring with you?” 

“If I could be there, trust me I would. This is my mate, Y/N. Y/N, this is Thor, the Alpha here.” Steve protectively wrapped an arm around you, even though you wore his mark for Thor to see, Alphas always had a bit of tension between them no matter how much their human counterparts tried to quell it. 

Thor though seemed unaware of such a vibe as he beamed down at you warmly. “Well Little Pup, welcome to Asgard.” He took your hand in a vigorous pump and you couldn't help but warm right up to him and his exuberant nature. “We run free and feast like we are in the halls of the Old Kings here.” He swept the both of you down the path and all around his wolves started to howl and dance in a joyful manner, playing among each other much like they were participating in the Full Moon Run. “Now Rogers does tell me what has been going on across the water? It's been a while since I've visited there.” 

“Afraid we have been having some issues.” Steve started, filling Thor in on the recent attacks, taking apart the packs and capturing the Alpha’s. The viciousness in the attacks and the destruction left behind. Thor listened patiently until Steve mentioned Hydra. That's when he paused, you and Steve having taken a few steps ahead but noticed he wasn't with you. You turned to see him glowering. 

“That's why you are here, Rogers, isn't it? Because of Hydra. He wont talk to you about it you know.” 

Steve sighed and you had a sinking feeling about the situation, not fully understanding what was going on. 

“I have to try Thor, your brother was the only one who was able to break from the collars power and the mind shit Hydra does to their victims.” 

“He barely interacts with any of us Steve, he mostly stays as his animal out there.” Thor retorted, the sky started to darken slightly and you frowned to yourself at the sudden change in atmosphere while glancing up. 

Steve sighed, letting his arms hang loose at his sides to show Thor he was no threat to him. “I know Odinson, trust me. I wouldn’t be here if there was any other way. Packs, families are all being killed off, Alphas removed. How long till you think it will be till it comes over here?” Steve pointed out and Thor’s face twisted and he looked away. 

“It won’t be like before, I won’t let it.” 

“You don't know that… Shield risked sending the Howling Commando’s over here to help your people, now I’m asking for your help. Just let me try talking to him?” 

Your heart twisted as you saw Thor try to control his emotions on his face and you reached out to touch his arm, Steve for once kept quiet, inhaling deeply to keep himself in check. “Hydra really hurt him, didn't they? If it's too much we will just leave. Right Steve?” 

“If you tell me absolutely not Thor, she’s right. We will leave right now and not bother you again.” 

Thor glanced back at you, his eyes searching yours and you could see everything he was doing was about protecting this person. You bit at your lip nervously, you knew you were invading this Alpha’s space but stepped in closer anyways. “Please let us try? We just want to save those we still have left. Our packmates are fighting a losing battle with Hydra, we don't want to lose them.” 

A sigh escaped the man and he glanced over your head to Steve. “You're lucky you have her you know… she’s softened me. Slightly.” You stepped back towards Steve, who now laid his hand around your waist, chuckling softly. 

“You really don’t know half of it, she has a gift.” You wriggled in his hold a bit but he just tightened his fingers against you. “Thank you Thor for letting us try.” 

He shrugged at you both with a shake of his head. “I'm still saying that he wont talk to you, but I will show you where he stays when he is not hunting.” 

Steve gave a nod of appreciation while you reached for his hand and gave a light squeeze. “Thank you Thor.” You gave your own sentiments. 

The man looked at the two of you a moment, his eyes falling to your linked hands and motioned across the moors. “This way…” He cupped his hands, giving another howling song and the wolves joined them, spreading around Thor, these wolves were even larger than Mountain Packs wolves, giant beasts that were moving gracefully around there Alpha. You could feel the ground beneath your footfalls vibrating from there movements, the lush grass swishing to add to the melody of it all. Above them the thunder still rumbled with strong booms that cackled with electricity but had retreated from the fierceness it had flared up earlier. 

Your Little Wolf kneaded her paws next to the Alpha, lifting her head to inhale the air around them, it spoke of a wildness she was not used to. Something feral that did not adhere to normal pack constraints. The Alpha rumbled next to her, now and then dropping his muzzle to his mate to reassure her, but the pull to shift for both of them was strong. 

You could tell Steve felt it as well, the way he angled his body close to yours in a protective manner, his hand moving from a simple hold to pressing against your hip, wrapping around you. You tilted your head up towards Steve, your confusion clouding your features. He dropped his head to press a nip to your neck, whispering softly just for you. “I will explain later.” 

Thor paused in front of a wood that looked ancient, the gnarled trees had stories to tell. Shadows played deeper beyond the edge, enticing you to wander in. Your Little Wolf huffed slightly, breaking the enchantment you had fallen into. 

<This isn't just a forest Y/N, something powerful lives here.> Her ears flattened and you could feel her unease and the Alpha’s wariness sharpening, his ears pricked forward before twisting listening. 

What is it? You questioned your Little Wolf and she whined unsure. You felt the Alpha slip away, in the same moment Steve tilted his face up, his nostrils flaring. You knew he was scenting for any kind of danger that might come from the old forest.

Next to you Thor boomed out loudly, making it echo. “Come out Loki!” You and the Little Wolf perked, hearing the woods shift and groan, shadows danced closer when a streamlined black shadow emerged to turn solid, the beast was streamlined. His size shifting to grow larger in the presence of you and Steve, a sharp pointed muzzle turned towards you and ears twitched with interest as he took you both in. You were a bit taken aback when you saw Loki, but he paused just after the forest ended and you could see the tip of his nose twitching, green eyes with almost emerald qualities glinting with the bit of light that somehow seemed to filter from the thunderous clouds still rumbling above you. 

What do we have here? An omega to Rogers? A true Omega? Oh what a prize he really does have here. I wonder if he knows… A voice tickled your senses and the Little Wolf spun in your mind, searching for the intrusion. The Alpha returned to the Little Wolf, curling around her with a growl and a laugh echoed through you, not one that belonged to you. 

“Steve…” You whined a bit and he furrowed his brow looking at you, confused as well as to what was going on, feeling you through your bond. 

“Rogers is here to talk with you Loki, come out and quit playing games Brother.” Thor folded muscular arms across his chest and the black canine shimmered an emerald green while disappearing in a wisp of shadow and a sharp yip barking out from nowhere. 

A resounding defiant No. 

Thor shook his head at Steve. “Loki won't interact with Alphas short of me Steve, not since Shield pulled him from Hydra.” 

The Little Wolf unweaved from the Alpha when she heard Thor. 

<Y/N, we’re not an Alpha. Maybe he will talk to us.> 

Steve would never allow us to go in there alone. 

<It's the only way, Loki won't talk to Steve. He's too much of a threat to him. Say something, that big Alpha doesn't seem scared that Loki will hurt us.> 

You took a deep breath and while Thor and Steve discussed other options, you turned to the men, catching there attention. “Let me go in and talk to him.” Steve immediately barked out a no, but Thor tilted his head, considering what you were saying. “I'm not an Alpha, he won't be threatened by me, right Thor?” You pressed for an answer from the man and he nodded. 

“Your Little Pup has a point, Rogers. Loki wouldn't hurt her. I will escort her inside so she’s protected the whole way.” 

Steve felt his chest expand as he drew up to his full height. “I'm not letting Y/N go in by herself, I know you trust your brother, but I don't.” His eyes flared yellow, the Alpha close to the surface with concerns of your safety. You could see that he was winding up to call all this off when you reached up to grasp his face between your palms, tilting his head to look directly at you. 

“Alpha trust me, I know I can do this.” You stressed to him, the furrow in his forehead deepening as you knew he was at war with himself. “If anything is wrong, I will call you. Let me do this.” His hands circled your wrists and you felt that war inside of him. The same one where it was ingrained in him to keep you safe at all costs. It was all right there, flooding through the bond you two shared, your confidence, his worry. Steve huffed slightly before lifting his gaze from yours.  

“Thor, give me a moment with my mate please.” Steve requested and Thor moved away, closer towards the border of his brother’s forest, his broad back turned towards the two of you while he waited. “Little One, if something happens. Loki isn't a normal wolf…” 

“I could tell that as soon as we came near here.” You let your fingers press through his beard on his cheeks and slide down to his neck, sure to rub his scent against you in the process as well as sharing calming touches. “But he has the answers we need, Alpha.” 

Steve knew you were right, but the inner battle was fierce. The Alpha wanted to protect his mate, an animalistic need to not let you go into that forest, every fiber of his being was on edge because of it. His human side knew you could do this and get the answer to save their pack mates. You were confident, he needed to trust you like you asked. 

<Don't you let her go in there with that Alpha. What is Loki going to do to stop us.> 

Loki is not all Wolf as you well know, he won't tolerate the intrusion. 

The Alpha bristled aggressively, licking his muzzle over and over nervously. <We won't be there to protect her should he turn on her.> 

But Thor will be… You know as much as I do that he wouldn't let any get hurt in his care. 

“Trust me Alpha.” Your fingers trailed along the mark you had left on him, your mark that made him belong to you. The most sacred of bonds a mated pair could share and made in the utmost trust that you two would take care of each other. 

She is asking us to trust her. If we can’t trust in our mate, then what hope do we have? Steve was firm and the Alpha had to concede to him. 

Steve moved his hands to your face, cupping the most important part of his life gently in his palms as he inhaled deeply and tipped his forehead against yours. “Little One, if anything happens, anything at all, call for me. I will come get you.” 

The corners of your mouth lifted and he saw it go to your eyes, pride and strength that your Alpha was trusting you to go in his place. “Of course Alpha.” You lifted to catch his lips, nuzzling your nose against his. “I know you will come for me if I need you.” You embraced him fiercely, Steve let his nose bury in the crown of your head and then let you go against his instincts. The Wolf rumbled, anxious as he paced watching you reach Thor. His eyes reached the other Alphas. “Thor…” 

“I understand what is at stake. No harm will come to her, I swear it.” 

You looked so tiny next to the man, your head tilted up to look at him with a warm smile and Thor's tilted down to look back at you. Steve watched the same warm smile cross Thor's face, making your mate proud of you, how easily you had already won Thor over. You had come so far from the runaway he first met and your warmth spread so easily to those around you. Maybe Loki wouldn't be immune to you. 

The moment you stepped into the forest with Thor, it darkened. Looking over your shoulder, the emerald green sea of the moor was almost a picture racing away to be enclosed by old tree trunks. You licked your lips nervously and folded your arms around your body, sure to keep up with Thor. He was confident in his strides, the darkening vibrant woods was just as much home for him as the windswept open land you two left behind. 

The Little Wolf was curious in the new surroundings, pacing and keeping a keen eye on everything you were hurriedly passing by trying to keep up with Thor. 

You weren't wrong that the forest had a life all its own. It seemed to breathe around you, moss stretched across large boulders that sprang tendrils of plant life curling upwards to try and reach sunlight. Heavy thick trees were bristling against your palm and almost seemed to heave in sighs at your gentle touch. Thor glanced back at you, golden tendrils clinging to his face now and his eyes crinkled in watching you loosen from your fear into awe. 

“You feel it, right?” He chuckled and you withdrew your hand from the tree back to your body. 

“What do you mean?” 

“Its soul, the magic in it all.” He braced against a tree and inhaled deeply. “All of this is very alive as you and I, it's old and has been standing long before we claimed this as home.” 

You tentatively touched a nearby tree again, feeling tingles in your palms, making you shudder a bit. “It is certainly… like home, but not quite.” 

Thor nodded with a wink. “Still a baby over there, your packs are just starting to write the stories that will live on after you are gone. One day they will have a life of their own, just like this one.” 

Your brows quirked at his words. He's a funny man isn't he. 

Your Little Wolf curled her tail around herself as she sat down. <He is, but I like him. This place feels like we belong here.> 

There does seem to be a certain calling to be here… 

You two continued on and you risked another statement. “Loki is not like you, is he?” 

Thor shook his head. “No, he is not. But you have no need to worry Little Wolf.” He paused while he glanced around, inhaling sharply. “It's just me and Y/n, Brother, come out of hiding.” 

“I'm not hiding, I can't help that you are not a more observant Brother.” A cool voice came from above and your eyes shot up to a long legged man lounging in the branches, looking almost like he couldn't be bothered. Thor snorted impatiently and motioned towards you. 

“Y/N has some questions for you.” 

Vivid green eyes fell on you and a cool grin formed as he moved to sit up and slide down. He walked in such a predatory way, almost circling you. The Little Wolf's hackles raised at him and you hitched yourself straighter. You felt that tingle in your mind again. 

Why is it your Alpha is sending you in here for Omega? My brother is right, you are just a little pup aren’t you, so new to the world...

You snarled out loud, glaring at him. “You are not welcome in my mind, and I’m no pup.” And a quick withdrawal left you and Little Wolf alone once more. You could feel your Alphas curling warmth in your mind, even if he couldn't be with you. 

Respect crossed Loki's features and he bowed his head. “Forgive my intrusion. It's not often I'm sought out, except by Thor that is.” Thor barked out a deep bellowing laugh, clasping your shoulder. 

“You can't use your tricks on this one, she is small but fierce. Her Alpha has great respect for her.” 

Loki gave a slight sniff, his green eyes sliding over you as he remarked. “I’m afraid you are right.” 

You shrugged out of Thor’s grasp now, wanting the answers you came for. “Loki, our packmates have been collared by Hydra. Steve seems to think that you know how to break from their control. Please, is there any way to break the hold they have on them.” Loki suddenly appeared next to you, his fingers catching a lock of your hair and pressing it between his fingers for a moment as if further inspecting you. You jumped and pulled away from him, making Thor growl a warning at him. But you narrowed your gaze at him, knowing well that he was testing you. You had seen it all before while living with Pierce. “Don't touch me Loki, only Steve is allowed to. How did you do that anyways, appear next to me?” 

His fingers swirled slightly, green wisps dancing around his nimble long fingers. “Magic Dear. I'm part Coyote, a Trickster. Sure your Alpha told you?” 

You shook your head. “No… He doesn't talk much about his life in Shield.” Your Little Wolf crooned in comfort, knowing sometimes you were worried about how he would be so vague about it. 

“Well it was a dark time for the shifters.” Loki admitted and glanced at his brother. “I don't much like discussing that time either.” You clenched your jaw a moment, worried he was going to flat out refuse your requests but he dipped his head. “But for you Dear, you boldly come out here without your Alpha, that deserves to have your questions answered. Come…” He beckoned to you and led you away, Thor was not far behind. Soon a small dwelling came into view and the door yawned open, which Loki stepped in. 

Inside was different from what you were expecting. Books lined shelves upon shelves, seeming to go on forever. Plush chairs were dotted near a fireplace and wooden carvings dotted the entire area. Wood shavings littered the floor, making you smile a bit because it reminded you of your Alpha, the fresh wood scent enveloping you. The place was cozy, almost like something from a story book. Of course, this whole experience was making you feel that way, like some sort of fairytale your mother would have told you before bed. Thor heavily fell into a nearby chair, quiet as his brother waved at a seat in offering to you.   

Loki approached a shelf and whispered under his breath till a box fell into his hands. Easing it open, he pulled out a collar. Silver strands weaved together into an intricate design. “This one was mine, but it stopped working on me after a time. So it was just useless metal. Why Hydra had kept me caged when Steve found me.” He handed it to you and you were caught by surprise at how light it was. Studying it closer, you could see twists of coarse black fur wedged through it where it sat on Loki’s neck. 

“Why did it stop working?” You asked curiously and Loki settled down in one of the seats. 

“Simple, I willed for my freedom. Most of the wolves have such a strong desire to follow an Alpha. Even the Alphas themselves can be forced to follow a stronger one should they come across one. Hydra didn't know I wasn't a Wolf, not completely. I can't be controlled in the same way for long. But it's that simple in how to get your wolves back. Your Alpha has to challenge them for control. Assert that he is stronger than the one controlling them with the collars.”  

You handed his collar back to him and Loki flicked his wrist to send it back to the box, the box flashing away in the same green blaze you had seen earlier. “That's all it takes?” You asked incredulously. Loki shrugged with a nod. 

“Hydra though is led by someone who has a power that no Wolf should have. It's how they are able to control such a large and secret organization for such a long time. But such power can always be challenged.” He drifted off, looking away into the fire he had burning in the fireplace. 

You let the silence sit for a few moments before speaking up. 

“Why wouldn't you talk to Steve?” 

Loki gave a slight roll of eyes. “I don't care for Alpha’s, they always feel the need to challenge and dominate. I've dealt with that enough in my life. I choose to live on the edges of my own Pack, still a member should Thor need my assistance and the rest leave me in peace.” 

“Then why me? You seemed interested in me being an Omega.” The Little Wolf stopped her pacing for just a moment, head tilted in curiosity. 

“Because true Omegas do not need to dominate or be controlled by anyone.” Loki turned towards you, his head tilting into your direction. “You might always submit to your Alpha, but that's a choice you and your wolf make together, consciously or not. If you were to ever truly want to defy him, you easily could. It's why you were able to make me leave when I was exploring your mind.” You rolled your eyes a bit at the trickster, clearly not believing him. A life time of being made to submit to Pierce against your will and the recent incidents with Steve... you felt he had you mistaken. “ You can roll your eyes at me all you want Little Pup, but I know what I’m talking about. Omega’s can be a threat to Alpha’s or for the right one, there everything. Really depends on the Alpha they are connected to. So I like you Little Omega, you are a challenge for me.” He winked and you rolled your eyes, but couldn't help the smile you gave to him. After all was said and done, you liked the Trickster. 

“Is there anything else you can tell me? How did you get the collar off?” You asked and Loki motioned towards Thor. 

“That was me. After Fury contacted me that Loki was with the Howling Commando’s Unit, I went to bring him home. I can provide you two with a special knife made to deal with unnatural made materials.” Loki rubbed at his face and his front door sprang open, a rush of air billowing into the dwelling. 

“Now I have answered your questions Omega, I can feel your Alpha pacing my border anxious. It's getting on my nerves. Return to him so he can settle back down.” 

You nodded, letting your senses open a bit and sure enough Steve was anxious, although far physically, you could feel him. Nodding as you approached Loki, you held out your hand to him. He eyed it a moment, and then slid his own in yours respectfully to give a shake. “Perhaps soon we will cross paths again, Little Omega.” 

“Perhaps we will Trickster.” You bid a final goodbye and now you left a bit more at ease, having the information you and Steve needed to save your family. 

#alpha steve x little one #alpha steve rogers #the pack #attack of the winter wolf #shifters fan fiction #marvel au #wolf fan fiction #captain america fan fiction #amber writes #sweater writes #steve rogers au

[dottielovegood]

ASMR - Chapter 4

Elriel fanfiction

About this fic:

Azriel can’t sleep Elain has an ASMR channel Match made in heaven (or you know, on youtube..)

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You can find chapter 1 here, chapter 2 here and chapter 3 here

Read this fic on AO3

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The following week, Azriel read Elain’s messages too many times to admit. He had answered her that “meat banjo” was, indeed, a vile word, and after that, they hadn’t really talked or texted.

He had saved her number as “Elain”, which had felt weirdly private. As if they were friends, which they were not. He was just her friendly helper, and she was his remedy for nightmares.

However, even though they didn’t know each other, Azriel felt an odd sensation in his chest when he thought about her. If he didn’t know better, he would have thought that he was missing her, which was absurd. But the tight little knot in his chest felt very much like longing. He tried to tell himself that this was weird and stupid. He knew that he had a crush on her (even though he hated to admit it), but he could also see that it was a pointless crush. She was an internet sensation, he was a boring IT guy. She was light and happiness and flowers, he was dark and brooding. She made people smile, he made people uncomfortable. And then there was the practical side of things. They had met on the internet. She probably lived on the other side of the country. Hell, she could even live in a different country for all he knew. She might have a partner already - it’s not like he asked. And, last but not least, she probably didn’t have a crush on him.

Before talking to her on the phone, he had just thought that she was a pretty girl that deserved kindness. But after their phone call, he had definitely developed a crush. Which was another reason why he hadn’t texted her. He didn’t want to bother her and he didn’t want to have this crush. He wanted to stop feeling like this for a girl he would never see in real life. Yet, every night before bed, he found himself on her youtube page, watching one of her many videos.

She uploaded a new video to Youtube every Friday, so when Friday came around, Azriel was itching to get home so he could go to sleep (he told himself that he was looking forward to sleeping and not to seeing her face).

However, he had an entire workday to get through first. The office was mostly an open landscape and Azriel’s desk was next to Cassian’s. The only person with his own office was Rhysand, which was fair since he was the owner of the company. At two in the afternoon, Rhys poked his head out of his office.

“You guys are still coming for dinner this weekend, right?”

“Yeah,” Azriel and Cassian answered in unison.

“I told Feyre that I would help her with the food,” Azriel continued.

Rhys looked like he was going to kiss Azriel. “Oh, god. Thank you, man. I was scared that we would have to repeat the Christmas dinner,” he said and shuddered.

Feyre hated to cook and Rhys did most of the cooking at home, but for some inexplicable reason, she always wanted to cook for holidays or family dinners. To everyone’s dismay. Christmas had been no exception. She had burned the turkey, added salt instead of sugar to the dessert and somehow managed to buy the wrong berries for her cranberry sauce. Luckily, Rhys had been prepared and bought a few frozen pizzas and some ice cream, so the day wasn’t that much of a disaster, but nobody wanted to brave Feyre’s cooking again.

“Why don’t you just cook?” Cassian asked without looking up from his screen.

“You know that she kicks me out if I so much as go near the kitchen when we have these family dinners. And since she started the hormone treatment, she has been a bit bitchy when she gets mad, so I’ll just do whatever she says.”

Azriel chuckled. He could tell from Rhysand’s tone that Feyre had been more than “a bit” bitchy.

“I don’t understand why she lets Azriel help, though…”

“Maybe because she knows that I’ll tell her to sit down with a glass of wine and a magazine, and then she can take all of the credit for the food?”

“Fair enough.” Rhys shrugged. “Just burn the food a little bit, or it won’t be believable.”

Cassian snorted. “No one would believe that something edible was made by your wife. Sorry.”

“She does make a great green smoothie, though,” Rhys grinned and held up his glass.

Azriel and Cassian looked at each other and had to bite their tongues to keep from laughing. The smoothie looked vile and smelled even worse.

After a few more minutes of small talk, Rhys went back to his office for an important phone call. “See you on Saturday,” he reminded them before closing the door.

Azriel and Cassian worked in silence for the remainder of the day.

When Azriel came home that evening, he made a quick pasta carbonara to eat in front of the TV. He was re-watching New Girl. It was his comfort show and absolutely nobody knew that he watched it (and had watched it multiple times). He would take that information with him to the grave. But it was fun and cute and sometimes he liked to imagine his friends as characters in the show. Cassian was probably Schmidt, because Nesta was one hundred percent Cece. Feyre was Jess, which meant that Rhys was Nick. And then there was Azriel. He wanted to say that he was a very cool character, but most characters on this show weren’t cool, and also, he was definitely Winston. Alone with a cat - sounds about right , Azriel thought to himself as he finished his bowl of pasta.

When the episode ended he just waited for the next to start. He didn’t have any plans for the night and nowhere to be. His phone vibrated where he had left it on the kitchen counter. He ignored it, feeling too lazy to get up. But then it vibrated again. With a sigh, he got up. He expected to see a text from Mor telling him to bring wine tomorrow, or maybe a strange meme from Cassian. What he didn’t expect was to see Elain’s name on his screen.

He could feel his heart in his throat as he read her messages.

Elain Hey, Shadowsinger. I’m uploading a new video soon. You should watch it!

Elain I hope that message didn’t sound creepy? I just meant that I think you might like it.

Azriel’s hands were sweaty.

Azriel You didn’t sound creepy at all. Of course, I’ll watch your video. May I ask what I can expect from it?

Just seconds later, Elain answered.

Elain You can ask, but I might not tell ;)

Azriel Should I be worried?

Elain Haha, no! I think it turned out great. You were my inspiration :)

Azriel could feel himself blush. He had never been someone’s inspiration before.

Azriel So, I’m your muse? ;)

Oh god, was that too flirty? Was the winky-face too much? He wished that he could take back the message.

Elain For tonight, yes!

Azriel stared at his phone, unsure of what to answer. Luckily, Elain wrote to him again.

Elain What are you doing tonight?

Azriel Nothing. Just eating pasta and watching TV. How about you?

Elain That sounds amazing. I have been editing this video for hours so I’m just tired and cranky, haha. I have just ordered a pizza and I think I’ll just eat it in bed as soon as this video has finished uploading. What did you watch?

Azriel If I told you, I would have to kill you.

Elain Oh, intriguing! Is it trashy drama? I bet it’s Grey’s anatomy! Or maybe… Love Island?

Azriel stared at his phone. Did she really think that he would watch something like Love Island?

Azriel I watched New Girl, okay. Don’t tell anyone.

Elain Your secret is safe with me! Also, I love New Girl! Especially Winston!

It felt as if someone was squeezing Azriel’s heart.

Azriel Really? Which character would you be?

Elain My pizza is here so I am going to put all of my electronics in a different room and eat my pizza while reading a good book. It was great talking to you, Azriel! Please tell me what you thought of the video when you have watched it.

Elain Oh, and I would probably be Winston’s cat. lol

Azriel almost dropped his phone. If he had to be alone with a cat for the rest of his life, he would definitely want Elain to be his cat , he thought to himself. Which was a weird thing to think about someone you didn’t know. Azriel dropped his head to his kitchen counter and took a deep breath before replying.

Azriel It was great talking to you too, Elain. Enjoy your dinner and your book :)

She didn’t answer, but she didn’t have to. Azriel was going to be thinking about her for the rest of the night anyway.

