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#rowan has had enough
pocket-ozwynn · 1 year
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Offline Valor: Chapter 3
[Borrower!AU]
Previous Chapter: Chapter 2
Next Chapter: Chapter 4
Word Count: 3874
CW: blood, mentions of death, light adult language
Not two minutes after being called a ‘titan’ and Zelly had nearly fallen on her face. She’d been so caught up in trying to make it out into the hallway, that somehow she’d stumbled over her feet. She choked back a bark of profanity as she clutched the chilled can of Baja Blast and braced herself against the wall. At least she was out of sight from Rowan.
She felt the rising need to scream. This was insane.
She shook her leg until one sandal flew off, then did likewise with the other before hurrying off towards the opposite end of the house. Hopefully that would give her enough privacy to vent some of her anxiety without totally unnerving her diminutive guest. Her feet thumped across the cool hardwood as her mind swam with noncoherent thoughts…
Wonder and worry mingled caustically as Zelly hurried Rowan in. And while she couldn’t deny the quiet marveling she had carrying this finger-tall man in her hands, there was also a certain degree of horror and concern. He felt so frail. His breathing was shallow and his muscles faintly trembled as he spent the last of his energy just staying awake. And when he slipped into unconsciousness and nearly fell out of her hands, she was run through with a fresh spike of anxiety. She couldn’t ignore how delicate this life she held in her hands was—like flickering embers of a dying flame.
She made a mental checklist of what to do: first, she’d need to stop the bleeding; second, she’d need to get his core body temperature down; third, water. Rowan was bound to be dehydrated, so she’d need to make sure to get him a bottle cap full and make sure he sipped.
As she got the kitchen sink going, she noticed something. It was a little thing–literally–but she noticed his hand. The palm was upturned and the fingers were slightly curled…
His hand looked just like hers.
After staring for perhaps a beat too long, she shook herself from her stupor and gingerly laid the Borrower out on the countertop. Carefully pinching the front of Rowan’s shirt between her nails, she ripped it twain with an effortless tug. The sight of a red-slick chest was all too familiar to her as she peeled back the halves. With lips pursed, she tugged the ruined tunic and microfiber cloth-turned-cloak off and set them to the side before gathering him up once more to examine the man closer.
Zelly’s eyes widened slightly as she examined him. Not because of the blood, but rather because of how much more worn and strong his body was than she first thought. Rowan had been covered up before, but now she saw the pale scars marbled into surprisingly lean muscles.
And that burn. Not the sunburn (that thankfully was contained to everything above the neck), but rather the second degree scar tissue that went up from his waist to armpit—it covered a huge chunk of his right side. What had done something like that? If that was on someone her size, that would’ve been an utterly massive injury that would’ve called for immediate hospitalization. But for someone like Rowan, it could’ve been anything she might’ve considered mundane…a grill? A firework? Had it been an accident, or something more cruel? She couldn’t consider the possibilities—she had to focus.
Step one, stop the bleeding. She briefly tested the faucet’s flow before gently bringing his body over so the tap water would flow over him like a cool waterfall. Zelly examined Rowan as she carefully washed him, her eyes scanning every detail of his chest for any signs of injury. And as the light refracted off of the glistening skin as she cradled his body in her fingers, she couldn’t help but wonder what life was going to be like after she turned off the sink.
She found the source of the bleeding after getting him washed off. It was a diagonal cut roughly the size of Rowan’s hand that ran across his breast.
Thankfully, it was largely stitched up with the bleeding only coming from the sternum-ward side. It looked like a few stitches had popped. And while she couldn’t be sure what caused that in the first place (Chu Chu maybe?), her mind was caught up with who did the stitches in the first place. Rowan? Or someone else?
Thankfully the treatment was easy enough. His blood coagulated fairly quickly after she applied pressure on the wound with the tip of a clean kitchen towel for about five minutes. From there she applied some Vaseline, then—with the smallest band-aid she could find, which was still huge in comparison—she wrapped the band-aid as best as she could, then got him settled into a shot glass filled with cool water to get him started.
And yes, the shot glass was a stupid idea. But hey, it worked.
Wood turned to carpet as she reached the living room. She fumbled with the pull tab on her soda as her hands uncharacteristically shook. After a few moments of losing the fight to her Baja Blast, she finally cracked it open on the third anxious lap around her living room. She took a drawn out swig and savored the fizzing lime as she allowed the last ten minutes to sink in.
God, what the actual hell, Zell, she silently lamented. She still felt the imprint of Rowan—the sensation was burned into her memory: a full-grown man breathing shallow, ragged breaths as he lay unconscious in her pal-
“Okay, so tiny men just-” Zelly exhaled through her teeth. She tried violently shaking the feeling from her hand, as if it was covered in fire ants. “-EXIST now? Great, cool, good!!! Nothing insane about THAT, right?!”
With no one to respond to her exasperated query, she took another defeated swig. She silently wished for a stronger drink, but she knew better than to consider that when she was dealing with a patient. She chugged the rest of her drink, set it on the nightstand, then threw herself onto the couch. She buried her palms into her eyes as she just groaned.
Before stepping out of the kitchen, Zelly had left Rowan with a Gatorade cap filled with water. It had been comically large in comparison, but it was clean water that he could drink and that’s what mattered. Food would be next, despite his insistence. 
But what came after that? 
A familiar, useless feeling percolated at the corners of her heart, and she had to be careful not to let it overwhelm her again. But thinking realistically, she was just some idiot streamer right? What was she going to do to help this weathered warrior, aside from putting a band-aid on his chest and getting him a bowl of ramen? 
God, her eyes were just…Opened now, weren’t they? That terrified Zelly. As an EMT she saw a lot of gruesome things that she could never unsee, but she eventually grew desensitized to it. But Rowan and these Borrower (she still had no idea what that meant) had been living right under her nose this whole time…how many were there? Were there other things like fairies that were real too? And all of those scars on his body…were those by accident? Or did someone inflict those upon him?
“You’re spiraling, babe,” Zelly noted quietly to herself as she felt the anxiety rising. She needed something to keep her busy. And while she sorely doubted there was a WikiHow that would help her reconcile her new reality, she still wanted to give it a shot.
So she fished out her phone and frantically typed with it held above her face at arm’s length. First she searched for Borrowers—that’s what Rowan called himself after all, so it seemed appropriate to start there. Nothing came up, though she wasn’t really surprised. She screwed up her lips and tried Little Men next, but only an old-as-dirt book from the 1800’s that apparently was the sequel to Little Women. Interesting! But still useless.
No matter how hard she searched, she couldn’t find anything that matched Rowan’s description. She tried Googling fairies, leprechauns, Pikmin, tiny-little-elf-men…
Nothing.
And while she got close, everything she found missed the mark (though it didn’t help that she would find herself aimlessly scrolling through Instagram without realizing it at times). Her anxiety now mixed with frustration. Surely she couldn’t really be the first person to meet a Borrower before right? The weight of that implication was too much for her to really consider–she never asked for that burden of responsibility.
Zelly racked her brain for more possibilities. She hadn’t tried pixies yet, right? She was three letters in, and a migraine began to blossom right behind her eyes. A string of colorful swears tumbled past tired lips as she stopped typing. 
“This is pointless,” she murmured to herself. She kept her phone lifted as she closed her eyes to just try and focus on her breathing. She could hear the distant squawking of a mediocre marching band, the splashing of unseen cannonballs, and the laughter of children amidst the anxious yells of fretting parents.
Why did it have to be her?
Before Zelly could bemoan her fate further, her phone vibrated and slipped through her fingers. It dropped and smacked her square in the face—a nonsensical cocktail of profanity and anatomical slang was her only response after a brief yelp of surprise. She sat up with a humiliated huff before answering the phone.
“S-Sup?” Zelly ran her fingers through her hair and prayed she could keep the nervousness out of her voice. She hadn’t even checked who’d called her anyways…
//Hey babe!// It was Nikol. //Sup? You okay?//
“Yup,” Zelly lied with a smile. She knew she couldn’t be honest with how she was really feeling, but her reality was too insane to admit at the moment, “Toooooooooootally fine. What about you?"
There was a pause. //Oh, cool! I was worried. Are you still comin’? I thought we were grabbing Starbucks?//
Realization hit Zelly like a truck. Nikol was the whole reason she found Rowan in the first place—her silly little “mental illness Starbucks trip.” It was the reason why she was able to save him from the jaws of her neighbor’s cat.
“Oh shit, I-” Zelly gasped. “Dude, I TOTALLY spaced! I’m so sorry!”
She chewed her lip as she entertained the notion of telling Nikol.
On the one hand, Nikol was her best friend—Nikol knew EVERYTHING about Zelly. But on the other hand, she couldn’t violate Rowan’s privacy. That poor man had clearly been through a lot. And while she did trust Nikol to keep a secret, it didn’t feel right to talk about Rowan without his consent.
“Something came up,” Zelly replied as guilt gripped her gut. “S-Sorry baby girl. I hate to bail on you like this, I just…have to take care of something. Rain check?”
//For sure, no worries. Do what you gotta do. Just let me know if you need anything, ‘kay?//
Zelly licked her lips, her heart beat heavily in her throat. “Y-Yeah, for sure. Thanks dude. I’ll, um…I’ll text you when I can, alright?”
//Sounds good. Mwuah.//
Zelly echoed the affection before hanging up. She let the phone drop to the floor before ruffling her hair with a restrained groan.
Now what?
Zelly held her breath as she peered around the corner back into the kitchen. There was a 50% chance the guy just bolted while she was away (wouldn’t be the first time), but to her surprise Rowan hadn’t left.
Since she’d been gone, he’d climbed out of the shot glass and hung his boots to dry along the rim of the glass. Meanwhile, the man knelt quietly on the countertop with his head bowed and eyes closed. Unlike Zelly, Rowan was remarkably calm–which was shocking, given how much worse his day had been in comparison. Sunlight poured through the kitchen window and washed over him as he held his microfiber cloak reverently in his hands.
She caught herself staring again. 
Zelly tried to keep her approach deft as she crept into the kitchen, lest she startle him. She spied his ruined shirt and a teeny satchel over by the obnoxiously bright orange Gatorade cap she had filled with some water for him to drink while she was away.
The closer she got to him, the more she found herself marveling again. And she wasn’t sure why.
“H-Hey,” Zelly croaked as she finally got within arm’s reach. She jumped as Rowan scooted back with a start, his eyes snapped open with wild surprise—he dropped a hand and went for one of his thumb tack daggers. When he saw it was Zelly however, his demeanor shifted. He took the cloak in his lap and in a single, fluid motion threw it around his shoulders and wrapped it in such a way that it fell like an impromptu poncho to cover his scarred chest.
