#my mom thinks they have enough people already & i shouldn’t have waited that long but idk

[spicycinnabun]

pt. 1 2 3 5 6 7 💐

When Steve first started working at the flower shop, he had only been helping customers and taking their orders over the phone. Their small family business had grown quicker than anticipated, and Steve’s parents had needed the extra set of hands.

The shop had been a gift to his mother. It had been something she’d always wanted, but his dad had never agreed to, until finally, he had fucked up badly enough in their relationship and had funded it out of guilt.

It shouldn’t have been a surprise that it turned out to be as successful as it was. Steve’s mom, Linda, was passionate and talented. She loved flowers and celebrations of any kind and maintained a big, beautiful garden at home.

It also helped that his father and mother were socialites. They had a lot of friends to support the business, spread the word, and make it b(l)oom. They had a great location in the mall with little competition around.

For good or bad, weddings, anniversaries, sickness and death, flowers were always there.

Steve had mostly helped after school, but it became his full-time gig once he’d graduated and hadn’t gotten into college. Due to the sheer volume of orders, his mother could no longer make the arrangements alone, so she’d taught Steve everything she knew.

From watching her over the years, Steve knew how to care for the flowers. He could prep them and nurture them. The creativity that came naturally to his mother took Steve a bit of time, but he eventually realized what looked good. Usually, it was the simpler arrangements. He was good at that.

Linda was very kind in general, always giving him positive feedback and encouragement instead of criticism. Steve was lucky to have her, especially since his father was so hard on him. She loved and cared for him unconditionally. While his father constantly tried to make him feel inferior, her belief in him built him up to be the strong, confident man he now was.

When his mom had to step back even more from the business to travel abroad with his dad, Steve suggested they hire Robin. Scoops hadn't been fun for her, probably ever, and Steve had missed her since graduating.

At first, Steve didn’t think he’d like working at the shop, but like a flower, it had grown on him. He liked helping people, talking to them, and most surprisingly, he liked the flowers and what he could do with them. While he liked roses—after he removed their thorns, of course—his true favorite was sunflowers.

Working there suited him. It was simple. It let him use his hands and mind in ways he hadn’t tapped into while in school or doing sports. He enjoyed the additive and subtractive aspects of flower arranging. His favorite part was the pruning. It was almost cathartic. He loved pulling and clipping off all the unnecessary parts and making them look perfect.

It took Steve a minute to recognize the man walking around the shop.

Last month, when he was working on the big window display, Steve had seen him for the first time. Guitar case, long rocker hair, enough rings and piercings to set off a metal detector fifty miles away… but Steve remembered it most because the guy had tried to say something to him through the glass. He had left before Steve had gotten the chance to go out and ask him what he’d said.

The second time, Robin had waited on the mystery man. Steve had just caught him walking out with a dozen Black-eyed Susans while he stood there, disgruntled, in his soil-stained apron.

This time—the third time—it was late, and Robin had already clocked out for the night. Steve was sick. He was in the middle of a cold and just wanted to go home and crawl into bed. But even though he wasn’t feeling good, he knew he still had to do his job. There were flowers to be sold.

So, mustering up a charming smile, Steve approached him. "Can I help you find anything today?"

🌷🪻🌻🌹

this part written by my stevie, @batty4steddie (psst, go check out her gorgeous st gifs too) 💕

#fic #wybmb #batty4steddie #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #steve x eddie #stranger things #steddie fic #steddie au #florist au #florist!steve harrington

[mrsmess]

falafel

the way you were just there at that hole in the wall when you shouldn’t even have been there at all and neither should I, but there I was just because my kid got out early and it was a toss between going home or staying in town we rarely get out, we should hang around let’s go get a falafel it’s the only city in the country where you can get a decent one for reasonable money it’s easily done so we gotta get a falafel and sit outside in the setting sun it’s not a big city on a international scale and I’m bad at math it's the one class I failed but there are three hundred thousand people living here and that’s a lot or at least enough so the chance of running into someone you know is not that high or even there but you were there and so was I I was stunned even when you said my name before you told me chance is why you came

a motorcycle thundered by you said I hate that and I said why are you sitting by a heavily trafficked street in a city where you don’t even stay and told my kid of the place where you live it’s real pretty but real far away I went to visit you there when I was nineteen and in a relationship with a boy who was mean and who tagged along and sulked the whole time but your wife was really kind to me and you don’t appreciate that when you’re young and blind you spoke to my kid in that way of yours you’re really good with them which is of course obvious that you’d be when you work as much as you do with them we ate our falafel, spilled food everywhere and loud, obnoxious music filled up the air you told my kid about your girls who where in a big contest the other year my kid said I don’t remember them I always root for the old, bald men I smiled and told you you should enter the contest then but you already did back when I was a kid and you sang that cheesy song with your awful ex wife you were on television but out of my life

next thing I know we’re in your car, you say you have to drive me home and I let you because that’s what we are to each other even if it’s been years since I met you you say you’ve thought about me and I say I think about you all the time too but leave out all my mixed feelings because we’re in a car and driving fast and I already know the moment won’t last we won’t have time enough to discuss the important stuff when are we supposed to? you ask about mom and I say she’s good even if she’s waiting for surgery for some reason at sixty miles per hour I commit perjury I remember when you left and how she cried even if she said she didn’t love you right I talk about my dad, and you say who is your dad again? it’s a joke because my dad is no more a father to me than other men my grandpa for example tried to fill his shoes and you at one point though that was a game you could only lose but you don’t mention yourself in this equation even if you were part of the situation and maybe neither of you were to blame but in this one crucial way you’re all the same Grandpa was too old, you were too young and my daddy was simply too far gone all of you went away for too long

my kid talks in the backseat and I try to divide my attention and give you direction at one point you almost miss an exit and say something sarcastic about my instruction in an infuriatingly ironic tone of voice when neither then nor now gave me a choice I did not ask to be put in this seat and for a beat I’m convinced that you have some feelings to work through regarding me and my mom, some residue and also that I would be willing to do that with you if you would only ask me to but you won’t and I don’t expect you to come in when we’re parked and I invite you to come through as expected you say no and that it’s time to go and maybe you don’t care or you do but don’t think it’s fair to share because to you I’m still four and either way you stack the years you’ll always have seventeen more when we met we were really just two kids at different ages now we’re adults at different grieving stages

I get out of the car, say thanks for the ride and give my love to your spouse and I take my kid’s hand and head for our house I want to say I love you and hate you and why did you abandon me? instead I swallow the sting and cling to common sense laugh about the crazy coincidence like that and destiny isn’t the same thing

#a poem #poetry #stuff I’ll never tell my family and friends #if my life wasn’t rhyming it would simply be true and that is unacceptable

[oceansprompts]

marvel's midnight suns | misc quotes 4

Thank you for not making a bigger deal about my arrival…

I don’t think I can properly express my relief…

In truth, I’ve been in survival mode…

I do not believe in many of the common dark magics…

A risk is not a risk if it does not hold the potential for regret.

Well, for example, some species of bats can fly at speeds of up to 100 miles…

I’m sorry. I’m a bit on edge because I haven’t eaten in awhile.

No. And, for the record, I don’t sleep in a coffin just because I’m a vampire.

I know what it’s like to feel suffocated by a disease….

 I was fifteen when I found out my mother was Capital “E” Evil.

I want to throw her a surprise party, but I can’t do it alone.

Pisses me off so much, I could scream.

Don’t bother. Kinda just want to be left alone.

And since chaos magic is a helluva lot more powerful…

But, poof, here this was… waiting for me.

You know, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was the first case of corruption in recorded history.

I’ve already lost enough people I care about.

You, uh, reunited our twisted little family…

You ever miss people from your past?

So, it’s time for them to move over and let the kids take the reins.

Maybe a somewhat dysfunctional family with a ton of issues to work through…

I feel called out. Figured since your mom is the Mother of Demons and all…

They make me feel like a child sometimes, but you don’t, so, like, thanks.

It’s something I make all my friends watch with me.

Anyway we’ll get some more quality one-on-one time. It’s a little retro…

Like why have a kid if you’re going to get rid of them…

Okay, I think that you think that I’m one of those good people, right…

How can you be sure that I’m not, you know, evil?

I’ll spare you the sappy stuff, but you’ve climbed to the top…

She’ll never forget how her favorite cartoon characters showed up as exotic dancers. Nor will she ever forgive me.

Of all the changes you’ve had to deal with, at least the music is better.

Meh. That requires effort.

That you were a godlike hero walking the earth, single-handedly holding back the forces of evil.

But what if I hurt you?

Sorry, I… I don’t feel like myself.

Is it weird that I think she’s going to be waiting for me in my dreams…

Forgot how relaxing it is to just zone out and watch a good movie after a long day of battle.

I mean, it was just a dream, right?

It’s all destroyed now, along with these poor peoples’ lives.

Of course I’d like to know more, but I trust you’re doing the best you can.

Instead I’m just… Numb. I’m starting to feel guilty that I don’t feel guilty.

But I still wonder if I truly belong, you know?

It’s not all magic wands and midnight margaritas.

I dunno. There’s so much to be happy about right now. You pick.

I wonder what they would say if they saw me now, saw who I grew up to be.

Wasn’t exactly the popular kid, if you know what I mean.

I’m not so sure you want to know… or I want to tell you.

So, I’m setting it in ink, because I never want to forget how you took a chance on me.

I feel like I can trust myself again…

With all these people, it’s not crowded, exactly. It certainly feels more alive.

For a moment, nothing. Then she burst out laughing and opened the door. We have been close ever since.

A collection of DVDs. I know it’s irrational to want them back, but I can’t stop thinking about them.

It shouldn’t be this easy. I always pictured a gulf between us.

Well, I never thought I could replace you. I wanted you to know.

I figured if I was going to be teaming up with this group, I ought to up my game. Sound more…I dunno…scary.

Sorry, the mask’s gotta stay on. I hope that’s not gonna make things weird between us.

I mean, I can’t shoot laser beams, light my skull on fire or glow like the sun…

Maybe I’ll use the Forge to bake a loaf of sourdough…

No, I mean helping him turn his life around. The way real heroes are supposed to.

Alien-possessed architecture gives me the extra creeps.

#roleplay memes #rp sentence meme #sentence meme #sentence starters #roleplay

[kriffin-ink]

I never see anyone talk about Emiko Queen on here, so this is my attempt to fix that.

One of my favorite issues to analyze when it comes to Emiko is Green Arrow (2016) #7, which is an Emiko focused issue. I like it not only for the awesome Emiko moments that we get, but also how it furthers her character and relationships within the story.

Allow me to explain~

So the issue itself flip flops between two points in time, in the past when she sells Ollie out to Clock King under duress, and in the present where she’s working to free her mother from working for the Yakuza.

From this simple description, we can see her growth under Oliver’s guidance. She goes from only caring about her own survival to actively putting herself in dangerous situations in order to help the people she cares about, stated more clearly when Emiko says that the last time she was more concerned about her own life, bad things happened.

The second she betrayed Ollie she felt extremely guilty about it, but she did it to save her own life, and this is kind of where her want to be a hero and her upbringing come at odds. Growing up as an assassin, she was taught that her own survival was her primary goal.

She says she doesn’t know who she is because the ideals was taught growing up and the ideals that she wants to abide by are conflicting. She’s still very new to this whole hero thing at the time of this event (at least, I think she is? Comic timelines are weird) and she’s still struggling to figure out who exactly she is. She’s not Oliver Queen, but she’s not Simon LaCroix either.

After Oliver realizes what she’s done, she has to self reflect on who she is, and more importantly, who she wants to be.

While we don’t actually get to see this reflection, she just sorta shows up and says she has reflected, I think that this is the moment where she really commits herself to being a hero. At this point in the series, she has not been using the Red Arrow moniker, she’s been waiting for the other shoe to drop and standing with one foot out the door.

After all, Simon used and manipulated her, and her and Shado have a kind of tumultuous relationship (I’ll get into this later I promise), why should the arrowfam want her around? Especially especially with all the things she’s done in the past as an assassin against them. She’s fully aware that at any moment they could decide that they don’t want her around, so she’s not going to commit to a name if she’ll just have to end up abandoning it.

But this is the moment where she realizes that she has to put her all into this, being a hero, being a part of a family, isn’t just something that you can half do.

Clock King says in the earlier issue that he can’t read Emiko like he can other people, specifically because of this crossroads that she is at. And she admits her internal conflict to that, but when her brother is in danger, she decides that her family is worth protecting.

And she is fully ready and willing to put her life on the line to ensure their protection. And while her methods are very all-or-nothing, I do think that that is still something left over from her training as a kid.

She’s not exactly Oliver and she’s not exactly Simon, she’s her own person, and now she’s trying to figure out who exactly that is.

Also, sidenote, this is one of my favorite Emiko panels. She’s scared two grown men and she’s just standing there with her hands behind her back like “:)” do you understand why I love her so much?????

Anyways, I didn’t really touch on the other half of the issue with Shado, but this post is already long enough so I’ll make another post about it, one that will more specifically focus on her and Shado’s relationship and why it’s amazing and important and shouldn’t be dumbed down to “evil mom and assassin kid” but anyways

This is my first time making a long post like this so sorry if my thoughts are out of order, idk if I’m doing this correctly

#red arrow #emiko queen #green arrow #oliver queen #arrowfam #green arrow 7 #ramblings

[kitty35]

'Family' Drama

Satoru Gojo x GN!Reader

Type - family drama and fluff at the end

This is sort of a continuation of Met His Match You don't have to have read that to understand this one, but it explains Readers cursed technique a little bit more

Summary - Sometimes in-laws can be a real hassle. Especially when you aren't actually married and when Gojo's mom is trying to marry him to someone else.

Requests are open :)

Standing in front of the large house that the Gojo family called home now made me regret my decision. Satoru had invited me to a dinner with his family, claiming he needed a date and that there was no one he would rather take. Of course that made sense. We are dating after all. But I wasn’t the fancy type. I grew up in a small town where everyone knew everyone. There wasn’t such a thing as rich or poor and there weren’t any ‘class differences’. People were just people where I grew up.

But that really isn’t the case with Satoru’s family. They very much viewed themselves as above all others for their abilities and cursed technique. He had warned me about this, knowing how different our backgrounds are. But now standing in front of them, face to face with just how big those differences are, I began to grow nervous. 

We had gone shopping just hours ago, getting me a pretty outfit that his family would find acceptable. He also helped me get ready, making sure every aspect of me looked up to his family’s standards.

“I want you to know, this is only for my parents. I think you are perfect the way you are. Though, you do look hot dressed like this.” I can still hear him say as we walked out the door.

“Satoru!” I heard a woman call from the front door. Her voice alone sounded very proper, like she would only ever speak in old english. Looking up, I saw a woman in her sixties or seventies. She had long white hair that was ever so slightly wavy towards the ends. Her eyes were a stunning blue, not quite Satoru’s blue but pretty none the less. She wore a long off the shoulder dress that fit her perfectly as if it were made specifically for her. Honestly, it probably was. Her expression was strict and stoic. “I’m glad to see you made it here on time. You were almost late.”

“The train was delayed. I hope we didn’t keep you waiting.” Satoru placed his arm around my waist and pulled me inside. I didn’t miss the disgusted look she gave at the mention of a public train.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you mrs. Gojo.” I spoke with a smile. “I’ve heard wonderful things about you.” She only looked me up and down before leading us further into the house. Looking up towards Satoru, I silently asked if I did something wrong. He shook his head ‘no’, but it was hard to feel like I hadn’t.

“So, I have been talking to different families about you.” She spoke towards her son, completely ignoring me. “There are a few women I would like you to meet.”

“Mother. I have already told you, I’m not being married off to some random person.”

“She won’t be a random person. You’ll have met her prior to the wedding!”

“Mom.” He warned. I couldn’t help but feel even further out of place. I shouldn’t be in a place like this and I shouldn’t be here for this conversation. Though, mrs. Gojo probably did feel like it were only her and her son considering how she was ignoring me. Soon enough we were in a large dining hall. A couple people who looked very similar to Satoru sat at one end while, what looked to be, three other families sat all around the large table.

“Do forgive me, mx…” His mom trailed off, finally looking at me.

“(Y/n).” I quickly responded.

“Mx. (Y/n). I didn’t expect your company and don’t have a spot for you.” I could feel Satoru’s hand tighten a little from it’s spot on my waist. Carefully, I placed a hand on his back to calm him down while smiling towards the woman. She had already began to sit down at her spot, completely ignoring me once more. It was obvious she was trying to push me out and away from this dinner event.

“That’s okay. I can stand.” We moved to the only chair left open.

“Here.” Satoru said while pulling the chair out for me. “Please, sit. What kind of gentle man would I be if I let my significant other stand?” I couldn’t help the smile that came to my lips. I wanted to place a kiss to his cheek and whisper a small ‘thank you’ to him, but I only felt that would further anger his mother. So, I bowed my head a little and sat down only for him to quickly be at my side again.

“So, how has everything been?” The man who I assumed was his father asked.

“Good, for the most part.” Satoru responded, staring down at my plate of food as it was being served to me. He very obviously wasn’t happy with how his mother had been acting towards me.

“Why don’t you talk with some of these women? They all gathered to meet you.” Mrs. Gojo spoke, holding a hand out to gesture towards the other families. Said women all smiled and waved.

“No, I’m rather comfortable here.” 

Why was I even here? I hated this. I couldn’t stand this tension or the glares I was getting. Both from his family and the women who wanted to be betrothed to my boyfriend. I understood that Satoru probably needed me here to show his family that they couldn’t sell him away to another family. Wether it be to have powerful kids with their cursed technique or to get an even better social standing. None of it mattered to him. He was happy with me. But I wasn’t happy here. The atmosphere was suffocating and I wanted to cry.

I only made it half way through the first course before I excused myself to the bathroom. Before anyone could say anything, I was already gone. I didn’t know where I was going but anywhere was better then there. So I wondered the halls till a voice made me jump.

“I need a word with you mx. (Y/n).” I heard Gojo’s mom call out. Turning, I saw her a little bit away. She looked pissed. “I suggest you leave my son alone. He doesn’t need to be mingling with scum like you.” I have had it with her attitude and as much as her words made me want to cry, they also pissed me off.

“I don’t think I’m the scum here.” I quickly spat with a shaky voice. My whole body was shaking. If she wasn’t mad before then she certainly was now.

“Excuse me?!”

“I only have Satoru’s best interest in mind. I came here because he wanted me to. I dressed up and tried to play nice because he asked me to. But I can’t handle you! I have been trying to be nice and you have treated me like trash since I stepped foot in here!”

“That is because you are trash.”

“That’s rich coming from someone who’s trying to betroth her son to some stranger.” Furious couldn’t even begin to describe the look she currently gave me. Before I even realized what happened, she shoved me. Hard.

I fell into a table, knocking over and breaking a vase, before hitting the wall and falling over. I landed on top of the broken porcelain shards. It hurt but I had experienced much worse. I was more dazed that she had actually pushed me then anything.

“You can’t even fall gracefully! That vase was a family heirloom!” She screamed, but I couldn’t hear her. My eyes were unfocused as I tried to steady my breathing and not cry.

“What happened?! We heard a loud crash.” Mr. Gojo asked, leading everyone who once sat at the table closer to the two of us. As soon as Satoru saw me, he ran over and fell to his knees.

“Stand up Satoru. Don’t dirty yourself on the floor!” His mother scolded, but he ignored her as she continued to yell about the vase. Instead he brought his hands to cup my cheeks, bringing my attention to him. He could see the tears as I tried to breathe.

“I’m here, breathe with me.” As he spoke, he brought one of my bloody hands up to press against his shirt so I could feel every rise and fall of his chest. He didn’t care that this would ruin the expensive material. In fact, he didn’t even think about that right now. Our eyes connected as I began to sync my breathing with him, finally calming down now that I knew he was here. 

“Yeah, there you go. I’m here. You’re okay.” He mumbled. Once he was sure I was okay, he helped me to my feet. “What happened?” He asked his mother who stared at the two of us in, what could only be described as, horror.

“She was yelling at me and tried to hurt me so I pushed her away so she wouldn’t be able to. But she knocked over a family heirloom and fell on top of it.” He turned to me to see that I was enraged by her words. Of course he knew that what his mom said wasn’t true and was looking to me for the truth. Knocking his hands from me, I moved closer to her. She looked smug. She knew that even if I wanted to punch her, she could use her infinity and keep me away.

That thought was quickly shattered as I grabbed the front of her dress. How did I do that? No one could get through their infinity, especially a nobody like me. Only, my ability allowed me to do so easily and she quickly realized that as she felt her cursed energy being drained from her. A look crossed my face as I realized this fight wasn’t worth it. So I let go. She fell to the floor, knees weak at the realization that I actually could have hurt her if I wanted to.

“Just leave us alone.” Satoru was quick to fall into step next to me, wrapping his arm around my waist again as we left.

“I think he’s found the one.” His father mumbled once we were gone, much to his wife’s annoyance.

“Are you okay?” Satoru asked. After we got outside he warped us home. Once there, he brought us to our bathroom and began to pick the porcelain pieces from my hands.

“Yeah…I’m fine.”

“I’m sorry I made you go to that.”

“No, I’m sorry I made a big scene. I really didn’t mean to.”

“It’s impossible not to when dealing with my mom. But you handled it well. Her face was priceless when you grabbed her dress. No one has ever been able to do that before.” I smiled a little as he laughed at the memory.

“Talk about a bad first impression.”

“I think it was good. My dad really likes you.” It was quiet for a while. After all the pieces were out of my hands he used his reverse curse technique to heal the cuts. Once he finished, he looked up at me. “You know, I wouldn’t trade you for the world.”

“Why are you being so sappy right now?”

“Because my mom kept talking about betrothing me to someone else. But I want you to know that I would only ever be in a relationship with you. Only ever marry you.”

“Are you about to propose?” I asked, laughing and making him laugh with me.

“No, not yet. I just thought you’d like the reassurance.” 

“I did like it. And even though it’s not an issue for you to worry about, I would never let myself be betrothed to someone else. I’d only every marry you too.”

“Good.” He leaned up and pressed a warm kiss to my lips. With him by my side, I knew I’d always be able to put up with his family. He could help me get through anything.

#gojo #saturo gojo x reader #jjk gojo #gojo jujutsu kaisen #gojo saturo #gojo x reader #jjk gojo x reader #jjk imagines #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen headcanons #x reader

[azertyrobaz]

Mandomera Week 2022: Day#4 - Rescue

So among all the Mandalorian announcements today (March 1st, yaaaay), I decided it was a great idea to write the longest prompt yet. Needless to say, I might have missed some typos in my excitement... Enjoy some angst&fluff&whump.

You can read below or on ao3.

************

It was Winta who alerted him. She’d had to travel all the way to the common house to use the HoloNet hotspot and input the number he’d written down for them to use if they needed to reach him, and despite the distance separating them and the poor quality of the audio, it was difficult to miss the worry in the thirteen year old’s tone.

“Say that again,” he asked her, already calculating how long it would take him to reach Sorgan. Grogu cooed on his lap, sensing his distress, then stayed silent to hear Winta’s reply.