30 minutes later, he got a notification telling him that Flower Girl ASMR had uploaded a new video. The video was called “ASMR for IT-guys”, which made him chuckle. He clicked the video and Elain’s beautiful face filled his screen again.

“Hello, my lovelies, lovelies, lovelies,” she whispered in her microphone. “This week’s video will be a bit different,” she continued, slowly moving her hands in front of the camera. “This video was inspired by my friend who recently helped me with some computer-related issues, issues, issues.”

Azriel loved it when she repeated words like that. And he liked that he somehow was a part of this video. It was something that connected them. Azriel paused the video and got into bed, knowing fully well that he would probably fall asleep soon if he kept watching this.

He pressed play again. “So, today, I thought that we would try a few computer-related triggers. I have a keyboard here,” she said and started typing on a keyboard that was out of view. “I thought that I would say a few trigger words while typing them.”

She smiled at the camera and pressed a few more keys. “I just wrote my friend’s name, but you won’t get to know who he is. But you know who you are. Thank you for your help!”

Azriel felt all warm inside.

She continued the video. “The first trigger word is IP address ”. Azriel laughed as she repeated the word multiple times while typing quickly.

“And then we have, laptop, laptop, laptop,” she continued, and Azriel felt shivers go down his spine when she popped the p’s.

Azriel had never thought that he would fall asleep to someone whispering “HTML coding” in his ears, but here he was. Relaxed and ready to sleep.

All thanks to Flower Girl ASMR.

━━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━━

The next day, Azriel texted Elain that he had loved the video. He waited for hours, but no reply came. Maybe she just wanted to repay me for helping her? Azriel thought. Maybe she would stop talking to him now that he had seen the video.

The thought of never talking to Elain again made him feel a new kind of ache in his chest. An ache he didn’t want to feel. This stupid crush needs to end, he muttered to himself as he started to scrub his kitchen counter. He tried to ignore the feeling by keeping busy. He cleaned his apartment and did some laundry before heading over to his friends’ house.

Rhys greeted him by the door and ushered him inside.

“She started cooking like 15 minutes ago, please save whatever can be saved,” he whispered to Azriel. Azriel chuckled and made his way to the kitchen. On the way there, he passed the living room and stopped to greet his friends. He saw most of them on a daily basis because of work, but he was still happy to see them. Cassian and his fiancée Nesta sat close together on one of the green velvet couches. On the opposite couch sat Mor and Amren. Mor was one of the journalists at Velaris News, and Amren was an editor. They had known each other for years. Amren and Rhys had studied together at university, and Mor was Rhysand’s cousin. Once upon a time, Azriel had a crush on Mor. One night after one too many glasses at Rita’s he confessed his feelings to her and she had looked horrified. He had expected her to tell him that she didn’t fancy him and leave it at that, but instead, she had blurted “I like girls!”

Azriel was the first person she ever came out to, and he had felt honored. He also knew now that they wouldn’t have worked out together in the long run (even if Mor had been straight). They were just too different. She was energetic and outgoing and fun, he needed peace and quiet. But she was still one of his very best friends.

Amren on the other hand, he didn’t know as well. She had always been very private, but she was damn good at her job.

“Where’s Varian tonight?” Azriel asked Amren, trying to make small talk.

“How should I know?” she answered quickly. “I’m not his mother.”

Cassian stared at her. “But you are his girlfriend?”

She shrugged. “I don’t like to label things.”

Nesta rolled her eyes. Amren had lived with Varian for the past two years, but she was still reluctant to tell anyone about their relationship.

Azriel made his way into the kitchen, and from what he could tell, he made it just in time.

“What are you making, Feyre?” he asked, because truthfully, he couldn’t tell.

Feyre turned around quickly as if he had startled her. “Oh, hi Az,” she said and wiped her forehead with the back of her hand.

Something was burning.

“I was trying to make lamb chops with glazed carrots, roasted potatoes, and salsa verde, but…” she gestured to the stove, which looked like a disaster.

Azriel chuckled. “That’s ambitious.” He lifted the lid from one of the pots and could clearly see that she had overcooked the lamb 10 minutes ago. Also, why had she made them in a pot, and not a frying pan? It would be inedible.

The potatoes were still in the sink, unpeeled.

She gave him a strained smile. “Will you help me?”

“Of course.” Azriel put the grocery bag he had brought with him on the kitchen island. “On one condition.”

“Anything.” She sounded desperate.

“Please, for the love of god, let Rhys cook when we come over. You really don’t have to show off. You are good at many things, Feyre. But cooking is unfortunately not one of them.”

She nodded. “I know,” she sat down on one of the stools at the kitchen island and buried her face in her hand. “I just...I need to be able to cook when I become a mother.”

Azriel took her hand in his. “You really don’t. Nobody expect fathers to be good at cooking, so why should every mother be good at it? Honestly, just let Rhys cook while you play with the kids.”

She smiled at him. “That actually sounds amazing,” she sighed.

“Right?”

Azriel started to pull out some ingredients from the bag on the kitchen island. He held up the tomatoes and the spaghetti, “How about some pasta arrabbiata with burrata?”

“Sounds fancy.”

He shrugged. “Everything sounds fancier in a different language. It’s just pasta with a spicy tomato sauce, and burrata on top.”

“Whatever you make will probably be better than that mess,” she said and glanced towards the stove. Azriel couldn’t disagree.

“Probably,” he laughed and got to work. Azriel placed all the pots and pans in the sink and started chopping the vegetables for the sauce, and in just 30 minutes, dinner was served.

“You are my hero,” Feyre said and kissed his cheek as she carried the big bowl of pasta to the dining room.

Everyone had already gathered around the table, wine glasses in hand. As Azriel sat down, Mor poured him some wine.

“This looks amazing,” Nesta said and Cassian nodded in agreement.

“Thanks, Az helped a little,” Feyre said and winked at Azriel.

“Just a bit,” Azriel said and took a sip of wine.

The conversation (and wine) flowed freely, as it always did. Cassian and Nesta told them about their wedding plans, Mor gushed about Emerie, a girl she was dating, and Feyre told them about life as a high school art teacher. Azriel would never understand how anyone could choose to spend their days with teenagers, but Feyre loved it.

After two bottles of wine, Nesta and Mor were in an argument about which animal was the cutest.

“No, I am telling you, Sloths are cuter than any animal ever,” Mor exclaimed. “Have you seen their dopey little faces?”

“Sloths? Really?” Nesta looked at her as if she had suggested that the sky was green. “Red pandas are way cuter! They are cute and cuddly, Sloths just look like every single stoner I went to high school with.”

They had been at it for 10 minutes, which Azriel found to be quite impressive.

“Can you both just shut up?” Amren gritted out. “The cutest animals are koalas. They’re even cute when they fight. I am right, you are wrong. Please stop this meaningless discussion before I die from boredom.”

Nesta and Mor looked at Amren, and then at each other.

“We obviously have to see Koalas fight if you want us to end this conversation,” Mor said.

Nesta nodded. “Obviously. Give me your phone, Az,” she said and reached for his phone.

“Why do you need my phone?”

“Because mine is dead and yours is right there on the table. Also, your screen is big and we need to watch this in full HD, for obvious reasons.”

Azriel huffed a laugh, unlocked his phone, and handed it to Nesta.

She clicked the Youtube app, and then her face fell. She looked at Azriel as if he was an alien, and then she showed the phone to Cassian who looked at him with the same facial expression.

What the hell had they found?

He didn’t have anything weird on his phone. And he sure as hell didn’t watch porn on it.

“What?” Azriel asked, and Nesta turned the phone.

Fuck. The last video he had watched was still loaded on Youtube, and of course, it was Elain’s latest video.

“What the hell is this?” Nesta asked, almost looking angry.

Azriel didn’t understand why she found ASMR so wrong, but he desperately wanted to explain himself.

“Well, it’s ASMR. It’s kind of… well, it’s hard to explain, but it helps me sleep and– “

Nesta interrupted him before he could finish. “I know what ASMR is. I am wondering why you are watching Elain?”

Azriel stared at Nesta in shock. Did she also like Elain’s videos? But that wouldn’t explain the anger and confusion.

“Do you...know her?” Azriel asked.

“Yes, we went to university together. She’s our florist for the wedding. She was the florist at their wedding, too,” Nesta answered and gestured towards Rhys and Feyre. “Surely you have met her?”

Azriel could do nothing but shake his head in confusion. If he had ever met Elain, he would have known. You didn’t forget a face like hers.

“Please tell me you’re not stalking her like some creep, Az. Honestly, her last boyfriend was the world’s biggest asshat.”

“I’m not stalking her,” Azriel blurted out. “I’m just watching her videos to fall asleep, I promise. I– I didn’t know that you knew her.”

Nesta eyed him suspiciously. “So, is this just a coincidence?”

He nodded. “Weirder things have happened,” he said, trying to lighten the mood.

Nesta glanced at Cassian, and then back at Azriel. “Fine,” she said after a small eternity. “You would probably be cute together anyway. Sorry for insinuating that you would be a stalker.” She really did look remorseful. “That wasn’t fair. I’m just very protective of her. She’s the nicest girl, but she has horrendous taste in men.”

Azriel couldn’t answer, because his mind was still stuck on the fact that Nesta said that they would be cute together. He wanted to ask Nesta why she thought that. He kind of also wanted to ask her if Elain lived here in Velaris, and what her favorite movie was, and if she, by any chance, had a boyfriend. But he refrained, he didn’t want to sound like a stalker.

“So, what the fuck is ASMR?” Cassian asked. “Is it like porn?”

Before Azriel could answer, Rhys said “It’s like porn for your ears, I guess,” and then the entire table was laughing.

“Nesta,” Feyre said when the laughter had died down. “Does Elain still have that cute, little shop on River Street?”

“Mhm,” Nesta answered and took a sip of her wine.

Azriel could kiss Feyre for asking. And if he wasn’t mistaken, he could see her wink in his direction before raising her water glass to her lips.

Azriel walked home that evening with a million thoughts in his head.

He made a list in his head:

Elain lived in Velaris

River Street was literally a 10-minute walk from his home.

Nesta thought that they would be cute together

This meant nothing

She probably didn’t even like him back

Just because they were in the same city, it didn’t mean that they would ever meet.

This was still just a crush

And it was probably one-sided

She hadn’t even answered his latest text message.

And as if on cue, his phone vibrated in his pocket.

Elain I’m sorry that I didn’t answer you earlier. I’ve been at work all day. We had a leak in the basement and everything was just chaos. I haven’t even checked my phone until now.

He mentally scratched number 9 from his list.

Azriel No worries! Did you fix the leak?

Azriel checked the time on his phone: 23.30

Had she dealt with this leak until now?

Elain Yes! But so many flowers were ruined (I’m a florist) and I had to remake a few arrangements for a wedding that’s coming up.

Elain I’m sorry. You probably don’t care. I’m happy that you liked the video :)

Azriel wanted to tell her that he did care. That everything she said was interesting to him. He would probably even find her Starbucks order fascinating. But that bordered on stalker behavior.

Azriel Again, no worries! Sometimes when you’ve had a bad day, you just need someone to vent to.

Elain Exactly! Thank you for letting me vent :) This day is finally over!

There was a selfie attached to the last message.

Elain was standing in front of a big window surrounded by flowers. She was wearing a white, oversized shirt and her hair was in a messy bun. She looked tired but happy. She was giving him ‘thumbs up’ in the photo and through the window, he could see the Sidra. They were indeed in the same city. It made him both happy and nervous.

Elain Sweaty but happy to be heading home :)

Azriel received that last message when he walked through the door to his apartment. What the hell was he supposed to answer?

But then he thought back to Nesta’s words.

You would probably be cute together.

So he took a deep breath and gathered all his courage.

Azriel You still look beautiful though

He stared at his phone. Would she answer? Would she block him? Would she tell him to stop being a creep?

Elain Thank you :) What do you look like? I might have forgotten ;)

Okay. That was flirty. Even Azriel could tell that that was a flirty text message, and he was usually oblivious to such things. He quickly walked to his bathroom (it was the room with the best lighting). He checked his shirt (no stains) and mussed with his hair.

“Good enough,” he muttered, and snapped a selfie.

Before he could chicken out, he sent it to her.

Within seconds, he received a reply.

Elain Beautiful!

#elriel #elriel fanfic #acotar fanfiction #acotar #elain x azriel #elain archeron #azriel x elain #azriel

[thefallenbibliophilequote]

Welcome to New York

Loki x Reader

1989, chapter 1

"We begin our story in New York"

Summary: It's hard to find the one, but even if you do find him it's always going to be a daily struggle to make it work. Can you even make it work after he broke your heart? The answer to that is complicated, but it all started when you found each other again in the stark tower- and that's where our story begins.

Word count: 2,306

Warnings: language as always

A/N: I have wanted to tell this story for so long but I was insecure I will ruin it. I am still not sure if my writing is good enough for this. But this is my idea and my story to tell, so with a little confident boost from my mutuals here we are. For all the non-swifties: The whole 1989 album has hidden messages but this one is different because it all combines to tell one story. the link to the song is down below!

A/N 2: thank you for @sweeterthanthis for giving me the encouragement, and to @slothspaghettiwrites for beta reading this alongside @nacho-bucky and to @chrissquares for making me custom dividers especially for this series! I love all of you!

No one is allowed to repost my writing or steal or copy my work! Reblog on tumblr is fine.

Series masterlist

song on Spotify or YouTube

"Do we have a deal then?"

"You assisted us, and our motives align- we will get those powers." The man closed the long suitcase, the red skull on it shining through the dimmed warehouse.

They went their separate ways after that, he heard the loud noise through the wind before it got quiet yet again, the wind was howling as he carried his case close to his chest, protective of it.

•

 You walked through the crowd of New York, through the rushing people until you saw the doors to the big Avengers tower. After all this time you still weren't used to the extravagant halls, but you will have to eventually. This is your world and now this is your home.

Your powers were of no use to SHIELD, so after a long debate, you started to work with the avengers, being there every day and not living there seemed unreasonable- so you finally gave in to Tony's offer. "Your room here will always be waiting for you." He told you until you took him up on it.

Perhaps this additional new start will be good for you. You decided to abandon the past behind you a long time ago.

"Y/N dear, so glad that you're here," Tony hugged you and ignored the loud yells coming from his phone. "Set up in your room, then come down here, we have a special visitor."

"Oh okay, anyone I might know?" you smiled at him.

"No, he is not really important." Tony scrunched his nose and escorted you to the private Avengers elevator. You waved at him as the doors closed.

You ignored the bright lights and walked in with a smile into your new room, leaving all the past behind you as you shut the door. So here it was- your own little space all fresh and new- your small little corner in the tower. Well, it wasn't little by any means- if anything it was an apartment, but it was still yours.

"Hello new home" you said to yourself, looking at the four corners with anticipation of what's to come.

"Hello Miss Y/N" F.R.I.D.A.Y chimed in, causing you to laugh. You dropped your bags on the floor and went to unpack all of the boxes that were already there. Your music was playing at full volume as you danced around your room until it was clean and filled with all your favourite things.

"I'm glad to see you're settling in." Natasha's voice startled you and you turned around with burning cheeks. "Those are quite some dance moves."

"Haha very funny, you didn't see anything." You rolled your eyes, stupid spies. "What do you want?"

"Nothing, just came to see how you were doing, the room looks great." She smiled at you and giggled as you hugged her. "Finally you're here for good! Tony wanted to throw you a little welcome party."

"Tony? Little? The only time those two can go in the same sentence is if you're talking about height."

"Don't worry I talked him out of it. Besides, he was soon occupied with Thor when he got here- you haven't met him yet now did you?"

"Thor? Like the god from Asgard?" you stared at her in shock, but she just laughed at you.

"Yes, but don't worry he is really nice and surprisingly down to earth."

"Tony said he is not important." You let her lead you as the two of you made your way downstairs.

"Of course he did."

•

"He is doing better, he is even courting a young maiden, I am certain their marriage will be arranged soon." You heard the booming voice getting louder and louder. "Loki is on the right path I assure you, my friend."

Your heartbeat sped up more and more, but you willed yourself to look more put together when the god was in your sight, sitting on couch that seemed so little now, next to Tony and Steve.

"Thor, meet Y/N," Steve introduced you to the god and you nodded to him as he shook your hands.

"It is very nice to meet you Lady Y/N" Thor smiled at you, and you relaxed a bit.

"It's nice to meet you too. I am not a lady though." You chuckled.

"Well I have heard high praises about you so I assure you that you are." He spoke with such certainty that you decided not to argue it.

"Well she might look sweet, but don't piss her off." Tony snickered.

"Hey, I won't do anything." You stared at Tony who was quick to fix his mistake.

"She will kick your ass in training, trained by the Black Widow herself."

"That I can confirm." you looked at Natasha and winked.

You sat with them for a chat then. You might have been a different person before everything went down but you always did have manners even if you wanted to adjust in your room. You shook your head when Tony's phone ringed and he hastily took Steve and went out with him.

•

"What's up with this surprise mission?" Clint asked as he walked onto the quinjet, with his combat suit and his arrows. It has been ten minutes since F.R.I.D.A.Y alerted you of a new mission. You were already on your way with Steve, Tony, Clint and Maria Hill. You were on edge by the fact that she's here, clearly, some things about this mission were left unsaid.

 "We are going to get some intelligence from an underground building we found," Maria answered instead of Steve.

"If that's the case then why am I here?" her eyes turned to you now, you could see her calculating an answer.

"Because the place is not abandoned at all, it is full of agents but we don't know what we are there to pick up, and we need the people there alive." Tony replied.

"Oh fun, I get to keep hydra agents alive." You took in the new information, something was still off about this mission, but you'll probably figure that out soon enough.

The snow was heavy as you walked through it; your daggers were safely tucked inside their pockets, not wanting to accidently draw attention to yourself with a glimmer of light.

According to Tony the small warehouse that was on the ground was mostly empty, so you advanced forward with Tony from above, searching for any devices that may lay hidden in the snow.

So Tony went down first, then Clint, then you, Maria and then Steve. You exited into a big area underground, you could already hear the hydra agents coming your way so you split up, as Maria and Steve went to find whatever it was they were trying to find, the three of you provided backup and tried to clear rooms.

The four of you got to the doors, and as Tony blew up the doors you moved in, pulling your weapons out at the soldiers. There were only seven of them there, but with the sounds of the fighting and the gunshots, it was certain that your presence was known.

"Y/N there are three scientists coming your way, keep them alive, to a certain degree at least- whatever you want." you heard blasts from your earpiece and you smirked when you saw the scientists in front of you. When you saw the guns in their hands you smiled at them.

"Hi," you advanced towards the first one, your eyes caught his- he saw the glimmer in your eyes and in panic he raised the gun and shot forward. You dodged it and quickly came closer, gently taking the gun from his hand keeping eye contact with him until he dropped to the ground and closed his eyes. "I hope you enjoy my gift."

The other two scientists tried to fight you but soon their eyelids closed and they fell with a silent scream. You sighed and grabbed the back of their coats and dragged them to an empty room, oh what you wouldn't give for some telekinesis now.

The mission had to go on. So you got up and went to show some other agents your gift. Another agent to the kill, he screamed as he looked at you, the machine in his hand shattered and he fell to the floor before you were even near him. Shit. You relaxed him a bit when you reached him, his shaking calmed down a bit. You didn't mean to show him that much, but he brought it on himself- it was really easy to find with this one. Every weakness played as if it's a movie in your brain, you showed him just some parts of it now, and paralyzing him until you'll bring him out if you will at all.

"Y/N we need you here, leave them where they are- Tony will pick them up."

"Are you kidding? I kept them in a safe room for nothing? They are some heavy sons of bitches Steve!"

"Language," Steve sighed, you smiled. "He was busy then but now we need you, we found what we were looking for, but there are too many of them here, they will ruin the weapons."

"Or use them on us."

You came here for weapons? You jump a story down and advanced towards Steve and Maria.

"Go loose on them, they'll survive, we can't lose what they may have here."

"You don't even know exactly what they have there?" you questioned Maria, she only glared at you. So you went into the room, the doors slamming against the walls, you let yourself go, eyes sparkling as you reached into every soul in the room, their eyes going blank as you showed them every version of themselves that you wanted. You tuned out their screams until they passed out.

"All clear." You replied, and went around the room, looking at the files and unfamiliar technology. All sorts of sealed boxes were on the desks, they must have been packing. You passed a desk, and right then objects flew out as they combust into flames. "What the fuck?"

"Y/N stay away from this, we don't know what this does," Hill talked to you when she opened a case that you couldn't see. "Get out of the room."

It was an order with which you didn't argue and closed the doors behind you, leaving Steve and Maria in there.

•

They were shooting at you now, and you stole the best defense you could get from Steve. You snatched the pillow from under his arm and shielded yourself from the attack of popcorn the two redheads were now throwing at you. A girl has to fight back, so pretzels it was

 "You can't use a pillow Y/N! That's not fair!" Wanda yelled at you. You will get betrayed by those closest to you.

"No, what isn't fair is you using your powers on the popcorn! It's not my fault that you threw all the pillows to my side- that was not a good strategic move for you."

"She's right about that- we are way better a team." Steve dodged a water bottle the spy expertly threw at him for the comment. The war always leaves scars.

Your laughs were cut short when F.R.I.D.A.Y called all of you in from the living room.

"What's up Tony?" Natasha asked when you walked into the room and saw all the other avengers there.

"We found some concerning new details about what hydra has been up to lately," Tony paced through the room, leaving you waiting.

"Did you contact Thor? Is it confirmed?" Steve asked him then and the billionaire nodded.

You shook your head and looked at them as you leaned on the wall opposite them.

"Hey boys?" Steve and Tony looked back at you and you smiled shortly at them before they had a chance to stop you when a flash of purple crossed your eyes.

Steve was annoyed when he saw the thunder in the distance and the rain pouring down on him and Tony. Tony grumbled and looked around Steve at the muddy ground they were surrounded with.

Within a second they blinked and saw the room in the compound, taken aback for a moment.

"Did you have fun boys? I personally love the rain but now I am just annoyed so can you please just share with the group for fuck's sake?" they glared at you now.

"Y/N, you can't just use your powers on petty things like that." Steve shook his head, shaking the imaginary feeling of the rain from his face.

"Don't ever, place me in that disgusting place again, you are lucky I wasn't in my favourite suit there!"

"I'll be sure to keep that little detail in mind next time you annoy me." You smirked.

"You little menace- Okay, we found Asgardian weapons and technology in the custody of hydra."

"What the fuck? How did they get it?" Natasha rose up now from the table.

"We are trying to figure it out, but from what we managed to gather is that these are ancient things… so we need an expert."

"Then why is Thor not here?" Bruce asked his friend, who pinched his nose.

"No, I said we need an expert…" he then looked behind you, and you turned when you heard the door opening. No, your past should stay sealed shut.

There in front of you came in Loki, when he caught your eyes, you were sure his look of shook matched yours. And you were frozen in place.

"Y/N?" he was confused to say the least, but your eyes never left each other even when you felt all the eyes in the room focusing on you. You shook your head at him. No.

"You said you'd never come back." It felt as if you stabbed him with that comment.

 Tags: @ayybtch @buckys-other-punk @chaoticpete @madcrazy50

#1989 #my writing #loki x reader #loki #loki odinson #taylor swift #fluff #loki laufeyson #loki odinson x reader #loki x you #tom hiddleston #welcome to new york

[avversiera-writes]

touch your heart [senju tobirama/you] - chapter 6

Summary: Hashirama might go down as the worst matchmaker in history, but he thinks he might be on to something. Tobirama sees through his brother's schemes and is determined not to fall for it. Or fall for you.

Word Count: about 4k

AO3 LINK TO TOUCH YOUR HEART

AOR SERIES LINK TO ‘TIL DEATH DO US PART

[<<<CHAPTER ONE] [CHAPTER TWO] [CHAPTER THREE] [CHAPTER FOUR] [CHAPTER FIVE]

After the fiasco the other day with you, Tobirama tries his best to avoid you, despite the fact that his brother invited you to their home for dinner tomorrow. It’s not that he hates you or anything, it’s just that his mind is currently preoccupied with a new jutsu idea that he has been working on non-stop. He knows how impossible he can get when he is busy like this, and the more he spirals, the more he becomes reclusive and irate. He is aware of this and he does not want you to see this side of him. 

 Honestly, he does not want to give you any more edge to see through him. 

 He also does not want to hear you ask him if he’s okay. 

 He’s okay, damn it. This happens every now and then. 

 It will pass. 

Yes, he still thinks that you may be up to something, but at the end of the day, you are a person and he knows that you do not deserve this from him. 

 He tries to get through work as quickly and as efficiently as possible, and he exercises his patience more than usual because he knows decency .

 He notices the little things about you, like the bags under your eyes and the sharp lines of your cheekbones. You look more gaunt these days, and your worn-out clothes look larger than you. Speaking of your clothes, he figures out that you have at least five articles of clothing, and your sandals look like they are about to fall apart in your next step. However, he notices most of all that your weapons are some of the highest quality of weapons he has ever seen. 

 The way you wield them is also one of the best swordsmanship he has ever encountered, maybe, maybe , even second to him, but that is kind of overestimating you because he does not know your limits. You hold it specifically, with a very practiced and calm air, each arc and swing you make is calculated and dangerous. Your footwork is superb, and your instincts are great, as if you have spent all your life hunting and thinking on your feet. Despite not having any special chakra, he is secretly impressed with the abilities you have shown him. 

 You are also a good teacher, something he will not admit, and the only improvement he can suggest later on (when he is of sound mind) is that you can tone down your sarcasm because sometimes, kids are impressionable and they cannot read that clearly. 

 Another thing that bugs him is your relationship with Madara. 