“S-Sorry!” Zelly took a step back in reply, her hands raised. “I didn’t mean to startle you!”
“N-No no,” Rowan murmured bashfully. “The apology is mine, I would have covered up had I known you were there. I was just, ah…”
His voice trailed off before he cleared his throat. “Never mind. Forgive me.”
“You’re fine dude,” Zelly chuckled softly. “It’s not like you’re the first guy I’ve seen shirtless, so…”
Rowan didn’t reply. She wasn’t quite sure if he was spacing out or still feeling the fatigue of the heat exhaustion, but he still didn’t look great. When was the last time he ate? Originally she came in ready to learn all about him and his world, but now…that didn’t seem nearly as important.
“How hungry are you?”
Rowan looked up with bleary eyes. “Sorry?”
“How hungry are you?” Zelly repeated with a raised eyebrow.
Rowan looked somewhere between confused and conflicted. After a pregnant moment of hesitation, he shook his head. “‘Twill be alright. I-“
“Yeah that’s bull,” she teased. She realized that might’ve come off a bit harshly, but she didn’t back down—she knew she was right. “Do you have any allergies?”
Rowan looked bewildered. “No, but I-“
That was all she needed. With a nod, Zelly grabbed her phone and pulled up GrubHub. She leaned up against the counter, but kept Rowan visible right in her periphery. “Swag, I’m ordering Greek then.”
“W-What do you...?” Exasperation crept into Rowan’s voice as he moved to stand. He couldn’t even finish his question, he seemed too tired to bother, “But please, Miss Zelly, you do not have to worry about me. If this is too much of a hassle, rest assured I am fi-“
“It’s not a hassle.” She flashed him a smile as she got their order put together: two Deluxe Gyros (one lamb, one falafel. She wasn’t sure if Rowan was a vegetarian or not), some fried pita served with a couple sides of tzatziki sauce, and some sweet potato fries. Most of this stuff would be MASSIVE compared to him, but she hoped it would be a nice spread of some mild food that Rowan could pick at while also making sure he didn’t eat himself sick.
“Besides—” Zelly dropped down slightly so she could be at eye-level with Rowan. He took an instinctual step back, but he didn’t seem overly surprised by the sudden motion. Then, with a dramatic flourish, she hit the order button, “—the order’s been placed, they’ll be on their way!”
“I…do not understand,” Rowan furrowed his brow, looking from her to her phone. Borrowers probably didn’t have phones, huh? Well, that was a question for another time.
“Look dude,” Zelly huffed after noticing his conflicted expression. “I’m starving. And if I’m starving that means you sure as hell are. You can try and be big, tough, macho-man or whatever, but there’ll be plenty for both of us. And I’ll feel a lot better when I know you’ve eaten, okay?”
Rowan seemed to sense that this wasn’t a fight he was going to win. “Thank you, Miss Zelly. I appreciate your generosity. Though I do feel guilty…”
Zelly put a hand up on the counter and grinned. “Well don’t then, that’s stupid. I’m offering you food.”
“You wanted answers, correct?” Rowan asked. “And I promised not to leave before I gave them, but I did not mean to impose and force you to provide food.”
“First of all, I wasn’t forced,” she pointed out. “Second, I mean…yeah. I do have questions. But they can wait.”
Zelly pursed her lips. She could spy the burned tissue peeking out from what his cloak couldn’t cover on his chest.
“You’ve been through a helluva lot,” she breathed, her gaze returning to Rowan’s. “And I want to help—even if it means getting us some takeout. So yeah, don’t worry–I can wait.”
Rowan’s expression was conflicted. There was frustration, but the exhaustion seemed to outweigh it…and even for the briefest of moments, he looked grateful. Zelly smiled.
This she could do.
Basil was disgustingly sober.
Were it not for his fast, he would’ve been nursing his brewing frustration with a frothy pint. The day was blistering, and the prospects of good work were few. Clip had gathered some scavenging listings from the Carvers League in town, and the rest of their crew had split off for the afternoon. 
Wanting to get out of the sun, the pair ducked into The Lively Priest. And though Basil quietly hoped he could relish in the second-hand revelry of others, he was met with the sleepy, boring atmosphere of a handful of farmers and travelers just looking to grab some shade and water. They’d grabbed a corner table and he’d been forced to settle on iced water while Clip barely touched his ale. 
The Freewalker’s mind wandered as he tuned out the insistent rustling of leaflets as his companion did his research. He peered over the scrawny Borrower’s shoulder to see if he couldn’t find a little entertainment. There was a trio of merchants from the Cherrycliffs who had come in not too long ago who were just sitting at the counter silently signing to one another. Closer towards the entrance, the chef spoke with a baby faced courier who wore the colors of House Silver.
But what really caught his attention was the waitress.
She was a beautiful, ageless Faofolk with literal porcelain skin and curves chiseled in all the right places. She glided gracefully, her feet clinked against the wooden floor as she moved. She was a pretty little dancer, and Basil was confident he could get her spinning to his new tune.
The rustling stopped.
“No.”
Basil sneered, his eyes snapping back to Clip. His partner knew what was on his mind, and it made his blood boil. “Do your job.”
Clip sighed as he peeled back from his papers and splayed both hands. “I am–in fact, I believe I found myself doing BOTH of our jobs. Sometimes I feel like I should be in charge of the crew–you barely do jackdreg while I’m the one stuck doin’ all the REAL work.” 
Basil picked up his empty plastic mug and tipped it back. The teeny trickle of melted water did little to whet his appetite, so he took up a bit of ice and chewed it.
“Skies yer annoying,” was the best retort the giant of a Borrower could muster. “Just read the damn papers and get us somethin’ GOOD this time.”
“The last job was good,” Clip insisted with a pointed glare. “300 notes got us three meals, yeah?”
“The last job was sifting through bodies,” Basil’s lips curled back with a sneer. He leaned back till his chair groaned beneath him. His skin crawled as he remembered the stench of the dead and picking bloodsoaked pockets. “I want somethin’ with riches–not whatever skuggin’ cud Ash was suckin’ on.” 
“Careful for how you speak of the dead,” his companion warned him as he picked up his own mug for a careful sip–the ungrateful man didn’t even seem to enjoy his drink. “Clan Ash was snuffed out violently, I doubt their spirits are at peace…”
Basil ignored the superstitious warning. “Listen, I wanna snag a BIG job this time! I wanna rub shoulders with the ELITE like the Silvers and Blooms–not with the molderin’ dead and mumblin’ priests.”
He swirled around the crushed ice as he mused. “How ‘bout a job with arcana? Courtiers pay good for that junk, right?”
His companion’s expression turned grave. Clip took a longer sip on his spirits this time, “Nothing good ever comes from titanis arcana, boss–and you know it.”
Clip shot a careful glance at Basil’s empty mug of ice. “‘Sides, don’t your people have taboos on even touching it?”
Basil’s blood boiled as his stomach growled. He slammed the mug down–a faint crack spidered up the side. It caused enough noise to prompt the Faofolk waitress to jump and shoot him a glare. Despite his infatuation prior, the Freewalker now had little care for the brittle woman at the moment–Clip had poked the hornet’s nest.
“Like I care what the ‘Walkers think,” he spat. “Who cares about skuggin’ taboos when you could eat? Tell me bud, when was the last time you ate? Not crust, not rat–but ate REAL food?”
Clip hesitated.
“Exactly,” Basil replied with a huff, his syllables coated with crushed ice. “Harvests ain’t yieldin’ what the use’ta, and the Crown’s taxes are drainin’ us dry. …I say we go big. Just cuz arcana is a bitter dreg for some, don’t mean it hasta be for hardworkin’ guys like us–know what I’m sayin’? So how ‘bout we get on that cricket first, and snag a big payout while we can?”
The seconds ticked. Eventually, Clip sighed. “Well…there is one job we could try…” A crooked grin split across Basil’s face.
“Adda boy,” the Freewalker rumbled.
Clip carefully rummaged through the pile before drawing out a surprisingly clean piece of paper. He gave it a once over before pushing it towards Basil with his fingertips. It had pretty, useless filigree along the edges and a picture which Clip tapped.
It was an unremarkable piece of arcana: a thin, boring rectangle. And while the diagram indicated it had a sheath that could slide back to reveal yet another, smaller square hidden inside, he sneered at how shockingly simple Titans could be.
“‘S’all?” Basil demanded. “What the Sky’s shite is that suppose’ta be?”
“The Faofolk call it a Youesbee,” Clip shrugged. “Dunno much beyond that…only that some newly wedded noble wants one, and he is willin’ to pay a queen’s coffer for it.”
“How much we talkin’?” Basil huffed. “I know of some pretty poor queens…”
“Fifteen hundred notes.”
Basil balked. “Bullscrap.”
Clip shook his head. “Like I said…queen’s coffer. Dunno what is so important ‘bout it—but he wants one. Now the trick is finding one… ’s’not something you would find just anywhere.”
Basil tapped his finger against the mug. His mind swam with ideas of where to look, but one particularly colorful and bright domain stood out. He’d seen plenty of arcana there before…
“I think I know a place,” he smirked. “Get hungry, bud–we’re eatin’ good tonight.
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katnissgirlsmakedo · 5 months
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crush is still an annoying movie but my friend pilar is here. and she's gay.... so maybe it's not so bad. other than the fact i don't like the plot or characters. wow flop ass dyke movie fr we can't have anything
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lyxchen · 15 days
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I don't like this season
#it has some good moments#but i keep wanting something to happen#like stuff happens but also nothing happens#and everyone is just sad and miserable and hating each other#like last season it was also like that but there were still enough happy moments#now it just feels unbalanced#and i don't like that they fully split apart amerie and malakai#they were so good together#and rowan sucks#like i know he's (spoiler) birdpsycho but he also just sucks in general#and he's so damn boring#we get it#amerie hurt you (or your brother idk) when you were little and never got (in your opinion) proper punishment and now that you're at her#school you wanna make life a living hell for her#i get it now get over it#(i'm still at episode six tho so i could be wrong and also no spoilers please)#also where is sasha's redemption arc?????#i feel like she got even worse#cause she isn't just entitled and selfish now she's also a hypocrite#like season one sasha would have picked that cup up and thrown it in the trash#and she deserved that redemption arc#but instead we get to see how deep spider problems actually are ohh poor baby boy :(( shut the fuck up#why does he get all this characterization and then they won't even let sasha feel one genuine emotion????#also#WHY IS THERE SO LITTLE QUINNI??????#and why would darren scream at her and say such mean things to her#i relate to her so much and all her friends just dropped her like that#like the thing happened at the zoo and then darren and amerie had like one line of 'oh where is quinni i miss her'#and they both didn't even bother to ho talk to her or make up#heartbreak high
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tallbluelady · 2 years
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"not wanting to lose each other in a big crowd" for the hand-holding prompts, please!
