#i won’t comment on anything else i don’t care enough <3 they’re wrong and sound stupid so that sounds like a them problem

[heartbreakfeelsogood]

mcr stans once again proving why everyone hates them 😍

#what a beautiful thing actually #i won’t comment on anything else i don’t care enough <3 they’re wrong and sound stupid so that sounds like a them problem #op

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Portrait of a Dangerous Man🎨4

Warnings: (series) non-consent sex and rape; slow creep; cucking; (this chapter) only plot hehe

This is dark!mob!Clark Kent x reader and explicit. 18+ only.  Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Synopsis: Your dream of having your work hung in an art show comes true but your first buyer is not all he seems to be.

Note: I’m at my tipping point, I swear. I’m dealing with everything in our household, new bed (delayed delivery yay!), cleaning, cooking, dog walking, and working. My only escape are my fics and this weekend I’m telling everyone to fuck off so I can do the writeathon... but sorry for the rant, enjoy more Clark.

Thanks to everyone for reading and thanks in advance for all your feedback. :)

I really hope you enjoy. 💋

<3 As usual, I’d appreciate if you let me know what you think with a like or reblog or reply or an ask! Love ya!

Wednesday trickled by like sand in a glass. You could hardly keep your eyes open as you typed away and a double espresso shot was the only thing that saw you through your hours at the gallery. Vanessa was excited for her next event and already asking after some new pieces from you. You promised her some from your storage unit to stave her off as you held in your yawns. 

You collapsed into bed that night beside Marcus. He complained about his day until he drifted off and you followed suit shortly after. You awoke with a decision, the echoes of your boyfriend’s gripes in your head and heart. You hated how miserable his job made him, how dull your own was. It felt like there was nothing else but the almighty dollar.

You called Clark after an email to Jim, your nerves alight in anticipation of the disgruntled reply. It didn’t matter. You were done. You didn’t need to worry about the all caps messages and curt zoom calls.

“Hey,” Clark picked up, he sounded out of breath.

“Oh, hey, sorry, it’s me,” you swiveled in your chair, “I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

“Nope, just getting in a work out,” he grunted, “you’re not bugging me if you have good news for me.”

“I think… I do,” you forced out, “I just sent in my resignation.”

“Mmm, you don’t sound… happy,” he hummed.

“I am, I think I’m just processing it,” you replied, “I said I’d let you know today so I’m letting you know.”

“Well, how soon can you be here?” he asked.

“Today?”

“Sure, why not?”

“I guess, I could leave as soon as you want me,” you said.

“I’ll send a car,” he intoned, “I’ll give the driver your number, if you don’t mind.”

“Yeah,” your voice almost squeaked, “I can do that.”

“Alright, sweetheart, see ya soon.”

The line cut out and you lowered your phone slowly. You stared at Outlook and the new email icon along the taskbar. You closed the laptop and stood. You could worry about the fallout later, right now, you had to get ready for another day of painting.

🎨

It was starting to feel like deja vu every time you arrived at Clark’s house. You got out and thanked the drive, Jeremy, before he drove off. The doors opened before you got to the top of the steps and your host was already dressed in the same outfit he wore for each session. His hair was neat but his beard was even thicker than before.

“I think you can tell I’m a little antsy to start,” he chuckled, “how are you, sweetheart?”

That pet name caught in your mind again. It might just be a habit of his. Nothing more than an absent-minded word.

“Me too, honestly,” you smiled, “but I have a weird question for you.”

“Ask away,” he said as he walked with you through the foyer.

“The beard… you want that in the portrait or--”

“Oh, ha, yeah,” he ran his fingers along his jawline, “I guess I wasn’t thinking. You’re the artist, what do you think?”

“Well, erm, either way is fine,” you said, “I was just… wondering. I’m not even close to starting on, uh, you yet. I mean, right now I’m just working on the background and basic shapes.”

“I’ll let you make the call when you get there,” he said, “say the word and it’s gone.”

“Alright,” you came to the top of the stairs and he pointed you ahead of him.

He followed you as you entered and you went about filling the jar with water and resituating the set up. He sat as you mixed and chose your brush. You climbed the ladder and peered around the canvas at him. He took on the same pose as usual and you dipped the bristles into the pigment. You could make a happy life of this.

🎨

Clark shifted and cleared his throat. You rolled your wrist and glanced back over at him as you drew your hand back from the canvas. He braced the chair and pushed himself up.

“How about a break?” he asked as he shook out his arms, “back’s a bit stiff.”

“Sure,” you said, “I think I could sit down for a moment.”

You took a step down the rung of the ladder but your toe slipped and suddenly your palette was against your chest. You slid down backwards as Clark rushed over and barely kept you from toppling the entire thing over. You laughed at yourself as he righted you and looked down at your paint-streaked shirt.

“Jesus,” you muttered.

“You okay?” he asked as he kept his hand on your upper arm, “be careful.”

“Yeah, I’m-- clumsy, is all,” you carefully pulled away and set down your brush and palette.

“Come on, sit,” he pulled up the stool and planted it before you, “take a minute.”

As you sat, he stretched his arms over his head and then out to the sides. He paced around the other side of the table, long strides as he worked the cramps from his long legs. He stopped and came up to play with a brush as you leaned an elbow on the table.

“Well, I did have another offer for you,” he said, “I was thinking of waiting but might as well ask now.”

“Oh?” you raised your brows curiously.

He swished a slender brush in the air then lowered it and picked at the tip.

“I’m having a get together on Saturday, some business friends and the like,” he said as he set the brush back with the rest, “it won’t be work. You’ve earned some time off. You can even bring the boyfriend.”

“Saturday?” you pondered, “I’m usually at the gallery on Saturdays.”

“It would be great networking,” he said, “and I already told all my friends about you. They’re excited to see your work. It will almost be like a viewing and it’s only right the artist is there.”

“I could make it work,” you mulled, “Marcus would love to come back.” You snickered, “he loves this place.”

“It’s a nice house,” he said casually, “a bit big for one person… hence, the party.”

“I’ll put it in my calendar,” you stood and slid your palette closer and cleaned it off to remix the mess of paints.

“Great,” he said as he rounded the table and brushed close to you, “it’ll be nice to look at a mug besides mine, huh?”

You laughed as you squeezed out the dark paint and nodded, “ha, sure.”

🎨

The rest of your week was spent much the same. Jeremy drove you to Clark’s and you went up to the studio to continue your work between small talk and silences that grew so thick you had to break them with mindless comments. It wasn’t enough to focus on the path of your brush as the man tugged at your attention.

Marcus was excited when you told him about the party. He raved about how he needed to let loose, about how much expensive alcohol he was going to drink, and the awesome backflip he was gonna do into the pool. You reminded him, he hadn’t done anything like that since college but he swore he could still do it.

You didn’t share the sentiment. You were anxious. You were flattered to be invited but despite what Clark said, it still felt like work. His friends were going to be there and he apparently was trying to sell them on your art. 

You didn’t realise until after you hit send on your email, but you put your livelihood in this man’s hands. A man, you reminded yourself, who was little more than a stranger.

On Friday, a day you were thankfully not called to the mansion to teeter on the ladder and paint, the buzzer rang and drew you off the couch from amid your YouTube binge. The man on the speaker called back that he had a delivery and you let him up. You took the box from him, the thick silver ribbon giving away the sender even before you could read the tag.

Inside you found a black dress with little gemstones set into the fabric like stars in the sky. It was nicer than anything you’d ever owned before and a pair of silver shoes were tucked in beneath the outfit. You took the shoes from the tissue paper and something else shifted in the bottom.

You reached in and revealed a velvet box from the depths of overzealous stuffing. You opened the lid and found a simple chain of diamonds. You gaped in disbelief. They were real. The fake ones didn’t look so nice.

You phone chimed before you could even think to call Clark. It was as if he could see you. You answered and your voice warbled pathetically.

“Hi, I was just gonna call,” you touched your throat as it constricted.

“Yeah? I got the notification that it was delivered,” he said, “you like it?”

“It’s too much,” you gulped out, “really, I can’t--”

“I want you to look nice. I want you to feel good and have a good time,” he said, “I feel like you’ve been working so hard. You need a chance to just let it all go.”

“Look, I…” you were uncertain how to handle it. It was more than generosity but you felt wrong denying it as much as you did accepting it, “I’ve never had a boss buy me diamonds. At least let me give those back.”

“Boss?” he mused on the word, “I suppose, but you gotta dress the part now, sweetheart. You’re gonna rub shoulders with a lot of rich dicks like me. Pardon my language.”

“I didn’t realise it was such an upscale thing,” you put the velvet box down and turned to sit on the couch beside the large box. You played with the silver ribbon and chewed your lip.

“Sweetheart, it’s nothing, you got this,” he said, “trust me, if you can win me over, my friends will be child’s play.”

“Mhmmm,” you stared at the tv mindlessly, “Clark?”

“Yeah?”

“Why are you doing all this?”

There was silence and you heard him sigh then a subtle metallic click.

“Because I can. And you’re a talented artist. Didn’t all the big painters used to have patrons back in the day? You know, Da Vinci and all that.”

“Sure, I guess--”

“Look, sweetheart, I’m glad you like the dress, I gotta go.”

He hung up abruptly and you turned your phone to stare at it in confusion. You were starting to get a bad feeling and that little voice in that back of your head, that little sabotaging bitch, whispered in your ear. No, you wouldn’t let your self-doubt get the best of you this time. You either grabbed this chance or you spent the rest of your life doing menial work and painting the world as it passed you by.

🎨

Friday night, Marcus couldn’t stop rambling about the party the next day. You just couldn’t get over the tickle in your chest, the same one you got before job interviews and doctor’s appointments. You were on edge, even as you spent your stress on him, your body writhing against his as you panted and pouted. It had been a while since you fucked. All the work and the stress had just let things slip past you. Maybe with your new gig, you could get back to those early days when it was all you wanted to do.

You slept soundly. You blamed the sex and the momentous week. You got up, had a lazy brunch time meal, and beat Marcus at MarioKart several times over before he convinced you it was time to get ready. 

You pulled on the gifted outfit after fighting with your make-up and hair. You gave a little tada spin to Marcus and he lifted his brow as he tried to figure out his tie.

“Wow, where’d you get that?” he purred, “fuck, let’s be late.”

He ran his hands over your hips as you neared him and fixed his tie for him. You giggled and planted a kiss on his lips.

“Jeremy’s on his way,” you warned, “I don't wanna bite the hand that feeds.”

“Oh, and it feeds you well,” Marcus chirped, “you think he’ll let me have a spin in the McClaren?”

“Maybe, but I wouldn’t. I don’t need to scrape you off the side of the road,” you took your phone as the screen lit up, “come on, he’s here.”

“Fuck, babe, really, you’re gonna make me follow you out of here with your ass looking like that?”

“Stop,” you tittered, “you know, there might be more sellers tonight?”

“Oh yeah? I guess you’ll be paying a mortgage soon enough.”

“Me?” you scoffed.

“Sure, I’ll be your sugar baby,” he kidded.

“Well, baby is accurate,” you teased as you stepped onto the elevator, “please, just behave.”

🎨

You were surprised to see Vanessa at the party but reassured to see a familiar face. Clark had been distracted by his other guests and you did your best to mingle, letting Marcus take the lead until he was distracted by another guest’s Rolex and started asking too many questions. If you did start selling art to these kinds, you suspected you’d be paying for a lot of overpriced brands. That was a worry for another time.

You stood with Vanessa and a man she introduced you to. Bruce Wayne was tall and his dark-hair was combed back neatly as he spoke over the glass of wine in his hand. You were bored of the Monet-Manet argument, one you’d heard a million times from the stubborn gallery owner, and you were at your limit of socialisation.

You excused yourself and put down your unfinished drink on a table. You looked around but couldn’t see Marcus anywhere. The last you saw him, he was with Clark but you couldn’t find him either. You frowned and wandered between the pairs and trios gabbing around the room.

Just past the bar, you looked back and still no sign of either man. You huffed and your heels clicked into the foyer and to the stairs. You’d go to the studio and sit for a moment and collect yourself. You just needed to take a breath.

You climbed the stairs slowly, the din of the party floating up behind you. You came to the top but stopped as your eyes were drawn to a pair of open doors opposite the studio. You neared and stayed against the wall as you peeked inside. Marcus admired an old-six shooter and spun the barrel.

“You got everything, man, I swear,” you hid behind the door frame and listened.

“Eh, it’s all just things,” Clark replied, “I bought that from an auctioneer down in Texas. A verified antique but it just hangs here. Not good for much but looking at it.”

“Dude, what I wouldn’t do to live here? Have cool guns and even cooler cars? Shit, you know how fucked it is that my lady is making bank and I’m over here with my dick in my hands? I mean, I’m proud of her but… I mean, if I could get paid thousands for drawing, I would’ve tried to learn.”

“She’s good. Dedicated,” Clark remarked, “she’s special. Worth more than money.”

Marcus hummed and you heard the barrel click back into the place. Neither of the men spoke as you heard something shift and Clark cleared his throat. Subtle footsteps moved around the room and you pressed yourself to the wall. You should leave and let them talk but you couldn’t help but be curious.

“Isn’t she?” Clark prodded.

“Y-yeah, but… I don’t know. I just wish I had more,” Marcus said, “I probably sound like a chump, huh?”

“You can’t have it all,” Clark replied.

“Says the guy who can buy anything and everything,” Marcus moped.

“Oh?” Clark intoned, “so… how about it then? Fifty thousand.”

“For what?” Marcus chuckled nervously.

“Her,” Clark answered.

“Her-- I… my girlfriend?” he sputtered.

“If money can buy me anything, that’s what I want,” Clark said firmly, “it’s a one time offer… whether or not you agree to it, I’m gonna fuck her.”

You skin crawled at his words and you covered your mouth in disgust and shock. You inched closer to the door to hear better as you waited for the response.

“One hundred,” Marcus said.

“Seventy-five,” Clark countered.

“That’s my girlfriend, dude,” Marcus hissed.

“And yet you’re haggling with me over her. Eighty.”

You tore yourself from the wall before you could hear anymore. You felt hollow and heavy all at once. Your eyes were glossy as you scurried over to the studio doors and pushed the left one open. You unhooked the diamond necklace and tossed it onto the paint-stained palette and rolled up your brushes.

You stormed over blindly to the easel and pushed it over. It clattered to the floor loudly but you were already out the door and halfway down the stairs. You gripped your clutch and the bundle of paintbrushes tightly as you continued on outside and the blurred outlines of luxury cars passed you by. 

You stomped up the long drive in your heels as you flicked away tears and pulled out your phone. You knew it was too good to be true. Any of it; your art, Clark, Marcus. You weren’t good for anyone unless they could get something out of you.

#clark kent #dark clark kent #dark!clark kent #clark kent x reader #fic #series #dark fic #dark!fic #superman #portrait of a dangerous man #dc #dcu #mob au #au #mob!au

[tricksters-captain]

Bucky Barnes imagines - Some Sunny Day Part 2

AN: I’m splitting episode 3 into two chapters because so much happens. 

Summary: Before the Blip, you and Bucky were close. After you both returning and Tony’s funeral, you decided to go back to your home town to spend time with your family. When duty calls, you return.  

In this chapter: Despite your protests, Bucky seeks out Zemo (Based on S1 EP3)

(PART 1 HERE)

Pairing(s): Bucky Barnes x Fem!Reader, Sam Wilson x Platonic!Reader

Word Count: 5,196

Warnings: Spoilers for episode 3, violence, strong language. 

You watched Bucky as he sat beside you on the aircraft. 

“Do you mind?” Bucky’s side eye didn’t make you look away. 

“I’m just trying to see what’s going through that head of yours.” You confessed. You were all on your way to Germany to visit Zemo. It wasn’t a plan you were happy with but it was the plan. 

“Don’t bother.” Bucky frowned, looking down at his hands on his lap. “And don’t ask me if I think this is a good idea again.” 

“I wasn’t going to ask that.” You turned away from the man.

“What was it then?” Bucky asked. 

“I was going to ask if you were sure you wanted to do this.” It was another question you had already asked 20 times or more but you couldn’t shake the overwhelming feeling of anxiety about this trip. 

“She has a right to be worried, Buck. The last time you were alone with Zemo, you ended up putting (Y/n) through three windows.” Sam reminded you both of what happened the last time you were in Berlin. 

“It won’t happen this time.” Bucky tried to reassure you both but you still felt uneasy. 

After another hour or so Sam announced that you were almost there. 

It was a short drive to the prison from the airport but once you were inside, you felt your chest begin to tighten again. 

“He’s just through that corridor.” The German guard gestured up ahead and that’s when Bucky stopped you. 

“Alright. Give us a sec.” Bucky instructed the security guard before turning to you and Sam. “I’m gonna go in alone.”

“Why?” Sam asked, 

“You’re Avengers. You know how he feels about that.” Bucky said as he looked between the two of you. 

“It’s not like you two were known for frolickin’ in the sun together.” Sam felt he needed to remind Bucky of the past again. However, Bucky stood his ground. 

“He was obsessed with HYDRA. We have a history together. Trust me. I got it.” 

“Buck...” You started, 

“I got it.” He repeated himself before you could say anything else. 

You watched Bucky head through the doors alone. 

“Let’s wait outside. This place gives me the creeps.” Sam encouraged you to follow him to which you didn’t do without hesitation. 

Sam brought you a hot drink as you sat on a bench outside. 

“I forgot how worried he can make you.” Sam admitted as he sat down beside you.

“I’ve seen what he went through, Sam. All of it leading up to Zemo. I just... I don’t want it happening to him again.” You knew you couldn’t explain the extent of why you cared for Bucky. 

“You love him.” Sam said. It wasn’t a question but rather a statement. “I can see it clear as day. Anyone could if they stuck around long enough.” 

“Why are you bringing this up, Sam?” You sighed, looking away from him. 

“Because it’s also obvious that he loves you too. You run around driving each other crazy with worry but you have none of the good stuff that comes with being in love with someone.” 

“What do you know about love, Don Juan?” You chuckled as you tried to lighten the tone.

“I know it when I see it.” Sam smiled but there was a sadness behind his eyes. 

“Things are complicated, Sam.” You muttered, “You already know that.” 

“Well I also think that if Bucky got some he’d be a whole lot less angsty all the damn time.” You knew Sam only said it to make you laugh but you still gave him a whack for the comment. 

“Shut up, Sam.” You shook your head, trying not to smile at the inappropriate comment. 

Sam kept you entertained by a couple of silly games of rock, paper, scissors before Bucky returned. 

“Come on, I got some information. We gotta go.” Bucky hurried you and Sam along. 

“Just like that?” You were surprised that Zemo even spoke to Bucky at all. 

“A location. I’ll explain everything once we get there.” Bucky wasn’t giving you much information and it was making you a little suspicious. 

“Hey, hey, hey...” Sam ran after Bucky, stopping him. “You gotta give us a little more than that.”

“Zemo agreed to help us after hearing that there were more super soldiers. It was his life ambition to stop the winter soldier programme and he’s given us a lead.” Bucky explained. 

“And you’re just gonna trust his word?” You probed. 

“There’s not much else we can do.” Bucky did make a point. 

It didn’t take long to reach the large warehouse/garage that Bucky wanted to go to. 

Bucky on the way had started rambling about breaking Zemo out of jail in order to help you guys which sounded ridiculous to you. 

“Tell me you’re joking, Buck.” You pleaded, unsure whether he had lost his mind entirely. 

“He’s our best shot at finding who is making the serum and he’d be a lot more useful out than in.” Bucky opened the door to the building and you followed him inside.

“What are you talking about? You wanna break Zemo outta jail? Where are we, Buck? Have you lost your mind?” Sam was just as lost as you were as he shot questions at Bucky. 

“We have no leads, no moves, nothing.” Bucky sighed as you made your way in with your flashlights. 

“What we have is one of the most dangerous men in the world behind bars.” Sam argued. 

“We also have eight Super Soldiers that are loose.” Bucky retorted. 

“Anyway, I thought this was a lead?” You tried to look around but the place was badly lit. There were mainly mechanic tools and lots of storage scattered around. 

“It’s complicated.” Bucky frowned.

“What’s complicated is Zemo. He’s gonna mess with our minds. Especially yours. No offence.” Sam shone his flashlight at Bucky as he spoke. 

“Offence.” Bucky didn’t look impressed as he found the light switch. “Super Soldiers go against everything he believes in. He is crazy, but he still has a code.” 

“I’ve been on the wrong side of that code and so have you. He blew up the UN, he killed King T’Chaka and framed you for it. Did you forget that? You think the Wakandans forgot about it? It’s a rhetorical question. They didn’t. I know why this matters to you, but it’s pushing you off the deep end.” Sam stepped closer to Bucky. You couldn’t deny that Sam had a point. Zemo was the one who tore the avengers apart by framing Bucky.  “We don’t know how they’re gettin’ the serum. We don’t even know how many of them there are.” Bucky couldn’t give up. “Let me just walk you through a hypothetical. Can I?”

“What did you do?” Sam narrowed his eyes at Bucky. 

You were busy looking inside the car that was revealed by the lights coming on. 

“I didn’t do anything.” Bucky shook his head before he continued with his ‘hypothetical’. 

“The weakest point in any system isn’t the software, the hardware, it’s the meatware. The human element. Now, in this lockup, it’s nine to one, prisoners to guards. And if two prisoners start fighting, then the protocol says four guards have to respond.”

“So why would two prisoners randomly start fighting at that moment? Who knows?” Sam questioned. 

“There could be many reasons…” Bucky shrugged. “But the point is, these things escalate. Lockdown procedures would have to be initiated, and with all those bodies flying around left and right, wouldn’t be hard to slip down a hallway or two.

At this point, you stopped looking around and looked over at Bucky with your arms across your chest. You weren’t liking how thought out this plan was sounding. 

“And if the fire alarm got tripped while the prisoners were being separated someone could use the chaos to their advantage.” Bucky continued. 

“I don’t like how casual you’re bein’ about this. This is unnatural. Are you… And where are we, man?” Sam gestured around the place with confusion locked on his face. 

“Bucky, I’m with Sam on this one. I’ve got a bad feeling and–––” A door opening behind you cut you short. 

You turned around to see Zemo walk through the plastic door curtains. 

“Woah, woah, woah!” Sam jumped forward instructively. Bucky managed to stop him but he didn't stop you. 

You rushed towards Zemo and held the tip of one of your knives to his Adams apple as he held his hands up. 

“What are you doing here?” Sam shouted at Zemo before snapping back to Bucky.

“I didn’t tell ’cause I knew you wouldn’t let this happen.” Bucky admitted. 

“What did you do?” Sam pointed at Zemo in shock.

“We need him.” Bucky stated to which you chuckled harshly, pressing your knife a little harder. 

“You’re going back to prison!” Sam called over. 

“If I may..? “ Zemo tried to speak but you all shut him up with a unanimous ‘No.’

“Apologies.” Zemo mumbled. 

“(Y/n), put the knife down.” Bucky came towards you and wrapped his hand round your wrist. “Please?” 

You did. Slowly. 

“Look, when Steve refused to sign the Sokovia Accords, you both backed him. You broke the law, and you stuck your neck out for me. I’m asking you to do it again.” Bucky looked back and forth from you to Sam. 

“I really think I’m invaluable.” Zemo spoke again. 

“Shut up.” You rose the knife again to which Zemo took a step back and pretended to zip his mouth shut. 

“Okay.” Sam sighed after a moment of contemplation. “If we do this, you don’t make a move without our permission.”

“Fair.” Zemo nodded. 

“Bucky... You understand what this means right? If they find out we took Zemo, specifically you. We’ll be on the run again and I don’t know if there will be a pardon this time either.” The concern in your eyes made Bucky frown. 

“It’ll be alright. He's the only shot we got to stop these guys.” Bucky wasn’t sure if he believed his own words but he was praying that this was the best thing to do. 

“Alright.” You turned to Zemo. “So where do we start?”

Zemo gestured for you to follow him before taking you into another dark room. You kept your knife in your hand just in case.

He reached for the light switch to reveal a mass of classic cars. 

“So our first move is grand theft auto?” Sam cocked his eyebrow at the impressive collection.  

“These are mine. Collected by family over the generations. I spent years hunting people HYDRA recruited to recreate the serum. Because once it’s out there, someone can create an army of people… like the Avengers.”  Zemo entered one of the cars and pulled out a bag. “I ended the Winter Soldier program once before. I have no intention to leave my work unfinished. To do this, we’ll have to scale a ladder of lowlifes.”

“Well, join the party. We’ve already started.” Sam told the man.

“First stop is a woman named Selby. Mid-level fence I still have a line on. From there, we climb.” Zemo took his bag and headed into another room. 

“Jesus... How big is this place?” You looked around to see it was full of clothes. 

“First I change and then we head to Selby.” Zemo placed the bag down before filing through one if the rails of clothes. 

“How are we supposed to get anywhere with Zemo on our hands? We can’t exactly call Torres and ask for a ride but please ignore the fugitive that’s coming with us.” You looked between the boys. 

“I will get us there.” Zemo told you. 

“Great.” You pressed a fake smile onto your face which Zemo chose not to acknowledge.

Before you knew it you were at the airport at Zemo’s private jet.

“So all this time you’ve been rich?” Sam’s eyes went wide at the sight of the plane.

“I’m a Baron, Sam. My family was royalty until your friends destroyed my country.” Zemo spoke as if it was well known information. You felt a pang hit you in the chest, it happened every time you thought of Sokovia... it was guilt. 

You watched Zemo greet an elderly man in a suit before you entered the jet. 

You sat furtherest away from Zemo, still feeling very uncomfortable about him being free and under your custody. 

You watched him sip on a glass of champagne like he had no worries in the world. 

“You don’t know what it’s like to be locked in a cell. Oh. That’s right you do.” Zemo reminded you of the time Tony had locked a lot of the avengers up. 

“Why don’t you tell us about where we’re going?” Sam suggested. 

 “I’m sorry. I was just fascinated by this. I don’t know what to call it, but this part seems to be important. Who is Nakajima?” 

Before you could blink, Bucky had lunged forward and taken Zemo by the neck.  

“If you touch that again, I’ll kill you.” Bucky kept hold of Zemo for a second longer before sitting back down. You had fought the urge to get up and take hold of his arm to calm him down.  

"I’m sorry. I understand that list of names. People you’ve wronged as the Winter Soldier.” Zemo made no attempt at a sincere apology for the invasion of privacy.  

“Don’t push it.”  Bucky warned him.

“I’ve seen that book. It was Steve’s when he came out of the ice. I told him about Trouble Man. He wrote it in that book. Did you hear it? What’d you think?” Sam smiled as he thought back on the memory. 

“I like ’40s music, so…” Bucky shrugged. 

“You didn’t like it?” Sam seemed more shock to hear this than when he saw Zemo. 

“I liked it.” Bucky proclaimed. 

“It is a masterpiece, James. Complete. Comprehensive. It captures the African-American experience.” Even Zemo had to get involved. 

“He’s out of line, but he’s right. It’s great. Everybody loves Marvin Gaye.” Sam turned back to Bucky after giving side eye to Zemo. 