 For all of his life, he has never pegged Madara to take someone under his wing, especially when that someone is a stranger and could possibly be a dangerous person. What did you do to make Madara take you in like you are one of his own? What did Madara do to make you so grateful to him that you follow him everywhere? Are you two planning something? 

 Those are some questions that he racks his brain over when he has the time, and he can keep asking himself and keep knocking that wall but he never gets anywhere. It’s not like he would willingly interrogate Madara over that too, though that is something he may have no choice but to do later on. 

Tobirama sighs, and he glances at you. 

He also finds that you are a very determined person, and he delights seeing that his teaching is working. Not that he would admit to that, either. No, he does not hate you, he finally decides that, but you make him face so many things that he’d rather not think about. 

 He thinks about the irony in that. Here he is, designing the rules that the shinobi should follow about setting your emotions aside for the mission, but he is falling a little short trying to stick to his rules. Aside from feeling disdain towards you, he thinks–and his mind has never failed him because for all the gods’ sake he is logical –that you are a pretty good person. 

He hears you leave quietly, and when you are gone, he lets out a breath he has been holding. 

 He just needs to be more patient, and this will all be finished. It won’t be long until he does not have to deal with you anymore. 

He tries to ignore a sinking feeling in his chest with that thought. 

//

You make it halfway through the river when your chakra flow gives up on you and you sink underneath the water again. 

 You stay under until you can no longer hold your breath, and you break through the surface with a gasp. You ride with the current until you notice your body getting more tired and heavy, so you make a break towards the bank and haul yourself up. 

 You think that was some good progress. 

You shiver from the cold, but you are also too tired to move and even make it home. You crawl towards your things and grab your coat and wrap yourself with it. You lean your back on a tree and you stare at the open scroll in front of you. Under the moonlight, you stare at the silhouette of Tobirama’s handwriting on the side of the paper. Compared to his older handwriting, his recent ones look deranged, like he has been writing quickly without looking where he is writing. You do not want to ask him to clarify what he wrote because he may think that you are making fun of him again. 

 You shake your head and you stare towards the river, listening to the sound of its flow. It lulls you to sleep, your thoughts going to Tobirama and your tiny discoveries about him, and for once, you have a dreamless sleep. The most peaceful one yet. 

//

When you come to, a face appears in your blurry vision. 

 You start and you hit your head at the bark of the tree. At the same time, your hand grabs at your wakizashi. 

Your vision clears and you see Tobirama staring at you curiously. 

“What is wrong with you?” You snap, and you rub the sleep off of your eyes. 

 Tobirama blinks, and he peers at you closer with wonder. 

You lean away from him. “Okay?” You frown in confusion and you study him. 

Tobirama is way too calm, and his eyes are relaxed. There is no malice in his gaze, and there are no wrinkles on his forehead. Is he drunk? 

You unsheath your blade, thinking that maybe, just maybe , this is a test of sorts. This is some clone of his and he is spying on you. You know that he is on to you, despite keeping a pretty clean record in Konoha so far. 

Tobirama’s eyes widen at the blade and he grabs your wrist and throws you to the side. 

You yelp, and you accidentally let go of your blade. You glare at Tobirama and you charge at him and tackle him to the ground. 

 Tobirama fights back, but there is a look of confusion and wariness on his face. You flatten him to the ground and pin him down, but he is a lot stronger than you and he manages to flip you over on your back. He presses his big, callused hands on your wrists, pinning them to the sides of your head. 

“Who are you?” Tobirama demands. 

 You stare at him in confusion. “What?!” 

 Tobirama’s eyes darken, and you sense that he really does not know you . What is going on? Is this a dream? 

You clash your head to his face, hitting his nose, and this is enough for you to bring your knees up and shake Tobirama’s weight off of you. You straddle him again, and this time, you reach for a knife strapped to your leg and point it towards his neck. 

“How dare you?” You drawl. 

 Tobirama’s eyes narrow. “Where am I?” 

 “Stop playing around,” you lean forward to press your arm against his neck, the tip of your knife pointing to his side, where his artery is located. 

“You attacked me first,” Tobirama says. 

 “Why are you acting like this?” You yell. 

Tobirama frowns in confusion. “I do not know,” he says in a daze. “Do I know you?” 

“Tobirama,” you utter under your breath, and dread washes over you. 

 “Is that my name?” 

You release your hold on him and you help him up. “Yes. You are Senju Tobirama. Are you fucking drunk?” 

 Tobirama tilts his head with curiosity. “Do you normally talk like that?” 

 You roll your eyes. “Haha, very funny. You got me. This is the best prank of the year, now stop.” 

 “I’m not kidding,” Tobirama frowns, and he seems upset. 

You stare at him with disbelief. You massage your forehead and you look to the ground. 

 “May I know where I am?” 

 “What? Shouldn’t you know? You founded this village!” 

 Tobirama frowns. “I did?” 

 You scowl. It is too early for this. “Yes. You and your elder brother, Senju Hashirama.”

 Tobirama nods, seeming to analyze this information. 

 “Do you know what today is?” You ask. 

 “Today?”

 “Today is Friday.” 

 “I see.” 

 You step closer to him, meaning to examine his head for any injuries, but Tobirama throws a punch towards you and you block it and grab his arm, then you aim a kick to his cheek to throw him down. 

“Why are you attacking me?” You shout, and you step on Tobirama’s chest. 

 “You were going to attack me again!” 

 “I was going to check if you have any injuries to the head, you bastard!” 

Tobirama stops fighting you and he sits up. “Well, now I will, because of you,” he taunts sarcastically. 

You huff in annoyance. “Damn it, you make my life harder.” 

 Tobirama raises a questioning eyebrow. "Really?" 

 You roll your eyes. "Whatever this is, I'd rather we find the solution as soon as possible." 

 Tobirama nods, his expression inquisitive. "It seems that I may be suffering from some kind of memory loss. A normal person wouldn't forget their name easily right?" 

You stare at Tobirama and sigh. "You aren't exactly the most normal person," you murmur. 

Tobirama peers at you. "Do we know each other?" 

 You roll your eyes, but then an idea pops into your head. "So you really do not know me?" 

 Tobirama puts his hand under his chin, thinking. "Naturally, I am starting to think that we are enemies."

 You guffaw. "How come?" 

 "Your first reaction towards me is to stab me." 

 " You were staring at me while sleeping, anyone would be surprised."

 "Your instinct tells you to stab someone when they look at you?" 

 You hum. "Sometimes. You do what you have to do to live." 

Tobirama stares at you, this time with an openness you have never seen him show. "You've had it hard, haven't you?" 

 You stare back at him, realizing that something must have really happened to this man. He has no memory, and there is a curious youthfulness in his demeanor. It's like he's free from all what plagues him as the Hokage's younger brother, as the smartest and most innovative mind of this generation. 

 You figure telling him a little more about yourself wouldn't hurt. 

You approach him and run your fingers on the sides and on the back of his head, searching for any bumps, bleeding, or cracks of any kind. 

 "Yeah, I kind of did. I came from a family who quitted being shinobi because of war, and as a result, I had to run from them…" 

 "Why?" Tobirama asks this question without his usual roughness and judging tone. 

 You smile bitterly. "Because in my family,  to keep women and children out of war, you either have to die or you die trying to run from them."

Tobirama grows silent. You find no injury to his head. 

 "I am sorry," Tobirama finally says. 

 You shrug, a little amused that it takes Tobirama's memories getting erased to make him apologize to you. 

"Never heard that before," you joke. 

 Tobirama frowns. 

"Okay, well, let's wander around and search for anything to get clues on how you ended up this way."

 Tobirama nods and he follows you as you begin to walk around aimlessly. You search for any disturbance on the ground to trace where Tobirama has walked, and finally, you find it, snapped sticks, smashed leaves and vague lines of a footprint. 

"Tobirama, you're either the worst drunk in history, or someone got you good." 

Tobirama looks around, and he looks to the branches above him. 

 "Which I find impossible since you claim to be the strongest shinobi, second to your brother of course."

 "I sound like a pompous jerk, is what you're saying." 

 "Hey, you're own words, not mine!" 

Tobirama smirks. "So tell me more about myself, it may ring a bell." 

 You ponder this. While it is fun to lead him on the wrong way, it is also dangerous. If he has been wandering around in this state, he is lucky if he has not run into anyone who would want to kill him. 

 "Stay close," you tell Tobirama. 

You find Tobirama’s things in the same path, and you bend down to examine them. There are no signs that he struggled, in fact, his things are neatly arranged like he had planned for this. 

You frown and you open his knapsack to go through it. You find his notes, hoping that he keeps some kind of record of his days. You skim through them, and then, his handwriting increasingly gets messier. 

 You take a deep breath, hoping that it is not as bad as you are thinking. 

 You read through his research notes, and while some of the information on it is advanced, you can now understand it due to the books Tobirama has made you read. You skim through it faster, realizing that Tobirama is in the process of creating a jutsu: he aims to make a jutsu that can wipe out memories. Your heart sinks as you read his last thought on paper.

  Since there are no immediate test subjects, I will have to test this on myself and hope that Elder Brother will notice my absence. If it works, that is.

"Oh, it worked well alright," you mutter tersely. 

Your head snaps up and you realize that Tobirama is not near you.

 "That bastard," you swear.

 You jump to your feet and you search for his familiar white head, when you notice him a few feet away, crouching down near a bush. 

 "What are you doing?" You ask as you step near him. 

 "Watching a snake eat a frog," Tobirama deadpans. "It’s something else." 

You watch Tobirama for a few more seconds, and then you walk over to grab his arm. “Come on, we have to go see your brother.” 

 “Ah, to find more information, I reckon?” 

 You purse your lips. “That, and to fix what you did to yourself.”

 Tobirama watches you curiously. “What do you mean?” 

“Are you insane?” You cannot help but scold him. “Why would you erase your own memories?” 

 Tobirama raises an eyebrow at you. You press his notes to his chest and he brings a hand up to get them. He flips through them, his eyes lighting up in delight. He nods in amazement as his eyes move right to left to read his own handwriting. 

“I seem to have a gift for experimentation.” 

 “You think?” 

 “According to myself, this is important work.” 

 “What?” You snap scathingly. “What part of important work is putting yourself in danger?” 

 He leans forward until he is only a breath apart from you. “If I did not know any better, I would think you care about me.” 

You look down to his nose to avoid his gaze. 

"What are we? Is there something between us?" Tobirama asks, genuinely curious. He raises an eyebrow, and he looks almost smug. 

 You cannot stand this Tobirama and even though you are going to regret it, you miss the grumpy one. 

 "Are you mad? You hate me," you snap. 

 Tobirama gives you a scowl. "If you claim that I hate you, then why were you the first person to be near me? I don't seem like the kind of person to just let anyone accompany me." He crosses his arms. "Even a blind person can see through your lies." 

 "Because you're mad, that's why." Your heart climbs up to your throat, making it hard to swallow.

 Tobirama starts to walk away, but he is heading in the wrong direction. 

 You follow him, and try to tug him the other way, but Tobirama is stubborn and he is curious about every little thing. You need to get Tobirama to his brother as soon as possible, or the two of you may run into trouble. 

“Okay, hey,” you start. “I promise that you’ll get more information if we just go back to your brother.” 

 Tobirama narrows his eyes distrustfully. “Nice try.”

 “I am not lying,” you hissed. You step in front of him to halt his steps, and you put your hands on his shoulders. “Use your chakra to check.” 

Tobirama glances down at you, and he tilts his head, thinking. Then he takes a deep breath. 

 “You can trust me,” you promise him. 

 Tobirama frowns, but you see that he believes you.

 “Let’s go, please,” you plead with him. 

//

Hashirama is not surprised that his brother decided to pull something like this. He had his brother sit on a chair and you watch as Hashirama puts his hands on the sides of Tobirama’s head and he begins to fix whatever Tobirama did to himself. 

 “When he was just a little boy, Tobirama was naturally like this, curious, a little rude, but he’s quiet most of the time,” Hashirama murmurs. 

 You smile at the thought of a young Tobirama, spending hours poring over a book and going on adventures to make discoveries about nature. 

 It takes a while, and when Tobirama has come to, Hashirama wastes no time to scold his brother. 

 The two are yelling in Hashirama’s office, and you try to make yourself invisible by making sure you do not make any sudden movements or noise. You slowly inch towards the door, but Tobirama’s eyes land on you and you freeze. 

“What is she doing here?” Tobirama snaps. “This is none of her business!” 

 Hashirama takes a deep breath, and he glares at his brother. “Stop treating her like that, Tobirama. If it wasn’t for her, you would have probably killed yourself in some way.” 

Tobirama scoffs, rolls his eyes and crosses his arms across his chest. “Oh, please.” 

 “I am going to leave now,” you tell them. 

 “No, stay,” Hashirama commands. 

 “Lord Hashirama,” you protest.

 “Elder brother,” Tobirama says at the same time. 

Tobirama narrows his eyes at you, the man you have met earlier gone. “She is not needed here.” 

 You roll your eyes. “Lord Hashirama, I really do not want to cause any more trouble.” 

There is a minuscule change in Tobirama’s expression, but luckily for you, you are able to catch it. It looks like a hint of embarrassment. Even though he is glaring at you, he can’t quite meet your eyes. 

“Yeah, you’ve done enough,” Tobirama starts. 

 Your mouth slightly drops open in shock. “Excuse me? Who was the one staring at me while I was sleeping like some creep?” 

 “You tried to stab me!” 

 “I was half-awake!” 

 “Yeah? Well it seems like your senses are not sharp enough to recognize me!” 

 “Who got themself in this mess anyways?”

 “My memory was wiped!” 

 “Because you’re insane!” You shout. “Who in their right mind would do that to themself?” 

 “It was for science and for the shinobi world!”

 “What a misguided argument.” 

 Tobirama opens his mouth, his eyes purely made from fire. 

“Enough! Sit,” Hashirama commands, no longer entertaining the two of them. “You on the other side, and Tobirama on the other.”

 “Elder brother, we are not children,” Tobirama says tersely, but he is currently moving towards his designated seat. 

 “Oh yeah?” Hashirama challenges. “Then quit acting like one, especially you, Tobirama.” 

You stifle a snicker as you lower yourself in your seat. 

Tobirama’s jaw sharpens, and his neck is starting to grow pink. Of all people to witness him getting scolded by his brother, it has to be you. Just his luck. 

 “No talking,” Hashirama says firmly and passes the two of you a stack of documents to read through. “And we leave together for dinner.” 

Tobirama’s expression withers, and reluctantly opens the document to start. 

 You catch Hashirama’s apologetic look towards you and you shrug, not really taking this personally. You find it hilarious that Tobirama truly acts like a little brother. You have never seen him more triggered and animated except with his elder brother. 

Another day means another interesting adventure with Tobirama. 

 You are not one to complain. 

  //

Tobirama’s face is stormy during the walk all the way to Hashirama’s household. There is a pout on his lips that would not go away and his glare is so severe that it wards off anyone who tries to greet them nicely. 

 Essentially, the walk was pretty peaceful, thanks to him. 

 You also stay quiet, your mind wandering to today’s events. 

 The only one talking your ears off is Hashirama, and you vaguely remember him bragging about his sons. 

Tobirama does not say anything to interrupt his brother, and as he hears more about his nephews, his face begins to soften and you observe this and try not to make it obvious that you are studying him. Hashirama notices this and gives you a funny look, but he does not comment on it and instead continues to chat, and tries his best to include the two of you in his one-sided conversation. 

 When you arrive into Hashirama’s house, you are immediately greeted with warm light and five boys screaming and hurtling towards their father and uncle. Tobirama picks up the youngest one without fuss who is barely able to keep up with his older brothers, who are tackling their father with their best. The eldest greets his father and uncle calmly but cheerfully, and he leads the chaos towards the kitchen. 

 You begin to grow shy as the boys peer at you curiously, and you give them a small wave. 

One of them gasps. “Is this uncle’s girlfriend?!” 

 You start, and Tobirama almost trips in on himself and almost drops his baby nephew. He looks to be around four years old. 

Hashirama cackles, the sound booming throughout the house. 

“Is she? Uncle always tells us about you!” 

 “No, I do not,” Tobirama cuts in. 

 You chuckle nervously. “No, I am not his girlfriend.” 

 His nephews let out a few sounds of disappointment. 

 “But she’s so pretty!” 

You blush and you pat the boy who gave you the compliment on the head. “Thank you, I am glad you think so. Your uncle, however, begs to differ.” 

 Another gasps at this. “He’s blind!” 

 “He says you’re annoying,” the youngest in Tobirama’s arms says, and he lays his head on Tobirama’s shoulder. He seems mellow and paler compared to his energetic brothers. 

 “Ah, so he complains about me, not talks about me,” you joke. 

Hashirama chuckles as he pushes his sons forward to keep them from crowding the hallway. 

 Tobirama puts a hand on his nephew’s forehead and he frowns. He whispers something to him, but his nephew shakes his head. It does not alleviate the frown on Tobirama’s face though. 

“Ah, here we are,” Hashirama announces. “Someone tell your mother that we are here.” 

 “I got it,” the eldest says and he disappears out in the hallway. 

With no room to sit except beside you, Tobirama sits his nephew next to you, and then sits beside him. 

The two of you stay quiet, barely exchanging any words with each other. Tobirama passes you a glass of water in silence, while Hashirama and his sons fill in the silence. 

 After a few minutes of waiting, Mito arrives and she is followed by her son and her maids, all carrying food in their trays and vases for drinks. Mito sits beside her husband and greets you, and you greet her back with your best polite voice. 

 Tobirama has told you once that you sound sarcastic even though you are being friendly. 

“How was Lady Anzu?” Mito directs the question to Tobirama, who glances towards you. “I received complaints that you left her behind in the street the other day in favor of another girl, who you apparently pushed down to the ground. I know you are a busy man, but please be courteous next time, Tobirama, I can only try to match you with so few ladies in Konoha and in the nearby lands. Try not to forget etiquette and send her a letter of apology.” 

 Tobirama gulps, and you give him a side-glance. 

 “I will,” Tobirama promises. 

You try not to cover your face from shame. 

An argument breaks out between Hashirama’s sons, but it is admonished through one strict look from their mother. 

 “We have a visitor, please behave accordingly,” Mito says. Her children obey her, and she directs her gaze towards you. “I hope that working with Tobirama has been fruitful.” 

 You nod. “It has, my lady.” 

 Mito gives you a funny look. “Mito is fine.” 

Everyone directs their gaze to Hashirama, and he starts dinner as the head of the family. He takes the first bite, and then signals for everyone to also take their fill. 

You help Tobirama’s nephew beside you, quietly handing him his utensils and wiping his mouth when he gets messy. 

 You notice Tobirama’s gaze on you, but you ignore it, just in case you accidentally meet his eyes and the events with Lady Anzu are revealed through your shared experience with him. 

The boy sneezes beside you and you chuckle lightly, immediately putting a napkin to his nose so that he can blow his nose. 

“Your sons are adorable, Lord Hashirama,” you comment. 

 Hashirama chuckles, his face lighting with pride. “Of course!” 

Tobirama’s nephew begins to lean on you after a while, and you notice that he is getting sleepy. You pat his head, and you frown as you notice that he is very feverish. 

“Hey, is he okay?” You whisper to Tobirama, not wanting to alarm his parents. 

 “He says he’s not feeling too well,” Tobirama replies, taking notice of the way the boy is leaning towards you. “I will get him settled in bed, then.” 

You surround your arm around the kid to help him towards Tobirama, and you also touch his hand, finding it cold. 

“Is something wrong?” Hashirama asks. 

 “He seems to have a fever,” Tobirama tries to take the boy into his arms, but a cry escapes his lips. 

“Shh, it’s okay,” Tobirama soothes the boy. “I got him.” 

Hashirama nods worriedly. 

“I will have to go then, I wouldn’t want to extend my welcome,” you say. 

 Hashirama and Mito thank you for eating with them, and you get up with Tobirama and follow him out of the kitchen and into the hallway.

 “You need help with him?” You offer, feeling like you should help Tobirama a little bit. You follow your instinct. 

Tobirama looks at you doubtfully. “Fine.” 

You walk behind him as he leads you to the boy’s room, and he kicks away the toys loitering the floor. 

“I will be back,” Tobirama hands you the child and leaves the room. 

You rock the child in your arms to comfort him, and you resist the tiredness settling in your arms. You are not used to carrying children. 

Tobirama comes back with towels and a basin, and he directs you to lie his nephew down on his futon. In silence, the two of you coordinate to wipe the child and dress him into clean clothes, and tuck him into his futon. Tobirama presses a smaller towel on the child’s forehead, and studies him. 

 After a moment, his hand comes away. 

 “Well, the great thing about having Hashirama as your father is that you’ll be fine and dandy tomorrow,” he tells his nephew. “There is nothing your father cannot cure.” 

You gaze at Tobirama, watching how gentle and kind he is towards his family. He is very attentive to the way he takes care of his nephew, and you are not going to lie, the sight is making your heart soft. 

 “Is it serious?” You ask. 

 Tobirama shakes his head. “No. Like I said, he’ll be okay tomorrow once Hashirama checks in on his son.” 

You chuckle lightly. 

 The two of you lock gazes, and a calm washes over you, something that has not happened to you in a while. You are always moving about, running and defending yourself. At this moment, Tobirama makes you feel safe. He might be callous at times, but he has never given you any reason to fear him. 

 For that, you are grateful. 

“I should go,” you break the silence. 

 Tobirama clears his throat. “I will walk you out.” 

You want to decline his offer, but nothing comes out of your mouth as he is following you out. 

 Before you exit the gate of the household, you turn to Tobirama. 

“I hope you do not do that again,” you tell him in a hushed tone and you are suddenly unable to meet his eyes. “That fucking terrified me. If you are going to go put yourself in danger, at least, include me. I won’t let anything happen to you.” 

Tobirama stares at you, his dark red eyes swimming like blood pools, and a sigh leaves his body. “I will keep your words in mind.” 

 “You can trust me, you know,” you insist. “I hope we can work towards that.” 

 You had half a mind to ask him about what he remembers during the hours that he forgot himself, but you decide to leave it alone. 

Before Tobirama can say anything else, you quickly walk away, and if he has reached for the back of your arm, you do not notice it because you do not even spare him a glance.

.

.

.

[CHAPTER SEVEN >>>] 

#angelica writes #avversiera writes #'til death do us part #Tobirama Senju #Senju Tobirama #tobirama x reader #senju tobirama x reader #tobirama x you #senju tobirama x you #tobirama x y/n #naruto fanfiction

[the-huntress]

Little Moth - Chapter 2 - A Friend

[Thank you to everyone that has read my story so far. I really hope that you enjoy it. My apologies for the slow burn, but all good things come to those that wait… <3]

Masterlist

Y/N Protagonist, female. Reader X Karl Heisenberg. [18+]

Summary: Awoken by the clang of metal another strange dream haunts you as you make your journey towards the ominous ‘village’, searching for your life-long friend, Leon.

Trigger Warnings: Supernatural violence.

Song Suggestion: ‘Keep Me Alive’ by All We Are.

[Photos are my own] The next 24 hours were a blur; bagel, taxi, airport, flight, layover in airport, Frankfurter infused pretzel, flight to worryingly small airport, ride in the back of a 1980s Toyota pick-up truck (with cages full of chickens and feathers flying about), which took you to the smallest train station you’d ever seen (one platform), two steam trains later, a weakened moment of purchasing unidentified brand of cigarettes with picture of a goat on the front from a man that smells profusely like garlic, and then a moment of mildly suppressed panic at being in a completely unknown to you part of the world with not a word of Romanian to your repertoire.

Standing at what kind of looked like maybe the side of a road-ish, you pulled out the badly printed map, co-ordinates and a compass. You looked up at the sky, despite it being overcast the clouds were still thin enough to be able to see roughly where the sun was sat. It was 2pm, your phone no longer had a hope in hell of working out here signal wise, but at least for now, it could tell you the time, after that it would just be you and the sun.

You couldn’t deny as the treck took you further away from the already very small towns and villages, and further into the countryside and wilderness, that the landscape was incredibly beautiful. Snow-capped mountains, like you’d never seen anywhere but the movies graced the horizon, leafless tree branches began to out-number their more lustrous looking sisters, and yet, dotted amongst the white, a spattering of green, forests and woodlands a-like, untouched by the torrents of snow, as if by some magic. The fresh air in your lungs made you feel powerful somehow, like you were on a path leading to destiny, something inside you was being fulfilled. Even during the time sat alone on the steam train, staring at the hillsides and woodlands as they flew past, catching your own reflection in the glass here and there, you’d felt as if you were heading towards something exciting yet familiar.

The day seemed to go much faster than you’d imagined, but then it was late into the year, the days much shorter. Grateful for the fact that you’d chosen to wear a zip up hoodie under your usual work jacket, you still had to give the tops of your arms a rub with your gloved hands. You’d also prepared with thin leggings under your black combat trousers and worn hiking socks under your military boots. There was still more than enough light to see, but the Village was still not yet in sight. The hike had been challenging, your knee was now starting to protest, both with an ache and with a sharpness too it. Just a little further, you thought, wincing against it.

You stopped dead in your tracks. There was a noise nearby but not anything that you were used to. What was that? A train? There were no train tracks running through this part of the wilderness as far as you knew, you’d hoped not at least, else you’d be kicking yourself in the ass if you could have saved yourself from the pain that you were in after all this time. A rumbling, chundering, rickety sound, drawing closer and closer. A light in the distance, a lantern, two of them, swinging wildly now on the front of a carriage and a man’s face, crazed with panic, and what a man, at least two times the size in both height and girth of anyone that you’d ever met before.