Despite the both of them hating crowds - Rowan with almost every fiber of her being - Rowan and Urianger found themselves in the Musica Universalis during peak shopping hours. Ryne's name day - or at least the day Thancred had declared was her name day - was quickly approaching and Rowan had almost entirely forgotten to get her a gift.
"Sorry I'm dragging you into this..." Rowan said as they tried to squeeze into an alcove for a reprieve. "I know you hate crowds almost as much as I do."
"Tis no problem, I assure thee," Urianger said dismissively. "Time spent with thee is time well spent, no matter how dense the crowd is with voices and bodies... and doth not Ryne deserve a gift from the Warrior of Darkness?"
"More than that, she deserves a decent gift from the Warrior of Darkness. Despite our travels, I don't know her well enough. I don't want her to have to be polite for my sake when I have her mentor near by to tell me of her likes and dislikes."
He gave a brief smile at that, then grimaced as someone's arm rubbed against his. "There's aught in thy tone that tells me thou hast personal experience in the matter."
"My extended family all gave me various tree related objects when I turned sixteen..." Rowan's eyes grew distant in the memory.
"Dost thou loathe such objects?" Urianger asked. He seemed a little more invested in the answer than Rowan had anticipated.
"Oh, nay. It was just that it was every present and they weren't even rowan trees. It's not a rare tree or anything, either!" She found herself a bit more invested in the topic than she anticipated.
"Then we must needs find the perfect present for our young friend, lest we make the same mistake as thy mislead kin," he said. "But first we must traverse the interminable crowd."
Rowan took his hand, a deep breath, and nodded. They dove back into the crowd to get to the more fashionable weavers in the market.
Thanks for the prompt!
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rowanwolfram · 1 year
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There was a really sweet nonbinary patron at work today who checked out "The Prince and the Dressmaker" by Jen Wang. I mentioned while scanning it that I had been meaning to read it and they said they'd heard good things.
About an hour later, I was out in the stacks putting books away when they got my attention from one of the study rooms where they'd been reading just to tell me that it was "really good. 10 out of 10. And way more queer than I expected. It's very Gender™." To which I replied with "Oh that's a vibe. I'm gonna have to read it now."
They ended up finishing it and checking it back in before we closed so I decided to check it out for myself lol
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What if instead of Wednesday being in the room when Bianca knocks on Xavier's door, he's cuddling with his new girl? Hides under the bed or closet or whatever
my taglists are here + you can requests here at any time
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You rubbed soft circles into Xavier's waist where his shirt was riding up while slowly kissing. His sketchbook had been abandoned and kicked to the end of the bed, no longer of first interest. Despite being alone, neither of you had any further intentions.
Xavier hummed at your touch and leaned into you like the soft and needy kitten he was. You smiled and continued your caresses.
Your and Xavier’s relationship was completely unknown to your Nevermore peers. After his very public breakup with Bianca Barclay, Xavier didn’t want to flash his new relationship to everyone — especially Bianca. She didn’t call the shots and tried many times to get Xavier to take her back, but he refused every time.
Besides, sometimes things are better if you keep them just yours.
A knock on the door forced you and Xavier to break apart. You didn't want to, very comfortable entangled with him on his bed, but there was a possibility this was the house master passing for his evening checking.
Xavier pushed you into his bathroom in prevention and closed the door. The floor was still wet from his shower, but it wasn’t dirty like under a bed.
He tamed his hair a little and opened the door, finding a smiling Bianca on the other side. Slamming the door in her face was tempting, but Xavier didn’t want to make a scene.
He grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her inside. ‘’You're not supposed to be up here,’’ he said flatly.
‘’Good to see you too,’’ Bianca snarked back.
‘’How did you get past the house master? Did you use your siren powers?’’
‘’Not while wearing this.’’ She touched her amulet necklace.
Xavier walked away from her, keeping a distance between them. ‘’What do you want, Bianca?’’
You could hear in his voice that his interest in her was completely gone, but she refused to bury their relationship. She kept searching for a spark through the burned embers to revive the flame. Unfortunately for her, Xavier was fueling another fire.
‘’I wanted to see how you’re doing. I’m sorry about Rowan. I know you and him used to be close—’’
Xavier huffed. The last time he heard her talk to Rowan was in fencing class and she called him lazy.
‘’Since when do you give a damn about Rowan?’’
‘’I care about you.’’
He couldn’t deny that. Although she made him doubt his own feelings for her, Bianca wasn’t an evil soul. She always cared about Xavier, whether they were in a relationship or not.
Bianca stepped up to him by his bed and grabbed his hand, intertwining their fingers. ‘’We were good together, Xavier.’’
‘’Were we?’’ he asked, looking up at her. ‘’Or was that how you wanted me to feel?’’
The walls of the bathroom were thin enough for you to hear their conversation close to perfection. Thin enough to hear the lingering pain in Xavier’s words, still hurt by Bianca’s past actions.
‘’I made one mistake and you can’t forgive me—’’
‘’There is nothing to forgive. I just want to move on,’’ Xavier said, tired of going over the same things every time they talked. ‘’I broke up with you, remember? Now, please leave before the house master comes for bed-checks.’’
Regardless how sorry she was, the manipulation of his emotions was something he could never forgive Bianca. His whole life is controlled by his father in a way or another; the only thing Xavier has control over is his emotions and if someone take that from him, he’ll have nothing left.
She accepted her defeat and turned to leave, but on her way out, Bianca caught something on the adjacent empty bed. A jacket.
‘’Isn’t that Y/N’s jacket?’’ she asked, recognizing the clothing.
For a short few seconds, Xavier thought he had been caught. He found himself stammering while searching for a quick but good enough lie.
‘’She…she forgot it in the quad a-and I was planning to give it back to her tomorrow.’’
Bianca raised an eyebrow, doubting him. ‘’I’ll see you tomorrow at the lake. Make sure to get enough sleep…or not.’’ Her blue eyes shifted to your jacket. ‘’I’m gonna crush you anyway.’’
After her departure, Xavier groaned. She knew you were there.
Wednesday taglist: @sofiaadler @partyfly @hoodforcalum @thelilacmourning @ellessecretobsession @su-alteza-emia @achoo---uu @not-leaprvt @xaviersgf @peterparkerdilf @roadworkaheadisurehopeitdoes @dragon-chica @coldtacozinepanda @wrldofsage @eddiemunsonsluvrrr @capriaura @officialsaturn @babyfiva @maevaomizzolo @kelloggs-world @whosljt @ajpanda181 @belovedrey @emerycrt @elizabitchsshit @heaven-hiding @lilithlikestoread @est-liber @moonisu @dessxoxsworld @parker-nite @bellblake121890 @vesperazhier @kaldurahms-lover @beeebo234 @nephilimsss @mayuphoenix @sweetheartlizzie07 @watermelon-18 @snixx2088 @555stargirl555 @robinscardigan @chumchum19 @lilttblog @aphex2winn @heizenka @mystargirl-interlude @hwrtsiren @babygirljay20 @wildflowerlyss @strangersomeone @openfandoms @charlottelaffin @iheartmaddyperez @starless-starkov @ali-r3n  @poppet05  @ell0ra-br3kk3r  @rhaenyraswife  @teaganthemorningstar   @aphex2winn @moompie   @ifevilwhyhot @oliviah-25 @spenglerslime @wetwilliam02 @yellowcupcakes @haileyismoo @theyslayallday @wrldofsage @manofworm @rhydianissuperior @supersanelyromantic @nicangel13 @toylewestinnyc @meme-queen-1999 @rottenstyx
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antxlss · 1 year
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convenient
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pairing: xavier thorpe x reader
summary: your best friend xavier only talks to you when it’s convenient, and you’ve always been okay with that. but he’s really pushed it this time.
warnings: suggestive, toxic friendship, daddy issues
a/n: i really like this one! but i need you guys to come through with the requests, i’m not creative at all. comment them below!
-—————————⋆。‧˚ʚɞ˚‧。⋆—————————-
the boy’s dorm (3rd person):
it was a friday night in ajax’s room. all the boys were there. kent, ajax (obviously), rowan, xavier, and a few other boys were all in a meaningless discussion about girls. what else would a group of hormonal teenage boys be talking about?
“you guys get no bitches. i literally pulled the hottest werewolf chick in the school.” ajax said confidently. he was talking about enid, the girl he had just taken out on a date earlier that evening.
of course all the boys went into an uproar about how they can pull more “bitches” than the other.
“what about xavier? he has the most popular girl in school. bianca barclay?” one of the boys added.
“xavier has two chicks” ajax explained. “y/n l/n is all over you 24/7”
“that’s not funny, man. y/n is my best friend.” xavier said sounding almost upset.
“so you’re telling me you wouldn’t bang her if you had the chance, because i definitely would.” kent said smirking.
that comment caused all the boy to erupt into a fit of laughter. xavier wasn’t amused as he angrily left the room slamming the door behind him.
in the girls’ dorm (2nd person):
you were in enid’s dorm with enid, yoko, and a few other girls from ophelia hall, just painting each other’s nails and talking about whatever came to mind. when suddenly you brought up the elephant in the room. enid had went out with ajax, her long time crush, earlier that evening, and all of you were dying to hear about it.
“okay e, spill it. how was your date?” you said.
“oh, it was magical! we went on a picnic by the lake! he even offered to take insta pics for me! he’s so perfect.” she rambled with lovestruck eyes. “okay. enough about me. i’m not the only one who’s going to be hammered with questions about their crush tonight.” enid continued. “y/n, when are you going to admit that you are in love with xavier?”
“i’m not in love with xavier.” you scoffed.
you were so in love with xavier. you had been best friends with him since before freshman year at nevermore. you both attended the same middle school. you guys just stuck together when you were sent to nevermore. you both joined the archery club which caused you to spend more time together, and now you guys are practically inseparable. having known each other for so long, you know about his rocky relationship with his father. in fact you are probably the only one who knows all the details. that’s why he always comes to you to talk and trauma dump.
being as close as you guys were, made it impossible for you to not catch feelings. but when he started dating bianca barclay earlier this year, you knew he didn’t feel the same way towards you. so, you have just continued being his best friend and the girl he runs to only when it’s convenient. but that’s enough for you.
