#noticed SEVERAL people in the tags mentioning they were VERY surprised

[fallingintoyourlilaceyes]

My little winter rose (Aemond Targaryen x Little red riding hood!Reader)

synopsis: On your way to visit your grandmother, you meet a handsome stranger that points you towards some lovely flowers. Little do you know what else that aquaintance holds in store for you...

warnings: slight dubcon, p in v sex, mention of severed body parts, afab reader

word count: 2.3k

taglist: @hopelesswritergall @urmomsgirlfriend1

(If you want to be tagged for a specific character/fandom or in general let me know in my asks, comments or DMs)

A/N: Thank you to the wonderful @slytherincursebreaker for requesting this piece. I hope you like it as much as I loved writing it!<3

Dividers by @valeskafics

For as long as you were old enough to roam around Winterfell and the surrounding woods, you heard the same thing every time. "Beware of the one-eyed beast in the woods" or some form of that sentence. You knew it by heart, saying it along every time it was spoken. Yet you had never seen a beast, no matter how often you wandered through the trees you called your second home. However, it also led to you becoming less watchful every time, thus not noticing how the so proclaimed one eyed beast very much saw you. Grew taller as you did with age until he towered over you easily, his mind darkening with thoughts as yours brightened with entirely different ideas. Going unnoticed day after day after day. Another institution set in place that you remember ever since you could think was a group of hunters going out every night. Their torches burning like the fear in their hearts, sharp swords, spears and weapons of any kind held close to their bodies that would always return marred. Sometimes you would hear rumours that people that died at an earlier date were taken by the beast while hunting for it alone.

You understood all of it, though that didn't mean you liked it. The sight of the hunters was one you hated. It was a surprise that with their viciousness the "beast didn't las out more or come closer to the village. Not even all the understanding of the human mind in the world could have saved you from hating the head of the hunters with a passion that burned even brighter than any fire ever could. Howland Reed and his relentless pursuit of trying to win over your affection by bragging about hunts long over and how well equipped he was to hunt the one-eyed.

"Red! Where are you off to?" He yells from a distance to stop you, as he trots over to you. Cursing him out in your mind in return, you oblige and wait for him to catch up with you, putting a smile on your face as you did so. Even the nickname everyone called you due to the red cloak you wore at every given time, sounded so gross from his lips you wanted to puke. "Oh, I am merely off for a visit to my grandmother." You chirp in the politest tone you could muster.

“Well, how lucky I must be to catch you then? You see, I just had some modifications done to keep you safe better.” He presents you with one of his hands and you see exactly what modifications he talked about. His nails had been filed into sharp points and seemingly coated with silver to harden them, just like claws. The pride in his face makes it hard for the polit mask to stay on yours.

“Say, Howland.” You take a deep breath in to keep it together as you speak. “I have been wondering something lately. Mayhaps you will be able to answer the question.”

“Ask me anything you wish and rest assured that the smartest man around will surely give you an answer.” He makes it so hard not to throw up right then and there.

“You are too kind. Now my question is, if you are as smart and strong and skilled in hunting as you proclaim… How come that one-eyed beast has not been slain yet?” You don´t stay to hear his answer, instead you hide a giggle behind your hand and go off on your merry way.

With the light of the early afternoon sun in the sky you have little concerns or cares about the safety of the forest. Humming the sweet tune of a song that you had often sung with your grandmother when you were younger, you skip along the way.

The deeper you get into the wood, the colder it gets and so, while you wrap yourself tighter into the red cloak, you almost run into what you at first think is a tree. As it turns out it is another human, a man and a tall one at that. His silver hair reaches down to the middle of his back, covering one of his eyes and the other you are sure shone in a pretty lavender hue once. If it did it had since dulled to a darker tone. The creases in the pale skin on his face speak volumes on how hard his life must have been. Yet when he looks down to meet your eyes, there is a charming smile set in place.

“My apologies, ser. I should have watched my steps.” You apologize before he even opens his mouth, looking up at him with the most innocent eyes he had ever seen.

“Oh no, by all means, I am the one that has to apologise. You are not the only one that should have watched where they were going.” The beautiful stranger replies in a velvety smooth voice.

"Please, I insist. If I would have stopped for a moment, I would not have run into you." You reiterate. "Alright." The stranger lifts his hands in mock surrender. "May I ask where a young maiden like you is headed? All alone in these big woods." "Well, for one I am not alone. Clearly." You go to answer with a waggish smile. His grin widens in response and his voice deepens for a moment as he speaks. "I would not be so sure that is such a good thing." His words hold a sense of warning that you swiftly ignore to tell him where you were going. "I am on my way to see my dear grandmother. She lives not far from here."

"My, what a sweet girl you are. Your grandmother can count herself lucky to have you." You hadn't even noticed so far, but when he continued speaking his voice registers almost right beside your ear. "If you want to bring her some flowers, the winter roses are blooming beautifully not too far from here in that direction."

You follow his finger with your eyes, to see that it isn't that much of a detour.

"I will be going right away. Thank you, kind stranger." You turn your head back to him.

"Oh no, I have to thank you." He murmurs. “And you may call me Aemond.”

“Aemond…” you test the way the blonds name rolls off your tongue and then let your smile widen as you give him your name.

You happily skip along the way, giving him no chance for further conversations as you only turn once more to wave him farewell.

While you busy yourself with making the most beautiful bouquet of winter roses and greenery, Aemond goes off with a new plan in mind to finally get you.

The task takes you longer than you would have thought and so the sun stands high in the sky when you continue the way to your grandmother's house. It begins to grow dark when you arrive at the small house in the middle of the woods, so it is no wonder you find your grandmother asleep in her bed.

Gently you shake her awake by the arm. “Grandmother, are you well? I came to visit you." "My sweet girl, is it really you?" The old woman's voice sounds different than normal, though you can't quite put your fingers on the exact way it does. "It is. I brought you some flowers and a cake I baked." You set down the flowers in a vase on the bed side table and sit on the edge of the mattress beside her. "Oh, you are so good to me. Come, lay down. You came all this way and I could not possibly send you home in the darkness." Without any questions you obey her, pulling off the cape and dress until you are only left in your small clothes. Through the thin fabric the cold air makes your nipples harden and so you hurry to climb underneath the blanket.

Once in bed, you notice the long scar over the left side of her face, with the eye seemingly missing entirely. “Grandmother, what happened to your eye?” The words come out dripping with uncertainty.

“Bad men took it, but you need not worry about it. They are not able to hurt anyone anymore now.” The answer does little to quell the questions on your mind.

"My, what big hands you have, Grandmother?" You continue questioning.

"All the better to hug you." Comes the quick explanation.

"And what sharp teeth you have..." Your skin begins to prickle and the air becomes harder to breathe. Something in the way your grandmother pauses before answering, makes the hair on your neck stand up. Too late to react, as you get pinned to the mattress with surprising strength.

"All the better to eat you!" With a swoosh the blanket and who you thought was your grandmother's clothes get ripped away, to reveal Aemond sitting on top of you.

He grabs your shift and easily rips the fabric off your body, leaving you gasping, wide eyed and unable to cover yourself as he still pins your wrists above your head with one if his large, strong hands.

The cold air, that streams in through the cracks in the window frame, has your nipples harden even further, until they stand painfully against the heat of your admirers’ chest. Instinctively you lean further into him to catch more of his warmth. Aemonds hard cock presses between your folds, twitching against your entrance, to collect some of the juices that flowed between your thighs.

“Will you be a good girl if I let you go now?” He growls lowly into your ear, eliciting a quiet but eager nod from you.

Slowly the pressure around your wrists vanishes to come down to hold you by the hips. Aemond leans down to capture your lips with his. The slow, but nonetheless passionate nipping at each other’s mouths gives the perfect way for him to express every last bit of longing and yearning that had coursed through the blond’s body ever since he first laid his eye on you. The kiss deflects your attention from the way Aemond rubs his erection against your dripping centre until he has buried himself entirely in it. His tip nearly kisses your cervix and the way your cunt adjusts to his form makes your entire nervous system burst into flames. The flames lick only higher as Aemond absolutely ravages you, rutting into you with inhumane pace and without abandon. It seems he fucks deeper into your tight channel with every thrust, that is accompanied by breathily whispered praise of how long he had waited for this moment and how well you took him. Every once in a while, when a pained whimper leaves your lungs, he kisses your forehead, rubs a few circles with his thumbs into your hipbone and shushes you in the most loving tone anyone had ever used on you beside your family. Yet Aemond doesn´t slow down. Not until you are first to reach your peak and he had made sure to shoot his seed so deep into your core it was sure to take.

Aemond slides out of your sensitive cunt and sits back to catch his breath.

“Are you alright?” he inquires short of breath.

“I am. Perhaps I will be a bit sore for the next few days.” You jested back with a raw voice.

“Ah, my apologies. I simply found myself unable to hold back any longer. I have been watching you for so long, my little winter rose. Imagining how it would be to touch you, to claim you, to finally take you as my wife in the face of the seven…” The one-eyed man sheepishly rubs his neck as he confesses to his desires.

Desires that make your face feel like it is on fire once more and your brain is entirely empty. “Is that the truth?”

“I could never lie to you about the graveness of my affections towards you.” Gently, Aemond takes one of your hands into his and presses a kiss to the palm of it.

“Oh, Aemond…” You melt at the show of affection. “I wished nothing more than to be able to be with you for the rest of our days, but I fear it is not possible. For my parents have already promised me to another.”

“Worry not. I have already taken care of that.” The blond stands up to offer his solution to the issue. A severed hand lands between your legs on the bed.

You gasp and raise your eyebrows, but before any question can claw its way out of your lungs, the sharpened silver nails catch your attention. It was Howlands hand that lay there presented to you as if it was a trophy. However, it does not disturb you. On the contrary, it makes you feel strangely appreciated, that someone would go so far as to secure you being with them.

“How dare that son of a whore go after my wife.” Aemond growls and his forehead lays into deep creases.

Careful not to kick around the severed body part, you stand up as well now, stalking over to Aemond on mildly trembling legs. When you reach him one hand goes to his shoulder for stability and the other rises to his face to run the thumb over the space between his eyebrows until it is even again.

“There is no reason to get angry about him anymore. My heart never belonged to him, but it will forever belong to you.” The two of you share one more kiss. This one much more slow, but just as emotional, to seal your future together.

#aemond #aemond one eye #aemond targaryen #aemond x reader #aemond x you #aemond targaryen x reader #aemond targaryen x you #hotd #house of the dragon #hotd fic #house of the dragon fic #hotd x reader #hotd x you #fairytale au #little red riding hood au

[snaillock]

heeyy^x^

i really like ur writings🤭 and i’m happy bc finally someone writes male reader stories

anyway!! i would like to request a sae x gamer/streamer m!reader fic, where the reader is a big gamer and also a twitch streamer, how did sae get along with that, how does sae take it when the reader doesn't pay attention to him because he's playing / chatting with his friends on discord🫣 sorry if i write something wrong english is not my first language😔 had a good day!!

sae itoshi x male!streamer!reader

tysm anon! i’m glad you enjoy my stuff! i also hope you enjoy this and that it’s to your satisfaction

tags: male reader, established relationship, jealous and overthinking sae, surprise! sae also sucks ass at communicating, also lowkey self-indulgent since i secretly dream of being a streamer, doing a different format than what i typically do

sae knows he’s being hypocritical but he simply can’t help it.

he saw the way you would hole yourself up in your office, streaming for several hours straight almost every day. sometimes you wouldn’t even get out to take a break.

you could’ve given yourself a much more laidback schedule thanks to sae’s success and wealth. instead you chose not to rely on him financially and prioritized your self-independence and stability. the only thing you really accepted from him career-wise was the massive clout boost that came with being his boyfriend. not to mention, you just loved the career path you chose, even if it did make you stressed sometimes. so you were more than fine with committing a lot of effort into it despite his insistence.

he understands and relates to how busy your lifestyle can get, yet he can’t help but feel a little neglected when he rarely sees you outside your office during the day and knows you don’t have much time free time to spend with him.

and perhaps he did feel jealous whenever he overheard you and your other streamer friends voice calling and playing games, laughing and cracking jokes with each other.

ugh he hated the idea that he could get jealous at all. he knows he should be more rational about this. he’s supposed to be the rational one! but he can’t help it. you’re his boyfriend! you should be spending your time with him. laughing and making jokes with him.

it’s gotten so bad that he even felt annoyed by your viewers fawning over you. he knew feeling a threatened by them was crazy because who the hell doesn’t know you’re sae itoshi’s boyfriend. anyone would be crazy to try to come in between that. plus he has plenty of his own simps going insane over him. so he of all people should be more than aware of what it’s like to be with someone who’s famous and very out there in the world. he should especially expect this when he’s dating such a good looking guy.

sae has rarely felt insecure about himself either. until his mind started spiraling and he manages to convince himself that he isn’t interesting enough to be with you compared to your gamer friends. he definitely doesn’t say anything to you about it since he doesn’t want you think he’s weak because of it. instead he lets those overcooked insecurities build up even more and more in his head until he starts believing them.

one day he noticed your office door slightly cracked open so he peeked his head in to see you streaming. which you then noticed from the corner of your eye.

“sae!” you spun your chair around to face him. you quickly took off your headphones, forgetting to mute the microphone, and held your arms out with a big smile. “come here baby!”

he was surprised and flustered from your enthusiastic response. how could he not be when he’s been living with those negative ideas about the relationship for a while that he’s gotten so used to them. he reluctantly walked over to you to which you wrapped your arms around his neck, making him bend down to your eye level.

“i’m so sorry i’ve been so busy lately,” you said before cupping his face and planting kisses on his cheeks. “i promise i’ll make it up to you.” his face softened as he felt his worries wash away thanks to your words and kisses.

“alright,” he nodded. everything’s going to be alright. he watched your screen from the corner of his eye as the live chat started going crazy, with a slight smirk on his face.

a.n: when i got this request, i was also working on a much bigger sae fic which should be coming out in a few days or so. it’s currently 2k+ words. so stay tuned and if anyone wants to be tagged when it’s posted, let me know!

i also don’t think i can post a fic without using read more. i always write so fucking much.

#★ snail.writes ★ #sae itoshi #sae itoshi x reader #sae itoshi x male reader #blue lock #blue lock x reader #blue lock x male reader #male reader #scheduled #posting this while listening to weyes blood

[nekoannie-chan]

Blood magic

Title: Blood magic.

Fandom: Marvel, Captain America.

Ship: Brock Rumlow X Reader.

Word count: 438 words.

Rating: Teen.

Summary: Your blood always cures Brock.

Major Tags: Mention of blood.

Additional tags: This my entry to @multifandom-flash, Annie-3002 & square 9:

"Blood magic.”

You can read it on Wattpad and Ao3 too.

@saiyanprincessswanie

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any kind of permission that my fics to be posted on other platforms or languages (I translate myself my work) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other's people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. If you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts, please let me know. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

Add yourself to my taglist here.

My other media where I publish:  Ao3, Wattpad, ffnet, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter. 

If you like it, please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

Tags: @sinceimetyou @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad @navybrat817 @angrythingstarlight @shield-agent78 @charmed-asylum @pandaxnienke @real-fbi @Smokeandnailz @white-wolf1940 @tenaciousperfectionunknown @xoxonotme @bluemusickid @leyannrae @Harrysthiccthighss @Marvelatthisone @caplanbuckybarnes @sapphire-rogers @lizzieolseniskinda @notyourtypicalrose @hallecarey1 @nana1000night @talia-rumlow @writingshae @alexxavicry @azulatodoryuga @daemonslittlebitch @chaoticcollectivenightmare @endlesstwanted @chemtrails-club  @marigoldreamer @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @Here4thefanfics @theestorm @patzammit @kmc1989 @somegirlfromasgard

Brock had always had successful missions. However, on the last seemingly routine mission, everything took an unexpected turn. You did not fall into the enemy's ambush and completed the mission successfully, but several agents were injured, including Brock, even though he pretended he was fine.

The night had become dark and stormy as you returned from the gruelling mission. As soon as he took off his shirt, you noticed the wounds on his body.

“I didn't think you'd be back so soon, Brock," you said, assessing the wounds visible on his face and hands.

Rumlow grunted, shedding the rest of his gear and exposing cuts and bruises in other areas.

“They're just scratches; I don't need anyone to take care of me," he replied proudly.

But you ignored what he said. You knew he was very proud, so you approached him. You raised your hand, and Brock felt a warm energy enveloping him. Your powers began to close the wounds and ease the pain. Brock, on the other hand, couldn't help but feel surprised by the disappearance of the pain and wounds; it seemed as if they had never been there.

��You don't need to keep pretending you're a tough guy, Brock," you said calmly.

He frowned at her, distrustful.

“What kind of trick is this?"

You smiled, and you loved that sometimes he could be so stupid and he didn't seem to notice it.

“It's not a trick; it's magic. Magic runs through my veins as well as my mutant side. In case you didn't know HYDRA also recruits mutants, I thought you knew everything, Brock," you teased.

Brock was dumbfounded. After all the time you had been together and known each other, it had never occurred to him to ask you about your abilities.

“What else can you do? “he asked.

You smiled and started to show him some of your skills, but what caught his attention the most were the little flashes of light dancing in his hands.

“Why didn't you tell me before?" Brock questioned.

“You never asked me, but didn't you ever wonder why most of the time the missions went practically flawlessly?"

“Because I'm an excellent leader," Brock replied proudly. You raised your eyebrow.

“That also helped."

“Wait, you mean... you used your powers all this time?"

“Of course, that's why Rogers hasn't discovered us either. You know I can conquer the world if I want to; we can do it together, Brock; it's you and me against the world," you assured.

He took your hand and kissed you. He liked the idea that, somehow, you were going to conquer the world.

#multifandom flash #multifandom flash bingo #round 3 #Brock Rumlow x reader

[iknowyuu]

alone on christmas day

kdrama! sieun x reader

// reader (and friends) accompany a lonely sieun on christmas.

tags: lonely sieun, mentions of feeling unlovable, sieun being an anti-romantic (kinda?), mentions of a bad parental relationship, sieun made friends without literally risking his life multiple times AU

note: i thought of this while listening to my goofy-ass christmas playlist LMFAOOOO, underneath the tree came on and i had to restrain myself from busting a move. anyway happy holidays <3333

♡

sieun woke up like every other morning, not phased by the knowledge that there was no school today. in fact, for once, he was glad- it was incredibly cold, as showcased by the snow outside his window.

he got out of bed and did his usual routine, brushing his teeth and having a nutritional meal before prepping his desk to start another long, long day of studies. it would’ve been the same as any other day, except, nowadays he’s more prone to checking his phone (during breaks, of course) more than he ever really does.

he picks up his phone, opening his messages to find several text messages from his friends: sooho, youngyi, and you.

his mouth twitches at your text, almost turning into a small smile, but he can’t help but feel unbelieving at your words. he’s used to disappointment.

the more he studied, the more he was reminded of his loneliness- when he was watching youtube, christmas themed ads would pop up, showcasing happy families spending time together, advertising their family fried chicken meals. his workbooks would use winter-themed examples, and, he would catch himself thinking about how the red of his journal cover reminded him of candy canes. he gradually felt hungry, but not for chicken. the few times his brain would let him show vulnerability, it showcased how completely starving he was for love. platonic or not. he hated that a tiny piece of his soul would not give up along with the rest of him.

hours went by and he eventually forgot about your message, not bothering to check his phone or take breaks, getting entranced and pulled into his work. that was what made him all the more jumpier when he heard a very sudden and loud knock at the door.

hours went by and he eventually forgot about your message, not bothering to check his phone or take breaks, getting entranced and pulled into his work. that was what made him all the more jumpier when he heard a very sudden and loud knock at the door.

as he approached the door, he heard multiple voices behind it, and he grew suspicious. he hoped it was his friends, but at the same time didn't want to put faith into something that could disappoint him as easily as his parents do.

“-said that you should buy one family pack! why’d you buy so many? who has the stomach to eat three?” one voice exclaimed. “i do! i could eat ten meals! why do you always complai-“ the second voice was cut off by a third one, “both of you shut up!! we’re supposed to be surprising him, not making sure he hears us from kilometers away!”

sieun peaked through the peephole to be met with blackness. the person- or people- were blocking the tiny circular hole. unlocking the door slowly, he opened it to be met with three familiar faces.