“Run my darling adventurer, run, for it is not safe for you here!” He yelled towards you. But you couldn’t, you were frozen solid, seeing now what he was trying to escape; and you’d thought this man was larger than life. What approached behind him… was unearthly. The wind was thrown out of you as you were yanked by the collar and swung onto the back of the carriage. The man had tossed you up to at least temporary safety, although how stable this thing was you did not know. You stared back towards the rear of the carriage, eyes narrowing on what you now identified as your target. In short, you could see some kind of humanoid being, roughly 8 foot tall, muscles rippling, pale, sallow skin, with patches of thick hair covering various parts of its body, a loin cloth, beady, mean cold gold eyes, pointed ears and a mouth full of needle sharp teeth. Hurtling along in front of it, in its grasp were two humungous beasts, covered in shaggy hair, almost like two huge dogs or bears, but with some of the most nightmarish faces that you’d ever seen. All you could see was that fact that they wanted nothing more than to tear you limb from limb.

You didn’t mess around for shit and your pistol was in your hand before you could say ‘boulder punching bastard’. You fired one, two, three times, each shot tearing through the shoulders of the front two beasts.

“You really think that thing is going to take them down?” Yelled the driver, craning his head around to take a quick glance at you. You grimaced, thrown down to the roof by a sudden jolt, and quickly tore your glance back at your enemies. They were closing the gap.

“Make a quick turn, here, around that rock!” You yelled, pointing ahead. The man began his manoeuvre as you’d instructed, and without question, for which you were grateful, you only had a couple of seconds to act and one shot at this. You pulled the aerosol from your pocket. This wasn’t just any can, this was something that you’d created yourself. Looked like a normal deodorant or spray can for sure except for two minor differences; it was re-fillable, and it had a range of up to 15 feet. You swiped the lighter back from your cap and took aim, lighter in your left hand in front, aerosol in your right hand, the U-turn took your right back past the trio as they came tearing down the slope. The noise wasn’t quite deafening, but it was loud enough, and you’d succeeded. The two hairy beasts were covered in flames and yelping, running frantically and tore off into the forest. HAHA! You laughed, another bump and you were back on the roof, stealing a glance at the man steering who had a grin on his face too. “Trick shot!” You called back.

The wolven giant roared in fury, for he was scorched, but his rage burned savagely more so than any flame that you could create.

“Very good little moth, but we need something bigger for that one. In the carriage, the room below you there is something that will help, you will know it when you see it, retrieve it now.” You nodded, not noticing for a moment what he’d called you, but you didn’t have time to think and ask. You slid down through the small hatch in the roof, just wide enough for your body, some kind of sky light you guessed and fell to the floor. The dwindling sun light now blazing red over the horizon and through the silhouettes of the trees lit the inner carriage just enough for you to take in what was around you; a lot of meat for one thing. You were never any good at hiding your thoughts on your face, but no one was here to see that right now. There were a couple of larger crates, a globe, typewriter, trinket boxes. Parts rolled and rattled, but you knew what you were here for, right in front of you on the bed. You pulled yourself back up through the hatch.

“This it?” You called to him, holding up a hefty and yet ornate bow. It seemed to be built in the way that somewhat resembled a modern-day compound bow but had a more traditional look to its materials and smaller details. “That’s the one’” he called back. “Here, take these.” He went to pass a bundle of arrows without quiver, but as he did so the beast threw itself at the back of the carriage. You yelled, the impact threw you into the arrows, your blood now over a few of the heads, and all at once you were thrown into darkness, your back slamming against the floor of the inside of the carriage. Shaking your head, you realised what had happened, scrambling on the floor and grabbing as many of the spilled arrows up as you could. Blood began to soak the garments covering your right hip. It was just a flesh wound, but deep enough to sting, reminding you of a time in your childhood when you’d crawled through brambles and the thorns had left 12 longs scars down your torso.

Back on your feet, you booted the doors open, throwing them into the beast’s face, both his clawed hands firmly sunk into the wood either side of the carriage, half running, half being dragged along. He reared his head and roared at you, and you roared back, raising the first arrow and taking aim. “FUCK YOU!” You cried out, the arrow sliced through his cheek but this only made him angrier, throwing one arm into the carriage now, half in, the other arm pulled him further, you realised quickly with terror that you were very quickly being pinned against the bed at the back. It grabbed you around your waist, yanking you down onto the floor, roaring madly once again, into your face, the foulest smelling breath hot and slick with spittle. Something crashed off the shelf above you and onto its head, almost like it shot out of place of its own accord, against the natural trajectory of the way of which the carriage was now turning. It threw the beast back out of the carriage and you only had a moment to grab onto a fixture on the wall which held tools in place before you felt the carriage begin to topple and hurtle.

You lost count of how many rolls it took, but when it stopped it was deathly silent, like a veil had been pulled over this part of the woods. Rain began to fall on the deathly branches above in the would-be canopy. You pulled yourself out, scathed and bleeding, but you weren’t done. Good job you’d thought to throw on your light armour mid hike. You looked around at the driver, he didn’t say anything, but he was breathing. “Are you ok, friend?” You asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. He brought his head up and looked up at you. “Yes.” He replied, placing one of his hands over yours. You nodded and started walking to the hulking heap of hair, blood and muscle only meters away. With each step you took you felt the presence of something growing behind you, like a shadow. The sound of metal scraping. “He’s here.” You heard your companion breathe. You had no idea who or what he meant, but right now you had one thing on your mind and that was your kill.

Still closing the gap without a falter, you took three arrows that you had clipped to your bag only moments ago, set their heads ablaze with the fluid and lighter. You set them against the nock, the flames burning bright now in your eyes, and a shower of metal, knives, bullets, scraps came flying down from around you and into the flesh of the beast. They didn’t just stop upon impact, they kept going, embedding themselves further and further into its flesh. It bellowed and swung its arms in pain, standing tall above you, arching it’s back, but still you stood your ground, unblinking, until it fell back down to the ground, writhing now. You leapt up onto its twisting shoulder, taking aim with the bow and let the trio of burning arrows do their work, shattering through the skull, two ending it all at once, and one at an angle coming back halfway out of its blood shot eye.

You stayed there for what seemed like an eternity. Staring and waiting. No thoughts going through your mind, the darkness in you waning back to the parts of your mind where it usually hid, flowing away like black smoke or the tide going out.

Something was calling. Not out loud, but in your head, your heart, something was calling just for you, but without any sound. You looked up towards the carriage, which strangely was now upright again, though in a bit of a mess, your friend there besides it, a little worse for wear, and a glint of light, the reflection of the flames that had begun to grow around you in the darkness just beyond, the crunch of the undergrowth, and whatever it was, was gone.

#karl heisenberg #karl heisenberg fanfic #karl heisenberg fluff #leon kennedy #mother miranda #resident evil 2 #resident evil 8 #resident evil fanfic #resident evil heisenberg #resident evil village #heisendaddy #daddy heisenberg

[hauntedbythefanficsofmypast]

When you need a Superfriend

By Nach0Ava

On Archive of Our Own

Tumblr user: @nach0ava

So I have not really watched Supergirl however when I read the first chapter I had to share this with you all! This is the first chapter by Nach0Ava. (Second chapter is on its way as well!) Marinette gets sent away by her parents to America! Please go read Nach0Ava's story!

Summary:

When Tom and Sabine believe Lila's lies, they send Marinette off to live with an old family friend in National City. When living with a government agent and a physiologist, how long is it until she gets figured out?

Chapter 1:

“I don’t understand! Why are you sending me away?”

Marinette looked up at her parents in disbelief. They had just told her that she was going to be sent to live with a family friend. In America! Sure, she could speak fairly good English, but it still didn’t make sense!

“Your recent behaviour has led us to think that the change could be good for you. Kelly and her girlfriend Alex are lovely people, and they might be better equipped to deal with you than we are.”

As her mother spoke, Marinette felt a bitterness rise in her. Of course. Lila. She had made good on her threat, managing to turn even her parents against her. Claiming that she was involved in a gang, she had an older boyfriend, she did drugs, the list went on. And when Tom and Sabine had caught Marinette out past curfew one too many times, they took it as the truth. She couldn’t tell them that she was Ladybug, so all she had was half-hearted excuses. Still, she needed a way to stay in Paris, as she couldn’t be Ladybug somewhere else, and if there was no Ladybug, there was no-one to catch the akuma, and no-one to cast the cure, never mind all her guardian duties…

She was getting off track. She had a goal and she needed to accomplish it. Just like taking down an akuma. Except she couldn’t hit this problem really hard for it to go away.

“Is there any way I could stay in Paris? I’ll switch schools, I’ll go live with grandpa Roland, I’ll do anything!”

Tom and Sabine exchanged a look. They didn’t want to believe it, but they had to make sure.

“Honey, calm down, aren’t you worried about an akuma?”

Marinette started pacing as she rambled, mostly to herself.

“Right, I’ll get upset, then you guys will get mad at me, and then one or both of you will be akumatised and then I’ll have that whole mess to deal with.”

Tom reached out a hand to her shoulder to stop her pacing.

“You aren’t worried about you getting akumatised?”

Marinette shook her head.

“No no, I’ll be fine.”

A slight push from her bag and the looks from her parents made her backtrack.

“I mean, I’m really good at calming down before they get to me, I mean, it’s worked so far right?”

She let out a nervous chuckle while her parents stared at her.

“Marinette… Are you working with Hawkmoth?”

Marinette looked for the start of a smile from her mum, the laughter in her dad’s eyes, anything to say they were joking. When the just kept staring she burst into laughter.

“Haha, you guys… You guys really thought… Haha, that’s hilarious!”

Her parents failed to see the humour and gave her thatlook.

“Remember all those times I’ve been attacked? Reflekta, Horificator, pretty much any akuma that clones or traps people I’ve gotten tangled up in.”

Not technically a lie, she never said she got hitspecifically, but she definitely got attacked.

“Well, maybe you should get out of Paris anyway. It’s clearly not safe here, and maybe it’s best for you to leave. You’ll like it in National City, they even have their own superheros!”

Great. A reminder of what I have to give up because of Lila. She was about to keep protesting, but she felt three quick pushed on her side by Tikki. We need to talk.Her argument died on her tongue and she sighed.

“When am I meant to leave?”

Her parents exchanged relived looks.

“The plane is booked for next Friday. That gives you about a week to pack up. We could mail over a box with all of your sewing things once you get settled, if Kelly and Alex are ok with it of course.”

Marinette fought the eyebrow that was threating to raise. A week? I was hoping for some more time to test and train a new guardian, and a new holder for Tikki. It would be a rush, and there weren’t many people she trusted anymore. Still, there was work to be done, so she had to get started.

“I guess I’ll go start packing then. Can I be un-grounded so I can spend my final week saying goodbye and sorting things out?”

Her parents nodded, glad she was taking this so well.

“Of course honey, just not tonight ok? It’s getting rather late.”

Marinette nodded and ran up to her room, shutting the trapdoor quickly. She went up onto her bed and starting crying into her pillow, feeling the weight of all the kwami comforting her. Eventually she rolled on to her back, drying her tears.

“I’m sorry Tikki, you said you wanted to talk?”

She looked at her expectantly. Marinette already knew what Tikki wanted. She needed to find a new wielder and Guardian, and she shouldn’t have been putting it off, but sometimes it felt good to cry. Tikki came to settle on her lap and patted her leg comfortingly.

“Marinette I know what you’re thinking, and you don’t have to give up being Ladybug or being Guardian. So you better stop that train of thought right now missy.”

Marinette sat up, blinking. How could she… Oh.

“I’m an idiot.”

Tikki giggled while she flew up and booped her nose, while Kaalki sniffed from the corner.

“I can’t believe you forgot about me Guardian. You’ve given me out before!”

Marinette giggled at the kwami’s haughty attitude.

“Sorry Kaalki, I got a bit too emotional to think clearly.”

Kaalki just grabbed a sugar cube with a huff and flew off. Marinette climbed off her bed and grabbed her bright pink suitcase.

“So who wants to help me pack?”

~~<3~~

Chloe, Kagami, Luka and Marinette were all sitting at a table at a café during their lunch break. Luka had graduated already, so he was usually free to hang out. Chloe had come up to Marinette not too long after Lila’s takeover with an apology. Marinette had been wary at first, but Chloe was actually really nice when she wasn’t putting up an act. She had soon proven herself and had been given another chance at being a hero, under the new name Honeybee. Kagami had approached her after Adrien had asked for advice on the Lila situation. She had hated his passive approach, and when she had tried to talk to him about it, he just refused her help, ignoring the fact that he had asked for her help. Kagami had come to offer her help, and they become friends soon after. She had re-claimed the dragon, under the new name Tempête. Luka had heard Lila’s heart song and immediately knew that was someone that he didn’t want to hang around. He had tried warning Juleka and the rest of Kitty Section, but Lila had told them that having an older singer wasn’t a good look. He had been kicked out, and Marinette had been there to comfort him with pastries and musicals. After she had introduced everyone to each other, they had become a tightly knit group. So, as one could imagine, they weren’t taking this well.

“They gave you a week? That’s ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!”

Kagami made a noise of displeasure as well.

“Sending you to America seems a bit extreme, what reason did they give again?”

Marinette scoffed.

“My ‘recent behaviour’ or something like that. Also known as, Lila. Oh, that’s not even the best part.”

Marinette gave out a dry chuckle and everyone looked on in interest.

“Apparently, I’m working with Hawkmoth.”

Luka plucked a string on his guitar, sending out a loud note. Chloe just stared in disbelief, and Kagami made for her foil.

“I’m going to run them through with my sword.”

Kagami gripped it tightly, ready to get up and make good on her threat, but Marinette grabbed it from her, unbothered by the fencer’s unimpressed glare.

“No-one is stabbing anyone. I don’t really have a choice, so I just have to suck it up and deal with it. Besides, it could be good to get away from Lila.”

Chloe was the first to get up to give her a hug, followed by Luka, and then by Kagami, who Marinette wasn’t completely sure that she wasn’t just trying to get her sword back.

“It’ll be ok guys, we can still video chat through Skype or something. I won’t be able to text, because I’ll be on an American phone plan, but we can figure something out!”

Chloe pulled away and took out her phone, tapping away immediately.

“I’m going to get you an amazing phone plan, with unlimited overseas. Same for the rest of you. That way, we can all talk and not worry about the fact that there’ll be an ocean dividing us.”

Marinette slowly took the phone and added it to her slowly growing pile, pointedly ignoring the glare Chloe shot her.

“I’m sure there are other, free, ways to contact each other. I think there’s an online service, what’s the name in English? Chaos or something like that?”

Luka strummed at his guitar in thought before pulling up an app on his phone.

“Is this the one you were thinking of?”

He had opened Discord, in dark mode of course, and had his profile open.

“Yeah, that’s the one! We can talk on there, and it has the bonus of being accessible from computers! So, no reason to go overboard, ok Chloe?”

Chloe humped and opened up the app store, downloading Discord. Kagami noticed what she was doing and mirrored her. They all took a few minutes to make accounts and become friends, before Luka, the one with the most experience, had set up a server for them all. Quickly choosing nicknames, Marinette pocketed her phone with a grin.

“Now that that’s done, anyone want to come help me pick some things to take?”

~~<3~~

It felt like the week passed quickly, lessons passing by in a blur. She didn’t pay much attention, just enough to keep Mrs Bustier satisfied. She didn’t bother alerting anyone in the class (outside of Chloe) that she was leaving, ignoring their taunts and insults. Chloe and Kagami had been big helps in learning how to ignore them, so now they rolled off her like water on a duck. She made sure not to bring anything valuable, most of her stuff was in a suitcase anyway. On her final day, she only had her schoolbooks, the school assigned tablet, and three neatly wrapped gifts. As she was packing up to go meet her friends for a final goodbye, she was stopped by Alya.

“I need you to make a dress for the upcoming school dance.”

Marinette briefly noted that this was a demand, rather than a request, but she just started her usual commission speech with a sigh.

“Depending on the materials used and the time it takes to make, the dress could cost anywhere from €300 to €500. There will also be shipping costs, plus the fact I’m not taking commissions right now, so it will probably be a few weeks before I might be able to get started on it.”

Alya was staring at Marinette like she had grown another head.

“€300, what are you talking about? I’m not paying youfor a dress, and you make mine every year, so what’s the problem? I can’t wait a few weeks, the dance is next weekend!”

Marinette sighed and pushed past the taller girl.

“The problem is that I don’t have time, materials are expensive, and I made you those dresses when we were friends. But we’re not now. So, leave me alone. Goodbye Alya.”

She walked out to meet her friends, leaving Alya behind, too stunned to talk. When she snapped out of it, she grumbled to herself.

“She’ll see reason on Monday. She has no right to refuse after all she’s done to Lila! Maybe if she makes Lila’s dress too, she’ll forgive her! Lila’s nice like that, Marinette will come around after making up for everything she’s done!”

Alya walked away, satisfied, planning her new dress in her mind.

Marinette ran up to her friends, engulfing them in hugs. They all hugged right back, sad to see her go. Marinette suddenly pulled away from the hug, and grabbed three parcels out of her bag. She handed them all out, urging them to open them. Luka opened his first, finding a beanie that perfectly matched his hair, with a teal snake pattern around the rim. Chloe went next, her patience not holding any longer. She got a headband with tiny bees embroidered all along it. Kagami received a red handkerchief, with an elemental dragon on one side, and a storm cloud on the other, a lightning strike going all the way across. They all started to thank her at once, with Marinette just blushing sheepishly.

“I just took note of all your favourite heroes, and added them to a design. It’s not that big of a deal.”

They all hugged again, before the clock chimed behind them, making Marinette jump.

“I have to go! I’ll send you all a message when I land, but you better not stay up for it if it’s late here!”

A chorus of “No promises!” filled her ears as she ran home, taking in the sights one more time. She burst into the bakery to find her mum still working the counter, and her dad busy baking. Not thinking much of it, she went up to her room to grab her belongings. After some quick cuddles from the kwami, she had everything she needed. Most flew into the suitcase, comfy in the hidden area Marinette had made, lined with a soft faux fur. Only Tikki and Kaalki flew into her jacket, ready to transform if need be. They had assured her they wouldn’t show up on the x-ray, so she was fine with having them in there. As she lifted her suitcase and went downstairs, her strength from being Ladybug shining through, she was surprised to see her parents still busy at work.

“Maman, Papa, I thought we were going to the airport now?”

Her parent’s exchanged looks before Tom stopped his baking and walked over.

“Honey, we can’t afford to come with you, we need to keep the bakery open. There’s an Uber outside for you, but you’ll have to go on your own. I’m sorry.”

He pulled her into a hug, one she half-heartedly returned. She walked over to hug her mum as well, and went outside with her suitcase.

This was it.

She was really being sent away.

All because of some dumb liar.

With a comforting press coming from inside her jacket, she got in the Uber, prepared to start her new life.

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous marinette #marinette dupen chang #miraculous au #miraculous fandom #miraculoustalesofladybugandcatnoir #ml salt fic #superfamily #supergirl #arrowverse #kelly olsen #alex danvers #lila bashing #lila salt #class salt #alya+salt #chloe sugar

[vodkassassin]

world state: refresh, chapter two

Last chapter: “—From the description, it’s basically the same as the synopsis of your run of the mill VRMMORPG anime, except the virtual games are real worlds.”

“Sure, but if they’re real worlds, then what does being a Game Master mean?”

Shen Yuan grins down at him.

“Hey, Airplane,” he says. “How do you feel about being an actual god?” [Read ch. 1]

—

“Oh, yaaawn!” She throws herself back onto the plush surface behind her and stretches her arms above her head. “Man, what a chore! Hey, Dorazou, make a note to always double check the Mission Rating before accepting an Assignment in the future. No way in hell am I gonna be doing that again!”

“AwRAWRight!” The tiny avatar cheers, pumping a little red scaled fist into the air. “Reminder set! Hey, Host, if it’s any consolation, this system thinks you totally aced it!”

“Hmm,” she crosses her arms and stars at the collection of screens that have popped into existence before her. “The mission grading will be the judge of that. Let’s see, here…. Oh, awesome! I earned a double S score! You know what that means!”

Dorazou gives another little roar cheer that sounds more like a kitten's mew than anything. Ah, so cute! “Host may close her next Assignment! Congratulations!”

The agent gathers her hair up into a loose and messy bun at the top of her head, breathing out a sigh of relief. “Awesome. Let’s choose something easy, why don’t we? That last world was only an A-rank, but it gave me a lot more trouble than I bargained for. It should have been labeled at least S-tank! Dorazou, bring up all available Assignments. B-rank or lower only, please!”

“Gotcha!” The tiny dragon-themes sprite gives a little twirl, it’s clunky arms flailing adorably. “Assignment list set to: Easy!”

“Perfect, thanks! Let’s take a look, now… Otome-world…. Fantasy style cooking show star, haha. I have zero talent in that area, so please decline it for me, Dorazou…. Another Knights Order needs a Pure Heavenly Maiden for such and such ritual, ah, that honestly just sounds so sinister, decline! And here we have yet another otome assignment, damn. These things are such pests. Oh, what’s this?”

Sitting up, the agent leans in and peers closely at the screen, eyes bright in excitement. “Hey, Dorazou! This one calls for a team of agents!”

“That is correct!” Dorazou says, beaming. The dragon floats up to sit comfortably on the girl’s shoulder. “System Agents 74 and 81 have put in a request for additional manpower in the Game Master Assignment for World-120MAX. If Host accepts, she and four other agents will be tasked with working under the leadership of Agent 74 in creating and managing a Game World.”

She tilts back again, kicking her legs up into the air with some excitement. “What’s the deadline?”

Dorazou is quiet for a moment as it studies the screens. It gives a hearty cheer and pats the agent on the head. “No deadline! Host will remain on Agent 74’s GM Team until it is decommissioned by the Team itself!”

She jumps off the beanbag entirely to float up into the air, catching the little dragon sprite and hugging it to her chest. “Awesome! So it’s basically a neverending paid vacation, if we want it to be? That totally rocks! Dorazou, we lucked out with this one!”

“AwRAWRight!” The tiny system cheers, looping its scaly arms around her neck in a hug. “Is Host choosing this Assignment, then?”

“As if I’d ever turn down a chance like this! System Agents hardly ever get to work together! Dorazou, please confirm my acceptance!”

“Assignment chosen! Does Host wish to rest in the home space before starting?”

“Nah, I’m way too pumped now,” she clenches her fists and grins. “Dorazou, let’s go meet our new friends!”

“RAWR! World-120MAX loading! Twenty-eight percent! Fifty-percent! Eighty-three percent! World load complete! Entering database now!”

The agent grins as she dissolves into light. This is gonna be sweet!

—

“Nice to meet you! My name is Myra Khol, System Agent 23! I’m here for the Game Master Team Assignment!”

“The what?” The boy says, expression just positively befuddled as it has been when she’s first loaded into the world, and Myra tilts her head in slight confusion. Has this guy never met another agent before?

She hops down from the tree and steps over to him, a little surprised when he takes a step back in return. Man, this guy is shy! How cute!

“Wait a minute, did you just say ‘System’?” The boy straightens up, his eyes going even wider than they’d already been. “Does that mean you are also a transmigrator?”

“What else would I be?” Myra huffs out with some bemusement. “You guys clearly haven’t put any people in this world yet, so the only ones you’d be seeing are yourselves or another agent.”

“Agent…” the boy echoes, holding the fan up to his lips in thought. It’s an endearing gesture, something so old fashion being slightly out of place with the futuristic fantasy design of the boy’s outfit, and yet it still somehow fits him.

Myra blinks at him, and then decides to take pity. From the looks of it, this kid is a noob at the job. She remembers when that had been her. The good old days!

“Didn’t your Systems explain it to you guys yet?” She asks.

At her words, the boy’s expression darkens. “The System? No. Why would the System explain anything?”

Oh. That sounded like anger, there. Myra reaches out a hand and nervously scoots her precious Dorazou over until it’s hidden behind her back. The little dragon makes a tiny noise of confusion, but goes along with it.

The boy narrows his eyes at her action. “Speaking of systems… is that one yours?”

“Um, well,” Myra coughs. “Yes? But! Dorazou is such a sweet little thing! Wouldn’t harm a fly! Please take care of it!”

The boy looks confused. “Wouldn’t harm a fly! Have you never been threatened with Punishment Protocol?”

Myra gapes, aghast. “No! That’s reserved for triple S class worlds on the highest difficulty setting! Why would an Assignment like that be given to newbie agents?”

The boy stares at her, face pale.

“Oh.” Myra presses her hands over her mouth, staring at him in horror. “I mean, I’ve heard it happening only once. Someone being given an extreme-difficulty Assignment for their very first world. It was basically an impossible mission, but she luckily managed to complete it successfully. The Assignment Parameter glitch that led to it was suppose to have been fixed since then, though. Are you really saying…?”

The boy lets out a weak sounding laugh, bowing his head. He rubs the back of his arm across his eyes, and Myra feels something in her chest ache at the sight. These two agents… they’ve really been through the wringer, haven’t they?

Clearing her throat hesitantly, she asks, “The Assignment said there were two agents behind the request. Since you’re here, where’s your partner?”

“He’s on the other side of the Level, touching up on some persistent glitches that are occurring in quadrant five,” the boy releases an aggravated sigh. Then, he glances at Myra in surprise. “Oh, I haven’t introduced myself yet, have I? My name is Shen Yuan, it’s really nice to meet you.”

Myra grins back at him, relieved. “Is it? For a moment there, I thought you weren’t happy to see me.”

“Are you kidding?” Shen Yuan laughs again, and this one is much lighter. It suits him way better than the faintly grieved sound from before. “I am ecstatic to meet you. It’s nice to know that we’re not as alone as we thought. Here, I’ll take you to my… partner. He should be about finished by now.”