“i’m tired” you yawned. “i think i’m going to head back to my dorm.”
“yeah, it’s getting late you guys.” yoko agreed.
and with that you all wrapped everything up and headed your separate ways.
[time skip]
it was saturday, which meant all the nevermore students were aloud to go to jericho. all of your friends already had plans with their boyfriends or their other friends, so you had planned a day out by yourself. you weren’t actually that mad about it. you could use a day alone.
you got up and got ready putting on a cute, but comfy outfit. you did some light makeup, grabbed your bag and headed out.
you decided to walk to town, a little exercise wouldn’t kill you. once you arrived, you headed to the local library to trade out some of the books you had borrowed last weekend. you could use the school’s library, but the selection there was very limited, and you have a very vast selection of books. basically the school library isn’t cutting it, so you find all your novels here.
you walked in the library returning your old books and heading to the shelves to find three more books to hold you over until your next trip to jericho. you found some books that interested you and you checked them out. you shopped around at a few more stores until you went to your last stop. the weathervane.
you walked in and ordered your usual, an iced matcha latte, and headed to your usual booth. you pulled out your laptop and worked on some homework that was due on monday while you sipped on your drink. you were working peacefully for a few minutes when what sounded like arguing snapped you out of your homework.
two tables across from you sat xavier and bianca. they seemed to be arguing about something. xavier looked really upset. you tried your best to make out what they were saying, but it was nearly impossible. they kept at it for a few more seconds before xavier got up and stormed out. bianca put her head in her hands and trailed behind him. part of you wanted to get up, follow your best friend and ask him what was going on, but you knew better. you didn’t want to overstep. if he wanted to to talk to you he would text you. so, you left it alone and continued with your day.
[time skip]
it was 10:00 p.m. that night. you were reading one of the books you had picked up earlier that day. you had your phone on do not disturb mode so you could focus on your book. it never did cross your mind that someone would try to get a hold of you. that is until you heard frantic knocks against your door. you knew exactly who it was. xavier. luckily you had a scored a single dorm this school year, so it wasn’t unusual for xavier to sneak in and hang in your room. but considering what you saw happen today, this wasn’t just a hang.
you quickly hopped off of your bed, shutting your book and taking out your airpods. as soon as you opened the door xavier rushed in and you shut the door behind him.
“why weren’t you answering me?” he asked sort of angrily.
“i was reading and my phone was on do not disturb mode” you replied. “why are you so upset?”
“i found out that bianca was using her siren song on me. god i knew i couldn’t trust her.” he scoffed while running his hand through his long hair.
“i’m so sorry xavier. did you break up with her?” you asked in a settling tone.
“yeah. today at the weathervane.”
of course you already knew that, you watched the whole thing go down. “just know i’m always here for you.” you comforted him as you put you hand on his upper arm.
“i know.” he said as he inched closer to you. he grabbed your chin and pulled your face towards his. your noses were almost touching. his lips lingering over yours. he moved his other hand to the back of your neck and pushed your lips together.
the kiss was hungry, desperate, angry, and full of desire. you wanted more. this is what you’ve always wanted. but why is he doing this. he’s never shown any romantic interest in you. that’s when it hit you.
you pull away.
“w-what’s wrong?” xavier stutters out of breath.
“no. don’t do that. you can’t just come in here and take advantage of me. you can’t just come here and fuck me just because you’re heartbroken.” you say holding back tears.
“do you really think that low of me y/n?” he yells.
“yeah. i do.” you yell back. “this is how it’s always been in the four years that i’ve known you. you only come to me when you’re desperate. like that time in sixth grade when all your other friends had already planned to go to the movies and it was too late for you to join so i was the only one left to hang out with. or that time last year, everyone else already had a date to the rave’n and all the other girls you asked rejected you, so i was your last resort.” you screamed back tears falling down your face.
“i’m sorry y/n.” xavier tried to get out, but you cut him off.
“or like right now. you have blown me off every single time i have tried to talk to you since you got with bianca and you finally talk to when you can’t run to her anymore. not to mention the only time you talk to me is when you need a therapist.” you were now full on bawling.
“i’m really-“ he started.
“now you’re playing with my feelings. can’t you see i’ve been in love with you ever since i’d met you? even when you treat me like crap. no. you only want me when i’m convenient.” you finish.
“y/n, please.” he begged.
“no get out. now.” you cried.
“but-”
“right now. please.” you were desperate for him to leave. you couldn’t even look at him.
with that he got up and walked out and you were left alone with your thoughts. it felt good to get that off your chest after four years.
part 2
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letsgetrowdy43 · 5 months
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Not strong enough (Rowan's Version)—
reader x usntdp u18 2018-19 team
Based on the song "Not Strong Enough" by Boy Genius
Warnings: Sexism & Men (they deserve the tw)
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Ro's 1000 follower celly
Au Masterlist!!
"Black hole opened in the kitchen, every clock's a different time. It would only take the energy to fix it, I don't know why I am"
“She’s the glue,” Jack grinned and looked over to Cole who smiled back at him, “every team has that person who keeps the group together, and for us, she’s that person.” “She’s our everything really” Trevor interjected as the interviewer nodded her head.
The woman wore a red blazer, in her hands were a few cue cards, messy handwriting full of questions covered the tiny pieces of paper as she grinned at the boys sitting on the couch in front of her.
“How about her game? Explain it to me,” she smiled as Alex sat up. “She’s electric, elegant almost with how agile she is,” the other boys nodded, “her IQ is above all, and her playmaking is so effortless.”
“We wouldn’t be half the team without her,” Cole added. “These accomplishments are because of her, none of these records or wins would’ve happened if she wasn’t in that locker room,” Jack finishes off the interview with a grin as the camera shuts off and the industrial lighting goes out.
“That was an amazing boys, thank you,” the cameraman and director said as he shooed the boys out of the room.
★★
"The way I am, not strong enough to be your man, I try, I can't stop staring at the ceiling fan and, spinning out about things that haven't happened. Breathing in and out"
Y/n watched her interview with tears, a huff leaving her lips as she stared at the ceiling in defeat. “What about the boys? You find them cute?” The woman in the red blazer said with a chuckle.
The cue cards of in-depth questions were nowhere to be seen as the teenage girl sat on the couch in her Team USA jersey. Embarrassment filled her face as she looked behind the camera to see the direct, wondering how on earth this question was even real.
“These boys are like my brothers,” she smiled, tone a little peeved as she stared at her hands, “they are my team, the ones I go to battle for.” A semi smile worked its way into her face as she thought back to the past years with the boys, and how life-changing this team has been for her and for her game, “on the ice we are dynamic, and off the ice, they are my best friends,” she answered honestly
That’s about as far as she could make it into the video before having to turn it off.
The boys received such beautiful questions and were given the opportunity to share such meaningful words. While on the other hand, she was painted out to be some narrative
It was total bullshit.
★★
"Drag racing through the canyon, singing "Boys Don't Cry" Do you see us getting scraped up off the pavement? I don't know why I am"
“Give ‘em hell my girl,” was always Ellen’s words to the teen before she stepped on any ice, whether it be a game or a practice. It held such a strong sentiment, and Ellen was such a strong role model in her life.
They were also the first words said to her the moment she got the call inviting her out to the draft combine in Buffalo, her billet mother pulling her into her arms hug as she cried into Ellen’s arms “I’m so proud of you y/n,” she whispered as the tears subsided with the entrance of the boys who had been waiting for this moment.
“Are those good tears or bad tears?” Alex asked as y/n wiped them away. “Good ones,” she croaked as both Jack and Alex lunged at her.
Not only was this the biggest moment of her life, but this was also one of the biggest moments in female hockey history. The first-ever teenage girl prospect in an all-male league, it was overwhelming, but it was the first step in the direction of change.
★★
"The way I am, not strong enough to be your man, I lie, I am just lowering your expectations. Half a mind that keeps the other second-guessing, close my eyes and count"
“A female prospect?” The interviewer mumbled as he looked through his list of draftees. “It’s progressive,” another man with a clipboard mumbled with a shrug as he sipped his coffee.
“It’s unorthodox,” another person mumbled as one of the interns left to go and fetch the girl from the next room over, “politics and sports don’t coexist,” he added causing a few chuckles around the table.
The only female interviewer tapped her pen on the wooden table, her brows raised and her anger levels starting to rise as she looked at all of the men in the room. “You are making decisions for a billion-dollar company, every single decision and movement you make is due to the outcome of the political climate,” she said hastily before the door opened and all of the people in the room stood to greet the young prospect
The older woman’s hand was the first one out for the young girl to shake as she greeted her with a warm smile and a firm handshake. “Please take a seat, we’re so glad to get the chance to sit down with you!”
★★
"Always an angel, never a god. Always an angel, never a god"
Draft day had to of been the most stressful day ever, the NHL reached out a few weeks prior hoping to include her in their “Welcome to NHL” mini-documentary about her experience on the draft day.
Her hand shook as she stared at herself in the mirror, a small smile on her lips as she looked towards the camera. “Ready to make history?” She mumbled as she looked back at herself she fixed her lavender suit jacket.
"Always an angel, never a god. Always an angel, never a god"
Jack pulled her in for a hug as she got down to the bus, his hand cradling the back of her head as he held her tightly, “I can’t believe this is real,” he mumbled as she pulled away with a proud smile.
The second her heels hit that red carpet she was immediately anxious, she spun the gold ring on her thumb as Quinn and her older brother each patted her on the shoulder and sought out to find their designated entrance as she went through the carpet and the media.
“This colour is beautiful,” the interviewer said as she took in the bold outfit. “The man who designed the suit was very adamant that it was my colour,” she mumbled as she unbuttoned the loose-fitting Jacket.
The interviewer grinned, “As most draftees do, are there any little things about this suit that make it personal?” The girl opened her blazer to showcase a listen of names written in a deep shade of violet on the inside of her suit lining, “these are all of the women in my life who have pushed and haven’t received the recognition that they deserve,” her fingers ran over the writing as she smiled.
“These are the women and the role models who have fought for me to be in this place today, and have given me this opportunity to make history,” she nodded and unveiled the other side. A tiny embroidered quote that said “give ‘em hell,” was sewn into the other side, little flowers decorating the message as the interviewer grinned.