“I like Marvin Gaye.” Bucky repeated. 

“Steve adored Marvin Gaye.” Sam couldn’t drop it but you didn’t bother getting involved. 

You looked at the book in Bucky’s hands. You knew Steve had given it to him before but seeing it again after all this time brought up a hundred thoughts. You remembered the many things you had told Steve to watch or eat or listen to like ABBA, Mochi ice cream and pranking him by suggesting the twilight movie as must see. 

“You must have really looked up to Steve.” Zemo mentioning Steve made you look up again. “But I realised something when I met him. The danger with people like him, America’s Super Soldiers, is that we put them on pedestals.”

“Watch your step, Zemo.” Sam warned him. 

“They become symbols. Icons. And then we start to forget about their flaws. From there, cities fly, innocent people die. Movements are formed, wars are fought. You remember that, right?” Zemo looked over at Bucky. “As a young soldier sent to Germany to stop a mad icon. Do we want to live in a world full of people like the Red Skull? That is why we’re going to Madripoor.” 

“What’s up with Madripoor? You talk about it like it’s Skull Island.” Sam asked but you already knew of Madripoor. Anyone with links to the underworld of crime knew of Madripoor. 

“It’s an island nation in the Indonesian archipelago. It was a pirate sanctuary back in the 1800s.” Bucky informed him. 

“It’s kept its lawless ways. But we cannot exactly walk in as ourselves. James, you will have to become someone you claim is gone.” Zemo looked down at his duffel bag of clothes that you had watched him pack before.

“What do you mean by that?” You finally chimed into the conversation. 

“James will have to retake the person of the Winter Soldier. You both will have a role to play also.” Zemo explained, turning to face you as you sat in the chair by the back wall of the jet. 

“Bucky, can I speak to you privately?” You looked past Zemo to Bucky. Bucky gave you a look to ask where would you go so you stood and opened the cabin toilets door. 

Bucky huffed before following you in.

“Bucky I’m not okay with this.” You whispered as you pressed yourself up against the wall so you could try and fit both you and Bucky a little more comfortably. 

“This isn’t up to you.” Bucky sighed. 

 “Everything about this situation is making every nerve in my body scream this is a bad idea.” You folded your arms across your chest as you stared up at Bucky. 

“How many times do I have to tell you that this is the only plan we got?” 

“I don’t trust him.” You kept your voice low as you threw your hand up in the direction of the door. 

“Do you trust me?” Bucky asked. 

“I’m starting to question it.” You muttered. 

Bucky just stared at you in response. 

“Yes, I trust you.” You grumbled, caving in. 

“Anyway I have you if things go bad.” Bucky tried to make light of the situation but you weren't impressed. 

You left the bathroom and remained silent until you drew closer to Madripoor. 

Upon your arrival in Madripoor, you were handed some clothes to change into. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me?” You held up the small material dress that you were meant to wear. 

“I had to choose a disguise that would cover your face. Too many people here would know you from your days before the avengers and after.” Zemo defended his choice of ‘costume’ for you. 

“So I’m assassin barbie?” You scoffed before taking to the bathroom to change. 

You slid on the black leather playsuit and boots, along with the mask that Zemo gave you. 

You felt exposed and uncomfortable. You managed to hide a few knives in your boots and you slid on a thigh holster to hold some more to make you feel like you were protected at least. 

“Loose the knives.” Zemo instructed. 

“Are you serious?” You were growing more agitated by the minute with this man. 

“You are playing an escort. You can’t have knives on show.” Zemo pointed to your holster. 

You bit down on your cheek as you removed it. 

“Fine.” You then left the plane to Sam and Bucky waiting outside. Bucky’s eyes went wide at the sight of you but he tried to hide it by clearing his throat and looking away. 

“We have to fix this. I’m the only one who looks like a pimp.” Sam was wearing a red patterned suit and chains. He didn’t look too bad in it either.

“Only an American would assume a fashion-forward Black man looks like a pimp. You look exactly like the man you’re supposed to be playing. The sophisticated, charming African rake named Conrad Mack, aka the Smiling Tiger.” Zemo handed Sam his phone revealing a picture of Conrad Mack.

“He even has a bad nickname. Hell, he does look like me, though.” Sam took the phone and looked down at the picture. 

“(Y/n) is playing your partner for the night. Conrad is known for his appreciation for the finer things in life and often has a woman on his arm Therefore, (Y/n), you must be attached to Sam’s hip the entire night.” Zemo filled you all in on the reason behind your disguise. 

“Excuse me, what?” Bucky almost choked at the idea of you having to be Sam’s woman for the night. 

“Well it is the only disguise that makes sense. She can’t be your girlfriend as you are the Winter Soldier. She can’t be mine as everyone knows I am loyal to my wife. She has to be the smiling tigers current whore.” 

“Watch your mouth.” Bucky hissed. 

“We all must play a part.” Zemo defended his choice of words. “You smell this?”

“Yeah, what is that? Acid?” Sam asked. 

“Madripoor. No matter what happens, we have to stay in character. Our lives depend on it. There’s no margin for error. High Town’s that way. Not a bad place if you wanna visit, but Low Town’s the other way.” Zemo gestured across the city as a car approached you all. 

“Let me guess. We don’t have any friends in High Town.” You sighed as Zemo opened the car door for you. 

“Not if we want the answers we are looking for.” Zemo climbed into the car after you and then the boys followed. 

It didn't take too long to find the way to low town. You had been to Madripoor before but it had been years ago. 

You did as you were ordered when you all exited Zemo’s car. You stuck by Sam, walking in the middle of Sam and Bucky. 

The air wasn’t cold but it felt thick, you could feel it sticking to your bare skin which gave you the desperate urge to take a long shower. 

“Here we are.” Zemo had brought you to a bar. It was busy and filled with a lot of men.  

“Ready to comply, Winter Soldier?” You heard Zemo ask Bucky in Russian. 

You heard whispers around you questioning if Bucky was who everyone thought he was. It made your gut clench with nerves but you didn’t let it show. 

“Hello, gentlemen. Wasn’t expecting you, Smiling Tiger.” The bartender greeted Sam and Zemo but barely brushed a glance over you.

“His plans changed. We have business to do with Selby.” Zemo spoke for Sam. You then felt Sam wrap his arm around your waist. You leaned into him, batting your eyelashes first at Sam and then the bartender. 

“The usual?” The bartender asked Sam. He nodded, afraid that if he spoke then it would give away the facade. 

You were thankful you were wearing a face mask when you saw the drink made for the Smiling Tiger. You grimaced at the dead snake being cut open and then again when one of its organs was dropped into Sam’s shot. 

“Ah, Smiling Tiger. Your favourite.” Zemo picked up his own drink as he looked down at Sam’s. 

“I love these.” Sam forced himself to speak. 

“Cheers, Conrad.” Zemo and Sam touched glasses before Sam hesitantly shot back the drink. You could tell Bucky enjoyed watching that. 

“I got word from on high. You ain’t welcome here.” A man suddenly approached from behind and tapped Zemo on the shoulder. You felt Sam’s grip on you tighten protectively. 

“I have no business with the Power Broker, but if he insists, he can either come and talk to me...” Zemo held his hand out to show his new bodyguard. 

“New haircut?” The stranger looked Bucky up and down. 

“Or bring Selby for a chat.” Zemo gave him the other option. The man retreated. 

“A power broker? Really?” Bucky spoke once the stranger had left.

“Every kingdom needs its king. Let’s just pray we stay under his radar.”

“Do you know him?” Sam asked. 

“Only by reputation.” Zemo admitted honestly.

“In Madripoor he is judge, jury, and executioner. You can’t visit low town without appearing on his radar.” You spoke up as you let yourself look around the room and take in just how many threats were around. 

“And you know this why?” Sam looked down at you. He must've forgotten your past. 

“I was a free agent before the Avengers. I've been here undercover a few times especially when I was a young teenager. Surprise Surprise evil guys like little girls.” You kept quiet in case anyone around was listening. 

Zemo suddenly spoke a command for Bucky in Russian once again and that’s when another stranger put his hands on Zemo. 

You watched Bucky follow orders and he didn’t hold back. 

He grabbed hold of the strangers wrist and pulled him off Zemo before attacking him and several others around. 

You took notice of those around with their phones out. Cameras...

You went to step forward when you felt Sam squeeze your side. He gave you a look that told you no. 

“Didn’t take much for him to fall back into form.” Zemo muttered to you and Sam. You wanted to punch him. 

Bucky slammed another man onto the bar and that’s when you heard the wave of guns cocking. 

Sam took hold of Bucky’s arm when Zemo told him to stay in character. 

Instead Zemo told Bucky to stand down once you were informed you could see Selby. 

Sam took hold of you hand and dragged you along side him as you all left the bar. 

“She isn’t welcome.” One of the guards stopped you before you could enter the room. 

“Excuse me?” Sam scoffed at the guard. “She’s with me and so she is welcome.” 

“Let her in!” You heard an English accent call from ahead. 

“You should know, Baron. People don’t just come into my bar and make demands.” Selby was an older woman with a white pixie cut and a sly grin. Sam remained stood and so did Bucky but Sam had commanded you to take a seat next to Zemo. 

“Not a demand. An offer.” Zemo was impressing you by how cool he was playing this. It also worried you. 

“A lot has changed since you were here last. By the way, I thought you were rotting away in a German prison. How did you escape?“ Selby asked. 

“People like us always find a way, don’t we? I’m sure you’ve already figured out what I’m here for.”

“You’re taller than I’d heard, Smiling Tiger.” Selby ignored Zemo as she eyed up Sam.” What’s the offer?”

“Tell us what you know about the super-soldier serum. And I give you him, along with the code words to control him, of course. He will do anything you want.”Zemo had risen from his seat and held Bucky by the chin. 

“Now that’s the Zemo I remember. I’m glad I decided not to kill you immediately. Yeah, you were right to come to me. Arrogant, but right. The super-soldier serum is here in Madripoor. Dr. Wilfred Nagel is the man you wanna thank...Or condemn, depending on what side of this you’re on. The Power Broker had him working on the serum, but… things didn’t go as planned.” Selby fed you what she knew. 

“Is Nagel still in Madripoor?” Zemo questioned. 

“Oh. The bread crumbs you can have for free, but the bakery is gonna cost you, Baron. And before you get all cute, don’t think you can find Nagel without me.” Selby pushed herself from her seat and walked across the room. 

That’s when Sam’s mobile went off. 

“Answer it. On speaker.” Selby ordered. The gun behind Sam made him pull out his phone. 

“Hello?” He answered. 

“Hey, um, we need to talk about this situation. It’s been drivin’ me nuts.” A woman’s voice came through. 

“What situation exactly are you talkin’ about?” Sam tried his best to keep up his persona. 

“Are you high? You know what situation, it’s the only situation me and you have.” The woman’s attitude was not helping Sam’s case. 

“What situation, Sarah? Say it.” Sam demanded. 

“The damn boat. And watch your tone. Okay? I let you slide at the bank.” Sarah snapped back. 

“The bank. Yeah. Laundered so much...” Sam chuckled. “Yeah, they’ll come around.”

“If that was the case, then why’d they dog you out, Big Time?” Sarah asked. 

“Yeah, you damn right I’m Big Time. You’ll see when I have that banker killed.” Sam tried to seem intimidating but at that moment you knew you were screwed. You reached down into your boot to take a knife just in case. 

“Cass! What’d I tell you about the Cheerios? I don’t have time for this! Sam, I’m sorry. I’ll call you back.” Sarah had used Sam’s name and that was the end of it. 

“Sam? Who’s Sam?” Selby looked pissed. “Kill them!” She ordered but before her hired men could react, a bullet came through the window and shot Selby down. 

You snatched two knives from your boot and sent them into the guard behind Sam. 

Bucky immediately reacted with taking out the other guard. 

“They’re gonna pin this on us.” You took the knives from the body as the boys took the guns. 

“We have a real problem now, so leave your weapons and follow my lead.” Zemo’s order made the boys put their guns down but you just wiped your knives and placed them back in your boot. 

You left the club in a hurry. Text chimes went off around you and you knew the power broker had seen what happened. 

You were well and truly fucked. 

“This is not good.” Zemo’s last words before the shooting started. 

You took off alongside Bucky and Sam, cursing the fact that Zemo had put you in the most uncomfortable shoes on the planet. 

“I can’t run in these heels!” Sam shouted which almost made you laugh. 

“Down here!” You took a turn into an alley to get off the road as two mopeds appeared behind you. 

Before you could spin around to fight, a shooter had taken them out. 

“You seem to have a guardian angel.” Zemo looked just. as confused you felt. You weren’t aware you knew anyone who was in Madripoor at the moment. 

“Well, this is too perfect. Drop it, Zemo.” A familiar face soon revealed itself from the shadows. 

“Sharon?” Sam furrowed his brow at the woman. 

“You cost me everything.” Sharon ignore Sam as she spoke to Zemo. 

“Sharon, wait. Someone recreated the super-soldier serum and Zemo had a lead.” Sam stepped ahead of Zemo to protest him. 

“That explains why you guys are here. And Selby’s dead.”Sharon glowered at the four of you. 

“So what are you doing here?” Bucky asked the question on everyones mind. 

“I stole Steve’s shield, remember? I also took the wings for your ass, so that you could save him from him. I didn’t have the Avengers to back me up. So I’m off the grid in Madripoor.” Sharon informed you.

“Don’t blow smoke. Both (Y/n) and I were on the run, too.” Sam didn't bother with feeling pity. 

“Was. Is. Big difference. I don’t speak to my family anymore. I can’t. My own father doesn’t know where I am.” Sharon shot back. 

“Listen, Sharon, we need your help.” Bucky interrupted her before she could say anything else.  

“Please.” You added. You and Sharon were friendly for a time before the world went to hell. You figured she’d help you at least. 

“This isn’t over. I have a place in High Town. You’ll be safe there for a while.” Sharon sighed, giving in and lowering her gun. 

“Thank you.” You pressed a small smile onto your face but Sharon didn’t reciprocate. 

She managed to get you to a car safely and you headed out of low town for the night. 

(PART 3 HERE)

Bucky Barnes Tag List 

@florencxs @mystictimetravelcolor @yourphotographyteen16 @shannon-posts @darkbluenovember @sexwithhiddlesbatch @thefandomimagines @mydarkness-itsnotmyfriend @sad-huffle-nerd @glitchingghosts​ @themaddies-obx​

#Bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes imagines #falcon and the winter soldier #falcon and the winder soldier imagines #the winter soldier #Sam Wilson #Sam Wilson imagines #Sebastian Stan #sebstian stan imagines #Sebastian Stan x reader #fem reader #series #some sunny day

[parkersroses]

are you taking requests ? if you are could you write something about y/n’s dad being a musician who’s helping harry write his album and he wants to take y/n on a date but she has a rule about not going out with musicians, you can choose the ending or change whatever you want !

music in me. | harry styles.

summary: Harry and Y/N are both pining for each other but don't know how to tell the other.

pairing: harry styles x fem!reader

wc: 2.9k

warning(s): fluff <3

a/n: heyyy! to the anon who requested this, i hope you like it! i wasn't planning on doing requests but this was a cute concept and i couldn't help but write it. i tweaked it a bit but it's still the same concept. hope everyone likes it too! reblog (!!) and comment if you do, here's my ko-fi! all my love <3

—

He’s the only one in the room, sitting on the piano bench with his lyric journal out. Lyrics to a song are written messily on the pages with annotations. Piano notes scribbled along the lines, some are crossed out because he didn’t think it sounded right.

While everyone else were out for a break, Harry insisted on staying in the studio to try and finish a song, telling them he’s okay as long as they get him some black coffee or a snack. He quite enjoys the quietness of it and it helps him focus. Well, most of the time.

Sometimes, a pretty girl would pass by and Harry would get distracted by said girl. He’s known her for a while now, having to be the daughter of one of the producers he was working with.

When he met her for the first time, Harry swore that he was entranced by her beauty and sweetness that she exuded before him. She had a voice as sweet as honey and a lot of kindness to share around the room. She stops by the studio once in a while to help out her father, most times she’d come in bringing homemade sandwiches and some pastries from a nearby bakery. Harry once kept telling her how he was a cashier at a bakery one time and she laughed as she told him she knew. Besides, no one forgets that the Harry Styles worked at a bakery.

Harry very much likes her; he guesses that he might have developed a small crush on her. She’s stayed a couple of times with him in the studio and even gave him some of her thoughts which he never knew meant a lot to him. He enjoys her company and finds it lovely to have formed a friendship with her. The fact that he was working with her father didn’t really phase them. They were good friends.

Yeah, good friends.

Except he wishes he wasn’t afraid to ask for more.

He’s playing around with the keys, eyes closed as he envisions what the song would best sound like. Occasionally, he’d cringe if he hits the wrong key or the order was just off. He’s so into working on the piano that he doesn’t realise a familiar face walking into the room.

Y/N smiles at the picture laid out in front of her. She’s carrying a drink carrier with both her drink and Harry’s; she might have heard that he would be in here. She almost doesn’t want to disturb him as he seems so tranquil in his own world, creating art for the whole world to hear.

She contemplates on calling his name by doesn’t as he snaps out of his world and sees her. “Oh! Hi!” He smiles at the sight of her. She returns the smile and walks over to him by the piano.

“Hey. Got you some things. Thought you might be hungry so I got food too,” she lifts the bag and drinks in front of him and sets it on top of the piano. He thanks her and takes his cup, his name clearly written in black sharpie on it. He blows the steam of his coffee as she takes out the food she got for them, some seafood pasta. Something in him seems to lighten up when he sees this, knowing he had mentioned to her once about his pestacarian diet. So, it warms his heart that she would get something he’s able to eat.

“Have to be honest, I was actually getting a bit hungry just sitting here, waiting for the others.” He chuckles as he takes the packed container and reaches for the wooden utensils she brought. “Well, why didn’t you just go with them?” She asks as she twists her fork onto the pasta.

He shrugs at this. “Just thought I’d work on this. Besides, you got me food now and I didn’t even ask,” he teases her. Both of them laugh as she nudges his shoulder.

The two of them settle on their meals, making small talk in between bites. Harry almost feels a bit shy having to sit alone in the studio next to a pretty girl he’s been crushing. It’s not like he doesn’t want to tell her. He’s gotten the hint that she might like him too. From the way her eyes are always focused on him whenever he has to say something to the remembrance of the little things he mentioned to her. She looks at him the way he thinks he looks at her, full of awe and adoration.

He so desperately wants to take her out, but a lot of things might get in the way of that. The big elephant in the room is her father. He doesn’t want people to think he only likes her because Harry is working with her father and he certainly doesn’t want him to think that way either. And he knows how mean people can be sometimes.

But Harry doesn’t care all that much about what people would say. He’d protect her with everything in him. Question is whether she would want to do this with him too.

“How’s the song coming along?” She nods towards the book in front of him as she swallows her food. He stares at her for a second, admiring how lovely she looks today before averting his gaze. “It’s alright, I guess. Just figuring out the keys and all. Might not even make the album with how it’s sounding.” He shrugs like it’s not a big deal.

She stifles a laugh as she studies the messy annotations on this page. “Oh no. Doesn’t sound good enough for the next amazing Harry Styles album?” She jokes, nudging his shoulder again. He laughs at this, his cheeks warming up at the compliment.

“Well, some songs don’t end up in the album anyway. This is probably for fun.” He tells her as he sips on his coffee. She nods at him and gestures to the book again. “May I?”

He nods and gives her his book without a question. He trusts her and her judgement enough and really cares about her opinion on whether a song is good. Her eyes skim over the words written on the pages and she even turns to the other pages to what else he’s written down.

“These songs are amazing, Harry.” She tells him, smiling as she reads the lyrics. Harry blushes at the compliment. He’s had many people compliment his songwriting, from his mother to his band to the fans he meets; but there is something about knowing it’s good in her eyes that makes him feel proud of his songwriting abilities.

Maybe it’s because he’s whipped for her. It’s a good thing she won’t know that most of the songs he’s written for this album were inspired by her; that’d save him from a bit of embarrassment.

“Thank you, darlin’,” he says, taking back the book and setting it on the piano.

“So, which one is about me?”

“What?” His eyes are suddenly wide open as he looks at her with a panicked expression.

She stares at him for a minute before giggling. “I’m kidding! Gosh, should’ve seen the look on your face. That was gold,” she stifles in her laughter at him. He huffs, rolling his eyes at her as his cheeks are flaming up.

“Yeah, yeah, you got me, you little minx,” he says as he pokes on his side, making her squeal at the ticklish feeling.

The laughter in the room simmers down into comfortable silence. Harry looks over at her, his eyes running over her features, studying her. She seems to sense this because she looks up at him. They stare at each other in silence until she smiles at him, leaning in to rest her head on his shoulder.

“Play something for me?” She mumbles. He grins and lays his head on top of hers. His fingers lay on the keys and he starts to play a familiar tune from one of his songs from his last album. The two sit together, listening to the sounds of the piano filling the room.

When the rest of the team comes back, Y/N’s father is looking around for her. He knew she somehow stayed behind to keep Harry some company. He doesn’t think too much of it; he’s seen the way they both interacted and he was more than glad they got along. Maybe a little too much.

He somehow could sense a mutual liking between the two. It was sweet to be fair. It was like seeing his little girl talking to a guy she likes in school all over again. He’s not one to be a strict parent; all he wants is to look after her. There were too many guys in the industry who’d try to take advantage of her because of him, which is why he would always get cautious of them.

But he sees the way Harry and Y/N look at each other like they’re the only ones in the room. For a moment, he begins to think that maybe this is the guy for her. Someone who genuinely likes her and would sometimes go out of his way to spend time with her, even if it wasn’t work-related. Harry is generally a respectable man, but it truly warms his heart to see the way he treats Y/N the way he knows she deserves to be treated.

Then, he stumbles upon the two in the same studio room Harry said he would be. He sees the two sitting close to each other as Harry plays the piano. Occasionally, they would both giggle at each other for reasons he’s sure it’s something between just them. He stands by the door for a while as he watches them, a smile graces on his face. He sees the smiles and happiness radiating on their faces.

And he thinks to himself that maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.

As the session for the day ends, Harry and everyone else are ready to pack it up and go home. As he puts his water bottle and journal into his tote bag, he steals a few glances at Y/N in which she returns, leaving both of their faces flushing in warmth. He approaches her nervously while she plays around with her fingers.

“Um,” he starts. “Thanks for today.” She chuckles at his words and shakes her head.

“I didn’t really do anything, but you’re welcome,” she jokes. They both let out a laugh.

“Well, uh, take care,” he says and she gives him a small smile. She was hoping he’d say more but she doesn’t push it. “You too,” she points out.

He nods as he slowly walks backwards to the door. He stops in his tracks for a moment before opening his mouth again. “I, uh,” he begins again and she waits for his next words nervously. “I’ll see you in the next session, yeah?”

Her heart deflates a bit but she hides her tiny disappointment with a smile. “Definitely, Harry.”

They awkwardly bid each other goodbye before parting their ways. Unbeknownst to them, her father watched the whole scene and he shakes his head at the silly adults.

He calls for Y/N and tells her to sit with him for a minute. “Yeah, dad?” She questions him as she sits on the couch. “Want to tell me why you and Styles look like nervous teenagers, wishing the other would ask them on a date?”

Y/N is shocked to say the least as she stumbles on her words and tries to pretend she doesn’t know what he’s talking about. He chuckles at his daughter’s act. “Think you should put him out of his misery and let him ask you out. Or better yet, you should ask him out.”

“But dad, what about you?”

He cocks an eyebrow at her question. “What about me, sweetie?”

She chews on her bottom lip gently before speaking. “It’s just, I know he has a lot of respect for you and he doesn’t want to make things weird if anything did happen between us. Plus, what if he’s like those other guys that try to kiss up to you through me? I really like him, dad.” She mumbles out the last part under her breath. Her father sees the slight dilemma his daughter has and shakes his head at her, smiling.

He lifts her chin up so she could look at you. “I know he’s not one of those guys. While the rest of those boys can try and fool me, he’s a man with a lot of heart and respect towards others. And I can tell you that he really likes you too. I’ve seen the way you look at each other. Don’t think you guys are so slick with that.”

Y/N giggles at her father’s words. “Thanks, dad,” she tells him, kissing his hand and holding it tightly. It somehow reminds him of the first time her tiny baby hands tried to hold his hand. It makes him choke up, knowing his little girl isn’t so little anymore.

But if it’s Harry who’d be the man that’ll make her happy, then he’s completely fine with that.

He kisses her head lovingly and pats her shoulder. “Now, you better go after him before you come home sulking because you didn’t catch him. I’ll go wait in the car for you,” he suggests. Y/N’s face beams with joy as she stands and runs out of the room.

The sun is setting by the time she reaches the front door of the studio building. She looks around to see if Harry has left yet. She doesn’t see him and she starts to frown at this. She’s about to sulk on her way to her father before she hears a familiar deep voice calling her name.

“Y/N?” She turns around and grins as she sees Harry walking over to her.

“Hey! You’re still here,” she beams at him. Harry smiles at her, noting how adorable she looks. “Yeah, had a chat with Mitch and Sarah before they left.” He points behind him for her to see their car driving past them, honking at them as if to say goodbye.

“Anyways, you alright? Saw you ran out here,” he asks concerned. It truly makes her heart flutter knowing how much he even cares. Not to mention, he’s a very handsome and beautiful young man, especially under the golden hour lighting they’re getting.

“Yeah, I wanted to ask you something,” she tells him. She’s playing with her fingers, something she does when she’s nervous. He hums in response.

“Would you wanna go on a date with me?” She rushes out her words.

But Harry hears her clear enough. He’s surprised at first. He always thought he’d ask her out but she beat him to it. He lets it sink in; the fact that the girl he really likes, likes him back and wants to go on a date with him.

A smile breaks out onto his face and he nods. “Yeah, yeah, I’d love to!” He exclaims.

Y/N lets out a breath of relief as she hears this. “Really?”

“Really! I really like you, Y/N. Been meaning to ask you out but I guess you beat me to it,” he chuckles as he steps closer to her. His hands reach out to grab her hands and she lets him, liking the warmth he gives.

“I really like you too,” she smiles at him. He grins as his eyes run over her face, loving how pretty she looks with the sunlight hitting her complexion.

She’s not sure whether it’s too soon to kiss him but he slowly leans in, as if he’s waiting to see if she’ll reject him. But she doesn’t and immediately leans into him, letting lips finally touch.

She feels him smile into the kiss, their lips move in sync. She breathes in his scent of cologne he wears through her nose and tastes the sweetness of his lips. The feeling they both get is almost overriding their senses and all they can think of is each other.

They break away as they catch their breath. Harry sneakily leans in again to steal a peck which makes her giggle. They’re smiling so hard that their cheeks are starting to hurt.

“That was nice,” he grins at her. She nods as she looks at him with dazed eyes.

“I should probably head back now,” she points out behind her. Harry nods understandingly. “I’ll call you later, alright? Let me know when you and your dad get home safe,” he says, his thumb stroking over her knuckles gently.

She nods in agreement. “Goodnight, Harry,” she bids him.