“surprise!!” they cheered in unison. he didn’t say anything. they didn’t say anything.

finally, the tallest boy spoke up, “yah, let us in, i don’t wanna smell like friend chicken.” sooho pushed past him with three boxes in his arms, and sieun could only stare as youngyi greeted him with a "what's up?", giving him a quick shoulder pat and following close behind sooho. lastly, you stood at the door smiling at sieun. “are you surprised!? well, probably not since i literally told you i was coming, but you didn’t expect this, right? we even brought decorations so we can-“ you stopped talking when you noticed sieun’s face. he was frowning, tears building up in his eyes before they spilt, running down his cheek. stepping inside and closing the door behind you, your heart dropped to your stomach at his display of emotions.

“sieun? what’s wrong? is it ‘cause of us?” you spoke, ignoring the lighthearted argument sooho and youngyi were having about how to hang up the christmas lights in the background. he shook his head and wiped his face with his sleeves before speaking. “just.. thank you.” he couldn’t meet your eyes as you smiled at him, engulfing him in a hug, placing your head in the crook of his neck. “of couuuurse sieun.” your heart almost exploded when you felt the way he placed his arms around you, carefully hovering just above your touch.

“yahh, stop flirting you two!” youngyi called out to you both, waving you over. “we’re about to eat!”

-

the four of you were now watching a christmas movie, the now empty boxes of fried chicken long forgotten. the lights were off (except for the red and green fairy lights strung about the room) and blankets you’d brought from home were strewn about. sooho sat on the couch, youngyi laying down with her head on the opposite armrest, her legs on his lap. the two of them seemed to have fallen asleep a while ago, their soft snores filling the room along with the noise of the television. you and sieun sat next to each other in front of the couch, sharing a blanket. you originally didn’t know whether to keep your distance from him- you tried to clench your thighs close together to keep from his legs touching yours, but as time went by, you became less and less hyperaware, and now freely relaxed your legs, your arms and legs making comfortable contact with each other.

“hey, sieun,” you whispered, not taking your eyes off the screen. he turned his head toward you, as if to say “hm?”, “i hope you had fun with us,” you said, “im sorry if we intruded or anything. i just didn’t want you to be alone on christmas.. we all care about you a lot, so don’t ever hesitate to ask us if you need company. i-" you paused, correcting yourself, "we love you a lot.” he kept quiet for a few seconds before responding. “thank you, [name].” your heart melted at the way he said your name with such gentleness.

you didn’t say anything, your emotions clouding your previously clear head. you slowly moved your arm, squeezing in between his arm and torso before he moved it upwards curiously, before wrapping your arm around his. you didn’t stop there, leaning your head onto his shoulder.

“is this.. is this okay?” you spoke so quietly you thought you might have to repeat yourself. but you didn’t, he heard you loud and clear. “yes,” he mumbled in response. your stomach burst with butterflies, and a smile creeped onto your face. “okay,” you said, moving your forearm to find his hand, grabbing and intertwining his fingers with yours.

in that moment, sieun felt his body heat up with your warmth, your action sending waves of butterflies in his stomach. he felt foolish for what he’d thought earlier, that love was not meant for him. in this moment, he could feel your love, and he knew it wasn’t for anyone but him.

♡

taglist: @brxght-world @karyuliee @kkaesslovr

#idk what it is about christmas songs but i literally go feral for them 😭 #anyway lets thank kelly clarkson for this fic<3 #kdrama x reader #sieun yeon x reader #weak hero class one x reader #sieun yeon imagines #weak hero class 1 x reader #sieun x reader #kdrama!sieun x reader #kikisficz

[uchiwife]

𝗚𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀.

Pairings: Haruno Sakura/Uchiha Itachi.

Tags: modern au, mafia, police, pre-relationship, (possible) future fic.

Warnings: Given the theme, expect to read about sensitive subjects. Such as mentions of abuse, drugs, violence, illegal trafficking in almost any form. Please proceed with caution.

Word count: 2,640.

a/n : English is not my mother tongue, so please excuse me for any mistakes I might commit in it. ꒱࿐♡ ˚.*ೃ

｡☆✼★━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━★✼☆｡

Sakura has a favorite chair and a favorite table in this little restaurant-café. She always sits in the same place at the same time for about an hour. It's become a little ritual of hers. A ritual initially started on a bored day when the need for a little dessert arose. So here she is, sitting at the same table in the same damn chair, stuffing her face with her famous Anmitsu. She no longer does it out of greed, but because for the past three months, every day at the same time, she's been able to admire Takeshi Sasaki. He always sits two tables away, and always has the same thing: dangos and green tea. He seems out of time, enjoying this gentle lull. She only learned his name very recently, and only because he'd forgotten his wallet. She heard the waiter call out to him.

Sakura supposed it was always better to call him by his name rather than “grace”, no matter how graceful he was. Besides, she doubted he'd appreciate a stranger feminizing him by calling him that, even in her head, unless he was quite comfortable with his manhood, and something told her he was. In reality, she hated giving people nicknames, she found it cruelly rude, but she'd had to improvise, she couldn't decently call him “the handsome dark man”, she wasn't in a fucking fanfiction written by a 12-year-old! Not that she had anything against that, she remembered reading hundreds of them and remembered how her life had been filled by many of them.

Swallowing the last mouthful of her dessert, she took the time, as she did so often now, to observe the graceful way his fingers pushed back the locks in front of his face. His features were quite striking. It was superficial, but it was his ethereal beauty that had appealed to Sakura the first time she'd caught sight of him. She'd seen a lot of good-looking guys, but she lived in a world where the most charming features were attached to an utterly detestable personality. Her ex was a perfect example. She'd met his gaze several times over the last few months and had always made sure to keep eye contact. She was trying to get a message across here: she wasn't a blushing high-school girl who was going to look away no matter how much his beauty troubled her. She'd grown up in a world that had taught her the hard way not to show weakness in front of others. Her brother was well aware of this, as were her friends.

However, she had to be careful. She couldn't take the plunge from day one, not out of timidity but because she had to observe this man first. If she didn't, her brother and the others would do it for her, and she didn't want to get a guy who hadn't asked for anything into trouble. She could be bitchy, but not the way Tayuya was.

So she waited wisely, respecting this little ritual of theirs. For if they hadn't exchanged a single word, there had been enough glances between them for her to know that he was aware of her. Whatever dance they were doing, it seemed that the last notes were coming to an end and Sakura would finally advance her pawn. It was time, after all, for her to make her move.

Her decision made, she left her table for his, her heels clicking against the asphalt, she didn't bother to ask permission, she simply sat down in the chair opposite his. He seemed neither surprised nor offended by her lack of politeness, surely because he himself knew that the time had come. They had been sizing each other up for three months, after all. She elegantly crossed one leg over the other and concealed a smile of triumph when she noticed the way his eyes leered at her legs. Someone else probably wouldn't have noticed, so subtle was it, but she wasn't everyone. Being aware of one's surroundings is a non-negligible ability to have. It was what made the difference between a living man and a dead man. In her world, anyway.

“So? Are you going to let me take you out?”

“I usually know the name of the woman who wishes to ‘ask me out’.”

Oh. His voice was as enchanting as his features. She wouldn't mind hearing him talk about the Darwinian theory of evolution if that's what his voice sounded like. She smirked, leaning back in her seat.

“That's not a no I hear.”

“If I'd wanted to say no, I would have the first time you laid eyes on me.”

“So confident…” Sakura retorted amused, not the least bit embarrassed that he knew she'd been watching him.

“Observant” he corrected, his lips curling into a smirk, bringing out the dimple on his left cheek. Was she crazy to want to lick it? Yes, she probably was. She'd always had a thing for pretty dimples.

“Sakura” she finally introduced herself.

He nodded, “Takeshi.”

“Oh, I know.”

“You do?”

“The waiter. You forgot your wallet once”

“I'm not usually this absent-minded. I got distracted.”

"How fortunate for me. It allowed me to get to know your name.”

Takeshi smiled, amused, “you could have just asked me.”

She snorted, “where's the fun in that?”

He shook his head, “Well, Sakura, where do you intend to take me out, assuming I say yes.”

“Trust me, Takeshi, you’re going to want to say yes.”

“Who’s too confident now?”

“I just know what I'm worth.” She said with a shrug. “So I thought we could....” Sakura barely had time to formulate her plans before she was interrupted, much to her chagrin.

“Sakura!”

She frowned, turning to find her brother and two more of his men at her table. Obviously. Where he goes, his henchmen follow. She rolled her eyes.

“Brother,” she said in a bored tone. “I was in the middle of a conversation Yahiko, as you can see.”

“Conversation over. You're late.” Yahiko glanced briefly at Takeshi before pausing. A dangerous gleam lit up in his eyes and she sighed. Why did he always have to ruin her plans? “And who's that?”

Takeshi observed the scene in silence and she was genuinely surprised by his calm. He didn't seem intimidated, and that was quite something. Yahiko even seemed to notice because he gave the man a second glance, a rare thing for her brother. He paid so little attention to those he found useless or insignificant.

“Takeshi. Your sister's next date, apparently.” he added for good measure.

Sakura almost choked. What audacity! And yet, she couldn't help laughing, because really, if he had a death wish, he'd chosen his day rather well. She loved men with nerve.

Yahiko narrowed his eyes, then glared at her, “Sakura?”

She shrugged, pushing back her hair with a satisfaction she shouldn't feel “what he said.”

“We'll talk about it again. Get your things. We're going to be late. Sasori hates tardiness and I hate being taxed more than necessary.”

Once again, Sakura rolled her eyes. As if she didn't know Sasori could be a pain in the ass. He was so adamant about punctuality. She'd heard of many deals that hadn't been concluded, or had been charged more because his future partners or clients had been late. Sakura got up without making a fuss; this was no time to rebel. She could always do that later. She turned to the man sitting opposite her and realized he was already looking at her.

“Unfortunately, I'm going to have to cut this short. I'll call you about our upcoming outing.”

He raised an eyebrow “I didn't give you my number.”

Sakura smiled mischievously, “No need. I'll have it by the end of the day.”

“absolutely not creepy.”

“Scared already?”

Takeshi smiled back, “It takes more than that to scare me. I'm just curious how you're going to do it.”

“I've got my ways” she winked at him, and deciding he'd probably had enough, Yahiko growled; putting an end to his sister's antics.

“Are you done?”

“Killjoy! you need to get laid. You're so tense. Where's Konan??”

Her brother glared at her again, and if a look could kill, she'd probably be dead by now. She raised her hands, then waved goodbye to Takeshi, promising to call him later before she let Yahiko and his men drag her away. She climbed into a black SUV with tinted windows, watching from the corner of her eye Takeshi, still seated at the table, who hadn't taken his eyes off the car until it turned at the next intersection.

Sakura sighed, annoyed by her brother's interruption but also impatient. She took out her phone and quickly dialed a number, before a smile spread across her rosy lips when her correspondent picked up.

“I need you to get me a number.”

***

Takeshi waited until the car was no longer in his field of vision before gathering his things. Three months. It had been three months since he'd sat at the same table, at the same time, taking the same thing in order to take part in what had become a ritual. He'd sensed that today was the day. That the young woman would eventually come to him. His patience had finally paid off. Of course, this was only the beginning, nothing was certain and there was no guarantee that she would actually contact him, but if the looks she was giving him were anything to go by, the chances were pretty high that he'd hear from her again. He sighed, stood up, paid for their drinks and left the restaurant-café.

He quietly made his way to his car, taking the time to check his mirrors to make sure he wasn't being followed before turning onto the road. After driving for a while, he stopped near an alley and switched off his engine. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before the passenger door opened and a new man stepped in.

They both remained silent, before the other man spoke up.

“Report.”

“Contact with the target has been established.”

“We knew it would take time, but now that first contact has been made, we'll be able to start work.”

“Hn. However, Pain showed up.”

“That's to be expected. She’s protected. Since you don't have a bullet between your eyes, I'd say the first encounter went well.”

Takeshi scoffed, “I wouldn't say that, but Haruno should be making contact soon.”

He felt a hand on his shoulder and tensed slightly before relaxing. “You'll do a good job, Itachi. If your written reports are anything to go by, you've already got her attention. This is the opening we needed.”

“Aa.”

Uchiha Itachi knew that by accepting this undercover mission three months ago, he would have to leave behind his family and his daily life for an indefinite period. He was a member of the police. An investigator for the Organized Crime Bureau. For three years, the police had been trying to dismantle a mafia network known as "AKATSUKI", headed by a man called PAIN, whose real name was Yahiko. The police knew little about him, but over the years it had become painfully obvious that this man was at the head of an empire. Arms trafficking, organ trafficking, money laundering, corruption, assassinations and murders, among other things.

They were a powerful cartel whose violence was known to all. They operated in the shadows, but everyone knew their names, but no one knew how to stop them or get to them. Those who tried either disappeared or recanted their testimony. Haruno Sakura had been singled out as his target. What little information they managed to glean about her was that she was apparently the adopted sister of the organization's leader. Little was known about them, but there were still traces of the Haruno's tragic past. He must have reread her files a hundred times already. And he now knew that Sakura Haruno had been abused as a child. Her mother was a junkie who had ended up selling her daughter to pay for her cocaine. Sakura's father didn't seem to be part of the picture. He'd probably abandoned his family or died. Haruno had been shuffled from foster home to foster home. His unit speculated that she must have met Pain during their childhood. They thought they must have been placed in the same foster family at some point. He knew from complaints and reports from police and social workers that some of Sakura's foster families had been abusive. The kids were deprived of food, the fridge and cupboards kept under lock and key. They were beaten and, most horribly of all, some of the children were sexually abused by the father. He didn't know if Sakura was one of these victims, but in any case, the foster parents' corpses had been found in a wasteland. At the time, the coroner ruled it a homicide. The case was still under investigation but had not been solved.

Itachi had been sent as an undercover agent because his skills were perfect for this kind of mission. He had no trouble playing a role. It was his job. He'd done several, and every one of them had been a success. It was his duty to dismantle the Akatsuki with the help of his unit and the police. To date, 4 members were known. There was Deidara, the explosives and bombs genius, a certain Hiruko, well known on the dark web for organ trafficking transactions, but Itachi had no doubt that this was a pseudonym. The Leader, Pain, the police knew very little about, but were certain he was at the head of this empire. They also knew the name of a former cartel member. The famous research scientist Orochimaru. The police had already had him on their radar for years for his research, which was considered dubious at best, illegal at worst. If there was a body theft or disappearance in his area, it was very likely that he was behind it. Only, Orochimaru, vicious snake that he is, had managed to evade justice. And then there was Sakura. Itachi didn't know to what extent she was involved in her brother's business or whether she was actively participating in it, but she certainly wasn't unaware of his reputation.

That's why it was decided that it would be easier to attempt an infiltration through her. She was the best way to enter Pain's private circle. For three months, he'd been going to this café-restaurant because he knew he'd find her there. Only he couldn't make the first move; it had to come from her. Patience had always been his forte, as had mind games. Not that he was proud of it, but in his line of work, it was very useful.

And finally, his target had made contact. She seemed a confident woman, sure of her seductive power. Objectively, he could understand the interest she might arouse, but that was of little importance, as she was merely a means to an end. He felt almost sorry for her, for he knew her interest was genuine. Itachi was a professional; on undercover missions, he was allowed to flirt on the edge of illegality. If he had to use his charms, he would.

Yes, Sakura was charming and in another life, in another context, he might have been interested in her, but his role here was to gain information through her, learn more and get her to bring him into their organization. He had to stay focused on his mission and not get distracted.

He could do it.

There was no way he, Uchiha Itachi, an undercover agent, would get caught in his own game because of a criminal like Haruno Sakura, right?

Right…?

#itasaku #uchiha itachi x haruno sakura #itachi x sakura #sakura haruno #itachi uchiha #naruto modern au #naruto #enemies to lovers #future fic #mafia au #naruto fanfiction

[rising-volteccers]

hiii! it's star anon 🌟

this week was relatively hectic, and it's just wednesday! 😭 i was going through your writing prompt tag and the first set that popped up (food as a love language) reminded me of how i felt today.

tw for discussions of eating and food!

technically, i felt "fine", but for some reason, my hunger cues were non-existent? for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, i barely had the motivation to eat. this is very odd for me because i love food. 😔 i resorted to eating outside and going for my comfort foods, which at least helped me eat and hydrate regularly today. i was surprised because this happened out of nowhere, though i'm thinking it's the stress piling up from college. i kept zoning out during today's lectures and study sessions.

so yeah, all this made me think about how murdock would prepare to respond to situations where any of the crew members may be going through what i experienced. three prompt bullets stood out to me:

⋆ “i know you said you weren’t hungry, but i made you something anyways.” ⋆ gently reminding them to eat ⋆ always having the ingredients for their comfort meal on hand in case they have a bad day

of course, murdock would do any of these for all the crew members, though i feel like this would be a more frequent occurrence with friede, liko, and dot. i guess that's because they're the most prone to forgetting, overthinking, or worrying.

though do feel free to go about this in any way you wish! i'd love to see your take on this. ❤️ i'll just take it easy for now. hopefully, the rest of the week goes better for me, and i hope it does for you as well!

Heya! I totally get what you mean about stress dampening hunger cues. I'm someone who experiences the same and still working on finding ways to eat better! I hope that the rest of your week goes well, and that you'll do well with your classes! I believe in you!

This was such a nice prompt that I ended up writing a piece about it! I also rub my self indulgent hcs about Friede too in this hehe. Hopefully this would be a nice read!

Series: Pokemon Horizons

Characters: Murdock, Friede, Liko, Dot

(This piece centers around food and eating. Also the food mentioned are meant to be potato stew, ochazuke and bento respectively!)

--

The quote 'food is symbolic of love when words are inadequate' has stuck with Murdock for the longest time. He can't properly recall the origins, only that it carved a spot in his heart and he grew around it. Murdock enjoyed food and cooking. He loved cooking for others. To him, there was no greater joy and satisfaction than seeing the people he cared for eat the food he made for them.

When he became the chef for the Rising Volt Tacklers, Murdock understood the weight of responsibility now saddled atop his shoulders. With all the traveling they do, he needed to take into account the supplies on hand. Mollie helped him in that regard but ultimately, it came down to him on how he stretched a particular ingredient to use in several meal times. 

Not to mention keeping track of everyone's eating habits. Food allergies aside, Murdock knew what people liked and disliked so he cooked accordingly, ensuring that no one left the dining table hungry. He also regularly asks what the crew wanted to eat for mealtimes, indulging in special requests or making someone's favorite if he felt like they could use a pick me up.

(Like Liko for example. She had adapted to life on board remarkably well but unlike the ever cheerful Roy, Murdock noticed that she had the tendency to keep to herself. It reminded him of Dot–it was thanks to her friendship with his niece that Dot had started to come out of her shell. The gratitude he had couldn't properly be expressed through words so he showed it through his cooking.

The day after they found Liko and got back her pendant, Murdock chose to make one of her favorite dishes. He sensed that she had a lot on her mind, unsurprising given the nature of her disappearance. It pained him to learn that a child her age had to experience an awful thing yet he felt pride that Dot saw Liko to be a valuable friend, drawing her out of her room and off the ship for the first time since he brought her along. 

Murdock spent the time after breakfast prepping the ingredients to make a stew. It was similar to Mollie's favorite but with more potatoes added in and different seasonings were used. He also made fresh buttered rolls to dip into the stew, making it into a hearty meal to enjoy during lunch. 

When he spotted her initial surprise morphing into quiet excitement, Murdock knew he made the right choice. He happily refilled her request for seconds, enjoying the warmth that blossomed in his heart at seeing her overall mood improved). 

Aside from making the food, Murdock got into the habit of reminding others to eat. He understood that at times, circumstances made it difficult for all of them to sit down and have a meal together. If they were in for a spot of rough weather, most of them would eat when they had the chance to seeing that they had different responsibilities in getting the Brave Asagi through safely. 

Arceus knows the amount of times where he gently nudged Orla into leaving the engine room to grab some muffins he made, or all but strong arming Friede into eating something because the endearing fool had it in his head that he would only eat after the danger had passed. Mollie didn’t need much convincing seeing that she ate when she was hungry, while the Liko and Roy happily ate anything he put on their plates. Especially Roy who ate like he had a bottomless pit for a stomach. Good appetite for a growing boy his age. 

These days, Murdock found that he had another person to add to his list of gentle reminders. It was one that he’d always be happy to do so because it was Dot, his niece who recently started eating solid foods. He trusted Mollie’s assessment in that Dot got all the nutrients she needed from the gummies but it still pained him to see her subsisting on only that.