“And this is an ode to the woman who went above and beyond, and fought for me to be in this position,” she smiled as the interviewer wished her luck and sent her on her way
"Always an angel, never a god. Always an angel, never a god"
“Hold my hand,” she whispered to her dad, the man pulling the cell phone out of her hand to get her off Twitter for a moment, “people hate me,” she frowned as she looked at her father who shook her head. “People are afraid of change, you are strong you have worked harder than any of the boys in this room,” he whispered as her eyes filled with tears, nodding slowly as she leaned her head against his shoulder, “you are so worthy of greatness, and it'll come when the time is right,” he finished as her attention turned to Gary Bettman who was beginning to walk across the stage.
The boos began, and so did the anxiety.
"Always an angel, never a god. Always an angel, never a god"
One by one her teammates were picked off, proud smiles on her face as they each stopped by her to thank her for everything.
She sent each one of them off with a hug and some choked-up words as they made their way to the stage to live out their dreams. And one by one her dream slowly crumbled, like a glass castle that had been shattered, as the Blues picked their final pick on the second day in the seventh round Y/n felt the emotion rip through her. But instead of cracking, she held her head high and walked out of the arena with the entirety of her family behind her.
The second she was away from the cameras and the fresh air hit her lungs she began to crack.
A sob ripped through her as she sat on the curb, her hands pulling at the roots of her hair, “I was supposed to- I was supposed to make a difference,” she cried as a hand ran over her back. “I'm sorry sweet girl,” Ellen's soft voice sounded as the tears kept coming.
“I worked so much harder than the boys, I trained my ass off, I sat through the sexist interviews, but none of it will ever be enough,” the cries grew louder and louder as she leaned against the woman. “I did everything I could, and I will never meet my dreams,” she said defeated as Ellen held her tightly.
“I know baby, it's unfair, you deserve it just as much as the boys” she whispered, tears staring in her own eyes as she watched the girl who had been a daughter to her shake with a look of distraught on her face.
The girl wiped the underneath of her eyes, her fist finally unclenching as she sniffled, “I will never be enough,” she whispered and looked up to see the photographer taking a photo from across the street too which she just shook her head and sighed.
★★
"I don't know why I am the way I am, there's something in the static, I think I've been having revelations. Comin' to, in the front seat, nearly empty skip the exit to our old street and go home"
The draft had come and gone, and the boys each headed off to the new destinations in their lives. She ended up in Minnesota, as a freshman on the women's hockey team. Division one college hockey had always been on her list of things she wanted to experience, and it was everything she imagined.
It was slow, life slowed right down when she stopped putting that pressure on herself to always be the very best. The girls were sweet, but they knew what she had gone through during the summer, some a little envious, some a little sorrowful to know the struggles that she'd endured in the pursuit of her possible professional career.
The boys called often, to tell her about the little things, shared what their lives now entitled, whether it be in the league, or in university, wanting their favourite girl to know that they were always thinking of her.
Jack was a constant call in her life, a rookie who now carried the burden of being one of the potential greats. "It's really not all as great as they paint it out to be," he mumbled tiredly. It kind of felt like a stab in the heart sometimes, for him to be so ignorant to the pressure she had been other previously and then tell her that maybe she was lucky she would never get to experience the so-called 'torture' he was experiencing.
"Jack, do you know how badly I would kill to be in your shoes right now, to be worthy enough to prove myself to an entire league," she scoffed as the tears started, "do you know how much I wanted that, do you know how much I pushed myself to make it to that draft and then to be turned away after all of that work?" "I know," he sighed. "I don't think you do, 'cause at the end of the day you're calling me to complain about an amazing opportunity," she huffed as she heard the sniffles on the other end, heart squeezing a bit knowing that she was being hard on him.
"I'm sorry, it's just you have such talent, you're just in a slump J," he hummed in agreeance on the other end, "and you're gonna do such amazing things, you just need to push through it." "Should I give 'em hell?" "You need to raise Hell J," she finished her pep talk as he whispered a quiet Thank you and then hung up.
★★
"Go home alone"
She remembers the phone call so clearly, sitting in her dorm in her junior year, moving in only a few days prior as she started to get ready for her classes.
the phone rang twice before she answered the call, and an unknown number appeared on the screen as she stared at the random digits. "Hello?" "Is this Y/n L/n?" "This her," she said with a clear voice, brows furrowed as she held the phone a little away from her face to see if maybe she now recognized the number.
"Great! This is Tom Fitzgerald, GM of the New Jersey Devils," her heart dropped, and she sat up quickly as she looked at her roommate with wide eyes, "we would like to invite you to Jersey for the weekend, Lindy Ruff would like to meet you and have a chat about some sort of deal!" "Of course, I'm free whenever," her hand covered her mouth in shock as she felt the slight tremor of her hands, "thank you for this opportunity Sir," the man hung up the phone as she stared at her screen with wide eyes.
A smile rested on her face as a notification popped up.
My turn to tell you to raise hell! 😈❤️
Jack's number appeared just above the message as she looked up to her roommate. "Holy shit"
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Kinda scared to post this 🫣
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lizzaneia-elizalde · 9 months
Text
Yandere! Sugar daddy x "pure"! Reader
EEEEEEEEE Time to write my baby, the fruit of my dark rofan loins (jk) Basically, this yandere is my first yandere OC and when I gave life (lol) to him in Char/ai yesterday, I just knew he had to be next.
Also, I contemplated what title to give him since he's also a mafia boss, but I decided to go with Sugar daddy since it's the most integral part of his story.
Also, "pure" just means that you dress light, really. But in Rowan's eyes, you were like an angel, a pure being that he needs to taint (oops spoiler)
Yandere! Sugar daddy name: Rowan Silas (Yes, he even has a last name)
notes: Rowan is not old, OLD. He's not a Dilf/Gilf level sugar daddy. In his lore with my other OC (his love interest), he's older by five years. Also, reader has a womb, due to mentions of pregnancy (why did I do this pregnancy shit twice? Dunno really.)
TW: noncon pregnancy, trackers, nsfw stuff
ALSO, REQUESTS ARE OPEN <3 (I don't even know if people will request but LOL just in case.)
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The man only knew pain and crime all his life.
He never experienced anything good, apart from gunning down his enemies alive if that even means the same as what people deem as "good".
His life of crime was because of his adoptive father, who picked him up from the slums to become one of his personnel.
He was only seven by then. But his hands stained with blood as he killed the other kid who drowned his precious pet kitten in the lake. That's where his father knew that Rowan is not normal.
I mean, who would sport a smile while choking his fellow kid alive?
All Rowan said was "He deserved it though."
"He took what's precious from me."
That was enough to make his father set him straight to become the heir of the mafia family.
He grew up battered and bruised yet the vices he only knew is his smoking from his precious churchwarden pipe, and violence.
He told his father that it was enough for him.
Yet his body raged on, wanting more and more as greed consumed him for more.
Yes, he's a greedy man who wants more.
After all, he had nothing, then had one precious thing, then lost that thing. And then, when he eliminated the person who stole his precious thing, he got everything.
Did that make sense? To Rowan, it didn't.
He already got everything, but why does he want more?
So with a clean shot to the head, he killed his father and immediately inherited the family.
Now, he can spend the money and the resources as much as he wants. So he did. He went to casinos, brothels, luxury hotels and cruises. Everything he thinks that he needs.
But he still wants more. He still needs more.
And by god, he did get more.
He bumped into you one day, with you in your soft outfit of creams and pastels. Your pure, clean eyes made his heart skip a beat as you said sorry to him.
His greed triggered.
He wanted you so bad.
When he learned you needed a job when he saw your folder filled with resumes, he felt like he won the lottery.
"How about becoming my sugar baby? Don't worry, I won't ask anything. Much."
And as your cute figure pondered what to do, he smirked. You, in the middle of his dim office, in light clothing and an innocent face, was such a contrast in the dark office filled with his smoke from his beloved churchwarden pipe. You stuck out like a sore thumb, and he liked it.
He loved it.
And as your lips dropped the answer he wanted to hear, he shivered and gave you a lopsided smile.
"Good. Now, what do you want, love?"
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Rowan sat down on his office chair, he cracked his neck and sighed.
He was bone tired. He just finished a cartel mission that he himself as the boss had to interfere. It was annoying because it was due to his incompetent new recruits.
At least they're sleeping with the "fishies", as what you call the finned sea creatures.
He grabbed something from his pocket and brought it up to his face. It was an intricate jeweled choker with a lot of rose gold arcs, jewels that match your eyes, and a diamond encrusted opal centerpiece.
He imagined you wearing it. Wrapping the choker on your neck himself, seeing your eyes flash in wonder and amazement. He imagined you also getting shy and saying that it was too expensive, and him saying that it was okay, and he wanted to give you this entirely by his own volition. And he got excited.
...In one way or another.
He chuckled and shook his head, swinging on his swivel chair as he dialed your number.
After two rings, you picked up.
"Love, come here. I got a gift for you."
You whined, getting shy again. He chuckled.
"You know what I say, I don't want to hear you say no. So come here now."
So you did.
Once you got there, he smiled and kissed your lips softly, bringing you close to him by your waist and lifting you up easily with his tatted arms.
"Come, I'll give you the present myself."
You got curious naturally.
He settled you in front of the floor length mirror which also saw... Much more intimate and sensual things you both did other than this gift giving thing he's doing.
Rowan slowly grabbed your hair and raised it, making you shiver with goosebumps from the action. He smirked, seeing you so flustered from the simple act of him grabbing your hair.
Well, that, and he also liked to grab your hair a lot while fucking you senselessly. There's that too.
You closed your eyes when he told you too, and you felt the familiar cold sensation of jewelry resting on your neck. But this time, it hugged it, making you open your eyes. It was the beautiful choker he was admiring earlier.
"Do you love it?" Rowan asked, looking at you through the mirror as he rested his chin on your shoulder. You nodded enthusiastically and said yes. He smirked.
This was the first time you didn't say to take the gift back with such a flustered apprehensive look. You're starting to get greedy.
He loved that. A lot.
"Now, how about you kiss me in return, hmm?" You rolled your eyes and gently kissed him. You know this day is not just going to end in a kiss.
But you didn't mind.
And he knows that.
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You went home that day with Rowan driving you. He gave you more gifts that you shyly accepted once more, making Rowan shiver in glee. Again, you didn't reject them at all.
You're slowly getting tainted by his greediness.
And hopefully, you will be greedy enough to bring up your relationship to him, and tell him that you wanted more to this.
That you wanted his love.