“Goodnight, darling,” he gently says back.

They don’t move apart from each other until Harry leans in again. “One more kiss,” he mumbles as his lips press against hers. She doesn’t object as she moans lightly at the feeling of his lips again. They break away, giggling as they bid each other goodnight again.

As soon as they part away, Y/N waits until she sees him getting in his car before squealing in delight as she skips back to her car. While this happens, Harry is shouting in his car, letting it sink in that he finally has the girl who inspired most of the songs he wrote for his new album.

#harry styles #harry styles x reader #harry styles imagine #harry styles imagines #harry styles fluff #harry styles oneshot #harry styles fic #harry styles fanfiction #parkersroses writing

[nanamikeento]

tolerate it

Pairing: Jack Daniels x reader

Summary: Jack’s been acting different towards you lately and you fear the worst when you decide to take action about it.

a/n: will i ever write something not titled or inspired by a ts song/lyrics?? i guess we’ll never know! 

Warnings: angst, so much angst, suggestions of sex, clueless Jack

Word count: 4.0k

masterlist

...

The decorated porcelain plates clink together as you pull them out of the cabinet. Carefully setting them on the table, you reach for the crystal wine glasses, smiling as you set them. He’s gonna love this. It’s not every night that you decide to make dinner for you and your husband, given that you’re both always so busy, but tonight you decided to make it special. You cooked his favorite meal, and put on his favorite outfit of yours. There’s no way he’s not going to like it.

Jack has been acting strange lately. He’s been distant, cold. Working late more often, staying silent all the time, spacing out when you two are together. He still talks to you, but he’s not the same Jack from before and you don’t know what happened. You want to believe it’s all in your head, you want to believe everything is okay. So, you’ve been trying hard to get his attention, going out of your way to bring back the man you married. You hate doing this, but you feel like you have to or else… 

It’s another late night, as he told you. He’s taking a little longer to get home and, sadly, you’re already used to it. So when the sound of the door opening reaches your ears and you take a deep breath, turning the stove off and taking the lasagna out of it. He doesn’t call for you like he used to, but you speak anyway,

“In the kitchen!” Your voice bounces and echoes through the space, hearing his footsteps approaching. You smooth your clothes, eagerly waiting for him.

When he reaches the kitchen door, you give him your best smile and walk towards him.

“Hi, honey!” You lace your arm around him, pulling him to a hug. Jack touches your lower back, his eyes wandering to the kitchen.

“Hey, what’s all this?” He asks, after you give him a peck on the lips.

“Oh!” You pull away from him, “It’s been a while since I don’t cook for us, so I just figured…” You shrug.

The look Jack’s face falls to a sympathetic one as he looks back at you, shoulders sagging and a small sigh leaving his lips.

“Oh, darlin’, I already ate at the office,” he says.

Your heart sinks. “Oh,” you say, quickly brushing away any feeling of disappointment, “That’s okay!” You force a smile, delicately picking at the lapels of his suit, “We could watch a movie, then.” You suggest.

He smiles softly at you, but it looks more like a smile a parent would give a child when they’re upset.

“Honey, I’m a little tired today,” he says, putting a hand on your shoulder, “If you don’t mind, I think I’ll retire for the day.”

You try to hide your disappointment by swallowing your tears and nodding at him, “Okay, you go ahead,” you tell him, “I’ll just clean up here and be right with you.”

Jack presses his lips on your hairline and leaves the kitchen. He didn’t even comment on your outfit. Didn’t even realize how hard you’ve worked on that homemade lasagna. Your eyes burn with unshed tears, as you put everything back on place, debating if you should open a bottle of wine and eat alone. But your appetite is gone now, so you put the lasagna back on the oven and clean everything until there’s no trace you’ve been there at all.

One last time. You’ll try for one last time and then you’re done.

By the time you enter the bedroom, Jack is reading a book, hanging his head low. You can tell he’s already showered, the smell of his deodorant reaching your nostrils. You smile as you slowly climb on the bed, your hand searching for him as they touch his shoulder. Jack tenses and looks at you, taking your wrists gently as he pulls you away from him.

“Darlin’, I’m not really in the mood tonight,” he says.

Nodding, you swallow hard, “Okay.” You’re already turning your back to him, climbing off the bed and walking towards the bathroom, “I’ll take a shower, then we can call it a day.”

If Jack notices the tremble in your voice, he doesn’t say anything. You close the bathroom door behind you and muffle a sob with your hand on your mouth. You want to believe you’ve got it wrong. You want to believe it’s all in your head, but you can’t deny it.

After you turn on the shower and strip down, you spend the time under the warm spray silently crying until the water runs cold and you have to get out. You don’t know how long you spend inside the bathroom, but after you’ve calmed down, put on some pajamas and enter the bedroom again, Jack is already lying with his back turned to you.

Carefully, you pull the covers just enough so you can lie under them. Before you rest your head on the pillow, you turn the lamp off.

But you can’t sleep. You’re always careful not to toss and turn and not to wake Jack when you can’t sleep. Tonight is no different as you watch him sleeping peacefully, with his eyes closed. The hours go by and you can’t close your eyes to save your life. That glass of wine would go well right now.

Before you can change your mind, you get off the bed and silently leave your shared bedroom, making sure you closed the door behind you. During the night, you heat up some of the lasagna you made and drink half of the bottle of red wine you had bought for your dinner with him. You try to distract yourself by watching television or going through social media.

You fall asleep on the couch, at 3:37am.

…

“Darlin’?” Jack calls you softly, gently shaking your shoulder.

You open your eyes, sucking a breath and looking around your surroundings, “Jack?”

He laughs softly, running his knuckles on your cheeks. For a split second you think you’re dreaming. Jack hasn’t been that affectionate in weeks. But when you see where you are, on your couch, in your living room, you realize it’s no dream. You fell asleep on the couch last night because you couldn’t sleep on the bed next to him.

“Why did you sleep here, baby?” He asks, smiling amused at you.

“I–” You have a bad taste in your mouth from sleeping without brushing your teeth, “I couldn’t sleep last night so I came to watch some TV.”

He pulls his brows together, “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“I, uh…” You rub the sleep from your eyes, “You seemed tired, so…”

The lie burns in your throat as you speak it and watch as Jack’s concerned look transforms to a softer one, “Well, next time, wake me, okay? I don’t like when you don’t sleep next to me.” He brings his lips to yours and it takes you by surprise.

Maybe it is all in your head. Maybe you’ve been getting it wrong lately. The affection warms your heart and it gives you hope.

Except his words don’t match his actions. Days after, he’s back to the cold, distant behavior you hate so much. And it crushes your spirit. You have no hope this relationship can get better. And you’ve done enough to try to restore it.

Maybe he doesn’t love you anymore. The thought makes your eyes water as you pack a bag with your clothes. You can’t do this anymore, you just can’t. Jack’s been on a business trip for a few days and hasn’t called you yet, only talking to you through texts and emails. So you took the day off to get your things and leave.

You’ve had enough.

You choose to stay in a hotel room for a moment, just until Jack comes back and you both sort things out. You know he’s going to freak out when he sees the sticky note you’ve glued on your bedroom door, but, honestly, you don’t care. You’re done caring.

What you weren’t expecting was for him to call you the first night at the hotel room. You let the call go to voicemail, and the texts began. You figure he's home early and read your note; sighing you put your phone on airplane mode, knowing the calls won't stop all night. You know Jack deserves more than a sticky note telling him you need a break, but you know that the moment you'd see him, you'd cave in.

The thing is, you feel bad about it. You feel sad and guilty. Jack is your husband, the man you fell in love with, the man you married. But as the night goes by, you start to think that maybe your feelings are one sided. Jack was sweet and a great husband in the first two years of your marriage, but you can't help to think he's fallen out of love.

You try to sleep, but it's a restless night. You toss and turn, unable to fall asleep. Funny. You can't sleep with him, but you can't sleep without him either.

…

Jack was desperate. When he got home and found the note you left him, his heart sank. Why would you do this? He thought everything was fine, that you were happy with him.

He tried to call you as soon as he read the note, but you didn't pick up or reply to his texts. The panic grew as the night went on and he didn't hear from you.

You don't know about his double life. Jack meant to tell you before you both got married, but for some reason, he never did. 

Well, he had a reason. Kingsman's takes secrecy to another level. No exceptions, no one outside the agency can know about it, not even family members or spouses, like you. And lately, Jack’s been feeling weird. He’s tired of lying to you and living two lives, he’s tired of the secrectness and the danger of not going back home to you.

So he’s been thinking about quitting. Or, at least, telling you the truth. Because he knew sooner or later, the confidentiality of his job would end up costing his marriage. And, apparently, it was going to be sooner.

When Jack woke up from a restless sleep this morning, he knew exactly where to find you. You didn’t give him an exact location of where you stayed last night, but he knew where you worked. And the idea of showing up at your work demanding an explanation doesn’t really please him, but he doesn’t know what to do.

Will he tell you the truth once he sees you? He doesn’t know. All he knows is that he needs to talk to you. He needs to see you.

Jack is well aware of what he looks like, sitting in his car, across the street of the place you work at. He wonders if you’re already there, he wonders if you’re able to go with your day as if nothing happened. As if you hadn’t abandoned him.

No, he can’t think like that. You must’ve had a reason, he’s sure of it. You wouldn’t do that to him unless you had a motive.

He doesn’t know how long he sits there, just lost in his worries and thoughts about you. Searching his memory for something he might’ve done, something he might’ve missed, but nothing comes to mind. It isn’t until he sees you leaving the building, that Jack sighs in relief. A small smile tugs at the corner of his lips when you spot the car and walk towards it. However, when he rolls down the window, he sees your tired eyes and his heart clenches at the thought of you not getting sleep.

You sigh deeply, heart hammering inside your chest. “The doorman said you’ve been sitting here all morning.” Your voice doesn’t tremble when you speak, so that’s a win. For now.

“Honey–”

“Jack.” You interrupt him before he can change your mind, swallowing the lump already forming in your throat, “I’m working.”

“I know, honey, I just–”

“Jack–”

“Why didn’t you–”

“Jack!” You raise your voice and look into his eyes. Wishing you didn’t, you see the heartbreak in his eyes and almost feel sorry for him. Lowering your voice, you clear your throat, trying to hold back tears, “I’m working now, you can’t stay here like a creep.”

He looks at you in disbelief, “Well, I think I deserve more than just a sticky note on our bedroom door.”

Shit, he’s right. You mull over his words and think, if the situation was reversed, you’d want a better explanation too. Jack doesn’t deserve this, you know it. But he’s also not innocent. He has let you down so many times in the past few weeks, he has broken your heart over and over and you were tired of it. As much as you want to go back to him, to throw yourself into his arms, you’re afraid he’ll shut you out again.

As much as you try to hold back the tears, they slip away from your eyes and roll down your cheeks. In a second, Jack is hopping off the car and holding your face gently between his hands, asking you softly what is wrong, are you okay, please tell me what’s going on. You take his wrists gently, missing this Jack, the Jack who used to comfort you when you weren’t okay, the Jack you feel in love with.

“You…” You sniff, pushing his hands away from you, “You really don’t know?”

Jack frowns, a confused look on his face, as you scoff, angrily wiping at your tears.

“Please.” He begs, “Just tell me what happened.”

“How about the fact you’ve been ignoring me for weeks now?” Your anger bubbles inside you, but you keep your voice down to not attract curious eyes at the street, “You come home every night and barely look at me, you barely talk to me, while I do everything for you! You don’t even–” A breath leaves your lips as you close your eyes and try to keep your posture, “You know what? I don’t want to talk about this now. I have to work.”

You turn your back to him and start walking away, but Jack gently puts a hand on your upper arm. When you turn around to face him, you see tears in his eyes and a heartbroken look on his face. The sight makes your heart clench.

“Darlin’.” Jack suppresses a sob, “Please, let’s just talk about it.”

The tone on his voice makes you pause. Maybe you’re being too hard on him, maybe you should give him an explanation instead of just fucking off of his life. It doesn’t mean your marriage will be saved magically with a conversation, but maybe you should’ve just sat down and talked to him from the start.

“Jack, I–” you clear your throat, trying to swallow down more tears.

“How about I cook you dinner?” He tries to give you a hopeful smile but it comes out as a sad, heartbreaking grin, “Been a while, huh? Then we can– Then we can talk about it, right?”

A breath leaves your lips and you finally cave in, nodding and telling him you’ll be home by seven. He nods and kisses the back of your hands before letting you go back to work. You try to keep your posture, pretend like you're okay, but you breakdown in the bathroom, crying with your hands in your face as silently as you can.

…

When you open the door to your house, your heart weighs heavy in your chest. The smell of food invades your nostrils giving you a sense of nostalgia. Memories of when you two moved in together and you'd get home to him cooking your favorite meal reach your mind and you feel good for a second. Until you remember why he's doing it.

Jack greets you with a smile, making a point of taking your purse and coat and he leads you to the dining room, where a plate of your favorite food is waiting for you. You swallow hard, feeling your stomach rumble and give him a tight smile.

“Made it just for you, darlin'.” Jack pulls the chair for you to sit and takes a seat right across him, “How was work?”

You stare at him in disbelief. He’s really acting like nothing happened, like he didn’t almost make a scene right in front of your workplace and like he’s the best husband in the world.

“Before or after you showed up?” You reach for the glass of red wine on the table.

Yeah, you’re still mad about it. You watch as Jack’s smile fades away and he swallows hard at your statement.

“You said you wanted to talk about it,” you continue, crossing your arms and leaning back on the chair, “Let’s talk about it.”

Jack sighs and slumps his shoulders with a sad look across his face. You’re almost certain he’s doing this just to make you feel bad.

“Darling, I–” He sighs, “I think we should eat first–”

“No, Jack,” you say firmly, holding back your own tears, “I’m tired. I’m tired of trying to make this work.”

“What do you mean ‘make it work’?”

“You know exactly what I mean.” Your voice cracks a little, “Jack, you’re not the same man I married to.”

A brief pause hangs in the air as he processes your words. Then, he looks at you with a soft frown between his brows.

“People change, honey. You can’t expect me to be the same person my entire life.”

You don’t know why his words hurt you the way they did. Were you in the wrong here?

“You once told me you’d be there for me. That you’d never give up on me, no matter what, that’s what you said. Now, I keep… begging for your attention, hoping every night that you’d hug me, kiss me, or even fucking look at me, but you don’t. You can say you’ve changed, but– but this–” You try to swallow your tears, but they end up rolling down your cheeks anyway. You wipe them angrily, trying to keep your posture. What you don’t see is the way he looks at you as you cry. It takes everything in him to not reach for you, to not hold you in his arms and comfort you, but he knows he has to let you finish. “This is not you. All these business trips, the silence you give me, you don't even touch me anymore, Jack. I wouldn’t be surprised if there was someo– someone else.”

At that, Jack stands up and reaches for you, kneeling on the floor and cupping your wet cheeks, heart leaping inside his chest.

“Listen to me,” he says adamantly, “I would never cheat on you, understand? You are the love of my life, my soulmate. There is only you.”

A sob escapes your lips and you don’t even bother to push him away as you cry. You're tired, you're just tired.

“Then why?” Your voice is laced with hurt, cracked and weak, “Why, Jack? Was it something that I did? Something I said?”

He sighs, feeling tears water his own eyes as he pulls away from you. He has to tell you. He has to, or he’ll lose you.

“No, honey, you’re– you’re perfect, you’re so good to me, I–” He lets out a shaky breath, closing his eyes. “I’ll tell you everything,” he says, rubbing circles on your hips with his thumb, “You won’t believe me at first, but you have to let me finish, okay? You have to listen first, ask questions later.”

You let out a shaky breath, “Okay.”

…

Cold hands snake under your sweater and touch your skin, waking up from the deep slumber you were enjoying. A whimper leaves your lips, silenced by soft coos and whispered words of apologies. When soft lips and hairs of a moustache brush on your neck, you shudder, opening your eyes and rolling to your back to see your husband beaming at you.

“You’re back already.” You croak, blindly reaching for him.

“Told you it was going to be quick, pumpkin,” Jack says, brushing his knuckles on your cheeks. You smile at the nickname.

“Been ages since you called me that,”

“Well, I figured if we're starting over, we could go back to old habits.”

You smile at that, tracing your fingertips on his face. It’s been nearly a month since Jack told you the truth about his real job. And he was right, you didn’t believe him at first. A secret service disguised as a distillery company seemed surreal to you, but you let him explain himself from the start. He told you about how they recruited him, how he became one of their best agents and how he wanted to retire. How he didn’t want to live a double life, hiding it from his own spouse, risking his life and not being sure if he’d get back to you.

The whole thing seemed stupid and you really thought he was lying at first. Then he showed you the whip and the lasso and other special gadgets he used on a daily basis. You were shocked. With time you got used to the idea, but in the first moment, you needed some time to digest it. Of course, Jack couldn’t let their superiors know that you were aware of Statesman’s Secret Service, so you had to promise not to tell anyone.

After he explained everything, he made a proposition: that you both start over, now being completely honest with each other. And he kept his end of the promise, telling you he filled a request for retirement and that they asked for one last mission before he left.

He promised it’d be quick. Three days maximum. Which leads to where you are right now, being awakened by Jack on a cold January morning.

It wasn’t easy to let him in again. You love him with every fiber of your being, but your trust in him was shaken the moment he confessed his lies to you. So it was a process, trusting him all over again, but it’s making progress and he’s definitely changed for the better.

“Is it done?” You ask, still looking deep into his brown eyes.

“Yes,” he answers, still caressing your cheeks, “I’m officially retired. I’m all yours now, baby.”

A smile curved the corner of your lips but it faded away too quickly and Jack frowned at that.

“What’s wrong?”

“I–” you hesitate, then sigh, “You wanted to retire, right? You didn’t do it just for me?”

Jack pauses for a second. In a way, he did want to retire for you, but he didn't do it just because you almost left him. What you did, leaving him for a night, was the push he needed to take action.

“I wanted to. I did it for us, darling,” he answers, “I want to be here for you, like I promised.”

Your smile grows back on your face as your hands snake behind his neck and pull him to press your lips on his.

“Thank you for being honest with me, Jack,” you whisper.

“Anything for you.” He smiles on your lips, “I love you so much.”

“I love you too.” You mumble the words.

You feel like the old Jack is back, but better. Now he's more honest and upfront with you, and you feel like you’re finally getting to know the real him. It scares you a bit, you like it.

You like the real Jack better.

...

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[heauxplesslydevoted]

Silent Treatment (Ethan x MC)

Summary: Naomi decides that if Ethan isn’t going to treat her like a valued member of the team, she’ll teach him a little lesson.

Based on chapter 1, some spoilers for chapter 2, and my own speculation, so read at your own risk.

I highkey hate this but I’m posting it anyway

~v~

Naomi is quiet. No, she is unusually quiet. Ethan has seen her get silent when it’s time to buckle down and focus on a task, or if something is weighing heavily on her, but at this point he knows her well enough to know it’s neither of those. She’s withdrawn, and he doesn’t understand why.

Her presence is hard to miss, the young resident has enough charm and charisma in her pinky finger to dazzle an entire room. And she’s never this quiet. Naomi demands to be heard at all times. With unapologetic vivacity. With her hands. Eyes sparkling when she gets an idea, or fiery when she needs to dig her toes into something and fight. Nothing about Naomi Valentine is ever subdued, so why the hell is she so silent?

She didn’t speak much during the last few team meetings. He and Harper have led all of the conversations, bouncing ideas back and forth, building off of each other’s ideas. Occasionally, Naomi would offer input, merely to agree or disagree with a theory, before going back into her shell.

It’s even bleeding into their personal life. For the better part of the past 3 months, she’s stayed with him, the two of them holed up in his apartment in the Back Bay, but now she’s opting to stay at her own place. It’s been going on a few days now, this random despondence, and Ethan isn’t a fan of it. He’d take it a step further and say it's driving him crazy. This isn’t the woman he’s known for the past two years, even at her lowest was she never this reclusive.

As he walks down the halls of Edenbrook, he spots Naomi, her personality back to what it once was. She’s with Ines at a vending machine, and Naomi wastes no time animatedly talking to the now attending about a fun date she went on with her girlfriend.

Heart hammering wildly in his chest, Ethan swallows thickly as he listens to her talk. He’s missed the sound of her voice, the affectionate way her strong accent curls around her ‘r’s’ and dramatically elongates her ‘o’s’. It becomes clear that she’s willing to talk, just not to him. Ethan doesn’t like that idea at all, but it’s the only one that makes sense. And if that’s the case, he needs to get to the bottom of things and remedy the situation.

“Naomi, can we talk please?” He asks once Ines is no longer in their presence.

He doesn’t miss the way she bristles upon hearing his voice. But Naomi nods anyway. “Sure, what’s wrong?”

“Can we talk in the office?”

The walk back to the seventh floor is marked with awkward silence as Naomi refuses to initiate conversation with him. The more time ticks on, the more anxiety settles in Ethan’s chest. What’s going on with her that she refuses to divulge?

The office is unoccupied when they arrive, as Harper has already gone home for the evening. Naomi stands by the door, opting not to settle into a seat or even move further into the room. Everything about her body language reads that she’s poised and ready to strike at any given moment. He frowns. She’s never been this defensive against him, at least when they’re not in the middle of an argument. “What’s going on?”

“Are you okay?”

The question catches Naomi off guard. She blinks slowly before shrugging in nonchalance. “I’m fine, Ethan.”

“You’re fine? Really?”

“Is there a reason why I shouldn’t be fine?”

“Not really, but you haven’t been acting like yourself recently.”

Because you’ve been quieter than a church mouse for the past few days. You don’t talk during meetings, you’re silent when we interact with the patients, it’s like you’ve completely tuned out.”

With the way he’s been acting, Naomi is almost shocked that he even realized what she’s been doing. Wow, so maybe the great Ethan Ramsey hasn’t lost his attention to detail.

“Oh, so you’ve actually noticed?”

“I’m a diagnostician, I notice everything,” Ethan deadpans. He can feel the sarcasm wafting off of her. “What, was this an intentional act for my attention?”

“Intentional, yes. But for your attention? Not necessarily,” Naomi answers.

His eyes narrow at her, his gaze near piercing. She’s playing some sort of childish game with him, first with not speaking and now with the vague half answers. “Okay, so walk me through your thought process. Why has the cat stolen your tongue?”

“I decided that if my input wasn’t going to be valued during team discussions, I might as well not speak at all.”

Ethan gapes at her, confused. Where did that come from? “Naomi, what on earth are you talking about? When have I ever not valued your input?”

“I’m talking about the fact that for the past two cases, I’ve stood on the sidelines while you’ve either cut me off mid-sentence to talk over me, or ignore my presence altogether. I might as well blend into the wall.”

“That’s not–”

Naomi doesn’t give him the chance to refute.  “Please spare me the attempt at arguing. Last week, Harper’s first day on the team, you literally had to circle back to me because you cut me off while I was speaking. And now, we’re working on a case, and you and Harper aren’t even taking this patient seriously! I’ve had to redirect the conversation and tell you guys to focus, because you two were too busy acting like bosom buddies, sharing anecdotes about hangovers, and stupid flamenco lessons, and dates you went on in the past, which is not only inappropriate and disrespectful to the patient’s time, it’s disrespectful to me.”

“So either you are completely oblivious, which I find hard to believe for someone as astute as you are, or you have no respect for me, not just as your colleague, but as the woman you claim to be in a relationship with,” Naomi continues. The floodgates have been opened and now that she’s started, she can’t stop herself. “And maybe it’s the latter, because I set that standard. I’ve let you go days, weeks, months without speaking to me with zero consequence, I’ve let you shut me out and slam doors in my face, make snide comments last year when we were treating Leland, I’ve let you have carte blanche over the pace of this relationship. I’ve always just been here and allowed your shitty social graces and piss poor communication skills to rule, and time and time again, you’ve gone unscathed, but now I’m just really tired of it.”

For the first time in a long, Ethan doesn’t have a clue what to say, and as always, Naomi is the woman who puts him in this position.

“Naomi, you can’t possibly think that I think so little of you.”

He can tell by the way her eyes darken that he put his entire foot in his mouth just now. The warning bells go off in his brain, and he scrambles to think of how he can correct this latest blunder.

Naomi bites down on her lip, and she’s actually shocked her mouth isn’t instantly flooded with the metallic taste of blood. She’s getting Punk’d obviously. The office is bugged, and Ashton Kutcher is going to jump out and announce his presence soon. That has to be it. Ethan has to be pranking her, because there’s no way a 38 year old man could ever be so dense, right? Surely his response to her grievances isn’t to dismiss her claims.

“You know what? You’re being obtuse, and we clearly aren’t getting anywhere, so I’m going to cut this conversation off now.”

She refuses to look like the psycho in this scenario and breathe any more life into this argument, and she’s not about to plead her case any further like she’s the one in the wrong.

Ethan’s eyes soften, and he takes a step forward, arms outstretched to touch, soothe whatever hurts he’s heaped upon her, but Naomi sidesteps, moving out of his reach.

If he wasn’t nervous at the start of this conversation, he is now. If the physical act of Naomi blatantly refusing to touch him wasn’t clear enough, the metaphorical chasm between the two of the just widened by a few yards as well. A chill races up and down the length of his spine.

“Naomi, I’m sorry,” Ethan says gently. “I…” His words taper off and he pauses, struggling for what he wants to say next. This has never been his strong point, being vulnerable.

And Naomi doesn’t offer him a lifeline. She’s not going to give him an out or assuage him of anything he’s currently feeling like she usually does. She’s laid out all of her cards, and things are in Ethan’s court at this point. Like always. 

“I’m going home,” she announces. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

~v~

The sun is barely out when Naomi shows up for work in the morning. Most of the hospital is still, the last of the night shift heading out as she’s on her way in. She heads towards the residents’ lounge, wanting to put her things away before checking in on her patients and having a team meeting.

As soon as she opens her locker, she spots a gorgeous bouquet of red roses wrapped in newspaper invading the space. There’s no note attached to the bouquet, and she spared a quick glance around the room to see if anyone else is there. The lounge is empty, save for another resident in the corner, sleeping.

Naomi takes the bouquet out of her locker, careful not to smash the petals and holds it up to her nose, inhaling deeply. 

Deciding to not put more thought into where they came from, Naomi simply cradles the bouquet in the crook of one of her arms, stuffs her bag into her locker, and continues on with her morning routine.

She’s passing by the nurses’ station on the 7th floor when someone catches her attention. “Oh Dr. Valentine! You have a special delivery.”

Her steps slow down as she approaches the front desk where Sarah, one of her favorite RNs is stationed. Sarah steps aside, revealing an even larger bouquet of roses, these ones white.

“Where did these come from?” Naomi asks.

“They were delivered about half an hour ago,” Sarah replies with a wink. “No note, though. I won’t let Dr. Ramsey know that you have a secret admirer.”

And that’s when it clicks into place. Memories of her fight with Ethan come flooding back, and it becomes clear that he’s the one gifting her these flowers. Before she even realizes she’s doing it, her eyes roll. If he thinks a couple of bouquets of roses are a good enough apology, he can think again.