Eating shouldn’t just be about getting the appropriate amount of nutrients. It should be an occasion, something to enjoy and make one feel happy to be alive. Thus when Dot started to eat the doughnuts he left out, it motivated Murdock to find more dishes for his niece to try. Once Dot started to eat more, he encouraged the habit through gentle reminders. 

(Like the night where Murdock spotted Dot standing on deck, a rarity seeing that she only really came out when Liko or Roy was around. Quaxly was with her, spotting his presence first by waving a wing at him. This prompted Dot to turn and look at him in surprise.

“Uh… hi,” she spoke up, soft and slightly hesitant.

“Good evening Dot,” Murdock responded warmly. He knew better than to press the reasoning behind her being out here, lest he spooked her into returing back to her room. Instead of letting the silence between them grew awkward, he asked, “Have you eaten yet?”

“H-huh?”

“Have you eaten yet?” he repeated gently. Judging from the way Dot fiddled with her sleeve, it gave him his answer. Murdock kept his tone kind, lacking any judgement upon knowing that she hadn’t eaten dinner yet. 

Murdock instead invited her to join him for supper. Dot looked hesitant at first but Quaxly’s encouragement had her shuffling behind him as they made their way to the kitchen. While she sat at one of the chairs, he made a simple Johtonian dish where the leftover rice he planned on using for fried rice tomorrow had soup added into it. He found this to be a nice, comforting dish that was light on the stomach. 

Dot seemed to agree, or at least she ate it with minimal complaints. Murdock hid his smile behind each spoonful, pleased to see his niece slowly learn the joys of eating).

Still, sometimes reminders were not enough for he could not contend with what went on in a person’s mind. In this particular case, he meant of Friede’s. His captain proved to be the one that pushed Murdock to expand his repertoire. Try out various recipes that would fit his particular palate, or fit a certain texture that he liked.

Murdock knew of his dislike for sour and sweet-spicy flavors. His aversion to slimy and too soft textures, of leafy greens and things that pop in his mouth. How he had the tendency to skip meals when he became fixated on a task, or whatever belief that settled in his brain that told him that he shouldn’t eat until they were in calmer waters. Sometimes Friede just plain forgot to eat, citing that he didn’t feel hungry until Murdock placed food in front of him. He ate like a Munchlax by then. 

While it pushed him to work harder, Murdock did not harbor any resentment towards Friede. In fact, he found it to be quite the fun challenge to see what sort vegetables he could sneak into the captain’s meal without him realizing. The sense of pride and gratification to see Friede happily eat something that he made was one that he cherished too. It made him happy that he was able to provide his friend a proper, balanced meal that he could enjoy without worry. 

(A recent memory of this was the time Friede became fixated in understanding more about Roy’s Ancient Pokeball. He apparently found some old books from an antique store during their last supply run in the city that could provide more information and had holed himself in his room since then.

While Friede did come out occasionally, it was for more coffee and some berries he swiped from the fruit bowl before he disappeared in his room again. Murdock had long since learnt that while he could force Friede to eat something, that would in turn make him reluctant to eat whatever meals that he ate now in the future. Something about association with an unpleasant event, even if it was necessary for his continued good health. 

Instead, Murdock spent a bit of time after everyone ate their dinner to make something for Friede. He pulled out a medium sized container that would fit his purposes. Murdock easily put together some sandwiches, vegetable sticks with peanut butter and sugared doughnut holes to put inside. Friede would be more likely to eat something that he could eat with one hand, as well as contrasting crunchy and soft, toothy textures. 

Murdock also filled a thermos with his preferred nighttime blend before carrying it with him to Friede’s bedroom. He entered after some perfunctory knocks, finding the young professor hunched over his desk with several open books, one hand lightly tugging at his hair. An easy indicator for stress, he came to learn. 

“I know you said you weren’t hungry but I made you something anyway.” Murdock went straight to the point, knowing that Friede would be in no mood for small talk. 

Friede briefly raised his head to acknowledge Murdock’s presence and the containers he placed on his bed, then went back to his book with a soft grunt. 

The chef simply smiled, bidding Friede a good night before returning back to the kitchen so he could clean up. Come the next morning, Murdock would find Friede fast asleep on his bed, the container empty sans a few crumbs while the thermos was all but drained).

So yes, Murdock shows his love through the food he makes. It speaks for him when words would fail, and the joy he gained was enough to make all the effort he put in worthwhile. As long as his family ate well, Murdock wouldn’t ask for anything more.

#Pokemon Horizons #Anipoke #Pokeani #Professor Friede #Murdock (Pokemon) #Liko (Pokemon) #Dot (Pokemon) #Hana writes stuff #tw food

[ijwrsmff]

I could really go for some super fluffy Gorou x reader, like toothrotting sweet fluff. Anything.

HAVE YOUR FLUFF! YOU DESERVE IT! And I hope you enjoy it!

I do love Gorou, he's just so precious ;-; This can be interpreted as romantic or platonic. I'll add those tags just in case.

Word Count: 1,141

“Come on!” You said to Gorou as you dragged him along the path. It was very important what you planned to do. He had no idea of your plan, but you liked it that way. It’d be a nice surprise. 

“W-W-WHERE ARE WE GOING?!?!” He called, not exactly fighting too hard to break free of your grip. He trusted you, as you saved many of the people he was in charge of. Helped him appeal the vision hunt decree with Sangonomiya Kokomi. 

You only giggled in response, and headed towards Narukami Island. You see, tonight is the fireworks festival. Earlier, Gorou had mentioned never sitting somewhere he could properly see the fireworks. You had gained permission to sit right on top of the hill, the best place to see them. It would be perfect, and a nice bonding experience…as you wanted to get closer to the general. 

It wasn’t quite dark when you left, but it sure would be by the time you got there. It was quite the journey, but you made up for it with smalltalk. Gorou sometimes didn’t know how to respond, and was pretty awkward at first. He was much more talkative once you released your grip on him, when he mentioned he would follow you even if you weren’t dragging him. 

After you got closer, Gorou seemed to grow more nervous. It was hard seeing him be so nervous, but it was fair since he wasn’t entirely sure where you were going, or why. He definitely had more anxiety than he let the people he trained see. You reached over and held his hand, immediately gaining a reaction from him. 

He didn’t say anything, but his face turned redder than you thought possible. His tail went straight up in shock, but once you looked at him closer his tail started to wave behind him. Back and forth, and it showed that he didn’t mind your hand holding in the least. In fact, it seemed like he really enjoyed it. Though once he met your gaze, he looked away quickly. 

“Is this…okay?” You asked, not wanting to push a boundary. He did seem to like it, but just in case you were wrong, you wanted to check. 

He nodded, and when you went to take your hand away he reached out and grabbed it again. It was so cute…he was adorable. You just wanted to…

He saw you looking at his ears, and he huffed. “Maybe once we get there…I’ll let you rub my ears.” Gorou looked around for a minute, and noticed you were coming close to an island he’d never been to before. “What are we going there for?” It was a new place to him, so he wasn’t sure what was on the small island or what it entailed. 

It was nearly dark right now, which was perfect. Once you got to the island he looked more curious than ever. “Can we…look at the shops?” He wasn’t one to spend money constantly, but some of the items looked so cool! Rocks, weird sticks that apparently lit up, and several other things that peaked his interest. 

By the time you were done shopping, it was all but dark. You led him to the top of the hill, and he looked around. “What are we doing here?” He seemed to ask you questions like that a lot. You couldn’t blame him, you hadn’t given any hints since leaving. 

“Shhh just watch over there.” And you pointed in the general direction of where the fireworks would be. This was already so exciting, you just knew he’d love them! He was used to loud noises by now, so this shouldn’t be a problem. Besides…some quality time with him would be nice. He’s got a lot of responsibility on his shoulders, so relaxing for a couple hours could do him a lot of good. 

He only tilted his head at your response, and did as instructed. He looked…and looked…and finally, the first firework went off. Gorou’s eyes beamed, and he almost jumped out of his spot in excitement before he sat down on the ground. 

“Woah…I knew about fireworks…but I’ve never seen them so close…” He didn’t take his eyes off the sight, as you sat next to him. Both of you dangle your legs off the edge, and you often looked back to see his tail swaying. It was so heartwarming…

Gorou was staring so intently, but he would look back at you as well, with a “Did you see that one?!” Or “It’s so pretty!” or even “That one’s my favorite!” Which he said about many different ones. He was on cloud 9, and if his eyes could sparkle, they would be doing just that. 

When it was over, he let out a small, “aw…” but he quickly perked up once he looked to see you staring at him with a smile. “W-what? Is there something on my face?” He put his hands up and tried to wipe something off. 

“No…I just don’t see you this happy very often. It’s really cute!” And you giggled, reaching out and grabbing his hand. Your smile was genuine, as his blush returned. 

“C-cute? Me?” He pointed at himself, then looked away, down at the water. “I…” He let out a deep breath. “Can I tell you something?” Gorou ended up kicking his feet off the ledge a couple times and seemed pretty nervous. 

“You can tell me anything, Gorou.” You smiled, and reached your other hand over to hold his one hand with both of yours. You cared for the general, “I’ll always be here to listen to you. Even if I’m somewhere else, I’ll always be back to see you.” 

It only made his blush worse, and he looked you in the eyes. His eyes looked…adoring. It almost made you blush in return. But you didn’t have the chance before he spoke, “Thank you.” He clearly had more to say, but couldn’t find the words. 

You gave him some time, saying a small “Thank you…? For what?” Tilting your head in return, he sighed and looked away briefly before looking back into your eyes. 

“Some people…are scared of me. For being a general for an essentially rebellious organization. Or only look at me with formality. You…treat me like just another person.” He reached with his other hand, and now both his and your hands were covering the other’s. He then moved your hands to rest on his ears. 

“So…I just wanted to say…thank you.” He melted as your hands played with his ears, and he gathered up the courage to say the rest of his spiel after a moment. He didn’t want to sound cheesy, but he couldn’t help it. He cared just as much about you, as you cared about him. If not more. 

“Thank you…for being you.” 

#gorou x reader #platonic! gorou x reader #x reader #gn reader #genshin impact x reader #request #platonic relationships #genshin x reader

[wifebread]

Obsessed | Pt.9

Pairing: Stalker!Min Yoongi x Original female character

Tags: Forced relationships, Hurt/Comfort, Manipulations, Mentions of cruelty, Mentions of deaths, Mentions of drugs, Murders, Original female character,  Out of character, Stalking, Unhealthy relationships, Violence.

Summary: She wasn't afraid of this man, didn't take threats seriously, blaming everything on the fact that it was just to attract attention. However, she did’t know what he was capable of.

word count: 1,9k

I do not condone the actions described in the story, this is all fiction and does not relate to the real members of the BTS in any way. If you are uncomfortable with tags, please do not read!! Or read at your own risk.

a/n: OMG, is this a new part??? Sorry for my long absence and thank you all very much for the love we're receiving from you, the author and I sincerely appreciate it💙

Thanks to the wonderful author who allowed me to translate this work! Please keep in mind that English is not my native language, so if you notice any mistakes, point them out to me! I can also edit the chapter after I publish it, so don't be surprised if you see some strange moments (it means I haven't corrected them yet). Thank you.

source: https://ficbook.net/readfic/12255891

Chapter 1 , Chapter 2 ,Chapter 3 , Chapter 4 , Chapter 5 , Chapter 6 , Chapter 7 , Chapter 8, Chapter 9

“We are Responsible for those we tame”

Father, as promised, woke Percy up early. To be more precise, at half past 6 in the morning.

It takes several hours to get to grandma's house. Therefore, after a hasty breakfast, the father and daughter packed their things in the trunk and set off.

The girl was in high spirits, so she didn't even notice how she and her father got there.

Mostly elderly people lived in this area, but there were also young families with children, about the same age as Percy.

The houses were completely different and didn’t look like each other. Some were even abandoned.

In the countryside, there’s no noise, no car sounds, no early morning rides. There are many trees and flowers that immediately catch the eye, make you look and even relax, inhaling a pleasant aroma.

After getting out of the car, Percy waited for her father to pull her backpack and suitcase out of the trunk to go to her grandmother's house.

However, the woman was ahead of them, leaving the house and rushing to the car with a tray of pies.

“You're so late, my darlings," the woman said, kissing her son on the cheek.

“Hi, Grandma," Percy said, forcing a smile, thereby attracting attention to herself.

The woman turned to look at her and almost dropped the tray. Tears began to accumulate in the corners of her eyes; she was smiling ear to ear.

“My God, Percy!” the woman exclaimed, giving the tray to her son and going up to her granddaughter to hug. “How long have we not seen each other?”  stroking the girl's hair, she asked. “She was tiny before, and now she’s even smaller.”

“Your job is to fatten her up,” said the father, nodding at the pies. “She eats like a bird. She only drinks coffee and all sorts of nasty things.” the girl grimaced.

“So, starting from today," the woman began, poking the girl's nose with her index finger. “you’ll have proper nutrition, 3 times a day.” Percy’s eyes were rounded by these words. She looked at her father, and he just laughed and shrugged.

“Okay, Mom,” putting a tray of pastries on a bench by the gate, the man began. “I’m off, work.” After kissing a woman and then a daughter, Song the eldest got back into the car. “Behave yourself.”

“I got it,” said the girl with a heavy sigh.

When her father was out of sight, grandma took Percy into the house.

Not much has changed since her last visit. Except for the new key holder that is now hanging in the hallway.

“I reported to your father, threw some jelly onto him,”  the woman began, sitting down at the table and urging her granddaughter to do the same. “now we can revel.”

“So you won't put me on proper nutrition and force me to eat soups and porridges?”  Percy asked, raising one eyebrow in surprise.

“Of course, I’m old and I have to teach my children and grandchildren how to live and eat properly,” the woman said with a laugh. “But who said I would?”  Percy smiled, straightening her hair. “Would you like a cup of tea and cake?”

“I’d love that, thank you, but I'll make the tea myself, just sit.

Percy poured water into the kettle and put it on the stove to bring the liquid to a boil.

“Tell me, angel,” the woman began. “Will I become a great-grandmother soon?”  putting a spoonful of jam in her mouth, grandma asked.

Percy choked on the air, almost suffocating.

“Gran, I’m only 17 yet,” said Son, coughing up.

“And what?” the woman asked in bewilderment. “I have already given birth to a Gyeongsuk at your age” it was about Percy’s aunt, her father's own sister.

“The time is different now,” the girl shrugged off. She clearly didn't want to think, nor talk about it. In addition, the person with whom she wants to start a family will go to another world on the same day and feed worms underground. Because he wouldn't let anyone but himself be with her. “Anyway, it's not like I'm into one particular guy.”

"You can tell your parents that," the woman said, wiggling her eyebrows. "But you can't fool me.”  Percy swallowed, trying to calm the trembling in her body. "That friend, Shin, is a nice one, isn't he?"

"Do we have a "Let's get married"* program here? Somehow she looks a little like Larisa Guzeeva," Percy thought, rolling her eyes for a moment.

"Gran, we're just friends," Percy said, coughing. She hinted to her grandmother that she didn’t want to bring up this topic.

Sighing, the woman calmed down and changed the topic. The conversation turned to new neighbors. Anyway, Grandma liked to gossip about something.

She said that about 2-3 months ago, a family with an adult son settled next to her.

“His father is such a lovely man, always greets, helps carry bags,” the woman said, smiling. “The son is also very nice, friendly. The girls are chasing after him,” the woman continued laughing. “Only the mother... is too young. Maybe even a little older than you.”

"Well preserved?" thought Percy, chuckling. "Maybe his parents are divorced and this is his stepmother"

“It's not for us to get into this,” shrugging her shoulders, Percy said, finishing her tea.

"Of course," the woman agreed, sighing. "But I want to sit with my granddaughter and gossip," Grandma added, winking at Percy.

The girl laughed and went to the sink to wash the cup, but the woman stopped her and told her to go to rest. Percy kissed her grandmother and thanked her for the tea and treats, then, taking her suitcase and backpack, went into the room.

"I can forget about him at least for a while," Percy whispered, plopping down on the bed and exhaling with relief.

"Later, maybe I'll take a walk," Song thought, hugging a pillow and turning on her side. "There is a chance to meet that guy," the girl grinned at her thoughts. “Now I wonder to look at him”

Percy didn't stay on the bed for long. She needed to sort things out and go to the shower, because after the road she was a little tired.

***

Suga was lying on the bed in his bedroom and couldn’t sleep, although it was already 5 o'clock in the morning.

All his thoughts were now occupied with the fact that he had missed Percy, let her go.

The guy looked at the ceiling and fingered the girl's favorite soft toy, hoping that the bear cub would be able to replace her and calm him down.

He was only a little angry, because different thoughts and pain that settled in his heart again didn’t allow him to do this. He was drawn into the sadness arms, dragged away somewhere far away. He felt lonely, cut off from life. Just like in childhood.

"Weakling" snorting and rolling his eyes, the guy thought, clutching a pillow in his hand.

“Hey,” a voice made Suga raise himself on his elbows and look at the door. “I have news,” said the guy, passing to a friend and sitting down next to him on his bed.

"If you say again that you're still looking for her, you'd better get lost right away."  Suga said calmly, closing his eyes.

“And you don't even want to know why you couldn't contact her?” he pursed his lips. “Yoongi, stop being a child,” the guy continued with a sigh. “Yes, it's my fault she just slipped through my fingers but....”

“Exactly, Taehyung,” turning to the guy, Shoogar said rudely. His eyes flashed unkindly. “You, a grown man, could not complete one simple task.”

There was silence in the room. V ruined Yoongi's mood, which is why he is insanely angry and ready to rant and rave now.

“Percy thought it all out," Taehyung began, clearing his throat, drawing his friend's attention. “Her phone, which has a tracker and wiretapping, was left at home. She hid it under the mattress.”

"You know I'm not interested," Yoongi said coldly, putting his hands under his head. "Neither that slut nor those two moose know where she's gone.”  Taehyung was about to say something, but Suga looked at him with a raging gaze, which meant that it was better for V to be silent. "If you weren't my friends, you'd be lying in a ditch somewhere with a cracked skull.

Taehyung frowned, nervously clutching the edge of his jacket. V can stand up for himself, just like the other three, but resisting Yoongi is like suicide. He will kill his friends and not even blink.

Yoongi was tired of silence from his friend, so he abruptly sat down on the bed and, pulling his knees up to him, looked at V with a predatory look.

“Fuck off while I give you the opportunity.”

Taehyung nods and gets out of bed. When he reaches the door, he finally throws a worried "Eat something." But after receiving another such look, he sneaks out of the room.

The guy picks up a soft toy again. He examines and twirls, imagining not a teddy bear but Percy.

"You don't seem to be afraid of anything?"  Yoongi asked, squeezing the toy harder in his hands. “A stupid bird that hopes to fly away somewhere on the stumps of its wings.” he said venomously.

Yoongi tried to suppress inside himself a wild desire to break all the girl’s bones so that she would remain bedridden forever and could not live independently and cope with everything. He drew pictures in his head where he was feeding her with a spoon and watching her try to resist. A wave of excitement passed through the body. One thought that Percy will become dependent on him — and any of his rules in relation to her, regarding cruelty and violence, he wants to forget and tear out of his head.

The guy’s clearly not right in the head, but who’s gonna tell him?

Yoongi loves the way he can, he is not capable of otherwise. What can a person who grew up amid violence, cruelty, murder and treating himself like cattle know about healthy love?

Thanks to his parents, he became a monster, which eventually became the cause of their fear.

Yoongi has gone through all the hells, survived. But as a child, he sometimes allowed thoughts of giving up, resigning himself or taking his own life. However, the beast that had been sitting somewhere inside him for a long time and was chained up, broke out. Got out to take revenge on all those who treated him like that.

On the day it happened, Yoongi experienced for the first time that feeling bursting inside him from the first murder. He was 11 years old, just a child. But even then, watching the torment of the man who was so desperately trying to cling to his life, he felt pleasure.

Percy was a beacon of hope that lit his way out of the dark. And although it is not finished yet and Yoongi has to follow the signs for a long time, the girl was able to restrain the monster that sits inside the guy. Tamed and calmed down. The beast inside Suga howls when Song is far away.

“We are Responsible for those we tame” Yoongi grins, having his tongue on the upper row of teeth.

to be continued...