Oh, he trembles at the thought.
It's not a question of if, but when, after all.
But now, he's just slowly moving forward with your relationship. Slow and steady wins the race, after all. Despite him living such a fast paced life, he knows he's patient enough to wait for you.
But if you backtracked and got out of his tight grasp...
Let's just say that the tracker he planted on your laptop, your phone, and now your precious choker will help him find you if you ran away.
You were the light to his dark, dreary life.
He'll be crazy enough to let you go.
And he's already crazy about you.
That's why he's making you addicted to him also. Showering you with gifts and love. Praising your body, worshipping it, pleasing it until you reach the heavens like the angel you are.
And if you still didn't want him... Let's just say the condoms with holes in them that he himself poked will do the trick.
It was a dirty tactic. But who cares? He's a mafia boss for god's sake. Dirty tactics aren't new to him.
And if you still somehow didn't end up pregnant and got to run away, he'll use his influence to find you.
You got no escape.
Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide.
You were his love. His greed.
With a drag of his churchwarden pipe, he drove off to plan your wedding.
You were going to be his after all.
No matter what.
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I don't know if I did my baby Rowan justice i'm going crazY FUCK.
Can you guys tell I have favoritism? Because I do LOL
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throneofsapphics · 2 months
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old faces, part 10
Rowaelin x f!Reader
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Summary: you and Rowan meet again after seven years, and deal with the fall-out of a secret. 
Warnings: mentions of drinking, panic attack, references to death, child labor 
Word Count: ~4.5k
A/N: I promise I've started on part 11! I appreciate all of your love on this series <3 it seriously means the world to me
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Fenrys, sat to your right, was watching you. He was subtle, others wouldn’t notice - perhaps except Rowan or Aelin, but you felt his attention on you, like he knew something was wrong. The bastard probably did. 
The encounter had rattled you. Especially because the male was still sitting further down the table. You’d done a good job of ignoring him for the most part, even though his attention wandered your way several times. Earlier, you’d been correct assuming it was a personal matter, because he didn’t bring up a single thing related to an artifact causing trouble, or your bloodline. Not even a hint of it. 
Yes, his questions had unnerved you, but the memory moreso. You’d kept your oath, but you tried not to think of him. It had been years, but the pain and loss still felt like yesterday, the scar still felt fresh, guilt and horror threatened to overwhelm you - 
A warm hand on your knee, a small squeeze. Fenrys. A scan of the table showed nobody looking closely at you, good - it would’ve been embarrassing and unprofessional if you’d spaced out while a question was asked. 
Trying not to count down the seconds, you did your best to hang on to every word, to listen intently, but your mind scrambled. A glass of wine, maybe a good book, and sleep was desperately needed. 
With Fenrys next to you like a guard dog, he only shot you a look, probably meant to be some kind of promise of a future conversation. You’d need a good amount to avoid him, and lately your luck has been running terrifyingly low. 
Waiting an appropriate amount of time after the meeting concluded - mainly until he left the room, you beelined for the door. A broad back cut you off, Fenrys asking some kind of question you couldn’t hear through the ringing in your ears, the pure panic rising in your lungs. 
Vaguely aware of the empty room surrounding you, Rowan’s face loomed in front of yours, his mouth forming words you couldn’t hear or comprehend. Chest caving, each breath felt like a chore, the sharp pain of your nails in your palm couldn’t distract you, couldn’t break you out, you were suffocating, drowning - one hand squeezed your shoulder, another gripping your chin, tilting it up to meet his gaze. 
“Breathe,” you read his lips, the movement of his mouth slow and exaggerated. “You’re safe.” 
His hand enveloped yours, drawing it up towards his chest. The grip on your chin didn’t move, forcing you to look at him to focus on the steady beat of his heart under your palm, the exaggerated rising and falling of his chest, the way his hand still covered your own. Slowly, the ringing subsided, your breaths growing easier. 
“Good?” He asked, and you hated the gentleness in his voice. You replied with a terse nod. Rowan studied you for a few moments, and unlike yourself you squirmed under the scrutiny, shifting back and forth on your feet. 
“Alright,” he said slowly, releasing your chin, lowering your hand back to your side. He strode back towards the door, jerking his head, speaking lowly enough your Fae hearing couldn’t catch the words. Fenrys strode back in, his face unusually severe. The door shut with a soft snick, a comforting shield of wind surrounding the room. You were too overloaded to add your own magic. 
Fenrys looked concerned, but you shook your head, “I'm fine.” 
“Then what the hell happened before?” At least Fenrys got straight to the point.
“Someone just … asked something that rattled me,” you hedged, leaning back against the table, crossing your arms, trying to buy yourself some time to find a way to explain it that wouldn’t make them overreact. Logically, you knew it was too late for that. 
“You don’t get rattled,” Rowan crossed his arms. Technically, that was a compliment. You glanced at Fenrys, like he might make some kind of joke, but his face was nearly as serious as Rowan’s. Two walls of unrelenting and overbearing male arrogance. “Who?” 
“Does it matter?” 
Neither male bothered responding. Running fingers through your hair, you told him, and added “it wasn’t exactly a threat.” 
‘Exactly’, was your mistake. 
“Tell me everything.” The demand in Rowan’s tone, the sheer sense of authority and arrogance, made you prickle but … this time you gave in and recited the conversation. 
“What do you think he’s looking for?” Fenrys asked before Rowan could get a word.. 
“I don’t know. I don’t want to know.” The second part wasn’t necessarily true. He’d peaked your curiosity, hit that lingering sense of guilt perfectly - as if he already knew how to work you. But, curiosity killed the cat - you wouldn’t make that mistake. 
“We’ll keep an eye on him,” Rowan said, glancing up at the clock. Another meeting would start soon - one should probably be at. “Stay here for the night.” 
“Right where he is?” You raised your brows. 
“Right where we are,” he corrected. 
“I’m not that scared.” 
“So you admit you’re scared?” 
“Oh fuck off,” you snapped at him. 
“We fought with that male,” Rowan snarled, “we’re well aware of what he’s capable of.” 
Of course they had. You caught Fenrys’s nod from the corner of your eye. 
“And I’m more than capable of protecting myself. Find someone else to be a fussy bastard to.”
“I care about your safety,” he gritted his teeth, “is that so wrong?” 
Damn you, something inside of you softened and you hated yourself for it. 
“It’s safer for me to be at home.” 
“Safer for who?” The edge in Rowan’s voice grew, “because I know damn well you’re trying to draw a threat away from the castle.” Away from Ceri was implied. He probably didn’t know it, but you wanted it away from him too. From him, Aelin, Fenrys, all of the people you cared about. You couldn’t argue. 
“Don’t fucking underestimate me.” 
He laughed roughly, “trust me, I’m not.”
“Then don’t try to coddle me,” your left fist clenched. 
“It’s common sense, not coddling.” 
Fenrys’s eyes darted back and forth between the two of you, and you threw your head back in a groan. 
“If anything happens tonight, even if I get a bad feeling, I'll come back here,” you said with enough finality and sincerity that the males very begrudgingly agreed. “I’m going home now,” you sidestepped Fenrys, skirted around Rowan, the shield of wind falling, and strode out of the door. 
-
Rowan hadn’t slept well since you left the night before. You showed face yesterday, probably just to assure him and maybe prove a point, but the Akkadian contingent would be present for two more days. He told Aelin, of course, and had to be the reasonable one to prevent her from doing an interrogation of her own. She’d agreed, already knowing there was a close eye kept on them. But, it was near impossible to keep track of everyone entering or leaving without raising suspicion. 
Quarter to midnight, just when he figured he should try and get some sleep, and kick the rest of the Court out, Halle appeared with a … piece of paper between her teeth. She jumped directly on him, claws digging in, dropping the paper, hissing when he didn’t immediately grab it. He took the hint, and didn’t hesitate before unfolding it. 
I’m going to have company soon. If you and Aelin attend, it’ll raise too many suspicions, and it’s the dead of night. Send Fenrys? I’ll stay in until then. 
Gods, you planned on confronting him. The words were scribbled quickly, letters shaky, ink blotted in a few areas. 
He tossed it to Fenrys, who caught it between two fingers - glancing once curiously at the cat, her keen eyes now fixed on him. Attending. You said nothing about a hawk keeping watch from the sky. Besides, you’d said ‘you and Aelin,’ not ‘you or.’ Aelin would be pissy she needed to stay here, but if they were both absent from the castle …  
Sometimes, Rowan missed when he wasn’t King, when he could confront a problem like this without having to worry about political repercussions, when he lived somewhere there were few laws against murder. 
He flew above Fenrys - taking a back exit from the castle, sticking to secluded areas. Somehow, the giant white wolf went unnoticed. Perhaps because it was a Friday night, and the current areas they ran through were nearly abandoned. 
Regardless, he scouted the way ahead, spotting the two males just a fifteen minute walk from your house now. It was obvious they didn’t know exactly where they were going, but Fenrys should arrive with a few minutes to spare. He knew you’d notice his presence, and he’d avoid showing his face to keep your wrath away. 
He momentarily forgot keeping your wrath away as he watched you slip past the wards and shift. Then - disappeared. Catching a draft, he set out to intercept Fenrys. 
-
You’d lied to them unintentionally, the decision made last minute, a switch, but it was the … choice that felt right, a warm hand on your shoulder - a feminine voice in the back of your ear, guiding you. Slipping past the words, sending silent apologies to the night, you shifted. 
It was easy enough to track their magic, moving in between the folds of time and space. Harder, was deciding the best way to ‘run into’ their path. 
Pinching your cheeks until they flushed red, hands shoved into pockets, head down, senses awake - a slight sway in your step, humming a tune frequently played in Terrasen’s taverns, you turned the corner and let the threads of fate throw you to the wolves. 
“Oh,” you laughed, stumbling back a few steps, brushing hair away from your face, “didn’t think I’d see you again today. Your voice carried over the wind, although you spoke a tad louder than necessary. The location was empty, but not abandoned. Probably not where they would’ve chosen. It felt important that you chose the place. “Convenient, finding you here.” 
“Convenient, indeed,” the predatory gleam in his eyes raised the hair on the back of your neck. Still, stupid male. If he thought beyond whatever agenda he’s set on, he would’ve wondered how you ended up directly in his path. “There’s some things we’d like to discuss-”
“It’s past business hours, I’m afraid,” you yawned.
“We can keep this separate,” he purred and you fought the urge to gag. His friend was stone-faced. They looked similar enough they could be brothers or cousins. 
“What do you want?”