“I think mom is in trouble. She shouldn’t have been gone for so long. Something must have happened to her and I’m worried, Din. The elders at the village say she’s fine, but I don’t believe them. Can you please come?”

“She went to the Klatooinians to negotiate you said?” he sighed, entering Sorgan’s coordinates in the nav computer. What the hell had she been thinking? Din knew they hadn’t tried to raid the village again, but they’d made veiled threats they might repeat the experience if the farmers didn’t agree to sell them krill at a reasonable price. He thought he’d taken care of that the last time he’d visited, but clearly he hadn’t.

“Well, she’s the village’s chieftain,” Winta pointed out, the static unable to mask the pride in her voice. And yes, that was true enough, and he knew Omera took her position very seriously. She’d seemed overwhelmed at the beginning by the villagers’ willingness to see her in that role after their victory against the raiders, but she’d gradually come to accept the responsibility. Din felt that with her skills, it would have been silly not to rise to the challenge, but then who was he to pass such judgement? He’d certainly taken his time to accept his own fate as leader. He realized he’d been lost in thought when Winta’s voice interrupted him.

“But it’s been almost a week now, and she said she’d be back after a couple of days.”

“Wait-what? It’s been a week?” Din repeated dumbly, his voice rising.

“It will be a week tomorrow,” confirmed Winta. “So are you coming or not?”

“I’m coming,” Din replied immediately over the lump in his throat. “I’ll be there in a few hours, wait for us at the village.”

He switched off the comms soon after that and forced himself to think clearly, but it was proving difficult. A week for negotiations? That made no sense! What if it was something else? What if it wasn’t the Klatooinians and someone else had gotten to her? What if she was hurt? What if she’d been kidnapped? Din’s mind filled with potential scenarios, each more dramatic than the last, with outcomes gradually more and more tragic.

What if it was Imperial remnants, trying to get her to tell them where Grogu was? What if it was a Mandalorian faction, unhappy with his leadership, and making her pay the price?

What if it was all his fault?

Din groaned and urged his already fast ship faster. He shouldn’t have gone to Sorgan so often. People had started to notice. He cursed himself for being so stupid. If anything had happened to Omera, anything at all, he would never forgive himself.

“Patu!” proclaimed Grogu, somehow agreeing with him, but this was just him showing his excitement for going to Sorgan and seeing his best friend Winta. He looked up at him from his lap and Din read worry in his eyes, too. He was young, but he’d been able to pick up on the girl’s anguish during the call and he could now probably pick up on his own mood as well.

Din was scared.

“I’ll get her back, kid,” he vowed. “I’ll get her back and it will all be fine.”

The next few hours were a blur. They landed near the village at dawn, and he only took the time to ask Winta and the village elders where the Kaltooinians’ encampment was before he set off, on his own, refusing any help. Grogu had complained something fierce when he told him he had to stay behind, but when he saw how better Winta already seemed with the little boy in her arms and instructions to look after him, he didn’t come to regret his decision one bit.

He made the choice to approach with his jetpack rather than risking being spotted in the new Crest – he didn’t think the Katooinians were smart enough to pay attention to an unknown ship in the sky, but he still hadn’t managed to shift his worry that he was dealing with something else. Someone else. He had enough explosives and ammo at his disposal to wage a small war if required, and he reached for the hilt of the Darksaber before taking off to settle his nerves. At no point did he stop and think that he might need some backup.

This was on him and him only, and he’d kill anyone standing in his way if he needed to.

Omera was waiting.

***

“Din, I was handling it!” Omera groaned, dropping the blaster she had stolen as they made their escape and limping towards a tree trunk to rest up.

“They kidnapped you!” he retorted, still shaking from the effort but unable to sit down.

“They would have let me go eventually!”

“Winta was worried!”

Omera sighed because yes, alright, he had her there. But her daughter was not a baby anymore. She’d truly been making progress, and it wasn’t like they had really kidnapped her, she could have easily escaped at any point, but –

She looked up at Din who wouldn’t stop moving, his arms flexing and unflexing, his hands twitching at his sides, his legs taking him three steps ahead then three steps back. Omera had witnessed him take on the whole camp by himself, fighting each assailant like it was nothing, and probably injuring or killing most of them. She’d never seen him use the Darksaber in an attack before, and for a moment there she’d barely recognized him. It was like watching a machine fight. But then she heard him exhale deeply through his helmet and cross his arms over his chest to stop them from moving around. It was still the man she loved under there and he’d been terrified. Perhaps even more terrified than Winta.

“Come sit down,” she urged quietly. “We need to make sure we’re okay before we head back.”

It was late afternoon already and it would soon be dark. There wouldn’t be any Klatooinian chasing after them – Din had made sure of that – but neither of them was in a fit state to travel just yet.

“What’s wrong, is it your ankle?” he pressed, kneeling in front of her. “Are you injured anywhere else? They didn’t – ”

“They didn’t hurt me,” she repeated, because it had been his first question when he reached her. “I twisted my ankle when we escaped, it will be fine. Now let me look at you,” Omera requested. That saber was deadly, and she was afraid he’d harmed himself – it wouldn’t be the first time.

“I’m fine,” he shrugged. Of course he was.

“Alright, but can I please still see you?” she asked in a small voice. He hadn’t visited for a while and she’d missed him. And yes, okay, perhaps she had been a little worried during the past few days, and his arrival had filled her with joy, despite the ensuing carnage.

Din lowered his head to his chest but eventually slowly removed his helmet, the bottom dragging against a cut she could now see clearly against his cheek.

“Oh, Din,” she whispered, framing his precious face with her hands and mindful of his cut and the bruises she discovered elsewhere.

“That bad?” he asked with a wince and an almost smile.

“Not that bad,” she promised through the tears she hadn’t managed to hold back. Omera slid her hands to his shoulders and pulled him towards her. His hug was crushing, but she accepted it willingly, especially when she realized he was shaking.

“I thought it was my fault,” he explained with difficulty, his face pressed to her chest. “I thought someone really bad had gotten to you.”

“Just my stubbornness,” she said. “I didn’t mean to worry Winta, or you.”

“I know,” he nodded. “I’m just glad you’re safe.”

“Me, too. And I’m glad you’re here. I should have gotten myself kidnapped sooner if I’d known it would make you visit.”

“So you do admit you were kidnapped,” he smiled, as his shaking finally slowly abated. But Omera wasn’t done with this hug.

“Did you leave Grogu with Winta?” she asked, evading his remark.

“I did.”

“Then let’s go home to our kids,” she decided, and stood up with his help.

#mandomeraweek2022 #mandomera #the mandalorian #din djarin #omera #winta #grogu #sorgan #writing prompt #star wars #my fics

[linksthoughtbrambles]

So. Much. Fun!

Part 55 of Link's Thought Brambles

Why are we going this way?

I mean, I can guess why we’re going this way considering she asked if I was hungry.

But it’s not what I expected. 

Last time I was in the mess, I was a nervous wreck.  I couldn’t even look into the room!  Eyes on the wall or Zelda’s hair the whole time.  And it’s not like I’ve magically made up with all these people.  Realistically, I wasn’t friends with them anyway.

…That’s… not true, is it?  Greggan’s my friend.  Or… something?  He tries to help me.  A lot.  And not just with the usual training stuff.  He’s tried to help me with things I get stuck on in my head.

Jeralt tries to help, too.

You know what?  I think Turro might be my friend.  Maybe.

Plynne?  Leeza?

Myrri.  Myrri is definitely my friend.

That’s… still not a lot.

We’re almost there.  I…

“Link?  Oh…”

I know.  I know- “I know I should be able to get over this…”

“Is your apprehension still as it was… after the melee?”

Yeah.  Yeah, I think it is.

Her hand.  An offering.

“I’m with you.”

It’s amazing.  After our exhaustingly incredible morning… I shouldn’t be this thrilled to feel her fingers slide against my palm.  Outlining all my little lines and callouses.  Not like hers… so smooth.  It won’t be, soon. Not once she starts a training regimen.

“Please come with me, Link?”

“Oh, I will… I just…”  …in through the nose…  “Phooooo.”

Crinkly-eyed Princess.  Guess my deep-breathing’s cute.

“Better?”

“Tiny bit.”  Okay.  Last fifty feet, if that is in fact where she’s going… and it is, isn’t it?  It seems really really loud, even for the mess.  What's making the clinking sound?

WOW!

“WOOOOOOO!”

“HE’S HERE!”  “HEAR, HEAR!”

TOTAL UPROAR it’s packed, PACKED with PEOPLE!

What-

Horns?!  They have horn players in here?  That’s a new song, that’s new, that-

Wait, maybe I HAVE heard that somewhere before- “UPH!”

“LINK!”

“…Chee!”  SISTER HUG SISTER HUG SISTER HUG “Chee, are you alright?”

“ME?!  You’re backwards, Link!  I’m not the one who had an arrow in their lung!”

“Yeah, but I wasn't blaming myself for it.“

"I'll get over it a lot better than you would've. And I'll definitely be taking those lessons."

Wow. "Good. Good! We'll set you up."

“Sweetheart?”

Mom.  Big hug.  Not big enough, Link.  Make it HUGE.  “Mom.  I’m so sorry for what you had to go through, I’m so-“

“Never mind what I went through.  My son is alive.  I’ll take that gladly and give thanks every single day for as long as I live.”

A kiss on my forehead.  And… a little hesitation?  And a funny smile?  And OH this is your mom, Link, she knows she always KNOWS and she just glanced at Zelda and that smile got BIGGER and-

“My dear… you had a very nice morning, didn’t you?”

“Uh… well… y- yeah….”

Another kiss.  “Good.  You deserve all the happiness you can get.”

“You… won’t tell father, will you?”

“I will not—but promise me something.”

“Um.  Okay.”

“Tell him yourself.  Pick up a pen and write to him.  Do it soon.  He loves you, Link.  I guarantee he’s wondering what’s happening with you, especially if news of the sword has reached him.  He’ll likely hear of the melee soon if he hasn’t already, and then he’ll hear of the festival.  He’ll be beside himself.”

“He… he really doesn’t like me to brag.”

“Telling the truth is not bragging.  There’s a difference between saying, ‘I can defeat every knight in this castle,’ and ‘I defeated eighty knights in this castle at once.’  One of them is a boast.  The other is what happened.  Tell him, Link.  And tell him of the Princess.  He… will be happy for you.”

Will he?  Have I ever seen him be happy for me?  I’ve seen him proud of what I could do…

“Well, I’m hardly the only person who wants to speak with you, Link.  I’ll move aside for now.”

“Mom, later let’s-“

“Tell me later.  You’ve a line!”

I don’t think I can call that a line.  It’s a very loud, very boisterous, and possibly somewhat inebriated throng.  The sound is so much at least it’s unlikely people’ll hear all my conversations.

Mipha inching toward me.  She- it’s still hard to read her face.  But her hands are at her sides, not wringing at her stomach.

“I’m so glad you’re well, Link.  I’m sorry it took so long.”

“There’s no reason for you to be sorry, Mipha.  Thank you… thank you so much.”  A warm hug for you.  Across your shoulders.

“Oh- oh, Link.”

Her hands curled up over my shoulders.  She’s… surprisingly not tense.

“I will always heal you.  Please know that.”

“And I hope you know that’s not what this hug is for.  You’re one of my favorite people in the entire world, you know that?  It’s a short list.  Zelda… Mom and Chee… Bazz, and you.”

“Oh, what of Rivan and Gaddison?”

“Yeah, they’re up there, too, but they’re not as fun as you are.”

“Oh- hehe, you’re joking.”

“Eh, only a little.  Rivan gave me that wedgie when I was seven, and I never really got over it.”

“That was an accident!”

“It still makes me want to cross my legs when I’m near a waterfall.”

“And what of poor Gaddison?”

“She’s fun, but she’s a lot younger than us-“

“OH!”

“Wh-what?”

“You’ve entirely forgotten Kodah!”

“Ohhh, no I haven’t.  There’s a STORY, there.”

“Oh?  What story?”

“Kid!”

SHOULDER-clap!

“You have some Goddess-damned constitution to live through something like that.  Both lungs?  You should’ve been dead in under an hour.”

Guess I’ll have to tell the Kodah story later. “Hi, Greggan.”  Oh- his arm- avoid the sling, Link-

“Ha! …Sorry I didn’t see that bastard for what he was earlier.”

?? His chin’s working.  That’s a swallow.   No, no, he doesn't think it's his fault, does he? “None of us did.  I mean… we all knew he WAS a bastard, but…”

“It hid him.  No more of that s@#$.  Jeralt and I had a talk.  We sent Blagmeer packing.  Told him he could head to a remote outpost, or he could be discharged.  He chose discharge… fine with me.  That f%#$er can go be a mercenary if he wants to draw the blood of his own kind.”

Wow…

“We’re having that other bastard’s bow mounted, blood and all.  It’s for your wall, Princess, if you want it.  If not, we’ll hang it in here as a warning along with the other blasted thing.”

“This hall is the correct place, Sir Greggan.  A warning and a reminder… not a trophy.”

“As you say, Princess.”

The bow.  “Was there anything odd about the bow?”

“Damn right there was.  How’d you know?”

“My sword told me.”

“Ha.  Well, don’t ask me to explain it, but it wasn’t the bow he had in his hands at the tournament.  Don’t know how he squirreled away something that big.  Designed to make firing two arrows easy.  Double-curved and spikes for close combat.  I’m told it hails from the desert.”

“…The Yiga clan?”

“Seems like.”

“Not just SEEMS like.  Those weapons are definitely Yiga make… glad you’re alright, Linky.”

“Thanks, Purah.”

“Heeeeee LI-I-I-IVES- OH YEAH!”

Aaaaand that would be Robbie.

“Do you HAVE to try and steal the stage everywhere we go?  This is DEFINITELY Linky’s moment, not yours.”

“Oh YEAAAAAAH!  HORNS!”

And there they go again.  Surprised they listened to him, actually-

Oh, they didn’t.  There’s Zuho.  His hand’s up.

And he’s reaching a hand toward me.

He… wants to shake my hand?

So serious.  His mouth a completely flat line.  His eyes, though.  Full of something I can’t quite name.

Handshake… okay-

“I owe you a debt that cannot be repaid, Sir Link.”

Y-you-?

“For saving her.”

Oh.

Oh.

Of course.

Firm up that handshake, Link.

“You don’t owe me anything, Zuho.  I-“

“I do. All I have to give is my music… and I will give it.  Count on that.”

I don’t know what to say to that…

And he’s back into the crowd.

“Sir Link-“  “Let the man breathe, maybe-“ “He’s gotta be-“ “Awkward-“

“LADIES AND GENTLEMEN – KNIGHTS – SOLDIERS – COOKS – MAIDS – STABLEHANDS – FRIENDS – ALL!”

The king.  He’s up on a tabletop.

“TODAY IS A DAY TO CELEBRATE.  SIR LINK – THE HERO OF HYRULE – LIVES!”

UP. ROAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Zelda’s hand slipping into mine.  A shoulder-squeeze from Greggan.  He’s smiling at me.

“IF THERE WAS EVER A SIGN… THAT HE WAS MADE TO FIGHT THE CALAMITY ITSELF… IT IS HIS SURVIVAL AGAINST SUCH OVERWHELMING ODDS!”

So loud!  Ears ringing!

“HIS WILLINGNESS TO STRIKE AT HIS ENEMY… EVEN AT DEATH’S DOOR!”

LOUDer!

“AND IF THERE WAS EVER A SIGN… THAT MY DAUGHTER WAS MEANT TO FIGHT AT HIS SIDE… IT IS HER DEADLY PRECISION… THAT STRUCK HER ATTACKER DOWN!”

WOW.

“HER EXTRAORDINARY STRENGTH… THAT HELD THE BLADE AT SIR LINK’S THROAT BACK… AND HER TRULY OUTSTANDING INTELLIGENCE… WHICH PRESERVED HIS LIFE!”

He’s… a good politician.  These people were already excited but now they’re RILED-

“RAISE YOUR TANKARDS!  AH- SOMEONE GET OUR GUESTS OF HONOR A DRINK!”

A rumbling crowd-laugh and- wow- beer for each of us.  At what, ten o’clock in the morning?  Maybe eleven?  I didn’t even think to ask, but these people started REALLY early.

“MUCH BETTER.  EVERYONE… RAISE YOUR TANKARDS!  TO LINK, THE HERO OF HYRULE, AND TO PRINCESS ZELDA!”

I’ve never been much on beer, but I’ll drink to that.

And apparently, so will she.  With a smile over her tankard that’ll plague me until next time we’re alone.

Oh, we're getting herded.  Guess we’re sitting over there where the king’s stomping back down.

My Goddess, Jeralt!  “Your eye!”

“A small price to pay for your life, Link.”

I almost hadn’t realized—all those clanging sounds right after the arrow struck.  That was at least partly Jeralt.  I remember blood spraying.  My Goddess, I don’t think he even screamed.  I would have…

No wonder he was out of the fight for a bit.  That’s when… that’s when Zelda held Vayden back.

I have questions about that.  Many questions.  How was he that strong?  Unnaturally fast, too, like me.  How did he disappear and reappear above us?

I have no experience with this Yiga clan, master.  The Sheikah, however, have long been wielders of magic.  It’s not unreasonable to surmise the Yiga have retained the magic while forsaking its original purpose.

So, it’s not just the ability to hide weapons, then.  They can strengthen themselves.  Make themselves faster?

And apparently teleport, master.

Tell a… port?

T-e-l-e-p-o-r-t.  Teleport.  Verb.  To travel from one location to another without physically passing through the space between.  Or at least, not in one’s physical form.

“Link?  Are you alright?”

“Sorry, Jeralt.  I was talking to the sword- to Fi.”

Your usage of my proper name is appreciated, master.

“Fi?”

“It’s her name.  Her name is Fi.”

Everyone who heard that has fish-face.  Um.

“SHE?”  “It has a name?!”  “It’s actually TALKING?!” “What’s it sound like?!”  “It’s a woman?!”

“Woah- uh.  Yeah, she says she’s a she, so… I guess so.  She… sounds like a she, too.  Sort of.  I don’t really hear her, exactly?  It’s… It’s in my head.  And yeah, she told me her name is Fi.  Gets irritated with me if I don’t use it.”

“She gets irritated?!”

“Heh.  Yeah.  Hi, Turro.”

“Hi.  Wow.”

Can’t tell where his arrow hit him.  Not a limb.  Nothing bandaged there.

Master?

“Yeah, Fi?”  Heh.  You show-off.  You figured they’d gasp if you talked to her out-loud.  Pretty fun, though…

My name is distinct from the name of the sword I inhabit.  I’ve noticed you refer to it as the Sword that Seals the Darkness, which is an accurate name.  There is, however, an older name, and yet another that is even older still.  You appear to be unaware of both.

“Really?”

Yes.  The sword you wield has been known as the Master Sword.

“The Master Sword?”

Yes.  It refers in part to its function and in part to you, master.

“Uh… okay.  I don’t get it.”

You are my master.  This is my master’s sword.

Oh… yeah, okay, duh-

This sword is also a master key.  It locks… and unlocks… many doors.

“Alright.  So, it’s the Master Sword.  What about the other name you mentioned?”

Before you wielded it, this sword belonged to the Goddess Hylia herself.  In those times, it was known as the Goddess Sword.

“I guess that makes sense.”

“…You wanna summarize that for us, Link?  We, ahha… can’t hear her.”

“Sorry, Turro.  She said the sword itself is called the Master Sword, but it used to be called the Goddess Sword when Hylia used to wield it.”

“HYLIA?!” “Holy S@#$, Link!”  “Are you serious?”

“That’s what she said.”

.

“Well, Sir Link.”

“Yes, sire?”

“Hmph.  First of all… I am glad to see you so well.”

“Thank you, sire.”

“However, I cannot help but wonder why you’ve never mentioned this Fi before.”

“I couldn’t hear her before.”

“Indeed?  When did this begin?”

“…When I got shot.”

“…Huh.”

“I don’t really understand it either, sire.  Fi said I wasn’t aligned.  Or… wait, no that’s not quite it.  She said I had never been more out of alignment than I was before that.”

“Out of alignment.”

“Yes, sire.”

“Gentlemen?”

“Princess?” “Yes, Princess-“

“And father, if you’ll pardon me-“

“Of course.”

“I feel I must remind you that Sir Link is quite likely ravenous.  Lady Mipha was quite clear regarding her magic’s effect on appetite.”

“Ah, yes.  Come, lad.  This seat’s yours.”

Never thought I’d be sitting on one of these benches next to Zelda.  …Here I am.  Greggan on my other side.  That feels right.  And the king across from us.  Jeralt and Turro.  Cahz and Eberoy must be on king-flanking duty, but-

“Sir Link.”

Don’t gulp.  “Sir Merendith.”

“…Sorry about your neck.”

“My neck?”

“At the melee.  I overdid it.  I’m apologizing.”

“Oh.  Thanks.  It’s- alright.”

“I don’t like to lose.”

“Me either.”

“Hph.  Is that why you sat on my head?”

“Well… no.  That wasn’t about me.”  Can’t help finding Zelda’s eyes.  Can’t help the smile once I see them.  She’s right.  This awkward-feeling, lopsided, left-corner -only smile is just for her.

She has a tiny, nearly-invisible secret smile for me, too.  Barely perceptible.  A slight lift on both sides and minute softening around her eyes. Sometimes... I think I see her more clearly than anyone else.

“…For a lot of us, it WAS about you, Sir Link.  I’m just glad I was there to make up for it when those bastards attacked.  Wish my sword had found Vayden’s head sooner.”

“We all, I think, wish many things, Sir Merendith—but we can’t change the past.  All we can do is make the future the best one we can.”

“Yes, sire.”

And everyone’s raising their tankards to that.  The king… I have a lot to learn from him.  He’s good with words.

Wait, aren’t I supposed to be good with words?

He’s… better at knowing how his words matter than I am.

“Eggs?”

“Oh- sure—thank you, Princess.”  OhhhOHH that’s a lot of eggs-

“Hmm.  Don’t give me that look.  You and I both know you could eat this entire platter.”

True, but there’d be none for anyone else!

“Ha!  Let us take that as the signal to dig in.”

‘Yes, sire!”  “Hear, hear, sire!” “Thank-you, sire.” “Indeed, father.”

Wow, a few forkfuls in and my stomach is trying to jump up my throat for more- oooh, Zelda has the toast plate sooooo much butter on those yum yum- oh?  She’s… putting her eggs on a slice… and then putting another slice on top… now she’s putting MORE eggs on that and another slice on the top and she’s picking it up…

And flashing her eyebrows at me over it.

And THAT is her amused half-smile.  Just like the last time we had breakfast down here.

Alright, Princess.  Two can play at that game.

I’m not sure what game it is, but I’m playing anyway!

Toast on plate, check.  Eggs on first slice, check.  Second slice on those, check.  More eggs on that, check.  Third slice on top, check.

MORE EGGS on slice three!  CHECK!

OoOOoh look at your scandalized-Princess-face!

“Sir Link.  Is that a challenge?”