*Let's Get Married (literally "Let's Marry") is a Russian dating program where a man or a woman chooses between three potential partners, with the assistance from family and friends present in the studio. Larisa Guzeeva is one of the three presenters, acting as a matchmaker.

#yandere bts #yandere youngi #yoongi x reader #yandere x reader #bts x reader #stalker yoongi #yandere kpop #bts yandere #btsyandere #yandere bangtan #kpop yandere #yandere #yandere au #bts #bts fanfic

[blu3haw4]

First Line Game

Tagged by @lexa-griffins

rules: don't reblog the first one, make a new post! look at the first lines of the last ten (10) stories you published. look to see any patterns you notice yourself, and see if anyone else notices any!

1) Famous AU (I remember posting it for clextober 2023, but I can't find it there or in my blog)

As per routine for the past several months, the group of musicians signed with arkadia Music's made their way into the hall of the hotel as they each finished their own interviews, every room on this floor was reserved for their pre-concert activities, and soon they would be leaving to the venue.

2) I'd like to be a bear this Halloween (clextober 2022)

She was almost falling asleep; her head dropping slightly every other minute before she could react and lift it back up. It had been a long while since she's dropped her book on the table, giving up on being able to understand the words she was reading.

3) Loved your Parting Gift (dead people are my favorite) (Clextober 2022)

The slightly salty scent of the only substance that could ever satiate her hunger filled her nostrils as she walked into her apartment, before she could manage a hold of her -un- natural instincts she was launching forward into her kitchen, following the smell and quickly sinking her fangs on the flesh on display of the body laying on her counter.

4) Thieve's Crew (Clexaweek 2022)

"You got her, Reyes?" The head of the team, Lexa Woods, self and socially proclaimed 'The Commander' asked as she leaned over her hacker's shoulder, with a hand in the van's wall over the screens and the other in the back of chair. She knew the latina had her, but she was wanting for her to show her where she could see.

5) BUILD Series NYU - Horizon Hukop Season One (Clexaweek 2022)

“Hey hey hey! Here we are at build NYC, everyone please welcome these are Lexa Woods and Clarke Griffin, who play Commander Alicia Clark and Queen Elyza Lexlands, two fabulous powerful women, out of many, I must add, on the sensational newly controversial show Horizon Hukop"

6) Guess we'll have to work it out (Clexaweek 2022)

It had been a very long week; with unhappy clients who had no idea what they were talking about, with her boss scolding her for those clients who complained about her incapacity to produce their unexplainable ideas they couldn't even picture themselves. Llexa was tired, and more than she would care to admit for sure.

7) Horizon Hukop - Sneak Peak II (Clexaweek 2022)

"And as I've been telling you for the past six years, I do not need a partner to rule by my side!" The Queen of Skykru exclaimed trying her hardest to keep her voice at the proper tone for this meeting with the clan's council, while also making sure there was no room for argument. She's been through this enough times to know that one small leak of her composure was all some of the eldest members needed to attack her.

8) Don't give up (Clexaweek 2022)

"Fuck!" Having met the other woman not more than a couple day ago shouldn't make the out burst surprising -at least considering that anyone as little prepared as they were would probably react the same- however the exasperated way in which the stoic, always calm biologist -who hasn't shown a glint of pother in her demeanor since the second they met- grunts angrily as she once again tries to climb the wall of ice they fell through about an hour ago, confuses her more than she would care to admit.

9) Horizon Hukop - Sneak Peak I (Clexaweek 2022)

"I told you; she's not a problem!" "She knows too much" the Commander declares as an explanation she didn't consider she needed to give, she turned away from the Queen and left her war paint on the war table "she disagrees with us" she continued "not to mention she's not even unhappy, she's angry at our decision"

10) LexaClarke (Clexaweek 2021)

Lexa has been struggling with telling her girlfriend about her powers ever since they started dating four years ago, she also would be lying is she said she never considered before, when she and Clarke were only friends. But it was complicated, it wasn't every day that you met someone with powers, and even if it was more common that one would think, it was definitely not common to meet someone who could quite literally control your mind.

Tagging: @eternalreignblog @ecfandom if you guys want, I think every other writer I follow has already been tagged, but feel free to do your own and say I tagged you (;

#I'd say #for 2 3 6 and maybe 8 is not identifying the person right away #for all the horizon is jumping straight into the scene no description #as well as three #and then then 1 4 and 10 are more descriptive #writing game #writer stuff #clexa #clexa fandom #clexakru

[embervoices]

Questions for Fic Writers

from @clumsyclifford

(Note: All my fics are accessible to AO3 members only, sorry!)

What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?) Probably CHEESE! or Initial Summoning for Dragon Age and Good Omens, respectively.

Go to your AO3 “Works” page, to the sidebar with all the filters, and click the drop-down arrow for “Additional Tags.” What are your top 3-5 most used tags? Do you think they accurately represent your writing habits? Unsurprisingly: Self-Insert (12), Humor (10), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence (10), Fluff (8), There's also: Modern Girl in Thedas (12) but that's because 11 of them are from one series. I'm bemused that "Silly" only has 4 entries. It really should probably apply to almost all of them. To be honest, I think I'm spotty at best at tagging.

What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics? Religious themes, especially polytheism and spirit work. Unapologetic self-insert. Silly humor.

What detail in your fic are you really proud of? I'll have to think about it. I'm often surprised what lands well despite my thinking it would be horrible… The two things that come immediately to mind I don't think I've shared yet. First is that I experimented with writing the same paragraph of Solas' thoughts, first in prose, then Iambic Pentameter, and to scan with Leonard Cohen's Halleluia. That was because people were conflating the ballad meter of Halleluia with "Iambic Pentameter" because they noticed the Iambic part. But I just thought it was really pretty. I haven't had any reason to share it, though. Maybe on Tumblr now I'm back, I dunno. Second is in a self-indulgent fic I was writing with my co-writer Cowoline. If we ever get around to posting any of it remains to be seen, but there's one scene where one character is reading to another character some terrible purple prose, translating out of Orlesian on the fly. To get that text, I took some of my own romance scene writing from an earlier story and shoved it through at least French, and then back to English via Google Translate. The results were indeed appropriately terrible.

What do you wish someone would ask you about your fics? Answer it now! Nothing comes to mind. I am not sure I'm reticent enough for this to be a big problem. LOL

What’s one fact about the universe of The Canticle of Dreams that you didn’t get a chance to mention in the fic itself? EmberQuizzy isn't actually human. Her soul/spirit is made of Vanic material, not human material. She only appears human because it's what she expected to look like. Thus it's quite possible her and Solas' children will indeed have pointed ears.

Any worldbuilding you’re particularly proud of? Mostly whenever it catches me by surprise that some arbitrary decision early on actually clicks perfectly info place later.

What song would make a great fic (to either write or read)? I have a whole series of images in my head for making a Good Omens comic out of Ghost by the Indigo Girls, but I don't have the artistic chops, nor the patience to do it myself, and it's too much to commission another artist to do. So it'll have to wait until/unless I can find someone who will do it as a collaboration rather than a commission, which seems… unlikely, and possibly unfair. Mind you, if I had the spare money lying around, there are several GO Fan artists I'd commission to do it in a heartbeat!

How do you find new fic to read? Mostly, by filtering AO3 searches. Occasionally one or another fan group I'm in will post a rec that gets my attention, or a friend will ask me to read their thing.

How do you decide what to write? It attacks me in my sleep!

#interview #fic writers #questions for fic writers #part 1 #YOUR TURN

[concorp]

drop the list?

pht alright here we go

starting with joe since there’s the most there. ive been a member of his patreon community for three years now, and it was a lot smaller when i originally joined to the point that id say pretty much all of us still there who were there back then know him on a personal level now. he’s had me as a guest on four streams (paid btw! since he refuses to accept any volunteer work in a large majority of situations) one of which was made into a hermitcraft episode. all of these are in my streams playlist if you wanna check them out. ive also met him irl twice, both times at pax unplugged in different years.

ive had my art featured by several of the hermits, most notable of which was false using my art for her mayor poster in season 7. keralis also follows me on twitter but i have never once actually interacted with him.

im also the reason the hermits all just looked at tumblr during a meeting one time which caused a whole other cascade of events. (cleo making a tumblr and all that followed, xisuma twitter apology, etc.) i have not and will not learn my lesson about mentioning things in joes vicinity.

im either friends, mutuals, or at least have a direct line of communication with a majority of the members of truly bedrock. i made lyarrah’s profile picture and db’s twitch emotes, designed official merch for tb, and have done some other miscellaneous commissions for current and former members.

i mentioned youcube in the tags of that other post- when i was there i gave some art to antvenom of him and his then gf, which months later he did an irl video that showed he’d hung the art in his office. i posted about it on twitter and he replied saying he knew it’d be excited about it it was so sweet 🥺

i used to be super involved in omgchad’s community. we did weekly events on his twitch subscriber server that he’d play through on stream. i was lead organizer for one and contributed to more of them than i could count. also met him irl once.

likes, retweets and replies from mcyts are legitimately so common for me at this point that it sometimes surprises me when i see other people get excited about them. don’t get me wrong they still make me happy but it’s not like. incredible excitement and i don’t even bother saying anything about them to anyone unless it’s someone really big that id never gotten a notice from before. only one id consider even noteworthy enough to mention specifically here was grian and mumbo both complementing the cosplay of them my brother and i threw together in less than a day. which drives me crazy because shortly before then id spent months working on an animation of them that i still dont think either of them have ever seen 😅

lastly. achievement hunter don’t count as mcyts imo. but steffie (their social media manager) invited a group of us fan artists to tour rooster teeth back in 2018 and that was super cool.

there’s very likely several things im missing here as well but this isn’t something i meticulously keep track of. this took an hour to write hope you enjoyed.

#tried to add links for most things but stuff from before 2017 or so is impossible to find oh well #talking #ask #anonymous

[hazelcephalopod]

The Great Hunt Ch 31: On the Scent

Cairhien Sun symbol.

Reunions are had and plans are lay what new adventures await our poor little guys and very cool autistic granny?

disclaimer: there will be spoilers, I will tag them but this is a book from 30 years ago that I am desperately trying to finish. I am very ADHD and this helps me do that. Also, it’s my first read thru but I am somewhat familiar with the story and what is going to happen, probably not enough to not be surprised tho. Happy reading! 

All WOT spoilers. 

Rand POV

OH! Verin is the Reader. Well that’s not a Wisdom, but an Aes Sedai kinda is! (Sp: this is wrong)

“Lord Rand of House al’Thor.” Tragic main character disease and a nice coat continues to plague this poor Shepard. 

Oh no he thinks he’s done. Oh you poor sweet dipshit

Love how they do behave like a DnD party but we get the narration that no, NPCs are listening and reacting to this very suspicious and concerning conversations happening in the middle of the street. 

Mat: (summarizes the last few weeks for him)… & where the hell have you been? Rand: Perrins a what?!

Ah. Nvm Verin and the Reader are in fact separate people. Still Verin is here!

Inn found: The Great Tree. Innkeeper: Mistress Tiedra. 

Hurin didn’t smell any Trollocs and tbh I’m not sure there ever were any. Sry Rwnd my guy, I still support most of your wrongs. 

… I don’t think Rand is doing well. Like, this is a lot of suspicion. Which is somewhat reasonable but… idk. This is all a lot for anyone and uh, he’s more than anyone regrettably for him

Warm baths are nice tho aren’t they! 

“…he chose the black coat, to suit his mood…”

Fucking “Selene”… this poor guy (just in general not just her, but also her). 

I almost envy Rand. Got mail? Just burn all of it. No mail. Nor responsibilities. Nor choices to make. Just burn it! It’s flammable! 

“Mat was juggling three boiled eggs and trying to appear nonchalant.” A) how? He’s juggling!; b) who is he trying to nonchalantly impress here exactly? 

Really enjoy Loial having pockets large enough for presumably sizable books. 

Switch POV: Perrin. 

Really appreciate leaning into “who knows what and how do they view those things?” Here. 

I am astounded still that it is book 2(!) and magic portals and different worlds have just been dropped like “yup there’s countless other worlds sorta like ours. And teleportation. Anywayyyy….!”

Verin hearing about “Selene” and the portal stones and shit thinking: this is weird and fucking suspicious. “Hey—”

Mmm delicious meal. Oh and we are back to remembering Mat is dying and other sadness? 

Hey! It’s “The Travels of Jain Farstrider”!

Lord Barthanes… hmm. Familiar…

“There are Darkfriends among the high as well as the low.” -Verin. What an interesting thing to say my beloved autistic granny.  

Barthanes Damodred?! Well of course the rumor would be enough. Tbh if the king was smart he’d have the rumor started for the express purpose of destroying Barthanes. You’d think it would make the king suspicious but I’m not so sure anymore that anyone would care or notice. 

“The more he found out about kings, the less he liked them.” -Perrins thoughts. Yup, a shit for sure. 

Rand like: dammit Hurin how will I burn those letters now! 

It’s like a heist thing! Gotta get in and do the things to the rich guy/s! 

That’s not dignity Perrin it’s fear and discomfort. With a good dash of “I hate this” but because of the former. 

Amazing! Verin: looks at the kings letter “well this is trash” burns it. I love her. 

“People see what they expect to see.” -Verin. Truer words madam. 

5!? These fuckers are obsessed with Rand! Rand! (I mean I think he’s adorable but really?)

Oh oh right. So, uh Barthanes has the horn. That’s what the heist is for. It is a literal heist. I mean, this book has almost everything. We got to a heist, we started with an adventure novel, survival, several other things, and now also a heist. I probably should have mentioned -or tbh realized- this earlier. 

Oh right the giant ass buried statues. Which are apparently the largest of the sa’angreal which can be used by channelers and seem very powerful. The one we’ve seen can only be used by men. There’s two in total. Hmm… I’m sure they couldn’t be important at all. The womens one is on Tremalking. Wherever that is. Apparently they were created as weapons which were never used. So. Probably not important at all. /s

I am sure rn Rand is terrified but this is overpowered by him suspecting the ancient statutes are (somehow) part of the plot to control him and still trying to convince himself he is not the Dragon. Mmm mmm nope. This is all part of the plot to frame him as a false dragon. Nothing else. 

Well what a relief they must be used in tandem to Break the World but one wonders how much damage they could do alone?! /s (the big ass sa’angreal)

… you need to be very powerful to use them. Whose that powerful? No *widely* known man, and several women including Moiriane. No worries until the Dragon proclaims himself. *stares off into the distance suspiciously close to Rand* surely no Aes Sedai would help with that tho right? (Yes sure Verin. Wait did she lie…? No… no I think not)

Perrin, Rand knows less than you think you do. By far. And you admit to not knowing much. I mean technically Rand knows a lot, but tbh I feel like he’s too in denial to actually use that information. 

Another great chapter. Bands back together. Verin is here. They are going to do a heist in a nobles house for the Horn which rests on Rand’s shoulders, and his impeccable half-hated new wardrobe of three very nice coats. More letters were burned. Everyone is loosing it a little bit imo. Absolute a+’s all around. 

#Series of many thoughts on twot #<- block/filter to stop seeing this/these #tgh #the great hunt #tgh spoilers #Wheel of time #the book #wot #wot book spoilers #twot book spoilers

[ellie-e-marcovitz]

Another Year Older

14 March 1999

Leicester

Groaning, I woke to the sun pouring through my window, and no one to close the curtains. I was also sore from crashing at my desk, ungraded labs to one side, and who-knows-how-many pages of the letter ‘k’ filling my computer screen.

I noticed that I’d left my telescope up as well, which explained the bright sun pouring in.

Reattaching my leg, I pushed myself up with further groans. I had no idea what time it was, or what Jane and the rest of the crew were up to today. And I didn’t want to know.

I hummed to myself as I got ready. It sounded a little like “Happy Birthday.”

Morning routine completed, I shuffled out to the living area. Nothing had changed since I’d gone to my room, which left me feeling all that more suspicious.

Entering the kitchen, I noticed the time and grabbed one of the bags in my cabinet. I grabbed some things from in there as well, along with the fridge. I hurried back to my room, stuffing one of the last bottles of butterbeer in it as well. I would need to get some more soon.

It was all perfectly timed to the feeling of hair standing up on the back of my neck and the sound of chatter in the outside corridor.

That could only be the crew, along with whomever Jane had managed to rope into this as well.

A few charms on my door, I tided the rest of the ungraded labs, returned my telescope to its corner, closed the blackout curtains and sup, focusing on my car.

A disconcerting few seconds later, and I was next to it.

And which had already been gleefully paint-tagged by Jane and her Merry Minions. Opening the driver door, I also noted the number of loose balloons floating around the inside.

Managing to corral them into the backseat, I cast a mild cooling charm to keep them from popping, along with a net to keep them out of the front.

Wand in place, I set off, first to the university. No doubt, my half of the office was already decorated. From there, well, I wasn’t sure. Maybe find a bookstore, or perhaps, head down to London.

Thankfully, the university was quiet, even as my side of the office resembled a confetti explosion.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much open, considering it was Sunday, and I silently cursed. London it was.

It didn’t feel like my birthday, not really. Outside of crew, who were behaving weirder than usual, I had gotten a handful of “Happy Birthday”s from several of my students Friday afternoon.

Other than that, nothing. Zilch. Nada. Nobody.

And while I suspected Jane of plotting a surprise party (considering the hushed whispers between her, Stephan and the others last Thursday, along with the side eyes and silent conversation), part of me also suspected everyone had just plain forgotten.

It wouldn’t be the first time. It still hurt, though.

Either way, I was left feeling unsettled and more than a little paranoid. And hurt.

The drive down to London was relatively quiet, as I blasted music to keep from drowning in my own head.

London

Reaching King’s Cross, it occurred to me how much of my life had been a whirlwind of activity, not to mention, centred around here.

Somehow, and I wasn’t sure how, I ended up at the Waterstones in Piccadilly, wandering the shelves. For all I knew it was my magic.

For a brief moment, I thought I spotted a Phoenix on one of the covers.

I shook my head. Phoenixes of one sort or another were fairly popular in muggle fiction novels, and some wizarding ones as well, so I must’ve been imagining things. I managed to accumulate a decent stack of books, just managing to get through checking out before the staff started shifting people and started closing up.

It was as I came up at Charing Cross that I received a text from Jane:

Meet us @ Astronomer. U wont regret.

I had a feeling I very much would. And who encapsulated ‘us’? I also felt she didn’t need an immediate reply, or at least anything more than a smiley. At least until I checked out the record store next to the Leaky Cauldron.

Which, of course, was closed this late in the day. I further cursed the fact that my birthday had landed on a Sunday. 26 was starting to feel horribly unlucky.

I went inside the Leaky Cauldron, which was still open, greeted Tom, before appariating away to Aldgate. It wasn’t the closest tube stop to my favourite London pub (Liverpool St was), but the walk there would be nice. I also sent Jane a quick text: omw.

Arriving at the Astronomer, I came face to face with an annoyed Jane. Also outside was Mark, Abbey and several other staff members who I’d ended up befriending as my visits picked up.

Greeting given, along with an impromptu rendition of Happy Birthday, which only seemed to be the beginning of events. I was given a cheesy gift bag, with strict orders not to peek into it. At least we weren’t going clubbing this year.

I wasn’t quite ready to bust some moves on the dance floor again.

A quick hop, and back at King’s Cross, we got in my car and headed back to Leicester. It was bugging me of how she’d gotten down to London, but I suspected Harlan had played a part. I also kept the music blaring, not really in the mood to talk, but wanting some way to express my frustration at the situation.

Arriving back at the flat, I messed with my keys. Jane just knocked at the door, followed by muffled movement. A snick of the lock being unlocked, followed by the creak of the door being opened.

“Happy birthday!” came the cheers as I stepped in. It was just as colourful as everything else the group had touched. A plethora of balloons floated near the ceiling. Crêpe paper streamers also decorated the ceiling along with other parts of the flat as well.

There was also a pile of cards and presents near the TV and food on the table.

It was an enjoyable couple of hours, as we celebrated. Even the final rendition of the day wasn’t overly embarrassing.

Admittedly the celebration was missing someone, though no fault to him. It was a little hard to skip work two months in a row, and I wasn’t going to force him to so.

Most everyone was gone by ten, most of the presents opened, same with the cards. Jane and Stephan retired not long after.

I was keeping the picture from the Astronomer staff on my desk.