Naomi plucks a white rose right from the center of the bouquet and hands it to Sarah. “For you.”

“Really? Are you sure?”

“I insist,” Naomi says. “Happy Friday, Sarah.”

“Thank you, Dr. Valentine!”

Seeing the smile on the senior nurse’s face is almost enough to cleanse Naomi of the annoyance she feels towards Ethan in this moment. After exchanging a few more pleasantries, Naomi manages to scoop up this new batch of flowers – they’re in a vase, to which she adds her red ones – and finishes her trek to the office.

She isn’t expecting it to be covered in bunches of bright yellow sunflowers.

Their communal desk is covered in them, along with Ethan’s personal desk and the couch. “What on earth was he thinking?”

“I was thinking that sunflowers are your favorite flower,” Ethan answers, and Naomi jumps, startled at his voice. She whips around and sees him standing in the doorway. “And so I got up well before the sun was shining, went to the Boston Flower Exchange and bought every single one I could get my hands on.”

“And the roses?”

“White is supposed to be symbolic of new beginnings and forgiveness,” Ethan explains. “And you simply can’t go wrong with red.”

“If you think buying me flowers is going to cut it, you must not know me well,” Naomi says. Him buying her things doesn’t impress her, no matter how much she jokes about his money.

“No, but I figured it couldn’t hurt.” Ethan takes a cautious step into the room, shutting the door behind him. A sleepless night without her beside him forced Ethan to do a lot of thinking about how he wanted this conversation to go. A peace offering is always a good start. “And it got you to talk to me.”

Naomi scoffs and sets her flowers down. “Barely.”

“I’m sorry,” Ethan says. “I’m an idiot, and an asshole.”

“It’s good that we can agree on something.”

Okay, it’s clear that she is not going to give him any leeway. “You were absolutely right to call me out on my behavior towards you.”

“Why did you do it?” Naomi asks.

“I wasn’t thinking,” Ethan says simply. “I got so caught up in having Harper on the team, and it’s easy to slip back into old habits without even realizing.”

“It wasn’t a simple one time thing. It was more than once that you and Harper completely forgot I was even there. And I like Harper, I don’t think I could respect her more than I already do, and I have a very healthy sense of self esteem, but even the toughest person on earth wouldn’t like being in my shoes, on the outside looking in while you and your ex reminisce on old dates and inside stories. Ethan, you couldn’t handle a modicum of the shit I have willingly put up with in order to be with you.”

His stomach knots up at the thought of an ex-boyfriend of Naomi’s coming into his personal space, sharing personal jokes with her, ignoring him, and monopolizing her time. If the thought of it had him this twisted, he can’t believe he’s been putting her through that reality.

“You were right to call me out on my bad communication skills. I am terrible at relationships. I’m not using it as an excuse, it’s just the truth. But I’ve gotten complacent, which is unacceptable.” Ethan takes another step towards Naomi, and when she doesn’t instantly recoil, he takes it as a sign to get even closer. “The last thing I ever want to do is stifle your voice, or make you feel invisible. Naomi, you are...invaluable. To this hospital, to this team, to me, and I am so sorry that there was ever a time where I made you feel like you weren’t. You are the most important person in my life, and what we have is something I’ve never had with anyone else.”

“Okay, so start acting like it,” Naomi challenges. “I’m your equal and I demand every bit of respect you have to offer. Anything less than that cannot be tolerated anymore, personally or professionally.”

Ethan nods emphatically at her words. “Of course.”

“I mean it.”

“You have my word, Naomi. I’ll never let it happen again.” He closes the gap between them and cups her face in his hand. “Just please...never give me the silent treatment again. Yell from the rooftops, argue with me, I don’t care, but I can’t take not hearing your voice.”

“You needed to be taught a lesson,” Naomi says simply.

“I learned my lesson, and I hated it,” Ethan confesses, his lips dangerously close to hers. Naomi doesn’t budge, not even an inch. She’s terribly stubborn, even at the end of a fight. “It was torture.”

“Good.” Deciding to put him out of his misery, Naomi tilts her head up and captures Ethan in a kiss. He doesn’t waste a single second returning it. His free hand wraps around the small of her back, pulling her in closer. How did he go this long without touching her?

He doesn’t know how long they’ve been kissing, but he finally breaks apart from her long enough to bury his face in her neck, allowing her scent and soft skin to soothe any of his fraught nerves. She smells like home.

“Does this mean I’m forgiven?” Ethan asks.

“The jury is still out on that one.”

“You’re going to make me work for this, aren’t you?”

“Are you up for the challenge?”

Ethan untangles himself from their embrace and takes a step back, so he’s able to look Naomi in the eyes. He takes her hand and presses a soft kiss into her palm. “For you? I’ll do just about anything.”

~v~

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#playchoices #choices: stories you play #open heart #ethan ramsey #dr. ethan ramsey #ethan x mc

[eisukevint]

Always You

Eisuke Ichinomiya

This one’s for you @leoamber66 - i should be ashamed of myself for taking this long but here we are! your graduation and your birthday gift. and a massive thank you to @cupidocherie for major help bec idek where i would be without her😭😭 anyways enjoyyy, i love you <3

»»»»

“Do you remember the first time we met?”

“You mean when you tripped and almost fell in front of everyone on your first day in elementary school?”

“No! oh my god, I told you to forget that!”

“Pftt, how can anyone ever forget that? I’m sure soryu and luke remember too”

“I hope they don’t haha, but really, we’ve come so far” Yuki commented, reminiscing about one certain day.

Eisuke’s POV

“So children, today a new student will be joining us. This is Yuki Freya. I hope all of you will be nice to her and welcome her warmly!” The teacher, Miss Hale as she introduced herself, addressed the class.

“Yuki, you’re going to sit with Eisuke. Please raise your hand so she can know where you are, Eisuke!” Miss Hale announced.

The clumsy girl, Yuki, made her way over to me earning several stares from both girls and boys present in the classroom.

“Hi, i’m Yuki!” She enthusiastically said extending her hand towards me.

I shook her hand, “Eisuke”

“Nice to meet you!” She said and then turned towards the teacher as she started her lesson, not giving me a chance to reply.

At least her smile is cute.

»»»»

Yuki didn’t follow me around like the other girls in my class did. Instead, she became friends with Luke and Soryu who happened to be my best friends. They seemed to like her a lot. Now that was rare.

It was P.E. and the teacher partnered me with Yuki despite the other girls begging him to partner them up with me. I didn’t complain considering she wasn’t annoying like the others.

“Are you ready?” She asked me tying up her left leg with my right one, preparing for the three legged race. Why is this even a thing? Couldn’t we just race like normal people?

“Of course I am” Eisuke Ichinomiya is always ready.

It didn’t take long for me to come off my high horse when Yuki couldn’t keep up with my fast pace and fell down, twisting her ankle.

Yuki groaned in pain and tried to get up but failed. The P.E. teacher came forth and asked me to carry her on my back to the infirmary as a punishment which was just across the field.

“But it’s not my fault that she fell!” I retorted back despite knowing it was partly my fault she fell since I was moving too fast for her.

“She was your partner Ichinomiya, it’s your responsibility.”

“Fine” I said when I realised there was no getting out if it. With that, i asked her to get on my back and carried her to the infirmary.

As the nurse tended to her injury, she turned towards me with that same cute smile “Thank you, Eisuke”

I instantly felt a stab of guilt.

“Hmph, I didn’t do it for you” I didn’t notice the blush that crept on my cheeks but I did notice the way my heart flipped. Just as she was about to say something, Soryu and Luke came looking for her.

“Are you alright?” Luke asked to which she replied with a grin and swinging her leg back and forth.

“Never better!”

Seriously how can someone be so cute.

»»»»

high school

The murderous intent was evident in my eyes as I gazed at Yuki laughing at something the principal’s cockroach son said.

In the beginning, Frank tried to befriend me but I felt something was off and eventually it became very clear to me that he only wanted me to be a handy tool in his pocket ready for emergencies, so I shook him off pretty quickly. Somehow, Frank’s always lingering around me. He’s always loved to single me out whenever I express disinterest in something, in hopes that others would join in. Instead, the girls that fawn over me often tell him to shut up and then they’re confronted by his fangirls and in the end, it’s just a massive cat fight.

He’s nothing but trouble. As the principal’s son, he’s quite popular, almost as popular as me, and he can pretty much get away with anything. Luckily for him, he’s very sly. Hiding behind his minions, he’s never once flat out done anything. Good with underhanded remarks, letting other people take all of the blame, coercing them into doing what he wants. His little groupies pay no heed to any of this, all because he’s handsome. But there’s a large group of people who don’t like him, but nobody has ever said anything straight to his face, thanks to his feared status.

There were rumours earlier this year that on Valentine’s Day, Frank asked Yuki out but she told him that she wanted to focus on school. I’m surprised Frank didn’t get angry at her and punch a wall or something. That sounds like something he would usually do. While I’m proud of Yuki for turning him down, part of me hopes that what she said was just a lie she made up so she could just get away from him. But now, Frank and Yuki are partners on this project, I’m convinced this teacher is trying to set those two up. Soryu, who was partnered with this over-zealous girl looked as if he would smash either his own head or the girl’s if she didn’t stop with her chattering. I’ve been paired up with Luke, unfortunately I’ve been neglecting our work because keeping an eye on Yuki has become too much of a priority. I hate how he gets too close to her, the way he continues to flirt with her and the smug look that’s plastered on his face when he realises that I’m watching. All Luke can do is sigh and shake his head at me.

“I’d gladly switch with Yuki if I didn’t have to put up with him, Eisuke...”

“Hey watch out, you’ll hurt yourself!” Yuki yells, pushing him away before she yelps in pain, drawing her hand back.

For a split second, it’s like I can only see red. I march right up to their desk, in close proximity to the two only to see a red mark across Yuki’s hand. It looks painful. If Frank hadn’t been so careless then Yuki wouldn’t have gotten hurt. What were you thinking!? Why do you need to care so much about everyone else!?

“Oops, I’ll take you to the infirmary.”

“No, I’ll take her.”, I sternly tell Frank. Yuki insists it’s not too big of a deal and that she’s fine.

“Hmph, alright. I’ll make it up to you another way then, Yuki.”

“You don’t need to. Stay away from my girl.” I felt Yuki tense up beside me the moment those words left my mouth. Thinking nothing of it, I took her dainty uninjured hand in my right one and pulled her along with me towards the infirmary. Yuki, being the obedient and polite girl she was followed without a hint of refusal.

Upon our arrival to the medical department of the school, the nurse immediately treated Yuki’s injury. As I gazed at the familiar scene before my eyes, a certain memory played in my head.

“What’s with you and infirmaries?” Were the words that came out of my mouth the very second the school nurse disappeared, probably went back to her office.

She whipped her head towards me, a tiny smile adorning her graceful features. Adorable giggles escaped from her mouth indicating that Yuki too was reminiscing about that particular day.

“You’re too amiable for your own good.” I chuckled, moving to sit into the chair where the nurse was not long ago and grabbing her hand with the nasty burn on it.

“How dare he ruin your precious soft skin like this” Placing a gentle kiss on the back of her hand, I held onto it as I stared deep into her gorgeous blue eyes.

“Is it true you rejected him?” She stared back, cocking her head a little bit to her left at the question, confusion etched on her face.

“On Valentine’s Day, I heard he confessed to you but you turned him down, saying you wanted to focus on your studies. Is that true?” Her face lit up upon remembrance but an almost gloomy expression took over right after.

“Ah...yes, now that you mention it” I squeezed her hand a little tighter but not tight to enough to hurt her as I waited for her to continue.

“That’s only half true though..”

What?

“I also told him I like someone else.”

Oh.

I immediately loosened my grip on her hand.

So that’s why. Heh, what were you even thinking Ichinomiya?

Yuki glanced over to me, fidgeting in her seat with nervousness.

“Won’t you ask who it is?” This time, she grabbed my hand and lightly tug on it preventing me from standing up, causing her to hiss in pain.

“Does it even matter?” I sighed, patting her hand lightly with that flicker of hope in my heart slowly diminishing. As I was about to get on my feet a second time, she said those words which haltered my every movement, completely catching me off guard. Words i’ve wanted to hear for the longest time now from a certain girl I adored more than anything.

“It’s you, Eisuke.”

Good Lord.

“It’s always been you.”

Will I survive if my heart continues to beat this fast every time i’m around her? I’ll have to ask Luke later.

“Eisuke?” Yuki peered at my astounded face snapping me out of my daze. When I look back at her, I thought I could resist just pulling her into my arms and claiming her as mine but boy, was I wrong. I immediately grabbed her chin and captured her silky lips in a somewhat soft and gentle kiss. Laying every emotion bare into our first kiss, Yuki loosely wrapped her arms around my shoulders as she kissed me back with equal passion. We parted and just sat there basking in the pleasure of being in each other’s arms until I decided to break the comfortable silence since a significant amount of time had passed and we needed to go back to the lab.

“You’re mine and I won’t allow you to leave me.” She hummed in response and with a little peck on her lips, I pulled her up with me and exited the infirmary.

Our fingers intertwined perfectly as we walked back to the class feeling oddly at peace - mind, body and soul.

»»»»

“And Soryu teased us so much when we went back to class! But no one was surprised, I mean we were kind of inseparable...” Yuki said bashfully, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. The diamond of her engagement ring caught the light of the setting sun.

“It’s because they knew you were mine.” Professing my undying love for her, I place a fierce kiss on her lips imagining a bright future with my one and only,

“Always have been and always will be.”

•••

#eisuke ichinomiya #kbtbb eisuke #leo amber #eisuke x oc #eisuke x mc #soryu oh #luke foster #mamoru kishi #mitsunari baba #ota kisaki #kissed by the baddest bidder #kbtbb #voltage inc #love 365 #otome romance #otome #fic #gift

[robininthelabyrinth]

Light on the Door (ao3) (aka WWX in the Nie sect); tumblr: part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4

Wei Wuxian woke all at once when someone dropped something onto the floor, but he kept his body relaxed and his eyes closed. It was only when the smashing sound was followed by a very familiar muttering – “Shit, shit, shit, da-ge’s going to kill me!” – that he relaxed.

“How expensive is it that you think he would care?” he asked, opening his eyes and frowning when he found himself somewhere unfamiliar.

Nie Huaisang, who had been standing in the middle of the room and looking at the shards of a (admittedly very expensive looking) broken teapot with some dismay, promptly forgot all about the teapot and dashed over to him. “Shixiong! You’re awake!”

“You say that like it’s a surprise,” Wei Wuxian said, reaching up to rub his head. “Am I – wait, is this Jiang sect grounds? How’d we get to the Lotus Pier, of all places?”

The last he remembered, he and Lan Wangji had remained behind in the cave with the Xuanwu of Slaughter, distracting it while the others went out through the underwater exit, which had closed up when the Xuanwu had thrashed around. After a few days, when inedia would no longer help them and they knew their strength would begin to decrease, they had decided to fight it, and then…

“Is Lan Zhan all right?” he asked, abruptly concerned. “What happened to him? Did he –”

“He’s fine, you big baby,” Nie Huaisang said, throwing himself down on the bed next to him and promptly snuggling in for a hug. He had zero grounds to call anyone else a big baby. “He woke up two days ago and already left for the Cloud Recesses. He didn’t want to worry them any longer, and they need him, what with his brother still being missing.”

Wei Wuxian spared a moment’s thought for Lan Xichen, who was very nice and also a good friend of Nie Mingjue’s in addition to being Lan Wangji’s precious older brother, but reminded himself that there was no point in worrying when it wouldn’t do any good. That settled, he complained, “Oh, that’s rude! He left before making sure I woke up?”

“Oh, you woke up yesterday before he headed out,” Nie Huaisang said breezily. “You were sleep-drunk as anything, but you were awake and saying something about musical masterpieces. Possibly you might have started to say something about kissing, but tragically I was forced to gag you for your own health before Lan Wangji disintegrated from embarrassment.”

Wei Wuxian put his head in his hands. “…and so he left.”

“And so he left,” Nie Huaisang agreed. “Don’t worry, he left you a nice long letter to read when you feel up to it – and when I decide to give it to you.”

“Cruel.”

“Caring! You must think of your health, shixiong.”

“Shixiong this, shixiong that,” Wei Wuxian teased. “Were you worried about me?”

Nie Huaisang glared death at him. “Of course I was! Do you know what you put me and Jiang Cheng through?! We left you in a cave with that thing, we got ambushed by the Wen sect the second we emerged –”

“You did? Are you all right?!”

“Shut up, I’m fine, Jiang Cheng handled it,” Nie Huaisang said, which – fair. Wei Wuxian would have to give Jiang Cheng many relieved thank-you-for-saving-my-little-brother hugs. “We then ran for days to get someone to rescue you –”

It make sense. The Lotus Pier was closer than the Unclean Realm, and Jiang Fengmian had always been a little unreasonable about Wei Wuxian; it was a good bet to make.

Still, even if they’d travelled down from the Nightless City, they hadn’t gone that far, and the Lotus Pier was a long way away.

“Are your feet all right?” he asked.

“No! They are not! They are awful! There was blood! But not as much blood as we found all over you when we broke into the cave to find you lying there unconscious!”

Wei Wuxian resigned himself to spending the next shichen calming down Nie Huaisang from (admittedly somewhat reasonable) hysterics.

-

“So I’m worried about the Jiang sect,” Nie Huaisang said the second they crossed out of the Lotus Pier – by horse, since that required less from his torn-up feet.

Wei Wuxian looked at him sidelong. “And this wasn’t something you could mention while we were there? To them?”

“I’m not so stupid as to start a fight with our allies by implying that they can’t handle themselves,” Nie Huaisang said. “Even if…”

“Even if you don’t think they can?”

Nie Huaisang sighed. “It’s not that!” he protested. “They’re very capable. Extraordinarily capable, even. But Sect Leader Jiang doesn’t take things seriously enough – the way he tried to scold Jiang Cheng for lecturing you..!”

Wei Wuxian winced. He’d managed to head that off at the pass, luckily, but Jiang Cheng’s face had gotten that mulish expression of mixed envy and hurt that he hated to see, and it hadn’t cleared up until Nie Huaisang fainted in order to escape the awkward conversation. It was a trick he pulled often, one that worked on adults virtually all the time and also amused Jiang Cheng every single time.

“And he doesn’t take da-ge seriously, either,” Nie Huaisang said, sounding as if that were the worst possible crime imaginable. Wei Wuxian understood his feelings. “Not even after the indoctrination camp…I just don’t know if he’ll take the steps he needs to in time.”

“You’re right,” Wei Wuxian said regretfully. “Uncle Jiang won’t want to think about it, so he won’t, but that won’t stop the war from coming…Wait, hold up. You think the Wen sect would come here? Why?”

“I mean, it’s the logical next step to quash another one of the Great Sects,” Nie Huaisang said. “Also, remember that time I fainted from the heat and they took me inside the guardroom? I looked at some of their papers; they were definitely planning on a siege.”

“But why here?” Wei Wuxian asked, deciding to reserve comments on Nie Huaisang’s unexpected foray into espionage to a time when he could appropriately lose his mind over it, preferably with Nie Mingjue in the vicinity to add to the effect. “Why the Lotus Pier? Jiang Cheng wasn’t involved with sticking it to Wen Chao; that was Lan Zhan and Jin Zixuan, and then after that it was mostly me. No Jiang sect at all!”

“He helped later,” Nie Huaisang pointed out. “Anyway, where else would they go? They attacked the Cloud Recesses once already, Lanling Jin is so slimy and double-dealing that they might as well count as a Wen ally, and if you had to pick between attacking the Lotus Pier or the Unclean Realm, between wishy-washy old Sect Leader Jiang or da-ge, who’s been preparing for war since before you joined us, which would you pick?”

“Well, shit,” Wei Wuxian said, because Nie Huaisang wasn’t wrong at all. Nor was he wrong to keep this from Jiang Fengmian, who would probably just pat them on the head indulgently before dismissing them. “What’s the plan, then?”

“Shopping,” Nie Huaisang declared.

Wei Wuxian knew his little brother too well. He started grinning. “Just a couple of young masters going on a shopping trip? With a nice, small retinue?”

“We could hardly be expected to travel with anything less,” Nie Huaisang agreed, grinning back. “Especially with there being both of us, heir and spare! It would be disgraceful to send us out with anything less than at least a squad of Nie culivators. We could stay in Yunping, maybe? That’s not far.”

“Yunping? There’s nothing in Yunping.”

“Not recently, no,” Nie Huaisang said, and shrugged when Wei Wuxian shot him an inquisitive glance. “Personnel issue, someone da-ge met recently…not a big deal. I’m just curious about him, that’s all. I’ll tell you about it on the way.”

“I love how you just decide these things and then pretend that I have some input into how things are going to go before doing what you want anyway,” Wei Wuxian remarked. “I take it that you’ve contacted da-ge already, then?”

“Of course! Sent him a letter first thing once we arrived at the Lotus Pier. Are we going?”

“Yes, fine,” Wei Wuxian said, rolling his eyes. “We’re going, we’re going.”

-

“So, I think we can all agree that that went badly,” Nie Huaisang said. “Can we all agree on that?”

“Shut up,” Jiang Cheng said. His impression of being above it all was somewhat ruined by the tears still streaming down his face and the way he wouldn’t stop hugging them both intermittently.

“Listen, it could have gone worse,” Wei Wuxian said placatingly. “Right? Could have gone much, much worse. At least Uncle Jiang and Madame Yu made it out, and they’ll go crazy trying to find us.”

“Yeah,” Jiang Cheng said, and sniffed, rubbing his nose. “Yeah. That’s true. Thanks.”

Even with the best river-watching intentions in the world, the attack had come so quickly that they’d only shown up midway through the assault on the Lotus Pier, just in time to find Jiang Cheng tied up in Zidian and floating downriver, a sure sign that Madame Yu had given up all hope of maintaining a defense, and naturally they’d grabbed him and rushed in to help her.

A single moment of surprise had been all she’d needed to finish Wen Zhuliu.

Unfortunately, even two full squadrons of Nie sect cultivators – Nie Mingjue hadn’t stinted – couldn’t change the end result, not against the massed forces the Wen sect had brought with them, not even if they sold their lives into the bargain. It was only enough to hold them off for a little while. 

At Wei Wuxian’s order, they had gone back in again and again, getting as many Jiang sect disciples out as they could. It’d been a good plan.

Getting captured hadn’t been part of the plan.

Getting thrown into the Burial Mounds was definitely not part of the plan.

Fucking Wen Chao. Just because his smarmy stupid core-melting servant got killed and he didn’t want to risk them returning as ghosts…

“Somehow, the possibility of it being worse doesn’t actually make me feel better,” Nie Huaisang said, scowling. He had the weakest core out of all three of them, so they’d given him the one blanket they’d managed to smuggle along with them – though technically, that had been Wen Ning who’d done the smuggling, actually, a Wen disciple that Wei Wuxian had befriended in the archery contest. 

He’d apparently remained very sympathetic despite the war.

It would’ve been pretty funny, if anyone had been in the mood to laugh: Wen Ning had arrived to the Lotus Pier late in a panic, nominally to provide medical services, although Wen Chao had implied in a snarl that it was actually to claim credit for helping. He had stuttered his way through excuses and apologies, offered to go start work right away, and then promptly beelined straight for the room where they’d been trapped, sneaking them a qiankun pouch with a few supplies in hopes that they could use it when they escaped.

He hadn’t known that they were bound for the Burial Mounds at that time, of course.

Maybe he’d have included some weapons they could use to fly out of here if he had.

Wei Wuxian had whispered to him “Find a way to tell Sect Leader Nie,” as they’d been dragged away after hearing Wen Chao declare that he was going to dispose of them where they’d never escape, and he could only hope that between that avenue and the Jiang that they would be found soon.

Ideally very soon.

They were running out of protective talismans, and night was approaching.

“Still could be worse,” Wei Wuxian said, thinking to himself that if Wen Zhuliu hadn’t been garroted by Zidian they might have found their way here without even their golden cores. Definitely worse. “Okay. So. I have – an idea.”

“Oh no,” Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang chorused.

“…you two are so supportive.”

“It’s going to be a dumb idea,” Nie Huaisang said. “We can tell. Your tone of voice tells us.”

“He’s not wrong,” Jiang Cheng said. “It’s going to be dumb and self-sacrificing.”

“Dumb, self-sacrificing and with a less than fifty percent chance of –”

“Must you throw all my past failures in my face?” Wei Wuxian said mournfully.

“Yes,” they both said.

“…fine. I’m still going to do it.”

“We never doubted that for a moment,” Nie Huaisang said. “Now tell us what heart failure we’re going to be dying of today.”

“Well…” Wei Wuxian said.

-

“I think I’m hallucinating,” Wei Wuxian announced. “It may be the resentful energy going to my head.”

“Nooooo,” Jiang Cheng said. “You think?”

“Could be the reduced rations and extended inedia,” Nie Huaisang said, looking very tragic. “Or maybe these sad excuses for potatoes we’ve been picking.”

“I am never eating wild-grown potatoes ever again in my life,” Wei Wuxian agreed fervently. “But also, no, seriously, I think I’m hallucinating, which we should write down as a possible side-effect of demonic cultivation.”

Jiang Cheng groaned from where he was lying on his back and staring up into the ever-clouded sky above the Burial Mounds. He’d gotten tired of the writing-things-down portion of the experimentation process early on, especially when they’d had to carefully unbind the one book Wen Ning had (rather inexplicably, but helpfully) shoved into the bag for them in order to get enough paper to do it after they’d run out of space on Nie Huaisang’s fans.

“We have to keep notes!” Wei Wuxian insisted.

“Fine, fine,” Nie Huaisang said. “What are you hallucinating?”

“Suibian,” Wei Wuxian said. “Flying right at me. From the northwest, if that’s relevant.”

“It is extremely relevant, actually,” Jiang Cheng said, sitting up. “Because it’s not a hallucination if I see it, too.”

Jiang Cheng was their control group, insofar as they could have a control when they were all stuck here being slowly consumed by the Burial Mounds. He and Wei Wuxian were about evenly matched in cultivation strength, so it only made sense for one of them to try demonic cultivation and the other not, and then Nie Huaisang had also started doing it, over Wei Wuxian’s protests, when they’d realized that they needed two people for some of the arrays Wei Wuxian invented.

So if he was seeing things as well, that either meant that the Burial Mounds were affecting them faster than expected, or else –

“Wait, you can see Suibian too?” Wei Wuxian jumped up to his feet. “Suibian! Suibian! Over here!”

“Wait,” Nie Huaisang said. “We don’t know how Suibian will react to demonic cultivation –”

Oblong meat boy! Suibian shouted in Wei Wuxian’s brain across their bond, familiar and perfect as always, descending like a whistling arrow. You left me alone! With evil people!

Wei Wuxian leapt up as high as he could and wrapped his arms around his saber. “I’m so glad to see you, you jackass of a saber!”

Apology accepted.

“Is he talking to his saber?” Jiang Cheng murmured to Nie Huaisang, who nodded. “I know he told us about the whole Nie sect cultivation thing - which I understand I shouldn’t know about, but whatever - but I’ve got to say, it’s kind of weird to see it happening out loud.”