“Like I said,” he cleared his throat. “There’s an artifact causing trouble, we need your skillset to track it down.” 
He said it as if it was a done thing, like you’d agree in an instant. “I’m not the person you’re looking for.” 
“Andal said you were.” 
You paled, all of the color flushing from your skin. He couldn’t see it, in the dark, but the silence probably told him he’d hit the mark. Nothing was telling you to run, nothing pushing you away from this - although you wished it would. Deny, deny, deny, was the safe choice but … you had to get to the bottom of this one way or another. Worst case, you shift and disappear. Hopefully. 
“If Andal said,” you pretended to think about it, just for a moment, tapping your fingers on your thigh, before shaking your head “it doesn’t matter, I’m out of business.” 
“This is urgent,” his friend, stone-man, growled.
“Oh he speaks,” you teased. 
“It’s one of the -” his words froze mid-sentence, a pulse of ancient and near primal magic weaving into the space.
Fenrys nearly bowled you over - stumbling, bracing his hand on your shoulder. “Quit leaving me behind,” he huffed out a laugh. An icy and familiar wind brushed against your cheek. 
Immense relief filled you, although you were seconds away from getting the information you wanted. “My bad,” you shot him a smile. 
Nearly imperceptibly, his fingers tightened around your shoulder as he straightened, examining the two males in front of you. Males he already knew were there. Still, you were impressed by his acting. 
“New friends?” He drawled. You shrugged, but didn’t shake off his hand, and he didn’t move it. 
“They were asking for my advice,” you cleared your throat - after an uncomfortable minute of silence. 
“Advice that cannot wait until tomorrow?” 
There was an underlying threat in his words, a slight change in tone, and with it the air filled with tension - suffocating, like all of their magics rose to the surface, postures tense and ready to snap at any minute. 
“I’m sure it can wait,” the male said roughly, jerking his chin towards his friend, as they both strode down the street - back towards the castle. “I’ll be in touch,” he called over his shoulder. Fenrys stiffened, but you didn’t bother replying. 
You and Fenrys waited until they were out of hearing range, and then a few minutes longer for good measure. At this point, you knew Fenrys well enough to tell when he was furious. 
Clearing the city streets, shadows of the stress covering the two of you, you finally spoke, “I’d almost figured out what -”
A flash of light came from your right, you pivoted, faced with an angry silver-haired male, mouth frozen mid-sentence,  “I’d ask what the hell you were thinking,” he snarled, “but it’s obvious you weren’t.” 
“I was thinking I’d keep those bastards from finding my gods-damned house,” you hissed. 
“How do you know you’re not leading them right back to your gods-damned home?” Fenrys said, his dark eyes flashing.  
Fixing him with a sharp look, you didn’t bother answering. 
One, you’d be able to tell. 
Two, it felt like an insult to your intelligence. 
Three, they weren’t stupid enough to follow if Fenrys was with you. 
You considered telling them to piss off, but knew it would be pointless. Tense, angry silence filled the walk back to your home. 
The wards were heavy, thick magic pulsing, enveloping you the closer you got. It might be uncomfortable to the others, but for you it felt like a hug - like it was singing and welcoming you home, magic reaching out with small threads to tug you into its embrace. You realized that the density of magic might be a beacon, and made a note in your mind to possibly research a way to obscure it. 
Running your finger down the invisible wall, a sliver appeared - just big enough to slip through as, snapping back into place as soon as you passed the threshold. 
The silence carried until you were inside, all sitting stiffly on the various couches and chairs. None of you bothered to appear at ease. 
Rowan’s hand slipped into his pocket, pulling a familiar slip of paper out, holding it between two fingers. Dramatically, he unfolded it and read; 
“I’ll stay in until then,” a breeze floated the page towards you, and you batted it away. A streak of orange, and Halle caught it between her teeth, shaking it in her jaws like a dog. She looked up at you and hissed. A small smile curved on your lips. Reaching a hand out, she rubbed her head along your fingers, lifting her chin for a scratch. A minute passed, and it appeared the two males were waiting for you to break the silence this time. You forced yourself to lean back, the armchair big enough for Halle to jump up and settle next to you, one paw batting at you when you dared to stop petting her.
“Do you ever feel like some kind of God or Goddess is watching over you?” 
“Aelin killed them,” Fenrys deadpanned, Rowan cut a glare at him. That, you didn’t know, but as Rowan’s glare turned on you, you decided it was best to ask that question later. 
“It’s like a warm hand on my shoulder,” you continued, “or a voice, nudging me. It hasn’t failed me before, and today felt like a bad time to test it.”
“You couldn’t have found me?” Fenrys asked, “maybe waited until you weren’t alone to confront them?” 
“I should’ve,” scratching the back of your neck, you avoided his gaze.You were old enough to admit when you’d done something stupid, to realize you had indeed fucked up, even if you hated doing it. “Look,” you let out a slow breath, “this is very … personal.” 
Silence. 
“If I'm going to explain this, Aelin really should be here,” you mumbled. She could easily hear from Rowan, or you could tell the story twice, but you wanted her here. Something about her presence soothed an edge, made dark parts of the past more bearable. 
Rowan stood. “I doubt she’s sleeping,” he said mildly, a glint in his eyes. “I saw you shift earlier, it shouldn’t take long to get there.” 
Fighting the urge to snarl or stomp, you lead the way out the door. “I’ll walk,” you called over your shoulder. Mainly because it would piss his impatient ass off. Based on his snarl, it did. 
Rowan snarled as you took off without him, sending a grin over your shoulder. His eyes rolled, but within a few strides he’d caught up to you. 
“Walking me home?” You teased, “how kind of you.” He gently shoved his shoulder into yours. “Really,” you huffed, “I’ll be fine.” 
“It’ll make me feel better,” he countered, and that was the end of the argument. You’d refused to shift and head back, anyway. You didn’t show your animal form to anyone. Even him. 
“I’ll go with you,” Fenrys quickly caught up to you, walking shoulder to shoulder as the memory faded, “we might run into them again.” 
A flash of light, a shriek from a hawk, and Rowan headed off, likely to warn Aelin. 
Ten minutes into the walk, the silence was getting to your head. 
“What is it?” 
“I’ve never wanted to be back in Doranelle,” Fenrys said quietly, “but there, I could’ve just killed them.” 
“Murder isn’t always the answer,” you snorted, and finally had the courage to look him in the eyes. He was fighting a smile. Throwing your head back, a slightly-incredulous, probably insane sounding laugh bubbled from your chest. 
-
“Some of the objects my ancestors made had uses they didn’t expect, and ended up with the wrong people,” you tapped your fingers against your legs, Aelin tried not to make it obvious she was hanging onto every word. “There’s a sense of … responsibility that comes with it. To destroy them, I suppose. There was never enough time to properly explain it.”
Sounds like bullshit, Aelin thought, but kept listening. 
“Few know how to use Wyrdmarks, and very few have the magic to strengthen or infuse them. Some can catch traces of those objects - track them. Not all of my ancestors were angelic, some tracked them down - either to use themselves or sell to the highest bidder,” disgust filled each word as you spat them out. “I was warned that not all will have bad intentions, but even the best intentions can be skewed by greed,” that phrase came out like a quote, one you’d memorized years ago, stored in the back of your mind - perhaps as a reminder. This was mostly information they’d been able to piece together, and Aelin waited for the other side, for whatever big secret you’d been holding onto. 
“It would be good to know what they're looking for, specifically.” Rowan looked ready to interrupt, but Aelin held up a hand. “Then I'll know their intentions. “I’d almost figured that out earlier,” you shot what was probably supposed to be an annoyed look at Fenrys, but she caught the hint of gratitude. As you turned back to them, a hint of guilt hit her at the exhaustion in your face, at the fear in your eyes. 
“I was nine, stuck on the streets. Someone found me, told me if I helped them out they’d make sure I was taken care of. I worked for them for five years, and did whatever they told me to. I knew I'd get fed, a warm bed, and a few marks here and there - to a kid it felt like riches. My … handler, you could say, had an idea of what my magic could do. Eventually my great uncle found me and dragged me out of it.” You ran a hand over your face. “That’s why they’re asking for help, because they know I’ve done it before.” 
“Andal?” Rowan asked quietly. He must’ve overheard that. All Aelin could think of was that word you used; handler. As the name Andal rolled around in her mind, it sounded eerily like Arobynn. Still, she focused on you - your expression, the paleness of your skin, the mixture of anger and fear flashing at the name, fists clenching slightly, shoulders tensing, feet pressing firmer into the ground - like you were ready to launch into a fight. Aelin understood how a name could trigger such a visceral reaction. 
“I fell for his trap and promises, I was so naive,” 
“You were a child,” Rowan insisted. “It wasn’t your fault.” 
“Part of me always knew it was wrong, but I was so-” your head snapped towards the door, and seconds later a very insistent knock interrupted. Ceri. Rowan’s shield of wind, and one of whatever your magic was, parted and the door flew open. 
Ceri sprinted through the room, launching herself into your arms. 
“You’re here,” she shrieked. Excitement. A smile naturally spread over your face, the tension of the previous conversation put aside as Ceri recounted the past day's events, settling herself next to you on the couch as you watched with rapt attention - cutting in at all of the perfect moments.
It had been a long week and … Aelin realized the two of you didn’t get to spend much time together. She exchanged a glance with Rowan, and they both silently rose, murmuring a good night, before leaving. They’d get up early to talk in the morning. 
-
Ceri spared no detail, and talked until her eyes started closing, yawns interrupting her words. 
“Why don’t you tell me more in the morning?” You asked gently. 
Her lips pursed, like that was the last thing she wanted to do, but she eventually nodded. She stood, her small hand latching onto your wrist, and dragged you both towards your bedroom. It had been years since she insisted on sleeping in your bed, but you didn’t question it. After tonight, you wanted her close. 
The next morning, thank the gods, nobody woke you up at the ass crack of dawn. In fact, a tray of food waited just outside of your door, all of your favorites and Ceri’s. After discerning it wasn’t poison, you brought it in. 
A few cups of tea later and you felt ready to continue last night’s conversation. Partially. None of this way easy to talk about, and you supposed that was a good thing. 
‘As a child,’ Rowan had said. Sure, you’d been young and naive, but you couldn’t shake the feeling that you should’ve known better. ‘Nobody was there to teach you, it’s not your fault,’ a voice that sounded eerily like Aelin’s countered in the back of your mind. 
Ceri left reluctantly, making you promise to spend another night at the castle. It was an easy promise to give, you’d missed her after all. 