Myra bounces onto her toes in excitement. She grabs Dorazou by the tail and troops after Shen Yuan when the boy turns his back and begins to walk away.

“Man, not being given a tutorial world really sounds like it sucked,” Myra says, side eyeing her new teammate as she comes up beside him.

Shen Yuan has an odd smile on his face when he replies. “It was… definitely something, yes.”

“You want me to lodge a complaint with Management?” She asks, a pinch of worry between her brows. “If all three of us do it, they’ll have to take another look at the glitch and make double sure that it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”

Shen Yuan is quiet for a long while as they walk along the quaint little dirt path. The silence stretches into minutes, and Myra decides to leave him to his thoughts, because it looks like he’s pondering something pretty deep.

She busies herself with checking out their surroundings as they move along. Shen Yuan has called this area the Level, and she’s assuming it’s the first of its kind, and therefore intended to be the Starting Area for the Players when they enter into this world. She’s done her reading while loading into the Assignment, so she’s fairly confident in her ability to assist Shen Yuan and his partner with whatever sort of administration work they need help with. So far though, from what she’s seeing, the two of them are actually off to a really good start. One or both of them must have some sort of experience in world building.

What a perfect Assignment for them, if that’s the case.

Especially if what Shen Yuan says is true, and he really had suffered through a triple S class of extreme difficulty for what was suppose to be their tutorial world. He really deserves a paradisal vacation such as this, where he can recuperate from the troubles he’d faced.

“It shouldn’t have happened in the first place,” Shen Yuan finally says, voice so quiet that Myra wouldn’t have heard it if the rest of the world around them wasn’t dead silent. It seems the audiosphere hasn’t been set up, yet.

Myra glances over to her side, and finds Shen Yuan staring down at the ground with a frown on his pretty face. His hands are clenched into fists at his sides.

“You said they already patched the glitch, so it shouldn’t have happened. They — whoever they are — clearly didn’t do their job.”

Myra bites her lip, and hugs a strangely quiet Dorazou to her chest. “Yeah, so we should file a complaint, right? And we can get the rest of the team on board with it, too, once they get here. I’m sure they’ll agree, too.”

“The rest of the team?�� Shen Yuan asks, frown still present. He flicks his wrist, and the fan opens with a sharp snap and a skillful flourish. Myra stares at the action in awe. So refined! So graceful! And the fan itself was exquisite.

“I’m sorry, could you elaborate on the… Assignment Parameters you mentioned before? Xiao Lei and I just needed help, and the system said we’d have it. It didn’t explain what that help was, or where it would come from.”

Xiao Lei must be the other agent, Shen Yuan’ partner. Myra files the name away and directs a bright smile in the direction of her new teammate.

“Sure thing! Basically, your request generated a new Assignment in the listings for agents. It asks for five agents to form a team directly under you and your partner, though Agent 74 is suppose to be the team leader. That wouldn’t happen to be you, would it?”

Shen Yuan blinks at her, before his frown returns in full force. It looks faintly irritated this time, and the boy calls out, “System, what is my, uh, Agent number?”

There’s a faint sound of static, before a slightly stilted and robotic voice replies, “Host is filed as Agent 81.”

Myra glances down to see a Siamese cat, tail poised elegantly in the air and ears perked upright, weaving between Shen Yuan’s every step like a ghost. The cat glances up at her and blinks it’s bright blue eyes at her with an indifferent gaze.

“Oh, is that your System? It’s so cute!” She squeals.

The cat glances away from her, and Shen Yuan huffs.

“It’s an absolute snob, is what it is,” the boy refutes.

His system doesn’t look back up, and Myra feels a little bad for it, but…. Well, she supposed, if she’s been trapped in an SSS-rank hell world for her first Assignment, she might have some resentment toward her system, too.

She clutched Dorazou to her chest at the terrible thought, and is comforted when the little dragon spite turns around to nuzzle her back. It seems she’s really lucked out, huh?

“Does your system have a name?” She asks, scratching Dorazou behind the ear.

“Does it need one?” Shen Yuan asks coldly.

Myra cringes, glancing down at the aloof-looking cat that darts between his legs. It doesn’t even twitch at the way that it’s host speaks about it, and Myra decides to change the subject least the air becomes too awkward.

“So, um, I guess your partner is the designated team leader, then!” She tries, her smile fixed in place.

Shen Yuan shrugs. He flutters the pretty fan in front of his face and holds his other arm behind his back. He looks like some sort of regal young master of an ancient dynasty, with a posture like that. Myra wonders what the setting of his last world had been. Imperial court drama, perhaps? That sort of plot was almost always a guaranteed S rank.

“It suits him,” Shen Yuan says. “He has the most experience in creating worlds, so I guess I’d follow his lead even if he wasn’t the boss. Though, I’ll definitely be there to advise him, so he doesn’t get too carried away.”

“Carried away?” Myra wonders.

“It happens, sometimes.” Shen Yuan grimaces. “If it’s true that we’ll be a team, then I’ll be counting on you to keep an eye on him, as well.”

“Yes, of course!” Myra is a little confused, but Shen Yuan obviously knows his partner best, so she’ll take his words to heart. She salutes him. “You can definitely rely on me for that!”

This gets her a faint smile, and she inwardly cheers. This boy is surprisingly difficult to get a response out of. Myra hasn’t met someone like him in a long time.

Suddenly, Shen Yuan pulls to a stop, and gestures ahead of them. “We’re here,” he says, and then sighs. “Looks like he’s not finished… I wonder….”

Myra looks ahead of them, to see a huge structure looming in the distance. The forest they’ve been strolling through has given way to an open plain, grasslands mixed with an opaque sandy desert. A few hundred meters away sits a hulking building, which in closer examination is not a building at all, but in fact some sort of autonomous being. It’s collapsed on its side, limbs askew, a central panel of its torso gaping open to allow its mechanical insides to be strewn about throughout the grass and sand around it. There’s faint noises of metal hitting against metal coming from within it, and when Myra squints, she can just make out a tiny figure perched on the very edge of the thing’s opened chassis.

Shen Yuan takes a step forward, and Myra keeps back. He closes his fan with a satisfying clack and slips it into the pocket of his shorts, and then cups his hands around his mouth. “Hey, Shang Lei! Come here!”

Oh, so the other agent’s name was Shang Lei, not Xiao Lei.

Myra pokes at her lip in thought as she watches the distant figure poke it’s head up out of the mechanical innards of whatever creature they were tinkering around inside of. Shen Yuan, Shang Lei… those names both sound pretty Chinese to her. And in Chinese, Xiao is often used as a diminutive or an endearment. So, this must mean that Shen Yuan and Shang Leo are actually very close friends, right? Myra covers her smile with a hand.

Due to context gathered from Shen Yuan's earlier words, it must also be likely that they were partners in their last world. Meaning that Shang Lei also experienced what was, in layman’s terms, called a Hell Assignment. And it is likely that the Hell Assignment was also Shang Lei’s first Assignment, given that Shen Yuan has no idea about a lot of System Agent common sense.

If they were partners all this time, if Shang Lei had previous transmigration experience, he’d have schooled his partner on it by now. And yet, Shen Yuan was ignorant of a lot of things.

Myra presses both her palms to her cheeks and sighs quietly as she watches Shang Lei approach them. Shen Yuan has stepped up to meet him, but she can clearly see the hesitant way that Shang Lei holds himself, the wary way that he eyes her. The way that he slides himself into the shadow of Shen Yuan’s barely taller stature when he realizes she’s looking back at him.

She sighs in her heart, as well, and clutches Dorazou in one arm like a teddy bear. Her system pays her on the hand.

“—apparently posted an assignment asking for other agents to come and lend us a hand.” Shen Yuan is explaining quietly to his partner — his friend. He gestures at her with a hand. “This is Myra Khol, the first one to accept the mission.”

Myra steps forward the smallest step she can take without it seeming like she’s wary of them, too. It still makes Shang Lei duck even further behind Shen Yuan. She does not let it dim her smile.

“Hi, I’m Myra, System Agent 23! I’m pleased to meet you, boss!”

Shang Lei peeks out from behind his friend with wide eyes. There’s a complicated expression on his face.

“... Nice to meet you, too,” he mumbles, and curls back behind Shen Yuan as soon as the last word is out.

That is it! Myra has decided! She will help these two to the best of her abilities, not because it’s the Assignment, but because she wants to!

Dorazou! Edit Assignment self parameters!

[[Host!]]

The dragon sprite makes a soft noise from within her grasp. She sees the way that Shang Lei’s eyes dart down to it, and the frown that graces his face as he glances shyly back toward her with an expression that almost looks faintly concerned. For her. And given the fact that it’s very possible that Shang Lei’s opinion of systems is the same as Shen Yuan’s, due to their not-so-great past experiences, the look that he’s sending her now makes Myra’s heart melt.

[[Assignment parameters, self edit mode!]]

Myra’s smile broadens.

Take care of Agent 74 and Agent 81! Priority!

#scum villain's self saving system #bofuri #cheating men must die #world state: refresh #update #vodkassassin fanfiction #cucumberplane #vodkas ocs

[wishonastar7]

Timely Fate5

Starting the Paid Service(4)

I could hear laughter escape Dokja's lips but I ignored him in favor of opening the pdf that had been sent to me by the author. The file extension was txt.

[You have obtained an exclusive attribute]

[The exclusive skill slot has been activated]

[You have obtained an exclusive attribute]

[The exclusive skill slot has been activated]

My eyes widened in surprise. I knew that Dokja had gained an exclusive attribute while checking out the novel but I didn't think I would as well, and to think that I would gain two.

'Attribute Window.' I silently thought, a bit surprised when a screen that read [You cannot activate the Attribute Window] appeared. Thinking 'Attribute Weapon' once more, I was disappointed to be met with the same screen.

How the hell am I supposed to know my skills and attributes now? I closed my eyes, rubbing my forehead before hearing a small ding in my mind. I looked up and saw a small blue screen at the corner of my right side.

Curiously, I pressed on it. Immediately it opened up to show a screen that said [Companions].

The first one on the list was Dokja, then Yoo Sangah, Lee Gilyoung, Lee Hyunsung, and lastly Yoo Jonghyuk. Their names were gray though and besides their names were two boxes. The bigger one said [Info/Status] while the smaller one said [Request],

I quickly set Gilyoung down only to have him latch onto my fingers.

'Curious.' I clicked on the [Request] besides Dokja's name and saw Dokja's eyebrows raise. He gave me a quick look before the grey box on his name turned a bright blue with the words [Request] being replaced with [Accepted]. The [Info/Status] was 'on' now too and there were also three new circles stacked on top of each other on the far end of the box. One was a picture of a mic, the middle one a messaging symbol, and the last two hands stretched towards each other.

My eyebrows raised. A trading option. Oh, I could get lucky with this.

I tapped the messaging icon, only to find no keyboard. 'Hey Dokja' I thought, not surprised to see the words appear on the 'text' box. An arrow showing [Send] appeared beside it and I pressed on it.

It took a while before he responded. {Ha-Neul, is this one of your attributes?}

{Yeah} I responded. {I got two but I can't open my attribute window so I can't see what the other one is called.}

{I see. You shouldn't go around telling people about your attributes though.}

{I know. But I trust you and I was wondering if you may have had the same problem as I did.}

{..I did.} He sent a frowny face. I looked over to see him frowning, {This attribute is pretty cool. Look's like it'll be useful.}

Almost simultaneously we went 'offline' and looked down at our phones, I started looking through the novel. Wondering how we would get through this. Even though I knew how it would end, I'm here to fuck things up and not have Dokja die so many times.

[Your reading skill has increased due to the effect of the exclusive attribute] I was surprised for a second, but suddenly I had finished reading ten chapters in less than thirty seconds.

Suddenly, I caught a line.

[He saw people gathered at the back door of the 3707 compartment. The wheel of the tightly held lighter was cold. In this life, he absolutely couldn't make any mistakes. He would use any means possible. He took in the expression of fear in everyone's faces. He felt no guilt. Everything was fleeting. He looked down at the people with merciless eyes. After a while, his fingertips moved and fire rose. Then it all started.}

Fuck.

Without checking, I already knew what carriage we were on. [3807]. No matter how friendly Yoo Jonghyuk and I had been before his current regression, I wasn't in any others. He would suspect both me and Dokja. This carriage was doomed for death.

[He looked through the blurred window at the 3807 compartment. It was already too late. It was inevitable. Anyway, only two people survived in that compartment.]

Double fuck.

Quickly, I pulled up the [Companions] window and sent a request to everyone on the list. Unsurprisingly, Gilyoung accepted first. He looked up at me and I ruffled his hair.

Yoo Sangah accepted a few seconds later, followed by Lee Hyunsung but Yoo Jonghyuk's stayed on a purple [Request Sent].

Not that I expected anything. I could teach the others how to use it later, what was more important right now, though, was getting the first kill.

"Dokja-ssi, Ha-Neul-ssi, shouldn't we stop this?" Yoo Sangah suddenly said, looking towards a young man crouching down in front of the elderly woman.

I narrowed my eyes. That motherfucker.

"Shit!" He said, pulling at his collar. "I'm in a bad mood and this old lady keeps whining and groaning! Can't you shut up?" The young man was a high school student who had previously been leaning up against the entrance. I had seen his eyes flicker towards me a couple of times while the Dokkaebi had been speaking but I had chosen to ignore him.

With his thin figure and dyed-white hair, it was obvious who he was before I even had to read the name tag on his uniform. Kim Namwoon.

[Only lee Hyunsung and Kim Namwoon survived in that compartment. It doesn't matter, those are the only ones that I need anyway.] That was what Yoo Jonghyuk had thought in the original novel.

I wonder if he thought the same thing now, perhaps he did.

"Didn't I tell you to shut up?" The agitated teen grabbed the elderly women's collar, her powerless legs staggering. Kim Namwoon's palm moved through the air.

Slap! Slap!

I couldn't help but feel disappointed even though it was expected that no one would do anything. In normal times, multiple people would have come up to stop him and protect the grandma. Now, no one did a thing.

It didn't take long for the slaps to change into punches.

The old woman begged for help.

Surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, it was Han Myungoh (the department head), that spoke up first.

"Y-young man! Treating an elder like this-"

"Hey old man, do you have a death wish?"

"What?"

"You heard me, do you have a death wish? You still don't understand the situation?"

"What bullshit is the brat saying?"

Kim Namwoon pointed toward the ceiling of the subway train. There, a screen showed not just the deaths on the trains and High Schools but also people dying all over the country.

People cried and begged.

Others laughed sadistically or moaned in pain.

"Don't you understand? There's no way the army is coming to rescue us. Someone has to die."

"W-what are you saying...?"

"We have to choose who has to die."

Han Myungho didn't answer. The entire compartment was completely silent. Not a single breath.

I directed my burning gaze from the white-haired teen to the older woman.

Kim Namwoon had been the fastest way to survive in the new world of 'Ways of Survival.'

"A new world requires new laws old man, you heard what it said. Kill someone."

It wasn't because he was especially smart or anything. No. Kim Namwoon was a psychopath who found joy in others' misery.

He turned back to the older woman and started kicking her. "Hahh... It's really hard to kill." He looked back up to the others who had been standing motionlessly. "What, are you gonna just stand there, watching? Do you want to fall behind?"

He also had a way with words.

The others started trembling at his words, looking from one another.

"This-this bastard is right."

"Someone needs to die s-so that the o-others can live!"

A few people inched towards him and joined him in hesitantly kicking the older woman. Slowly their kicks became stronger and stronger and they even started hurling insults towards her.

"Die! Die quickly!"

I looked at the old woman then down to Lee Gilyoung who had been looking up at me for some time now. I pushed down my mask, brushed the hair off of his forehead, and leaned down to kiss him on the forehead.

"I'll be right back little darling."

I placed my bookbag down and took out a sleek black rectangular prism that was five inches tall and two inches in both width and length. It was cool to the touch but more dangerous than the seemingly 'innocent' look it had.

"Take care of this for me, all right?" Gilyoung nodded. With the fanny pack across his chest, the small blue taser in his right hand, and my bag in his left, he watched me walk away and towards the others.

I twirled the rectangular prism around in my right hand. When I was less than five feet away from the group, Kim Namwoon turned around and looked at me with a cocky smirk. My face remained neutral as I pressed a small button at the end of the prism.

In less than five seconds, the rectangular prism contorted into a needle-like shape that was well over three feet long. Its tip was dangerously sharp and its base was just thick enough to wrap my hand around. The sleek black needle wasn't heavy nor light but I felt no strain as I pointed its tip to Kim Namwoon's face.

"Everybody stop. You can't live if you kill the grandma." Kim Namwoon's face froze as he went cross-eyed looking at the tip. The others slowly looked up at me, faces paling as they saw the thorn-like weapon in my hands.

"Ok, say you kill the grandma. Then what next? Sure the grandma's death will buy some time as long as you kill her within the five-minute limit. But then what?"

"Ah..."

"If the dokkaebi told the truth, then you'll each have to kill someone. So, who will you kill after the grandmother? Who's going to be next?"

Horror slowly filled their eyes, as they listened to my word. In fact, they knew it was the truth. They knew my words were right.

Kim Namwoon saw the shaky figures of the others. He slowly backed away from me. Grinning.

"Haha! What are you saying? All we have to do is kill you next! Cowards, don't worry about your turn in advance. The odds are equal."

I let out a chuckle. He would be more believable if he wasn't backing away from me. I waved my free hand, "There's no need to kill anyone."

Immediately everyone looked up at me. "In fact, there's a way to pass this first mission without becoming a murderer."

"What?"

"Then what is it?"

Kim Namwoon scowled as the people slowly became agitated.

"Have you all forgotten?" I walked closer to the grandma and motioned for the others to come towards me. Once all three of them had arrived, I took the bag from Gilyoung and took out the box of crickets. I grabbed one and held it out for the others to see.

"The condition for the scenario isn't 'Kill A Person.'" That was when people noticed the condition properly.

[Kill one or more living things]

Kill one or more living things. Even if I had never read the novels, I thought that at least I would've been able to read the clear condition properly. Killing a 'person' had never been specified.

"I-I-insect!"

"G-give me an insect!"

I slowly applied pressure on the cricket.

"That's right, the insects." I slowly stepped back as the shining eyes of the others became closer and closer with every step they took towards me. The only ones who stayed in their places were Kim Dokja, Yoo Sangah, Lee Gilyoung (who Yoo Sangah had dragged to stand beside her, I was thankful), and Kim Namwoon who was silently fuming.

"Do you want them?" I waved the clear box of crickets in the air, my heart beating heavily and a smile threatening to break out. I was excited.

"P-please give me one!"

"Only one! I only need one!"

I crushed the cricket in my hand.

[You have achieved the 'First Kill' achievement]

[100 coins have been earned as additional compensation]

I threw the box in my hand as far away as I could. It landed on the other side of the compartment, as far away from the grandma and my little group as possible.

"Then go get them."

The crickets jumped out immediately as soon as they were given their freedom. A few even jumped towards us and both Kim Dokja and Yoo Sangah were given a chance to grab a cricket and crush it.

I looked down at Gilyoung. Who had already moved to my side, and noticed him looking at the hand full of insect guts in mild disgust. I chuckled before handing a baby wipe, from my bag to him and the others. I looked up at the mess I had created.

I felt an almost sadistic-like thrill crawl up my spine as I let out an unrestrained grin.

How amusing.

(2199)

#ORV #OMNISCIENT READER'S VIEWPOINT #FANFICTION #OC #ORVSPOILERS #YOO JONGHYUK #KIM DOKJA #YOO JONGHYUK X OC #KIM DOKJA X OC #SLOWBURN-ISH #MUTUAL PINING #FRIENDS TO LOVERS #KOREAN WAS GOOGLE TRANSLATED #KOREANWEBTOONBASED #KOREANLIGHTNOVELBASED

[villa-kulla]

Fic Writer Review

Tagged by @fontainebleau22, thanks for the tag, sorry for the delay!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

26 at the moment.

2. What’s your total AO3 wordcount?

722 309. I’d have thought it would be more considering how long some of mine seem to get, although looking at other people’s answers to this meme, I guess 26 isn’t really a huge number!

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

My first fic ever was a little Lord of the Rings experiment for an exchange thing. But my first proper dip into writing for a fandom would have been Breaking Bad, where I wrote for a couple of years before it felt like my ideas had run their course. Then there was a Kingsman fic, and then Mag7 where - similarly to BrBa - wrote feverishly for a couple years until it felt like the well had been plumbed. Oh yeah and then jumped into the Marvel fandom to drop one Marvel fic before immediately jumping back out lol.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

So the Marvel fic has officially just become my most kudoed fic, which is kind of hilarious considering it was a SUEZ! CANAL! FIC! But in my opinion, a good one lol. So yeah, it would be 1. The SamBucky Suez Canal fic, 2. The Kingsman soccer AU, 3. Desert Sand, 4. Chisolm’s 7, and 5. Blue Devils. That last one surprises me, but I guess it was an early one for the fandom, so I think it became an automatic read.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not

I do! It’s possible I’ve missed some here and there, but generally I try to get them all.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

I don’t think any of them! While my fics definitely include angst, ideally it’s still in a fun way, or at minimum, bittersweet? I don’t generally want the last taste in a reader’s mouth to be angst. ALTHOUGH. I really really wanted to include an epilogue to the selkie fic that’s kind of angsty. Basically the story would end, but then many years later we’d see an old man get off a bus on the coastal road, carrying a suitcase. He’d be wearing a suit, clearly back from many years travelling. He’d walk to the coast, back over a hill where there’d once been a little fishing cottage, long since torn down. He’d walk down to the beach and into a little cove where he’d kneel by the water he knew better than anyone. Opening the suitcase he’d take out a box which he’d then empty into the ocean, ashes spreading across the water. He’d take out a folded bundle of cloth and wrap it around his shoulders. Then he’d dive into the water, disappearing into the waves, leaving nothing but an empty suitcase behind him, and a folded pile of clothes.

I loved that ending but I’m still not 100% sure if it was keeping in tone with the actual ending, so I left it out. Maybe one day I’ll go and add it as en extra chapter snippet.

7. Do you write crossovers? If so what’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I don’t know if I’d call them ‘crossovers’ exactly, although I did stick Goody and Billy into a Some Like it Hot ‘jazz band on a train’ situation, and I also did a Breaking Bad one that used some elements of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Those feel more like ‘AUs’ though. I like situational crossovers, but I’ve never been super into fics where characters from different fandoms actually interact.

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Thankfully not. The most off-putting comment I’ve gotten was someone who - despite being very complimentary - decided to make a full-on laundry list all the anachronisms in a chapter lmao, like what. Stuff like "interesting that this character used this expression when XYZ would only been invented 10 years later!” etc. I’m positive they didn’t realize how it came off, but still, that was kind of hilarious in its.....obliviousness lol. It was special.

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I do. And I guess I’ve done the full spectrum of ‘fade to black’ to ‘describe every bead of sweat in pearlescent detail’. It really depends on what the fic calls for! I’ve done some I’m quite proud of tbh, but there are others I’d like to go back and have another stab at, just because they felt kinda cookie-cutter.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of!

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

There’ve been a couple! I can’t remember which ones specially, but I had some people asking to translate some Breaking Bad ones, and I think a Mag7 one too. I remember someone messaging to ask permission like “We love your fics in Russia!” and that was a very sweet and wild thing to hear.

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yes, I wrote one with @yoporkchopsandwiches! Our Victorian opium dens Breaking Bad AU lol. I was just thinking of that recently actually and remembering how fun it was to read what the other wrote! We plotted out most of it together, and then took turns writing chapters or scenes. But of course while writing you come up with other details or ideas, so we’d then present the new chapter to the other with all the new bits added. And it was so fun to read what the other came up with like ‘omg no way didn’t see that coming/good idea!’ and then picking up their idea from there. In that sense it was almost like improv but for writers.

13. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

That I’ve written? I think I’ve had the most fun with Goodnight/Billy, partly for the time period, partly for the dynamic, but mostly for the plausibility. While I really enjoyed writing BrBa, it felt more like it came from enthusiasm for the show, not the central ship lol. Don’t get me wrong, the chemistry and its potential was extremely fun to write in a fic setting, but I don’t find I actually shipped it while watching the show itself. Whereas it’s been nice with Mag7 to write for a ship that’s actually....more believable lol. 

14. What’s a wip that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

Ugh I can’t beLIEVE I have an unfinished fic up on ao3 lol it haunts me. I was sure I was done with Goodnight/Billy, and then early quarantine last year I had a train robbers AU idea, so I posted a couple chapters. But I don’t think my heart was super in it, I was more just messing around with the idea. I don’t want to delete it, but I’m also not super motivated to finish it haha, but we’ll see what happens. But tbh I like the poem summary better than the fic itself:P

15. What are your writing strengths?

Plotting, keeping things moving, and making stories feel visual maybe? They’re almost all movies in my head anyways, so I think I have good instincts for ‘cinematic moments’.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

I think I’m a little lazy, and also ‘end-product oriented’. In some ways it’s helpful to picture the whole fic before you write it, but sometimes it results in some scenes feeling slightly slapdash because I’m just trying to get them out to move onto the next. Like ‘everyone did everything I wanted to in this scene? Great, next.’ I could stand to ‘stop and smell the roses’ more while I write, and actually see what else I can do to improve a scene.