Oh CRAP, Link!  The appropriate response to that is, ‘It’s a promise.’  That’s what we’ve been saying.  Right?  S@#$, s@#$, s@#$, it doesn’t FIT here!  AHHH!  What am I going to do?  I mean, it’s stupid to imply, ‘I promise I can eat more eggs than you’ or ‘I promise I can fit a lot in my mouth’ because frankly if one of us were to be the one to imply that and it to have some kind of sexy meaning it would have to be her, and for the love of Hylia don’t think the word sexy while the king is sitting across from you, he’ll know he’ll know he’ll know and I am once more taking MUCH too long to answer and I have spooked-face don’t I?

“Hmm.”

Awwww.  I took too long.

“Are you attempting to work out how the answer to my question could possibly be ‘It’s a promise?’”

Oh, THANK YOU for your smart-remembering-brains!  “Yeah.”

Her smile just… got way softer. It's the chin-tilting thing.

“And I didn’t even need the slate.”

Oh. Oh- “No.  You didn’t.”

“…Well.  Do you intend to complete your impressive sandwich, sir?”

“I do.”

“Let’s see it, then.”

…Okay.  One last slice of toast on top.

Phew.  It’s tall, but I can still get my hands around it.

“… Can you successfully encompass all four slices at once?”

Ha.  This is NOTHING.  You’re looking at the guy who downs whole kabobs in a single bite!  And I don’t even stab the back of my throat with the skewer!  Here I go.

“O-oh.”

Yeah.  I don’t really know how it works, either.

“How did you do that?!”

Wow. She’s legitimately surprised.  It’s not like she’s never seen me eat.  “Um.  I like food?”

“…Well… I suppose starting on a corner as you did would maximize the amount of volume you could take in before the width of your mouth would prevent further insertion.”

…I don’t know why, but that sounded REALLY dirty. 

It wasn’t.

But…

Don’t look at anyone else, Link.  The INSTANT you make eye-contact with said someone, regardless of who, they know that you know and you have in fact confirmed its nebulous inappropriateness by doing so.

Clinical, that’s the word.  It was very clinical.

‘Insertion.’  Um-

“Of course, the additional compression of the sandwich to force as much in as quickly as possible also contributed.”

If I agree with her will it seem like forcing as much in as possible is in fact not at all suggestive?  “…Of course!”

“The corner-angle increased that technique’s effectiveness.  It limited the amount lost against the outside of your mouth.”

She… she’s still talking about the sandwich, right?

Of course, she is.  There’s no corner angle with… well, with any of my parts.  Or hers.

Stop reading so much into things, Link!

And stop watching her as she lifts her own sandwich to her mouth and mimics my eating-style. And holy f@#$ if she did that to my parts I might just die right then and there and OH!

OH!

OH S#$%, LINK!!!

Is THIS why people freak out when I eat?!?!?!?!!   Because THIS IS HOW I EAT!!!!!  And apparently, I also gaze lovingly at my food, so much so that it can easily be misinterpreted as 100% full-force totally unguarded lust!!!!

DO PEOPLE THINK I’M FLIRTING WITH THEM WHEN I EAT?!?!?!??!??!??!?!?!??!

No.  NOOOO.  No. NO. NO!  I LIKE eating.  And I LIKE to eat fast.  And I LIKE to eat a lot of food at once.  I don’t want to have to live as some kind of food-hermit, unable to eat the way I like unless I hide myself in a closet somewhere with a platter full of- of- forbiddenly-large portions to stuff in my face with increasingly-large helpings of shame!  I do NOT want to feel shame when I eat! I-

“Kid?”

“Yes?!”

“Eat your Goddess-damned sandwich.”

“Yes.”

Greggan’s right.  He’s right.  Just eat.  It’s weirder to stare at the Princess than it is for me to put bread and eggs in my mouth.  Really weird.  How long was I watching her chew?

I have to figure this out, though.  I have to.  Maybe I can…

Maybe I can…

Oh.

Huh.

This celebration.  It’s for me, isn’t it?

Because they’re glad I’m not dead.

It’s for Zelda, too.  But she wasn’t the one with the arrow in her.

They… are glad I’m here.

I could ask.

I could just ask.

Just like I started talking to Zelda.  I could start talking to them, too.

I outrank them.  Will that make it weird?

Link… it’s already weird.  What does it matter, really?

Okay, I’m going to do this.

I’m going to ask.

I really really am.  “Um…”

Aaaaand they’re all looking at me.

My voice was higher than normal, wasn’t it?

Well, too bad.  Too late now.  I have to say something.

“Why… why….”

Ohhhh, look at all their faces turned this way.  Some chewing.  Some not.  All watching me.

“I just… was wondering… why…” and the chewing is slowing now, get it out, get it out, Link!  “Why people give me funny looks when I eat.”

“HA!” “It ain’t natural!” “Have you SEEN yourself?” “It’s like a Goddess-damned freak-show!”

Ohhh wow, I hear it they’re passing the question down the whole length of the table, it’ll be circling the whole room-

“BECAUSE IT’S HOT!”

Oh my Gooooooooooodess… THAT was a guy… crap in a hand-basket do I look and see if it’s that guy who was eyeing me a lot in the barracks?

Zelda’s chuckling.

And there are her lips at my ear.  Not in a sexy way.  In an I-need-to-whisper-seriously way.

“He’s right.”

Ohhhh.  I’m so doomed, aren’t I?   Can I get a look at the king’s face- okay, at least he’s smiling.  No lockup-with-stalnox-bones likely in near future.  Maybe if he found out what I did to his daughter this morning-

No.  No, she said he gave permission.  Though I doubt he had so many varieties of insertion in mind.

Oh.  There’s that word again.

“BECAUSE HOW CAN SOMEONE SO SMALL TAKE IN THINGS SO BIG?”

Uuuugh.  I’ve made a mistake.  A terrible-

“BECAUSE THERE’S NO WAY YOU CAN FIT IT ALL IN THAT TINY BODY, WHERE DOES IT ALL GO?”

Oh Goddess, it’s picking up speed-

“BECAUSE YOU EAT MORE THAN CRINNO!”

“BECAUSE YOU EAT SO FAST-“ “IT’S JUST NOT POSSIBLE!”

“THE RATE’S INSANE!”

“TO MAKE YOU SAVE SOME FOR THE REST OF US!”

Aaaaand now they’re all laughing at that one…

Well, at least none of them said-

“BECAUSE YOU LOOK LIKE YOU’RE PROPASITIONING SOMEONE!”

Oh NO!

“YEAH!” “AMIRIGHT?!” “BIGGEST ONE OF ALL, THAT ONE!” “HOLY F@#$ YEAH!”  “DON’T LOOK LINK IN THE EYE WHEN HE EATS, LADIES!”

OhmyGoddessohmyGoddessohmyGoddessit’smyownfaultreallymyowni’mjuststupidandturningsoREHHHHHHHHHHHHHHD-

“My extraordinary knight.”

“Y-yes, Princess?”

“…They’re absolutely right about that.”

“Uuuuuugh.”  I hear the king laughing, guess it’s good he has a sense of humor, better that than not, but it’s still agonizing.  I could easily see a sterner king sticking ‘because it’s hot’ guy in lockup for a few days.

“However, I feel compelled to point out that while the act of taking food in does have a somewhat risqué appearance, while chewing you instead reflect a rather fortunate squirrel whose cheeks are plump with many nuts.”

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

“AH HAHAHAHAHA!!!” “PFFFFFFFFF-“ “Holy sweet Hyla-“ “Haha MANY nuts!”  “SO MANY NUTS!”

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

“Oh dear.  What have I said?”

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

“What- OH!”

OOOOOOOOOOOO

“OH goodness!”

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

“Link, I apologize sincerely!”

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

“I had entirely forgotten our discussion of nuts!”

OOOOOOOO- OH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“HA!  You’ve discussed this, have you?”

NO!!!!!!!! NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“Yes, father.”

AH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

“Link informed me that nuts was another word for- ah.  Well…”

Oh S@#$!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  NO NO DON’T TELL THE KING!!!

“Ah- yes, daughter, I am, in fact, familiar with the term.”

Of course he is of course he is why wouldn’t he be-

“I must admit my curiosity at how it came up.”

No, please, please don’t be curious-

“I believe I had reminded Link not to forget his nuts.”

You know what, I’m dead, Mipha didn’t heal me, this is my punishment-

“AHHH HAHAHAHA-“ “Oh, Link, you are SCREWED.”  “Haha, Can’t forget THOSE!”

I’m not sure what for, but-

“And he found my statement extremely amusing.”

I’m sure there’s something.

“I was unaware of the context and requested explanation.”

Help.

“I see.  And Sir Link.  You explained its meaning?”

“Yes, sire.”  Why did that sound funny?  Oh, because my face is in my hands, that’s why.

“Ahhh.  I’m surprised at you, Zelda.  Your memory is usually impeccable.”

“Indeed.  The squirrel analogy was quite natural and not at all meant to sustain your discomfort, Link.  I am sorry.”

“I know, Princess.  Don’t worry about it.”

“Hah.  Please, Sir Link—remove your hands and continue eating.  The table—and the room—are teasing you rather mercilessly, but I hope It is clear that this time, it is friendly teasing.”

…It is, isn’t it?

No threats of melees here.

“Ah ha.  Good.  Eat.”

Right.  Right.

This is a record, I think.  Longest time I’ve ever taken to finish a sandwich.

Ohhh, no, wait.  That’s not true.  There’s an unbeatably long one.  Because it’s the one and only sandwich I’ll never finish.  That time when I was nine and we caught that stomach bug.  I took one bite of that tomato and cheese sandwich and barfed.

The only sandwich I’ve never finished.

No new record.  There never can be!

“You so easily become lost to thought.”

“Sorry, Princess.”

“Don’t be sorry, Link.  I love that about you.  Just as I love everything else.”

It’s that shy smile with the tilted chin, and her lips moving a little like she’s not quite sure if she wants to say something else.  The table around us went real quiet, though people are still chewing.

Be brave, Link.  You know they know.  With the ceremony and the ball… and she was going to drag you into the gazebo in full view of LOTS of guards after the festival.  Hold your hand open on the tabletop.  See if she’ll-

She did.

And suddenly, that smile doesn't seem so shy anymore.

“I hope all you muck-spouts who joined the melee are paying attention.”

“Yeah, Greggan.  I apologize again, Sir Link.  And to you, Princess.”

“Merendith wasn’t the only one.”

Woah.  Greggan’s pointedly leaning back to glare at Cahz and Eberoy.

“Sir Link already has my apologies.  And my loyalty.”

“Alright, Eberoy… Cahz?”

.

“…I apologize for being a muck-spout, sir.”

“A what, Cahz?”

“Ahem.  I AM A RUDDY MUCK-SPOUT, SIR!  I apologize.”

“Damn straight.”

“Jeralt?”

“Yes, Merendith?”

“What do you mean, yes?  You were there, too.”

“Ha—doesn’t count.  He was babysitting the rest of you.”

“What?!”

“You didn’t know?”

“…No way. I call bulls@#$.  You didn’t stop Garai.”

“I should’ve. Slow to get up, slow to act.  One more… one more hit and I would’ve. But if I had, there’d have been consequences. Link had to at least make it to me on his own or it wouldn’t be a clear enough victory, right?  Rules of championship.  I do have to admit, though, I didn’t think you’d do it, Link.  Thought you might get yourself killed trying.”

Yeah.  I almost did.

“S@$%, Jeralt.  Why didn’t you tell us not to do it?”

“…You mean like how I told you not to trail Link in the hallway and on the grounds?”

“…W-“

“You didn’t listen then.  Why would you have listened in the yard?”

“…S#$@.”

“Why… wouldn’t you have listened to Jeralt?”

“Heh.  Because, kid… they were too busy listening to your father.  Right?”

…That’s… a lot of grimacy-looks being exchanged there.

“…He did say to watch him.”

“To look after him, Cahz, not treat him like a spy.”

Jeralt’s right, but still...

“Ehhh.  Let’s be clear on this.  We’re talking about Link’s father, here, and he’s being awfully quiet.  Should tell you a few things, shouldn’t it?”

…Greggan notices an awful lot.

“Kid, your father never meant for these idiots to kick your ass in a melee over some rumor-mongering.  I don’t think he wanted them tailing you, either.  The issue is, with Sir Lyle, it can be Goddess-damned difficult to tell what he means.”

Yeah.  Yeah, that’s true.

“He’s great with all things soldier.  Terrible with all things people.  It’s as simple as that.  YOU all should know better.  Get some bloody clarification from him when things don’t make sense.  And listen to Jeralt.  He has more sense than the rest of you.  Ah- if you agree, sire.”

“If I didn’t agree, Sir Greggan, I’d have interrupted you.”

“…Is no one going to mention the other thing?”

Uh oh.  I can guess what Turro means, but the king’s here.  Does he-

“Ahh.  Let’s leave that one to lie, shall we, Sir Turro?  Sir Lyle was clearly in error.”

“…Yes, sire.  It’s just- I thought it was odd that he even said anything.”

“Hphhhh.  Sir Lyle… is a creature of order.  Of the straight and narrow.  If something doesn’t fit, he tries to pretend it isn’t there.  If he can’t ignore it… he tries to change its shape.  Do I have it about right, Sir Link?”

“…Yeah.  At least, I think so, sire.”

“Let’s discuss it later.  You, too, Zelda.  Let’s consider that travel itinerary of yours.”

“Yes, father.”

Travel itinerary.

It seems like years ago when she started making that.  But… we will finally be going, right?  The festival’s over.  We’re both well.  The Divine Beasts and the Springs still wait, along with who knows how many shrines and other things the Sheikah are digging up.

The Springs.  Are we still going?

…I bet we are, if only to give thanks.  Not that I think it would matter to the Goddess where you are when you do that, but it might matter to the people of Hyrule.

And here you go, Link.  Thinking like the king and the Princess.  About what will make people feel secure, not what will actually secure them.

It’s not… entirely without merit, though. I thought them seeing her power for themselves was important, too.  And now that she has that, the visibility part finally makes more sense to me.

My plate’s clear, which is kind of amazing considering Zelda’s been shoving things onto it this whole time, most recently an obscenely large pile of bacon.

“I thought I ought to give you a chance to come up for air.”

“Heh.  Thanks, Princess.”

“…Are you still hungry?”

“I feel like I could eat two or three more platefuls.”

“Gracious.  I’d better-“

“Are you still hungry, too?”

“Indeed, I am.  Far more than usual.”

“Then let me.  You… stopped eating way before this.  Anything you DON’T want me to put on your plate?”

“Hmhm.  Not a single thing, Sir Knight.”

“Good.  Everything it is, then.”

They’re all watching me load up her plate.  Probably wondering if she can eat it.

I just have a suspicion…

I don’t know, of course…

But I bet she can eat like I can if she feels like it.  We need lots of energy, don’t we?  Lots.  And sometime soon, she’ll be lifting a LOT of rocks.

_____

“Hphhhhmm.”

“Zelda… you know, you’re allowed to lean on my shoulder, for once.”

“Allowed, certainly.  But you, my knight, have had a far more difficult two weeks than I have.”

Her knight.  That’s taken on far more meaning than it had before.

My arm around her waist and my head resting on her, tucked against her neck, her hair tickling my face in the breeze, arcing like the Sun as it traces its inevitable path across the afternoon sky.  It’s getting lower each day.  Winter approaching.

Pulling tighter against her.  Warmer for both of us that way.  “Glad we finally made it to the gazebo.  It’s nice here when it’s just us.”

“It is a pleasant spot.”

“And visible.”

“Yes.  Perfectly visible.”

“Zelda?”

“Yes, my love?”

Neck-and-shoulder-nuzzle.  Can’t help it.  Not used to her saying that.  Not sure I ever will be.  “I would like to not be visible sometime later today—with you.”

“Hehe-hh.  I think that can be arranged.  But for now… visibility is an important component of the plan.”

“Hphhhh.  I know.  I hope I can control myself.”

“Don’t control yourself too much.  We ought, after all, to make our feelings clear in public.”

Her face toward mine.  Lowering.  Brushing my nose with hers… and now my lips.  Her mouth open so slightly- her lips feathering over mine, bottom to top.

She… she’s going to dig into my fantasies again and again, isn’t she?  I remember that…

And so does the rest of me because I’m breathing so fast at the imagined feel of her astride and surrounding me while she brought us both to the apex, and now I can feel it more keenly- I know how her muscles move, how they spasm and pulse, and Hylia help me, I want it even more than I did then.

“I believe, Sir Knight-“

Shiver

“I have been somewhat remiss in my communication with you.”

Um.  Okay, I wasn’t expecting-

“For many words occur to me which I do not utter.”

Oh?

“Would you like to know my thoughts as I touched my lips to yours just now?”

Oh- “oh, yes.”

“Hmm.  As my upper lip met your lower… I thought, how astonishing that these lips are, in effect, mine to do with as I please.  I may caress them with mine in order to feel your entire body shudder with want… I may press to them chastely to feel you breathe a soft puff of air against me, wanting more but accepting my restraint… I may open them with little more than an outward flutter and delve into you, and you would not only allow but welcome it, and would, in fact, let me cradle your neck against my arm as I claimed the depths of your mouth for all to see.”

“You can kiss me and hold me any way you want.”

“I know.  I know you would permit anything.  It gives me enormous power over you, Link.”

“You’ve always had that.”

“Perhaps.  Yet I feel I must warn myself not to take it for granted.”

“You won’t.”

“How can you be certain?”

“…I know at the core of my soul, Zelda—you never would.  I’d allow you anything… and I know you’d never ask anything I wasn’t willing to give.  That’s not you.”

“Link, please don’t say that.  You and I both know I may- I may ask you to give your life in the battle to come.”

“And you and I both know I’d give it.”  Chee crying in bed.

“…Link, I- hhh.  What if it were my life?“

“…What?”

“What if I asked you to give my life, instead?”

.

Please don’t.  Please don’t ask that.

“…Your countenance says that possibility disturbs you in the extreme—and I am unsurprised.  For I saw those thoughts, Link… your fear that you might buckle should you hear me scream. …You mustn’t.”

“There’s a difference between hearing you scream, and you telling me to let you die.”

“Would you obey me should I give such an order?  If it were necessary to defeat the Calamity?”

If it were necessary?

There’s something in the shadows between the green of her eyes.  She’s unguarded.  Not trying to hide it.  It’s a sadness.  A determination.  And… a resignation.

There’s a truth here, Link.  You feel it in a part of you so deep it might as well be someone else.  You thought it already, didn’t you?  When you were confused in bed.  ‘You have to do what’s best, even if it kills us.’

She really does.

And so do I.

She thinks it makes her less good than I am, but really it makes her more so.

It’s like Mipha said.  Her gift is not for her.  It’s not there to spare her feelings so she can heal whoever she loves most or whoever will make her feel best.  Zelda’s better at understanding that than I am.  She sees a bigger picture than I do.

My father was right about that fox.

“I hope I would follow that order, Zelda.  I pray that I’d have the strength.”

Here I go.  I… won’t even try to hide it.  Because it scares the ever-loving s@#$ out of me and if it happens, I won’t be able to cry on her then.

Her hand on my cheek, thumb brushing the tears away.  Her lips trembling.

“I’m sorry, Link.  I- truly, forgive me.  Today was not the day to bring this up.  Today, we’re celebrating life.  Your life, particularly.  I am so, so, indescribably grateful for your life.”

Me, too. “Phh.  Hhhh.  Kiss me?”

How can her smile wrap up so much love and longing and regret for something that may never even happen in an instant? 

Her mouth, warm and inviting this time, not pressing, not even teasing, just open with gentle, loving caresses of her lips against mine.  Maybe if I open more, she’ll understand I want her to go deeper-

And she does understand.  One hand tightening on my shoulder and the other sliding into my hair, holding me to her while she attends to every sensitive spot she’s found in my mouth.  Gripping her waist with one hand.  Not sure what to do with the other, probably shouldn’t just hover around her with it-

Her neck.  Caress upward, find her jaw, thumb symbols of devotion into her cheek. Nudge her toward me.  Deeper, deeper, go as deep as you want, as deep as you can and it still won’t be enough to equal what I feel for you, it’s unreachable, but I never ever want you to stop reaching for it.  And she really IS reaching for it with her tongue that far in yes yes more of that please please PLEASE yes deeper-

Oh no, please don’t- “HHhh- hhh- Zelda-“ oh Goddess, she stopped, why did she-

Oh right, we’re in public.  “Uhhm.  Do you… think anyone saw that?”

“Hmm.  It’s certainly possible.  But I believe we ought to maximize the statistical probability that multiple people will observe our activities.”

“…You mean we should kiss more.”

“Indeed, I do.”

“So why’d you stop?!”

“Two reasons.  Firstly, with my face so close to yours I could not see your expression.  And I do very much like to see that.”

And now that expression is an enormous grin.  You’re lame, Link.

“And secondly, I’d rather hoped this time you might kiss me.”

Eyebrows up and together.  As if there’s any chance I’ll say no!

Move that arm, Link.  Get it out from under hers and use it to brace her shoulders instead.

Oooh, that’s like the day with all that wind.  She told me to brace her like this.  Correct-bracing-style, check!

Gotta wiggle.  My butt’s gone numb on this bench.

“Hehehehe!”

Yeaaah, my wiggles are silly.  Just you wait.  Because…

Sliding my open hand across the lower half of her belly-

“H-hhh!  Oh-“

Good, she’s distracted, eyes shut, my lips to her cheek, trailing to her ear, map it, the entire shell with nibble-kisses-

“Hhh-hh-hhh-hh-“

-her earlobe, nibble, nibble, bite-

“Link-“

-suck.

“MMmm- Link!”

Suck. Suck harder.

“Oh!”

Catch her quick, her mouth still open, envelope her, and lick her tongue

“Mmmmmm-hhh!”

Those will be the last sounds I hear in my head before I die.  Zelda’s moans and gasps muffled and reverberating all the way down my throat.  I’m so glad I’ve heard them.  I’ll keep them with me.

That hand on her belly. Slide further.  Dig the heel in.

“HHhhh!”

I love that I can do this to her.

But… we are in the gazebo.

And we do have to stop somewhere.

Not least of all because the sooner we’re back at our rooms, the sooner we can finish what we started.

Ease off, Link.

“Oh…”

And she’s… resting her head on my chest, breathing hard.

Crush her to me.  “Are you okay?”

“Yes, but perhaps… this is enough statistics for one day.”

“…Anatomy’s next, isn’t it?  Please say it is.”

“Hmhmm.  Why, Link…”

This is a huge, huge, snuggly hug and there’s a kiss right on the tip of my chin-

“You’ve read my mind.”

“Heh.  And I didn’t even need the slate.”

“No.  Not at all.”

Her beaming smile.  So like the Sun.

I rise with it.

And we’re rising, hand in hand.

Walking toward her tower together.

And if any of the guards are offended by us, they can stuff it.

But somehow, I don’t think they are.  Because I see at least… two?... not-so-covert thumbs-ups and that guy over there’s cupping his hands around his mouth-

“GOOD LUCK WITH THE KISSING AND HUGS!”