#fic #series: the darkest year #aftermath #14 march 1999 #1999

[slaughtervoid]

Getting married has been something I’ve always wanted and simultaneously knew I would never have. I’m not the easiest person to deal with. I’m particular as shit, ornery and I like my space, my independence, my solitude. But at the same time- well. Everyone wants to love. To know and say they have a family that loves them. And my birth family might’ve said they loved me. They certainly loved their daughter. 

It turned out they didn’t love how she insisted she was their son. 

You know how that kind of thing goes. It really doesn’t have too much to do with this story except giving me a complex about belonging to a family that wanted me for myself.

When I saw the ad on Craigslist, I was looking for used furniture. Scrolled too fast, accidentally opened up domestic gigs. The first listing caught my eye.

“Wanted: Compassionate man to marry our recently deceased daughter.”

The initial click was just out of morbid interest.

It read, simply enough, “Our daughter wanted to be married and we want to keep our promise to her that she would be. She has passed away, and we are seeking a kind and compassionate man to engage in a quiet, non-legally binding ceremony and become our in-law. 

“This is not a joke and we are in bereavement. Please keep this in mind when considering your reply.”

It got taken down within the next five minutes, either by the family or moderation, but I’d already texted the number provided.

I did some research to help fill in the gaps, but ultimately it didn’t help much. There’s been a tradition of posthumous marriage in France since the 1950’s, but it’s only for if the couple had serious intent to wed beforehand, and the president has to review the request. (Apparently 1 in 4 aren’t approved.) More famous is Chinese ghost marriage- “mínghūn”- and those are for completing intended marriages, continuing lineage, or giving an unmarried daughter’s spirit a proper place in an ancestral tree. Apparently, however, it’s far more common to marry two deceased individuals, and besides, the whole family was for all appearances as Irish as I am.

When I met up with them- at a nice little coffee shop in downtown, halfway between us both- the way they explained made it all come together.

Their names were Cara and Donovan. I won’t give their last name, but you can rest assured it had an O’ at the start. Their daughter, Melanie, had been diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, a particularly aggressive form of brain cancer, last year. The doctors had given her ten months. She had made it four before having a generalized seizure in the middle of the night.

They’d gotten her to the hospital, but they told me that she had been in something called status epilepticus, which meant that she just kept seizing. None of the medication had been able to make it stop, and at 3:42 AM, she was gone. 

Melanie, too, had always wanted to be married. Before the seizure took her, they’d all been in the process of trying to find her a future widower to marry her for the short while she had left. It hadn’t happened in time. They wanted to fulfill her final wish anyway. They had done the same research I’d done.

“For closure,” Cara said to me. “We know it’s for us. Maybe we like to think Mel will be happy about it too, but we know it’s really for us.”

The two prospects they’d been speaking with for a temporary marriage, both also terminal patients with a similar wish, had balked at the idea of continuing with the plan after her passing. Cara and Donovan had turned to several different avenues of advertisement.

And so I was here.

We talked about why I wanted to do it, too. I told them about being a loner, wanting a family, wanting to know there was somebody out there- alive or not- who would be with me in one way or another until I died. They said that was a good reason. I told them I worked from home, wasn’t good with people, wasn’t good with romance, and at this point in my life I could genuinely see myself being committed to a woman I would never meet. They told me they understood, that they were sorry I’d been so lonely. We talked about my work, and my hobbies, and their hobbies.

Finally, bracing myself, I told them I was transgender. They exchanged a glance, and then Donovan met my eyes and smiled.

“That’s not a problem,” he said, gently. “So was she.”

When they invited me to dinner, to a family dinner like I hadn’t been to for years, of course I said yes. 

I was excited. I really was. Even if this didn’t work out, I was looking forward to that dinner. I wanted to sit down and eat and talk with these people who had accepted their daughter without qualms, who had accepted me. I wanted to know what it was like, even if it was just once.

It was wonderful. It was perfect. It wasn’t just once.

I met Melanie’s younger brother, Sean. He wasn’t in full pitch support of the whole ghost marriage plan, but he spoke frankly and without rancor about believing it would help Cara and Donovan move on. We talked about work and Sean’s college major- ceramics. He even showed me some pictures of projects he’d put in the kiln that day on his phone. They were really beautiful, and I told him so, and he seemed quietly pleased, though his thanks were subdued.

Then we talked about Melanie.

Her family loved her. They loved her so, so much. I could see it in their eyes and hear it in their voices when they talked about her. None of them shied away from mention of her cancer or her death. I think they’d come to terms with it when she was diagnosed, quickly, so that they could spend the time she had left well, and they handled their grief by facing it directly, bringing it into the light. I admired them for that. I still do. I handled the loss of my family, such as it was, by shying away from it, burying myself in work and isolation until I forgot them, until the pain was so distant I didn’t remember to feel it. 

Melanie’s family handled her loss by loving her until it eclipsed the pain of losing her. Listening to them talk about her like that, the bold and bright adoration in every word, I couldn’t help but start to love her too.

That dinner marked the beginning of the year in which I courted a ghost.

I spent more time with the family than I had spent with anyone in- shit, maybe years. It was a sharp adjustment, but it felt good. Like moving a limb just let out of a cast, or squinting into the sunlight until your eyes adjust. We got along well; had the same sharp senses of humor, the same sensitivity to noise, the same lapsed Catholic attitudes. Cara and I shared a fondness for Irish myth, and Donovan and I both loved NCIS. I read up about contemporary ceramic artists so I could talk to Sean about his major. 

It helped that we had a common goal: we wanted very badly to get along. I wanted to be part of their family, and they wanted me to be part of it just as much. We were all praying I was the right fit. Maybe I was courting them more than Melanie.

They told me so many stories about her. They told me about her interests, what she studied, the kinds of trouble she got in. They showed me her room, and Cara even had me sniff a scarf that still smelled like her. They showed me almost endless pictures and videos, from home videos to school portraits to selfies to candids to the majority: hours and hours of footage documenting the last four months of her life. 

Donovan told me, in his low, soft tone, that when she had started chemo in earnest, started getting really sick, he had realized how little of her he might have to remember. He told me it terrified him. 

He took up recording as much as he could. 

As a result, the Melanie I knew best was the Melanie who was weak and sick from chemo, almost always laid up in bed, in the hospital more than half the time.

She had no hair, no eyebrows or eyelashes. She was deathly pale, even her many freckles washed out to near-invisibility, her lips blanched and cracked. She often snapped at the camera, was impatient and sarcastic with her parents, her brother, the many nurses and doctors. They had recorded her gagging and vomiting, if only incidentally, because by the third month they were all numb to it and when it happened all Donovan did was set the camera aside to rub her back before picking it back up.

She also had the most beautiful laugh I had ever heard, and her face was round and lovely even starved by the cancer, and her jokes and the stories of her bizarre exploits reduced me to hysterical tears even secondhand from the family. I loved her fire, the way she railed against her fate while making wry jabs about funeral costs. She played piano, and I loved her hands, her long and elegant fingers, the shapes they made on the keys. She had been studying law, before, and I loved when she mentioned it, the odd state laws she’d memorized for fun, the funny technicalities of the court she liked to talk about.

I loved Melanie. I loved her as much as you could possibly love a person you’ll never meet. I think maybe I loved her more than that. By the time I had watched all the footage they gave me for the third time over, I really wanted to marry her- not just to be married, or to marry into her family, but to be married to her. 

We visited her grave a lot. The first time they brought me, they introduced me as her potential husband. I said hello, told her it was nice to meet her and told her I hoped she would like me. I’d brought her flowers- bluebells.

(If I can be honest with you, I was terrified that I was going to get there and Cara was going to see the bouquet and tell me that Melanie had a personal hatred of bluebells, or was super allergic, or thought flowers were stupid. She didn’t. When I showed her and asked her if Melanie would like them, she told me that when Mel was little, she had tried to eat bluebells every time she saw them, because she was absolutely convinced they were the same thing as blueberries.

Then Cara told me she wished I could have been there for the funeral. I could only hug her.)

One night, a few months in, it really hit me that I would never meet Melanie. I would never actually see her, never really get to hear her voice. I’d missed my only chance to meet her on this Earth. Her life had passed mine by, and there was no getting it back.

I spent the next day with Sean. He seemed to know I was grieving. Maybe it was obvious that I’d been crying. Either way, he brought me to the cemetery, and we brought Mel flowers, and sat at her grave, and he spent hours telling me about all the times they’d gotten in trouble together, things her parents still didn’t know about. I cried more, on and off. So did he. We cussed Melanie out together for leaving us, good-naturedly, told her she could’ve at least raised one more hell before she went for Sean to tell me about. It ended up being a pretty nice day.

I met Melanie’s surviving grandparents, her mom’s parents, soon after that. Mary and Liam were dead set against the marriage from the moment they had heard Melanie’s parents intended to find a husband for her post-mortem. They had decided they hated me as soon as they knew I existed. I wasn’t looking forward to meeting them, but I knew I owed it to them to look them in the eye and at least weather their grief. After all, they’d be my grandparents too, someday soon.

So we had dinner together, all five of us. While we ate, Donovan made an obvious effort to keep it light, maybe hoping they’d talk to me and we’d click the same way I’d clicked with him and his wife. I made the effort- I told them about my life, talked about some of the things I’d found in common with the family, we discussed ceramics for a bit. 

Nobody brought up Melanie until Mary delicately, deliberately set her fork down and said “So are you a necrophile, then?”

There was an astonishing silence.

It was obviously the worst possible time for sarcasm, so of course, I said “Yes. It’s my defining personality trait, and the only reason I was hired.”

She looked at me levelly. I held my breath.

Liam burst out laughing, high and bright, and while everyone startled my hand flew up to cover my mouth and I found myself mortifyingly close to tears, because now I knew where Melanie had gotten her laugh.

There was an argument, of course, and it lasted a couple hours. It seemed like well-tread ground. Sean and I sat out, neutral and opinion unwanted, and once it was clear they were going to rehash the whole thing he got me a beer and himself a can of soda. I quietly told him the beer tasted like piss, under Mary shouting about the sanctity of Melanie’s memory, and he quietly told me that Donovan had brewed it. I solemnly toasted him and set it down on the table far away from myself, and he laughed.

When they were done, Mary asked me why I wanted to do it, more calmly than I expected.

“I love your family,” I told her. “I don’t have one right now. I want to be part of this one, and if I can help them, I want to. I know it’s weird and a little fucked up and you don’t know me. I’m sorry.”

She pursed her lips. I got the sense I hadn’t convinced her. A week later, Cara called me just about bursting with excitement, because as it turned out, I was wrong. They’d given me their blessing.

We set the date for April. 

I was as involved in planning it as anyone else. The only thing I wasn’t allowed to help with was picking out the dress. We consulted records of other ghost marriages, discussed customs, what was right to borrow and what we had to invent ourselves. Cara and I talked incessantly about Irish wedding customs, handfasting and mead and claddagh, bells and coins in shoes.

When I went to get fitted for the suit, Donovan came with me.

He taught me how to tie the tie. He didn’t say anything when I sniffed unattractively in the middle of a fancy-ass store, just put his hand on my shoulder while I wiped my eyes with the handkerchief he handed me.

We invited every family member Mary and Donovan could think of, and despite the extreme clarity in the phone calls and invitations as to the nature of the event, most of them came- some even had kids in tow. I met a baby who’d been named after Melanie. The mother offered to let me hold her. It was terrifying. My hands were shaking so hard I was petrified I was going to drop her.

Nobody had been that interested in trying to bargain out holding a wedding in the graveyard, so we held it in the backyard. The ceremony itself was simple and strange.

Melanie had been wheelchair-bound for most of the last month, so her wedding dress had been neatly arranged over it, sleeves draped on the armrests, skirt flowing over the footrests to brush the grass. A picture of her was positioned on the seat, a pure white bouquet of lilies and roses and baby’s breath in front of it. Donovan pushed it down the aisle. Sean stood to my right, Cara to the left where Melanie would’ve been. Liam had been captain of a vessel in the navy when he was younger, so he was the closest thing to an officiant we felt we needed.

Once the chair was opposite me, Donovan stepped back to stand with his wife, and I knelt.

Liam tied the cord to handfast me to an awkward combination of the picture and the end of the right sleeve. I held tight. The bouquet chimed softly every time Liam brushed it- someone had taken the time and effort to carefully tie a tiny silver bell to the stem of every single one of the flowers.

Cara had asked me to use the Celtic vows. She and Melanie had talked about it, once. There hadn’t been too much discussion of the details of the marriage- by that time Melanie wasn’t fussed about the particulars, and said several times she didn’t mind if they just wheeled her into the nearest courthouse and found a judge who wasn’t busy. The one thing she’d mentioned wanting, though, if she had the option, was those vows. 

You are blood of my blood, and bone of my bone. I give you my body, that we two might be one. I give you my spirit, `til our life shall be done. You cannot possess me for I belong to myself But while we both wish it, I give you that which is mine to give You cannot command me, for I am free But I shall serve you in those ways you require and the honeycomb will taste sweeter coming from my hand.

We used them.

There was no kiss. Mel wasn’t there. When Liam untied me, though, I pressed the end of the sleeve to my mouth. 

Just for a moment.

I wheeled Melanie’s chair to the table, sat next to her, and we ate like it was the end of the world. Everyone who drank got absolutely smashed. We danced until our feet hurt, and then until our feet were so sore we hobbled to our chairs and rested them and then danced one more time. Everyone was crying, and everyone was laughing, and the music wasn’t too loud but it was clear and it was ringing and none of us stepped to the beat for shit but it didn’t matter. We were grieving Melanie. We were celebrating her. We were remembering her. 

I was remembering her.

My final dance was with Cara. The music had been shut off by then, because it was 3 AM. The guests with kids had left at midnight, and the rest I don’t know when. I was too drunk to notice. 

I held her to my chest and we swayed. We had both been crying most of the night, but neither of us cried a single tear for however long we stood there.

“I’m glad it’s you,” she said.

All I could say was “I’m glad it’s me too.”

Finally, she pushed me away. Told me to go to bed. We hadn’t discussed it, but I knew I was welcome and expected to sleep tonight in Melanie’s room.

I laid down in Melanie’s bed. I held a pillow to my chest, and I sobbed, loud and unrestrained and heart-wrenched, until I fell asleep.

When I woke up again, it was… It wasn’t dawn. But it wasn’t dark, either. It was a half light, the kind that comes right before the sun rises or right after it sets. There’s no way I could’ve put a time to it, because I don’t think it was a time. All I know is that I could see what was standing over me.

I don’t want to detail the particulars of what I saw. Not because I think the sight was too gruesome, not because it sickens me to think of for too long, not because I don’t have the words. Just because it makes me so goddamn sad.

She had Melanie’s face.

I knew Melanie’s face intimately. I knew it from the photos, I knew it from the videos. I knew it from Cara and Donovan’s faces, from Sean’s face, from Mary and Liam’s faces, from the gaggle of cousins and aunts and uncles and grandparents and grandkids I had met that very day. And whatever I was looking at was, she had Melanie’s sweet, kind-hearted, heavily freckled face and the body was, I instinctively knew, her corpse.

She wore her wedding gown.

She was rotting.

I sat there and looked at her. I looked at the maggots climbing over and through her flesh. I looked at the clean seam between her untouched face and the neck that was close to halfway gone. I looked at her eyes, clear and unclouded and a brighter, sharper grey than they had been on any screen.

I did not scream.

When she spoke, she had Melanie’s voice. It was the voice that broke my heart, the hoarse one, the one from bad days, where she threw up until her throat was sore and she said her head felt like a plane engine sounded.

“What’s your name?”

Looking back on it now, the strange calmness and detachment that slid over me, the certainty that I was dreaming- I probably dissociated. It’s good I did, because being certain I was dreaming, I thought to myself that it was inspired by the strange, myth-like ceremony I had been a part of that day, the grieving wedding, and gave the question some consideration.

“You’re my wife,” I said, “You already know my name.”

The corpse stilled. Even the maggots ceased to turn. She seemed to be confused for a moment, and then there was a sudden resumption of shuddering and churning, more rapid than before.

“Of course,” she repeated. “It’s yours and mine.”

“Yes,” I assured the shape that may or may not have been my wife, because I didn’t know what else to tell her.

“Say our name,” the thing said.

I took a long time to think, watching the maggots squirm. I guess I’m lucky that she was patient, that she waited for my sleep- and shock-slowed brain to come up with a response that wasn’t just my name.

“Will you say it first?” I asked her. “Please? I love your voice.”

There was a long silence. The thing in the wedding dress looked at me mournfully, as if she didn’t like how I had answered.

“My voice is awful,” she murmured. “It’s hoarse. It’s rough and my throat hurts. The tube… my throat- when they intubated me, when I was seizing- you don’t love this voice.”

As she spoke, she went paler and paler. Her eyes dimmed. A maggot crept over the edge of her face.

I don’t know what came over me. I don’t know why I did it, I don’t know how, I have no fucking clue. I sat up in bed and I took the hand hanging by her side. It was the most awful thing. Soft, way too soft, and wet, and sticky, and so cold, and I felt a maggot squirm under my thumb. The maggot was warmer than her.

I was so spaced out I couldn’t process it, didn’t react.

“I love your voice,” I said.

The maggot writhed out from under my thumb, and it sunk into her flesh in the gap left behind.

“Even when it’s hoarse. I heard it hoarse on video a lot. It’s still your voice. I still love it.”

She stared at me, unspeaking, unmoving.

I glanced down at our hands and said “I’m not hurting you, am I? Mel?”

When I looked back up at her, she was looking at me like I had told her she was going to burn her house down with everyone locked inside. Like I had horrified her beyond saying. I started to let go, started to speak.

“Melanie? I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

Then everything was dark, I was laying down again and I could hear a slow, steady beep.

My throat was sore as hell, and when I figured out I was awake and could open my eyes, I opened them to a hospital room.

A few soupy moments passed by in near-silence, and then a nurse came rushing in.

There was a lot of commotion. Lots of medical staff asking me what I remembered, how I felt. I told them I had gone to sleep, had a strange dream, and nothing else. Nobody asked what the dream was about except the neurologist. I was evasive, said I couldn’t really remember mostly just because I didn’t want the contents of the dream to get back to my family. I figured it would hurt them more than it would help the neurologist. He took it well enough, didn’t press me.

When my family came, they all came together. Donovan looked like he hadn’t slept for days, and nobody else looked much better. Sean threw his arms around me, ignored Cara telling him to be gentle, and rocked me side to side roughly for a moment. When he drew back, I asked what had happened. I’d been too foggy to ask any staff and didn’t really want to hear it from anyone but family anyway.

Donovan and Sean glanced uncomfortably at each other. It was Cara who told me. 

“You had a seizure.”

“A seizure?” I felt like my thoughts were dragging through mud. I knew what she was saying was significant, but I couldn’t put it together.

“You were in status epilepticus for twenty eight minutes.”

I understood all at once, very numbly.

Sean softly added, “Your hand got hurt, too. The doctors think, uh… you maybe got a cut, somehow, and it got infected. You had, uh. It was- not so good. But it’ll be okay now, they said.”

Both my hands felt very distant and strange, so I had to look down to see which one was injured. The right had an IV attached. The left was bandaged.

I’d held Melanie’s hand with my left.

I’d been handfasted to her with my left.

“How long was I asleep?”

“Three days,” Cara said.

I meant to ask if anyone had contacted my work, if they were okay, how they’d been holding up, what procedures the doctors had done, what they thought had happened to me.

Instead, all I could say was “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry.”

This time, Cara embraced me.

It turns out it takes time to recover from almost dying, especially when it includes a three-day coma and the mysterious death of a chunk of flesh on your hand.

The doctors told me over and over that they couldn’t understand how the gangrene could have advanced so far without anyone noticing it. I shouldn’t have been able to function. It was weeks and weeks’ worth of damage. My palm and the undersides of my fingers had been blackened and withered with it.

Sean, at one point, cheerfully told me that part of the treatment had involved maggots. They had put them on my hand and they had removed the dead flesh without disturbing what was still alive.

I didn’t know how I felt about it, but I must’ve looked less than excited, because he changed the subject very quickly.

In the end, when I realized how bad it’d been, I had just been relieved to still have it attached. The function was massively reduced, and I had to do pretty extensive physical therapy to get as much back as I did. I could just about hold a mug and hook my fingers around stuff. It took some effort to get my typing back up to a reasonable speed for programming, but I was ridiculously fast before, so it wasn’t an impossible task to adjust. I’m lucky I’m right-handed, though.