(also if I use a word once it sticks in my head I end up using it like 5 other times in a scene and don’t notice lol, I need to stop that)

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

All for it! Depends how it’s done though. I personally find long scenes of dialogue where you have to constantly jump down to the author’s notes for the translations to be distracting. I like when it’s integrated more naturally where actual translations aren’t super important. Like in River Grit, Billy overhears this little exchange between Goodnight and his childhood nanny:

“Ah c’est vrai, mon petit Bonsoir! J’en peux pas le croire!” she cried out and laughed as she embraced Goody. Billy realized with a start that he actually recognized one of the words: ‘Bonsoir’. Goodnight. (insert brief flashback of Goody teaching him the nickname) / “Ma Serafine,” Goodnight said with a laugh. “C’est vrai que tu ne vieillis pas. Tu vas me rendre jaloux, heh?” / Billy had no idea what Goodnight was saying, but he sure as hell recognized Goodnight’s tone for flattery, and it was confirmed when the old woman laughed and smacked his arm.

What they’re actually saying is: “Oh it’s true, my little Goodnight! I can’t believe it!” / “My Serafine, it’s true you never age. You’re going to make me jealous”. But it doesn’t matter because this fic is from Billy’s POV so it’s about how he experiences the language around him, which is why I wouldn’t have included a translation for the reader. If you understand it then it’s a bonus, but the words themselves aren’t really the point! 

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

That lil Lord of the Rings fic.

19. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Hmm for Mag7 I’ve always liked River Grit and love how it turned out. I also think Ashes feels very complete as a fic and I liked the flashback format. And while it’s not my favourite fic, in hindsight I’m impressed with the Kingsman football fic and how I had to write about 5 different soccer games and make them all feel different and exciting, and not just some variation of ‘He kicked the ball!’ I’m really pleased with how those sequences all turned out.

La fin! Not tagging anyone this time, but please feel free to do this if you see it! I love when people just take initiative to do these things without waiting for a tag (also please tag me in it if you do, ‘cause I love reading these things lol)

#shares #fontainebleau22

[misterewrites]

Intro to Jaime 101 and a Half

Hey everyone! E here hoping you are all good. It's time for a new chapter of Mirror's Edge! Haha been a while huh? I was actually writing a mini arc for welcome to an Underground cuz it felt right you know? Better to get all that put together and squared away. And now that that's done, here we are.

Umm the next thing I write will either be another's Mirror's Edge chapter, the last intro chapter before I get into actual story arcs or maybe some fandom stuff I haven't decided. 

Anyway, I hope you are all safe, sound, keeping your loved ones safe too, wear a mask, wash your hands, vaccinate yourself if you can, push to release the vaccines world wide and be careful. Have an amazing week and see you soon with a new chapter and or story! feel free to leave likes, reblog, comments and recommend this to your friends! I appreciate it, enjoy!!

Here’s the chapter over at a03 if you wanted have an easier time reading cuz tumblr hates me!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30599756/chapters/80953405

Here’s the story from the beginning if you’re curious what’s it all about

https://archiveofourown.org/works/30599756/chapters/75486005

And here’s a link to all my stories 

https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrE42/pseuds/MrE42

Summary:  Jaime, adoptive sister of Finnrick and fiancée of Casey, is late to work. The Grimoire, magical library and hub of all knowledges is her workplace and she has thrown herself into it completely for whatever reason. Still with Casey lingering on her mind, she can't help but feel torn between her love of books and the love of her life.

-----

As Jaime hurried away from Willow’s Rook and Casey, she couldn’t help but feel disappointed in herself. She told herself under no circumstances she would see her fiancée but one glance towards his office and Jaime was knocking on his door without a second thought. A ten minute conversation later and now she was late to work.

She sighed, glancing downward towards the engagement ring snugly wrapped around her finger.

Jaime’s heart raced beyond her control as her fingers tingled with the warmth Casey’s cheek. She could still feel the pulsing of their hearts beating in time with one another, love and longing palpable in that moment.

“Jaime, why do you do this to yourself?” she murmured sadly “You said don’t see him. You said don’t visit him. You said you could handle this whole break and now we’re late.”

Jaime picked up her pace, power walking in hopes somehow that could shave off the seconds she desperately needed to avoid being reprimanded: The Grimoire may have been a library but it had a strict late policy both on books and personal.

-----

The Grimoire was as elegant as it was ancient: The library was one of the oldest buildings in Newton Haven, constructed when the city was little more than a mile of stacked bricks among swampland. Faded red stone archways and columns did nothing to belittle the power and importance of the Grimoire. Even the mundane folk could feel the magical force that radiated from within, a fantastic world beyond the threshold.

Of course there was a fantastic world hidden inside: The library was one of the major hubs for the magical community and it wasn’t uncommon to see various races searching the many bookshelves for whatever subject tickled their fancy.

The interior was elegant and timeless: The walls and floors were soothing shades of brown with furniture pulled from all eras of human history. Three stories of endless knowledge about countless subjects. Translucent spirits hurried back and forth, humming happily in death as they did in life while they performed their duties to the Grimoire. In the center, amid the hustle and bustle, stood a spiraling staircase that disappeared beyond the ceiling to the Librarian’s office.

There, just past the entrance and to the side, was a security desk with a figure lazily sitting upon it: He was humanoid, muscular and impossibly large, easily seven feet tall. His skin was gray as storm clouds and his eyes shone with an electric blue shade. His hair and beard were frosted white like he dove face first into snow. His uniform consisted of a dark blue buttoned up collared shirt that was one flex from tearing in two and old rugged jeans. His black combat boots were immaculately cleaned as he placed them on the surface of the desk.

He clicked his tongue as he slowly turned the page on the latest romance novel he had been enthralled by.

“Sinclair, you’re late.” He spoke softly but even a whisper couldn’t stop his voice from reverberating throughout the hall.

Passerby’s shot confused glances at one another but no one stopped at Dusty’s declaration

The storm giant sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly “Sinclair, you’re not fooling anyone.”

Silence and more quizzical glances.

Dusty shook his head, disappointed as he snapped his finger.

The air smelled of fresh rain while a source-less thunder boomed overhead. Nearby, a person, previously invisible, flickered into existence. Their previously camouflaged self changed into a rainbow of colorful hues before bursting into a flurry of sea green sparks and revealing a sheepish Jaime, her hands raised in defeat.

“Sinclair.” Dusty’s voice was dry yet amused.

Jaime clasped her hands together as she made her way over to the storm giant’s desk “Dusty! I...”

“Am late.” he finished for her, a gentle chuckle escaping his throat “Remington again?”

“Whaaaaaa?” Jaime’s face scrunched into a false sense of surprise “No, no. Come on. Me and Casey are….well you see…..it’s frankly none of your business.”

Dusty nodded wisely “True. It is none of my business. Go on before I sic the ghosts on you.”

Jaime gave a quick curtsy before running as quickly as she could. Dusty rolled his eyes before returning to his romance novel he was previously captivated with.

-----

Everyone who worked in the Grimoire had their own personal office tucked away somewhere to ensure privacy for personal studies. Jaime’s office was in the back of the library, hidden behind the alchemy section. It was one of the wider offices, more akin to a school class room. True to her wizard background, it was messy: Piles of folders, books left open and hastily scribbled papers were sprawled about. A fairly sized cauldron sat ontop of her desk, currently not in use. Sticky notes littered randomly across the walls. And like any true wizard, a magical circle was engraved directly into the center of the room for varying purposes.

Despite the appearance of her lair, she was actually one of the more organized of wizards. Even her prodigal brother Finn’s lair wasn’t as well maintained and cataloged as her. Though, to be fair, she did have help most wizards didn’t.

Jaime placed her bag by the door, eyes searching about for her helper.

“Bartholomew! Bartholomew Ringtail, you here?”

A moment past before the sound of rustling papers and scuttling paws could be heard. Jaime reached into her pack and pulled out a bag of popcorn just in time for Bartholomew reach out for the treat.

Bartholomew Ringtail, like his name suggested, was raccoon. Light gray fur, little black mask over his snout and tiny adorable paws. However, unlike most of his kind, wore a small cap upon his head and that made him cuter than the average raccoon.

Well that and the fact he was magical.

While her brother was a master practitioner of powerful protective wizardry, Jaime’s skills lay elsewhere as a conjurer. Her strength came in summoning powerful familiars to further her goals.

Normally a wizard would have to spend time preparing the ritual, collecting the materials related to whatever being they were trying to bring onto this plane. Demons, angels, fey, constructs of strange and alien machinery from beyond human understanding. Anything could be summoned if you had the proper knowledge and power.

Normally such rituals would take hours if not days to perform: Time to gather magical energies, to search the planes of reality for your being of choice and of course drag it kicking and screaming to you. Also summons were temporary as beings not native to the plane could only be sustained by whatever magic brought them. Much like a timer, the magic would slowly fade and once empty any being summoned are forcibly returned from whence they came.

Jaime was much faster and more persuasive in her summoning spell casting. She could do it in a matter of minutes as opposed to days though it still required a massive amount of magical energy, Unlike other wizards, conjurer summons did not decay over time. Whatever they brought into this world stayed in this world unlike magic could no longer maintain their form, usually from being attacked over and over.

Bartholomew was one such creature. In fact Bartholomew was Jaime’s first summon back when she was a fledgling wizard being trained by her brother. She wasn’t hundred percent where exactly he came from but she was grateful for her longtime companion and friend.

Bartholomew popped open the popcorn bag and hurriedly began to stuff handful of the tasty snack into his waiting maw.

Jaime smiled brightly before glancing about room, quietly complementing which project to continue.

A wizard’s magic was as much studying as it was practice.

Finnrick once described the difference between wizards and other casters as using a phonebook. The others were given a phonebook by some higher power. The numbers were already written down and set. However, they could only use those numbers and each different caster had different numbers for different purposes.

Wizards, on the other hand, no such phonebook. They have work hard, study and call each number to understand what the number did. Aside from being tutored by other wizards or spellbooks or other sources of knowledge, the wizard must discovered and write down the numbers on their own, creating their own phone book. Of course that meant wizards weren’t as limited as the other casters and were free to discover a possible infinite amount of spells.

Jaime took a step forward when a voice called out to her.

“Hey sis!”

Jaime whirled around to find the smiling face of her brother Finnrick, fedora in one hand and a friendly wave in the other.

“FINNY!” Jaime cheered, racing forward and wrapping her brother in a tight hug.

Finnrick laughed before returning the gesture “Hey Jai, how you doing?”

“Good” Jaime broke away “Great even! I was just about to practice my spells. I’m still having trouble.”

“Sis.” Finnrick’s voice became firm “It’s visual as much as it is feeling.”

“I know, I know” Jaime shifted uneasily under his gaze “It’s just I usually just bring in heavy hitters, not be one.”

“Any wizard can stick to their strengths. Great wizards are well versed in all forms magic. Spar?”

Jaime gave a crooked smile “Loser buys lunch.”

“And dinner” he cockily added.

Jaime motioned to the circle but Finnrick was already on it. Clasping his hands, Finnrick murmured something too softly for her to hear then pushed his arms outward. A blue dome formed over the two, encasing them in a makeshift arena.

Jaime took her place opposite of her brother “Ready?”

“Sisters first.”

Jaime closed her eyes. She imagined a flame in the palm of her hand. She imagined the heat from the flame. She imagined how it shifted back and forth with a gentle breeze. She saw it clearly in her mind’s eye and then she willed it into reality

“Inferus!” Jaime shouted, her hands glowing with a sea green glow. The flame burst into existence, just as she created. She pulled her arm back and lobbed it with as much force as towards her brother.

Finnrick didn’t budge an inch while flame sailed his way. He rose his hand calmly and with a mighty swing, backhanded and sent the flame skittering across the floor.

Finnrick didn’t waste any time in his counter attack. His finger tips gleamed with blue magical energy and with a flick forward, unleashing a barrage of icicles.

Jaime outstretched her hand forward, sea green glyph forming in the air. A thin matching barrier appeared in front of her in time to catch the first of the icy attack but as the rest collided, cracks began to widen and spread with each successive blow.

“Don’t fight like me Jaime!” Finnrick scolded, sending another wave of icy daggers.

The barrier hadn’t lasted under the second barrage: The moment an icicle collided with her shield, it broke, scattering and fading out of existence.

Jaime, however, was prepared. She ducked and weaved under the attack, pivoting her heels like a graceful dancer while moving her way out of the line of fire.

Jaime twirled about, gathering the magic in her hands before sending outward. Long streams of flames began to swirl about like tendrils reaching for prey as she spun about.

Finnrick gestured at her with a finger gun and clicked his tongue, bringing down his thumb like a hammer of a gun. Jaime’s eyes widened with surprise as she felt some foreign entity began to shift and make her spell uneven. She tried to maintain it but Finnrick’s surge of magic was too much for her. The magic she held exploded, the flames vanishing as the force of the spell breaking sent her sprawling to the floor.

Finnrick was already on the move, arching his arm backwards before throwing forward a bolt of lightning.

Jaime sprung to her feet, leaning as far back as she could to narrowly avoid attack. The lightning bolt struck the dome but before she could react, it bounced and struck her directly from behind.

Luckily it was a training session and only gave a her a light shove forward. Jaime flapped about wildly before she manged to get her balance steady.

“Game, set and match!” Finnrick beamed with a grin.

Jaime rolled her eyes “Big surprise my genius brother won. The dome’s so small I barely had room to move!”

“Exactly!”

Jaime shot her brother suspicious glare.

Finnrick rose his hands “Hey, never let your opponent dictate the field of battle if you can manage it.”

“Yeah, I should’ve seen that coming” Jaime sighed.

Finnrick made his way over and wrapped his sister in a loving one armed hug “Remember sis, real life has no rules.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Jaime nudged Finnrick’s ribs playfully “Whatever you say cheater.”

Finnrick ruffled his sister’s hair playfully “Life lessons are important to share to your siblings. Need help with anything?”

“Oh you better be spending time with me. After that thrashing you gave me, you owe me big.”

Finnrick stood up straight, hand raised in a lax salute.

Jaime responded by poking his stomach.

“Oww, I give I give!” Finnrick chuckled “Why must you resort to violence?”

“Family upbringing I guess.”

The two siblings fell into a peaceful quiet as they began shifting and searching through Jaime’s notes.

“Jaime?”

“Hmm?”

“Question.”

“Answer.”

“Any word on the big move?”

Jaime stopped, her hands hovering over a book.

“No” Jaime murmured weakly “No word yet. They’re still debating I guess.”

“Mhm” Finnrick replied without much else.

Jaime turned to her brother “Finn, I…”

Finnrick rose a hand to stop her “It’s your life. Your choice. If this is what you want, then I will be happy for you.”

“But?” Jaime added in.

Finnrick pursed his lips, running his finger down the spine of a nearby book “I want you to be content as well. I know you…..I mean….you’re still wearing the ring.”

Jaime glance down to her engagement ring. She could still feel Casey’s warmth underneath her fingertips, his heart beating rapidly in time with hers.

“Think about it” Finnrick said with a hint of finality “Life’s too random to live with regrets.”

“So” Jaime cleared her throat, desperate to change the subject “Any news on your angel?”

Silence.

“Finn?”

She found him fidgeting with his fingers, his cheeks blazing a bright red as he averted his gaze.

“Finn! You found her?! And you didn't tell me?!”

Finnrick gave a shy nod, biting his lips nervous.

Jaime lunged at him, wrapping her arms tightly around him in a loving embrace “That’s great bro! When am I meeting her?”

Finnrick turned to her, unsure what she meant “What?”

“When am I meeting her” she repeated.

“Umm….why?”

“To interrogate her of course!”

“Jaime!”

“What? Just cause you like her doesn’t mean I do.”

“Jaime, don’t you dare!”

“Try and stop me!”

Finnrick dove for her but Jaime saw it coming a mile away. She pivoted on her toes, twirling out of the way of Finnrick’s attack. As her brother began to chase her around the office, Jaime quietly enjoyed this moment between siblings.

She was going to miss this when she left Newton Haven behind.

#Mirror's Edge #Original Work #original story #my work

[firefly464]

The Real World - Chapter 6

Ok I’m really curious to see what you guys think of this one. Let me or Pami know what potential theories you may have because thats always very interesting 👀. 

Also I dunno if I’ve mentioned this before but constructive criticism is always welcomed and very much appreciated! I’m always looking to improve as a writer, and I’ve found that critiques 

Made in collaboration with @i-have-this-now

Master Post

First - Previous - Next

~~~

Dream stepped into the small building that had been dedicated to peace negotiations. It wasn’t much other than a single room with a long table, but the tension inside could have been cut with a knife. On one side of the table sat George, Sapnap, Punz, and Eret. All four were tense, ready to attack at any moment. It was completely different from the joking, playful atmosphere that has surrounded them that morning. Sapnap glared at the masked man as he entered the building, likely considering just how many different ways he could strangle him. Dream was once more thankful for the mask covering his face, as he turned away with a grimace. 

On the other side sat Tubbo and Fundy. The L’Manberg side of the table was filled with a very different atmosphere. They both wore expressions of very hesitant hope. Tubbo turned to Wilbur as he walked in, his eyes asking a silent question. 

The older man gave a small nod, his face revealing nothing. A of disbelief spread over Tubbo’s face. “What's the catch?” he asked hesitantly, staring at the masked man for an answer. 

A very small smile formed on Dreams face, although it was hidden to the younger boy. He shrugged, saying, “None. The Dream SMP surrenders to L’manberg.” 

The skeptic look on Tubbo’s face only increases. 

A low growl emerged from Sapnap’s throat. “Dream, you can’t do this,” he hissed sharply.

Dream ignored him, pulling the document from his bag. He rolled it out on the table. On the top of the document, in big, bold letters, read “Treaty of Surrender.” Under that, the words “By signing this document, the Dream SMP hereby recognizes L’manberg as its own, independent nation.” Below, in smaller print, was a list of different agreements. It wasn’t complex, mostly just outlining the basics of any peace treaty. But everyone knew what it meant. 

A quill sat in a small inkwell on the table. With a steady hand, Dream picked it up, and signed the paper. He had nearly started to sign his actual name, but had managed to catch himself last minute. Setting the quill down, he glanced at the men sitting at either side of him. “I require that at least one of my own men signs this treaty as a witness,” he declared, staring them each in the eye individually. 

The resulting silence was palpable. Not a single person stood, offering to sign the document. ‘They’re all too prideful. They don’t want to admit defeat,’ Dream thought as he looked at them. 

2 to 3 minutes passed in silence. Then, something surprising happened. Eret stood, staring at the paper with a furrowed brow. “I’m still becoming king, right?” he asked.

Dream nodded. He had figured that Eret had been promised the position by the other Dream, so he had made sure to include it. “Of course.” 

“Then I will sign.” In a swift motion, Eret signed the document and tossed the quill onto the table in front of Wilbur. 

Dream sent his friend a relieved smile. “Thank you Eret. Now then. Wilbur, it is your turn to sign.” 

Wilbur quickly read over the terms of surrender and signed the document, Tommy signing as well as witness. 

The entire room seemed to hold its breath as the quill scratched against the paper. It felt like the entire world had let out a huge sigh of relief the moment Tommy picked the quill back up. Dream smiled and rolled up the document. “Well then. The treaty shall be kept in here for safe keeping. You guys are good to go if you want,” he said, trying his best to sound official and important sounding.

Apparently it worked. Tubbo stared at where the document had been sitting moments before. In a soft tone, he whispered, “we did it…” 

Wilbur placed a hand on Tubbo’s shoulder, and very quietly replied “Yeah. We did it”

~~~

Dream watched as Tommy, Wilbur, Fundy, and Tubbo all left the small building. He had been hoping to leave as well, but one look at the people around him told him that wasn’t going to be an option. He gulped nervously. 

The moment that the L’manberg soldiers were out of view, Sapnap was on his feat, sword in hand. He stormed over to Dream, pinning him to the wall, blade across his neck. His face was twisted with anger and rage. “You son of a bitch what the hell was that about?! What the fuck were you thinking?!?!” 

“I have my reasons Sapnap,” Dream choked out. It was the second time in 24 hours that someone had held a sword to his neck, and it wasn’t a trend that he particularly enjoyed. Hopefully, it was a trend that wasn’t going to continue. 

“Bullshit! You swore to me that you were going to win this war! Not that you were going to fucking surrender!” He cried, pressing the blade into Dreams skin. Small beads of blood started to form where metal met skin. “We had them! We fucking had them and you went and threw it away like a coward!” 

“I didn’t realize that letting people live was such a crime Sapnap!” Dream shouted back. “I didn’t fucking realize that it was illegal to feel pity or sympathy!” 

His friend stared at him, before putting even more pressure against the blade. Dream was starting to panic slightly “I didn’t follow you to be lectured on granting mercy, Dream. I followed you because you swore you would win.” he took a step back, allowing Dream to fall to the ground at his feet.

Dream coughed several times, trying to recover from his windpipe being crushed. He pounded a fist to his chest, trying to clear his airway. When he looked up at Sapnap, he was greeted only with a kick to the chest, sending him sprawling across the floor. The mask, so carefully fixed by someone he had thought of as a friend, had flown across the room. Dream didn’t care. He wanted that mask gone. 

He lay there on the ground for a minute, trying to desperately catch his breath. “Wh-why…?” he asked, the words coming out as desperate gasps for air. 

“Heh. Never thought I would see the day when the great Dream lay at my feet, begging for mercy. Oh how the mighty have fallen,” Sapnap said with a chuckle. He turned towards the door. “I’m leaving. If you have any need of me again, you know where to find me. Just next time, I expect some actual fucking results.” 

George walked around the long table as Sapnap left, looking at his friend in concern. Eret and Punz had already left, leaving just the two of them. “I really hope you have a plan,” he said. His eyes were full of pity as he walked away, leaving the gasping man alone on the floor. 

~~~

“Dude, are you serious?” It was late at night, around midnight. Dream and Tommy were back at the training grounds, each trying to learn how to fight. Of course, they didn’t exactly have anyone to teach them, so they were both just practicing basic moves that Dream had seen George use. The results were… varied, to say the least.

As they spared, Dream had told Tommy what had happened earlier that day after the conference. “I mean, I knew Sapnap was a little bitch, but I didn’t realize he was that much of a dick here”

Dream shrugged. “He used to joke that he was like a mercenary, and only in it for the money. Guess that it’s less of a joke here.”

“I feel like anything that was jokingly on stream held some sliver of truth here. Including everyone’s personalities,” Tommy chuckled as he blocked a strike “that’s probably why no one trusts me here. I kinda acted like a complete idiot on stream”

“You still do.”

“Oh haha. At least I wasn’t a fucking psychopath”

Dream shook his head “I still don’t get why I was apparently so scary…”

“You literally sent us a voice clip saying that you would burn L’manberg to the ground if we didn’t surrender”

Dream let out a sigh “yeah… Yeah I suppose I did” 

Sensing the sudden mood shift, Tommy quickly tried his best to change the subject. “So… What about George? Is he any different from back home?” 

“George is…” Dream’s voice trailed off as he thought, trying to figure out how to put his thoughts into words. 

“George is no different from how he’s always been,” said the man in question as he stepped out of the shadows. For the third time that day, Dream found himself with the blade of a netherite sword against his throat. “Now then. Would either of you care to explain who the hell you are and what you’re doing here?” 

Tommy dropped his wooden training sword and raised his hands into the air, trying to look as harmless as possible. “George, how much… How much did you hear?” He asked, keeping his voice calm, despite the fact that he wanted to scream.

George shifted the blade so that it was now pointed at the teenagers throat, shutting him up rather quickly. “I heard enough to know that neither of you are who you say you are. What the fuck is going on?” 

Dream took a small step towards his friend, his hands up as well “Look, we’re still Tommy and Dream, I promise.” He knew that he couldn’t try to lie his way out of this one. To be honest, their best option was probably to tell the truth and hope George could keep his mouth shut. 

“Exactly!” Tommy chimed in, trying to be helpful. Dream glared at him. 

“Please. I’m not an idiot. I knew something was wrong from the moment you shot Tommy during the duel. The real Dream never would have taken off his mask, much less show any sort of regret,” George said, stepping forward so that his blade rested against Dream’s neck, in the exact same spot Sapnap had cut earlier.

“I’m still Dream, I swear! Just because I’m not fucking insane doesn’t mean I’m a different person!”

“Maybe, but the real Dream would know how to fight. He wouldn’t be flailing around with a sword like a chicken with its head cut off.”

Tommy snorted “He’s got you there. You do look really stupid.”

Dream made a choking sound in surprise “I- You look just as dumb!”

“Maybe, but at least I’m not supposed to be the world's greatest swordsman” 

“As a child, your opinion is automatically invalid”

“As a child, I automatically don’t give a shit.”

George’s eyes darted between the two, as if he were watching an intense tennis match. “Enough!” he finally yelled, shutting them both up pretty quickly. “All I want are some fucking answers!” He pressed his sword more against Dreams throat, opening the thin cut and allowing a small trickle of blood to form.

Dream gulped and looked at Tommy. Normally he would have taken control of the situation himself, but he didn’t exactly trust himself to not anger his friend. 

Tommy nodded, and started to explain their story. He told George how the two of them had suddenly been transported from their home to the SMP world. He explained how neither of them knew what was going on, or why they couldn’t leave. He even explained how back home, everyone had been friends. The war had been nothing more than a game, a show that they had put on for the sake of entertainment. As he spoke about his own home, he could feel tears start to pool up inside his eyes. He hastily tried to wipe them away, but it didn’t matter. George had already seen. 

The man lowered his sword, not once taking his eyes off either of them. “So you’re telling me that you come from a world where all of this,” he gestured around him towards the world as he spoke, “is completely fake.”

“Yeah, that sums it up pretty well,” Tommy replied, rubbing the red scar on his neck. It was a nervous habit that he had quickly picked up from Wilbur, despite the fact that he hadn’t even been there when he had received the scar. 

Dream stumbled back, using his jacket sleeve to try and stop the stream of blood from his neck. There was already a dark stain on the cuff from earlier that day. God, he was going to get a lasting scar if this continued. “We just want to get home,” He told George, “I promise, we don’t mean anyone any harm.”

George pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. “You both do realize how unbelievable this all sounds, right?”

“Yeah, we know” 

“I really don’t want to believe you… But this explains so much. Is that why you trashed your base?”

“I told you I was feeling stressed. I just may have failed to mention what exactly I was stressed about”

“I knew you weren’t feeling well… I just didn’t realize it was because of something like this. That's why neither of you know how to fight anymore, isn’t it?”

Tommy shrugged “Sword fighting isn’t exactly a common sport in our world. I’ve never even touched a real sword before this week.” 

“Oh my god… Does anyone else know?” George asked.

Dream looked over at Tommy, silently asking a question. Tommy shook his head “The only person who knows something is wrong is Tubbo, and he thinks I just have amnesia from a weird enchantment or something.” 

“Are you serious? I thought we agreed not to tell anyone!”

“This was before I even knew you were here! How else was I supposed to get any information? Besides, Tubbo’s my bro. I trust him not to tell anyone.” 

“What about Wilbur…? Does he know?” George asked, his brow furrowed in thought.

“Nope. I mean, he clearly knows that something is up, but other than that he has no idea.”

“That doesn’t seem right… Wilbur should know that his second in command is missing.”

Tommy cried out in outrage, “What do you mean? I’m right here!” 

“He means the other you. You know, the one that actually lived here?” Dream said calmly. 

“Exactly. That other Tommy is currently missing. Who knows where he could be. Wilbur deserves to know.” 

Tommy let out a groan of annoyance “ughhhh fine! I’ll tell him tomorrow. 10 bucks he isn’t going to believe me.”

“No way am I losing 10 bucks like that,” Dream replied. 

“Killjoy,” The teenager muttered. 

George was once more watching them both with confusion. He looked down at his feet, trying to weigh his options. That’s when he noticed the discarded training swords. An idea sprang into his head. “What if I tried to teach you both sword fighting? I’m not the best, but the other Dream taught me, and he was the best of the best.” 

Dream grimaced. Just another reminder that he was just an imposter. Still, he forced himself to nod. “That would be good. Thanks.”