“Oh, my Goddess-“

“Oh dear.  I suppose that made the rounds.”

“Ugh, of course it did, it happened in the kitchen and those ladies TALK.”

“They’ll all be making us flowerless bouquets, next.”

“Pff- pfhaha. You know what?  Good.  Food for Nails!”

“Hmhmmm.  Hm.  I love you, Link.”

“…And I love you, Zelda.  More than anything.”

“I know.”

Yeah.  You do know, don’t you?

But what you don’t know… is exactly how incredibly dirty I’ll talk to you on the slate LONG after you go to sleep.

This is going to be. So. Much. Fun!

~~The End~~

_____

[Note: But there'll be a sequel!]

I would like to say an ENORMOUS thank-you to everyone who stuck through this fic with me. It was long! Thank you for your thoughts, comments, likes and reblogs. I was having fun writing it anyway, but it was always amazing to see someone else enjoying it with me!

Follow this link for the post list for this fic.

#linksthoughtbrambles #botw #zelda #fanfic #zelink #breath of the wild #loz #legend of zelda #the end

[rainbowvamp]

merlin live thoughts - compiled for your convenience - ep 1

[added to give context.]

[narration begins]

kilgarha [not going to spell his name right don’t care] calls merlin a young man in the narrative intro and then switches to boy the next time. why is he a young boy in the little voice over?

[intro music plays. scenes playing over intro music] why don’t i recognize any of the scenes in this intro? has it been this long?

[back to Merlin hiking to camelot] saw merlin wanted it to be lancelot. was sad. usually i start with the lancelot eps but i am not. not today. [ :( ]

he smiles cute. what a dork. good for him.

[merlin walks into Camelot and doesn’t know they’re about to kill a guy] he’s so excited for the little horns blowing and then it’s like heart break. oh baby. baby. poor baby. what a terrible introduction

why does uther say his [own] name like that? i hate him.

what’s fair and just about killing a guy uther?

i want to have a mean nickname for uther but uther is already a bad name.

[after they kill the guy I am confused] what societal -ism is magic an allegory for in this damn show????

[angry mom yelling at uther from the place where her son’s just been killed] hammurabi’s code? okay girl ig.

[girl goes in a puff of smoke] best magic disappearance in the whole show. not used nearly enough. more people should disappear like the dead guys mom.

[merlin wanders around looking for gaius] he’s holding his little backpack straps the whole time and it makes him look so young. baby. baby. baby.

[first view of gaius office/chambers/whatever] i like the set for-

[pauses to obsess about weird set choices] wait i’m sorry. what the fuck is this

[description in alt text]

why do you have this? i’m cackling because there’s no explanation that i can think of that isn’t joyous or hilarious. is there an ao3 tag for Gaius’ weird rabbit mask? missed opportunity not to have this be the mask merlin wears in my enchanted fic [mercelot cinderella au]. fuck. that would’ve been hilarious. comedy rewrite of the enchanted fic where Lancelot falls in love with merlin while he’s wearing this.

okay. unpausing now.

[gaius falls over a railing that has probably been there for 20 years] how has this old man survived this long if that’s all it takes to make him fall the heck down his own stairs in his own house.

[gaius freaking out about Merlin’s magic and it triggers my daddy issues] gaius is very yelly. yells yells yells.

[Gaius says] who are you?? i love this line

[tbh I have no idea what this is a reaction to] gaius is funny in this episode. why isn’t he like this all the time?

gaius’ actor is so earnest when he says thank you. last time anyone will say that to merlin in this show. lol

merlin has his own room and a window. living large! all i can think about is lancleot standing by the window. but it’s fine.

collin is such a good actor. he’s so enthralled by camelot at night.

[voice over of hunith’s letter] gaius is charged with keeping merlin safe. forgot that.

also, “may god save you both” feels like it doesn’t fit.

[morgana’s telling uther killing the sorcerer sucked] i love morgana’s accent. is it in the rest of the show? if not we deserved more of it.

“the more brutal you are the more enemies you’ll create” including morgana. especially morgana. morgana was right.

[lady helen in her tent, but I couldn’t remember her name was lady helen] love the little mindless humming while the singing lady braids her hair. lady helen. good for her. she has a good smile.

also she missed some hair while she was braiding but we all make choices.

[knights protect lady helen and also dies] sometimes i forget there are knights other than the ones we like.

[lady helen killed by doll stabing] don’t see how having your son killed gives you the moral high ground to kill an innocent person. seems like this makes you the bad guy as well.

how does kilgaha [not changing it] know merlin’s name. i should know this shouldn’t i. idr. [I don’t remember. You’ll see this a lot if I keep doing these]

gaius just taking care of merlin is so cute.

he dropped the water on purpose. [so merlin would pause it with his magic like a little testy test]

[merlin grabs a mop for spilled water] what a good boy cleaning up without being asked.

“don’t do magic merlin” neither gaius nor merlin has any idea how to stop him from doing magic.

[gives the guy the medicine he’s not supposed to take all at once and doesn’t finish his warning ] merlin: stands there and watches him drunk the medicine all at once when he could’ve stopped him.

[arthur being an ass to that little boy with the wooden circle scene] arthur’s hair is kind of good in this scene and it makes me mad because this scene makes me want to claw his fucking eyes out.

who is that kid[with the wooden circle that Arthur throws knives at]?he deserved better.

[arthur says] “run” ugh i want to fucking hurt him. not in a fun way.

[merlin no arthur start to argue] i know they’re establishing that Arthur will grow and merlin has courage, but… ugh.

merlin is also sassy. “i could never have a friend who could be such an ass”

[merlin’s I could take you apart with less than that line] “don’t use magic” immediately intends to use magic to hurt the crown fucking prince. dummy. fails at it because has some sense. dummier

[merlin gets thrown in jail] also. jail? for what? attacking royalty? too high a sentence. unrealistic. [/j]

[fake lady helen enters to meet uther]lady helen’s dress is really weirdly designed. good hair though.

gross that uther kisses her hand. gross that uther.

[I forgot why-]merlin sleeping on a bed of straw? oh that’s right. jail.

gaius taking care of merlin again. [gets merlin out of prison. But there are conditons I remember the scene]

oh it’s the stocks!

gwen is coming!

gaius is laughing. what a jerk. who probably saved merlin from a. couple years in prison. so ig it’s fine.

i love that gwen is in camelot red. it’s so pretty on her and probably signifies who she’ll be later.

[gwen says Merlin’s not a big hero type] she’s so unintentionally mean and awkward. i love her.

“you don’t look like that.”

“i’m in disguise” [merlin’s smile is so cute]

he has such a cute smile.

[Gaius says]“you are a question that has never been posed before merlin.”!!!!

kilgarah :( trapped below. so sad. [kilgarah is calling merlin]

[merlin takes lady helen a potion for her voice] the preparation for lady helen’s voice looks nasty.

merlin is nosy. what the fuck bro. you can’t just do that.

okay plot, but wtf?

[lady helen discovers him in her room.]he looks so suspicious. he doesn’t even say what it is. he just hands her a suspicious bottle from his suspicious hand. don’t drink it girl!

[arthur and merlin meet on the street] god i fucking hate arthur. in this ep.

he [merlin] takes off his coat. they’re gonna throw down.

[arthur throws merlin a mace!] okay, but fighting a subject with a fucking mace? what the fuck “my lord”? [me quoting what merlin just said because I think I’m clever]

“how long have you been training to be a prat my lord” is one of the best lines in this show.

[they destroy various stalls while they fight] also, arthur better be paying for any wears that he is ruining with his little pissing contest.

love that arthur is being beaten up by inanimate objects. love less that he gets to win @ the end.

gaius is yelling again :/

[merlin while gaius is telling him he can’t use magic] “if i can’t use magic i might as well die” that’s a homosexual metaphor if i have ever heard one.

gaius is giving me whiplash with the yelling and then the caring. i cant process it. ik that’s probably how normal parents behave but that just isn’t vibing w/ me. [*]

uther is eating a strawberry and i hate him for it because i like strawberries.

he looks like the guy from buffy in this scene. hate that.

i am too emotionally basic for the complexity of these characters. help. [*this is me processing my inability to process gaius earlier]

merlin: hears a voice[kilgarah] and goes looking for it in the middle of the night.

merlin: this is a good idea.

[merlin covered gaius with covers before he sneaks out] love that the magic is just stop motion of them moving the blanket up him. we love practical effects.

[in the dungeons] knights playing dice. ig we should be writing more about that now.

the dice keep moving and none of them are thinking “magic”. why?

i can’t even fault merlin for going to find kilgarah because i too would go somewhere potentially dangerous if i felt like i was wanted there.

cgi on this dragon is… well. it’s there.

[I decide I want to know how many times destiny is said in this series]

destiny count : 1, 2,

merlin: arthur is the worst. um, i kind of don’t want him to succeed. i would kill him myself if i could

destiny count : 3

i want merlin to escape his destiny, actually.

destiny count : 4

where is kilgarah even going? just away . perching where he can’t be seen to be mysterious.

[merlin going around the castle to give morgana a potion]a jaunty little jog up the stairs.

[morgana thinks merlin is Gwen and she starts to get undressed.] um… real sus not to announce you aren’t who she thinks you are merlin…

[arthur is such a jester] morgana is right about arthur. if someone hasn’t already saved arthurthejester as a url, they should. that’s a good one.

[gwen walks in while merlin is pretending to be gwen] gwen should be mad about this actually. if i were gwen i would simply stomp on merlin’s toes for being in the lady morgana’s room without permission while she was changing. that’s 2008 for you ig.

the weird arthur/morgana thing they almost did. i’m glad they didn’t do that.

[maid sees real lady helen in the mirror] lady helen kills a maid. not worker friendly. don’t approve.

i’m not mad she wants to kill arthur. im mad about all the other people she kills to kill arthur. do assassination normally girl. don’t kill commoners to get back a nobles.

[morgana walks into the feast in the red dress] i think morgana looks very nice. it’s gross that merlin says god have mercy. it’s also gross my most beloved demisexual merlin is looking at her with lust. not compliant with my headcanon. episode is bad now. [\j]

merlin and gwen interacting gives me life. i love them. i genuinely love them. i apologize for any fic i have ever written where they weren’t absolutely together.

they’re not flirting, but they’re flirting.

[re: men gwen would date] “obviously not you.” i love her. she’s so awkward. it makes my heart so happy.

[back in lady Helen’s room] i think the dead maid twitched! she lives! she just passed out! oh good :) stop killing servants 2k22

uthers crown looks stupid. i hate him.

he looks at her[lady helen] with gross eyes.

what language is she [lady helen]singing in? someone? anyone?

i am also entranced by pretty people singing pretty songs.

merlin is so smart covering his ears. baby. baby. baby.

why the cobwebs though?

if she was just gonna stab him [arthur] why didn’t she just sneak into his room disguised as one of his guards to do that? like… knights are noblemen, kill them if you want.

[when merlin saves arthur] i appreciate that we’re seeing merlin be a good person, but he should have simply let him die.

[uther makes merlin a manservant] “i will reward you by making you a servant and usurping you from whatever life you have to serve my terrible son.”

the only good thing about this is arthur also does not want merlin to be his manservant.

[gaius going> now you can keep the prince safe w/ magic] protect the prince with your magic? this could be queerer. this should be queerer :/

merlin being handed the magic book

[pause thought to] destiny count : 5

is like being shown that other gay people existed and thrived in the time before. it matters so much to see those real artifacts of queerness. i made magic queer again. i feel better.

final thoughts:

i love merlin, gwen, morgana

i wish lancelot was here

gaius is fine ig

arthur and uther make me want to commit real actual criminal murder.

stop killing common people to injure the nobility. this is wrong and unforgivable.

okay. ep 1! this was fun. i’ll post this eventually. maybe. if you’re reading this i posted it.

00:25 - june 30

#lore rewatches merlin #chaos lore #on mobile. sorry there’s no read more #long post

[dreamingsushi]

Eternal Love - Episode 48

It’s the final countdown. It’s coming. We’re there now. Let’s hang on and brace ourselves for the last peak of drama.

Even though Li Jing forbade her to go, Yanzhi still heads out to Kulunxu. She almost gets killed and only Zilan stops the fight between Li Jing and the second eldest disciple to even begin. He hears out what Yanzhi has to say and decides to agree to help her saving the child. He completes the elixir himself, but swears that after this treason and unpiety towards his master, he’ll spend the rest of his life protecting the world, without ever speaking to Yanzhi again.

Ali is back home. Bai Qian takes the opportunity to have Yehua draw her portrait with Ali. She also invites Chengyu to join the posing session, but once Yehua finished the painting, he only included Ali and Bai Qian. To comfort her, Bai Qian says that he’s being a little weak lately. So Ali suggests that he can’t lift his mom, so Yehua, a little prickled in his pride, grabs Bai Qian and takes her to his room. There she suggests that they get married, because since they get along well now, they shouldn’t break off the engagement. She’s worried that it was a little bit much to tell him that she loves him, but there’s nothing to worry about darling, he was waiting for those words all along. Plus see, he’s already thinking of having babies.

Li Jing reveals to Yanzhi that Siyin is actually Bai Qian. Then they receive the elixir to awaken the baby. And the baby girl is alive! Finally. Yanzhi’s sad because she kind of knows that she won’t ever see Zilan again, but she’s also happy because the child is healthy. Zilan spent half of his spiritual powers to fabricate the pill.

Sujin has spies everywhere. It’s crazy how such a mean and petty person receives so much love and how people still like her. One of the maids report to her and Lexu that she saw Bai Qian put something in Yehua’s tea. Sujin tries to manipulate Lexu, saying that the fox tribe are known for their charming spells and it’s weird that not long before Yehua met her in Donghai, Fengjiu stole the jiepo lamp and now he doesn’t want to recreate a Susu. Lexu is like... it makes sense, but this is just some suspicions right now, Bai Qian is pretty well respected, we can’t antagonize her. So they decide to pay a visit. They want Yehua to stop drinking the tea Bai Qian made for him, pretexting that it’s probably too cold, but he says that’s fine and that the tea was specially made for him by Bai Qian, and she added Zheyan’s medicine inside of it for him. Lexu is relieved and suggests that they push the wedding forward. So this is going to happen soon nooooow. Obviously, Sujin’s upset, but she hasn’t given up yet on becoming the mistress of the Xiwu Palace. In your dreams...

They discuss the wedding plans with the Emperor, but Yehua’s dad is like: my son needs to go to the mortal realm to undergo a trial since he killed the four beasts and that was created by the first lord and destroying his creations should be punished. Lexu is like, nobody cares but you, can’t you let it go, but he still hangs onto it, so it is agreed that Yehua has to go. However, he won’t have to go through a trial and Siming should leave his fate empty. After two months, he should be back, so that’s barely enough time to get everything ready for the wedding.

And that is all for now! I can’t wait for Sujin’s downfall. She has been going unpunished for her dirty tricks wayyyy too long. It’s about time she gets a big slap in the face, except for that one time Yehua stabbed her on the day she was married to him.

#eternal love #yang mi #zhao youting #dilraba dilmurat #gao weiguang #costume drama #xuanhuan #xuanhuan drama #cdrama #c-drama #chinese drama #drama review #drama recap #drama reaction

[tietoons]

Vent

I dunno I wrote this out and now i’m copying/pasting into the void

I feel lonely

I think I’m touch starved

I feel like I’m starved for an essential vitamin

How is my body functioning

I couldn’t get out of bed for almost 15 hours again

I went back to bed

I feel numb

I’m in a slog

I want to make pompoms but I’m like ‘no they’ll just take up space you’ll toss them out they won’t turn out well and you gotta go and buy yarn and you’ll only use a little bit and what a waste

Can’t bring myself to draw especially since my tablet driver is busted

I’m scared to try the iPad bc it might not work for me

I wanna write but I’m too slow and it won’t get attention

I’m an attention whore

Why am I so needy

I’m a baby

I want love

Do I want sex?

Will that cure me?

Do I want a relationship? 

Why do I want to be spoiled so much

Even though I know I could get hurt via that

Like if you let yourself be vulnerable someone will take advantage of it that’s a given right? Right??

What’s Wong with me

I’m crying for no reason

I went out of town to try these stores and I felt so numb and like I wasted a whole day of my life

And even worse also my dad’s bc he drove me up there bc it’s too far and I got tired how can I do this myself in the future?

Why even bother

All I live for is working and sleeping

I don’t want my life to be like this

I hate myself

I sure don’t love myself

Why am I a failure of a human being

I can’t even make friends

I went out to this maid cafe pop up, by myself bc I couldn’t get my friend to come bc she busy, seated with some other people, and vibes with NO ONE

I sat with a girl who was ok but focused on her parents obviously, her dad, and her mom with a thick accent who couldn’t understand anything

She didn’t understand jenga she didn’t understand me, I felt like a third wheel and I hated it

I made no friends

No matter how hard I try

I’m alone

I’ll always be alone

Why am I crying again

How do I fix this

How do I stop this

Should I stop this? How?? I know death’s not the answer but how else is there?

How do I escape this life?

I don’t have the spoons or confidence or even enough money to do it

And if I did I’d be a selfish materialistic whore with an emptier life than I already have

Gdi I can’t breathe my throat hurts

Make it stop please

Stop

I’m like a cup with a hole at the bottom that whatever goes in there, just leaks right out

My dad keeps acting incredulous that I’m so moody like I ‘m trying SO HARD TO BE HAPPY but then the next day I’m. MISERABLE.

Why

I hate myself

Should I be in an institution

What good would it do

I’m lonely

I’m an infant

I’m in danger

I’m seeing a psychiatrist later this week but can I wait that long

I need this to stop

I’m wasting my life

I have a whole week off from work and what am I doing

Being miserable

I want to go shopping I wanna spend money but I shouldn’t

I’m ashamed

Why am I so ashamed

Why am I so ashamed of my wants

Why do I have these wants

I hate these wants

I didn’t need these wants as badly as I grew up

When did it go wrong

It’s lunch, or when I usually eat lunch

I should eat but I don’t deserve it

All I did was sleep watch YouTube and cry what’s wrong with me

I think I have suicidal ideation and no emotional object permanence and lack of emotional regulation and something’s wrong with me

Please make these feelings stop

#tw: suicide mention #vent #sorry i'm not feeling great

[edenmemes]