I had just moved on to working on a little fine motor when it happened again.

My family had asked me to move in, after. They were up front about it- if I had another seizure like that alone in my apartment, I could die. They weren’t wrong, and I’d about had it with living alone anyway, so the guest room next to Melanie’s became my room. 

The reprieve lasted a month. I’d written it all off, by then, the seizure and the dream both, as a byproduct of drinking far too much and having some kind of terrible hidden infection, compounded by an extremely emotional event. I’d gone through the hospital wringer, every test they could think of, and it’d all come clean once I was recovered from what had put me there to begin with. So there was no reason why, sober and healthy and feeling melancholy, I couldn’t curl up in Melanie’s bed instead of mine one night.

When I woke up in the half-light again, I knew I’d fucked up.

I looked at my wife. She looked worse, this time, and I struggled to place how for a moment before realizing that the first time, she had looked impassive, even determined, until I had upset her at the end. Now she looked disturbed. Troubled, somehow.

“Melanie?” I said.

She shook her head.

“... You aren’t Melanie?” I ventured, and she shook her head again, and sighed.

“I am. I’m Melanie. I’m… I’m your wife.”

Her voice was just as hoarse. It sent a pang through me, and before I could think better, I asked her, “Does your throat still hurt?”

A cascade of maggots rained down her body as she clenched her jaw and fists and shook her head, violently. Not in denial, but in frustration.

“Yes,” she grit out, and her voice was clearer now, somehow, coming through her teeth, louder. “Yes, it fucking hurts.”

“Is there some way- is there anything I can do?”

At first, she shook her head again. Then she sighed, long and crackling, and made eye contact with me. When she spoke again, her voice was abruptly as healthy as it’d ever sounded in any of the videos. “You can tell me your name. Then you’ll die, and I get to come back in your place.”

For a moment, I didn’t know what to think at all.

Then I thought about thirty things at once- I don’t want to die, I would die for my family to be happy, maybe this is why I’m here at all, what if it’s a trick, if she comes back will she come back whole, will she be happy, what does she want, is she suffering here, will I suffer here, will we switch places, will she take my body?

“You’re left-handed,” I blurted out, instead of any of that.

“What,” she responded, clearly baffled.

“When we handfa- when I handfast- when we handfasted, I did it with my left hand. Because you were- you’re left handed.”

“Is this some kind of trauma response?” Melanie asked. I don’t think she was asking me.

“Do you want to come back?” I asked, and then flinched at myself.

She opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again to say “Yes.”

“Okay,” I said. “Okay. I- can I think about it for a minute?”

The expression on her face was one I hadn’t seen in any photos or video: complete incredulous disbelief. “Can you think about it?”

“I know,” I said hastily, “I know, it’s not like you got to think about it-”

“No!” This was a face I had seen, a voice I had heard. It’d been aimed at the cancer, mostly. Melanie was pissed.

“Why the fuck do you have to be good? Why can’t you just be fucking taking advantage of my grieving family- fuck, you’re so nice. You took my hand, you- you didn’t even flinch- you were scared that you hurt me, and I hurt you- you dumb son of a bitch, you don’t know me, you can’t fucking talk about killing yourself to save me like it’s a- a car purchase! Can you think about it?!”

Maggots flew everywhere as she gestured furiously. You already know what a weirdo I am, so I’m not gonna lie to you. In that moment, the only thing I could think was I’m so glad I married you.

“Mel,” I said, and she stopped and stared at me, brows furrowed, chest heaving.

I wanted to reach out and hold her hand again. I don’t know what I would have expected, had I considered it, but the hand that had been damaged was the same here as in real life, stiff and strange and scarred. Melanie looked at it too, and her face tightened, pained. After a moment of thought, I reached out and touched the edge of the mattress, as close to where she stood as I dared.

“Melanie, I’m a huge asshole who does programming work for Google. The past year has been the only part of my life that was worth anything, and it was only worth anything because it was for you and your family. You didn’t get to choose. I’d get that luxury. You were going to be a lawyer. You’re brilliant, you’re focused, you could do real good in the world. And- I mean- I just-”

My voice broke. Melanie’s fingers fluttered briefly and helplessly at her side before she stilled them, glancing down at my hand again.

“I do love you,” I said, soft, “I know I don’t really know you. But more than that, I love and know our family. I could give them back their daughter. I’m not suicidal, but I could give them back their daughter. I got this year. They wouldn’t miss me like they miss you.”

There was a suspended moment of silence. Melanie closed her eyes. She mouthed a noiseless no, but I couldn’t have said whether it was one kind of denial or the other.

When there was nothing further, I ventured to ask “What’s it like?”

“It’s like… being asleep,” she murmured. Her eyes fluttered visibly under their lids. “I dream. They’re pretty good dreams. I dreamed about this. That’s why I knew what to do.”

“Did… do you dream about us? About the living?”

“Sometimes, yeah.”

“Did you dream about our wedding?”

Her reply was very quiet. “ … Only a little. I wasn’t trying, I didn’t want to see. I wish I could have seen more. … I wish I could have been there.”

“We used the Celtic vows.”

Melanie glanced up at me, cracked lips parted a little, and her brows creased just the slightest bit. Not quite an expression.

“‘I give you my body’,” I quoted, and it broke into much more visible pain.

“Stop.”

“‘While we both wish it, I give you that which is mine to give-’”

“Stop! I don’t, shut up, stop- Fuck, don’t. Don’t. I don’t.”

I stopped. Melanie put a shaking hand to her mouth, ran it over her head. The worms she dislodged, I noticed for the first time, burst into little clouds of dust as soon as they hit the hardwood.

“I can’t do this,” she said. “I can’t. I couldn’t live with myself. It was different before. When I dreamed about how it would happen, I thought… it was selfish. I thought it was whatever caretaker or god is in charge of this shit telling me that they had made a mistake, and I thought you were a shitty person taking advantage of my family. I thought they were paying you or something. I didn’t want to admit it to myself, but I tried not to dream of you. I didn’t want to know. I didn’t want to find out what kind of person I would be- be killing. Replacing.”

“I’m willing,” I said, and she made eye contact and replied “I’m not.”

I’d started crying at some point, but hadn’t noticed, didn’t until Melanie reached out a little towards my face, then grabbed the tissue box off the bedside table and put it down on the blanket next to me. It made me laugh, shaky and tearful, and I wiped my eyes with my sleeve before I took a tissue.

“It isn’t fair,” I said. “It isn’t fair.”

“No,” Melanie murmured, “It isn’t. None of it is. But we have to make do with what we can.”

“I love you,” I told her again, helpless. She smiled at me, and it was sad but it was fierce and determined.

“It’s okay. I’ll just go back to sleep, and I’ll dream of you, and my family will be okay. You’ll make sure they’re okay.”

“I will,” I promised. 

Melanie hesitated briefly, then said “Do you think your first name is safe? The dream specified ‘full name’, but-”

“I’m willing to take the risk,” I said wryly, and Melanie wrinkled her nose at me. I took a deep breath. “Hi, Mel. I’m your husband, Benen.”

We both braced, but nothing happened, and after a stressful few seconds we both burst into relieved, nervous laughter at the same time.

“Benen, huh? That’s one I haven’t heard before.”

“It means, uh, ‘mild’. Like fucking salsa. Found that out after I changed it and it was too late, obviously. Most people call me Ben, anyway.”

This time, her smile was warm and genuine. “It’s nice to meet you, Ben.”

I beamed back, reflexive, and Melanie laughed.

“So what now?” I asked, and she shrugged.

“I go back to sleep.”

“Would you- I mean, can I… Would you want to lie down with me? The one time?”

Melanie hesitated, clearly torn, and I added “I don’t care if you hurt me. It- my hand wasn’t really that bad.”

After an immediate shake of the head, she reconsidered, sighed, and lowered herself to curl up on the bed next to me awkwardly, painfully, like her withered muscles and the holes in her flesh had started to matter, now, at the end. Gingerly, carefully, she laid her head just on the edge of my lap, her skull feeling strangely bare and fragile against my thigh even through my sweatpants.

I laid my hand, my left, on the side of her face. The base of my palm rested on cold, wet rot. I didn’t care. My thumb stroked slow arcs across her cheekbone, prominent and sharp, the intact skin dry and rough and over-hot.

“Goodnight, Ben,” she whispered.

I told her that I loved her. I told her to sleep well.

The doctors ended up taking the hand off at the wrist, in the end, and I’m never going to walk without a limp. I don’t care. It’s a price I paid gladly, and I would pay it a thousand times over again if I had to. In the beginning I regretted the loss of the hand that was fasted to Melanie, but I figure it went to her, anyway, so it’s alright.

I never saw her again, no matter how many times I slept in her bed. For our fifth anniversary, Cara and Donovan- with my and Sean’s permission- finally remodeled her room, made it a master for us. My old bedroom became a guest again.

I do dream about her, but they’re just dreams. 

I rest easy knowing she’s dreaming of me too.

Liam passed away last month. Liver failure. Even though everyone else is just as practical as I am about the grief, I feel oddly guilty about the lack of pain his loss brought me. There’s the natural ache of knowing I’ll never hear that laugh again, never tell him I don’t want to hear his goddamn deep sea fishing stories and hear them anyway again, but there’s no uncertainty, no fear of the unknown on his behalf. I know he’s resting. I know he’s at peace. I know he’s going to get to see Melanie again, in the dreams.

Someday, I’ll see her again too. I won’t rush it. I love my life- I love my family. I don’t want to make them grieve another child, another sibling. I’ll live well, for as long as I can, and when I go I won’t be afraid.

When I see her again, I’ll finally get to tell Melanie our last name.

#short story #short stories #creepypasta #??? #I Guess #mine #fiction #PLEASE NOTE WARNINGS: #transphobia mention (brief) #cancer #death #grief and grieving #necrogamy #(marriage after death) #(implied but not confirmed to have been requested by deceased) #body horror #THIS IS A WORK OF FICTION. #noticed SEVERAL people in the tags mentioning they were VERY surprised #If Only #author's pick

[kaitsawamura]

would you like to stay forever?

SUMMARY⎮   Sparring with Pro Hero Kirishima Eijiro in his private gym at his home doesn't seem like a bad idea if you don't count the fact that you really, really like him.

STATS⎮ minors do not interact, 18+ ⎮  Rating: M (for mature)  ⎮  WC: 5525  ⎮   Pairing: Pro Hero Kirishima Eijiro x Fem!Reader  ⎮   Tags: Aged Up Character(s), Friends to Lovers, Sparring, Smut, Fluff, Age/Experience Gap (if you really squint)  ⎮  AO3

NOTES⎮  Thanks to @spacelabrathor​ for listening to me scream about this and to @some-kindofgnome​ for fueling my Kiri fever dreams.  Yes, that title is based on a Mulan quote. This whole fic was based on THIS POST and Kirishima seemed like the perfect character for this pwp.  Hope y'all enjoy!  (Also please for the love of God, click on the banner to see in HD if you’re on mobile, it looks so much better lol)

It was Saturday and even though you’re on your way to becoming a Pro Hero, you can think of several things you’d rather be doing with your one day off than going to Kirishima Eijiro’s house to spar.  But here you are pulling into his driveway, going over combat moves in your head as if your life depended on it.  They weren’t really serving their purpose which was to distract yourself.  Kiri had offered up his personal gym, encouraged you to stop by with one hand in his pocket and the other rubbing the back of his neck as if he was nervous.  

A couple of his friends had already taken him up on the offer.  You were the only one he’d offered who hadn’t come over yet.  He had texted you a couple of weeks later saying he was starting to take it personally…  and then immediately texted with a laughing emoji just to clarify he was only giving you a hard time.  It brings a smile to your face now as you remember it.  Yesterday he had also clarified it would just be the two of you if you were self-conscious sparring in front of other people.  You’d have the whole place to yourselves.  Like that should mean something.  Which it did.  It does , you realize with butterflies growing in your stomach.  Kiri doesn’t need to know that though.

The two of you had been toeing around something since you had been hired at Fatgum’s Agency a year ago.  Neither of you had made a move.  Kirishima, the Red Riot, was a big Pro Hero and while you took pride in your quirk, it didn’t hold a coin to some of the others you’d come in contact with.  It had surprised you when Toyomitsu had brought you on.  But he had mumbled something about “liking your spunk” and that he thought a teleportation quirk would be a useful one to add to his agency.  The first day you had shown up, Kiri had immediately caught your eye.  Not for the obvious reasons.  Obvious reasons being the fact that he was climbing the Pro Hero charts or the fact that he had a dynamically interesting quirk or that at twenty-five he was already built like a brickhouse. 

Those were all valid reasons, yes, but what had pulled you in was his smile and his genuine interest in you outside of your quirk.  But he was just like that you had quickly discovered.  He knew everyone’s coffee order and what they liked for lunch.  He knew when to push and when to back off.  He knew when to talk and when to listen , knew when he still had a lesson to learn.  The kids flocked to him.  Even now you’re still entirely convinced that’s actually his quirk, getting people to like him.  It’s not a difficult thing to do though.

Your brain stutters back to the present when a text notification pings from your cell phone as you sit in Kiri’s driveway, picking at non-existent lint on your gym shorts.  The cute ones you’re still convincing yourself were your only clean pair and that’s the only reason you wore them.

KIRI : i saw u pull up, u gonna come in or what 😂

Had he been waiting for you to get there?  You tapped out a quick response, one that hid the little flip in your stomach at the thought: creeper, you were watching for me lmao

Response bubbles immediately flash on your phone screen but you’re angling out of your car and shutting the door before he can reply.

Somehow, this house fits Kiri perfectly.  It isn’t big.  You had seen pictures of other top-ranking Pros’ houses.  Enji Todoroki’s house, for example, was fucking ridiculous.  But even without a massive floor plan, Kiri’s house is nicer than any you’d been in for some time.  Clean, straight lines and lots of windows.  In fact, you can see straight through the floor-to-ceiling windows out to his backyard when you reach the front door.  Is that a pool ?  Kiri had tons of fun showing pictures at the agency; it was a well-deserved investment for his already multiple years of service as a Pro.  The pictures hadn’t done the place justice though.

Kiri comes to the door, throwing it wide open with a huge grin that shows off his sharp teeth.  You ignore the way your mouth goes dry as he drags you in, babbling on like an excited little kid at you actually coming.

“I really thought you were gonna back out!  I mean, that would have been fine, of course.  I just can’t see the point of having the whole place to myself all the time.”  He’s irresistibly cute, walking around showing you the living room and the kitchen and pointing out to the backyard where, yes, there is indeed a pool.  “You can come over any time and use that too if you want!”  You thank him, warmth pooling in your stomach at how incredibly nice he is.

“Uh, we should probably get in the gym.  I have… stuff to do later,” you finish lamely.  You don’t have anything to do later but very quickly you’re realizing how far out of your depth you are here.  The familiar beginnings of the head over heels fall is washing over you in steady waves.  But you’re coworkers and the thought of coming to work every day and having to see his adorable face and not doing anything about it is almost making you nauseous.

“Oh, yeah, it’s just down the hallway,” he rumbles, leading the way and you follow trying and failing miserably to calm the nerves flashing through your veins.  You’re here alone with Kiri , the man you’ve been crushing on since you’d started working with him a year ago.  And now your stupid brain isn’t just thinking about what it would feel like to run your tongue along his teeth or how his hands would feel between your legs.  No, your stupid brain is thinking about what Kiri looks like when he first opens his eyes in the morning.

Your one-track mind is not getting any help, especially when Kiri walks through the doorway of the gym addition and immediately proceeds to pull his shirt up and over his shoulders and tosses it to the side.  Shit.  His back muscles ripple with the movement and when he turns to face you, it’s heart-wrenchingly obvious that he has no idea the effect he’s having on you.  He has to know .  Doesn’t he?  From your end, it seems wildly obvious that someone as good-looking as him should know .  

You glance around, eternally grateful for the fact that the gym is also attractive.  Floor to ceiling windows span two of the walls here as well and there’s a large set of French doors leading out to the yard.  You find yourself actually in awe when you get a better look at the landscaping.  It’s so green .  There’s a small patch of lawn but the rest is just artfully arranged native flora and fauna.  Violets, tulips.  Huge hosta plants.  And cherry trees heavy with their signature sakura blossoms.  

“Kiri, it’s beautiful!”  He comes to stand beside you, looking out the French doors as well.

“You like it?  I guess it is pretty nice, huh?”  You glance up at him, your chest expanding on a lurch looking at his smile.  You’d never noticed before but he has a light dusting of freckles across his nose.

“Yeah, really nice.”  You look out again, letting the silence grow until it feels like the most comfortable thing in the world.  After what seems like an eternity Kiri clears his throat, rocking back on the balls of his feet.  “What are you thinking for today?”  The question leaves your lips and you’re immediately regretting it; your stomach flips again when Kiri looks at you like you’re prey.

“Close combat, hand-to-hand combat.  You did mention a while ago you wanted to strengthen that, right?”  You throw your head back, rolling your eyes, and groan.  The two of you make your way to the center of the mat.

“Yeah, I mean, I’d be scared to take me on too,” Kiri says, large hands on even larger hips.   He isn’t as tall as some of the other heroes at six foot three inches but he’s wide , thick.  You know for a fact you couldn’t wrap your arms around his waist and have your hands meet.  He’s wearing the biggest shit-eating grin you’ve ever seen.  The sharpened points of his canines are out and on prominent display.   Famous last words you think as a snarl erupts on your face.

“I’m not scared , Kiri.  I just don’t want to wear you out .  You’re a Pro Hero.  You’re on the job a lot more than I am.  Plus, you’re getting kind of old.  Is that a little gray I see coming in?”  Kiri bares his teeth even more but it’s not lost on you that he quickly reaches up to rake his fingers through his hair.  There isn’t any gray, obviously , but the thought has Red Riot distracted.  Distracted enough that when you plant your feet and your fist connects with his face, your knuckles hit skin and not the reinforced rock of his quirk.

“ Shit.”  Kiri takes a step back, reaching up to cradle his jaw.  His tongue swipes out to lick at the blood on his bottom lip.  His vermillion eyes find yours and if you didn’t work with him on a regular basis, you would have felt fear at this moment.  You know he wouldn’t hurt you but even now, a thrill races through your veins like electricity.  He looks as if he’s going to devour you.  You take your own step back, readying your quirk, reaching out to it as your fists hold their position in front of your body.  A dark chuckle spills from his chest as Kiri calls on his own quirk.

Now it was your turn to be distracted; you had always been fascinated by Kiri’s quirk, the way his body looked when it hardened up.  The ripples of muscle still visible under the toughened skin.  The divots and ridges and how they mapped their way across his shoulders and chest and abdomen.  You knew how it felt to the touch in fake combat.  The Fatgum heroes all took pride in maintaining a healthy routine; sparring was a common workout that was previously done at a local public gym.  You wonder absently what it would feel like to touch him slow and at the moment.  When you could give extra attention with extra time. 

Kiri closes the space between the two of you at the moment your mind strays and you barely are able to teleport out of the way to avoid him crashing into you.  You try to take a swipe at him as you materialize from in front of him to behind but this time he’s ready for you and he’s using his quirk.  Instead of moving out of the way, he plants his feet and allows your punch to hit.  Pain radiates up through your fingers and wrist.  It always irritated you that you had to prepare yourself to strike Kiri when he was using his quirk.  Otherwise, you’d be in for a whole lot of hurt every time you landed a punch.

Teleportation is a pretty handy quirk.  It gives you a pretty good advantage the more you work on your close combat skills.  The trick with Kiri was to keep going at him until he ran out of energy.  You hadn’t gotten to that point yet; your quirk had its limits as well.  You were only two years out of UA, Kiri was out by seven.  His strength was already fairly unmatched; sparring with him was always good practice.  You relish the thought of the day you can win a sparring session without tapping out.  It surges through you like pure energy.  

You teleport to stand in front of him again, shifting your weight into your hips and up through your right hook.  This time your fist connects with Kiri’s side and he lets out a small grunt.  Your fingers don’t hurt so bad this time and by the time Kiri is retaliating, you jump back a few feet.  He hmms, a sound that reverberates from his chest.