“You think that’s weird? You should see my brother and Baxia.”

“How did you get out?” Wei Wuxian asked, ignoring them both.

Baxia tore open the wall where we were being kept, Suibian said, which probably meant that the war was going well and also that Nie Mingjue was on the warpath and very likely that Wen Ning had not managed to deliver the intended message, which would explain the delay in anyone finding them. Baxia’s master gave me energy and told me to go find you, while he followed behind.

“Da-ge’s coming!” Wei Wuxian shouted, and Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang dropped their supercilious commentator façade in order to cheer.

Hey, jerkface master. Why do you feel funny?

“…uh, about that…”

#mdzs #wei wuxian #nie huaisang #jiang cheng #my fic #my fics #light on the door

[moonyblackwerewolf]

Betrothed Ch. 4 - Sirius Black

Betrothed Ch. 4

Sirius Black x fem!Reader

Word count: 4.7k

Summary: Sirius and Y/N meet at a family dinner and have some fun, later she finds out she is betrothed to some pureblood boy so Sirius comes up with a mental idea to save them both.

Warnings: Kissing, hints of sex, aggressive parents, underage drinking, idk my writing and English? lol

a/n: Oh my god this is so long! I hope you guys like it, i think there is only 2 chapters left, idk yet. Anyway Feedback is always welcome, thank you guys :)

Xxxx

Ch.1 Ch.2 Ch. 2.5 Ch.3 Ch.4 Ch. 5 

When Y/n got home, she had time before going to the Malfoys, so she was planning on how to gently tell her parents she didn’t want to go and that she wasn’t going to accept their marriage proposal too. She spend days thinking and decided it was time, because her mom was already telling her to get prepared to go, so she sent a letter to Sirius as promised telling him she would talk to her parents on that day. 

Later the family sat down in a living room and waited for Y/n to say what she wanted to.

“So? What do you want to tell us, your father and I are busy” her mother said impatiently, not knowing the bomb her daughter would throw at her.

Y/n took a deep breath and said “I don’t want to marry Malfoy, I’m not accepting his proposal.” As simple as that single phrase sounded like, it cost her so much more. Her parents were outraged to say the very least, how could she misbehave after all those year of being so obedient.

“What do you mean you won’t? Yes you will, the Malfoys are getting their answers next week” Her mother screamed.

To say her parent were furious was an understatement. She was disrespecting not only their choice of husband, but also their ancient family traditions. But in reality that’s exactly what she felt like, those traditions were ancient and full of nonsense, it is completely wrong to promise a girl to some narcissist, conservative, arrogant, aggressive prick and make her spend the rest of her life with him, loosing all of her liberty.

“Are you calling Lucius a prick? He is a member of one respectable family Y/n!” Her father grunted, grabbing his wand.

“Why? Because they’re pureblood?” Y/n yelled, since she was already fighting their principles she might as well do it right. “That’s nonsense why would a blood status change a person? It doesn't change anything, I know many muggle borns who are ten times better people than you are, you think you can judge everyone, just because you’re pure? Or rich? Or call yourself royal? Which is absurd by the way, you and I know there isn’t royalty in our world, you only say that because you want to be better than everyone else, so you lie and you’re powerful enough for people to believe you” she roared, it felt incredible to take some of her frustrations out of her chest for once in her life, she didn’t have to pretend to be a well behaved purist, like she was before.

Mr. Watson wouldn’t believe his daughter, he didn’t want to, so he kept blinding himself from the ugly truth that he was indeed wrong. “I won’t tolerate you disrespecting our tradition Y/n” with a wave from his hands Charles hit Y/n with the Cruciatus curse, taking her to the ground almost immediately. 

“Dad! Stop- you’re hurting me, please! You’re hurting me” She cried and begged and squirmed, it felt agonising the pain touched each and every part of her body, the tears ran freely down her face, after being hit a certain amount of times she just felt numb to the pain, she stayed still wrapping her knees with all the strength she had left.

“You are going to marry Lucius Malfoy and you are going to accept his proposal in person when you go to his house, because you’re still going and I don’t want to hear a single complain or any of these ideas you cultivated in your mind, you are going to bring us respect” With no remorse her father left her there small, hugging her legs and crying alone, earning only a polite nod from her mother followed by a ‘I warned you’ look.

The rest of her time at home went by so slow she thought a whole month had passed, she was now feeling so bad being in her own house that she almost wanted to go to the Malfoys. Her parents weren’t even letting her see the mail, which meant she wasn’t receiving Sirius’ letters. Her sister wouldn’t talk with her anymore, scared of having the same fate as Y/n and her brother didn’t even know what was happening with his little sister.

The day she was going to the Malfoy manor had arrived. Her parents dropped her there in that shark tank like it meant nothing, they didn’t even bother saying good bye, she had come a long way from being the perfect daughter, who was always respectful with her parents and their ideals. Being at the Malfoys felt like being in Azkaban, but it was still better than being at home at least, there she was treated with extreme respect by Abraxas Malfoy and his wife, they were doing it out of interest of course but it was better than nothing, her only problem was Lucius, she hated him and hated even more that she’d need to sleep in his bed with him and even more that she’d have to accept his proposal by the end of the week. She felt stuck.

After having dinner Mrs. Malfoy showed you to Lucius’ room, while the house elf carried Y/n’s trunk next to the bed. The room was nice and big but it was cold and dark, she felt bad in there, fear creeping into her chest as her whole body felt numb, she just wished she could be in Sirius’ bed in the dormitories, she didn’t know why but there, by Sirius’ side was the most perfect place to be, she felt warm and safe.

“That’s it sweetheart, goodnight” after showing the room, with a final goodbye Mrs. Malfoy let her there alone, with Lucius. He was handsome, sharp jaw, strong upper body, beautiful face, she couldn’t deny it but it felt so wrong, it was sickening, she didn’t love him, she couldn’t, he was a terrible person.

“Look Y/n/n, I have to say, back in Hogwarts I was a bit jealous from you and Sirius, but now, being here with you, feels so right” he said as he was inching closer to her “Come on, let’s go to bed” his fingers were brushing her waist, the single phrase and action made her feel sick, his touch was ice cold, but what choice did she have. Y/n knew the punishment she’d have to face if she didn’t behave

“Ok” she replied, mouth dry “I’ll go change, in the bathroom”. She opened her trunk and looked for comfortable pyjamas, but to her surprise there were only vulgar sleeping clothes and lingeries, she felt a cold in her spine that made her sicker, her mother had it all planned out, crazy she thought, her mother is crazy. The last straw was when she saw a note from her mom.

Bought you some new clothes for you to share with Lucius.

Love,

Mom

She wondered what would It feel like to have a real caring mother, not one that just clearly wants her to have sex so she can have grandchildren. But she was born on a deranged family. She had no choice, so she just chose the pieces that were most discreet and even those weren't even a bit discreet, it was a black lace bra that at least covered her breasts perfectly and went a bit down and matching panties, if there was something she was sure of, it was that she didn’t want to see Lucius’ face when he saw her.

But again, she had no choice, when she entered the room again Lucius gaze fell directly on her chest. “My eyes are up here you know right?” She asked with a bored voice, while lying down in bed, much to her dismay.

“Feisty” he chuckled lying in bed besides her “I’ve always liked you Watson” Lucius was being a tease but she could see it in his eyes that he was drooling over her. She hated it. So she turned over and closed her eyes, wanting desperately to sleep for the whole time she’d be stuck there “Good night for you too, love” the nickname Sirius used to call her seemed so cold now, sounded fake coming form Lucius’ mouth. That night her thoughts kept going back to Sirius, she wondered if he was trying to talk to her, trying to reach her somehow but being unsuccessful thanks to her cruel parents. She missed him, his touch, his affections and she missed Lily, if she was here they’d talk the whole night and then maybe it wouldn’t fell so lonely, she missed reading with Remus, joking and pranking people with James and how protective he was and Peter’s cute but sarcastic comments, she missed her true family.

The next few days sucked, Y/n was running out of the less vulgar clothes, Lucius was always trying to kiss her and get close to her and the Malfoys’ forced kindness was beginning to annoy her, on top of that she didn’t feel like home in this house, she didn’t feel comfortable to do anything, basically she was counting the days until she could go back to Hogwarts.

——————————

Sirius knew something was wrong when Y/n didn’t answer any of his letters, assuming that she’d now probably be at the Malfoys, he needed to talked to her. The thought of Malfoy touching her and the things he could do made his blood boil, she was his friend after all. But things at his home weren’t good, his parents were breathing down his neck so he need to find a way to escape, so, of course he asked James for help.

James and Sirius had come up with a plan, but it was certainly dangerous and potentially problematic, just like everything they did. The plan was: Sirius would sneak away from his house, once he managed to do so he would meet with James in his house and the both boys would go pay the Malfoys a visit, once inside Sirius would need to distract the Malfoys since their families are friends while James helped Y/n run away to his house. It wasn’t quite a brilliant plan, they didn’t have much time to think, but Sirius needed to be sure she was safe.

Now Sirius thought he would have great difficulty running away, he waited for everyone to fall asleep to leave his bedroom, managed to avoid the elves, went to the broom closet, grabbed a broomstick, everything was doing great, except for one thing. Sirius’ brother Regulus thought he had herd something and went downstairs, only to find he’s rebellious younger brother trying to run away.

“What do you think you’re doing this time of night Sirius?” Regulus asked not even a bit surprised by his brother’s actions.

Shit, Sirius thought, he had two options lie or tell the truth. He chose the boldest one “Reg, don’t tell our parents” he looked helpless for the first time in his life, Regulus was quite startled “I need to save my friend, she’s in danger. I know we’re not in the best terms but, do this one favour for me-” he paused “I really care about this girl, she’s the Watson’s daughter, you know her”

“What? The Watson’s… you mean Y/n? What happed Sirius? She’s my friend too, is she okay?” He was going to tell his parents before but now he was curious and worried, he liked Y/n, she was nice to him on eventual encounters in their common room or classes.

“She’s- she’s being held captive at the Malfoys” it wasn’t a lie.

“Held captive? And what about her parents? her dad is the Minister of Magic Law Enforcement, what is it you can do that he can’t and on top of that why are the Malfoys supposedly holding her captive?” Regulus was being particularly annoying, he was suspicious of Sirius’ intentions.

“Her parents gave her away, they want her to marry Lucius, but she doesn’t. And i’m willing to ask for her hand if she accepts me, but she wanted to confront her parents, which clearly went terribly wrong” Sirius tried to defend his theses but he didn’t know if Regulus would be willing to let him go or he’d say that she has to marry who her parents want.

“You’re being absurd Sirius, it can’t possibly be that bad, it’s a marriage, considering our families, it’d happen sooner or later. You can’t stop it, if the Malfoys tell our parents they’ll kill you” Regulus was irritated at first, she was only doing what she was supposed to.

“I’m going either way” Sirius wasn’t letting his brother get in the way.

“Ok.” Sirius would be lying if he said he’s jaw hadn’t dropped to the floor. Actually Regulus was quite shocked too, hearing he’s brother say he was willing to marry a girl and a girl that their parents would approve was indeed shocking and he liked Y/n, the thought of her suffering made him less strict with his brother for once.

“W-well- hum ok then” Sirius left as quickly as he could, afraid this was only an hallucination.

James was waiting for Sirius with his bedroom’s window open. When he entered they both went to bed and talked until they fell asleep, the next day would be eventful. Assuming they woke up right before lunch, the boys hurriedly set everything necessary for the plan, muttered apologies to James’ parents and went to pay a visit to Lucius Malfoy. The weather outside was cold, but the sun was shining, making the travel rather beautiful, but the boys didn’t even notice, they were too worried, James couldn’t stop thinking about how Malfoy was treating his best friend, he hated him so much, Sirius had another motives, he hadn’t realised yet and it may take a little push, but he was jealous.

Arriving at that creepy mansion James and Sirius separated, James sneaked in quietly looking for Y/n’s belongings, while Sirius knocked on the door. The house elf asked him to come in and called his master. Mrs. Malfoy was quite surprised but tolerant.

“Good Morning, may i ask your name?” She asked politely 

“Oh i’m Sirius Black, Walburga’s son” 

“Oh! Sirius what a pleasant surprise, is Walburga going to visit us today?” 

“No madam” he paused, grabbing a gift he stole from his parents earlier “my mom asked me to give you this present, I don’t really know why, she didn’t want to tell me what it was” He never lied so badly in his entire life, but knowing Y/n was probably miserable was distracting him.

She found it suspect but didn’t do anything, it was better ti ignore it “How lovely, come in and have lunch with us, Y/n and Lucius will be thrilled to see you” Mrs. Malfoy suggested, probably trying to maintain friendly due to her relationship with the Black family.

Y/n really will, he thought. 

When Y/n saw Sirius she felt hope rise in her chest for the first time since beginning of the break, she ran and hugged him tightly, the hug felt warn and safe, she didn’t want to ever let go. But she had to, the action was inappropriate. “Sirius!!! What are you doing here, what a lovely visit” she said winking at him, trying to hold composure but failing.

“Sirius” Lucius greeted him too cordially “Came to visit my fiancé?” He asked with a smug look on his face.

“Not yet, darling” Y/n retorted with a fake smile

Sirius sat next to her at the big table, the room was dark and big, the table was made of hardwood the only light sources were the sun and a weak candelabra, the room had a giant fireplace that was probably the only warm place in the house and heavy curtains. When Lucius and Mrs. Malfoy were distracted, Sirius whispered to Y/n “Say you have to go to the bathroom, James’ waiting for you outside, he probably already has your Trunk”.

His word startled Y/n, that was a dream come true, but she couldn’t “Sirius, I can’t leave, my parents would kill me” she paused to check if no one was listening “If I run it would create a conflict between my parents and the Malfoys and I don’t want to be caught in the middle of it.” She said pretending to pay attention on Lucius’ commentaries “I’m going to stay here” she continued, shocking Sirius completely.

“But your parents want you to get married Y/n, are you just going to- marry Malfoy and the rest of your life with him?” she looked tense, knowing she’d have no choice, he hated seeing her like that. 

Suddenly she heard Sirius clear his throat loudly, scaring her “I’m sorry to interrupt, but I need to talk with Y/n” he paused, the Malfoys were now looking at him “In private, if you allow us- it’s urgent” Mrs Malfoy looked a little confused but nodded. Sirius took Elena out of the room almost immediately.

“Y/n why in the name of Merlin are you staying here?” 

“I can’t go Sirius, I told you, the Malfoys wouldn’t be happy, it could cause a conflict my parents want to avoid” Sirius didn’t look convinced, he knew she was just making excuses but he didn’t know why.

“Really? Isn’t you’re family the most powerful in the sacred-twenty-eight?” He commented mockingly “Why would they be scared of the Malfoys?” Sirius could see the fear in her eyes, she wanted to go but was scared, so he sat her down on a coach near and asked her with those protective grey eyes that made her feel so protected “Y/n, it’s alright you can tell me anything” he said covering her hands in his protectively.

“No, i-i i can’t tell you” He squeezed her hands reassuringly saying that no one would know if she told him. She took a deep breath, e/c eyes staring at his grey ones “If i run, my parents, will kill me” she said eyes now full of fear, it made them look darker.

“Theoretically, right?” He asked concerned, knowing deep down what kind of family the Watsons were, he was surprised with his shock, cursing himself for the stupid question.

“No Sirius!” She whispered shouted “They’ll actually kill me, you want to know how I ended up here at the Malfoys after I told them I didn’t want to come? Do you?” She looked at him waiting for an answer, he nodded “They used two of the three unforgivable curses on me, every day until I agreed to come and marry Lucius” her voice was cracking “They used Imperio, made me not move and then used Cruciatus, I was feeling so much pain that I thought I was going to die and worse, I couldn't move a toe, I couldn’t even try to ease my pain by screaming and moving because i was under their control.” His eyes were now burning with anger “To get me to come here they used Imperio again and I don’t them to use it ever again, I lost all my free will, so what choice do I have?” Her voice was cracking, fighting the urge to cry, only the mere thought of what had happed scared her. “They’d rather see me dead than seeing me go rogue and ruin the family name” she paused, taking a breath and continued, desperation written all over her face “Why do you think i’ve always been pureblood propaganda for my parents? The gracious perfect daughter, perfect sister, the perfect student? because if I did what you do” she gestured at him “They’d kill me” She finished, looking at him, eyes begging for help, face trying miserably to hide her emotions. Sirius was scared, not even his parents had ever done something of the sort and they creative punishers. So he wrapped her in his arms not wanting to ever let her go, wanting to protect every strand of hair in her head. She melted into his embrace, all of the fear and agony being soothed.

“Oh Merlin Y/n, i’m so sorry” Sirius almost cried when she hugged him back tightly, looking for safety in his arms, the arms she knew so well. After a few moments Sirius said abruptly “Marry me Y/n” he felt her body stiffen “Please, I know you can handle this on your own, but I don’t want you to” he paused, caressing her hair “Please marry me, the Black name should be enough for your parents to accept the union, just let me take care of you, please” 

For the first time, Y/n didn’t protest, she just nodded and buried her head on his chest, she knew this plan was reckless and would make her parents angry, but she couldn’t control herself, it was like her body couldn’t take the pain anymore. “Y/n, go find James, he’s outside. I’ll talk with Malfoy, please just go, ok?” He kissed her forehead, as she stood up and went to find James.

Sirius went back to the dining room and explained that Y/n had to go home, because she would refuse Lucius’ proposal. The Malfoys were startled and outraged, she didn’t even have the guts to tell them herself? She had to bring another boy? It was all a waste of time and i’d be a disgrace for the Malfoy name if someone found out their son were rejected by a Watson, but surprisingly Sirius managed to convince them, no one created excuses as good as him. Surprisingly the Malfoys didn’t try to stop him, it was a miracle, even though they couldn’t do anything since Y/n wasn’t their daughter and it’d make a scene that could ruin their reputation, that wouldn’t last long though, they needed to run, because they would certainly contact Y/n’s parents to give a piece of their minds, it was a deal after all, they didn’t understand what happened.

“Well then Mr. Black, we hope everything’s turns out to be fine” Mrs. Malfoy politely sneered with a wave of goodbye.

“Eh-hm Thank you Mrs. Malfoy, we’re sorry for the inconvenience” Sirius said a bit nervous, leaving the room as quickly as he could.

While Sirius was talking with the Malfoys, Y/n was running to the front gate where James was waiting for her. “Y/n/n!” He shouted as he saw her running his way, when she arrived he wrapped her in a bear hug lifting her off the ground. “I’m so glad you’re okay” he said warmly, form this day on, feeling her fear as she hugged him back James considered her his sister and she considered him her brother, since he protected her, risked a rescue when she needed the most, that meant the world. 

“I’m glad to see you too Prongs” she chuckled lightly at his protective brother hug.

“Here” he said pointing to his broomstick “We’re going together, to my house, when Sirius arrive” she nodded climbing up the broom behind him.

James and Y/n were already waiting, ready to leave, when Sirius showed up getting on his broom saying “Let’s go, let’s go before they warn your parents” and taking off, James following right after. Riding their brooms fast against the cold winter air, happy that their mental plan had worked. When the trio arrived at the Potters, James’ mom was in the garden, certainly not expecting her son and his friend to arrive with a h/c girl with e/c eyes stained with tears.

“James, care to explain?” His mother asked unable to hide her surprise, but going to help the girl and try to calm her down “Let’s go inside, i’ll make you some tea sweetie and you two will explain me what happened” she said looking at the boys.

So, once inside, the boys explained what Y/n was going through and how she was being tortured and forced to marry Malfoy. Euphemia, was disgusted with Y/n’s parents, she had heard of their reputations before but this was cruel. During the whole explanation Y/n was quiet, riding out of her shock, they guessed, until she spoke and everyone went silent “I need to to my house” she said so low it was almost inaudible, they were sure they had heard it wrong but then she said it louder this time “I need to go home before things get worse” the room went silent.

“You’re not going back there Y/n” Sirius was the first to talk, desperation in his voice.

“They’ll kill me if I don’t go back” 

“There, One more reason, it’s not safe” James added, but she insisted.

Sirius stopped, looking at her “Ok then, I’m going with you, after I pay mommy dear a visit. Can you wait only until that? i’ll be as quick as possible” 

“Yeah Y/n wait a little and calm down, you can stay here until he comes back” James said patting her shoulder gently.

“No, I don’t want to bother your parents, I’m fine” she said shyly, earning a shrug from Mrs. Potter “-and I-i don’t know how long it’ll take until my parents find out i left the Malfoys, it’s too risky” 

“Dear, calm down, there’s no problem in you staying here, I promise, wait for Sirius, he’ll be there for you, your parents are not going to hurt you. If your plan doesn’t work then you can stay here with us, just rest for a bit” Euphemia said with a motherly smile on her face.

“But Sirius don’t you think your parents will be warned too?” Y/n tried to protest but James’ mom was already showing her to her room.

Y/n was so tired from the restless nights at the Malfoys, from the fear she constantly felt that Lucius would do something to her and from her parents, that when Euphemia offered the guest room and put her there, she drifted to sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Sirius caressed her hair and laid beside for a minute to make sure she was alright after the turbulent events from the break.

While she slept he told James about his plan to marry her, He was a Black, her parents would certainly be pleased with the union if the anger from the Malfoy incident passed and his parents would never refuse to wed him with a Watson, it’d be like refusing royalty, maybe it’d be difficult to explain the latest incident but anyway it was the offer of a lifetime. “Wow, Sirius are you sure? I mean, I want to save Y/n too, but- this, are you sure? This whole marriage thing is mental” James gasped.

“Her parents won’t let her stay here, they’ll try to get her back and make her marry someone else, since we humiliated Lucius, they won’t stop, I know how these people get” Sirius stated “But if I go to my parents and convince them to ask her hand to the Watsons, since she’s not officially betrothed to anyone yet, not only they’ll be thrilled but they’ll also do anything to convince her parents. And my parents would Betroth me one day too so this is just the best option for both of us” James couldn’t argue, it was a good plan in the rough.

“So you’re getting married, that’s serious” James teased “Our dear friend Y/n/n will be future Mrs. Black” he laughed hard at Sirius’ blushed face. “Oh Merlin!” He pointed a finger to Sirius “You like her! You- fancy Y/n, Merlin” James was so excited “It all makes sense, this friends with benefits thing would never work and that’s why you’re so relaxed about marrying her, because you fancy Y/N/N, Merlin!” 

“No I don’t, shove off Prongs, you’re hallucinating, we’re friends” The blush on his face wasn’t ignored by James, who laughed harder “Now, i need to go home and convince mommy Black to talk to the Watsons” Sirius cut James off, leaving the room heading to the hell he called home.

“Whatever you say Pads” James yelled from the kitchen.

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

taglist: @msmb​ ❤️

#harry potter #harry potter imagine #harry potter marauders #harry potter fanfiction #hp marauders #marauders era #young marauders #marauder #marauders #marauders fanfiction #marauders fic #sirius black #sirius black x reader #james & peter & remus & sirius #sirius black x fem!reader #sirius black x slytherin reader #james potter #remus lupin #lily evans #moony wormtail padfoot and prongs #moony #prongs #padfoot #wormtail

[jennagrinsoverml]

The Closest Thing to Love - Chapter 1

Summary: When Gabriel tells Adrien it’s time for him to learn about the brand internationally, Adrien knows he can’t leave Paris - or Marinette. The two concoct a plan to allow Adrien to stay and finally achieve his independence from his father. They’ll just get married.The only problem is...they’re not actually dating.But that won’t cause any issues. After all, they’re just friends, right?What could possibly go wrong?

Read it on AO3

"Marinette, my lady, bugaboo, light of my life, will you marry me?"

Marinette looks down at Adrien where he kneels at the foot of the dress form she’s working on. She spits out the pins she was holding in her teeth and sticks them back into the pincushion at her wrist.

"That's not funny," she says flatly.

"I'm not joking," Adrien insists, trying to ignore the pang of hurt, even though he knows she has no reason to think he’s serious.

"Right." Marinette rolls her eyes and resumes pinning.

"I'm not!"

"You want to get married."

"Yes."

"To me."

"Sure," he says with affected ease because he can’t very well admit that he’s been dreaming of exactly that for years.

She sighs. “Get up,” she says, and he gets to his feet, feeling foolish. She turns away from her work, giving him her full attention and crossing her arms. "We’re fresh out of lycée, we’re not even dating, and you want to get married?? Adrien, what's going on?”

"It's my father," he tells her, swallowing uncomfortably.

Her face hardens instantly. "What did he do?"

"He doesn't want me to go to university. He wants me to continue modeling and learn the company better and...and he wants me to travel around the world to do it."

"You're leaving?" she asks in a small voice before gasping and grabbing at her hair. "But if you leave how will you be Chat Noir? This is a disaster! You'll have to give up your miraculous and then I'll have to choose a new Chat Noir and then you won't be my partner and we'll never see each other and the new Chat won't be experienced enough and I can’t even imagine being Ladybug without you and Hawkmoth will win and—"

"I'm not leaving!" he bursts in, grabbing her arms and cutting her off mid-rant. He curses inwardly. He knows better. He should've led with that. Gently, he disentangles her hands from her hair, and she allows him to lower them. “I’m not leaving,” he repeats as he gives her hands a squeeze. She squeezes back and he knows that she believes him. "I won't leave Paris—or you. Not with Hawkmoth still attacking. I told Father that I wanted to go to university and stay in Paris with my friends but..."

"He didn't care."

"He thinks I'm exhibiting poor decision-making by prioritizing staying with my friends over my future," he recites. Even though he's not sure the fashion world is his future. Modeling is fine and he's good at it, but he can't do it forever. And the business side of it doesn't appeal to him at all. But no one has ever asked what he wants and Father has never appreciated his desire to go to school.

She gives his hands one last squeeze before letting go and going to sit down on her chaise. "You could just tell him no? You're 18 now, Adrien."

"I'm still just a dumb kid to him,” he says, sitting down next to her.

Marinette's mouth twists unhappily. "But you’re an adult. He can't force you to leave if you don't want to."

"He can cut me off. How will I pay for school or food or a place to live?"

"What? Adrien, you've been modeling since you were a kid. You don't have anything saved up?"

"Some money since I turned 18 but everything from before... I can't touch it," he explains, swallowing uncomfortably. "It's in a trust and inaccessible until I turn 25. Father says it’s for my own good. To keep me from squandering it."

"That - that can't be legal."

"I don't know," he admits, "but what am I going to do? Sue my own father?"

He knows from many years of friendship that that particular expression means that she wants to do a lot more than sue Gabriel Agreste. The thought that she cares enough to be angry and protective on his behalf warms him as it always does.

"How does getting married fix this?" she asks instead of commenting. "Is he suddenly going to care about what you want because we got hitched?"