resident evil village starters

❝ oh, keep growing! one day your head might actually fit your ego. ❞   ❝ running will get you nowhere. ❞     ❝ you don’t have to trust my words, but do you have any better options? ❞   ❝ you shouldn’t be out here. it’s not safe. ❞   ❝ i know you don’t like to talk about it, but can we really just forget everything and pretend it didn’t happen? ❞   ❝ well, what do you think? it’s hopeless, right? ❞ ❝ i wish it could stay like this forever. ❞   ❝ oh, such a disappointment. i thought we could join forces.  ❞ ❝ i don’t have time for this bullshit. out of my way. ❞   ❝ i don’t give a damn about your personal issues. ❞   ❝ it’s a pleasure to see you safe. ❞   ❝ just give up. flesh and blood will never win against me. ❞ ❝ quit acting so full of yourself. ❞ ❝ the clock is ticking. playtime’s over! ❞ ❝ ohhh, don’t give up! ❞ ❝ you think you can take me on? ❞ ❝ you should have never refused me.  ❞ ❝ these are the fruits of my power.  ❞ ❝ leave it alone. you are out of your depth. ❞   ❝ i’ve learned all i can from you. your worth as a lab rat has run out. ❞   ❝ no, no, this can’t be the end for me! ❞   ❝ i can’t escape from here... i can’t do anything! ❞ ❝ what are you talking about? you think this is a game? ❞   ❝ don’t get cocky. i’d kill you if you weren’t the trouble. ❞   ❝ hey, do you know anything about what’s going on around here? ❞   ❝ i’m not used to relying on other people. ❞   ❝ you’re the real deal. well done.  ❞ ❝ i gotta...keep going. ❞   ❝ i think it’s time you left things in my hands. ❞   ❝ my power is leaving me! ❞   ❝ do me a favor... try to stay under the radar. ❞ ❝ you don’t get it. you don’t stand a chance by yourself. ❞ ❝ alright, alright. i guess i owe you an explanation. ❞ ❝ you must be pretty tough, huh? ❞   ❝ all your power’s done is drive you nuts. ❞   ❝ i gotta say, i’m surprised you made it this far. it’d be a shame if something happened to you now. ❞   ❝ so you finally came to see me! everyone falls for me in time. ❞   ❝ it’s all i can spare. take it, take it! ❞   ❝ you’ve got fight, i’ll give you that. ❞   ❝ i didn’t want to keep it from you. i didn’t want to lose you again. ❞   ❝ i’d kill you if you weren’t worth the trouble. ❞   ❝ is there something you’re not telling me? come on, talk to me. ❞   ❝ you can hear it, can’t you? someone’s waiting for you. ❞   ❝ oh, careful what you wish for. ❞   ❝ i don’t want to die. oh, it hurts so much. ❞   ❝ don’t look at me that way. ❞   ❝ i told you to sit down. ❞   ❝ you’re the reason ___ doesn’t love me. ❞   ❝ hey, kiss me? ❞   ❝ if it’s for you, i would do anything. ❞   ❝ come on, it’s not that much further! ❞   ❝ you’re the only one to see me in this form. ❞   ❝ ugh, my temper got away from me. ❞   ❝ play with me some more. ❞   ❝ trying to get on my good side? ❞   ❝ i don’t know if it’s the scent of the flowers, but i feel light headed. ❞   ❝ in all my years, i’ve never been this overjoyed. ❞   ❝ look forward to what i have in store for you. ❞   ❝ mmm, that smells good. what’s that? ❞   ❝ you really should have taken my deal. ❞ ❝ truth hurts, don’t it?  ❞ ❝ i’ve waited so long. but dreams really can come true. ❞   ❝ you coward! come out and face me. ❞   ❝ quit hiding, asshole. i’m not letting you get out of this.  ❞ ❝ i won’t let you have it. even if you beg. ❞   ❝ this is my territory, and i won’t let you leave. ❞   ❝ damn, i’m so cold. my legs won’t work. ❞   ❝ local wine, too. but if you’re going to keep sulking all evening, maybe you shouldn’t have any. ❞ ❝ it’s not paranoia if they’re really out to get you. ❞   ❝ you’re the last asshole in my way, aren’t you? ❞   ❝ well, at least we’re together. ❞   ❝ hey, now. think positively, all right? we talked about this. ❞   ❝ come now, don’t be shy. show me your terror. ❞   ❝ i would’ve sliced you to ribbons if they hadn’t stopped me. ❞   ❝ it’s only a riddle if you don’t know the answer. ❞   ❝ shouldn’t we face what happened there so we can live our lives without it hanging over our heads? ❞   ❝ rest while you can, because i will hunt you, and i will break you. ❞   ❝ this village is full of monsters. we can’t fight them! there’s too many. ❞   ❝ a dead body? wait...there’s more... ❞   ❝ you’re a lot like your father, you know. ❞   ❝ it barely flinched when i shot it. i feel like it’s toying with me. ❞   ❝ it’ll be fine. it’ll be fine. it’ll be fine. ❞   ❝ listen. you’re being played.  ❞ ❝ too bad you’ll pay for it...with your life. ❞   ❝ please won’t you stay with me? forever? ❞   ❝ you are lucky to die before your child. ❞   ❝ quiet now, child! adults are talking. ❞   ❝ there’s nothing wrong with my memory. you’re just being paranoid. ❞   ❝ this is...this is just too much. ❞   ❝ awww, you’re blushing. ❞   ❝ how can a man be ‘almost’ dead? that’s a question for the wise. ❞   ❝ what kind of sick medieval shit is this? ❞   ❝ i’ve spent a lifetime creating this moment...and you try to take it away from me? ❞   ❝ i’m sick of fighting you! ❞   ❝ why didn’t you fucking tell me right away? ❞ ❝ shut your damn hole and don’t be a sore loser! ❞   ❝ but i’m not paranoid, i’m just cautious. ❞   ❝ don’t get close to me when i’m cooking, babe. ❞   ❝ anyone who is anyone has heard of the likes of you. ❞   ❝ i haven’t cut open a man in a while. ❞   ❝ we moved here so that you wouldn’t have to deal with any of that, remember? ❞   ❝ why? why would you do this? ❞   ❝ i knew you would want to be involved. and this job is hard enough without civilians getting in the way. ❞ ❝ oh? you have something to say? ❞   ❝ tell me what’s out there! ❞   ❝ you’re still alive...? impressive. ❞   ❝ hey, are you listening? hey! ❞   ❝ exactly how much do you plan on annoying me? ❞   ❝ oh, no. they’re coming! ❞   ❝ do you have a gun? please tell me you have a gun. ❞   ❝ it’s not---nevermind. i’m sorry. ❞   ❝ drunk or not, you are welcome---and safe---in here. ❞   ❝ you know how to push my buttons. ❞   ❝ hey, don’t i get a say in this? ❞   ❝ you wouldn’t know proper manners if it slapped you in the face. ❞   ❝ i won’t forgive you, you bastard! ❞   ❝ why...why do you treat me the same as them? am i not your favourite? am i not special? ❞   ❝ at night, i hear wailing, as if ghosts roam the halls. ❞   ❝ quit your whining; we’re almost there! ❞   ❝ i’m afraid you can’t return to your old world any longer. ❞   ❝ how dare you bare your teeth at me. ❞   ❝ you couldn’t save them. they were already gone. ❞   ❝ in life and death, we give glory. ❞   ❝ can you even understand that humiliation?  ❞ ❝ even i can get angry. ❞   ❝ what the hell is that thing? ❞ ❝ we will meet again soon. ❞ ❝ let’s just say parts of the human imagination are better left alone. ❞ ❝ some treasures still lurk in this village. ❞ ❝ my decision is final. there will be no argument. ❞   ❝ everyone leaves me. even you. ❞   ❝ there is no safe! every sorry bastard out there has been ripped in half! ❞   ❝ come inside. the others are waiting. ❞   ❝ come with me. there’s something i have to tell you. ❞   ❝ what the hell is wrong with this place? ❞   ❝ the strong will destroy the weak. that’s the way of the world. ❞   ❝ no, we’re getting out of here --- together. ❞   ❝ but what i saw was...frightful. ❞ ❝ i suppose it’s what they call ‘the beauty of the grotesque’. ❞   ❝ you taught me so much and for that i will be forever in your debt. ❞   ❝ it is my curiosity that ties me to this place. ❞   ❝ please let me know if you’d like to strengthen your weapons. ❞ ❝ you’ll pay if i find out this is a lie. ❞ ❝ speaking of foolish questions, who --- what are you? ❞   ❝ if i don’t kill them then my life will never be my own. ❞   ❝ you are abominable. your deceit knows no bound. ❞   ❝ quit holding out, and get to the damn point! ❞ ❝ you’re the one who’s cursed. ❞ ❝ i hope you will be able to achieve your goal someday, too. ❞   ❝ that is why i had to leave you. i will regret never telling you goodbye. ❞   ❝ if i had but a little more time, i know i might be able to turn the tides of this battle. ❞   ❝ i can hear it shuffling about outside. ❞   ❝ and now you even try to steal my property? how dare you? ❞   ❝ ugh, just another simple little manthing. ❞   ❝ oh, good. i was just thinking of ways to pass the time. ❞ ❝ nowhere to go but up. ❞   ❝ where are you? show yourself! ❞ ❝ not without me, it’s too dangerous. ❞ ❝ shit, that was close. ❞   ❝ i heard explosions. what happened? ❞ ❝ you’ve dirtied my dress! ❞   ❝ you’re my daughter...now act like it! ❞   ❝ i don’t think we will make it through winter at this rate. ❞   ❝ the wounds are severe. i won’t last much longer. ❞   ❝ will you please stop talking in riddles? ❞   ❝ goddamn. it really is you. ❞ ❝ you sure of this? your body is, well, falling apart. ❞       ❝ how long have i been out? ❞   ❝ keep your distance. do not move until i give the order. ❞   ❝ i’ve got a tough guy here, i need some back-up! ❞   ❝ if my mom saw this shit, she’d think she’d died and gone to hell. ❞   ❝ shut your fucking hole! ...sorry about that. ❞   ❝ who are you? who sent you? ❞   ❝ please, be well. ❞   ❝ there’s more than we thought. watch out. ❞ ❝ to hunger...is to be alive. ❞   ❝ goddammit! why is everyone dying on me? ❞   ❝ hey! hey. don’t talk like that. ❞   ❝ my word, you truly are as strong as they say! ❞   ❝ don’t you love me? ❞   ❝ oh, you didn’t think i’d let you get away, did you? ❞   ❝ taken alive? dead? which would you prefer? ❞  

#roleplay meme #roleplay starters #rp meme #re8 spoilers #resident evil spoilers #i'll most likely add more !! i havent seen everythng from this game yet

[outerbankies]

You know how teenager rafe is gonna just be spiralling over reader going to prom with someone else? I’m going to cry cause like he’s a baby and he doesn’t know why he has these feeling for this one person that he’s always kind of orbited around?? And he knows she’s it for him but only deep down cause he’s trying to figure so much out and how could you know who you’re going to end up with at the age of 17 let alone 10 or 12 but he’s always known and aaaaah imagine that kind of love

an angsty little pre-series prom blurb partially inspired by this ^ ask that made me spiralll. thanks anon i hope u like this!

—

new light blurb: before we knew — rafe cameron

new light series masterlist

obv takes place pre-series in high school! referenced in part 1

warnings: underage drinking

“Top, it’s not fucking funny.”

“It’s kinda fucking funny, Y/n/n. Like, way more than a little.”

Rafe had ditched the last fifteen minutes of statistics when he finished his test early today, and he’d been messing around on his phone for ten minutes waiting for the rest of you to come and get in Topper’s Jeep so you could all go to lunch off-campus today.

Rafe stands up straight from where he’d been leaning against the hood when he hears your voice approaching, his smile matching yours once you see him. “Hey, Rafe. How did your stats test go?”

“Good, hey, Y/n. What’s not funny?” he asks, opening the passenger side door for you before sliding into the backseat behind you.

“Oh, get this, Rafe,” Topper says, laughing. You just groan again, clicking your seatbelt on. “Griffin is gonna ask Y/n to prom. Tomorrow.”

Rafe blanches. “Griffin?”

He knew Griffin thought you were hot. Certainly had to hear it enough times in the pool at practice every day. Rafe always found himself biting back a remark—well, almost always. As captain, Rafe was able to tell everyone to run another play whenever he felt like it. The extra exertion in the pool was nothing compared to having to tread water and hear his teammate talk about you like that.

But even after all of that, he still had no idea Griffin had the balls to actually make a move on you. Because Rafe could tell you’d seriously rather die than ever give Griffin the time of day. And Griffin had been pursuing you without luck for months, even though you’d been trying to gently show you weren’t interested. Half of the time, Rafe wished you'd just tell him to fuck off.

The other half of the time, Rafe was considering just doing it for you.

Rafe clears his throat after his outburst, a finger digging into a hole in his jeans. “How do you know?”

“He just told me in PE,” Topper says. “He said he has this huge banner, and speakers, and he’s gonna do it at lunch right in the middle of the quad—”

“Topper.” You cut him off a bit more seriously this time; Rafe can hear the shift in your tone. You've always hated being anywhere close to the center of attention, getting embarrassed by the smallest things others wouldn’t even think about. If Griffin actually knew anything about you the way Rafe does, he’d know you wouldn’t like something big and flashy. “Can you stop?”

“Hey, cut it out, Top,” Rafe is saying immediately. Topper just rolls his eyes, but Rafe doesn’t care. “You okay?”

“Yeah, Rafe,” you say, smiling over your shoulder at him. “M’fine.”

“Do you want me to tell Griffin to—”

Topper laughs from the driver’s seat, clearing his throat to cover it up when you look over at him. You look back at Rafe, and his heart breaks at the worry in your face. “Don’t, Rafe.”

“Are you gonna say yes?”

“No,” you immediately laugh, looking at him like the idea is preposterous.

“Oh c’mon, Y/n/n. Can’t say no to him in front of all those people,” Topper teases. “And where the fuck is Kelce? I’m starving.”

“You’re right,” you sigh. “I don’t wanna embarrass him. I’ll just find him after school today and tell him I’m going with Kelce.”

Topper’s eyes widen, Rafe catches it in the rearview mirror before he hurriedly looks away. Rafe clears his throat, settling back into his seat from where he’d been leaning into the front space to talk with you. “You—uh, are you actually going with Kelce?”

“Yeah,” you nod, distracted by your phone. “We said we’d go together if we didn’t find dates. Kelce didn’t really wanna ask anyone after what happened last summer. And after nearly being set up with Top last night, I’m about ready to throw in the towel.“

Rafe looks to his friend that sits in the driver’s seat, who's looking straight at his lap, the back of his neck bright red. “Wait, you two?”

“It was just our parents, dude. Went to dinner at the club last night and our moms brought it up,” Topper mumbles. You giggle at the idea, completely unaware of the energy in the car right now.

“Yeah, sorry, Thornton. But no thanks. You and Emily should be really cute, though,” you say earnestly, patting his shoulder.

Topper just stares straight ahead. “Thanks, Y/n/n.”

“And then this thing with Griffin—I’m just so over the idea of finding an actual date at this point,” you sigh. “Plus, I know Kelce won’t put up a fight about the color scheme. I’m thinking like, aqua. Or maybe pink? I don't think I'd look good in gold.”

You'll look good in absolutely anything, and Rafe will just have to watch you from across the floor of the Island Club, while Kelce twirls you around the dance floor or holds you close during a slow dance.

The guy in question opens the car door and slides into the backseat next to Rafe right then, sighing as he slides his backpack off. “Sorry guys, coach stopped me in the hall. Where are we eating?”

Rafe glares at him.

“I want a smoothie,” you declare from the front seat.

“Fine with me,” Topper nods, pulling out of his parking spot. “Guys?”

“Can we go to that place with the deli next door? I’m so hungry,” Kelce says.

“Yeah, I like their açaí bowls,” you say, twisting around to look at Rafe one more time. He must not be able to hide his emotions as much as he thought, because your smile drops when you see him. “Rafe? Does that sound good?”

He turns his body to look out the window, eyes flicking back to yours one last time. “Not hungry.”

—

Rafe meets Topper and Kelce at the dock later that night, the three of them intending to get drunk and maybe take Topper’s boat out if they felt like it.

Kelce is already there by the time Rafe pulls up, drinking a beer with Topper while they laugh at something on his phone.

And Rafe paces right down the dock, snatches Kelce’s phone out of his hand, and pushes him off the platform and into the water.

“Rafe, dude,” Topper says, immediately pushing him back by his chest.

“What the fuck?” Kelce sputters, spitting out water as he surfaces and climbs the ladder back up. “What is your fucking problem?”

“You couldn’t ask literally fucking anyone else? It had to be Y/n?” Rafe says, laughing indignantly. He looks down at where Topper is still keeping them separated. “And you—what the fuck—”

“I told you, man. It was just our moms. We didn’t even consider it,” Topper says, rolling his eyes.

“You both lied to me,” Rafe accuses. “Because you knew I’d be mad.”

“And why’s that, Rafe?” Kelce spits, reaching around Topper to try and push at his chest. “Why are you mad? Not like you were gonna ask her.”

“No,” Rafe says immediately. And he isn’t even lying; it’d never crossed his mind as a possibility. Which is why he can’t even begin to try and work out why he’s this upset about it. He didn’t do anything to stop this, but it’s still happening, and it’s making him crazy. “You know my dad’s making me take Reagan since we’re both on prom court.”

“That’s what I thought,” Kelce grumbles. “I was gonna tell you.”

“When?”

“Soon, I just—we made the plan so long ago, bro. Neither of us wanted to worry about dates… but I gave it time because I thought you might—I dunno,” Kelce trails off, shrugging. “I dunno.”

“Thought I might what?”

“Figure your shit out and ask her yourself,” Topper says, coming back from the boathouse with a towel that he passes to Kelce.

“Even if I could, Y/n/n would never say yes to me,” Rafe scoffs, shaking his head and reaching for the six-pack they were working through.

Topper scoffs back. “Oh, yeah ri—”

“Guess we’ll never know,” Kelce says, cutting him off while he dumps the water out of his shoes. He sighs at his soaked clothes before he looks back up at Rafe. “You know I’m not into her right? We’re just going as friends. It’s senior prom.”

“Why would I care what you’re going as?” Rafe says, shifting in discomfort, hand clutching his already-half-empty beer can a little tighter. “None of it even matters.”

“Whatever you wanna tell yourself, bro,” Kelce sighs, grabbing his phone out of Rafe’s hand and pushing past him to go change.

—

“Nice taste, Y/l/n.”

You whirl around from where you’d been adjusting Kelce’s boutonnière (you’d only pricked him twice, which was a personal record for you) at the sound of Rafe’s voice, plastering on a smile before you face him. Your eyes drop to his attire immediately. “Oh shit, Rafe. We match.”

“I know,” he laughs. “My step-mom wants a picture.”

You furrow your eyebrows, shifting in your heels, the tule of your dress suddenly itchy against your legs. “Um. Shouldn’t you take one with Reagan?”

“We already took a million. From every angle. With every possible fucking pose,” Rafe sighs. “C’mon, please? Before the limo comes.”

Rafe grabs your hand and you look back at Kelce who just nods, downing some champagne. “Take care of my date, Cameron.”

You can see Rafe just shake his head where you trail behind him, leading you back to where Rose is talking to one of the other moms. “There you are. Your dress is beautiful! I wish we'd found one like that for Reagan. It looks great with Rafe's tuxedo.”

“Uh, yeah. It's nice to see you, Mrs. Cameron,” you say politely, ignoring the last half of what she said completely. She pulls up her phone and Rafe’s bringing you into his side, his hand resting in the middle of your back.

“This okay?” he murmurs, his breath fanning over your neck as he leans down.

“Yep,” you say quickly, but you can’t help but look around and catch multiple of your friends watching you, including Reagan, who promptly rolls her eyes once you make eye contact with her.

“Y/n, sweetie, just a few pictures for the newsletter,” Rose says, reminding you of your purpose right now.

“Right, sorry,” you say.

“Hey,” Rafe whispers. You look up at him, feeling his hand bring you closer to his body. “Take this a little more seriously, Y/l/n. Don’t you know that the next issue of the Island Club newsletter will be completely ruined without this one specific photo, that will probably be squished into the corner of a terribly- edited collage?”

You laugh in surprise, hitting him on his chest for joking about his step-mom right in front of her. “Rafe. Be nice.”

He just grins down at you, before straightening up and turning back to the camera. “If I’m nice, will you save a dance for me later tonight?”

You’re glad he’s not looking at you anymore, because then he’d see the way your smile faltered before you turn back to the camera as well. “Sure.”

—

“How is my flask empty?” Kelce groans, tipping it over and shaking it out for emphasis.

“That’s what happens when you drink it all, bud,” you laugh, patting his shoulder. He rolls his eyes at you, linking his arm in yours as you both pass through the crowd to find Topper and his date, Emily. You all watch Rafe up on stage, waiting to inevitably be crowned prom king.

He was a shoo-in anyway, but you’d definitely distracted your English teacher with a conversation about the 1984 essay you just turned in while Topper and Kelce stuffed the ballot box he was meant to be guarding.

Rafe seemed like he couldn’t care less about stuff like prom court, just shaking his head when his name was announced over the speaker as a nominee three weeks ago at lunch.

And he’d dragged his feet through finding a date, just shrugging whenever you brought it up to him, prying partially for your own sake.

You couldn’t figure out why he seemed so averse to the entire event, but you supposed that was better than having to hear him go on and on about Reagan and how he asked her and what corsage he bought for her and if he was bringing her to after-prom—or anything else that would’ve dragged up some feelings you thought you’d firmly buried at this point, telling yourself for years that you never stood a chance with Rafe.

But the closer graduation got, the more you’ve been realizing that things with your friends would never be the same. Things with Rafe would never be the same.

“Kildare Academy, your prom king is Rafe Cameron,” the DJ says, snapping you out of your thoughts. Kelce and Topper cheer obnoxiously while you laugh, a little grateful they’re both drunk and distracted—so happy their plan worked (Rafe subtly flips them off behind his back as he’s crowned) that they can’t notice the way your shoulders slump as Rafe leads Reagan, just crowned queen, out to the middle of the dance floor while some Ed Sheeran song starts playing through the speakers. You’d roll your eyes at the terrible music selection if that was what you could focus on.

All you could focus on was wondering if Rafe would even remember that you promised him a dance tonight.

Kelce is dramatically bringing you into his arms as the prom court dance takes place, subtly turning you around so your back faces the stage and the court, smiling as he holds your waist. “C’mon, dance with me.”

—

Rafe’s letting go of Reagan as soon as the song ends and everybody cheers, dashing off to the DJ booth after telling her he’d be back in a bit. She merely shrugged before adjusting her crown and going off to some friends.

“Hey man, can I pull some prom king privilege right now?” he says, leaning in to speak into the guys’ ear. “I have a song request.”

“Playlist is set, approved by the school,” he says dismissively.

“Thought you might say that,” Rafe grumbles, reaching into his breast pocket before he can take the time to wonder if he’s really going to do this—if he’s really going to bribe the DJ to play a song by your favorite band before he goes to cash in on that dance together that you’d promised.

He hands him a crisp hundred.

The DJ sighs, snatching it out of his hand and pocketing it while Rafe smirks in victory. “Alright, what song, country club?”

And then it's practically a race to find you before the Kid Cudi remix currently playing ends. Rafe heads off in the direction where Topper and Kelce had been yelling when he was on stage, evening his pace when he spots you jumping around with Kelce, your dress fanning around you while you laugh, the string lights illuminating your face.

You’re smiling so big that it stops Rafe in his tracks.

Guys had always shown interest in you, and you turned most of them down. Not all of them; Rafe still had to see you with guys who absolutely did not deserve you giving them the time of day, sometimes at parties or maybe at the Club. Rafe could usually lie to himself, write off these feelings as some protectiveness over you, a nice girl who’d been a good friend to him his entire life. Rafe was protective of all the people he held close in his life, why wouldn’t he look out for you, too?

But something must have changed, because now—now Rafe’s looking at you, and he knows time is running out before you both set off on your futures. He has three weeks of school left with you, then a summer of seeing you around. And then... that's it.

And now he’s looking at you, those feelings less and less ignorable with every single second closer Rafe gets to not having you around him every day anymore.

Those feelings are crowding every corner of his mind, finally coming to the surface after all of the drama with prom dates had forced Rafe to wonder why he couldn’t stand you going with Griffin or Topper or Kelce. Couldn’t stand thinking about you ever being with someone that wasn’t him—a reality he knows he’d have to get used to you a lot quicker than it took him to even realize he’d fallen for you.

Because the future’s coming, and maybe in the future you actually end up with someone like Griffin, or Mateo, or that guy from the party that one time, or that touron from New England that your parents tried to set you up with, some hotshot you brought home from California after a semester, or Kelce—even Topper. Your parents would love that one. And one day in this future, you’re running into Rafe on the soccer field; your kids play for the same team together. Rafe ended up settling for someone he could never like half as much as he loved you, and he sees you across the field with a sweater tied around your shoulders, chatting with all of the other moms. The lucky asshole you finally chose just watches you the way Rafe always had, the way he is now as you dance with his best friend, the way Rafe will probably never be able to stop himself from doing.

Or maybe there's another future without you, where you move away to somewhere that suits you; the Outer Banks had never good enough for you, in his mind. Maybe you stay in California after school. And you bring home that hotshot that’s perfectly matched for you, who gets to hold you and kiss you and have you. Rafe only gets to see you every once in a while, when you decide to grace the Outer Banks with your presence for the holidays or for Midsummers. Maybe in this scenario, Rafe was never able to find someone else, maybe he shows up solo while you flash your engagement ring when the old crew gets together for drinks—no, you wouldn’t do that. You’d be absolutely smitten with whoever won your heart, showing the ring he got you to your girl friends with an embarrassed little smile pulling at your lips while they all gush over it. And maybe one of your friends jokes about how Rafe used to have a crush on you. You'll just laugh and shrug it off, nodding—because you knew all along. Of course you knew, everyone had to know at this point. And Rafe can picture you merely laughing at his feelings for you as the other guy gets to pull you closer on his lap.

The opening chords of your song snap him out of his reverie. He can see the exact moment you realize what song it is.

Rafe beelines for you, holding his hand out as soon as he’s in your vicinity, fully pretending he hadn’t just realized he’s fallen for one of his closest friends in the middle of prom. Like he hadn't realized that he wasn't just into you, didn't just think you were cute or like the way you made him feel when you remembered his stats tests or wore his shirt to his water polo games. Like he hadn't just realized that no matter how many times he'd told himself it didn't bother him that much that you'd never come close to giving him the time of day, that he'd never forget what it felt like to not even be on your radar.

“You promised me a dance, Y/n.”

You look at him and his outstretched hand and smile, then look back to Kelce, who's quickly letting you out of his arms, casting an accusatory glance at Rafe. But then he smiles a little. “I'm gonna hit the restrooms.”

“Too bad our one dance is gonna be to a song by a band you hate,” you laugh, accepting Rafe's hand. Rafe’s on autopilot, his hands resting on your lower back while yours move to his chest, swaying the two of you in little circles. The song is already through with the first verse.

“I don’t hate this band,” he lies. But maybe it’s not a lie—how could he hate anything you loved?

“Okay, prom king,” you laugh, fiddling with his pocket square a little, the one that matches your dress. “Still can’t believe we ended up matching.”

“Great minds, Y/l/n,” he shrugs, eyes trained on your face. Your hands slip up around his shoulders, and you nudge the plastic crown on his head before leaving your arms to rest there, fingers locked behind his neck. Rafe pulls you closer. The second chorus was already starting up. Time was running out.

“I’m not sure what the optics are of our matching and you leaving the prom queen to come dance with your friend,” you say, your small smile turning into a frown. “Reagan already seemed pissed earlier.”