~~~

“Please, I just want to go home…” Tommy said into the phone. It had taken a bit of work to convince Wilbur and Tubbo that he wasn’t insane and definitely knew what a phone was, but they had eventually caved. 

Wilbur hadn’t wanted to question his younger friend after who knows what had happened to him. It would have just stressed him out and made everyone more upset. So he had allowed Tommy to borrow his phone to call Dream. Now, him and Tubbo were sat at the table in Tommy’s backyard, hearing only snippets of the one-sided conversation.

“What do you mean? Why not?! I won’t do anything I promise!” A couple seconds of silence. Tommy’s face went slack in shock. “You can’t be serious. No, no no no you’re joking, aren’t you. Y-you wouldn’t dare.” More silence. “Fine! I won’t, I swear! Just please don’t do it.” 

Wilbur watched the conversation with concern. He could hear Tommy’s raised voice from where he was sitting, and what he was hearing was definitely good cause for concern. He glanced at Tubbo, who looked just as worried. 

“Yeah. Yeah, I will. Bye.” A long, drawn out tone sounded from the speaker. Tommy sighed and walked back over to Wilbur and Tubbo, trying his best to hide his tears. It didn’t work.

Tubbo was instantly on alert, trying to check on his friend. “Hey man, are you ok?” He made sure not to get too close after getting hit in the jaw. 

“Y-yeah. Yeah I’m good. Just… just a bit in shock still. A lot has happened in the past week…”

“You want to talk about it?” Wilbur asked gently.

Tommy shook his head violently “No. No I really don’t. Don’t worry guys, I’ll be fine. Thanks”

~~~

Master Post

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#pshhh guys its fineee #tommy's doing fineeee #everything is perfectly fine and absolutely nothing is wrong what so ever :D #:D #also fundy switches between fully fox and half human half fox #because people draw him as both #also sapnap is actually insane in this world but its fineeee #The Real World #dreamteam #dreamwastaken #Tubbo_ #Tubbolive #dream smp #dream team #georgenotfound #Wilbur soot #Sapnap #mcyt #mcyt au #my writing #fanfiction #L'manberg #The Real World AU #tommyinnit

[amethystroselilith]

Intertwined Fates (Chilumi/Zhonglumi) - Chapter 2

Uni is hell .-.

Also if you see any mistakes, please don't be shy to point them out so I can correct them haha, I'm might've missed them even with rereading rip

Can be read in ao3 here

SUMMARY: As an unexpected event happened, Lumine had to decide if she’s really ready to step forward and officially leave the past.

“Lumine, I thought you were going to bring the Tartaglia boy.” her mother sighed in disappointment as soon as Zhongli left, crossing her arms as she leaned back on their sofa, expensive wine in hand.

“Mother, must you be so rude?” Lumine can’t help but glare at her mother.

“How was I rude, dear? I was just getting to know him.” her mother smirked, “What kind of mother would I be if I didn’t see the type of man my only daughter is dating?” 

“You weren’t getting to know him, you were judging his financial situation.” Lumine frowned, “And if that wasn’t enough, you pried about his family history, which is a very insensitive thing to do.” 

Her mother rolled her eyes, “You’re dating a man who had criminals for parents, is that really how you want your future to be? What would your aunts and uncles say when they find out about this? Do you know how bad our family will look?”

Lumine huffed, fully knowing well that her mother isn’t talking about their actual relatives but instead the pretentious and arrogant friends she has. 

Her mother was an only child of a rich family, her father one of several siblings of a poor fisherman. Her mother was spoiled, getting all the things she demanded, while her father had to work for several days to get a decent meal once in a while. 

Her father, however, never gave up on his dreams; to live happily with his own family. So he worked and worked until he earned a high paying job. He now wanted a family, but unfortunately for him, he fell for her mother. So hard he couldn’t see he was manipulated. He didn’t notice her slowly pushing his own family away, he didn’t notice her slowly changing him, he didn’t notice her leading him into a loveless marriage.

When the twins were born, her father was over the moon, her mother wasn’t too exactly fond of motherhood, but she didn’t mind the attention she got. Though that was until the twins were in the toddler stage, their mother wasn’t interested anymore when there’s no one to impress, so they were usually left with their nanny. While their father always tried to be with them, their mother would always nag about him missing work for unnecessary things. Their mother always had her fingers wrapped around their father, and when their father finally realised how he’s being controlled, it was way too late. He loves his children more than anything, so glad that his twins didn’t grow up like their mother, and he has their nanny to thank for that, a kind old woman with a big heart who never had children of her own. 

The twins had always felt sorry for their father ever since they’re aware of how things are going between their parents. They may play the happy and perfect couple, but they can see the sadness in their father's eyes and how he’s just going through the motion for the sake of keeping the family intact.

“Didn’t Dad come from a poor family as well? And Zhongli didn’t grow up with those parents, he took the courage and left with Xiao so they can have a better future.” Lumine said, fondness in her heart with how much she admired her boyfriend’s bravery and love for his family.

“Your father was already raking in good money when I met him, and while I still don’t like talking about his past with everyone, I think being a peasant’s child is better than a criminal’s.” her mother sneered, “He’s taking advantage of you that’s for sure.”

Lumine bit back a reply for her having the audacity to talk about taking advantages, but she chose to defend her lover instead, “Zhongli is the most hardworking and selfless man I’ve met.” 

“Isn’t Ajax as well?” her mother raised an eyebrow, “With his money, he’s pretty much the perfect man for you, for our family, and aren’t you great friends with him already?” 

“Ajax is different.” Lumine argued, “I love him and believe he’s an amazing man even without his money, but we just don’t think about each other that way.” 

Her mother rolled her eyes before standing up, “Love isn’t always going to give you a roof under your head, Lumine.” she snickered before walking to her daughter, grabbing her face and making her look straight into her eyes, 

“Now, dear, unless you’re seeing Ajax or someone on our level, you’re dead to me.”

Lumine could still remember the malice in her mother’s voice.

Could still remember her horrified shriek from the phone when she called her parents to inform of her engagement.

Could still remember being walked by Ningguang and Beidou instead, the parent figures of Zhongli and Xiao, during her wedding.

Could still remember never getting any allowance from them again.

Lumine remembered how bad she felt when Aether’s was cut as well, but her twin never held it against her, choosing instead to work hard with her in the starting bakery like they’ve always dreamt of building together. 

She remembered it all.

What she doesn’t remember though is her mother being so warm and happy as she played with her child.

“Grama and Grandpa bought you lots of gifts, sweetie, would you like to open it together?” her mother cooed as she tickled Qiqi.

“Yes please!” Qiqi laughed before staring at awe when her grandmother brought the first present in front of them.

A bitter feeling still lingers in Lumine’s heart as she watches them. 

“Ah, no one can replace my children’s pastries.” her father sighed contentedly as he took a bite from the desert.

Lumine’s heart warmed as she turned to her father, a huge grin on her face, “I see you’re still our number 1 fan.” she said before leaning against her father’s shoulder.

It was more than a month ago when they reunited with their parents. 

Almost the same timeline when Lumine and Ajax publicly announced their relationship.

It was a huge shock to the twins seeing their parents in front of their bakery. Lumine wanted to scream at the woman who disowned them, the woman who probably manipulated her father to do the same.

Aether was the one who controlled the situation, calmly taking them at the private room of the bakery to talk. 

Her mother started talking about how she regrets everything she did, how cold it was to cut them off like that. 

Though they can see the insincerity in her eyes, they agreed to fix their family when they saw how horrible their father’s condition is, not physically but mentally. He looked so drained and tired of everything. The twins can’t help but shudder at the thought of what might’ve happened if they never reunited. 

They can remember how their father broke down to them that day, how he regrets not fighting for them.

Thankfully, their father is doing better now, especially upon meeting Qiqi. Oh how elated the twins were that day, they haven’t heard or seen their father that happy in a long while.

Their mother didn’t share the same excitement, but the twins were shocked when she voluntarily interacted with Qiqi. She knows that Qiqi is Zhongli’s, but she doesn’t seem to care who her birth father is as long as the current father standing is someone she likes.

Ajax knew about Lumine’s family as Lumine had opened up to them before, though she skipped the part about how her mother wanted her to be with Ajax. While he’s as uncomfortable as Lumine when Qiqi’s near someone as horrible as her, they just agree that they’ll do it for the sake of her father, and never to leave Qiqi alone with her. 

Their visit was expected, her mother called Ajax a week before to inform them. The fact that her mother is so fond of Ajax just confirms Lumine’s suspicions on why she’s back in her life, and while it greatly disgusts Lumine, she couldn’t kick her out of her life again when her father talks about how her mother seems to be happier at home which means they’ve been fighting less. There was hope in her father’s eyes, so bright that Lumine doesn’t have the heart to tell him that she’s probably at ease now because her children are seeing someone she finally approves of; Lumine with Ajax, and Aether with Keqing, a powerful businesswoman. The twins decided to let it go, seeing as her mother is only concerned about who they’re seeing and as far as they’re concerned they don’t see themselves dating anyone else.

“And I’m glad no one has replaced me.” her father smiled and the happiness in his eyes sent a warm glow in Lumine’s chest. “Ah, Ajax, everything good at work?” he greeted Ajax as the ginger entered the living room.

“Yeah, they just needed to go by something to me. I’m sorry about earlier, Sir and Madam.” Ajax smiled sheepishly before sitting next to Lumine, giving the blonde a soft kiss in the forehead when she instinctively leaned against him.

Her mother couldn’t be more delighted, “Oh, Ajax, honey, we’re family now, call us Mom and Dad.” she giggled from the floor with Qiqi, who was in awe with the new cooking play set she received.

“That’s right, son, I can see how amazing you’re treating my daughter and granddaughter well.” her father smiled.

Ajax beamed, “Well, I just want the best for my family.” he grinned.

“Such a perfect man for my daughter.” the woman sighed in awe before gently moving Qiqi off from her lap, “Excuse me, sweetie, grandma just need to stretch her legs.” the young girl nodded too interested with her new toys.

Her father began talking about business-related topics with Ajax while her mother began roaming around the living room, probably judging how Lumine decorated their home. Lumine stopped watching her from the corner of her eyes when Qiqi decided that she’s going to be her first customer as she started bringing a plate of food toys to her from her playset.

It was relaxing for a while; Lumine’s father and Ajax had begun talking about fishing, her mother asking about the photos decorated in the living room, Lumine answering her and at the same time humouring Qiqi’s imagination.

It was pretty domestic and calming and Lumine finds it really comforting. 

“Oh, wow!” her mother exclaimed, making all of them turn to her, an opened little velvet box on her hand.

Lumine felt Ajax tense up, “W-Wait-” 

It made them all curious to what her mother was holding, and then it hit her. Her mother was only a few feet from them, making them clearly see the point of interest.

“Oh, oops!” her mother gave them a sheepish look, “I didn’t think I’d be seeing an engagement ring this early.” she released an awkward chuckle before closing the box.

Lumine was frozen, and Ajax was panicking internally before standing up and gently taking the box from her mother, “I… uhm…” he stuttered.

“Engagement ring?” Qiqi’s curious voice perked up, “What’s that?” 

“Ah, it’s what a person gives it to someone they want to marry, dear.” her mother smiled, clearly excited with the idea of Lumine marrying Ajax, “It means your Papa wants to marry your Mama!” she grinned mischievously, to hell with them not being ready, she needs something to brag to her friends as soon as possible, and what better to brag than your daughter marrying someone as powerful? 

She just can’t let Lumine pass this opportunity.

“Marry?” Qiqi’s mind trying to make sense of her grandmother’s excitement.

“It means you’ll officially be a family and you’ll get some playmates soon!” she smirked when Qiqi’s eyes widened with excitement.

"Playmates. Mama, Papa. Quick. Qiqi wants playmates!" the little girl ran to Lumine in excitement.

Sensing his wife overstepping their stay, her father cleared his throat, “Uhm, Dear, maybe we should let them talk about this?” 

“Why, of course! I’ve been to a beautiful wedding recently and got the planner’s contact card! Message me as soon as possible, sweetie! Congrats, you two!” her mother played ignorant to the tension in the air, instead gave the frozen couple a hug and a kiss in the cheek before dragging her husband out with an accomplished smile.

She’s confident no break up will happen since according to her observations, Ajax has a ring already, and with Qiqi on the line, there’s no way Lumine will give her a broken family. The worst-case scenario is pretty much how long Lumine will make them all wait. And with that in mind, her mother starts to think of plans to further push the wedding if deemed necessary, completely ignoring her angry husband.

Back inside, Ajax was the first one to grasp the situation they’re in.

“Lumine, I…-”

“Qiqi, I think it’s nap time, why don’t we go take a nap, yeah?” Lumine hastily picked Qiqi up, ignoring her protests about having playmates as quick as possible and carrying her to her room.

Leaving a stunned Ajax in the living room.

~~~

Never did Lumine think there would come a time where she wished Qiqi will put up more fight when it comes to nap time, Qiqi usually does, however this time, Qiqi had passed out as soon as she hit the bed. Lumine blames it on her father playing tag with her earlier.

So now she has no excuse but to face Ajax outside.

It’s not that she doesn’t want to marry Ajax, hell they probably will be down the road, but this soon? Lumine just didn’t expect it, while she knew him for so long, they’ve only been together for 2 months, though that didn’t invalidate the things Ajax did for her the past years.

Zhongli flashes in her mind, she still carries his last name, and Qiqi wears it too. 

Is she ready to leave Mrs Morax and be Mrs Tartaglia? 

Wearing Ajax’s last name gave her a feeling in her stomach, the same feeling she had with the thought of finally sharing Zhongli’s last name before. There is still, however, a little painful tug in her heart.

She already gave her heart to Ajax when they started dating, but is she ready to give her soul as well? 

Though when she thinks of it, they’re already living like a married couple, what’s the harm in making it official?

Lumine isn’t really religious, but she values the bond marriages symbolises.

And if Ajax was going to propose soon anyway without her mother’s interference, how would’ve she reacted?

Lumine sighed before getting up from Qiqi’s bed, “Never really thought you’d be the type to bind things as soon as possible.” she murmured to herself.

She took a deep breath before opening the door, no use of having these troubling thoughts when you can discuss it with someone.

She walked back to the living room, Ajax’s back on her. He was sitting on the sofa, chewing on his nails, something Ajax does when he’s anxious, and an anxious Ajax is a rare thing to find. 

Lumine can’t blame him though with how she acted earlier, she would be anxious as well.

With another deep breath, she entered the living room, “Ajax.”

Ajax jumped in surprise, quickly standing up and pulling her in his arms as soon as she saw her, a flurry of words came out of his mouth as he apologised. All Lumine can hear clearly is how there’s a misunderstanding, how no one is supposed to find out about the ring, how he is sorry.

How she shouldn’t leave him.

The tremble that starts to lace his voice worried Lumine, “Ajax, calm down.” she pulled away from his chest to grab his face, she could see the worry glazing his eyes.

Did she really scare him that much?

“Hey, it’s okay.” she said, brushing her fingers through his hair to calm him down, “It’s okay, breathe for me please?” she said gently.

Ajax did as told, her warm golden eyes calming him down.

Lumine led them to the sofa, pulling Ajax in her arms when they lay down. She never thought Ajax would be this upset.

They were quiet for a while, just staying in each other’s arms until the blonde decided that Ajax is calmed enough to talk.

“I’m sorry my mother did that.” she decided to apologise, “She can never read the room… well, actually she can, she just decided to ignore it for whatever she wants to happen.”

Ajax just sighed, face still buried in her neck. 

“It’s not that I’m planning on proposing- Ah, I mean I will, but not this soon.” Ajax explained, “Remember that time when I visited my family last month?”

Lumine nodded.

“Well, they really love you and can’t wait to make you part of our family, well in a legal concept since you and Qiqi are my family already.” she felt his smile against her neck,  and Lumine will be lying if she said her heart didn’t leap in joy for that simple statement, “So they already gave me this ring before I even mentioned anything about weddings.” he showed the box, not opening it, “My parents had crafted it, you know them and their hobby.” he chuckled.

Lumine chuckled, remembering how his parents had taken up crafting as some sort of hobby to entertain themselves since they don’t really have to work that much on their successful winery. It still surprises Lumine that they chose that for leisure activities, her own parents would prefer more “refined activities”, as her mother described, like going sailing or golfing or something like that. Lumine can still remember rolling her eyes when her mother asked why they can’t just buy whatever they’re crafting at the moment, but Lumine also recalled the warm feeling she got when the couple explained how doing a crafting project together just makes things more meaningful for them. It was cheesy, but Lumine also finds the idea romantic.

“...May I?”  she gestured at the box when Ajax seemed a bit hesitant to open it.

He just nodded and placed it on her hand.

Lumine gently opened it, gasping at the sight of a beautiful diamond ring. She could already tell the diamond was big earlier, but seeing it closer and clearer takes her breath away.

The band has the traditional silver colour, the upper half of the ring is carved to look like waves, tiny diamonds engraved in them, on top of the band, a star shaped frame sits, encasing a big round shaped blue diamond.

(AN: The jewellery store said it was inspired by various games, but I thought it was perfect for Chilumi. Source: https://takayascustomjewelry.com/blog/sea-stars-paopu-fruit-inspired-engagement-ring)

“This looks so beautiful.” Lumine admired the work.

“They really want to welcome you.” Ajax chuckled before clearing his throat and sitting up, “I didn’t think you’d want to deal with that this soon so I just kept it hidden.” 

“...In a bookcase…” 

Ajax blushed in embarrassment, “We share the same room, closet, drawers, where am I supposed to hide it?” 

“You’re office maybe?” Lumine hummed.

“You go there too, there’s still a risk of you finding out.” Ajax defended, “And there’s a reason I chose the top shelf, you know.” 

“Are you saying I’m short?”

“Well, I’m not saying you’re tall…”

They laughed together, Ajax feeling comfortable again to pull her to his chest, “I didn’t really expect your mother to dig through our stuff like that.” he sighed in defeat.

“Why’d you think I had my online shopping delivered to someone else’s place? Mother always goes through my things.” Lumine murmured.

They both eyed the ring, not really sure how to approach the subject.

“I’m not forcing you to do anything, please remember that.” Ajax began, “I’m sure you’re still conflicted about us dating. Sometimes, I can’t help but think you’re here because I forced you to.” he chuckled, it was meant as a joke but Lumine can sense the sadness in his voice. 

Lumine sat up to look at him, “Ajax, we talked about this,” she said as she lifted his chin to look at her, “I’m here because I feel the same way as you, I’m here because I fell in love with an amazing man who stood by my side no matter what. I’m here because I love you, and only you.” she declared, a soft smile gracing her lips as she gently caressed his cheek.

Words couldn’t express how happy that made Ajax, so he expressed it in the best way he could, pulling her into one of the most passionate kisses he could give.

Lumine’s lips curled into a smile before wrapping her arms around his neck, deepening the kiss in the process.

They had always been better at showing emotions in actions rather than words as they poured all their feelings in this kiss hoping that the other could feel what they meant. And they do.

They pulled away, well their lips did while they rested their forehead against each other as they caught their breath.

“You’re so amazing.” he smiled softly, “And I can’t wait to see that ring around your finger in the future.” he admitted with hopeful eyes.

Lumine bit her lip, debating.

A few moments of silence, Ajax decided that they should just move on from this, he was going to ask for the ring back until Lumine spoke up.

“What if that future is now?” Lumine said so quietly that Ajax would’ve missed it if he wasn’t this close.

His heart stopped.

He pulled away from Lumine to look at her clearly. She stared back at him, golden eyes wide and shy, face red as she bit her lip in anticipation, “I… I mean…” she broke the staring contest, looking away in embarrassment.

“It’s just a ‘what if’... We don’t have to…” she began to blurt out apologies as her embarrassment grew, perhaps Ajax wasn’t ready as well and she read the room wrong.

As she’s busy panicking, Ajax smiled, taking the box from her hand and kneeling on one knee, “Lumine, love of my life, my starlight, my partner in crime, will you marry me?” 

Straight to the point and cheesy, the only thing Ajax could manage at the moment. He made a mental note to prepare a romantic night for them in the future, though he can definitely prepare something romantic in the sheets for tonight.

Lumine stopped her flurry of words and stared back at Ajax, a smile growing on her face, 

“With all my heart, yes.” 