"Yeah, no." He huffs out a bitter laugh. "Actually I think he'll be really angry about it. Maybe enough to get akumatized again." Adrien pushes down the guilt that bubbles up at that thought. As much as he tries telling himself that it's not his responsibility to sacrifice himself to keep his father happy... old habits die hard. He clears his throat. "Maman's family… they're old money . Very old fashioned about it too. A husband should be able to take care of his wife, you know? When Grandmère passed, her bequests to her grandsons were set up as trusts that vest upon marriage."

"So your plan is to marry me, get your money, and tell your dad to suck it?"

"Pretty much."

"Not the worst plan you've had."

"So you'll do it?"

"Why me?" she asks, sidestepping his question.

"Because I trust you," he answers. It’s the truth, anyway, or at least most of it. And the last thing they need right now is his unrequited love complicating things. “Who else would I marry? Who else would even understand why it’s so important that I stay? And besides there’ll be advantages to you too!  I’d pay for our housing and living expenses and - and I’ll give you a payout when this is done.”

She sighs. “I don’t want your money, Adrien.”

His heart drops. “You won’t do it.”

“I didn’t say that. This is a lot, okay? I’m trying to figure it out. But you know it’s you and me against the world, right?”

“Always,” he agrees.

"What other options have you looked into?"

"What do you mean?"

"Adrien! Don't tell me that getting married was the first and only idea you considered? What about taking out a loan or - or moving in with Nino or, I don't know, getting a job??"

Embarrassment burns his cheeks, but he’s not willing to admit that once it had occurred to him, he’d thought it was so perfect that he’d raced over here without considering anything else.

Besides...

"My contract with Gabriel still has another 3 years in it. It's pretty draconian with the non-compete." He draws idle circles with his finger in the fabric of her chaise.

"Were you even an adult when you signed?"

"Does it matter?"

"Yes! This sounds very, very illegal!"

"I don't want to end up in a legal battle with my father. I don't want to keep doing what he tells me to but I don't want to publicly fight with him either."

She sighs. "What about working in a different field? Waiting tables or something like that?"

He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly and she glares.

"You think he'd sue you for that?"

"Maybe."

"Kitty, that's ridiculous."

He shrugs helplessly. It's not like he doesn't know his father is over the top. Ever since Maman disappeared...and of course after Nathalie... Adrien knows his father is just afraid of losing him too and he's tried so hard to be supportive. But he can't live like this forever and now... his father is forcing his hand. No matter how much he loves him or how understanding he wants to be, he can't leave Marinette to fight on her own.

(Or leave her at all , the little part of him he keeps pushing down whispers.)

(He pushes it down again.)

"Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay, let's get married," she says and he doesn't try to suppress the smile that breaks across his face. Marinette's just agreed to marry him! It won't be real and she doesn't feel the same way about him that he feels about her but she does love him.

"Now if we're doing this, we need a plan."

"You know I always leave the planning to you, my lady."

She rolls her eyes. "As you should. Okay..." she trails off, clearly thinking as her face scrunches up in what Adrien has always thought of as her Lucky Charm Face TM. It's one of his favourite sights in the world and he can feel himself relaxing as he looks at her. If it's one of Marinette's plans, he knows they're going to be fine.

After all, when have any of her plans not worked out?

She meets his eyes. "Anything I need to know before I plan this out?"

I'm in love with you.  

"No."

Keep Reading

#miraculous ladybug #ml fic #ml fanfic #adrienette #adrinette #ml love square #adrien agreste #marinette dupain-cheng #gabriel agreste's a+ parenting #prpr #fake/pretend relationship #multichapter #wip #accidentally posted this to the wrong tumblr first whoops #jennawrites #closest thing

[pastelgoogie97]

How Do I Tell A Girl I Want To Kiss Her? |jjk

hi guys!! sorry for being away for so long, but i wanted to thank you for showing ‘i thought we said no yelling at 3 am’ so much love!!! i had to post this from my phone so im sorry if there are any errors:/ HOWEVER, i hope you guys really like this post and again i appreciate all the love my other drabble got!!

genre: first date and first kiss FLUFF

pairing: collegestudent!jungkook x collegestudent!femalereader

word count: 2.5k

warnings: mentions of an abusive ex-boyfriend (if you SQUINT)

—————

Y/N looked at herself in the mirror for what felt like the fiftieth time. She kept changing her outfit and messing with the hair she’d spent hours on out of pure anxiousness. She didn’t know what she was so nervous about. Sure, she hadn’t been on a date with a guy in a while, but she never felt as nervous as she did for this one. Then again, her date was going to be with Jungkook.

Jeon Jungkook. The boy she’d caught feelings for that worked in the coffee shop down the street from her apartment. At first, she thought he was adorable considering he was only two years older than her. She also thought she saw him around school a couple of times on her way to class. He seemed like the quiet type, but once he warmed up to her, he found the courage to not only become a friend of hers but to ask her to get dinner with him later tonight.

“Girl, don’t stress. You look, gorgeous babe,” That was Serena’s voice over the FaceTime call. Y/N knew that Serena genuinely meant what she was saying, but she couldn’t help but feel a twinge of doubt and think Serena was just saying it because they were close friends.

The sound of her apartment door snapped her out of her nervous haze and all she could do was freeze. After Serena coaxed her into opening the door, she wished her best friend good luck and hung up the call. Y/N looked down at her outfit once more before opening the door. God, she must’ve looked like an idiot. Did she open the door too fast? Did she seem desperate already and she hasn’t even spoken to him?

“W-Wow, you look beautiful,” Jungkook’s soft voice spoke up, the rustle of a bouquet shifting her gaze to his outstretched hands in front of her.

“Oh Jungkook, they’re beautiful, thank you so much. You didn’t have to get these,” Y/N silently cursed at herself for speaking too fast, but seemed relieved that Jungkook hadn’t called her out for it. Most likely out of politeness.

“The flower shop was on the way here, so I thought I’d get you some,” That was a lie. The flower shop was a solid block and a half away from her apartment in the opposite direction from which he came, but he didn’t mind keeping that a secret from her.

After a bit of small talk, Jungkook grabbed Y/N’s hand and lightly squeezed it. His mind went foggy at the simple contact their hands were making and he found himself smiling dopily, chuckling airily when Y/N started to swing their intertwined fingers.

Once they made it to his car, he opened her door for her and quickly shut it, jogging over to his side to take them to the restaurant he’d made reservations at. Y/N smiled and twiddled with her thumbs in her lap, struggling to find the confidence to look at Jungkook without wanting to scream. She didn’t want to mess anything up with him. According to her ex, she’d done enough of that even after they got together, so she was going to make sure she’d get it right.

“You feeling okay?” Jungkook interrupted her thoughts. Then again, when didn’t he? “If you feel sick or anything we can reschedule Y/N, you won’t hurt my feelings.”

The girl giggled and let out a shaky sigh. “No, I feel fine. I’m just nervous, I guess.”

Jungkook couldn’t help but smile. She was nervous to go on a date with him? She obviously couldn’t see how much he was shaking when he handed her the flowers. He must’ve been pretty good at hiding his nerves.

“It’s okay to be nervous, don’t feel like it’s wrong to feel weird about this whole thing,” Jungkook began. “You don’t even wanna know how scared I was to ask you out. I honestly thought you were going to tell me no.”

Y/N giggled. His heart fluttered at the sound and he made it his sole duty then and there to make sure she kept smiling and laughing all night. Laughing always made his nerves unwind, so maybe it could help with hers as well.

“Thanks, Jungkook,” She smiled. “I’m glad we’re doing this, I’m excited to get to know you better,”

That was all the reassurance Jungkook needed. Before she could say anything else, he pulled out of his parking spot and started heading over to the restaurant. It wasn’t one of those high-end classy restaurants, but he also wanted to make sure it wasn’t the McDonald’s down the street. He’d been very careful in finding a place that had a very broad menu so she could find something that she liked without having to force herself to eat something she didn’t really want. He’d asked Yoongi to help him prepare the second she told him yes.

“So, do you like working at the coffee shop?” Y/N queried, her eyes watching the bright lights of the city drive past in fast blurs of color.

“Yeah, it’s helping me pay for my dorm’s rent and everything, plus all my coworkers are really nice,” Jungkook rambled. “Plus, I got to serve you every time you walked in, so I can’t help but love that place,”

Y/N smiled and shook her head, making a comment about how cheesy that was. He giggled and tried to defend his point by saying that he was being completely honest, but she couldn’t help but giggle louder. The conversation carried on until they got to the restaurant. Before they knew it, they were getting out of the car and walking into the establishment hand-in-hand.

After they were led to their table by the hostess, Jungkook pulled Y/N’s chair out for her and pushed her in, his eyes settling on the soft flesh of her flushed cheeks at the action. He then sat down and got settled before looking up at her. She still looked a bit shifty, so he decided to make a funny face to break the thick layer of ice in between them. Once she laughed, he knew that he would be able to talk to her.

“Okay, so I want to know everything about you,” Jungkook stated boldly. “If you feel uncomfortable with anything I ask you, just let me know and I’ll ask something else, okay?”

Y/N nodded and felt herself relax. He was so reassuring and it’s almost like he knew how nervous she was. She gave a silken smile and leaned back in her chair a bit.

“Ask away,”

—————

They’d already gotten through their appetizer and entree’s, debating on whether they should order dessert before they paid the bill. Jungkook had found out so much about Y/N as did she about him. From the time she got perfect attendance in first grade to what major she was in, Jungkook had found himself drowning in so much adoration for the girl in front of him.

“Wait, so Tae, Jimin, Namjoon, Yoongi, Jin, and Hobi are all living with you?” Y/N inquired genuinely, watching Jungkook nod and sip on his sprite. “That’s crazy! Are you all close?”

“We’re like brothers. Not even because we’re living together, but because we always help each other with everything and it’s literally like we’re all related to each other. We do everything for each other and whenever one of us is in trouble, we always manage to get them out of it,”

Y/N felt her heart sigh adoringly at his statement. He genuinely cared about his friends and something about him being so caring made her want to ask him to be her boyfriend right then and there. She was having such an amazing time with him and talking to him felt like second nature. She couldn’t remember the last time a boy made her feel this comfortable and safe.

“Did you ask them for tips on where we should go tonight?” she chuckled, watching the crinkles form next to his eyes when he smiled.

“God,” he scoffed. “I asked them if I was insane for wanting to ask you out,”

Y/N furrowed her eyebrows with a grin. “Why would you be insane?”

“Because you’re so out of my league, I didn’t think you’d even think of me as anyone more than the guy that makes your coffee before class every morning,”

She looked down at his hand and hesitantly grabbed it in hers, rubbing her thumb along his knuckles sweetly before meeting his gaze.

“I’m not out of your league Jungkook,” She began. “If anything, I’m out of yours,”

Jungkook knew that was a flat-out lie, but he wasn’t sure if she knew it was. Either way, he shook his head with a chuckle and thanked her for the compliment. Just when he was about to ask her another question, their waiter came back around to ask them if they wanted dessert. Jungkook sent a look to Y/N as if to ask her if she wanted to eat anything else and she simply shrugged her shoulders.

“We’d like the check please,”

The waiter walked off to fetch their bill and Y/N held her full stomach, laughing when Jungkook did the same and slapped his stomach. They both giggled and kept their conversation from earlier going, wanting to pass the time until their bill came back.

Jungkook paid for everything despite Y/N’s protests. He helped her down from her chair and made sure they weren’t leaving anything that belonged to them at the table before placing his hand on her lower back and ushering her out of the restaurant. They got back into his car and Y/N couldn’t help but smile like an idiot the second he started the engine.

“Before I take you home, did you maybe wanna go get some ice cream? I know this really good place not too far from your apartment,”

“That sounds good! I love ice cream,”

Jungkook nodded with a smile and turned onto a different road from the one to her house. They found themselves parked in front of a really small ice cream shop and walked inside. It was a tiny place, yes, but the flavors were stretched out along the right wall, and Y/N couldn’t help but rush up to the glass like an elementary school girl, trying to see which flavor she wanted most and what toppings she wanted to put on it.

“Jungkook! You’re not going to introduce me to your date?” A voice piped up from behind the counter, slightly startling Y/N.

Jungkook grabbed her hand and smiled, ushering her over to the cash register where she was met with none other than Kim Taehyung. She smiled at the boy and gripped Jungkook’s hand a bit tighter, watching the two of them interact but not really paying attention to what they were saying.

“Hyung, this is Y/N, Y/N this is Tae,” she shook hands with Taehyung and felt a small smile spread across her features when he complimented her.

“So, what flavor do you guys want?”

—————

The two of them waved goodbye to Taehyung before leaving the store with their ice cream in their hands. They both got a cone and Jungkook put every single possible topping on top of his while Y/N settled for oreo crumbs and cookie dough bites.

Now, the two of them were walking up to Y/N’s apartment and she felt downhearted that her date was going to be coming to an end soon. They stopped in front of her door and looked at each other, giggling as she pulled out her keys.

“Oh no,” Y/N frowned. Jungkook tossed her a worrisome look, asking her what was wrong. “We didn’t finish our ice cream yet!”

Jungkook furrowed his eyebrows, clearly not following where she was going with her comment. “Looks like you’ll just have to come inside and finish it before you go!”

The boy in front of her smiled and rolled his eyes, nodding his head as she unlocked her door and allowed him to step inside. She turned on the light in her kitchen and walked over to one of the chairs at her table, watching him take the seat next to her. She looked up at him with hearts in her eyes as she continued to finish her ice cream.

“You have ice cream on your nose, dork,” Jungkook chuckled as he grabbed a napkin to dab at her nose.

Y/N looked down at her ice cream and giggled, pressing the treat up to his nose and letting out a light laugh. She grabbed the napkin he used on her and struggled to contain her giggles.

“Oh no, you have ice cream on your nose,”

They continued to tease each other like this until they finished their cones. Sadly, Y/N found herself walking Jungkook out of her apartment so he could go home. They stopped outside her front door and looked at each other, hoping to give each other the rundown of how they thought the date went and decide if they wanted to go on another one.

“I had an amazing time with you tonight Y/N” Jungkook smiled, looking down at her. “I really want to do this again with you, if you don’t mind,”

Y/N smiled and bit her lip to contain the girlish squeal that wanted to come out of her so bad. “I would love to do this again, actually, as soon as possible,”

They both giggled and went silent, looking into each other’s eyes for what felt like an eternity, enjoying the comfortable silence that fell between them.

“I should probably get back home now, but I’ll text you as soon as I get home so we can talk about going out again. Sound good?”

Y/N nodded and looked down at both of their hands getting warmed up. She felt a bit of heat burning the roses of her cheeks and she tried to get rid of it before she met his eyes again.

The second their eyes locked, Jungkook stooped down to her height and pressed his lips against her own. They felt soft against her skin, molding with hers like the last piece of a puzzle. A wave of warmth crashed over both of their bodies as Y/N’s hands traveled to the back of his neck while Jungkook’s hands placed themselves firmly at her hips, gripping them tightly as he brought her against his chest.

It felt like the way it was described in the movies. Y/N felt her legs buckle, her eyes fluttered shut, she felt like the world wasn’t such a scary place as long as she was in his arms. He felt the exact same way. He couldn’t help but yearn for the feeling of her lips to remain on his at every hour of the day. It may have been their first, but damn was he sure it wouldn’t be their last.

They pulled away for air and looked at each other with flushed faces and ragged breaths. They giggled and pressed another light kiss to each other’s lips once more before Jungkook looked down at his phone. He really had to leave now, as much as he didn’t want to.

“I’ll text you when I get back to my dorm, okay?” she nodded. “Goodnight Y/N,”

“Goodnight Jungkook,”

#jeon jeongguk #bts #jung hoseok #jungkook #kim namjoon #kim seokjin #kim taehyung #kpop #min yoongi #park jimin #kpopxreader #kpop fanfiction #kpop fluff #bts fluff #bts x reader #jungkook fluff #jungkook x reader #bts fanfiction #bts drabble #bts preferences #bts imagines #bts scenarios

[petri808]

Pranks Are So Revealing Sometimes…

@itafushiweek One bed prompt

After everything had finally settled and damages were assessed to Tokyo jujutsu high following the Kamo incident, the faculty decided it was time for a full renovation. They would fix the damaged areas but also update other undamaged parts. Including the dorms according to their teacher. The students were given a schedule of when each of their rooms would be worked on and given boxes to pack their belongings for temporary storage.

“Don’t worry,” Gojo grinned. “Shouldn’t take more than a day or two per room.”

“Yeah, okay,” Megumi stared back up at his teacher after reading the information. “But where are we supposed to sleep if our room is being renovated?”

“Oh, well since the unoccupied rooms will also be renovated during this process…” the man tapped his chin. “Got it! You bunk with Yuuji, then switch when it’s his rooms turn.”

“Cool! A sleepover!” Yuuji pumped his fists in the air. “We can hang out and watch movies and eat junk food and just crash from a food coma.”

Megumi swallowed thickly with a groan. “I’d rather you give me your credit card,” directing his comment to Gojo, “so I can get a hotel room.”

“No, can do buddy. Come on, it won’t be that bad.”

Yuuji threw an arm over Megumi’s. “It’ll be fine,” his brilliant smile causing the man’s cheeks to redden. “Movies and food, we’ll have fun.”

Megumi looked away and crossed his arms over his chest. “Ugh! Fine!”

“Good.” Gojo patted his student on the shoulder. “Now that’s settled, get packing young Megumi. Tomorrow we’ll be starting with your room.”

With Yuuji’s help, it didn’t take long for Megumi to pack up his belongings. There really wasn’t much, fitting everything into 3 medium sized boxes. Mostly clothes, some books, and minor items. He packed a bag with just enough to be displaced a couple of days, and if the renovations took longer, he could probably just borrow clothes from Yuuji. They were roughly the same size anyway. The boxes were then taken to Yuuji’s room and stacked in a corner out of the way.

But the full toll of the situation didn’t really hit Megumi until the morning of the renovations. He was awoken around 7 am by Gojo, letting him know the construction workers would be there in 15 minutes. Great. So, he dragged himself out of bed and walked into Yuuji’s room planning to get a couple more hours of sleep. It should be fine considering Yuuji rarely got up early on a day off.

The problem was— ‘Only one bed…’ Megumi groaned internally as he swiped his hand down his face. Duh! How could he have missed this detail?! And there was no way to fit a second bed in the room since they were only designed for single occupancy.

“Ugh…” Megumi shuffled back out of the room in irritation. Guess he’ll just go get breakfast and figure out what to do next!

Look, he didn’t have a problem sharing a bed with another person. It’s just sleeping on a bed instead of the hardwood floor, what’s the issue with that? If it was anyone else, Nobara, Toge, Maki, Yuta, whatever— no problem. The PROBLEM is it’s Yuuji. Maybe one of them will let him stay with them? Megumi put his head down on the kitchen table with his arms over his head in frustration. No… that would be weird to ask. Gojo already made all the arrangements between everyone, so if he suddenly had an issue with it, they might find that suspicious and he really didn’t need them asking questions, or worse teasing him about it.

He could hear it all too. What’s wrong with Yuuji? You worried something might happen? Too afraid to confront your feelings. Wink, wink. Aww that’s so cute you’re embarrassed. But Yuuji’s a good catch. Yada, Yada. Maki’s monotone, “just man up” tone was not something Megumi wanted to hear. ‘It’s just a night or two… no big deal. He’ll sleep on one side; I’ll sleep on the other. What could go wrong?’

“Morning!”

Megumi’s body immediately went stiff at the sound of Yuuji voice. Damn guy was like a cat this morning, he never heard him come in! Or did he just miss it because he was too wrapped up in his mind?

“Yeah… morning,” Megumi responded as he sat up in his chair and pretended everything was fine. “Sorry, I didn’t make coffee or anything yet.”

“Nah, it’s fine. I can make breakfast. Want some?” Yuuji responded in his chipper way.

“Sure, since you’re offering.”

“I see they started working on your room. That’s what woke me up.”

“Huh? Oh yeah, That’s why I’m up too. Gojo kicked me out at 7.”

“Oh, if you were tired, you could’ve just gone back to sleep in my room.”

“Nah. I’m fine.”

“You still look tired.”

“I’m fine.”

“If you say so,” Yuuji placed a plate of food in front of his friend, then sat down across from him with his own. “So, got any plans for today?”

“Not really.”

“I was thinking of grabbing some snacks from the store for tonight.”

“Something happening tonight?”

“Movie night! Remember?”

“You were serious about that?!”

“Of course! We rarely have time to relax, so this is a perfect opportunity.”

“Well, since I’m stuck in your room… what movie are you picking?”

“You can choose. I don’t really care. How about I’m in charge of snacks and you grab the movies.”

“Fine. I’ll dig something up.”

The pair part ways for the rest of the day. Megumi felt it best to keep himself occupied so he wouldn’t think about that night. So, after breakfast he got some training in with Yuta and Maki who between the two really kept him on his toes. The construction work on his room sounded a lot more extensive than Gojo had relayed based on all the noise coming from within. Someone had placed a “do not enter” sign on the door, and so when Megumi walked past it, he didn’t bother peeking. By the time he returned from shopping around 5pm, it was silent. ‘Guess they’re done for the day.’ But since the sign was still up, it wasn’t finished. ‘Ugh, it better be done by tomorrow night.’

“Hey, Megumi!”

Megumi froze in place. Damn it with Yuuji sneaking up on him! He turned around. “Yeah?”

“I got food!” Yuuji held up two plastic bags stuffed full. “Dinner, snacks, drinks. Did you grab the movies?”

Megumi pulled three DVD cases out of his shopping bag and showed it to his friend. Three movies would kill about six hours, which meant sleeping right after they were finished, equaled less dead time to worry about.

“Sweet! Let’s get started!”

The moment of dread was upon Megumi the instant he walked into Yuuji’s room and laid eyes on that single bed. And as the dorm mate puttered around oblivious to his nervousness, he just watched quietly as the man plopped the bags onto the bed and grabbed a laptop from the desk. This was it, no turning back now.

“Why are you just standing there?” Yuuji questioned with laughter in his tone and patted the bed. “Come on, before the food gets cold.”

Megumi rolled his eyes as if nothing was wrong, but his heartbeat picked up the pace with each step towards the bed. He should be happy that Yuuji was so oblivious to emotions, and yet a part of him was annoyed… maybe disappointed… Megumi quickly shut those thoughts down as he sat on the edge of the bed.

“So, just to get it out of the way. How is this gonna work? Like which side do I sleep on?” Megumi questioned.

Yuuji stopped fusing with a food container and looked over. “Oh, hmm, doesn’t matter to me. I can sleep on either side.”

Well since he was already on one side. “I’ll just take this side I’m on then.”

Yuuji gave him a thumbs up. “Pass me the first movie.”

The first movie… all the movies he’d chosen were just action types. Megumi wanted something with as little romance as possible and knew Yuuji didn’t mind action or horror. Frankly, he thought it was funny his friend still loved horror after becoming a jujutsu sorcerer. Don’t they see enough of it in real life? Between the movies and the eating, he was pleasantly surprised to find that Yuuji became so engrossed in what was on the screen, it helped his anxieties stay lowered.

Megumi had taken up a position with his back against the wall sitting upright, and legs stretched out in front of him, while Yuuji was next to him with about a foot of space between them. Mid-way through the third movie, Megumi was genuinely paying attention since he’d never seen it before, when he felt a pressure against his shoulder. His eyes flared, cheeks heated up, and adrenaline spiked his heart rate. Yuuji had fallen asleep against his shoulder. No kidding this guy could fall asleep anywhere! Versus him who was too wide awake now to even think about it.

The last thing he wanted to do was awaken the sleeping man and make things even more awkward. So, Megumi tried to gently push his friend away to simply rest against the wall. His first several tries failed, but on the fourth, success… briefly.

“Mmm,” Yuuji stirred without waking and shifted on his own to curl up in Megumi’s lap instead!

‘Fuck, my life!’ Megumi screamed in his head. Things just went from bad to a disaster!

Again, Megumi tried to shift the man away, but every time he tried Yuuji would whine.

“Stop moving…” Yuuji mumbled and wrapped his arms around Megumi’s waist, snuggling his face deeper into the man’s leg.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Megumi gritted out in a muffled anger. By now, his whole body felt like it’d been stuck in a furnace and was being roasted alive. Ugh! Yuuji had turned into a damn octopus clinging to its meal! And yet… Megumi had to admit the man was cute as he slept. Geez, he even smiled in his sleep!

Not much he could really do, Megumi exhaled in defeat. So, he did his best to turn off the laptop screen using his foot and shift it close enough to reach. He then grabbed it and placed it onto the nightstand next to the bed, leaving them in a darkened room with only the gentle breathing of Yuuji as any sound. Okay, fine! Megumi counseled himself. Just ignore the fact there’s someone attached to you and try to get some sleep. The faster he went to sleep, the faster the nightmare would end. So, he shifted his body to lie down, then turned over onto his side hoping Yuuji would also readjust.

And the man did, just not in a way Megumi wanted. Yuuji simply snuggled up to his back and weaved an arm around his torso like he was one of those giant stuffed animals you win at a fair! He pushed the arm away, but it sprang back into place.

Megumi screamed in his head. He was so tired… ‘just ignore it, ignore it, ignore it…’

The sound of birds chirping caused Megumi to rouse the next morning. Perfect, his torture was over, it was time to get up— ‘Why was the pillow so hard—’ his eyes opened in a panic as his hand felt the unmistakable sensation of muscle beneath clothing. Without moving an inch only his eyes shifted over and saw the outline of Yuuji’s body lying on his back and he was curled up against his side! ‘Oh, fuck!’

Fight or flight kicked into overdrive as Megumi sprang from the bed like a cat and bolted out of the room. Every nerve ending along his skin was on fire and his mind freaking out, praying Yuuji had slept through it all. ‘This is gonna be so awkward if— What the?!’

As soon as he made it out of the room, Megumi almost ran right smack into Gojo. The man had one hand on Megumi’s bedroom door and the other carried a cursed doll, like the one Yuuji had trained with to practice energy control. “What is that for?”

Realizing he was busted, Gojo slipped the doll behind his back. “Nothing. I was just gonna check on the progress.”

“Uh-huh…” Megumi’s eyebrow raised, instantly suspicious. “Well, let’s just check,” he opened the door himself and walked in. “What’s going on?!” He whipped around. “Are they finished?” Because his room looked exactly like he’d left it the morning before. And he meant exactly!

“Really?!” Gojo pretended to be surprised. “That was quick! Looks like you can move back in. Well, see you at breakfast.”

Gojo turned to leave but Megumi grabbed his shoulder.

“Oi! What the hell?! There was no construction was there you prick?!”

“Nonsense! They must’ve finished yesterday.”

Megumi narrowed a menacing glare at the teacher. “That damn doll was the one making all the noise, wasn’t it?”

“Um… no…”

“And you were about to plant it for a second day!”

“Of course, not! I’m just carrying it around…”

“You’re such a shit liar!”

“Careful Megumi, might wanna keep your voice down lest wake up Yuuji.”

“What do I care if he wakes up now?”

“He’ll find you missing and the bed empty and be sad.” Gojo grinned defiantly then took off in a sprint, cackling like a mad man down the hall.

Bastard pranked him! Megumi screamed as he took off after the man. “I’M GONNA KILL YOU!”