“Don’t worry about her,” Rafe says. “It’s just you and me right now.”

“When we go off to college, I think I might just miss you, Cameron,” you say, smiling.

And Rafe might not ever get to tell you how he feels, or ever be with you the way he wants to, but at least he got to dance with you at his senior prom.

“I know I'm gonna miss you.”

—

@moniamaybank @downbytheouterbanks @littlementalpolaroids @fangirlvoice @chicagoblackhawkslover96 @pogueslandia @loveylangdon @oopsiedoopsie23 @sodasback @rafeseggplant @cooper8224 @rafeyybabyy @lemur46 @cameronsrafe @theepoguelandia @judayyyw @irlpadfoot @synonymforlame @tinawhynot @mildkleptomaniac @ilymarkchan @sofiatheseconf @hockeyshmockey @supersouthy @coffeeandcrimeshows @emptyloverofmine @infinitleyethereal @nerdypartytrashpsychic @mrs-cameron @tcmhollnd @nicavass @sakikos @catonthesideoftheroad @jemimah-b99 @serrendipiity @depressinq @svechnibrock @julianakawaja @ctrlcherries @lostaurorax @wildflower98 @babygirl2022 @lieswithoutfairytales @painlesslies @messagesinthesky @orrsoared @destourtereaux @sammywilscn @tylernagle @anonymousobxfan @lilacsandwhiskey @raphaelcameron @mardema @princesspogue @alwaysclassyeagle @brittlehe-art @drewswrld

#i in fact WAS in a silly and goofy enough mood besties #love this song title isn’t it perfect!!! #it’s a banger by day wave highly rec #should i be tagging my taglist in these... i never know #if ur on the tag list and don’t wanna be tagged in blurbs just come yell at me please #rafe cameron #rafe cameron imagine #rafe cameron x you #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron fanfiction #outer banks fanfiction #rafe outer banks #outer banks imagine #outer banks fanfic #outer banks fic #rafe x you #rafe x y/n #rafe x reader #rafe imagine #rafe fanfiction #rafe obx

[bitsandbobsofwriting]

Merlin Scar Reveal Part 2(final part)

Merlin tries to pretend nothing happened, Arthur says “that’s stupid.”

Part 1

Merlin’s nightmares last for the rest of the afternoon and extend well into the night. 

The heat certainly doesn’t help, and it takes all of Gaius’ effort to keep his temperature low enough to not boil him from the inside out, but he manages with help from the knights. Mordred and Lancelot refuse to leave the servant’s side of course, but the others loiter in the corridor the entire time, and take turns sprinting to the cold store and kitchens for ice water and cloths.

It was difficult to stand there waiting, being given scraps of information on Merlin’s condition, especially when most of the scraps consist of something along the lines of “Hopefully he’ll snap out of it by the morning.”, which was certainly not helped when the occasional whimper floated out to them from the young servant’s room.

After a few hours, Leon was the one to draw the short straw to go and talk to Arthur. Whilst all of them were mildly miffed that Arthur had pushed Merlin so far, they knew that ultimately, it was all of their faults. All of them had pushed him, and none of them had protected him from being injured in the first place. None of them knew how much he had suffered, was still suffering. Considering Arthur’s... extra feelings for his servant, it was no wonder he’d reacted even worse than the others.

The First Knight agrees to go, knowing he had the best chance of talking some sense into The King, though he refuses to leave until he sees each of the others settle in their beds; it had been a long day, and would likely be an even longer day tomorrow. They all need as much sleep as they can get.

Arthur doesn’t answer when Leon knocks on his door, but the knight lets himself in after a few moment regardless, doing so quietly so as not to startle the man if he was asleep or, more likely, deep in thought.

The King was sat at his desk, chin resting on his hands, and Leon has to stamp down the surge of protective adrenaline in his lungs when he sees the dry tear tracks on the younger man’s face. He doesn’t notice Leon’s presence, not even when he very deliberately clears his throat, so the knight walks over to him slowly, rapping his knuckles harshly on the desk. That finally catches Arthur’s attention, and he looks up with a start, hands reaching for the sword that Leon knows he has hidden under the desk.

The King lets out a deep breath and relaxes back in his seat when he sees that it’s just Leon, hastily wiping his eyes before clearing his throat and looking up with a fake confidence:

“Sir Leon, what can I do for you?”

Leon just raises an eyebrow, but when Arthur holds strong and doesn’t react he lets out a deep sigh and collapses into the seat on the other side of the desk:

“Come on, Arthur. We need to talk about this.”

Arthur gulps, trying to keep his unaffected façade up, but failing and dropping it after only a few moments; something about the soft, overly concerned look Leon was giving him made him want to wrap himself in blankets and sob himself to sleep. He frowns and just about manages to keep the tears in:

“Why wouldn’t he tell me? If not about the physical scars, then about all the times he’s been hurt. Does he not think I would’ve given him time to recover? Or, God forbid, helped him?”

Leon purses his lips slightly in thought, still having to make a concerted effort not to gather The King up in a tight hug as he considers his questions:

“I don’t think it’s about you, Arthur. Merlin is... a private person by nature, and he doesn’t like worrying people. You heard Mordred, he and Lance found out by accident, and even then Merlin tried to keep them away from it as long as possible.”

Arthur stands, the guilt and sadness in his gut now frothing with anger as well. He paces around to the centre of the room and Leon stands to watch him carefully:

“He can say it’s not about me as much as he wants, but I’m The King, Leon,-”

He whirls on the knight, and Leon clenches his jaw, resisting the urge to raise a mocking eyebrow. He knew to expect anger at some point, but that doesn’t mean Arthur was entitled to it:

“-I have a right to know what’s going on in my Kingdom. I should’ve been informed of Nimueh and Morgause’s deaths, I should’ve been informed that Cenred was torturing people for information. How many other countless adventures has Merlin had that have put himself, Me, the Kingdom in danger, simply because he didn’t want people to know much about him?? None of that was his call to make.”

Leon does raise an eyebrow at that, but Arthur was too busy furiously pacing to feel scolded quite yet. The older man crosses his arms and huffs slightly, waiting for The King to calm before responding:

“Be that as it may, that’s not why you’re angry. You can lie to yourself, Arthur, but you can’t lie to me, and you certainly shouldn’t lie to Merlin. If you go to him pretending that you’re angry because he put the Kingdom at risk, and not because you’re heartbroken at him having suffered so much, then he’ll never forgive you. And when you realise that, you’ll never forgive yourself.”

Arthur looks to Leon sharply, but the anger drains from his face within seconds and his whole body sags slightly, the exhaustion of the day having caught up to him. A glance to the now dark window tells him that it’s well into the evening, but he can’t find it in himself to be annoyed at the unfinished paperwork on his desk or the hunger in his stomach from not having eaten since before noon, not when he knows Merlin is being tortured by nightmares and injuries that have long since healed. Injuries that he should never have had in the first place. Leon waits patiently for Arthur to respond:

“I don’t want him to be in pain. I just want to help him.”

His cracking admission has Leon give up on holding himself back, and he strides towards The King to pull him into a tight embrace. Arthur tenses at first, but quickly falls into the older man’s affection, accepting a hug for the first time since he was a child. Leon responds softly, aware that he only had a short time before Arthur pulled away and put his walls back up:

“Merlin’s already in pain, Arthur, but that doesn’t mean we can’t now help him.-”

He feels Arthur nod into his shoulder and squeezes the man tighter for a moment before pulling back, keeping a tight grip on The King’s shoulders:

“Come on, you need to get some sleep.”

Arthur’s tired, longing gaze moves to the paperwork spread haphazardly over his desk, and Leon shakes his head, tugging Arthur’s shoulders so he looks back at him:

“No, work isn’t an option, your mind is not in any sort of state to be productive right now. You’re exhausted, Arthur, a few hours of sleep will do you some good; I hate to say it but The Kingdom won’t stop needing attention whilst we... sort through this, and you’ll need the energy tomorrow.”

Arthur shakes his head, stepping back and rubbing his eyes tiredly as he takes a deep breath and straightens his back. Leon steps back as well, re-introducing the respectful distance that should be between a King and his Knight, waiting for Arthur’s no doubt stoic response:

“The councilmen will survive without me for a day or two, if not then that really should be something I’m made aware of so I can get to replacing them. Merlin and I need to...-”

He cuts himself off and clears his throat:

“-has there been any news? Any change?”

Leon shakes his head, but catches Arthur’s wrist when he begins walking towards the door:

“Arthur. I just about managed to convince everyone else to get some sleep and you need it more than them.-”

Arthur looks back indignantly, failing to portray his Kingly Anger in his exhaustion and looking more like a scolded child:

“-You know I’m right. Get some sleep, Gaius will inform you if anything changes.”

For a moment, it looks like Arthur wants to argue, but he quickly lets out a deep, bone weary sigh, nodding before moving sluggishly towards his bed. Leon nods approvingly, muttering a soft “Goodnight, My Lord” and smiling slightly at Arthur’s hummed response before quietly exiting the chambers.

~

Arthur can convince himself, for a few blissful seconds, that it was all a bad dream when he wakes up the next morning.

His curtains are thrown wide open; the sunlight streams in and forces The young King to groan and roll over, attempting to shield his eyes from the brightness. Merlin’s cheery voice echoes throughout the various chambers:

“Come on, Sire, up and at ‘em!”

Arthur just grumbles a slurred “Fuck off.” before his brain wakes up and he throws himself from the bed, thankfully wearing sleep clothes but only just managing to catch himself on the bedside table before he falls over:

“Merlin!! What the hell are you- are you ok?! Did Gaius say you could get up?!”

Merlin looks back at him with the same disapproving, mocking glare he usually uses in the morning; Arthur is taken aback at the darkness in his eyes. He can’t quite decide if it made it’s first appearance this morning, or if it had always been there and he just hadn’t noticed. He doesn’t know which idea he hates more:

“I’m fine, Arthur, no need to worry about me. And for your information, I’m a fully trained physician, I don’t need Gaius telling me what I can and can’t do.-”

He rolls his eyes and turns to The King’s desk with a huff, gesturing at the mess:

“-It’s flattering that you rely on me so much Arthur, but really, this is ridiculous.”

Arthur is finally broken out of his shocked stupor, shaking his head disbelievingly and taking a few short steps towards his manservant. He goes to yell but quickly backtracks, snapping his mouth shut and taking a deep breath before trying again, softly this time:

“Merlin... we have to talk about yesterday.”

Merlin’s reaction is immediate and harsh. The quill that he had picked up from Arthur’s desk snaps in his sudden tight grip and the tension in his shoulders is painful looking. He freezes for just a moment before forcing himself to relax, casually throwing the broken quill into a waste basket before continuing to organise the desk, refusing to look up at The King:

“No, we really don’t. I’m fine, My Lord.”

The lack of sarcasm or sass in Arthur’s title worries The King greatly, but the way Merlin regains more and more of the tension in his shoulders the closer Arthur walks to him is even more worrying:

“Merlin... look at me.-”

The servant gulps, biting his lip at he stares at the desk for a few more moments before forcing himself to look up. He recoils slightly at the tears in Arthur’s eyes, but doesn’t allow himself to look away. Arthur opens his mouth to say something, but is interrupted by the door to his chambers opening with a bang as Mordred and Lancelot rush in. They’re both red-faced and panting, speaking at the same time:

“I swear to the Gods if he snuck out of bed to work, I’ll-”

“I apologise My Lord, I don’t suppose you’ve seen-”

They both freeze as they see Merlin stood behind Arthur’s desk, paperwork crumpled in his tight grip and face fallen into a annoyed frown. Arthur throws his hands up, frustrated as he paces and mumbles:

"Just... come in why don’t you. No, don’t worry about knocking just run on in like you own the damn place.”

Lancelot spares him a quick glance but locks the door behind him and crosses his arms like an angry mother as he looks to the irate servant:

“Merlin, we’ve talked about this, you’re meant to take the morning off after a bad night, Gaius says-”

Merlin just rolls his eyes and turns away, interrupting Lancelot’s scolding as he continues to tidy around the room, his annoyance evident in his harsh tone and hurried movements:

“I’m a physician too, and I say I’m fine. I would like to just... get on with things, please.”

Arthur has to stop himself from recoiling at the way Lance and Mordred’s faces fall, the pain and grief sadder than anything he’s ever seen in their expressions before. He takes a moment to think before giving the two of them a pointed look and quietly asking:

“Can you give us a minute?”

Lancelot looks doubtful, but willing. Mordred plants his feet and crosses his arms, raising an eyebrow. He doesn’t say anything, but it’s obvious he has no intention of leaving Merlin’s side; as much as Arthur finds that admirable on a personal level, as King it’s unacceptable. He’s normally not a fan of pulling rank among friends, but maybe that’s because he normally doesn’t need to. Perhaps this whole mess was his fault, Mordred obviously felt so, but Arthur could hardly fix it with them glaring over his shoulder. He raises himself to his full height, a good few inches above Mordred, and uses the tone of voice he normally reserves for particularly difficult councilmen:

“You forget whose presence you are in, Sir Mordred, you’d do well to remember again. You are both dismissed.”

Mordred’s eyes go wide and he takes in a sharp breath, but after a quick glance to Merlin’s turned back he dutifully bows and walks from the room stiffly. Lancelot’s postures straightens as well, and he follows Mordred after a confident:

“We’ll be in Gaius’ chambers should you require anything, My Lord.”

Merlin was oblivious to the conversation, though Arthur reckons he was deliberately ignoring it as opposed to being actually unaware, especially with the way the servant’s shoulders relax when the door shuts behind the second knight.

Arthur sighs as Merlin continues to putter around the room, refusing to look him in the eye; he leans against the edge of the desk and crosses his arms:

“Merlin,-”

His voice is soft, but the servant still doesn’t look at him, giving a non-committal hum as he clears out the hearth with shaking hands:

“-come here, please.”

Merlin freezes for just a moment, and if the problem wasn’t so glaringly the context of the situation, Arthur may have been able to fool himself into believing that Merlin was just shocked he said please. The younger man stands slowly, turning to walk towards Arthur with his gaze stuck to the floor. He stops with about five feet of space between them and Arthur sighs again, closing the gap until only a few inches separates them. The King ignores the tears gathering in both of their eyes as he lifts a hesitating hand, dropping it softly on Merlin’s shoulder only when the servant doesn’t flinch away:

“Merlin, I... you mean a great deal to me, and I know I don’t say that often enough, or at all, really. You... look after me, keep me alive and unhurt, evidently more than I had originally thought. You make me a good King, and a better man.-”

Merlin looks up at him sharply and Arthur can tell that he’s about to argue, so he squeezes his shoulder and quickly hurries on:

“-You’ve been hurt, you’ve suffered in your service to me, and that’s unacceptable but it’s also my fault; I should’ve made it clear that I would protect you from anything. These scars prove your strength, but I understand not wanting to acknowledge them, so I promise I will never ask again. You tell me when you’re ready, and if that’s never, then that’s completely fine.-”

Merlin seems surprised by the promise, and the tears slowly dripping from his wide eyes just make Arthur regret yesterday even more. After a second or two of shock, Merlin visibly relaxes, relieved with the knowledge that he doesn’t have to expect the conversation that he really doesn’t want to have. Arthur gives him a weak smile before continuing:

“-I’m sorry, but I’m also grateful. Thank you, Merlin. But...-”

Merlin re-tenses at the “but” and Arthur squeezes his shoulder again, giving him what he hopes is a reassuring smile:

“-please don’t keep doing this alone. I... I don’t expect you to ask me for help, though I would drop anything in a heartbeat to keep you safe. Even... even if it’s Gwaine, just... I don’t want you disappearing off to save the Kingdom only to never come back again because no one knows where you are.”

Merlin smiles weakly at the disdain in Arthur’s voice when he mentions Gwaine, but quickly frowns again and looks at the floor. He gaze stays lowered when he asks his one word question, his voice quiet and ragged:

“Anything?”

Arthur frowns for a second, confused about what Merlin was asking, but quickly realises, lifting the other man’s chin with his hand, his voice a whisper:

“Merlin, I would give up the Kingdom to rid you of the burden you’ve place upon yourself. I just want you safe and happy and by my side.”

Merlin once again looks like he wants to argue, but a quiet sob falls from his mouth instead and Arthur, damning the consequences and his stupid reputation, pulls the younger man into a tight hug, cradling his head into his shoulder and running a soft hand up and down his back. A few tears of his own slip free but he finds he doesn’t care that much as Merlin shakes in his arms; he presses a barely-there kiss to Merlin’s temple and begins swaying slightly on the spot, wanting more than anything to take away his servant’s pain.

Merlin’s cries slow to a stop after what feels like hours, but Arthur doesn’t let go quite yet, eyeing the unmade bed over Merlin’s shoulder with eagerness, knowing that neither he nor Merlin had slept well last night. He feels Merlin stifle yawn against his shoulder and that just strengthens his resolve; he squeezes the younger man to get his attention and then speaks quietly:

“Reckon the council can survive without me later?”

Merlin clears his throat and responds, but still doesn’t let go:

“Doubtful, but Leon and Morgana could probably whip them into shape. Why?”

Arthur nods and pulls back, frowning at the slight panic in Merlin’s eyes when he steps away but doesn’t mention it, letting his hand slide down from the servant’s shoulder to grip his hand. Merlin visibly relaxes, but still looks confused as Arthur tugs him towards the bed gently; he allows himself to be pushed to sit on the edge and looks up at Arthur questioningly. The blond stops himself from grinning widely at the trust in his expression, instead turning away to shut the curtains and lock the door as he says:

“Shoes and belt off, I fancy a nap, how about you?”

He was expecting an argument, so he's surprised when he turns back to the bed to see Merlin softly smiling as he sets his shoes and belt on the bedside table neatly. They both climb under the covers wordlessly, and Merlin doesn’t hesitate to curl into Arthur’s side when he holds his arms out to him. 

The King holds his servant close, tucking his head against his chest and burying his chin in his soft hair, his arms wound around Merlin tightly. Merlin closes his eyes without issue, finding himself unafraid of the darkness or the nightmares or the firm touch against his back for the first time since his collection of scars began.

The warrior sleeps, plagued by nothing but pleasant dreams and the warmth of a protection he knows he can trust.

~

THE END!!

That took me FOREVER to write, writer’s block really does suck, but I’m glad I finally got it finished. I feel like it’s a little underwhelming, but I hope y‘all like it :)

@1stbonesfan asked to be tagged! <3

#merthur #merthur fluff #bbc merlin #merlin #good mordred #sir leon #leon #protective lancelot #protective leon #protective mordred #mordred #sir mordred #lancelot #sir lancelot #gwaine #sir gwaine #percival #sir percival #tw ptsd #tw nightmares #ptsd #nightmares #haooy ending #angst with a happy ending #elyan #sir elyan #gaius #morgana #good morgana #king arthur

[nastybuckybarnes]

Training Wheels  -  One

Pairing: Dark!Step-Brother!Steve Rogers X Innocent!Reader

Summary: Your stepbrother would do anything for you. And he’s more than happy to prove that over and over and over again until you believe him. No matter what it takes. 

Warnings: Language, Sexual Harassment, Smut, Manipulation, Loss of Virginity, Sex between Step-siblings, bit of a size kink, 

Word Count: 3.7K

A/n: I have many parts of this planned but not written, and the taglist is open. Also, incase y’all forgot: I don’t talk politics on my blog. I’ve made it clear where I stand on certain things already and I want to keep my blog as an escape from reality for myself and others. 

A/n 2: I’m fucking tired so I’ll reply to asks and stuff probably tomorrow

!!!!THIS IS A DARK FIC WITH SEXUAL AND TRIGGERING CONTENT! 18+ READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!

~*~

“Hey, did (Y/n) get a new skirt?” At the sound of your name being mentioned, Steve snaps his head up, following his best friend’s gaze until it finally lands on you.

You’re walking across the campus courtyard towards the two of them, a smile on your face as you talk animatedly with Natasha and Wanda.

Sure enough, a new mini skirt is decorating your pretty legs. It flows with the breeze, almost getting blown up enough to see your panties.

“Jesus, that kid’s got some legs,” Bucky says, eyes roaming over your figure. Steve shoves his friend’s shoulder, giving him a hard glare.

“That’s my fucking sister you’re talking about. What would Nat think if she heard that?” Bucky rolls his eyes, grinning as his favourite redhead blows him a kiss.

“God, what I wouldn’t do to have those legs wrapped around my head.” You shudder in disgust, yelping as a hard hand comes down on your ass.

“Hey!” You exclaim, turning around and covering your butt while looking at the man.

“C’mon sweetheart. What’d you expect when you’re dressed like that?”

Steve’s on his feet, rushing over to you as you glare at your assailant.

“Maybe some fucking decency?! Leave me alone! I’m not a fucking object, dick-wad.”

“Rumlow!” Upon hearing your step-brother’s voice, Rumlow takes a step back.

“C’mon Rogers! There’s no harm in playful flirting. You of all people should know that.” Steve glares at him, his arm coming protectively over your shoulders, pulling you against his side and further away from the man.

“Yeah, but there’s shit wrong with touching people when they don’t want to be fucking touched.” Brock rolls his eyes and saunters away, shooting you a wink over his shoulder.

“I had it handled,” you grumble, walking with Steve’s arm over your shoulders towards the tree where he and Bucky were sitting.

“Yeah, really looked like it. A ‘thank you’ would be nice.” You roll your eyes and glare up at your step-brother.

“How do you expect me to defend myself if you jump in all the time?”

He shakes his head, a soft look on his face that has you dropping your guard for a moment.

“As long as I’m around, you shouldn’t have to defend yourself. That’s what I’m here for. I’m always gonna have your back, bunny. No matter what.” You smile at him, your heart warming at his words before Nat gets your attention.

You sit down next to her, Steve next to you with his arm still over your shoulders.

You and Wanda are quickly engaged in another conversation and Steve finds himself staring at you, a small smile on your face.

“You’re drooling, Steve,” Nat whispers, toes nudging his thigh. He glances over at the redhead and flips her off.

“C’mon. We should get going. I wanna beat the rush.” You nod at Steve, grabbing your bag and bidding your friends goodbye.

Bucky gives Steve a knowing look and the blond glares at his friend.

The two of you make your way to the parking lot together, him asking you about your day and you launching into a detailed description of everything you did.

As you’re heading to his car you pass by Brock and his group of friends. You quiet down immediately, slouching in on yourself.

Steve glares at the guys, his arm coming protectively around your waist as they ogle you.

You let out a big breath when you’re sitting in Steve’s car, groaning at the fact that you were harassed today.

“Why are guys stupid?” You ask, looking over at your step-brother as he starts driving.

“I wish I knew. You just gotta get lucky and find someone who’s mature and has respect for women, not a douchebag like Rumlow.” You nod, kicking your shoes off and putting your feet up on the dashboard.

“Hey, feet down.” You look over at him and stick your tongue out, keeping your feet up and wiggling your toes.

“What are you gonna do? You gonna make me?” He glances at you out of the corner of his eye and then one of his hands is on your thigh, squeezing the flesh hard and making you squirm, laughter bubbling out of you.