She’s ready, the past is in the past, there’s no way to go besides forward.

~~~

AN: As you can see, I’m so bad at thinking of names Lumi’s parents didn’t have any lmao, maybe in the future if I get an idea or someone suggested something lol

#chilumi #zhonglumi #chilumi/zhonglumi #genshin impact

[strangerays]

Nothing in Particular Update #1

Hello, hello!! It’s been a really long time since I’ve written an update for this story! (this is a real update btw, forget the “first” one I had) To be honest, I haven’t been able to work on this story as much as I would like, being busy with classes and... well just life in general. (what I mean by this is that Shadow and Bone was released on Netflix) But! I do have some excerpts I wanted to put out there as well as some overall changes to the story.

Before I start: here’s the actual link to the story synopsis/characters!

TAGLIST (ask to be +/-): @wannabeauthorzofija @a-completely-normal-girl @baguettethebooklover @corkytheguar @writeherewaiting​ @raenawrites

STORY CHANGES/IDEAS:

First off: I had to rewrite 30,000 words and basically turn it into 10,000. The first draft was icky, but I turned it into something I really enjoy! This is a sign that writing is always worth it!!

I added in a couple of characters! I was starting to feel like the story might not have been balanced enough. Luckily, the muse struck me and I created Mars and Theo! Mars is a lovely (and enigmatic) older woman that Ray meets at a bird sanctuary and Theo is a new friend of Lonan’s.

There wasn’t much action in the beginning of the story, so I wrote a confrontation between Jude’s friends and another person that Ray spies on. This is how she meets Jude, and I am in lovvve.

The timeline for the entire story might be a little bit longer than I intended! I went into this project thinking it might only take place over a month, but in order for Ray’s mental health journey to be realistic, I’m going to shoot for an entire school year (around six-seven months). Honestly, I’m just happy I get to write a Halloween scene. As for the word count total HAHA I have no clue what that will look like.

I think Lonan will be a bit of a back-burner character! At first, I was a little wary of this decision since he’s my favorite, but I think it would be very exciting to have Ray hype him up before he ever appears in the story. That way, the reader sort of starts to think about him in one way, yet he might be completely different when he finally shows up...??

Chapter titles are one of my favorite things about this story. Also! I am a huge fan of short chapters! They move the story right along.

I prefer to write slower and use other projects to balance out this one when I get a little tired of it. Over the last month or so, I’ve gotten really into short story writing again! This has been really helpful in working on my specificity and pretty prose. Even though the short stories don’t contribute to Nothing in Particular, I’ve been taking a lot of what I’m learning and applying it!

EXCERPTS (UNDER THE CUT)

CHAPTER ONE: THE SPY

#1

During the summer between my sophomore and junior year, Lonan Herrings packed me into his Dad’s repainted Chevrolet, left his name sharp on his mother’s tongue, and drove to New York City at six in the morning. For the first time since we’d become friends, jealousy weighed our silence. He buzzed across the highway, even though we knew his mother had no intention of finding us.

#2

“Which animal would I be,” he asked, “if I left tomorrow and lived in the forest?”

“Why would you want to do that?” I smiled even though I knew he was probably serious.

His shoulders squared and he looked out his window. Two men in the next car shouted at each other, their windows down. Something about a mortgage. “You would come with me, of course.” He turned to me. “Which animal gets along best with a doe?”

#3

I shut my eyes to snap the cold. It might have been the fact that, most times, his gentle voice pulled ragged words from his throat, as if he had just stepped out of the rain after standing in it for hours. It might have been the way he cupped the rim of a camera with humble demure. I was never afraid to tell him anything in the patience that bled from him. His eyes were milky blue and he wore an olive jacket covered in pins that kept strangers interested. Since he seemed like he felt out of place most times, I never did. We were a grade apart; our friendship bloomed late. So long as I had a friend at all, I didn’t care how we’d met.

“You would be a blue jay,” I decided. For only a second, I’d been worried that I offended him, until his mouth curved to one side and he laughed softly, as though he wasn’t sure he was allowed. His head hovered over the steering wheel. A patch of freckles absently creeped over the bridge of his nose like winter weeds.

This first chapter is a flashback to exactly a year before the second chapter takes place! After an argument with his mom, Lonan drives out of state with Ray. I plan for it to be all we see of Lonan (in the present) up until the halfway point of the story.

CHAPTER TWO: I WAS QUIET

#1

I was a firm believer that the best art was created when the artist was alone, angry, or depressed.

After Lonan secured his train ticket to New York, I was surprised to find that I became none of these things. We buried a time capsule, painted his walls cerulean, and drove two-hundred miles without a word to anyone. Some of my most colorful memories were unplanned in the beginning.

#2

Katherine Herrings’ bakery loitered over the coast of town, sheltered in pitch crags and shallow tide pools congested with cigarettes. I often ate lunch on the deck on my break. She was the only person I knew who – after everything her nephew had said – didn’t make him the first topic of our conversations.

An indie rock song that I recognized buzzed from a radio below me. I pulled my tablet screen down and pushed my chair out so the plastic legs kicked up and scratched the backs of my legs.  Slowly, I peered between my ankles, through the patio boards, and into the boat lodge below. Pumpkin-red hair plastered to my forehead in the heat that clung to the late days of September. Waves bubbled and crashed, peanut oil dripped from hot dog buns, and muffled gossip chirped like a family of cicadas. I bit my tongue at the bitter smoke that warped the wind.

#3

Jude laughed then, and her shoulders tipped, haughty. Waves hissed in her silence as the lights in the kitchen behind Katherine flickered. Her mouth opened slightly at the ring of dishes and laughter that danced with each other inside. A moment passed before she took a wide step back.

Together, her accomplices waltzed after her as she ran down the pavement, flecking sand until the night’s blue air gulped their outlines. Katherine beat a towel against the patio leg, then she slid and locked the door. Frogs jeered in the silence that pervaded the sea.

I whispered the name back to myself so I wouldn’t forget it. Jude Ahuja. I took a sip of ginger ale, and she buzzed on my lips.

The story cuts to Ray’s senior year of high school. Summer has just ended, Lonan has left for college, and her camera is broken. Jude is a bit like a character out of a film to her, and she wishes she could know more about her after witnessing a loud argument with Katherine Herrings, Lonan’s aunt.

CHAPTER THREE: PEOPLE-WATCHING

#1

Early into our friendship, I’d learned this patience. The first time he brought me to Sugarfell, he told me that all of the paths led back to the same place. As long as you played the game, you were guaranteed a prize. He didn’t speak much, but I knew he wasn’t a very good liar.

Less than an hour passed when I was met with silence. I crept up and down the same path four times. Each step sent a shock through my legs to my chest. The sun hadn’t risen to the highest point in the sky, still glimmering through tree branches in golden fractals, pulling on static darkness.

#2

“Are you crying?” he asked.

I shook my head fast. “No.” My voice barely reached a whisper. It was a lot deeper than normal.

He puckered his lips as though I had offended him. “But you were about to.”

“You said that all the paths lead back to one another.” I stood up from the jagged stump and shuffled through the leaves until the tips of our shoes were inches apart. “I knew you’d come back. And you did.”

#3

When I turned back, sore curiosity teased the emerald in Lonan’s eyes.

“Do you ever people-watch?” he asked softly.

This chapter is another really short chapter that I’m ultimately not sure I’m going to keep! I sort of included it by accident while Ray was riding her bike to the forest, but I ended up really liking it as a bridge into the next scene. Hopefully, I find I way to make it fit!!

CHAPTER FOUR: SUGAR-COATED

#1

Years with Lonan had prepared me for being alone. If you spend any long amount of time with someone, you’ll become a thief to their behaviors. Lonan observed too much. If I stared long enough, trees began to replace all of the people we’d ever seen. Oaks with roots that serpentined the ground like children splashing in the bay, pines with needles like spindly old hands, maples with hollows like watchful eyes.

#2

I did remember, but I couldn’t then. Blood gushed too close to his eyelid and dripped down his cheek like tears. There was a grace period in my life – likely when I was a newborn – when I couldn’t picture what my blood would look like on the light side of my skin.

And this is where I’ll leave off on the excerpts for now! I’ve been really focused on taking my time and setting things up before the next chapter, which is going to have lots more action in it. Things are going to start picking up again, so I’m really excited for that!

Thanks for reading if you made it this far :)

#nothing in particular and everything #my writing #writing updates #I was so so so #SOOOO #nervous about this one bros #I'm having a difficult time deciding what to share and what not to share #but I think I did an okay job #anyways #excited for the next scene I'll be writing #UPWARDS AND ONWARDS #<3

[pixie88]

Tease

Chapter 9 - Together - Adam & Ellie.

A/N: Thank you again for proof reading and scene ideas lovely @aussieez​ you are a star! This chapter I wrote the NSFW scene after I had a few drinks Friday night, so I hope I got all the mistakes out. It also includes something that happened to me in RL I’ll leave it up to you to guess what it is haha. Hopefully you find it funny as I have we need to laugh atm. I hope you like it!

If you like it let me know or if you don’t still tell me why I won’t be offended!

I am only tagging those who have asked to be tagged in this new series from now on as I don’t want to annoying people with tags. So Let me know if you would like to be tagged and if I missed anyone sorry just let me know!  

Find previous chapters HERE under Together - Adam & Ellie.

Song: Sia - Helium

Word count: 2123

WARNINGS: ⚠️ Fluffy fluff, NSFW, Mild Angst & adult language.

Pairings: Adam x Ellie.

Enjoy!

After Nina and I had our nails done we did a bit of baby clothes shopping followed by lunch, which after Nina had a few drinks, so it turned into dinner too "Nina, can I tell you something?"

"Of course sweetie!"

"You can't tell Al! Adam and I were thinking Charlie could have Alistair as a middle name. Do you think he'll like it?"

"Oh, Ellie he will love that. That's so sweet!" she gets up and hugs me.

"Did you hear that Charlie bear you are going to be named after the two greatest men you could wish for"

I tear up a little "Nina, that's a lovely thing to say!"

She hugs me again "Aww Ellie, I didn't mean to make you cry, but let me elaborate on that"

I laugh wiping my tears "Ellie, I can tell your dad must have been a great man because you are a sweet girl and you adore my Adam. This is why I know you two will be great parents" This makes me even more emotional.

We finally get back about half 10 Adam and Al are already in bed, I open our bedroom door expecting him to be asleep, but I'm greeted by him in bed in just his boxers on his phone, he gives me that gorgeous smile "Did you have a good day beautiful?"

I start getting undressed "Hey, yeah, it was such a laugh your mum, and she's super sweet"

"She has a soft spot for you," he laughs while his eyes roam my body as I strip down to my underwear.

I climb into bed next to him, "What did you and your Dad get up to?" he pulls me towards him.

"Dad took me golfing, which reminds me. Mum has her book club tomorrow night and Dad has a darts night, so we have the house to ourselves" Charlie starts kicking, he hates it when I lay on my side.

I run my hand over my bump "Come on Charlie, Mumma just wants to cuddle up to your Daddy" I roll onto my back.

Adam's hand runs over my bump, his lips follow "Hey, You go easy on mummy" he whispers before laying back next to me "So this morning it wasn't very nice to tease" his hand circles my bump as he is laid on his side.

I smirk "It wasn't very nice to trick me at the pub either"

He kisses my nose "Well, you have started something now I'll finish it" He runs his fingers under and along the waistband of my underwear his touch is electrifying, I try to control my breathing.

His lips brush along my pulse line (Fuck! Do not let him win!) His hand slips into my underwear "I'm not going to make love to you Ellie" He parts my folds (God!) I bite my lip trying not to act bothered, he nips my collarbone.

His fingers enter me, I take another deep breath "So, who won at golf?" I try to change the subject.

I feel him smirk against my neck "We drew but right now I want to focus on making you come"

I laugh, "Adam!"

He speeds up his pace, I roll onto my side now Charlie has calmed down and I slip my hand into his boxers. I grasp him, work my hand along his hard shaft as my lips crash against his.

"My plan hasn't worked, I...oh god fuck..I was supposed to tease you and leave you wanting more...but..." his tongue tangles with mine.

I smile against his lips "But what?"

I speed up my pace "God...Ellie,"

I'm getting to him, "Come on Adam! I thought you were going to tease me?" I grasp his lip between my teeth.

He groans, "We've got to be quiet, baby, I don't want your parent to hear us" I pull his lips to mine again.

Both our paces speed up, we can't get enough of each other "Ellie come for me, so I can make love to you!"

"Not until you do!" I whisper against his lip.

He kisses me harder, firmer "I love you Ellie"

"Guess what?"

"God..what?"

I smile, "I love you too more than anything!" I can't hold back any longer "Yes, Adam Yes!!" I fall over the edge, and he hits his climax right after"Fuck baby!"

He pulls off his boxers and I help him remove my underwear as his body cover mine, he pushes pass my entrance.

"OH!! God..that's it! Yes!! Adam Fuck me!" my back arches of the bed I grip him tighter.

He grasps the head board, thrusting harder into me "Ellie, this is all I've been thinking about all day!"

"I have a secret for you...oh"

His lips move against my neck "Secret?"

"Uh huh, this is....all I've.....been thinking about all day too" his lips crash to mine.

He grasps my hips, moves faster against them "Oh god...I'm gonna..Ohhhhh" I hit my climax again.

"Yes, that it Ellie. God...Yes! Ellie!" We're both catching our breath he collapses onto the bed next to me.

"So, how did teasing me work out for you Adam?" I wink.

"Don't worry beautiful I'll get you back!"

I laugh, "We better clean up!"

I get off the bed and hold out my hand "Wanna join me in the shower handsome?"

"Depends on what you're asking?" he give me that grin.

"I'm asking you if you want to add extra steam to the shower?" I bite my lip knowing what this does to him. Adam jumps off the bed picks me up in a bridal carry and leads us to the bathroom.

~*~*~*~

The next evening his parent are out Adam has ushered me upstairs to get dressed up, he's cooking.

"Are you ready beautiful?" He calls up to me.

"I'm just finishing up now" I spray myself with perfume and make my way downstairs. It's smells amazing and beautiful every counter in the dining room is covered with tealight, lighting up the room.

"Wow this is gorgeous, Adam!"

He smiles "Glad you think so! I'll grab you a drink. Take a seat" I sit at the dining table and wait for him to come back.

"Apple juice for my gorgeous wife," he hands me the glass and pecks my lips "Right, have fun. I am shattered. I'll see you in the morning" he turns and walks out the room.

"Wait? What? Adam?" I heard his footsteps head up the stairs. (He's joking right?) I sit there confused for a couple of minutes, I pull out my phone and look for the nearest restaurant.

I grab my keys and bag, just as I'm making my way to the door I hear, him coming down the stairs "Ellie, where are you going?"

"I'm going out for dinner as I thought we were having dinner here together, but I guess not," I try not to act bothered but the tone of my voice gives me away.

He gives me that smile and chuckles as he wraps his arms around me "I was messing with you, I was getting you back for yesterday, did you really think I went to all this effort to let it go to waste?"

"WHAT!? You thought that was funny?" I spit back at him before I pull away from him and walk out of the house and towards the car.

"Ellie, wait I'm sorry it was just a joke!"

He gently grabs my arm and spins me round to see the massive smile on my face "Gotcha!" I stick my tongue out at him.

"Now that was evil! I thought I had really upset you!"

I laugh, "No, but now you have to come up with something better than what you had planned"

He grins, "I just dug my own grave didn't I?"

"Well, that will teach you for playing a prank on me won't it! So, get thinking Mister!"

He kisses my nose "I think I have just the perfect idea grab a coat and blanket. I'm going to grab the food and a few other bits"

"Where are we going?" I call after him.

"It's a surprise" he throws me a smirk.

A few minutes later we are in the car, Adam is driving "You know your Mum made her own playlist yesterday. There was a song that kinda reminds me of us and everything we've been through lately"

"Oh, what song is that?"

I laugh, "She actually heard it in one of the Fifty shades films she watched with your Nan!"

His face turns to disgust "Thanks for that! I didn't really want to know they had seen those films"

"Come on, Adam every woman has seen it or read the books"

He looks over to me for a second "What about you? Have you watched or read them?"

I laugh, "Yeah, I read book one but skipped two and three. But I have seen all three films, I can't remember if it were the second or third film me and my friend Gemma got kicked out of the cinema for laughing and talking the whole way through!"

"You got kicked out of the cinema?"

"Yeah, there was this moody woman in front of us we were talking she kept shushing us. I think the finale straw was when he'd put Anna legs in this spreader bar on this bed then he flipped her from her back onto her front or the other way round. Gemma snorted and said if her husband John did that to her, she'd end up peeing herself especially after having her two kids. We were both howling. After that we were asked to leave"

He laughs, "I can say I've never been kicked out of a cinema! What was this song anyway?"

"I'll play it, hang on a second" I scroll through my recent playlist Sia - Helium press play.

His face lights up at the chorus "So, I'm your helium?"

I smile, "Yes, I think it would be prefect for our first dance song. What do you think?"

"I love it! It's perfect. My sassenach! We're here"

I look out of the window "Where are we?"

"Blackford Hill, we need to walk just 2 minutes that way. The view is stunning"

We finally got to the top "Wow, Adam this is beautiful!"

"I know, it's stunning isn't it?" He places a picnic blanket on the grass with a couple of cushions "Dinner with a view. Am I forgiven now?" we both take a seat.

I roll my eyes, "I suppose. but it depends on what you've made for dinner?"

"Well, you will definitely forgive me if it depends on dinner," he reaches over to thermal bag and pulls out a little tub as soon as he pulls off the lid I know what it is "I've never seen someone face light up so much over a beef hotpot!"

"Oh my god! Wait, so our romantic meal you got your mum to cook?"

He chuckles "Actually I make this, and she taught me how. I have the recipe so if it tastes exactly the same I can make it at home for you. So, try it"

I try a forkful (It tastes exactly like Ninas maybe even better) "Oh, wow... this is awful!"

His smile drops "Is it?" he takes the fork out of my hand and tries it "Ellie, you're mean"

I smirk "OK I lied. It tastes exactly like it if not better but you can't tell your mum I said that" we laugh.

After dinner we are laid back on the grass looking up at the stars, "You do know I will get you back for earlier!"

I hear a soft laugh escape from his lips as pulls me tighter against him "But for tonight we can call it a truce?"

"I suppose so! But watch your back!"

"Hey, have you see anyone walk pass since we got here?"

"No, why?"

"Good!" Before I can ask him what he means, he pulls the blanket completely over us, his body covers mine as he captures my lips.

"Adam! We can't! Not here! Someone might see us" I giggle.

"We better be quick then!" I can't deny him.

Later we get back to his parents "Looks like they aren't back yet!" He picks me up and walks us into the kitchen and places me down on the counter.

"Down boy! I draw the line at doing that in your parents' kitchen! What's the time?"

He pulls out his phone "I have a voicemail" puts it to his ear, his face drops.

"Adam, what's wrong?"

It's changed from shock to anger the phone is still against his ear "Adam, you're scaring me what's wrong?"

Continue reading this story here - Chapter 10.

@lem-20​ @aussieez​ @khoicesbyk​ @txemrn​ @shewillreadyou​ @irisofpurple​

#adam #adam x ellie #manchester

[haelieana]

TL : Leah

PR : Xeven_

Chapter 2

"Oh my, Luen, this is......"

"You have nice skin, so I enjoyed doing your makeup and the dress looks good on you. The Duke will surely fall in love again."

"The rumor has spread to the lady's on society that the Duke adores you. I envy you."

I don't know if I'm in a good mood, or if you want to make me feel good. Whoosh, I smiled. On the other hand, I was in tears because I couldn't control my facial expression.

As they were in a fuss, I couldn't understand how the Duke treated me like gold or jade, or like I was going to fly when the wind blew.

Pr: She means that the Duke saw her to be a person that should be treated delicately since weak things (like paper) get caught easily on the wind.

"God blessed us, the weather is wonderful today."

"God blessed us, the weather is wonderful today."

The scent of flowers was applied to my body. Thanks to the maid's deft make-up and my figure in a smooth silk dress wrapped around my body were distinctly different from usual. One maid turned her head up for the last time.

"Luen, we're going to leave now."

"You're going to be busy all day today, so take a break."

"If you need anything, feel free to call us."

When the girls, who chatted and filled the empty air, went out, the room became quieter. Like my complicated inner self.

I could have made a fuss looking at myself in the mirror, but I got depressed thinking about the future.

Sfx : *knock 2×*

-I know it's an excuse, but I haven't been able to hold back my curiosity.

He came in like he was waiting for me to be left alone. When I said ‘come’ in a weak voice, the door opened. I wasn't willing to get close to a man I wish I had just watched from afar.

"I’m blessed by the most beautiful bride in the world."

Yes, today was my wedding day. I want to flee to save my life, and I'm also about to be dragged to the wedding hall by the Duke of Piar.

'Oh my life, what can I do?'

In addition, I am now in a situation where I can live for a few years. Just in case he leads a rebellion.

Flop

Something fell off with a small noise. When I turned my head looking out of the window, there was a bouquet of flowers that were white at his feet. I rolled my eyes and walked to the Duke. It was a hideous white color.

"It's the same as usual, but you're even more beautiful today. It was because of you that the daffodils in the garden bowed their heads."

It was dazzling to wear a tailcoat with dizzyingly long, well-drawn legs. As the smile fell on his normally blunt impression, it became as soft as cotton candy that would melt when touched. Looking at the groom who is more handsome than anyone else in the world, I recalled the moment when he asked to marry me.

What the hell happened then.

**********

"You don't have to call the doctors to check....."

I trembled and managed to bring it up. There might still be a chance to escape. Even if it was not a hundred percent, I wanted to see if there was a little possibility.

Even now, I tried to call a doctor to prove that I was a false pregnancy. His attitude was unusual, I need to be kicked out of the dukes faster.

"Hmm? What are you talking about?"

Just as I was out of the Duke's arms, his sweet voice came as if honey were dripping.

"Confirmation. I don't give you that much faith."

"No, I didn't mean it"

"I can't doubt the fruits of our love, my Luen."

It was frustrating for me to see such a cold-headed, calculating man who made a name for himself like a clumsy insipid.

"There's no way you're lying to me."

Seeing him smiling with a harmless face with the theme of the dark duke made my stomach ache. Why would the bad guy feel guilty about me?

He leads the soldiers to the palace without hesitation and faces Yeoju.

-Don't do this. What's wrong with you all of a sudden?

-I'll take you.....

In the end, he wishes for the queen's happiness and chooses to give up on herself. She can't even tell him how she felt. The Duke was captured alive as it was.

'I'm sorry but I want to live.'

I had to stay away from the duke to do that. If I'll Stay with the duke, I'll die with him.

While I was mesmerized for a moment and got my act together, he began to make a formidable statement.

"I'm sorry about what happened. I was going to tell you after a little more preparation."

After letting me go, the Duke stepped back a few steps and seriously looked up at one knee.

Don't tell me.....?

"Luen."

His eyes were somehow moist. It was somehow strange to see water added to the face that exuded sexiness.

But I can't. No! No matter how handsome you are, this isn't right.

"I've been dreaming of this moment since the day I first saw you."

The Duke took a small box out of his arms, perhaps carrying it all the time to carry it. Inside the softly opened box, was a brilliant shining ring.

My heart sank. That sparkle is never for me.

Why are you here if it's me? What are they thinking about doing this to me, not the original Yeoju?

I wondered if the ridiculous situation would continue.

"Luen."

As close as I stepped back, the Duke came. And as soon as my name came out between his lips, all thoughts disappeared. I couldn't even wriggle as if my limbs were tied to what I couldn't see.

I felt strange for some reason. His eyes were so sweet that I felt possessed. I had to get my act together, but I was constantly persuaded by what he said.

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Would you please accept my proposal?"

He held out the ring to me. I saw it closely and it was a ring that I knew. A large diamond shone even more through delicate work. In the original novel, the ring was prepared by the Duke of Piar to present with a desperate confession to Yeoju.

"Ha, haha"

I mean, smiling with a weird face.

There was nothing I could do. Every minute and second went too slowly and the confrontation continued.

'Shall I die now, or live a little longer?'

That is the problem.

I tried my best, but there was no answer. I was brought to this world without knowing the subject, so I thought I would adjust to it, but I can't walk on the flowery path, but I can't believe it's a Death Flag. I felt sorry for my situation, so I shed tears without realizing it.

"Luen."

The Duke came darting up and watched me. The maids say it's necrophilia.

I don't know why you keep hugging me when you give me away.

"Are you that thrilled? Don't shed tears."

"........."

"When you cry, I want to cry even more. So smile."

Soon, an eerie word and a ring were pushed in front of me at the same time. I tried to ignore it, but the pressure was getting stronger little by little. Somehow, it felt like a prey standing in front of a snake flicking its tongue just before it hit its prey.

'Let's move on from this moment on.'

Reluctantly, I reached out slowly and accepted the ring. The Duke quickly faced me in a gentle manner. He grinned as hard as he could, saying I was more beautiful than flowers.

'Things finer than flowers are peacocks.'

The game was over because he was caught up in it.

********

"Father, Shall we start?"

I didn't expect the Duke of Piar to make a sick face. He blinked slowly, perhaps because he felt my stare.

"It's something I've been dreaming about. Please excuse me."

Now there was no energy to refute or think what the hell was wrong with him. I gently placed my hand on the Duke's arm. We'll head to the ceremony. If you hold a ceremony in front of many people, you won't be able to skip it. But it wasn't without a way.

I tried to sigh, but suddenly I felt so quiet that I couldn't even hear the sound of breathing. As I looked up, the Duke of Piar's expression was unusual.

'Did you notice the idea of getting divorced and running away?'

I read other people's thoughts so well that I thought I might be a mind reader, I quickly noticed. His hands flinched to come up suddenly and closed his eyes.

".... My bride"

There was a strangely hot heat in his voice. Likewise, the heat from his hand to me. I was standing breathless because of the sudden act of sweeping my hair behind my ears.

"Wha, what."

A long, straight finger touched my ear. His fingertips kept hovering around my ears and it tickled. I couldn't help but open my body slightly and heard a small laugh above my head. It was clearly a different breath from a while ago.

My heart went up and thumped. What if this tension reaches him? I almost drooled and fell over.

"Are you nervous?"

Without hesitation, he came in nodding his head again. My nose was on his chest, which filled my vision. I also wanted to feel his trembling. He took a breath as I clung to him.

Having been holding me for a long time, he kissed me on the top of the head and said.

"Thank you so much for coming to me. I want to raise our children better than anyone else."

Oh, that's not it! But the protest only lingered in me.

Compelled again to look at my stomach, I picked up a word and spat it out.

"It's a lovely day, isn't it?"

"Even heaven rejoices in our union. Shall we go now?"

I was relieved by the duke who accepted my words without much doubt. I put my hand on his arm again.

"Ah!"

He grabbed my careless hand.

"It's against etiquette, but I want to go hand in hand. Will you allow me?"

His hand, one bigger than mine, wraps around mine. The end of my glove didn't come out in the air as if it wasn't to be seen in the world. My heart trembled strangely.

"Yes, it's okay."

I followed him with heavy steps to keep pace. It was also a sign that my relationship with him began in earnest.

*********

"The virtues of the couple cannot be overemphasized......"

Does everyone talk longer when they stand there? A yawn threatened to come out during the sagging officiant's speech, but I held it in. The high heels made my ankle sore and my head felt heavy because of the jeweled veil, but I couldn't show.

"I, Christian Noah, have a good day ahead of me. Lu........"

The person who keeps saying the same thing in front of me is the emperor, the lord of the original work and the ruler of the empire. The position is the end goal of the duke’s rebellion.

'That's the way it works!'

Suddenly, I rolled my eyes hard at the brilliant idea. It was a novel and ingenious idea, I think, as if lightning had flared up.

In the original book, Yeoju was a maid of the Imperial Palace. A princess of the fallen Kingdom of Lauren, she sneaked into the palace for revenge. And soon she got acquainted with the Duke of Piar.

Watching her but also wanting to protect her, somehow, the Duke fell in love with her. Eventually, Yeoju falls in love with the emperor.

'Yeoju must be somewhere.'

At this point, Yeoju would be trying to approach the emperor with a sword for revenge. Of course, he would have come here to officiate with Emperor Napsin.

A little earlier than the original, Yeoju. I had to let her meet the Duke of Piar.

'Then he'll fall in love on his own. That's the flow of the original.'

I was planning to live as a duchess and cheer for the love of the duke and the female lead. After that, it was pleasant to think of the day when I left after finishing my false marriage. It became more refreshing as the emperor's officiant seemed to be coming to an end.

"Lastly, let me ask you if there is anyone who opposes the marriage of these two people God has allowed."

Even I, the person involved, don't approve of marriage, but who allowed it?

'I'm against this marriage.'

I was sarcastic inside.

"I'm against this marriage!"

A roaring voice rang out.