#itafushi week #itafushi #itafushi fan fiction #itafushi fan fic #itadori yuuji #megumi fushiguro #satoru gojo #one bed prompt #fushita

[talkfantasytome]

During the monthly court meeting E/lain had this kind of behavior, at this meeting Nesta or Lucien were not present to justify this kind of behavior (which are behaviors that are pointed out that she has with both, Nesta in ACOSF and Lucien every time they meet).

“I’d have E/lain try her hand before we approach him, though.” E/lain had already departed with Feyre, claiming she had to be up with the dawn to tend to an elderly faerie’s garden. Cassian didn’t exactly know why he suspected this wasn’t true. There had been some tightness in E/lain’s face as she’d said it. Normally when she made such excuses, Lucien was around, but the male remained in the human lands with Jurian and Vassa.”

Do you have any thoughts or theories about this?

Because many people point out she behaves like this around Lucien but she has also behaved like this with other people.

From the pov of the other characters we also see them pointing out things about her personality or how much she tries to belong to NC and has her ignoring Rhys as well.

Any thoughts? I like to read about your point of view

Hi! And thank you so much! I appreciate your interest in my point of view. <3

This ended up longer than I thought it would - as these always do. Not super crazy, but still. The last paragraph is also a bit of a TL;DR.

E\ain's Lie

This is a super interesting paragraph, not going to lie.

I believe some people have interpreted the tightness and escaping to be because Azriel was at the meeting. However, I don't really believe that. If she has a crush on Azriel, why would she escape with some excuse? Why wouldn't she stay around? He's apparently incredibly pretty, so just staying would mean getting to look at that masterpiece a bit more. 👀

However, the more important tell to let us know this isn't the case is this:

Normally when she made such excuses, Lucien was around...

Azriel is around a lot more than Lucien. If E\ain was doing this because of Azriel, I feel like they'd see this happen more when Lucien isn't around.

It's also important to note that Cassian observes a tightness in E\ain's face "as she'd said [she had to be up early to garden]". He didn't observe it throughout the dinner, no, solely as she made her excuses. It's why Cassian thinks she was lying, making an excuse to leave.

However, if she was struggling because someone else was around, it would have been a noticeable change in her personality throughout all of dinner. Az is around more than Lucien, but we also know he's not around that much, because he's trying to stay away from E\ain. So it wouldn't be an "well, Az is around a lot, so it's just not noticeable that she's stressed around him too". Just as, when Lucien is around, we do see that E\ain is a bit more withdrawn.

So, I don't believe it was Az that caused E\ain to make an excuse to leave. It could have been, but personally I find that less likely, or she'd have been doing it more often. Regardless of whether it's because she likes Azriel or because she views him as a threat on her own plans, I don't think that's the reason.

It could be just that she's less comfortable around the group without Feyre.

I find this one an unlikely possibility, but it is possible. Despite what E\ain says, she really is not part of the court, and she's definitely not part of the Inner Circle - no more than Nesta. In fact, by the end of ACOSF, you could argue Nesta is more part of it. But Feyre is the only true IC member of the Archerons.

But, either way, I don't see E\ain as being friends with any of the IC members. Not even Az. They may have some sexual chemistry there, but they're not friends. They never talk and they don't really know each other at all. So it could just be that simple.

But, unlikely if this is meant to be foreshadowing.

She also could just be tired and making some excuse to sound less lame - we've all done it, don't lie. XD

Again, though, I find this unlikely. I don't think her face would be super tight in doing this, because we know E\ain can lie. Or, at least, use words and smiles to her own advantage.

Rhys's brows lifted. "You'd think they'd been told plague had befallen the house."

I pulled the door open wide enough to let them in, then quickly shut it against the bitter cold. "My sister E\ain can convince anyone to do anything with a few smiles."

It's not exactly the same, but this is one of the first things we really learn about E\ain beyond "pretty and likes flowers", her ability to convince others to do anything. To use her wits and wiles to get her way, and it's pretty obvious that's something she's used to in her life. It may not specifically state that she can lie, but she was convincing the staff to leave the house so that Fae could come into it. And we know she definitely wasn't telling them that was the reason why.

She can lie, she can stretch the truth, to do and get what she wants. With ease.

So, the fact that her face is tight tells me this isn't an easy lie for her. This isn't a bland excuse.

More so than that, why not just say she's tired? Why not use that as the reason? That's an easier lie. But no, it was something that would include an explanation for her being out early in the morning.

My conclusion: she did have something happening the next morning, but it wasn't gardening for an elder faerie.

Now, I could be wrong. Cassian's assumption was that E\ain was just lying to leave the dinner. She was making an excuse to go up to bed. You can see that because he drew a parallel to when E\ain makes excuses around Lucien, which we can assume actually is to just get out of the room where he is.

And maybe he's right. Perhaps that observation was meant to be foreshadowing about some other form of discomfort E\ain has around someone in the IC. But, based on my reasons above, and how that would happen more often, I find it unlikely.

Thus, the lie must be about something other than her just making an excuse to get away. And she uses it to also explain away why she won't be in the house the next morning.

Think about it - she made the excuse in front of Rhys and Feyre too...maybe. Maybe not. I read it as E\ain and Feyre went up together at the same time. Either way, at least one of the people she currently lives in this house with heard the excuse, so they'd expect her to not be home early the next morning. Why do that if all she was doing was making an excuse to get away from someone? The next morning she may have to answer questions about that, which I don't think she would want to do.

Now, I honestly have no idea what she was doing instead. After the bonus Az POV chapter, we know she wasn't having a secret rendezvous with him. Based on that chapter, it sounds like the two have had minimal interactions other than at dinners and things at the River House. But that's just what isn't happening.

Some wonder/hope that she's having secret meetings with Lucien. As amazing as that would be, that her "discomfort" around him is, maybe, more just lying to everyone else and pretending they aren't spending time together. I don't think that's the case. We're told Lucien is remaining in the human lands, that he looks at E\ain with longing, and that E\ain didn't even thank Lucien for his Solstice gift to her.

For someone who has a defining trait of being "sweet", that's kind of a big thing to not do when getting a gift. Like, even if she's pretending to not really care about him or know him, not thanking him is...kinda awful.

So, it would mean she's meeting with someone else. With whom? I honestly don't know.

I am intrigued by the concepts and theories about E\ain seeking out a way to try and become human again. I find it plausible, and that there was some information in ACOFAS to make it sound like she was trying to do this only makes it more so. Also, E\ain is definitely more stubborn than I think we've seen, but she's stubborn in a selfish way. Remember that she was doted on by Nesta, but also at times by Feyre, and her father. I, personally, believe that she is likely the most spoiled in nature. In fact, I wrote a post about how I'm wondering if E\ain is somewhat narcissistic.

With that, I don't think E\ain would have been deterred by Amren's comments. All I think that would have done would have made E\ain try to be more secretive and subtle in this pursuit.

I am also intrigued by the thoughts that, in doing this, she ends up siding with/helping Koschei, essentially turning into a villain. Of course, if this does happen, I think it would be revealed very end of book 5 or very beginning of book 6, and in that reveal she would plummet to rock bottom and then her book would be about her journey out of that.

And I do love the idea of a possible semi-villain E\ain because, in the end, her current development has been "she's pretty, and good, and sweet, and kind"...so, she can't be further developed and be made more "good". If her development is just her continuing to be good, that doesn't actually give us more of her character. As we learn about E\ain more, I am convinced we will learn about sides of her that aren't so "good".

E\ain & the Night Court

Okay, I'll be much faster on this, because I've talked about it before as well.

My perspective is that those vignettes, comments, narrations, etc. from other characters' POVs are all very important. I do believe this is some foreshadowing happening that tells us E\ain will not end up in the Night Court. And, I believe, her initial leaving of the Night Court may not be a particularly pleasant separation. I'm not saying it'll be absolutely awful, but maybe it's E\ain leaving on her own, or following someone she shouldn't follow due to promises of a better life, or something similar.

The other possibility is that it will be part of E\ain's emotional journey, to understand that she's not living in a place that's right for her, and that it's OKAY. It's okay if the Night Court isn't the right place for her, even if it is for her sisters. It's okay if she needs something else, if she'll find value somewhere else. It's okay to be different. I think that will be a huge thing for E\ain to learn and accept.

But, yes, I do agree with the perspectives that say those passages are telling us that E\ain doesn't belong in the Night Court. Not because she's not good enough, just because it's not where she shines. And you can find a deeper analysis on that in this post, in the "Home is Where You Shine" section.

I will say, though, that I don't think she'll end up doing anything crazy in an attempt to prove she's part of the Night Court. She's defensive about it, for sure. But if there's a big goal we're going to see her try to work toward, and maybe do so in a not so great way, I'd say it's more likely something about trying to be human again. When with the NC people she wants to be included, because she's selfish and self-centered and narcissistic - and I don't mean that as an insult, those are just some of her personality traits, and they're not necessarily a bad thing. However, I would say that's more likely why she wants to feel like she's a part of the NC. Because her sisters have both started to truly become a part of it, and she's never been the outsider. She's never been the third wheel. It was always her and Nesta. Now it's her and Feyre. But if Nesta is so much a part of the Night Court, if her two sisters will be working together on things - well, that leaves E\ain on the outside, and she can't handle it. Not because she wants to work with them. Not because she actually wants to be part of the Night Court. But because that's just not how it goes in her mind.

And I truly hope that in her journey she'll come to understand herself better, and understand that it's okay to be different. E\ain will find her place, with people who love her, care for her, adore her FOR HER. They don't simply dote on her and protect her because they think she's weak or fragile. No, she will find those who will see the wonder in her. Who will appreciate her stubbornness and ability to convince anyone to do anything. And who will only ever want the best for her because they love her. I look forward to meeting them.

And, hey, if it happens to be Jurian and Vassa and Lucien, I can see it. E\ain could use some snarky Vassa and Jurian in her life. XD

Summary

So, there you have it. That's my perspective on this. I do think E\ain was likely lying. I think the lie went beyond her just trying to get out of the room, and more so was a lie about the why or what she had going on the next day. And I do think she may have had some meeting she didn't want anyone knowing about. I know it wasn't with Az, I don't think it was with Lucien, but I don't know who else it could have been. I like the idea that it has to do with her trying to become human again, which fits in with my thoughts on what her emotional journey will be like in her book, and I'm intrigued at the thought that it could lead to her working with Koschei. But I'm not yet convinced that's definitely the case. I'll have to try to read it again, but so far I'm not sure there's been enough foreshadowing to prove that. The best thing would be her interest in helping find the Dread Trove, except I don't believe she actually was interested in that. I think in that discussion she was just more interested in proving Nesta wrong, because she never actually did anything to try and find the Trove. So, it would be cool, but we need more info before I can say I definitely think that will happen.

And yes, I do agree E\ain likely doesn't belong in the Night Court, based on all those internal thoughts we've seen. It's very telling when you have three characters observe how black does literally nothing for E\ain, how it drains her.

#ask box #acotar theory #acotar thoughts #elain archeron #lucien vanserra #elain and lucien #elucien #villain elain #acotar

[of-another-broken-heart]

You know.

It really fucking sucks being reminded that if you’re a victim of non-physical abuse, you can and will be victim-blamed. 

In fact, I think it’s the only form of victimization where victim-blaming is not just encouraged, but ~technically~ supported. Socially, academically, and medically.

You were manipulated, abused? Verbally, emotionally?

Well darling sweetheart that was your fault, you know, and you’re not allowed to talk about it (except with a therapist!), because that makes YOU the manipulator/abuser, don’t you know?

You’re not actually allowed to be a victim, no no. You’re not allowed to have logical altered behavior, based on the real actual experiences you went through, the literal words said to you. No, no.

You’re not allowed to let anyone glimpse that reality, no, no. Positive vibes only! Therapy, therapy, sweep sweep! We do not speak the things-that-must-not-be-spoken. We clap our hands over our mouths and gasp and dart our eyes around. Smile. Smile! Therapy, my dear. Therapy is the word we’re allowed to say. That’s it. That’s it! Don’t bring it up again. (Abuser).

I’m so sick of toxic positivity people. I really am.

It's real infuriating reading comments where a buncha woke third-eye nirvana saints with limitless money and therapy access simultaneously claim to understand the trauma behind “maladaptive” behaviors, while also gleefully admitting to participating in the exact same traumatic abandonment that causes the trauma in the first place. Truly spectacular. 

“If you trust me enough tell me how other people hurt you and caused you to be this way, I will do the exact same things to you!” is not the woke good-hearted confession you seem to think.

If you're too shallow to acknowledge the good, the neutral AND the bad in human life, stop pretending to be a friend. If you’re so fucking regressive and selfish that you can’t or won’t entertain a victim’s history and grant a lick of fucking understanding - if you passively expect everyone to BE healthy and unharmed, unabused - then you’re part of the fucking problem. You’re the delusional one in this equation. You’re the one with unreasonable expectations, having arrived at an illogical conclusion to the very real world and people around you.

It’s the same as expecting everyone to be straight, cis, or white, or whatever socially accepted “ideal” in other slices of life. You’re not the woke one for being taken aback when a black man walks into your office when you were expecting a white man; you’re not transcendent when your friend tells you they’re gay and your response is to gasp in shock; and you’re not a “good person” by any definition by chastising or blaming a victim for daring to be affected by their trauma and/or abuse(r). 

“Yeah we know you lost your leg but do you really have to bring that walker with you? Ugh, no, don’t tell me anything, I don’t consent to you ⚠trauma dumping⚠ on me.”

“Yeah, I know you went through foster care for like, 15 years or whatever, and got abused physically and emotionally by multiple families, but like, I’m not your therapist, so you should just forget that whole history and develop entirely different illogical behaviors just for me because I don’t have room in my shitty shriveled heart for empathy. Give me only ✨good vibes✨ or else you’re toxic.”

“It’s really manipulative for you to get so jumpy when I take out my gun to play with, you know? Just because you survived a shooting, doesn’t mean I’m going to shoot you, and it’s really hurtful for you to equate me with a psychopath like that!”

And on. And on. And on. This is what you fucking sound like. 

Grow a fucking heart or shut the fuck up. Therapy therapy therapy - go yourself and find out where you went so wrong in your life that you somehow determined that the morally correct behavior for all of humanity was to play pretend and ignore 2/3 of human experience. Detachment, reactive abandonment, and failing to engage with the neutral, the bad, is NOT a point of pride, you shriveled soulless shithead.

#personal #another day another reminder that humanity is saturated with selfish demons

[shenanigans-and-imagines]

The Ambassador: Part 1/3

Captain Rex x Reader, Female!Reader

Summary: Captain Rex is a man of honor, never losing sight of his code and his duty to the Republic. Well...almost never. Whenever you, the unofficial Ambassador to the GAR, grace the 501st with you presence, the lines between what he wants to do and what he should do become blurry.

A/N: Guess who decided to make another series when they haven’t finished like...five of them! Anyway, at least this one is short and there’s an actual end in sight. Let me know if you want to be tagged. And remeber REBLOG AND COMMENT IF YOU LIKE THIS!!!

Word Count: 1.9K

    Another day, another mission, Rex thought idly as he stared down at the holo map before him.

    Pustin was, on a whole, rather unremarkable; a small desert planet on the edge of the Outer Rim with a small primitive native population. The Republic had kept its distance for the most part in order to avoid disturbing its development.  Unfortunately for the Pustins, the Seperatist had decided to set up shop along the borders of their land. 

    The Republic knew Separatists were shipping raw material in and out of the system, but they had no idea what or how much.  Recon missions had proved inconclusive given the strategic placement of the outpost.  So far, they had only been able to see some of the facility from the air, and even then at a great distance.  A ground team couldn’t sneak in from the front because of the vast desert landscape, giving no room for cover.  The rear was just as dangerous.  While it rested against a mountain side providing easy cover, the mountain itself was treacherous to climb. They had learned enough to know a labyrinth of caverns ran through the mountain which the natives used as a short-cut, but it would be impossible for any trooper to get through without a proper guide. 

    It was a tricky situation.  Luckily, General Skywalker has the foresight to bring in reinforcements. 

    Rex felt his cheeks warm at the thought.  He shook it off as best he could, staring more intently at the map as if expecting to find some brilliant pathway through the mountain he hadn’t noticed to suddenly spring out at him. 

 He was not going to think about the person currently riding the elevator up to the bridge.  He was going to focus on the mission.  That was his duty. That was what he understood, not whatever was making his heart hammer against his chest.

   But, it was all the naught the moment the elevator doors hissed open.

   “Eyes up! Ambassador on the bridge!” General Skywalker called, walking into the command center with you just a step behind. 

   You gave an exasperated, but good natured smile in response as all eyes turned to you. 

   “At ease,” you said.

   The men returned to their duties, but it was clear from the smiles and sudden lightness in the air that they didn’t need the order to be at ease. 

   You weren’t really a representative, at least not in any official capacity.  What you were was a tactical consultant; your expertise being extractions, espionage, or anything which required careful navigation of neutral systems and local treaties. 

   It was a common joke among the ranks that you could talk Master Windu into buying a bridge if you talked long enough.  This skill set, along with your easy comradery with every clone you met, earned you the honorary title of “Ambassador to the Grand Army of the Republic” or “The Ambassador” for short. 

    You took the title with pride, earning some side eyes from Senators, but nothing you couldn’t brush off.  Rex had even heard you claim to, “represent the interests of Kamino’s second population”.  And you did, not just on the battlefield. 

   While many in the Senate wanted to push off the issue to a later date, you were adamant in your fight for Clone rights.  Anytime you weren’t on assignment you were on Coruscant, meeting with Senators and influencers, and speaking out for recognition of Clones' personhood. 

   If getting squadrons out of trouble with local tribal leaders didn’t endear you to the troops, your advocacy certainly did. 

   “Commander,” Rex greeted.

   Your eyes turned to him and a genuine smile slipped onto your lips.  The kind that made his heart clench and his ears warm.  This was a common occurrence whenever he saw you; a mix of uncomfortable and pleasant sensations, making it impossible for him to decide if he liked it or not. 

   “Captain Rex,” you said.  “It’s good to see you again.” 

   You meant it. He knew you did. And that only made it worse.

   You then turned your attention back to General Skywalker.  “So, what’s the situation?  Or did you just miss me?”

   General Skywalker raised an eyebrow.  “Straight to the point then?”

   “Might as well.” You shrugged. “Besides, Senator Burtoni will be headed back to Coruscant soon which is never a good sign.  I’d rather be there to argue the old bat myself. If anything, it’ll just annoy her.” 

   He laughed.  “Don’t worry Ambassador. If all goes according to plan, we’ll have you back pestering senators in no time.”

   “You’d better.  Now, what brilliant scheme have you come up with?”

   “Captain Rex?”

   Rex stepped forward. “Me and a squadron of men will escort you to the village on the other side of the mountain here. With any luck we’ll be able to convince the chief to guide us through the caverns we know link the two sides.  After that, it’s purely reconnaissance.  We need to find out what they’re shipping, the placement of their gun, and approximately how many droids they have stationed there.”

   “And then just pop back out the other side with the Separatist none the wiser,” you finished.  “Is that it?”

   “That’s the idea.”

   You nodded.  “Sounds easy enough.  One objection, no squadron.”

   “Commander--”

   You held up a hand for silence.  “I understand the instinct, but you said I need to persuade the chief to guide us.  If I go down there with a bunch of armored troopers demanding safe passage through the mountain, that’s not persuading, that’s threatening.”

   “And if the natives prove hostile?” 

   “That’s a risk we’ll have to take.  But if I know anything about the Separatists, the Pustins will be jumping at the chance to get them off their world. Provided, we don’t come across as the bad guys.” 

   Rex stayed silent a moment.  He wanted to put up more of a fight.  The idea of you going down there essentially unarmed into a hostile environment made his stomach turn.  But, you were still a Commander and if anyone could talk their way out from under the barrel of a blaster, it was you.

   “What do you suggest, sir?”

   “Just myself and two other troopers as escort,” you said. “This is still a recon mission after all, the fewer the better.  I’d also recommend no armor and concealed blasters.”

   He stiffened. “Sir, with all due respect, we’ll need some protection in case something goes wrong.”

   “Things will go wrong a lot faster if we waltz into their villages armed for battle.”

   “The Pustins have never even seen Republic armor before.”

   “No, but they will recognize it as armor.” 

   He opened his mouth ready to protest, but immediately closed it.  You were right. 

   This entire mission hinged on getting the Pustins to trust you, and them. If you didn’t gain that trust, the entire mission was forfeit. It’s why General Skywalker asked for you. 

   So, that meant following your lead and putting the minds of the natives at ease, even if that ran the risk of leaving yourself vulnerable to attack. 

   He let out a long breath. “I don’t like it.”

   “No one is forcing you to join me, Captain.”

   He shook his head.  “No, I’m going.  I can’t say I’m thrilled with this plan, but I can’t think of a better one.”

   A small smile quirked at the corner of your lips. “Good.  Between you, me and Jesse we should have this wrapped in no time.”

   His brow furrowed. “Jesse?”

   “Did you have someone else in mind?”

   Rex paused.  Fives and Echo were out, having been sent to assist General Kenobi and the 212th. Hardcase had an itchy trigger finger.  Tup didn’t have any recon experience, neither did Kix.  Dogma was still too shiny...

   He ran down the list of available troopers and came to the same conclusion you did. Jesse really was the only logical choice.  

   He felt a small tug at annoyance. Jesse was undoubtedly a good soldier, one of the best.  But he also made no secret about his interest in you.  Whenever you joined them on any kind of mission Jesse just had to open his mouth and share every little flirtatious comment that came into his head.  

   He held back a sigh.  He was liking this mission less and less.  But for the sake of said mission he had to put whatever personal issues he had with his brother aside, because that’s all they were, personal.

   “No, sir,” he said, making a point to keep his tone as free from emotion as possible.

   You nodded in acknowledgement before turning to Skywalker. “Anything else, General?”

   He shook his head. “No, I think that settles it. Captain Rex you inform Jesse about his assignment.  Plan to meet in the hanger bay in one hour.”

   “Yes, sir.” 

   “Dismissed.”

   Both you and Rex saluted before you turned and entered the elevator together. 

   “So, on a scale from one to ten, how much is Jesse going to hate this plan,” you asked, just as the doors hissed shut. 

   “I’d say about a seven,” Rex answered dryly. 

   “That much faith in me, huh?”

   “The men have plenty of faith in you Commander.  I can’t say the same for the Pustins.” 

   You gave a short laugh before playfully nudging him in the side. “Don’t worry Captain, I won’t let anything happen to you.”

   “It’s not me I’m worried about it.” 

   You paused, the teasing expression fading. 

   His gut twisted; had he said that out loud? He didn’t so much as breath as he watched your face for some kind of reaction. 

   To his surprise, your gaze softened and your lips turned into an understanding smile. 

   “I know,” you said.  You placed a hand on his arm.  Even through his armor, he could swear he could feel the heat of your skin. 

   “But, I can take care of myself.  Believe it or no, I’ve been at this for a while.  You don’t have to worry about me.”

   Your look was so earnest, it made what he wanted to say that much easier. 

   “With all do respect sir, I think I will anyway.” 

   Your eyes brightened and he became suddenly aware of how close he was to you. 

   “Well, I can’t argue with that,” you said, the more playful smile returning. “Thank you, Captain.” 

   You kept your hand on his arm and he let you.  The urge to pull you even closer tugged at his insides.  You were so close already it wouldn’t take much to find out if your lips were as soft as they looked. 

   Rex stopped, realizing his own thoughts and flickered his eyes back to yours.

You didn’t meet gaze. Instead your attention appeared fully on his mouth.

   The hiss of the elevator doors broke the spell, opening to the barracks. 

   You dropped your hand quickly.  A flash of something danced across your features as you took a small step back.

   “I’ll see you in the hanger, Captain.”

   He couldn’t trust his voice and nodded before stepping out the doors, only managing to let out a quiet, “Commander” as he did so.

   He took a glance over his shoulder just in time to see the doors fully close and you descend further down into the ship. 

   He let out a long breath. 

   He was just imagining things.  You weren’t looking at him that way.  It was just him projecting his...thoughts about you.  That was all. 

   He ran a hand over his face.  He needed to get a hold of himself.  The sooner this mission got started the better.  At least then he could have something else to focus on.  Honor and duty were what he knew, not this. 

   This is going to be a long mission. 

#captain rex #star wars #the clone wars #captain rex x reader #star wars imagine #the clone wars imagine

[ibijau]

You’re a marked man, brother, part 3 / also on AO3

Lan Xichen and his companions make their way through the Magpie King's domain, guided by their new ghost friend

warning for some mild violence and animal death (insects)

As they first advanced into the realm of the Magpie King, everyone was quiet, fearing an attack. Sangcan in particular was highly nervous, jumping and trembling at every noise he heard. A few times he made them get off the apparently empty road and walk into the surrounding woods for a little while before returning to the path. When asked, he would just explain in a pitiful voice that there were traps there.

At first, Sangcan didn't really speak much if he could help it, awed and terrified by these powerful people. He just walked near Lan Xichen, having apparently decided he was the one in charge. Or perhaps it was that since Lan Xichen had promised to try to free him, he thought it best to stay close. 

Remembering that promise as well, Lan Xichen tried to make polite conversation. Asking about Sangcan's days as a living person seemed a little indelicate, especially since his life had been dark enough he'd turned to the Magpie King to hide some parts of it. So instead, Lan Xichen asked about Sangcan's current existence, and tried to get more details about his master's domain. 

On that subject, Sangcan admitted his knowledge was a little spotty. 

"I've not worked in the palace, see?" he explained. "Nobody does, really, it's just him. The rest of us, we patrol around or take care of the little ones." Sangcan shivered. "I like mine well enough, but there's some I wouldn't want to be in charge of, eh?"

"Little ones?" Lan Xichen asked. 

Sangcan nodded and glanced around before discreetly pointing first at the canopy above them, then at the ground under them. 

"They're everywhere," he explained, his voice dropping to a whisper. "That's how he makes his business, right? My little ones aren't so bad, but some others are really… wait, stop !"

Lan Xichen immediately obeyed and stopped walking, but it was too late. 

While they were chatting, Wei Wuxian had come near them, curious to learn more about his fellow Devastation and perhaps wanting to steal some ideas for his own domain. When Sangcan suddenly ordered them to stop, Wei Wuxian was caught by surprise and accidentally stumbled forward, taking two more steps. Sangcan cried out, before pressing both hands against his mouth to silence himself.

At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Wei Wuxian turned to look at Sangcan, tilting his head curiously. Just as he was about to ask what the matter was, he suddenly cried in pain and brutally slapped his own arm. He rose his hand to the level of his face to inspect it, and grimaced. Again he seemed about to ask Sangcan about that, but before he could speak he had to slap away something else, on his shoulder this time, then his hip, his arm again, while something dark started covering his body. The darkness only receded when Lan Wangji threw a few talismans at his husband, causing a mass of little black dots to fall to the ground.

“Mosquitoes?” Wei Wuxian asked, stomping on them.

“Some are escaping, don’t let them!” Sangcan cried. “They’ll report to the king!”