“Stop!” He doesn’t. If anything, it spurs him on and he tickles your thigh more.

“Feet down!” He shouts playfully, loving the sound of your laughter.

“Okay fine!” You finally pull your feet down and he smiles, fingers splaying on your bare thigh. He keeps his hand there for the rest of the drive, blood slowly moving south as he realizes what he's doing and the fact that you haven’t said anything about it.

It feels nice to have his hand on you. You hate that you like it but you do.

When you finally get home, your mom and his dad are pulling out of the driveway.

Steve rolls down his window and you unbuckle your seatbelt, climbing over his lap to stick your head out the window. Steve hits the brakes harder than intended and you fall forward, one hand bracing yourself on his thigh while your skirt flies up, your ass on full display.

“Jesus, Steve. You trying to kill me?” You ask before turning to the window.

“Where are you guys going?” You ask, confused. Your mom raises her eyebrows. “We’ve only been talking about our trip to Vegas for the past four months! We talked about it this morning too!” Realization hits you and you giggle. “Sorry! I hope you guys have fun! But not too much fun. One step-sibling is enough, I don’t need any more.” Steve’s dad laughs, shaking his head at you.

“You kids behave. Don’t throw any parties or anything. The neighbours know we’re gone so if you do anything we’ll know.”

“I don’t have enough friends to throw a party anyway. And Steve is a social outcast so you don’t need to worry about him.” Your mother gives you a look and you raise your eyebrows innocently.

“Be nice to your brother. We’ve gotta get going before we miss our flight. But I’ll talk to you when we land."

They start pulling away again and you stick your head further out the window, kneeling between Steve’s legs as he grabs your waist.

“He’s my Stepbrother!”

They drive off, your mom waving until they’re out of sight, and you sigh, climbing back into the car and looking at Steve.

His hands are still on your waist and he’s got a soft look in his eyes.

“Steve?” He hums, clenching his jaw as you shift on his lap to get comfortable, your thighs spreading as you straddle him.

“Do you think your dad’s gonna get my mom pregnant?” He groans, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

“God no. I don’t even wanna think about that but even if they... you know... my dad got a vasectomy a while ago.” You nod, hands on his shoulders as you purse your lips.

His eyes are focused so intently on them that he doesn’t notice when you open the door.

“First person inside picks dinner! Loser has to pay!” You jump out of the car and sprint inside, leaving Steve stunned and horny in his car.

~*~

The two of you sit on the couch watching movies, Steve with his arm thrown over the back of the couch.

“Hey Steve... can I ask you something?” He looks over at you, nodding and waiting for you to ask whatever’s on your mind.

“Is... do... does...” You groan, shaking your head, beyond embarrassed with yourself.

“C’mon bunny. You can ask me anything and I won’t judge you. You know that.” One of his hands comes to your knee, rubbing gently.

You nod, taking a deep breath before speaking.

“Do guys actually prefer when a girl is experienced? Does it... does it matter to them?” Whatever he thought you were going to ask... it certainly wasn’t this.

He raises his eyebrows and blows a breath out through his mouth.

“Some guys, yeah. I mean, it puts a lot of pressure on them to make sure your first time is good. Which is hard cause each girl cums differently and finds different things good so it’s hard to tell. Some guys like virgins but I think a lot like it if they aren’t a girl’s first just so they don’t have to live up to whatever expectations she may have.” He’s being honest with you and you value that, but it doesn’t exactly make you feel better about your situation.

You sit up and turn to him fully, a frown on your face.

“How do I find someone who’s willing to be my first so I can get it out of the way?” He inhales deeply, trying to take advantage of the situation in a way that won’t clue you into his true intentions. He wants you, but he wants you to think that he’s just helping you.

“You’ve gotta find someone you trust to do something like that, bunny. Someone who’s gonna be gentle with you because it’s gonna hurt a bit.” You frown, scooting closer and leaning your head against his shoulder.

“Where am I supposed to find someone who’s gonna be gentle with me like that? The only guys who even look at me are gross guys like Brock and I don't want someone like him to touch me.”

He brings one hand up to your head, smoothing your hair away from your face.

“I mean... I think I could find someone who would be willing to help you out. Show you the ropes just so you’re not totally inexperienced,” he murmurs, eyes focused on you as you look up at him slowly.

“Who?” His eyes flash down to your lips then back up to your eyes and you inhale sharply, realizing what he’s implying.

He doesn’t give you a second to object before he leans down and presses his lips against yours, making you gasp. He takes advantage of your parted lips and lets his tongue explore your mouth.

It takes a moment but you give in, kissing him back. One of your hands finds his hair, fingers tangling in the blond strands.

He shifts onto his side for a moment, hand grabbing your waist and pulling you forward until you’re straddling his lap.

The ball is in your court and you know you should stop but it feels so right. It’s something so unlike anything you’ve ever felt before and you wanna see where it will go. How it’ll feel to be touched by a man.

You finally pull away, panting hard with your eyes closed.

His hands grip your hips tightly and rock you forward, making you gasp as his hard length rubs against you through the material of your sweatpants.

“Steve wait,” you murmur, head falling back as he attacks your neck with kisses.

“Lemme teach you, Bunny. I’ll take good care of you, show you how it feels to be fucked properly. Please. I don’t wanna see you getting hurt by a guy who doesn’t care about your feelings. I’ll treat you so nice, Bunny, I swear.” His sweet words and the way he feels underneath you is enough to have you nodding.

He grins, one hand wrapping around your back as he quickly flips you onto your back. You gasp, arms wrapping around his shoulders to pull you tight against him.

He grinds against you for a moment longer before slowly pressing kisses down your neck and chest. He pulls away for a moment, just long enough to tear your shirt clean off your body, your bra following soon after.

His mouth kisses your breasts, giving each nipple far more attention than you thought he would. Your fingers are tangled in his hair, lips parted and heavy breaths falling from your mouth as a new type of pleasure builds inside of you.

“You like that?” He asks, eyes dark as he gazes up at you. You nod, bottom lip tucked between your teeth as he uses his thumb and index finger to tweak at your other nipple.

“Steve,” you whisper, arching your back and pushing your chest against his face. His kisses slowly move further down your body, lips leaving a wet trail over your stomach and past your navel.

His eyes are locked on yours as his fingers tug at the waistband of your sweatpants.

You raise your hips without hesitation, nervous but excited.

He’s your step-brother, and it’s wrong, but he’s so sweet to you. If there was one person on the planet who you trust to take your virginity and teach you about sex it’s him.

Your eyes fall closed, partly out of embarrassment as he lays between your naked legs, eyes on your centre.

He hoists your legs over his shoulders and, after making sure you’re eyes are closed, grabs your discarded panties and presses them to his nose. He takes a long inhale and groans, intoxicated by the scent of you.

He tucks them into his pocket then reaches over your hips.

His thumbs spread your folds and you want to close your legs, but he makes it impossible. His tongue darts out and licks a thick stripe from your entrance to your clit.

The sensation makes you jolt and Steve chuckles softly.

“Tell me what you like, Bunny. It won’t offend me. I wanna make you feel good.” You nod, grinding your teeth together and trying to clear the thoughts from your mind and focus on what he’s doing.

He finds your clit surprisingly easily, and you moan when he focuses his tongue on it.

“J-just like that... please...” He complies, working his tongue over the little bundle of nerves while two of his fingers slowly press into your heat.

You groan at the feeling, it being unlike anything you’ve ever felt before. His fingers fill you up more than ever, and he works them inside of you until he hits a spot that has you jolting up, right hand grabbing a handful of his hair.

“Oh fuck,” you whimper, eyes screwed shut as he massages that spot inside of you.

It’s all too much, and in a few moments, you’re cumming all over his face and his fingers.

“Holy fuck. Holy fuck. Oh my god.” Steve’s eyes find your face and he nearly cums in his pants.

The look of pure pleasure on your features is something he wishes he could take a picture of.

You look so fucking pretty when you cum.

He gently works you through your orgasm, pulling away only when your thighs start trembling. You open your eyes after a few more moments only to find him seated between your legs, pink lips glistening as he sucks your nectar off of his fingers.

“Holy fuck,” you repeat, one hand coming to your chest as you slowly catch your breath.

He chuckles softly, leaning down and pressing a gentle kiss to your lips.

“C’mon. M’gonna fuck you on a bed, not on a couch.” He scoops you up in his arms and you wrap your legs around his waist, arms tightly wound around his neck as he carries you up the stairs to his bedroom.

It’s wrong. So fucking wrong, but it feels so good and you trust him so much.

You’re carefully laid on your back on his bed, the blankets cool against your hot skin. Steve kneels between your legs, hands resting on your hips while his eyes devour this image.

You bring your hands up to cover your chest, feeling nervous about being naked beneath him, but he shakes his head and gently takes your hands.

“Don’t hide from me, Bunny. You’re beautiful. Any man who gets to see you like this... is a fucking lucky one.” His eyes trace over your body, his words having lit a fire in his gut.

No other man is ever going to see you like this. He’ll make sure of that.

“C-can you take your clothes off? Please? I feel...” you trail off, embarrassed of both your nudity and your request.

“Of course, Bunny.” He leans back on his haunches and pulls his shirt over his head, giving you a glorious view of his rippling muscles.

Your stepbrother has an amazing body. That much you learned the very first time he took his shirt off to go swimming with you.

He climbs off the bed for a moment, just long enough to kick off his sweatpants and his boxers, and then he’s between your legs again.

You inhale sharply when your eyes find his cock, fear and arousal filling you.

“A-am I... do you want me to...” Your eyes don’t leave his length and he chuckles, one of his hands moving down to slowly stroke himself.

“I just want you to lay back and feel good, okay? It’s gonna hurt a bit, but you gotta relax. I’ll go slow.” You nod, hands instinctively coming to his shoulders as he scoots closer.

“If you’re really curious, I’ll teach you how to give head another day. But today is all about this.” The hot tip presses against your folds and you jump, wide eyes staring up at your step-brother.

“Now, when anyone else ever fucks you, make sure they wear a condom. But for your first time, I want you to get the full experience. It’ll feel better for you this way.” You nod, gripping his strong shoulders tightly as he leans down, hands pressing into the mattress on either side of your torso.

He slides his cock through your folds, watching intently as your eyelids drop and your mouth falls open.

“Feels nice, Bunny? Nice and warm?” You nod, a whimper falling from your lips as his cock rubs against your swollen clit.

He pulls back after a moment more to align himself, then slowly pushes his cock into you.

Your face scrunches up in pain and he stops immediately, pulling back and leaning down until his face is above your heat.

You hear him spit a moment before you feel the liquid splatter against you. He does it a few times and you feel slightly mortified.

“Don’t be shy, Bunny. I just gotta make sure you’re nice and wet. It’ll stop it from hurting as much.” You nod, keeping your eyes closed as he hovers over you again.

This time when he pushes in it doesn’t hurt nearly as much.

He pushes in slowly, his eyes focused on your face as he meets the band of resistance he was waiting for. He slowly pushes further, frowning when you wince and inhale sharply.

He doesn’t want to hurt you, but he has to.

When he’s finally bottomed out inside of you, you let out a big breath.

“Look, Bunny.” You open your eyes and follow his gaze down to where the two of you are connected, your pussy fluttering around him at the sight.

He’s fully sheathed inside of you, and your lower abdomen bulges slightly because of it.

“You’ve got all of my big cock in you. Your pretty pussy is taking me like a champ.” You stare down at where his cock disappears inside of you, a gasp falling from your lips when he pulls out a few inches, only to push it right back in.

“Once I start moving it’ll feel better. Whenever you’re ready, let me know.” You nod, closing your eyes and basking in the feeling of fulness. It’s like you’re finally getting something you didn’t know you needed.

He feels so hot and heavy inside of you, you want to keep him exactly where he is forever.

After a few more moments of adjusting to the intrusion, you open your eyes and lift one hand to cup his jaw.

His eyes snap to yours, a soft admiration clouding his beautiful blues.

You pucker your lips and he smiles, dropping his head and pressing a soft kiss to your lips while slowly starting to thrust.

His pace is slow and steady, pulling out nearly all the way then slowly pushing back in, each thrust stretching your walls further than the last.

“Fuck... you’re so fucking tight... feel so good, bunny.” Your nails dig into his shoulders as he gradually speeds up, each drag against your walls bringing you a type of pleasure you’ve only dreamed of.

“S-steve... feels... feels nice... so big...” You’re hardly making any sense but you speak anyway, toes curling as he speeds up even more.

His lips find your throat and you whine loudly, nails raking down his back.

“M’gonna go harder and faster, okay Bunny? You ready?” You nod, mouth dropping open as he hammers his hips forward, cock hitting places inside of you that make you see stars.

The noises coming from you nearly have him cumming hard, but he grinds his teeth together. He’s determined to make you cum first.

One of his hands darts between your legs, finding your clit and rubbing circles on it.

Your back arches hard, chest pressed tight against his as your eyes roll back into your head, an orgasm racing down your spine and exploding in your stomach.

Every nerve in your body is on fire, stars dance behind your eyes, and your cunt clamps down hard on Steve's cock.

The blond groans lowly, eyes squeezed shut as he falls into his own climax.

He fills you, white painting your walls and warming you from the inside.

The two of you stay like that, you trembling on the bed and Steve slowly starting to shake above you as his muscles threaten to give out.

After a moment he rolls onto his side, pulling you close to him to keep his cock locked inside of you.

His fingers trace along your spine, rubbing up and down so gently that it nearly lulls you to sleep.

“Fucking hell, bunny.” He presses his lips against your forehead, beyond satisfied with what just happened. You hum softly, nuzzling deeper against his chest.

He kicks the blankets up until they’re around his knees then pulls them up to cover the two of you.

You’re snuggled up against him, one of your legs tossed over his hip as his cock sits nice and snug inside of you.

“Thank you, Steve.” He’s quiet for a moment before hugging you tightly.

“Anything for you, Bunny.”

#dark!steve rogers #dark!steve x reader #dark!steve x you #Steve Rogers x reader #stepbrother!Steve Rogers x reader #stepbrother!Steve X reader #stepbrother!Steve Rogers x innocent!reader #stepbrother!Steve X innocent reader #steve x innocent!reader #Steve Rogers x innocent!reader #steve rogers x innocent!reader #dark au #tw: dark fic #dark fic #dark marvel #dark marvel fanfic

[neopuppy]

Dive Into You: Part 2. (M)

Preview: “You’re not seriously just fucking with her to get back at me are you? It’s not like everyones talking about you being dads problem child here.” Jeno’s arms fold over his chest. Bicep muscles straining under tight sleeves.

“Shouldn’t you be happy? I’m allowing you to spend alone time with your church girl. You should be thanking me nono.”

Pairing: brothers Jeno/Haechan x female reader

Word Count: 3.8k

Genre: pwp, church boys AU, smut, love triangle, brothers nohyuck

Warning: daddy issues, sacrilegious themes, explicit language, master manipulator Haechan, innocent Jeno, virgin reader, corruption, bible quotes

Smut Warning: oral(F receiving), slight sensory deprivation, fingering, all in church.

Intro—>

Part 1–>

“I told the new family in town that you’d be showing their daughter around boys. I expect you to be on your best behavior.” Pastor Lee slaps a hand over Jeno’s shoulder with a firm grip. “No funny business.”

“You got it, father. You know, like because you’re a pastor.” Haechan snorts, pouring hot steaming coffee into a ceramic mug.

“Ha ha ha, you’re hilarious. Make sure your brother acts right. People around town are already talking enough about my atrocious parenting skills. Word travels fast in these small towns you know.” Pastor Lee adjusts his tie in the mirror. Stepping out of the front door with not even a wave goodbye. Jeno left rubbing at his shoulder with irritation.

“What time do you want to head out?” He questions, eyes burning into Haechans back.

“Oh, I can’t do that ‘show the new townies’ around thing today. Got a brunch date in the next town over with someones mom.” Haechan turns, leaned back along the kitchen counter blowing steam from his coffee.

“What?? She’s your girlfriend now. Aren’t you supposed to hang out with her tonight?” Jeno’s eyes widen befuddled. More in disbelief his brother would be two timing you, familiar with his antics.

“Your point?” Haechan scoffs, checking messages through his phone. Petty smirk on his lips sending you a ‘miss you’ text.

“You’re a dog. You’re not seriously just fucking with her to get back at me are you? It’s not like everyones talking about you being dads problem child here.” Jeno’s arms fold over his chest. Bicep muscles straining under tight sleeves.

“Shouldn’t you be happy? I’m allowing you to spend alone time with your church girl. Should be thanking me nono.”

“Dick..” Jeno mutters, grabbing his bag to head out. Not wanting to spend another minute around his brother.

“Wait a minute..” Haechan grabs a hold on Jeno’s arm, pulling him back into the kitchen. “Take good care of my girl today yea?” Jeno’s eyes squint as his brother sneaks a $20 bill into his side jacket pocket.

“Maybe get her a milk shake or something. Whatever it is you kids drink. We’re not really going on a date tonight if you know what I mean.” Haechans eyes shift around mischievously. Knowing damn well Jeno knows. Knowing exactly what to say to get under his skin.

Jeno grips at Haechans collar, huffing against his face. Anger seething through fingertips aching to bring his brother physical pain. Jaw tightening, resisting the deep urge inside building for years everyday.

“Gonna give me a black eye nono? What will father think when he finds out his bad seed is also abusive?” Lips curling with a slick grin. Haechan the expert on how to push Jeno’s buttons. Worked on himself well to get exactly what he wants.

“That’s what you want isn’t it?” Jeno clenches the fabric between his fist, arms shaking with rage. “You’re the perfect one, I’m the fuck up. You’re the one dad brags about, I’m the one he pretends doesn’t exist.”

“You think your daddy issues would get your little church girl turned on? Should I tell her how you cry yourself to sleep wishing you were me?” Haechan snorts, loosening from of Jeno’s grip. Hands smoothing out his freshly ironed shirt.

“I’ve never wanted to be anything like you. You don’t care about anyone but yourself.”

“That’s not true nono..” Haechan pulls on a jacket. Fingers twirling around keys. “You know how much I love my car” with a cocky wink matching a shit eating grin Haechan heads out. Leaving Jeno festering in his anger. Fists slamming against the counter. Back tense with underlying hatred, hatred for himself. Tired of how easily Haechan manages to provoke him.

——————————————————————————

Jeno’s nervous, pissed off, feeling anxious. Pacing back and forth in front of your house. He didn’t have much of a choice with the looming threat of getting shipped back off to Jesus camp hovering his mind. The idea to ditch this whole ordeal passing his thoughts more than once. It’s not that he liked you, but it’s also not necessarily that he didn’t like you. Convincing himself he just hasn’t gotten any for too long now. Dick probably desperate for anything at this point. Nothing related to how cute you looked with your lips all swollen after kissing him. Jacking off at home that night reliving the events long forgotten.

Forget about stroking himself off in the shower the next morning again. Or the other five more times since. No he didn’t like you, not really..

“Aren’t you one of Pastor Lee’s sons??” And older woman carrying bags of groceries approaches. Lipstick covering her two front teeth, over sized dress hanging from her body.

“Oh uh.. yes I am. I’m supposed to.. show your.. daughter? Around today..” Jeno stutters out, mentally slapping himself.

“Oh..” the woman adjusts a bag in her hold, throat clearing. “What about that lovely brother of yours? What’s his name again?”

“Haechan..” Jeno’s eyes shift, looking away. How did his brother manage to convince everyone he was such an angel. A modern day fallen angel, roaming earth in disguise.

“Ah that’s it..” she makes a sound of disapproval, bag dropping on the porch. “A polite young boy would have offered assistance.” Voice lowly whispering as she unlocks the front door. Jeno’s eyes darting between the groceries and woman, cursing himself yet again for coming off exactly how everyone says.

“I’ll call her down.” She steps inside. Loud shouting vocals calling out your name. The sound of foot steps against stairs following. Your figure appearing, dressed up to impress. Jeno’s throat itching, swallowing, adjusting his collar.

“That’s not your bike- is it?!” Your mothers shrieking voice questions. Eyes bulging out, taking in the sleek black motorcycle off the sidewalk.

“I’m here!” Your smile falls, only spotting one brother waiting for you outside. Not the one you’d expect even. You subtly give a look around, searching for someone else maybe hiding in surprise. Jeno unfortunately does not fail to notice.

“That is my bike Ma’m.. it’s safe. I promise.” He holds up two helmets. Craving to crawl into a hole under your moms scrutinizing gaze.

“I’m not so sure about this..” she mumbles. Eyes glaring into Jeno, trying to put the fear of God...fear of a strict crazy mother, in him.

“It’ll be fine mom! He has a helmet! I’ve been on a motorcycle with dad before!” You lean up, pecking your mothers cheek. Summer dress twirling up with air as you run forward. Jeno catching a glimpse of your underwear. Shifting a helmet over his groin momentarily.

“I thought Haechan was coming too?” You asks, taking the helmet held out for you. Typically being his brothers helmet, little did you know.

“He’s busy.. errands out of town or something.” Jeno mumbles, avoiding your eyes. He’s being weird, but then again you didn’t know him well enough to confirm he wasn’t always this way.

“Oh.. well I guess I’ll see him later anyway.” You frown, tugging at the light fabric of your dress. What a waste. “You ride a motorcycle?”

“Yea.. I don’t have a car so.. you’ve been on one before you said?” Jeno’s brows furrow. Eyes trained on your feet, teeth digging into his lower lip. You had to wear cute strappy sandals with a summer dress. That just made sense, to show off your cute freshly painted toes..Jeno’s brain feels like its turning in his skull. Lips begging for mercy to let out a scream.

“I actually haven’t. Just said that to make my mom shut up.” You lean in close. Lips grazing his earlobe as you whisper. Words muffled, Jeno blinking slowly. Perfume wafting around his head, as if this could get any worse.

“Uh..” Jeno steps away abruptly. “Put that on!” His voice awkwardly shouts to you, chin jerking toward the helmet in your hands. Head shaking, pulling on his own. Straddling around the bike seat, engine coming to life.

“Am I supposed to hold on to you?” You stand to Jeno’s side. Admiring the shining black bike, fitting for his character. At least physically.

“I..” Jeno’s breath catches under his helmet shield. Only now realizing you’ll be riding with him around today. Legs parted on him.. arms squeezing his abdomen.

“Jeno??..” you pull on your helmet with confusion. He wasn’t much for words it seemed. So opposite of his brother.

“Uh.. yea.. just hold on to me..” he sighs to himself. Sounding more displeased than intended. Uncomfortable awkwardness travels through you watching his shoulders slump. With reluctance, you lift your leg. Straddling Jeno’s back, bad day to wear a short dress..

“This is kind of..” your lips purse together, center a little too close to Jeno’s body. More than close, right on him. Cotton airy smell coming off his black jean jacket. Scent fresh and clean, hair lingering of lightly scented shampoo. His broad shoulders covering majority of your view.

“You should.. hold on tight.” Jeno licks his cracking lips. Foot kicking up the bikes lock. With another look toward your mom motioning the sign of the cross. You lean your body forward, chest pressed up on Jeno’s wide back. Arms circling around his small waist.