“That’s all well and good but how do you expect to do anything if you jump that far away?”  He lunges forward at a running start, leaping at the last second, sending his gloved fist into your stomach.  You were fast, but still not always fast enough.  You double over, the air rushing from your lungs and your pre-workout protein smoothie threatening to exit back the way it went in.  Sweat is already beading on your brow and sliding under your tank top.  You take a few breaths through your nose when an idea pops into your head; you stay bent over.  “Hey, I didn’t hit you that hard.  You good?”  

Kiri comes to stand in front of you, leaving him vulnerable.  He can’t see your smirk until it’s too late.  You wail on him, using some of the basic combos he’s taught you before today.  Satisfaction rolls through you when he actually takes a step back.  But then he puts his arms up in front of him, clenching his abdomen and bending inward to protect his core.  He drops just a fraction and before you realize what’s happening, he’s swiping his leg out to push through yours.  You watch in slow motion as you see his laughing face then the ceiling of the gym as you flip and land on your back.

If you thought you were out of breath before…  “Fuuu-.”  It’s a wheeze that feels like it’s ripping your chest open.  You’re seeing stars.  Kiri stands over you, hands on his hips again.  You stare at his face; the hero has his hair pulled back into a bun.  You snort, rolling your eyes.  Why does he still look so fucking good?  The sweat has caused some of the pieces falling out of his hair tie to curl.  His hair has curl to it?  You’ve never noticed before, considering he always gels it into spikes.  You like the curl.  “Are you--are you gonna help me up, or what?”  It was still painful to talk.

Kiri tilts his head to the side, just slightly, and crosses his arms.  “I’m thinking not.  Last time I let down my guard you got those good combos in.”  You stare in stunned silence, sitting up so you’re supported by your elbows.  Kiri shifts slightly and if you didn’t know better, you’d say he’s backing up to… get a better view.   

“Is that any way to treat your student,  Red Riot?”  You know you get under his skin when he clicks his tongue against his teeth and holds out a hand with a begrudging eye roll.  He pulls you up with ease, quickly enough that you almost lose your balance, swaying into his space.  You look up, eyes moving back and forth between his.  

He draws in a breath and drags his bottom lip between his teeth.  “First of all,” he says as he places his hands on your upper arms, “I’m not your teacher.  I’m not that much older than you.  Secondly,” he mutters as he tucks a stray lock of hair behind your ear, “our relationship isn’t that formal is it?”  He’s so fucking close.  This is getting dangerous.  Dangerous because Kiri is within kissing distance.  Dangerous because this gentle side of him is making you lose more breath than falling on your ass.  Dangerous because the thought of Kiri taking you on the floor right now is almost too much to bear.  

So you fall back on what you’re here to do.  Fight.  You flash him a wicked smile before rallying your quirk and teleporting a few feet away.  His hand is still raised in mid-air and when his head whips to look in your direction, his crimson eyes are narrowed and his nostrils are flared.  He laughs and rolls his neck, dancing on his toes.

“Okay.  I see.  I’m not gonna go easy on you, you know?”  You snort and put your fists up in front of you again.

“As if you were going easy on me before, Kiri.  Bring it on.”  He smiles, the sharp points of his teeth enough to make your thoughts swerve again before you bring them under control.  “Bring it on,” you whisper more to yourself as you brace for the fight.

Two hours later, you feel the strain in your muscles.  Your quirk is running low on reserves and you know you won’t be able to use it much more.  Kiri looks like he hasn’t wasted a breath but you can see he’s getting tired in the way his feet don’t move as sharply.  And if the length of time he’s using his quirk is any indication to his state of mind, you know the two of you will be calling it a day soon.  But you’re also both stubborn.  And you’re dying to get one more good move in on him.

The cockiness the two of you had at the beginning of the sparring session hasn’t gone away but has burned hot into determination.  No more smiles, only clear-headed concentration.  The two of you are an arm's length from each other, throwing various punches and switching quickly between using your quirks and not.  You’re breathing hard, sweat gathering at your brow as you throw another right hook that Kiri easily blocks.

“Get out of your head.  You can be too predictable sometimes.”  He doesn’t mean for it to come across as rude but the words strike a match to a guttering fire.  You bare your own teeth at Kiri even though they aren’t sharp and probably don’t look nearly as threatening but it helps you feel powerful nonetheless.  You drop without a second thought, lowering to your palms and sweeping your leg out in front of you in a wide arc.  A grin spreads across your face when your calf meets Kiri’s ankle.  He’s too physically dense for this move to work if he had seen it coming.  But he doesn’t.  And his solid 220 pounds of muscle falls hard.  

You allow yourself the satisfaction of the moment for only a split second; Kiri’s recovery time is much shorter than yours so it isn’t long before he’s scrambling forward.  He goes straight for your wrists to subdue you but with a smirk, you realize in his haste he’s put himself in the perfect position for you to possibly gain the upper hand.  You scoot up away from him just enough to drag his arm forward and swing your legs around his neck.  Then you elevate your hips and lock your core.

It’s over from there as you squeeze with every last ounce of strength left in your body.  It doesn’t take long for him to tap out.  You release as soon as you feel his loose hand tap your arm; he collapses over you and you’re too tired to move away or push him off.  Now his breathing is rough and you feel a surge of pride.  You reach up and place your hand on his head where his bun has come undone; he’s so heavy but it doesn’t feel bad.  In fact, the feel of Kirishima resting his head and upper chest on your stomach is feeling nothing short of good .  He’s still between your legs and suddenly the air is crackling with a new kind of energy when you gently comb your fingers through his hair.

He rises up, his hands on either side of you.  His hips rest between your legs; the mingled heat radiating from both of you is almost more than you can take but there is no way you’re going to move anywhere.  He leans forward, so close you can see the flecks of burnt orange in his eyes.  If you moved forward just a little, you could close that space between you.  He leans down more, his mouth right next to the shell of your ear.

“Maybe not always predictable.  You did good today.  Probably some of the best fighting I’ve seen from you so far.  Keep it up.”  He grunts, a shift of his hips allowing the curve of his cock to brush against your clothed sex through his gym shorts.  He stiffens in what you think might be embarrassment.  “Shit, sorry, let me just, uh--”  The stuttering mess he becomes right before your eyes makes something lurch in your chest; you reach for his face without thinking.

“Kiri,” you whisper, rolling your own hips against his.  His cheeks are burning a shade of red almost as vibrant as his hair.  You bring up your other hand, holding his face between them and bringing him down to settle over you once more.  Your lips meet his; he seems to war with himself for just a moment.  A suspended second in time.  But then he gives in, slipping his tongue against yours in a delicious sliding vision of what’s coming.

He reaches between you to slip his hand under your tank top; his hand is big and nearly encompasses your side.  But it’s warm and gentle.  Gentle.  Who would have guessed that Red Riot could be so fucking gentle?  But he is and when his hand moves lower to slide below the hem of your shorts, you give yourself to him with no reservations.  His middle finger passes through the mess of your sex; a hissed breath rattles through his chest as your back arches on a ragged groan.

“ Shit.  You’re so wet .”  He slides his finger back and forth, gathering your slick on the thick digit.  He takes his hand away and you mewl.  “Can I?”  He asks breathlessly as he hooks his hands on the hem of your shorts.  You nod, eyes half-lidded.  He pulls them down along with your underwear and the way he looks at you, at what’s between your legs, you don’t even have the wherewithal to feel self-conscious.  Adoration.  It’s the only word you can think of and it makes you wonder if you’d made a mistake waiting so long.

He’s on his knees when he takes your legs and drapes them on either side of his hips; this time he doesn’t hesitate in slipping his finger into your cunt.  You nearly see stars just from that and if one finger is any indication, you’re in for it.  Slowly, he adds another, his hand pumping into you in a steady rhythm.  You’re grabbing for the ground, grabbing for him as a strangled noise pushes from your throat.  He reaches out with his other hand to splay it across your sternum and it’s the only thing anchoring you as he adds the third finger before scooting down to put his mouth on your clit.

“ Kiri,” you keen, shoving your hips into his touch, frantically scrabbling for his wrist that’s on your chest just to have something to hold on to.  He’s done this before, he’s had to.  He’s too good.  Too fucking good.  Already there’s coiling in your gut as incomprehensible words tumble from your mouth.  “Shit.  Shit.  Kiri I’m--I’m gonna--”  He rumbles approvingly against your clit; the vibrations send you closer and closer to the edge and when it crests, your back arches near pain as you cry out, your voice echoing in the gym.  It’s deep, roaring through all of your limbs but  Kiri keeps going, fingers still pumping, tongue still swirling around your sensitive nub.

Another orgasm breaks over you sharp and quick and the overstimulation has your legs quaking as your arousal gushes over Kiri’s hand and tongue.  But then he’s moving again, and you’re blearily aware that he’s shoving his own shorts and boxers past his hips to free his cock.  You stare as it bounces back to sit near the planes of his stomach; it’s already leaking steadily with precum.  Kiri looks back at you and when your eyes meet, you dart your tongue out between your lips to wet them.  Another time, maybe.  

Kiri leans forward to lift you up and the closer you get you can barely see any red in his eyes; his pupils are blown, his nostrils flared as he lifts you like you weigh nothing .  He could snap you like a twig.  But he won’t.  You know without a doubt this is the safest you’ve ever felt, even as he lowers you slowly over his cock and it does feel like you’re being split .

“ Fuuuck…”  You wrap your legs around him, your mouth dropped open, your hands gripping his shoulders.  You try not to dig your nails in but it’s almost impossible with how you’re being filled.  You knew Kiri was big but this was almost too much.  His forehead drops to yours as he pants.  But he’s not moving, won’t move until you tell him to.  It makes your heart ache and your cunt floods, drunk on the affection thrumming through your veins.  You roll your hips experimentally and the friction is bliss.  “Oh fuck, ohfuck.”  You move again, pushing yourself up and back down, listening to the hitch in his breathing.  “ Kiri, please, ” you whisper.  Those words… they’re enough.

Kirishima grips you by the hips, his fingers splayed and digging into the flesh; it’ll leave bruises and the knowledge cracks through you like electricity.  Let him leave marks.  Let him leave them everywhere.  He’s moving you up and down his cock, grunting, mumbling.  “Tell me, Kiri, tell me.”  His eyes meet yours again and his own mouth drops open.

“Fuck, you’re so good.  S’ tight.  Jesus, I-- ” Kiri moves his hands from your hips to support you as he lays you down on the floor of the gym.  The idea should be questionable but it’s not, it’s fucking not and you can’t concentrate on any other thoughts when Kiri grabs your wrists and pins them gently above your head with one hand while the other comes back to your hip.  He thrusts into you at a brutal pace but… it feels like home and you think in that moment as your cunt begins to seize around his cock that you would give up forever to continue touching him.

“Yes, Kiri, yes.  Right there, right--shit yesyes yes. ”  He pistons up, the veins of his cock rubbing just right and when he releases the grip on your hands, they’re moving to wrap around him on instinct.  He’s planting kisses along your jaw, mouthing up to your lips and back down to graze his teeth over your pulse point.  “Do it, fuckin’ do it, let them know ‘m yours, ” you slur and when he bites down you crash over the edge on a groan that’s really more of a scream.  Everything goes black but you're cradling him to you as his movements become more erratic.  The snapping of his hips is getting sloppier by the second and a steady growl punches from his lungs with each breath.  “Cum, Kirishima, cum inside me.”

He’s never heard those words before and it lights a fire in his veins.  His head is buzzing and then he can’t hear anything as his cock releases and he’s spurting searing hot ropes of cum into your cunt.  He goes until you’ve milked every last drop from him and he’d be lying if he said his world didn't suddenly feel whole.  Finally, his body settles and his chest drops to yours.  Everything slowly bleeds back into focus and somehow, everything seems more colorful than it did moments before.  You’re still clinging to him.

“Kiri.  Kiri, babe, I can’t breathe,” you say and he slowly rises, taking in your blissed-out expression.  Your eyes can barely stay open, your cheeks are flushed.  He backs up to see his handiwork on display, hyper-focused on the trail of the mingling cum dripping from the mess of your sex.  But you’re smiling.  Lazy and tired, completely at ease.  “Wanna take a shower?”  When you nod he doesn’t hesitate in standing to kick his underwear and shorts the rest of the way off his legs and then he’s grabbing you, scooping you into his arms and against his chest.  He pads out of the gym and across the hall to his bathroom where he deposits you on your feet, only after he’s sure you can stand and only long enough to turn the shower head-on.

He puts his hand under the water, waiting for it to get warm.  Steam billows from behind the glass door when he’s turning back to you to remove your tank top and your sports bra.  Thank god you chose the front-closure one today; you didn’t think either one of you wanted to struggle to get one up over your head right now.  When your breasts spill out of the high-impact fabric, you notice with tender amusement that his cock is half-hard again.  His eyes go dark again and he leans in for a kiss.  But it's slow and sweet. 

"You're so fuckin' beautiful," he whispers.  He ignores his arousal, ushering you into the stream of water.  Your care is the only thing that matters to him right now.  The heat slides across your body, and when Kirishima steps up behind you and begins soaping up your shoulders, it feels like heaven .

You take turns washing each other until you’re both blissed out in a different kind of way and the only thing either one of you can think about is sleep.  But the afterglow is fading and doubt is creeping in.  When you step out of the water, you stand awkwardly as Kiri hands you a towel.  “You okay?”  He’s actually concerned and you can’t put your finger on why you’re so fucking grateful for it.

“Yea, just tired.  I should, uh, probably get going.”  Kiri freezes and you think you’ve said something wrong, already crossed a line.  Your brain is like a broken record as the stomach-curdling image of having to see him at the agency flashes across your eyes in vivid detail.  But then he’s stepping into your space and pulling you in for a hug.  A hug.

“Don’t go,” he whispers into the crown of your head and it has you smiling like an idiot against his chest.  His skin smells clean and warm with a hint of spice.  You bury your face further in as you nod against him.  Then he’s leading you to his room, to the king-sized bed.  He peels back the comforter and the white sheets and pulls you in beside him.  Your back is against him and he hooks his foot around your ankles, bringing you even closer.  

He doesn’t say anything more, just lets out a huge sigh as he wraps his arm around you.  The last thing you notice before your eyes flutter shut is how your heartbeats are thumping at the same steady rhythm.  

Late afternoon sunlight slants in Kirishima’s bedroom window, creating interesting patterns across his blanket.  It’s pushed towards the end of the bed, your legs intertwined and tangled in the sheets.  He’s still dozing, his breathing not quite that of someone sleeping but not of a person fully awake.  You reach out to cup his cheek, stroke above his eyebrows, caress his lips with your thumb.  A contented sigh leaves his chest as he grabs your hand and kisses your wrist.  His eyes are open now and he watches you.  You smile at him, snuggling closer, not wanting the moment to end.

“Hey,” he says quietly, suddenly serious.  “I just want you to know, I don’t do this all the time.  I mean, I’ve been with other people before but I don’t…  I don’t really hook up .”  Things start clicking into place as you realize what he’s trying to get across.  He just fucked you stupid in his personal gym and somehow he looks bashful.  And because you love it, you’re not going to help him along.  You just watch, biting your lip to keep from giggling.  “I just.  I guess what I’m trying to say is I like you.  I’ve liked you for a long time.  And normally I would have wined and dined you first but...  Well.  Here we are.  Would you like to stay for dinner?”

That’s the last straw; your laughter comes bubbling out of you and Kiri is leaning back to look at you with a quizzical expression on his face.  “Is something funny?”  That just makes you laugh a little harder but the confused look he’s wearing has you leaning in to press your lips against his.

“I’ve liked you from the first day I met you, Kiri.  I’ll one-up your offer and tell you that I might like to stay forever.”  A grin rips across his face and your heart blooms with warmth and affection.  The world seems full of possibilities but none of them matter except for the possibility laying right in front of you.

#kirishima x reader #kirishima eijiro x reader #kirishima eijirou x reader #kirishima eijiro #kirishima eijirou #pro hero kirishima #red riot #kirishima smut #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #kaitsuki writes #oh my god i had such brain block #writing this one #because i get too in my head writing smut #BUT i hope everyone still enjoys #we stan kiri in this house

[gladerwolfstarkimagines]

Request: Imagine being Lin Beifong’s daughter and having a crush on Iroh II

Tags: @tincdraws

Growing up as the daughter of Lin Beifong metal and earth bending were your whole life. You learnt to earth bend by the time you could walk and your mother had you in training from a young age so you graduated from the earth bending school at the top of your class with your eyes firmly set on following in your mother’s footsteps whilst also trying to emulate your grandmother’s success. You had a sharp focus and nothing else really caught your attention. You had friends but training came first and dating seemed something superficial you could live without. Republic city was your life and you would never dream of leaving it but your mother had other ideas.

Your mother thought you needed more worldly experience before you joined the police force so she sent you to the fire nation to gain some training as an officer. She claimed the fire nation had some of the best officers in the world and that they would help you learn invaluable real-life experience. You did not agree and protested the whole thing. All your training had revolved around the needs of Republic City specifically and you couldn’t see how you’d learn anything new about how to protect your city by travelling all the way to fire nation but your mother refused to change her mind and that was that.

So you were shipped off to the fire nation fresh out of the academy. Your mother had spoken to Firelord Izumi and it was agreed you’d be staying at the palace so not only would you be unfamiliar with the environment, you’d be in a place where every small look, word or action had large consequences. You didn’t know much about the fire nation and couldn’t really recall the royal family. You were aware your grandmother was very close with the late Firelord Zuko but since then things had changed. Although your grandmother’s friends (mainly Katara) had tried to keep the group close it was hard with everyone scattered across the four nations and so with each generation the group had drifted further and further apart. You knew Firelord Izumi had a daughter older than you and a son around your age called Iroh. You recalled meeting Iroh when you were younger at some event in the south pole but couldn’t remember much more than a serious fire nation child. So you arrived on the steps of the palace utterly out of your depth determined to see these three months through so you could return to your beloved city. You were shown into the palace immediately, your belongings taken by maids who refused to let you carry them yourself as you were a royal guest. You weren’t used to finery so proceeded through the palace partly in awe and partly in utter confusion why someone needed this many paintings of old men everywhere. You were finally shown into a large room. “Ah you must be y/n Beifong” a voice called and you turned to see someone who looked vaguely familiar. You knew he wasn’t Firelord Zuko or Firelord Izumi’s husband as he was too young so figured by his royal outfit this was Izumi’s second child the prince. “Prince Iroh, it’s an honour to see you again” you said bowing and he chuckled “I bet you thought that would be a winning line with any fire nation citizen didn’t you? Because we’re still all obsessed with honour like we were centuries ago?” Iroh asked and you hesitated. “If I caused any offence...” you started but Iroh cut you off breaking out in a large smile “no I was only kidding, it is a winning line we are still obsessed with honour”. You watched as Iroh laughed at his own joke surprised, you didn’t expect the prince of the fire nation to be like this. You figured royalty lacked the ability or the clearance to have a sense of humour but apparently not. “So have I really not changed since we were eight?” Iroh asked and when you frowned he elaborated “you recognised me but the last time we met was just over ten years ago”. You paused “ow no I didn’t actually recognise you, you were young, dressed in fine clothes with royal hairpins, not to mention you’re in the palace...you had to be the prince”. “Good deductions officer” Iroh said saluting you before he grinned “i’m in training too”. That piqued your interest “really? for the fire nation army?”. He nodded “yep! I’m an officer but my hope is to be general one day and to fully earn it, rather than just get it because of who my family is...hopefully in a few years i’ll get there”. “I’m sure you will” you agreed and Iroh led you into a large dining room. “Are we dining alone?” you asked confused and Iroh smirked. “Why? Not pleased with me?” he asked and you rushed to assure him that wasn’t the case when he laughed again “I’m joking again y/n, I know my grandfather told you the whole family would be dining with you in his letter to your mother but he, my parents and sister were all called away to an urgent matter and asked me to fill in as we’re similar ages”. “Ow” you nodded “that makes sense...is everything okay?”. Iroh nodded “everything’s fine just boring fire nation stuff...so shall we?” he asked holding out his arm to you. You weren’t sure if this was appropriate so averted your eyes and only took his arm lightly. Iroh smirked at your caution and led you into the room.