Indeed, now that they knew what to look for, there was a whole swarm of mosquitoes on the path. A huge number of them lunged at Sangcan, as if guessing that he was a traitor and might lead these intruders to the Magpie King if he wasn’t stopped. Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji threw more talismans at them, though ultimately it was Wei Wuxian who took them down. After the initial surprise, he bit his thumb to draw blood and did something which made all the bugs drop to the floor, even those that were trying to leave and against which Jin Guangyao was using his fan.

They all stared at Wei Wuxian, shocked by the ease with which he’d done this. Sangcan was perhaps the most impressed of them all, having been so afraid he’d be denounced to his master.

“So I guess that’s how the Magpie King learns so many secrets?” Wei Wuxian guessed, stomping again on the piles of dead bugs. “I’d assumed he used birds, with his nickname and all.”

“It started with magpies,” Sangcan confirmed. “And that’s what my little ones are. But bugs get into all sorts of places, right? So the King branched out into all sorts of vermines as his power grew.”

“But he kept the old title anyway,” Wei Wuxian mocked. “I guess the Mosquito King doesn’t sound as good, and he’s a little vain, isn’t he?” Before Sangcan could reply, Wei Wuxian turned to Lan Wangji, his expression quickly going from haughty to pitiful as he showed his bloody thumb to his husband. “Lan Zhan, I’m hurt! Look how hurt I am! And they bit me too!”

Much to his brother’s embarrassment, Lan Wangji let out a small noise of concern and started fussing over Wei Wuxian as earnestly as if he weren’t a very powerful and likely dangerous ghost king capable of surviving nearly anything. Unwilling to look any longer, Lan Xichen went to check on his own husband, in a more calm and composed manner.

“I think I’m getting the hang of those,” Jin Guangyao said, inspecting the fan in his hand. “But I wish I’d gotten one with fire power, it might have been more useful than wind after all.” He glanced toward Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, still lost in the world, and grimaced. “That Yiling Patriarch is something, isn’t he? If he decides to side with the Magpie King…”

“He won’t,” Lan Xichen said firmly. “Not unless he decides Nie Mingjue has done some evil to deserve the Magpie King’s ire, and of course he hasn’t, so there’s nothing to fear.”

Jin Guangyao looked rather unconvinced. In truth, Lan Xichen wasn’t too sure either what Wei Wuxian would do, but it was a risk he had to take. Nie Mingjue had done no wrong, and Wei Wuxian seemed like a man of his word, if nothing else.

Having made sure his husband was fine, Lan Xichen decided to check on the last member of their party. Poor Sangcan was a rather weak ghost by the look of things, and those mosquitoes had attacked him quite viciously. His already plain face was now covered in huge bite marks, and he seemed quite miserable as he watched Lan Wangji rub a soothing balm on Wei Wuxian’s skin.

“I have some as well,” Lan Xichen offered, taking a pot out of his sleeve. “Please help yourself. Are you much hurt?”

Sangcan gratefully took the balm, and started applying it on himself until his whole face was shiny with it.

“I’m quite fine, my lord. I don’t deal much with the bugs usually, but sometimes they escape their handlers and bother everyone, so I’ve been bitten before. The mosquitoes are fine anyway. It’s the flies you’ve got to look for, there’s some very vicious ones. The ones here are carnivores, you know!”

“We won’t let anything happen to you,” Lan Xichen promised. “Between the four of us, I think we can handle some flies.”

Sangcan shrugged, and handed him back his pot of balm. With this taken care of they resumed walking, though Sangcan warned them they would soon have to completely leave the road, since it didn’t actually lead anywhere. Past a certain point it just went in circle, and anyone who didn’t know about it would be trapped on that portion until they died. Sangcan, again, walked next to Lan Xichen, but was far quieter than before. Lan Xichen thought it was because he didn’t want to miss the sign that they ought to leave the road and remained quiet as well, but suddenly Sangcan grabbed his sleeve between two fingers and pulled lightly to get his attention, a very serious look on his face.

“My lord, if that’s not too bold… you’re very nice and kind of not bad looking,” Sangcan said, giving Lan Xichen an appraising look. “And I’ve been thinking. Well, my mother always used to say I was the prettiest man she’d ever seen. And you know, looking at those two…” he gestured at Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, walking too close and chatting in hushed voices. “I’m thinking if I get a powerful lover, then it doesn’t matter if I can break that contract or not, because I’ll have someone to protect me, right?”

“I’m already married,” Lan Xichen replied.

“I won’t tell your husband if you don’t either!” Sangcan insisted with a wink.

“His husband is right here,” Jin Guangyao remarked, looking very calm in that way which Lan Xichen knew to mean he was quite aggravated.

Sangcan startled at the news, his eyes jumping between the two of them.

“You two sure don’t look married,” he commented. “But in that case, I guess I don’t mind having you both? Or if you’ve been married a while and think of going your separate ways…”

He winked again, and Lan Xichen had to suppress a laugh. It was hardly the first time someone tried to hit on either of them, though this was definitely the worst attempt he’d ever witnessed… and Sangcan’s face, still bumpy with bite marks and shiny from the balm, really didn’t help.

“We’re not ever going to separate,” he announced, “and neither are we interested in spicing things up, before you try that. A-Yao and I are fated.”

To prove it, he cast a small spell which revealed the thin, bright red thread running from his hand to Jin Guangyao's. It was a useful trick to deal with unwanted flirting, one he’d learned shortly after ascending. At the time, he had hoped the thread might lead him to A-Sang’s spirit. Instead, he’d discovered that the person fated to share his life was actually Jin Guangyao, who Nie Mingjue had just brought to the Middle Court. 

To his mild shame, he’d originally been disappointed by that discovery, though of course he’d gotten over that with a little time, and now would not have changed what he had for anything in the world. Jin Guangyao and him weren't as obnoxious or open about their feelings as Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, but they had a good, steady companionship.

“Oh, that’s a fun trick!” Wei Wuxian exclaimed, jumping closer to look at the thread. “Can you check other people too?”

Lan Xichen hesitated, but nodded and cast the spell on Wei Wuxian. To his consternation, this made it appear that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were, in fact, linked by a thread of their own. If Lan Xichen had had any hopes that his brother might return to his senses, this killed them. Nothing could come between a pair of soulmates.

Wei Wuxian grinned and threw himself at Lan Wangji’s neck who smiled at him, the pair of them looking happy beyond words. Lan Xichen sighed. He’d have to reconcile himself with this, especially if it really made Lan Wangji so happy.

“Can you do me too?” Sangcan asked in a high voice as he presented his hand to Lan Xichen. “I've got to know… "

There was something almost desperate to his expression, so Lan Xichen promptly complied. They all gasped at the result.

“Because he’s dead?” Lan Wangji asked, turning a little pale at the sight.

“But I’m dead too and it’s not like this,” Wei Wuxian remarked, glancing at the thread that linked them. 

Lan Xichen said nothing, fascinated and horrified at once by the torn off thread hanging from Sangcan’s hand, its extremity frayed and ugly. In the centuries during which he’d used that little spell, Lan Xichen had never once seen a thread like that one. Either there was a link, or there wasn’t.

Sangcan looked pitifully at the thread, lifting his hand to better look at the torn end, but out of all of them he was the least surprised one.

“Is this something the Magpie King did to you?” Lan Xichen asked. “Or is this the secret you sold him? Did you do something to your soulmate?”

Sangcan opened his mouth, looking utterly scandalised at the suggestion, but no sound came out. He tried again a few times, only to end up looking like a miserable fish. 

"Fine, it wasn't you," Wei Wuxian guessed, and immediately Sangcan calmed down. "But something happened. Someone did this to you, and your curse is linked to that."

This time, Sangcan did not even try to speak. He just looked at Wei Wuxian, his eyes shining as if he might start crying. Feeling sorry for him, Lan Xichen lifted the spell on all of them so at least Sangcan wouldn't have to see this proof of what he had lost. He wanted to offer some words of comfort to the ghost, while Wei Wuxian looked ready to interrogate him. 

Neither of them had the chance to say anything.

Just as Wei Wuxian opened his mouth to ask more questions, a loud humming sound started coming from above them, and Sangcan cried out in fear before hiding behind Lan Xichen. With the mosquitoes still in mind, they all braced themselves for another attack. As the noise grew closer though, Lan Xichen wondered what sort of insect might make a buzzing sound so loud he could nearly feel the vibrations reverberating inside his body.

“Zewu-Jun, behind you!” Wei Wuxian cried out.

Lan Xichen twirled around, Shuoyue in hand, and sliced in half a creature flying toward him at great speed. Before he could get a good look at it, another had launched itself at Sangcan, landing heavily on his shoulder and biting down on his neck. Without losing a moment, Lan Xichen dispatched that creature as well. He shivered in disgust when he realised the things attacking them with time were huge flies, nearly as large as cats.

That certainly explained why Sangcan had seemed so terrified when he’d explained the flies in Xinglu Ridge were carnivores.

Still, no matter the size, no matter the diet, those fifty or so flies that attacked them just couldn’t measure up to two martial gods and a ghost king. In fact, they were weak enough that even Jin Guangyao managed to take down a few of them without trouble. Aside from Sangcan, no one at all was hurt.

But of course it was concerning that the weakest member of their group was the one who suffered the most once again. Lan Xichen felt again that Sangcan had to have been targeted, and he decided it would not happen again. He had promised the ghost that he would be protected, and he intended to keep his word.

For now though, Sangcan’s wound had to be looked at. Lan Xichen was the closest one to him, but the pot of balm he’d brought had been almost entirely depleted earlier, so Lan Wangji came to offer his own.

“It hurts so bad!” Sangcan wailed while Lan Xichen applied some balm on the ugly bite. “Ow! My lord, please be more gentle! Ah, it hurts so bad, it’s awful! Ow, Ow!”

Lan Xichen, already as gentle as he could be, half smiled at those complaints and continued working, trying to make his movements lighter still. Lan Wangji looked at the proceedings, with a bored expression. It surprised Lan Xichen at first that his brother wasn’t with that husband of his, but a glance to the side informed him that Wei Wuxian was currently studying the giant flies' insides, something that would definitely upset Lan Wangji’s sensibilities.

“There is a mark,” Lan Wangji suddenly said, coming closer.

Lan Xichen didn’t understand at first, until his brother pointed at Sangcan’s throat. It was very faint, but there was a thin, clean white line going all around the ghost’s neck. Without thinking Lan Xichen brushed his thumb against that mark. Sangcan shivered and let out a low moan, one that sounded far more sincere than all of his earlier whining.

“You were beheaded?” Lan Wangji asked.

Sangcan, so vocal a moment ago, fell silent and looked down at his feet. In this case, the absence of an answer was an answer of its own. Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji exchanged a glance.

“Were you executed?” Lan Xichen asked.

Although he didn’t manage to speak, Sangcan was able to shake his head.

“Murdered then?” Lan Xichen insisted.

Sangcan didn’t react in any way, and Lan Xichen again looked at his brother. The mark was very clean, meaning there had been only one blow, from a very sharp weapon. Being both martial gods, they knew beheading were rarely so clean, especially among mortals. It took a very strong blade to cut through bone and muscles that way. 

Formal executions were rarely performed in a single blow, unless the executioner was particularly skilled. In the course of war, beheading just wasn’t a very efficient move when there were quicker ways to kill a person, so Lan Xichen hadn’t even bothered asking about that possibility.

The last possibility then was murder, and even more than the other two, it would justify a soul turning into a ghost. Sangcan was, by the look of it, a bit of a fool and a coward, but even he might have been enraged after being murdered.

Wei Wuxian, still poking at the corpse of a giant fly nearby, spoke up. 

"Maybe he sold the secret of his murder so he could be avenged," he suggested. "Is that what you wanted? Revenge?" 

Sangcan appeared conflicted. He didn't say anything, which hinted Wei Wuxian wasn't wrong, but he also pinched his lips and crossed his arms, as if the conclusion that had been reached didn't please him. 

"Let's drop this matter," Sangcan grumbled at last, finding his voice again. "My lords, I think it's time to leave the road. It's more dangerous from this point on. If you get lost… well, it's bad. Some people say the Magpie King turned this place in a maze so twisted even he could get trapped!" 

"Is that so?" Wei Wuxian sneered, abandoning his study of the giant fly. "Sounds like he's not so smart as people say then." 

"If he were, would he need to hire others to take care of his business?" Sangcan retorted. "I'm just saying, some people have a great reputation, but if you dig a little then you find it's all shit under the surface. I mean, it's like that among ghosts for sure. And among gods?" 

He asked that question to Jin Guangyao who appeared startled. 

"You're one of those paperwork gods, right?" Sangcan insisted. "I've seen your temples once or twice. And paperwork gods, well, they're just like the Magpie King but on the other side of things, right? So I bet you know plenty of secrets too, and you'd be the right person to know if all heavenly reputations are deserved!"

Lan Xichen looked at his husband in concern, only to find Jin Guangyao smiling his most empty smile. 

Aside from his normal duties of answering his followers' prayers, Jin Guangyao had risen to a certain fame in the heavenly court as a spymaster of sorts. He was the one in charge of keeping track of gossip, checking if there was any truth to them, and making sure the Jade Emperor knew what he needed to know. As far as jobs went it wasn't a very respectable one, and Jin Guangyao wasn't quite sure how he'd ended up in that position in the first place. In fact he'd asked a few times to be relieved of his duties, especially since Nie Mingjue disapproved of such things, but the emperor had kept him where he was. After all, his efficiency couldn't be denied. 

Still the comparison to the Magpie King had to hit a little too close to home, even if Sangcan couldn't have known that. 

"There will always be people who aren't what they seem," Jin Guangyao said at last, his voice hitting that specific tone he only used when upset. "But in the heavenly court, such things are rare. Secrets never last very long, and anyone who tries to cheat their way up will be caught and put in their place."

Wei Wuxian snickered upon hearing this, but Jin Guangyao paid him no mind. They were all getting used to him finding amusement in things that weren't funny in the least. As for Sangcan, he nodded eagerly. 

"You're right my lord, you've got to be right! Justice must prevail, and secrets must be uncovered!" 

Just like this, the sad mood that had come from discussing his manner of death was lifted, and Sangcan returned to normal. He insisted again on the need to leave the road behind, and took them into the forest where they all followed closely, heeding his warnings about getting lost. 

"He's really quite the character, that guide of ours," Jin Guangyao remarked to his husband, careful to keep his voice low. 

"I think he likes you. You might have gained another follower, A-Yao." 

"I prefer my followers smarter than that. Though enthusiasm has its merits as well, I suppose."

"He seems a decent enough person," Lan Xichen protested. "He has good taste in men, surely a point in his favour." 

Jin Guangyao wrinkled his nose. "If you must betray me, please at least do it with someone prettier."

A little ahead of them, a branch creaked, the sound resonating in the quiet of the night. Sangcan, who had stepped on it, nearly lost his balance out of surprise. He turned around and glared at the others, especially at Lan Xichen.

"My lords, please don't talk too much," Sangcan asked in a stern tone. "It is not safe here. Even if they don't attack, the King's little friends hear everything."

Lan Xichen flushed, wondering if Sangcan had heard the details of their banter. He didn't look upset, but his steps were less light than before. In fact, up until then, Sangcan hadn't made any sound while walking, and though he was still less noisy than the rest of them, that there was noise at all showed some temper on his part. Lan Xichen worried his husband and him might have accidentally antagonised their guide just when they needed him the most. 

After a while though, Sangcan appeared to regain control of himself. His steps turned light and silent once more, making it a little hard to follow him in the darkness of the forest. It hadn’t been a problem on the road, but now Lan Xichen was truly concerned about losing sight of the ghost. To avoid that, he abandoned Jin Guangyao and caught up to Sangcan, silently walking by his side. No matter how well trained he was in martial arts, Lan Xichen couldn’t make himself entirely silent the way Sangcan seemed capable of, so even without seeing anything the other three would still be able to follow them. Sangcan didn't appear to mind his proximity, but didn't particularly acknowledge him either.

They walked for many hours, until the sky above them started turning lighter with the first hints of a dawn soon to come. Once or twice, Sangcan stopped in his tracks, motioning for them to be silent, and they heard loud buzzing noises passing by. More giant insects by the sound of it. Even though they weren’t attacked again, Sangcan seemed more and more worried as time passed, as if fearing the confrontation with his master now that they were getting closer. Lan Xichen wanted to comfort him again, and to remind him that they wouldn’t let any harm come to him if they could help it, but since Sangcan had ordered silence, he obeyed. He could not take the risk of ruining their rescue of Nie Mingjue.

At last, the sun rose, colouring the forest around them. Although it must have been a beautiful place, especially bathed this way in golden light, Lan Xichen only felt growing anxiety at this proof that too much time had passed without them seeing any trace of Nie Mingjue. If he had been captured, or worse…

Just as he thought this, Lan Xichen tensed and glanced at his brother, only to find Lan Wangji also looking at him. Without a word, they both stepped closer to their husband, Lan Xichen dragging Sangcan as well behind him before unsheathing his sword. Lan Wangji did the same, waiting for something to come. 

At first it was nothing but a presence, the vague sensation of something dark and powerful coming their way. Then, somewhere above the canopy, a faint fluttering of wings. Wei Wuxian appeared more intrigued than anything, but Jin Gyangyao nervously took out his fan and prepared to defend himself if need be.

The flapping sound came closer. Catching a glimpse of dark wings, Jin Guangyao moved to attack and send a powerful gust of wind against whatever was above them. Before he could though, Sangcan cried out loudly, giving the things a warning, and grabbed both of Jin Guangyao’s wrist with great strength. Jin Guangyao, startled, made a wrong movement and his fan was pushed against the edge of Lan Xichen’s sword, splitting it in two.

“What have you done?” Jin Guangyao hissed. “That was a present from da-ge, he’ll be furious!”

“Don’t you dare hurt them!” Sangcan snarled in response, rushing forward to meet a pair of birds, offering them his arms to land on.

“Aren’t they going to report to the Magpie King?” Jin Guangyao asked. Sangcan didn’t grace him with an answer. All his attention was on that pair of magpies who had hopped on his shoulders to play with his hair, while he scratched their necks.

“Hello, hello, I missed you too,” Sangcan cooed to the birds, his voice soft and warm. “Are you fine? Do you have enough to eat? Good, I’m glad. Do you bring news?”

The pair of birds started cackling excitedly at him, appearing to speak over one another. A few times they let out more strident sounds, while Sangcan nodded seriously to all of it.

“Good boys, good boys, let me see if I have something for you,” the ghost said when they were done, digging into his sleeve until he found a small pouch. From there he took a handful of various bugs, some of which seemed alive. The pair of birds eagerly ate from his hand, while Sangcan smiled tenderly at them.

Lan Xichen stared.

Something about this felt familiar. It was something he hadn’t thought of in many years, because he’d been too busy, because he hadn’t wanted to think about it, but his friend A-Sang used to love birds. He’d feed wild ones until they became used to him, and had an entire aviary even though his family didn’t approve. He often handfed them, no matter the diet, just because he wanted to take care of his little friends.

He always looked so happy with them, enough so that Lan Xichen would joke about being jealous. He could nearly remember A-Sang’s delighted face, could almost recall his smile that shone like the sun, the same way Sangcan’s did as he fed those magpies, and for a second Lan Xichen wondered…

But it was impossible. A-Sang had been young when he’d died, not quite twenty, and he’d been a very handsome man, even if Lan Xichen could hardly remember his exact features after so long. There was no way that Sangcan, plain and middle aged, could be the same person. A more powerful ghost might have managed to change shape, but Sangcan was a very weak one, barely strong enough to have a physical shape at all.

The only reason Lan Xichen could find any resemblance between the two was because Sangcan had been on his mind since his visit to the Burial Mounds. It annoyed him mildly, especially since Jin Guangyao was right there.

Wanting to distract himself from unnecessary nostalgia, Lan Xichen walked closer to Sangcan and his birds.

“Those are beautiful,” he said. “Are you their handler then?”

Sangcan jumped slightly at being approached, to which the birds complained. He threw Lan Xichen a suspicious side look before nodding slowly.

“They're my little ones,” he confirmed. “I haven’t seen them since being sent to guard the entrance, and they were missing me. So they escaped, and brought me news as a gift. That martial god, the one who broke in yesterday, your rude friend… He’s made it to the Unclean Realm. That’s the Magpie King’s palace,” Sangcan added as an explanation.

“Your boss sucks at names,” Wei Wuxian said, joining them. “Who’d want to live in a place like that?”

Sangcan shrugged slightly, careful not to jolt his little feathery friends around.

“I don’t know. I really don’t know! I’m not close to him, am I? I’ve heard some people say it’s just the old name of a place where he used to live, but I don’t know. Even we don’t know much about him, and we work for him. Maybe he just thought it was funny. Hey, do you know why it’s called that?” Sangcan asked one of the birds, which cackled in answer. Whatever it said, Sangcan didn't find it worth translating.

Lan Xichen had to close his eyes for a second. He felt a little faint because that name was…

Just as A-Sang had loved birds, he’d had a taste for history as well. He liked to read about it, curious as a cat on topics he enjoyed, and loved sharing what he learned with those few people close to him. And so Lan Xichen could just remember A-Sang explaining one day that once upon a time, the place he lived in used to be called the Unclean Realm, though the name had fallen in disuse over time. It had so pleased him to have discovered this useless little bit of trivia, and so Lan Xichen too had been happy, as he so often was in his company.

But A-Sang couldn’t be the Magpie King. The idea was even more ridiculous than being Sangcan. A-Sang had been sweet and innocent, a little mischievous certainly but never cruel the way the Magpie King could be, and certainly not resentful enough to turn into a ghost king. It would have taken more than a murder, however randomly violent, to turn such a lovely young man into a creature like the Magpie King, so Lan Xichen refused to even consider it. He just had A-Sang on his mind too much, and it was getting ridiculous.

Wanting to distract himself, yet also still plagued by memories of a boy long dead, Lan Xichen thoughtlessly tried to pet the birds, remembering how A-Sang always encouraged him to do so with his own pets.

The tip of Lan Xichen's fingers barely brushed against those feathers, yet it was enough to make him flinch away. The dark presence Lan Xichen had felt earlier had truly come from those birds, and it turned out they were so steeped in resentful energy it could harm even a god. From where they stood Lan Wangji and Jin Guangyao couldn't see it happen, but Wei Wuxian noticed, as did Sangcan who chuckled uncomfortably while scratching under the bird's chin. 

"Did that lord scare you, my friend?" he asked the bird, getting a grumpy sounding high sound in return. Sangcan turned to Lan Xichen with an apologetic smile. "My lord, please don't be mad at them! But of course, those aren't ordinary birds. They are the Magpie King's oldest allies, you know. Even before he became a ghost king, these two were with him, so you'll understand they are picky with who can touch them."

As if agreeing, the two magpies cackled in unison and threw Lan Xichen a disdainful glare. 

"Well, it's time for you to leave anyway," Sangcan told the birds. "We don't want your absence to be noticed, eh? I'll see you later maybe, if this doesn’t kill me. Go on! Shoo!" he ordered the unimpressed birds. "Ah, I'm always saying you're such good boys, and now you're making me lie!"

Since he sounded so miserable, the magpies pecked a last time at his hair and took flight. They all watched them go, all feeling different emotions about that encounter.

“Should we be letting them go this easily?” Jin Guangyao asked. “Aren’t you worried they might reveal our presence to their king?”

“Oh, no, they like me too much to betray me,” Sangcan proudly replied. “I always sneak them treats, so they’re good boys to me.”

“Boys… so they’re not a bonded pair?” Jin Guangyao asked, still staring in the direction where the birds had disappeared.

“Birds can have the same tastes as humans, my lord,” Sangcan informed him. “There’s some males that won’t ever touch a female. Aren’t all of you lords like that as well, all married to one anothers and the like? But anyway… you’re right actually, they’re not a bonded pair. They’re brothers, as it happens, which is even neater than just mates, isn’t it?”

Jin Guangyao looked unimpressed by that reveal, while the Lan brothers both nodded in agreement. As for Wei Wuxian, some complicated emotions flashed on his face, as if the topic of siblings were an unpleasant one for him.

“Can’t imagine being stuck with a relative of mine for centuries and having to work with him,” Wei Wuxian muttered, before grinning at his husband. “No offence, Lan Zhan. At least, your brother seems easy to get along with. More than I could have said of…” He stopped with a sigh, and turned again to Sangcan. “And do you have relatives? Hm? A brother of your own, perhaps?”

Sangcan didn’t reply, his lips pinched tight. He stared at Wei Wuxian with surprising intensity, as if trying to figure out something about the ghost king. Whether he found what he was looking for or not, Sangcan suddenly started walking again.

“Let’s go, my lords,” he ordered. “Your friend might need help if he’s reached the Unclean Realm. It’s not a good place, not in the least, so let’s not lose any more time, hm? Not that it’s very far by now...”

Because his steps were making noise again, Lan Xichen guessed that either the question about his family or the encounter with those magpies had gotten Sangcan upset again. At some other time he might have asked, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that ultimately, it was nothing to be concerned about. He couldn’t have explained it. Lan Xichen just knew that Sangcan had no malicious intentions, that he just wanted to do what he’d promised, get his curse lifted, and then just go on with his non-life in peace. It made little sense, but Lan Xichen had been alive long enough that he felt he’d gotten at least somewhat good at guessing if people were dangerous or not.

Sangcan was no threat to himself, just as Wei Wuxian, however odd and possibly dangerous to others, just didn’t strike him as a person who would ever purposefully try to harm Lan Wangji.

So Lan Xichen left Sangcan to his emotions, and tried to calm his own unquiet heart. If Nie Mingjue had already arrived to that Unclean Realm, if he had already confronted the Magpie King… there was a very real chance that things would go badly. In fact, it was almost certain at that point that they wouldn’t be able to avoid a fight.

Lan Xichen couldn’t refrain a sigh. It was exactly what he didn’t want to see happen. Still, he hoped that the Magpie King, like Wei Wuxian, wasn’t all that his reputation made him to be, that there would be a way to negotiate with him.

While Lan Xichen mused on every option that might be available to them, the Unclean Realm appeared before them quite suddenly. 

One moment they were walking in the dense forest covering Xinglu Ridge, the next they were in a vast clearing in the middle of which stood an ancient looking home, which had the air of an antique temple reconverted into a habitation. Lan Xichen gasped as he recognised it, while Jin Guangyao let out a weak cry of fear and grabbed his husband’s hand so tight it Lan Xichen thought he might break a bone.

“Is something wrong?” Wei Wuxian asked.

Lan Xichen silently nodded, staring at that building he’d never thought he’d see again. Next to him, Jin Guangyao was trying to pull him away from the Unclean Realm, growing more obviously worried with each passing moment. Not without reason, of course. Last time Jin Guangyao had been in there, he’d become the sole survivor of a terrible slaughter, an event so traumatic he refused to talk about it to that day. Because this place was…

“This is Nie Mingjue’s house when he was mortal,” Lan Xichen whispered. “And it was destroyed centuries ago.”

#xisang #wangxian #nie huaisang #lan xichen #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #jau writes #marked man au