Jeno’s own thoughts rolling in like rapid fire. Throat squeezing in, heat between your bodies pressed together moving between his legs. Trying to focus on anything, anything but your breasts pressing into him. Anything besides your smooth thighs around him. The memory of kissing you too vividly choosing to repeat itself.

“God be with you!” Your mothers voice screams out. Bike engine too loud as Jeno rides off. Your dress blowing behind you, smile covering your face. Chin on his shoulder, admiring the view of your new home.

Could only be an even more perfect moment if it was Haechan you were wrapped around..

——————————————————————————

“That’s it? A diner? That’s the tour of the town?” You twirl around the cherry sat atop melting whipped cream. Chocolate shake looking unblended and less than appetizing.

“There really isn’t much to do here..” Jeno mumbles, chin tucked into his chest. Basket of half eaten fries more interesting than you apparently.

“I could have told you that..” you murmur in response. Sitting back in the booth with boredom. Jeno does the same, brows furrowing in thought. A minute or five of silence passing. He grunts lowly, pulling his phone out.

“Look at you two!” Mark jogs over sporting a huge smile stretched across his cheeks. Red and white striped apron covering what looks like an all white uniform.

“You work here?!” You sit up, eyeing the uniform. Almost too fitting, a too old altar boy working part time at a cheap fifties diner.

“Well of course, phone bills don’t pay themselves! Timothy 6:10 For the love of money, is the root of all kinds of evil!” Mark proclaims, finger waggling about like a mad man. Your lips pulling back over your teeth in...displeasure.

“Right..”

“Fucking shit” Jeno groans, kicking at a foot under the table. Tsking as thumbs slam down at his phone screen.

“Ah Jeno! Proverbs 21:23! Whoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble!” Mark places hands on his hips. Lips pursed together with disappointment.

“Yea..sorry Jesus. Whatever.” Jeno mumbles again, eyes not moving from his phone.

“Gamers right” Mark shakes his head your way. Eyes lighting up, taking your own phone out.

“What do you play??” you scoot in closer to Jeno. Closing the space between the two of you in the booth. His shoulders stiffen, curling in hunched over the table.

“Kartrider..” Jeno barely whispers. Catching enough of it, familiar with the game.

“I play too! Oh! I bet I have a better rank than you!” Laughing unlocking your phone, swiping the game open. “Look at my character, she’s so cute!”

“There’s no way you’re better than me....I’m always top ranking in this county..” Jeno’s eyes widen. Forgetting about his current race, watching you hold up your phone with laughter.

“Come on, let’s race. I’m gonna kick your ass!” You lean in closer, reading out Jeno’s ID as you enter it in. “Add me!”

“Language!” Mark sighs, head shaking with both of you. “God’s children have truly fallen. After everything the lord has done for us.”

“Come on Jeno! Play me! I’ll go easy on you” nudging at his side with a wink. Your smile grows, finally something you can do together. Jeno dragging you around downtown past rusty antique shops. The only thing that caught your interest a quant little family owned bookstore. Learning fast he wasn’t much for conversation. Face appearing pained and uninterested with every word from you.

“Don’t feel like playing anymore..” Jeno shuts his phone, screen turning black.

“What?! Aw come on. Can’t stand the thought of a girl beating you?” Jeno leans back, eyes taking in your face slowly. All he cared about was winning, competing in stupid games just to achieve a high ranking. You’d win of course, he’d never let you lose.

“Just don’t feel like playing anymore.”

——————————————————————————-

“Thanks for showing me around, the one street you took me to.” Your voice drips with sarcasm. Hopping off the back of Jeno’s bike. He removes his own helmet, hair flopping around messily. “Was fun I guess.”

“Yea well” Jeno holds out his hand for the helmet you borrowed. You hold it under your arm, brow quirking in confusion. Your hand slowly lifting, placing in his. Jeno’s eyes widen, staring at your hands held together. Too many feelings rushing at him all at once.

“Helmet!” Jeno shouts abruptly, hand flying away from yours like you’re too disgusting to touch.

“Geeze, fine. Sorry...” you place the helmet on the back end of Jeno’s bike. Turning away, without even a goodbye. He grabs your elbow, your foot stopping mid-air.

“You..” head turning, staring down where he holds you.

“Yes?” You implore him to continue. Jeno’s hand dropping from you when you fully turn to face him again.

“You.. you really like my brother..?” Jeno’s eyes fall to the ground. Thick dark eyelashes shadowing across his cheeks.

“Yea of course. Is that what this is about Jeno? I really do like him, I would never use someone.” You smile, bouncing back on your heels. Jeno’s lips suck in with frustration.

“Wish I could say the same about him.” Jeno mumbles, turning his engine back on.

“What was that?” Voice raising, trying to speak above the loud roar from the motorcycle. Jeno flicks down his helmet shield, speeding off. Cloud of dust surrounding you. Smacking at the air coughing out, bike disappearing behind dusts.

“Fucking jerk.”

—————————————————————————-

“Haechan! Where are we going? The church?!” Your shoes lift up dust. Arm in his hold pulling you toward the small old building.

“Where else would we go baby? Can’t go to my place, the holy spirit’s home.” Haechan laughs, pulling a lanyard from his back pocket. “Besides, this is my dads church you know right? It’s like my property too, we’re safe here under God’s watchful eye.”

“Isn’t this.. I don’t know. Sacrilegious?!” You anxiously follow him inside. Haechans easy smile comforting you, arms wrapping around your waist. He steps back down the center aisle. Pews displayed at your sides, Haechan leading you one in front. He pulls you to the center of the pew, sitting with hands on your hips.

“This feels..” you start, chest rising and falling faster as guilt passes through you.

“Wrong? God didn’t make us this way..” his hand smooths down your bare thigh. Passing the fresh new dress just for your date tonight. Fingers skirting between your thighs, one playing at a side covering your mound. “..for us to not touch and explore..”

“It’s just..” your hands grip at the front of the pew behind you. Where you’d normally kneel to pray..

“Just?..” Haechans eyes gaze up at you. Pure sin and danger hidden in the face of an angel. Tongue sliding up your other thigh. “You’re so sweet.”

You sigh in defeat, legs quivering, upper body doing the work to hold you up. His head dipping under your dress, nose pressing into your slit. Cotton from your panties shoving between you. Soft moans sounding from underneath, Haechans tongue licking at your underwear. Enough to properly soak them up, allowing drool to freely fall from his mouth. You gnaw at your lip, gathering up your dress fabric in one hand. Admiring the way the beautiful boy between your legs eats you up.

Haechan lets out a dreamy sigh. Long fingers stroking up and down your thighs. Teeth biting your at core with cloth between. Your stomach folds in, curling closer to where he sits below you. Fingers wrapping around the sides of your panties, tongue lapping at your inner thighs.

“Body of a virgin can heal more sins than body of christ you know..” underwear at your knees. Haechan leans back in, lips wrapping around your clit. Tongue swirling around, suctioning between. Your other hand lifting to your mouth, biting down on your thumb. Muffled moans and whines echoing around the church walls.

Haechans eyes stay on your face, tongue rolling your clit around. Hands squeezing your inner thighs, pulling back, clapping down slaps. Your hips jolting forward with suppressed cries. Everything about him was absolutely depraved. Looks deceiving from the boy your mother had always warned you about.

“Don’t hide your pretty sounds baby.” Haechan pulls away. Lips shining, coated in your wetness. Glares from the colored glass reflecting off his skin. Red tinted eyes sparkling up at you. Haechan reaches for your wrist, yanking your hand out from your mouth. His lips part open, tongue swirling around your entrance. Sucking up the wetness gathering around.

“Oh God!” You shout out, neck loosely dropping back. Tears on the brink of escaping the corners of your eyes.

“That’s it baby. You pray to me now.” Haechan groans, mouth closing over your entire mound. Eyes rolling back into his head, swiping up and down your core. Hands finding his hair, fingers digging into his scalp. Haechans tongue thrusts into your tight entrance, muscle working extra hard to enter.

“Oh my God!” Body shaking, ass digging into the pew. Hips twitching forward, grinding against Haechans face. Chin covered in your wetness, tongue wiggling inside you. Fingers finding way to your clit, pinching and rolling the bud. “Oh my God!!”

Haechan groans inside you, scalp in pain from your pulling. Cock hardening in his jeans, taste of innocence in his mouth nearly orgasmic. You taste too fucking good, nothing like that used up whore from earlier..

“I-I c-can’t!” Haechans fingers work at your clit. Rapidly sweeping back and forth. Tongue sliding out, jaw hung open. Eyes return to your face, smile breaking out over his cheeks.

“You can.” He pants, tongue hung out lazily lapping at your hole. Clit pinched between two fingers, massaging every little nerve. “Cum on my tongue.”

Your head drops forward, tear slipping free. Haechans raspy tone saying those words driving you past your limit. Ass lifted off the pew, core convulsing. Haechans tongue placed against your fluttering entrance. Catching all of your release. You weakly fall forward again, forehead resting on top of his messed up hair.

“So good.” Haechan moans words out, licking clean the wetness seeping from you. Neck lifting, hands cupping your cheeks. “Taste.”

Tongue pushing between your parted lips, trying to catch your breath. Haechan laps at your tongue, realization hitting you in seconds what he’s making you do. Tasting yourself between your lips. His tongue covering every corner inside your mouth. Haechans hands return to your hips, pulling you off the front of the pew to straddle his lap.

“You want it?” His hand digs into the back of your hair. Jean clad dick shoving between your thighs at your heated core. Weakly nodding, eyes half open lazily pecking pouty lips. Haechan lays back down flat across the pew. Warm hands rubbing up and down your back soothingly. “Come here.”

Your head nods, under his command. Mind controlled by whatever he’s saying, telling you ‘I want it- no matter what it is.’ If it’s from Haechan- give it to me, now. You lay down on his chest, kisses continuing. Hands squeezing around your ass, pulling up your dress. Hands flying down hard with mean slaps. Fingers gliding down finding way between your legs again. Skimming up and down your slit from the back. Soft moans passing between your swollen lips.

Body tensing, sounds of the large entrance doors opening up with a slam. Haechans eyes open up staring into yours, brows lifted. His lips purse out with a silent ‘shhh’, earning a rapid head shake from you. Familiar smirk pulling at his lips, free hand clamping over your mouth. Your eyes widen, lips pressing into the palm of Haechans hand. Fingertips circling around your needy entrance. Panic rushing through you as loud foot steps approach closer and closer.

Your forehead shoved up against Haechans. Mouth closed off, silent whimpers falling out behind his hand. Finger sliding inside you, his lit up eyes watching your expressive eyes react. The fear and curiosity alone could make him cum.

“Are you kidding me!” A flash light shines over your faces. Mark standing at the end of the pew in disgust. Your head lifts quickly, ripping Haechans hand off your mouth. Cheeks heating up absolutely mortified. Moving fast, adjusting your dress to cover up. Haechan stays laid down, eyes fluttering shut with irritation.

“Fucking cock block.” He whispers to himself, sitting up. Tent in his jeans extremely evident.

“I knew you stole my keys again Haechan!” Mark clicks the flash light on and off angrily. Both of you covering your eyes. “and you! Mary of Magdala! You should be ashamed! Think of your mother!”

“Dude, chill.” Haechan stands, hands held up trying to block the bright light from his eyes. “We weren’t doing anything.”

“Weren’t doing anything?!? If people found out what you were doing, this one would be getting pelted with stones!” Mark passes the light over your face. You cringe, hands coming up to hide yourself.

“Mark, quick, what’s the verse about fucking that really cute voice of an angel choir boy?” Haechan throws him a knowing look, pulling a lanyard from his pocket. Marks eyes widen, snatching his keys away.

“Don’t steal my keys again! Next time I will be telling your father!” Mark scurries away, door slamming behind him.

“Oh my God he’s gonna tell your dad!” You panic, pulling your dress down. Attempting to wipe away any mascara that could be on your cheeks.

“Nah he’d never, can’t risk everyone finding out about Renjun. Don’t worry baby, I got something on everyone.” Haechan pulls you in, gently pecking your lips. Your senses relax, mind torn with stress still. Who the fuck were you right now..

“You know..” Haechan turns you around, hand scooping your chin. “I’m gonna fuck you. Right there.” He holds your jaw up. Eyes on landing on the altar.

“Jesus will know all your sins after I’m done with you.”

Part 3–>

Taglist:

@seuomo @unknown5tar @sunoosi @safariria @nctlover94 @underjeno @nanascupid @jenorenle @scruffiejelly @mel-yjh @count-your-shadows @sunflowerhae @johnjaespeach @nctflix @notsooperfect​ @skrtbeepbeep​  @lanadreamie​ @nctstrawberrycow​  @meonlightuniverxse​ @sunshinedhyuck​ @haechanswhore​ @brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr​ @kpopmultiifandomm​ @d1nne​ @neobanguniverse​ @pewpewpwe00​ @abitofafan​ @haechansworld​ @born5sos​ @bockhyun​ @prettychannie​ @xuyiyangstan​@alexameliamg​ @ahsshilee​ @jeon-jungkook-is-actually-god @xwanna127x @heyitsbreeeeee @tarolovebot @loveyukhei @eleanorfreakingchan @classic-antifood @winwiniee @sheytanni @player23 @wavetease @nahyuckk @n0hyuck @doyoungssouthernbabygirl

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[witchersgoldenbard]

Caffeine and Forehead Kisses

It's been one of those months where it seems like the whole world needs Jaskier to be there, to listen and to fix their problems. And Jaskier loves it, usually, but it's getting out of hand and he desperately needs a break from everything. Thankfully, Lambert is there to save the day - and to send him pictures of otters in funky hats.

wc: 1.9k | tags: modern au, established relationship, protective lambert, jaskier has anxiety, slightly nonverbal jaskier

read on ao3 | for @karolincki​ my beloved 💛

Everything in Jaskier is longing to scream until his throat is raw enough to justify calling in sick for the next two to four business months. His anxiety is through the roof, his skin tingling every time his phone vibrates with another message, his laptop pings with a new email or his coworkers stop by his desk to have a little chat. He wants to scream, but the very thought of that makes his already shaking hands tremble even more, and he has to work himself through the sixth breathing exercise that day alone. It’s not even 3pm yet.

Reaching for his phone, he ignores all the notifications and instead goes to his chat with Lambert. 

Jask [2:21 pm] - i want to go home 

Jask [2:21 pm] - tell my mom to come pick me up 

Jask [2:22 pm] - or better yet, you come pick me up 🥺☹️

It doesn’t take long for Lambert to come online and for Jaskier to get a text back. 

Lambi 🦌 [2:24 pm] - I’ll be there at 4 with sugar and caffeine, yeah? 

Jask [3:24 pm] - i love you more than words can express. but also please something with cinnamon? 👀

Lambi 🦌 [2:25 pm] - Done 

Lambi 🦌 [2:25 pm] - Here, have pictures of otters in hats 

Lambi 🦌 [2:25 pm] - 5 attachments

As Jaskier scrolls through the pictures and shakes his head at how wonderfully inept his boyfriend is when it comes to emotions while still managing to cheer him up each and every time, the itch under his skin subsides. He doesn’t want to scream anymore, instead all he wants now is to hug Lambert and to just exist in his arms for the rest of the day with nothing but caffeine, sugar and forehead kisses. 

When 4pm finally rolls around, Jaskier all but jumps out of his chair, grabs his stuff without so much as a goodbye, and races down the stairs to find Lambert waiting for him. That wonderful, wonderful man with his ginormous coffee travel mug and a cinnamon roll the size of Jaskier’s fist, his arms opened wide in invitation that Jaskier only too gladly accepts. 

“I love you,“ he tells Lambert, pressing a kiss to his cheek. „I love you, I love you, I love you.“ 

Standing out here now, the sun on his face, breathing in Lambert’s familiar scent, all the tension falls from his shoulders. It almost leaves him feeling hollow, but he tries not to think about that too much.

“Just admit it, you love the coffee more,“ Lambert sighs as he presses the mug into Jaskier’s delighted hands. 

It is then that Jaskier realises he hasn’t eaten anything yet today, and that the dull ache just above his eyebrows might actually be caused by drinking too little. He’s not been great at taking care of himself between Essi’s broken heart, Yen’s latest mood swings, reminding Eskel of his worth and value, and just taking on everyone’s problems. He’s Jaskier, taking care of people is what he does. He shouldn’t complain that they love him, that they trust him enough with their deepest and darkest parts and value his input. 

And the tricky thing is, he does love being there for them. Loves being the person they confide hin, loves existing in other people’s lives as the one person who always has the right thing to say, who can always solve their problems. A bit of sunshine on an otherwise dreary day. 

But now the headaches are getting stronger, his anxiety is through the roof, he can barely focus on work, and even though there are so many things he wants to ask Lambert, wants to tell him, he finds that his throat is constricting. In fact, the very thought of talking to him makes his skin tingle again. 

“You okay?” Lambert asks, and Jaskier only nods as he sips his coffee. “Come here.” 

The words are gentle and Jaskier doesn’t even hesitate before he leans into Lambert’s chest, lets the other man’s arms close around him and his one wish of existing in his love’s arms with coffee and pastries comes true. A gentle kiss is pressed to his forehead, another to his temple, and Jaskier wants to cry. 

“Wanna go home?” Lambert asks, and Jaskier nods hesitantly. Not yet, he thinks. Let me have this first. 

Lambert hums and rubs his hands over Jaskier’s arms, replacing the tension there with warmth. 

“In a minute?”

He nods again, relieved that Lambert always, always understands him. 

“You gonna tell me what’s wrong?” 

No. Can’t talk. He shakes his head. 

“That’s fine,” Lambert promises. “Take your time. I’ve got you.” 

They stay like that for another ten minutes before Jaskier has finished the coffee and the cinnamon roll, and has breathed in enough of Lambert to feel like he can walk without tripping over the weight of everything that’s pulling him down. Lambert’s hand at the small of his back is his anchor, and Jaskier kisses him deeply before accepting the offered front seat in the car. 

He might be gruff, that love of his, but he never fails to hold open the car door for Jaskier, and it melts his heart every time. Even when they fight, even when one of them is pissed at the other, Lambert holds the door open until Jaskier is sitting comfortably. 

I love you, he would say if he had any words left. 

His phone vibrates. 

Jaskier wants to cry again. 

***

Lambert’s worried eyes rest on him heavily and Jaskier hates it. Doesn’t want to make him worry, doesn’t want to cause any distress. 

His phone vibrates again and he sees it’s a message from Essi, but before he can unlock his phone, Lambert snatches it from him. 

“You’re not here, Jask,” he says gently, holding onto the phone. “Is this what it’s about, what has you so completely exhausted that you’ve gone full nonverbal on me? Why you’re not eating, not sleeping?” 

There’s no judgment in his voice, no disdain, but the worry is so clear that Jaskier can’t stop his eyes from filling with tears. He looks away, holding out his hand for his phone but Lambert doesn’t relent. Instead, he ducks his head to meet Jaskier’s eye again. 

“You know you don’t owe anyone your time, right?” 

It stings. It stings because no, he doesn’t. 

“You don’t always have to be there for everyone, Jask.” 

That’s easy for him to say, though, because Lambert is only ever on his phone for Jaskier anyway, barely talks with his brothers about heavy topics because these three men have a different way of communicating that kind of stuff, and Lambert never has to navigate someone else’s bad days and relationship with themself. 

He frowns, demands his phone. This could be important, Essi could need him, Yen could be apologising, Eskel could be thought dumping on him about what it means to be aroace and Jaskier needs to be there to stop the self loathing before it can even start because in this world it is just way too easy to spiral out of control and he doesn’t want to be at fault, not when he could have stopped it, not when— 

“Hey, breathe,” comes Lambert’s voice through the haze of his mind, and before Jaskier realises what’s happening, he finds himself in Lambert’s lap on their couch, breathing through the tears and failing, failing, failing. “Come on, love, in and out. With me. You’ve got this, come on. In. Yes, like that. And out. Hold it for a second. And in again. Yes, you’re wonderful.” 

It helps. 

It’s good. 

Everything is fine. 

It helps. 

Until his phone vibrates again and Lambert growls, pulling Jaskier closer until his nose is tucked into the other man’s neck. 

“I’m going to text them, okay? Whoever it is, I’m gonna tell them that you need a break. And then I’m gonna draw you a bath, get that tension out of your shoulders. Make you eat. And we’re gonna snuggle up right here with Midnight in Paris, alright? Then, if you have words, you’re gonna tell me what’s weighing down that beautiful mind of yours, okay?” 

Jaskier only nods, wants to cry out in relief, wants to hide, to run, to not be so weak. Wants his skin to stop tingling, his lungs to stop aching, his mind to stop racing. He wants a world where there is only himself and Lambert and everyone’s problems disappear until Jaskier has learned to breathe again. 

“I love you,” Lambert tells him then, fingers running through his hair, massaging his scalp until Jaskier feels like all that’s left of him is a puddle. “You get to take breaks. You’re too good for the world, man. I don’t know how you do it. You’re, like. The best person I know. The best. Because you care so much, because you always want to help, because you’re just… You. But you gotta believe me when I say that more often than you think, being you is already enough. You don’t gotta be everyone’s therapist, everyone’s saviour, everyone’s emergency contact. Hell, you don’t even gotta be everyone’s friend! You just gotta be Jaskier. My Jask. That’s more than enough. And if the world complains about it, I’m just gonna punch it in the face.” 

That last part is said with an audible grin, and Jaskier sobs, laughs, doesn’t even fucking know what he’s feeling anymore. 

But when he finally stills, when his mind feels empty like his tears have washed away every single thought, he reaches for Lambert’s hand and joins their fingers. Not a second later, Lambert raises their joined hands to his lips and presses one, two, three kisses to his knuckles. 

“You back with me?” 

Jaskier shakes his head, just to be difficult, and Lambert chuckles. 

“Yeah, you’re back alright. Come on, let’s get you into the tub, yeah?” 

He doesn’t budge an inch, but that has never stopped his boyfriend who unceremoniously gets up from the couch with Jaskier still clinging to him as though he wears nothing. Stupid muscly mechanic that can carry him around however he pleases. He loves him so much. Still, he punches him in the chest and revels in the laugh he gets for it. 

In the bath, there is no phone to vibrate, no call to answer, no email to read. There are not expectations. Only Lambert with his wonderful hands, and Jaskier leans back and closes his eyes. 

“That’s it,” his love rumbles behind him. “Just relax, baby, I’ve got you.”

Jaskier hums and believes it. Thinks of otters in stupid hats, thinks of car doors, of Lambert threatening to punch the world in the face if it won’t let Jaskier believe that he is enough. He thinks of coffee with too much sugar in it, just the way Jaskier needs it. Thinks of leftover lasagna and cuddles on the couch. 

Knows that he wants this for the rest of his life. Maybe he should start looking at rings. 

#lambert x jaskier #lambskier #lamskier #bombard #jaskier #lambert #the witcher #the witcher rare pairs #hellu i have found some words and all of them are for karo #nat writes