The meal with Iroh was nice. He was friendly, hard-working and interesting. You soon got used to his humour and learnt not to take him too seriously. You hadn’t met many other people your age who shared your passion for a military career and found it was nice, a sentiment Iroh apparently shared. He enquired what you were doing the rest of the week and when you replied nothing as training didn’t start for another week he soon had several of your days planned out with fire nation sights to show you. Iroh seemed to understand you didn’t know much about the fire nation so planned to take you to all the important sites as well as areas relevant to the army to peak both your interests. You enjoyed the prince’s tours greatly and even when training did start you continued meeting with Iroh regularly. You liked his company and were surprised that didn’t fade the more time you spent with him, if anything it grew more and more. You thought he’d be a spoilt entitled prince but he was kind and considerate pleasantly surprising you.

You didn’t become aware that you liked Iroh as anything more until one of your friends at the academy pointed it out. Since starting training you were progressing well, you achieved high grades and were held in high esteem by your fellow recruits. You had made some friends and often trained with them after the academy retired for the day. After a long training session you were heading to the palace when one of your friends called out to you “hey y/n some of us were going into town to celebrate our class’s good progress, do you want to come?”. You smiled pleased they wanted you to come when you remembered you couldn’t go “I’d love to Shani but sorry I can’t I have plans”. “Of course you do” she smirked as your other friend Aizori grinned “is it with Iroh by any chance”. “Actually it is” you said frowning at their shared look “why?”. “Ow nothing just it’s not every day your friend is dating the crowned prince”. “Me and Iroh are not dating!” you cried “our families are old friends that’s all”. “Uh...hu, if that’s true then what are your plans together may we ask?”. “We’re attending a party at the palace”. “Together?” Shani asked and you blushed “yes but he only asked me because it’s a formal event that’s apparently really boring so he wanted a friend there, trust me we’re not dating”. “But how can you resist?” Aizori asked “I’ve only seen the prince a handful of times but he seems to get better looking every single time! How don’t you get lost in those golden eyes and that chiselled jaw? The royal family has some amazing genes not even a Beifong can resist”. You paused considering it. For you looks weren’t very important so you didn’t tend to notice them. You held work ethic and determination as much higher priorities and Iroh scored very highly in both but in looks...you honestly couldn’t say. “I’m not sure I’ve noticed” you admitted and the girls rolled their eyes not believing you.

When you arrived back at the palace your friend’s words were ringing in your head and when you next saw Iroh something felt different. You took note of his looks and were surprised by what you’d found. Iroh was attractive, very attractive, how had you missed that? You stared at Iroh wondering if his eyes had always been that bright? Was his jaw always that sharp? His hair that good regularly when he frowned “why are you staring at me?”. “Nothing” you cried and he paused before shrugging “Are you ready to go?” he asked “the party has already started” offering you his arm. You nodded and took it cautiously following Iroh into the ballroom.

You could see why Iroh had wanted to invite you, everyone in the room was at least 60 years old or some stiff nobel person from an ancient line of fire nation families. All they seemed to want to discuss was old family bloodlines, territories or ancient traditions. After your fifth boring ambush by some old fire nation man Iroh pointedly headed for the gardens. You frowned as he exited discreetly, closing the door behind him, and headed away from the hall. “Iroh I’m pretty sure the party is inside” you commented and Iroh grinned “I know but I can’t take another second in there so humour me? One lap of the gardens then we’ll head back, please? I know you haven’t seen them properly yet so how about a tour?” Iroh holding out his hand to you. You rolled your eyes but took his hand happily. 

Iroh led you around the gardens explaining the different flora to you and their history. “I spent so many parties hiding in here as a kid” he grinned “this place is so huge they couldn’t find me for hours”. You smiled at the thought “my mother would’ve killed me if I did that”. “Mine did” Iroh chuckled “but I’d honestly rather face her wrath than some boring commander who wants to lecture me about our family’s history and why it’s so important...they’re literally my own family and even I don’t care” Iroh cried making you smile. “I see why you escaped out here so often, I’m very grateful formal parties were not a part of my childhood”. Iroh smiled and went to comment when the smile was wiped from his face and he grabbed you, quickly pushing you behind a large fern. “Iroh what are you...”. “Shhh they’ve come for us” he hissed and you frowned when you heard a voice. “Prince Iroh?” a man you recognised as the palace coordinator called “Are you out here? You’re needed inside”. You smirked and Iroh rolled his eyes “they’re relentless”.  “Master Iroh if you’re out there please return to the ballroom, your mother’s orders”. There was silence and then the sound of the butler coming closer. Your eyes widened and Iroh put a hand over your mouth pushing you further into the bushes. “Prince Iroh?” a voice called literally right beside you and Iroh smirked as you grabbed his arm in surprise. You heard a sigh and the sound of the man retreating. When the footsteps died away Iroh dropped his hold on you and you both burst into laughter. “I thought we were going to be caught and then royally punished...literally” you added and Iroh smirked “I wouldn’t let them punish you, it’s not your fault I dragged you out here”. “True but I didn’t try hard to stop you”. “You did encourage me” Iroh nodded thinking “okay it’s all your fault”. You gaped laughing “I never said that! You are such a liar” you cried pushing him and Iroh laughed grabbing your arm “okay okay maybe we share the blame 50:50?”. “No way” you smiled and Iroh paused “60:40?”. “I think 90:10?” you said grinning and Iroh sighed “fine, i’ll take 10% of the blame”. You shook your head at how wonderfully infuriating he was and smiled at him fondly. Iroh grinned back and you realised suddenly how close his face was to yours. Iroh seemed to notice too, he glanced down at your lips and you panicked moving away from him suddenly. There was an awkward tension in the air and you broke it with a cough “so want to show me more of the gardens then?”. Iroh nodded “right this way my lady” the awkwardness gone and led you further into the garden.

When you were safely hidden from the ballroom Iroh stopped walking, explaining this was one of his favourite spots in the whole garden and you gratefully took a break sitting down. “I can’t believe you’ve already been here a month” Iroh commented and you nodded “I know only 2 more to go then my mandatory 3 months work experience is done”. Iroh frowned “mandatory...so you could stay longer if you wanted to?”. “Hypothetically” you agreed and Iroh hesitated “do you think you’d extend it? Hypothetically?”. You paused “I’m not sure, I have enjoyed the fire nation far more than I thought I would but I’ve always wanted to complete my training as quickly as possible, I hope to be chief of police one day and I’ll need many years of service for that...”. Iroh frowned “isn’t the youngest chief like 41?”. You nodded “yeah so i’ve got time I guess, maybe i’ll stay for longer...is this just so you have someone to skirt your royal duties with?”. Iroh laughed “maybe...I like you being here, it’s nice not being the only person under 30 in every room”. You smiled “well i’m glad my presence isn’t displeasing to you...you’ve been pleasant as well” you added blushing and Iroh grinned. “Wait did I make a Beifong blush? That’s like a legendary occurrence, this is amazing!”. “Stop it” you cried but Iroh wouldn’t let you turn away “no, this will go down in history, Beifong blushes are rarer than dragons so I’m soaking up every second”. For the second time that day Iroh stared at you closely and you blushed more under his gaze but this time you didn’t move away. Iroh continued gazing at you before he lightly moved his hand to your cheek “y/n...” he said softly leaning in closer when a figure appeared. “There you are!” a voice cried and you both jumped away from one another. Your jaw dropped when you realised who it was and you dropped into a bow “Firelord Izumi...i’m so sorry I didn’t see you approach”. “Rise child you did nothing wrong” she said warmly “my son on the other hand...” she trailed off glancing at Iroh who paled. “Hey mom” he frowned and she raised an eyebrow “really? That’s all you have to say? No apology or grovelling”. “Erm I’m sorry for ditching?” Iroh offered and Izumi sighed. “Y/n would you please excuse us, I want to have a word with my son”. “Of course” you agreed bowing and you rushed away.

Iroh returned not long after with his mother and told you he had to stay in the ballroom for the rest of the party. You agreed to stay with him and he smiled gratefully at you making you blush and look away rapidly. The night passed and neither you nor Iroh spoke about what happened in the garden. How he’d almost kissed you and how you were going to let him. You couldn’t believe your own recklessness. What good did you think would come out of kissing the prince of the fire nation? You were obviously not an appropriate match and so there was nothing to be encouraged there. You resolved to never find yourself in that situation again and decided to just stay as friends no matter how much you got along or how attractive he was. Getting involved with a fire nation prince was not responsible behaviour. So after that night you made sure to put distance between you and Iroh. You didn’t stop seeing him you just made sure to emphasise it was a friendship. You didn’t let yourself get caught up in him the way you had in the gardens and always kept a level head. Iroh never tried anything or mentioned that night either and you supposed he picked up on your not so subtle hints. You carried on as before but there was definitely an unmentioned barrier between you which you never let fade.

You left the fire nation 2 months later. You didn’t extend your stay as with your feelings for Iroh you didn’t think it would be wise. Iroh saw you off and hugged you tightly before you got onto the airship. “It’s been nice having you around Beifong, I’ll miss you”. Iroh’s words made you hesitate and you hugged him tighter. For that time in Iroh’s arms you imagined what would have happened if you’d kissed him in the gardens that night. Iroh didn’t strike you as someone who flitted from person to person taking what he wanted, you think if he wanted to kiss you he must have felt something for you too and perhaps would have suggested dating. You imagined all the things you’d have done together but as a couple and wondered if you’d made a mistake, maybe you should have just gone for it? But then reality set in. If you really wanted to be chief of police then you couldn’t have short relationships with high ranking members of the fire nation. Other candidates could use it to show you had compromised morals and there was no way it would be a long term relationship due to your lack of fire nation heritage. Sure the fire nation was pretty progressive but that didn’t really apply to royalty. They had thousand-year-old traditions to uphold that couldn’t be broken easily so Iroh was never a long term option for you. Therefore all logical signs said you’d done the correct thing not persuing something with him...so why did it feel so shit? You finally pulled away from Iroh and he noticed your expression. “What’s wrong?” he asked and you shook your head looking away “nothing i’ll just miss it here...promise you’ll keep in touch?”. “Cross my heart” Iroh smiled “you’re not someone I intend to let slip away, expect a visit every time I come to republic city”. You pushed away the rational voice in your mind telling you to keep a distance from him and smiled “you’ll always be welcome and I’m very much looking forward to it”. Iroh blushed “thank you y/n” and you nodded back, just looking at him in admiration before catching yourself. “I should go...” and Iroh nodded “safe travels” and with a final look you walked away.

2 years later

After your departure you and Iroh stayed in regular contact and your letters only halted when he was deployed by the military but the second we was out he would write and arrange to come visit you in Republic City. You still thought about him and your feelings for him regularly and every time you saw him you knew your crush hadn’t lessened. You loved Iroh’s visits and soon they became the thing you cherished most. You told yourself all of this was fine because you’d never act on your feelings but sometimes you wondered if Iroh felt something too? You’d catch him staring at you or he’d blush if you smiled at him in a certain way. The very idea of Iroh liking you made you very excited but you also knew it would only lead to heartache. He wouldn’t be allowed to settle down with someone outside the fire nation so it didn’t matter if he liked you too. So you settled for his friendship which was more than enough for you. When Iroh was posted in republic city when he became general you were thrilled and you only continued to grow closer.

However republic city wasn’t as peaceful. There had been multiple attacks on the city from Amon’s chi blockers to Vaatu’s take over and you and Iroh were constantly pushed into the fray. Multiple times you’d faced staggering odds and every single time you wondered if you should confess your feelings to Iroh in case the unthinkable happened but every time you chickened out. You and Iroh had been safe every time but there was only so much you could push your luck.  

You’d been wary of Kuvira’s take over of the earth kingdom from the very start. Your aunt Su Yin had told you all about her so you weren’t surprised when she set her sights on Republic City but that didn’t mean you weren’t terrified. The avatar and her friends informed you what you were facing and you weren’t sure how you could even think about facing a giant mecha suit with spirit cannons. Iroh shared your sentiment but as general of Republic City’s army he was forced by President Raiko to lead his troops out there. Watching Iroh take to the front line you were swept with the desire once again to be honest with him, to tell him how you felt before it was too late. You decided three was too many times to chance it and so decided to finally tell him how you felt. You made your way to the general’s tent and found Iroh with Korra discussing strategies. You greeted them both warmly before making your way to Iroh’s side “could we please talk? I have something to tell you”. You knew Iroh had a hundred things to do but he nodded warmly squeezing your hand “of course just give me one second to...” when the radio sprang into action. President Raiko had surendering to Kuvira’s demands. Republic City was hers.

The avatar was furious and you matched her sentiment. You and Iroh joined her as she met with other leaders in the city like Tenzin and your mother and they all agreed something had to be done to stop Kuvira. A plan was quickly assembled, it was agreed that airbenders would attack the suit from the sky and earth benders would attack from the ground. You didn’t actually expect to damage the suit, you only had to distract Kuvira long enough for Korra to get inside. You were agreeing fervently getting ready to leave with your cousins when Iroh grabbed your arm. “Wait Y/n are you sure you want to do this?” he asked nervously “that mecha suit is dangerous there’s no guarantee you’ll be able to stop it”. I know but it’s my home, I swore to protect it and I won’t break my oath. I have to try and help”. Iroh sighed thinking and you watched him wondering what he’d say. ���I understand why you’re doing it and I want to come too”. You paused pleasantly surprised “You do...but I thought President Raiko told you to retreat and surrender?”. “He told me to surrender the army not that I couldn’t personally engage in fighting, i’m not fighting as a general but as plain old Iroh” he announced proudly and you smiled “there’s nothing plain about you even without your titles”. Iroh beamed at you “Does this mean you agree? We can fight this giant together!”. You nodded your head “okay let’s go meet up with the others”.

You and Iroh rushed after the others and found them all suiting up. “Finally” your mother said spotting you but she frowned when she saw Iroh with you “y/n tell me you didn’t bring the general who is also the prince of the fire nation into this”. “She didn’t, I volunteered” Iroh spoke up “I’m not here as a general or as a prince but as a civilian so, where can I help?”. “You know your mother won’t like this” Tenzin commented and Iroh nodded “I know but some things are worth facing her wrath for” he said shooting you a smile and you blushed.

So it was agreed Iroh would stay. Your mother thought it would be best to place him on the roof with the airbenders, she ordered him to shoot lightning at the joints to try and cause some malfunctioning. When you’d all suited up the teams said their goodbyes and Iroh appeared in front of you. You didn’t have long, Kuvira’s giant suit was already in view and the ground shook whenever it took a single step. Iroh stared at you and sighed heavily “Y/n...”. “Don’t say it like that, we don’t have time and we’re both going to be fine okay?” you said faking a smile but Iroh saw right through it. “What did you want to tell me earlier?”. You froze caught off guard and blushed “I...I just wanted to...it doesn’t matter”. The ground jumped and Iroh looked at it nervously before stepping closer to you “I think I can guess what you were going to say”. “You can?” you asked nervously and Iroh smiled “yeah...you had another Beifong blush moment and I’ve noticed you do them around me a lot”. You went bright red and Iroh chuckled “yeah like that...”. You looked down embarrassed but Iroh took your hand gently “don’t, I blush a lot around you too”. You smiled blushing more and Iroh chuckled softly. “Y/n are you ready?” your mom asked and Iroh gripped your hand tightly. “Wait I want to tell you everything before you leave” Iroh cried but you squeezed his hand gently. “It’ll be okay” you smiled “you can tell me everything later and I think I can guess too”. Iroh grinned blushing “later then...just got to get through this”. “We’ll be fine, this is what he trained for” you smiled confidently “I promise I’ll see you on the other side”. Iroh nodded and stared at your lips, he went to move in when your mother called “y/n are you coming or are we leaving you behind”. “I’m coming!” you yelled and stepped away from Iroh “mothers” you commented and he smiled “go, i’ll see you after” and with a last look you both rushed off to your assigned group.

The battle

The fight went about as good as could be expected. The suit swatted the air benders away like flies and your group’s earth, metal and even lava bending barely slowed it down. But it didn’t matter, all that mattered was the avatar and her team managed to find a way into that thing and your team cheered when you saw she’d done just that. Now the fight was Korra’s so you let your guard down when suddenly the machine began malfunctioning. Your mother yelled for you all to take cover but you were too far away from the building. The suit exploded with a blast and you saw a blinding light and then black.

After the suit exploded everyone assumed the battle won. Half the air benders went after Korra to help her with Kuvira and the other half went to the ground to make sure the others were okay, of course Iroh went with the latter. He saw Bolin, your aunt and cousins but no sign of you or your mother. They told him they were all searching for you and he rushed to join in. With each street he passed his heart began to sink when finally he spotted you! In the arms of your mother unconscious. Iroh ran forward dropping to his knees beside you. “What happened?” he cried and your mother clutched you desperately “that thing exploded and she was too far to get into cover, it hit her sending her flying through the street and now she’s...she’s...”. Iroh saw the blood seeping through your mother’s hands where she held them against you. “No” he said viciously “y/n won’t...she can’t! We need a medic” he yelled loudly before taking off his jacket to wrap around your wound. “Maybe I can cauterise the wound?” he asked “seal it to stop her losing so much blood?”. Lin paused “I think the wounds too big but it’s worth a shot”. Iroh nodded and Lin lifted the bottom of your uniform. Iroh saw a large gash across your stomach and winced. He lit his hand on fire and pressed his hands against the wound. You gasped suddenly and your eyes shot open. “Y/n” your mother and Iroh cried in unison and you blinked trying to make sense of the situation before you groaned in pain. You tensed trying to get away from the burning but your mother held onto you “please y/n just hang on Iroh is trying to cauterise your wound”. “It’s not working” you grimaced resisting the urge to scream “Iroh stop! Please!” you cried and he yelled in frustration moving his hands away from you. “No it has to work if it doesn’t then you’ll.....we need a medic down here” he yelled again but he knew everyone else was spread out and there were no healers in the group. “It’s okay” you said breathing heavily as the situation dawned on you “Iroh it’s alright”. “No it’s not” he cried sinking onto his knees beside you “it’s not y/n, you can’t...you have to fight this, you can’t leave me”. You nodded “trust me i’m trying but Iroh if I do...”. “No y/n don’t even think about it! I won’t let you go it’s not going to happen”. “I don’t think we have a choice” you admitted trying to smile but Iroh just shook his head “but we never got our shot, we never got to talk, I never got to tell you...I love you y/n” he said simply “I have for years, that’s why I never found anyone from the fire nation because the perfect person for me is you. I know there’s traditions and rules but I don’t care, I don’t want anyone else but you. I’d give up anything for you and we were finally heading in that direction and now that stupid spirit cannon”. Tears leaked down Iroh’s face and you reached out a hand to him shakily. He took it and you stroked his face “it’s okay, i’m sorry for being too scared and cautious, I’m sorry for wasting our time together but I love you too, I hope that’s enough”. Iroh nodded “It’s more than I ever hoped, you didn’t waste time you have nothing to be sorry for y/n Beifong, do you hear me?”. “I do” you smiled before coughing in pain and your mother clutched you tighter. “Y/n” your mother cried and you smiled up at her “it’s okay mom, don’t worry. It’s all going to be okay”. You clutched her hand against your chest and took Iroh’s other one. “I’m with the two people I love the most, I’m happy. This is the best way for it to...”. “Stop” Iroh said crying but you just gripped his hand tighter “Iroh look at me”. He blinked through the tears but looked at you. “It’s okay, I promise you everything will be okay”. Iroh just said your name softly and rested his head against yours. Your mother wrapped her arms around both of you and you held onto both of them the best you could when you felt the world fading away. You heard sobbing and your mother faintly saying your name until everything turned dark and it was over.

Epilogue

Following your death the fire nation, earth kingdom and republic city all paid their respects in their traditional fashions. A statue was raised by your mother in the spot of your death and every year on the anniversary of your death both her and Iroh would visit it. Iroh and your mother supported one another following your death being the only one’s who understood how monumental the loss of your life was. They managed to get through it together and although neither of them ever stopped loving you they found a way to carry on. Iroh never married, he couldn’t even consider the idea and his family never pushed him to. He still lived a long and happy life. He was very involved with his sister’s children who he loved dearly and his family never stopped supporting him. If he went quiet and got a teary look in his eye or if he struggled serving in the earth kingdom they understood. Your family also treated him like one of their own, with Lin even calling him her son on a few occasions, and he was invited to all your family’s events in recognition of your love for him. Your memory never faded and when Iroh’s life eventually ended he passed on to find you waiting for him. He knew all the suffering and heartache was over, you were finally together at last. 

____

So initially I was going to write a happy ending as well but then I thought screw it, I want to cry so I killed off the reader...but I can release the happy ending as a part two if anyone wants it. 

Edit: For the happy ending version click here

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