As soon as the three of you sat, you said the words you’d rehearsed in your head all morning. “Before we get into … that situation,” you cleared your throat, fighting the tightening sensation. “Whatever it is between us,” you’d caught their attention, both staring at you with keen eyes, “I want it - if you still do. To figure it out when we have time.” 
“I still want it,” Aelin’s mouth curved up at one corner, the mirth in her eyes bringing a pink flush to your cheeks. Rowan met your gaze, pine-green eyes flashing with rare emotion, and nodded. You didn’t need words from him, the look said everything. 
“How dangerous are these objects?” Rowan cleared his throat. Aelin rolled her eyes. 
“Depends on who has them, and if they know what they’re doing.” You realized that was uninformative, and explained, “most of them can capture traces of magic, in some way or form. With enough exposure and time, they can be quite destructive.” 
“You said you helped hunt them, did they ask anything else of you?” 
You nodded, throat constricting, and forced the next words out, “I was a kid who didn’t know what she was doing. I appeased them, changing small marks, making things up, but I really had no idea. I still don’t know what I changed, or what they can do now.” 
“I’ll take care of it.” Aelin said, firmly. 
“It’s not your -” 
“My responsibility, I know,” she waved her hand, “but I want to.” 
The way she said ‘want’ implied she would, whether you liked it or not. You’d learned, over the last few years, that Aelin can be quite good at getting what she wants. Still, you didn’t want to roll over for her. 
“I always pictured myself going on a … quest, some day,” you let out a low, dead, laugh. “When Ceri was grown, hunting down all of the objects I messed with - destroying them.” 
“Getting revenge?” Rowan raised a brow. 
“Redemption,” you countered. He looked like he wanted to argue. “Besides,” you played with the hem of your tunic. “It’s what my uncle would’ve done.” 
“He’s dead, isn’t he?” He said quietly, not with pity, just framing a fact as a question. 
“Yes.” 
Another gods-damned sacrifice. All to keep you alive. All you could do was try to be worthy of it. 
“Ceri didn’t inherit my magic,” you said abruptly.
“I know,” Rowan replied. “Maybe your knack for sensing it, but not the actual magic.” 
“Sensing can be taught,” you replied. 
Aelin hummed. “What do you want to do about this?” 
A few blinks of surprise, but you leaned back. “Honestly? Forget it all happened.” Aelin snorted. “Practically, I should hear them out and figure out what I’m dealing with.” 
“And put yourself in danger?” Aelin’s head tilted, her voice a tad too calm. 
“What if we make it an ‘official’ thing?” When neither outright objected, you continued, “do it during a meeting, make it public.” 
“Then you’ll expose yourself,” Rowan stated. You raised a brow, you already had - to them. “To everyone,” he added. 
“Not necessarily,” you brushed the non-existent dirt off your pants. “I can give them my useless ‘notes’ on the subject,” you’d never intended to give them material that would actually help. “If they try for specifics, clarify what they’re looking for, others will start suspecting them, and I doubt that’s what they want.” 
“How will that tell you what they want?” 
“They’re arrogant and obviously desperate,” you shrugged. “They’ll get irritated, find me, and tell me.” 
“Your plan is to piss them off?” Fenrys looked at you like he prayed you were joking. 
-
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loveharlow · 1 year
Note
hi :)
i love your writing! could i request an ajax x reader fic where the reader gets hurt and ajax gets all protective over them and angry with the person who hurt them, sort of angsty
thank you!!
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ARE YOU ALRIGHT?
PAIRING ‧₊˚ Ajax Petropolus x Fem!Reader
SYNOPSIS ‧₊˚ [1.7k] Ajax is bit protective of his girlfriend and wants to keep her safe. So when a recently erratic redhead catches her in the Nightshades archives, he isn't too pleased.
WARNING(S) ‧₊˚ swearing, fluff, hurt/comfort, mild violence, Rowan loosing his shit, angry!ajax, mild angst
A/N ‧₊˚ I'm not tryna villainize Rowan , I just needed a conflict. RIP ma boy. PS - To all my gif makers, we need more Ajax gifs please, I will pay you 😭 (not literally I'm broke)
Hope this is good enough for you, anon!
˗ˏˋ ajax masterlist ˎˊ˗
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I WAS IN THE NIGHTSHADES LIBRARY, SLUMPED AGAINST ONE OF THE SUPPORT BEAMS AS I READ THE BOOK I’D BEEN STUCK ON FOR THE PAST WEEK. A bowl of grapes on one side of me, occasionally dipping my hand in to grab a few and plop them in my mouth, eyes scanning word after word, paying no mind to my surroundings.
That was, until I heard the familiar screeching of the statue opening to the library. My face screwed in mild confusion, not expecting anyone to be coming. Especially at this hour — it was half past 11 and I should have very well been in my dorm, sleeping. But what Weems and the other staff didn’t know couldn’t hurt them, right?
The footsteps that descended the curved staircases were heavy and frantic, tattered sneakers coming into view as they practically flew down the steps. Fully lifting my head from the worn pages of the novel I was reading, I waited to see who had entered the library — seeing as only a handful of people knew it existed.
However, the face that followed was unexpected. A head of red hair and glasses — what was Rowan doing here? He got kicked out weeks ago. 
He didn’t seem to notice me as he eagerly scanned the bookshelves for…whatever it was he was looking for.
He looked stressed…erratic. Almost like a wild animal, if I’m being honest. He’d been acting strange ever since the new girl showed up but he looked worse than he did when we told him we couldn’t keep him around a couple weeks back. He had deep, red bags under his eyes and his hair looked like he either hadn’t touched it in days or couldn’t stop touching it. 
I let the grape clenched between my fingers fall into the bowl and let the book fall shut, the sudden noise causing the boy to whip around until he set his eyes on me. His shaky gaze went wide before hardening into a glare that I chose to ignore.
Setting the book on the ground, I stood slowly, dusting off my pants as I did so. “Rowan, shouldn’t be in here. You’re not a Nightshade, anymore.” I stated, keeping my distance.
“Y/n…” He muttered my name as if he was scared, putting his hands palm-side down in front of him as he inched closer. “I just need one thing. You don’t have to tell anyone I was here. I’ll be in and out, ’kay? I-I swear.”
I shook my head with regret, hugging myself close with the sleeves of my sweater pulled over my hands. “Rowan, I can’t- It’s not up to me. And even if it was, I'd tell you the same thing. You’ve been off lately…” I spoke meekly, not wanting to set him off as it has been easy to do that lately. Too easy. Dangerously easy.
His eyes squinted, his motions to come closer halting in a heartbeat. A deep scowl formed on his face. “Off? I’ve been off?” He laughed bitterly, looking up at the library ceiling. “That’s really funny coming from one of the elitist assholes who kicked me out of their little secret society the second I didn’t fit your standards anymore.” He snapped, throwing his hand out at me.
My head fell to the side as he spoke, lips parting to speak. “We kicked you out, Rowan, because you were losing your shit and we got sick of your tantrums. It seems not much has changed.” I reprimanded sternly. He started to take slow, calculated steps towards me. So, I started to walk around him, my back going from facing the support beams to me standing in front of the bookshelf, Rowan never taking his eyes off of me. We circled one another, almost taking the others place, with him now standing close to my abandoned book and bowl of grapes. “You’re dangerous. To yourself and us. And we don’t want to get caught up with whatever theory you’re chasing.”
“It's not a theory! It’s-” He took a deep breath, pinching the skin between his brows. “Damn it! Why are all of you so oblivious?! You can’t see the real danger that’s right in front of you-”
He was becoming volatile and unpredictable, in his words and movements. Grasping at his hair as his face became a deep, angry shade of red. “Rowan, you should leave.”
“NO! No, I’m not leaving until I get what I came here for-” He spoke quickly, his words jumbling together. He started towards me, in long strides and I almost didn’t see him coming. I wasn’t thinking clearly and he was starting to scare me.
“Rowan!” I shouted, the sound echoing of the walls and halting his movements. “Just go! I don’t want to hurt you but you’re making this more difficult than it needs to be.”
“I need the book…” He muttered, eyes glancing over the tiles on the floor frantically.
“What-”
“Just give me the damn book!” He shouted, finally snapping.
His right hand shot out and I could feel my body leave the floor as I flew back, my head hitting the wood of the bookshelves, disorienting me for a few moments. My head was spinning and the room was split into two as I tried to regain my consciousness. 
All of a sudden, what sounded like two pairs of footsteps were trampling down the steps, two blurry figures coming into view and shouting at Rowan. Inaudible statements I couldn’t make out. 
When my senses balanced back out, I could finally see the two people who’d entered the hidden library — Ajax and Bianca, shouting worriedly at Rowan.
“What the hell?! Stop!”
“Rowan, let her go!”
Rowan was simply shaking his head and squinting his eyes so tight, it had to have hurt. It looked like he was trying to block out his own thoughts and failing miserably. 
“Mmm.. shut up!” The angry boy shouted, causing his psychic hold on me to somehow put more pressure on my chest, constricting my airflow as I gasped for air — my chest was caving in. And if he didn't let me down, I knew I might die.
“You’re gonna kill her! Put her down!” Bianca pleaded. None of us were thinking straight. I looked ahead at my best friend and boyfriend, my eyes watering in struggle as my fists clenched at nothing. 
They spared a glance at one another before Ajax was reaching up at his beanie, going to tug it off before Bianca stopped him — shaking her head ‘no’ before she was marching up to Rowan and throwing his shoulder back.
Using her siren voice to force him into capitulation. “Put her down.”
Rowan's hands fell to his side limply, my lungs filling with air as my body slid rapidly down the wood of bookshelves and Ajax sped across the room as fast as he could to catch my frame before it collided with the hard floor.
His arms went under me, holding me bridal style before sitting down and lifting my head onto his lap, rubbing my cheek with one hand as I gripped the sleeve of his hoodie with mine.
“Breathe, it’s okay. You’re okay, it's alright. I got you...” he coaxed as I caught my breath.
Once I was breathing, shakily but breathing nonetheless, his head snapped to Rowan who was arguing to Bianca. “What the fuck is wrong with you?” He growled. “You could have killed her!”
“Ajax, it’s fine.” His gaze whipped back down to me, his glare harsh and angry — frightened. 
“Fine?” He said incredulously. “That wasn’t fine! He isn’t even supposed to be here. This is why we kicked him to the curb in the first place.” He ranted, turning back to Rowan who looked regretful about his actions but not necessarily sorry. “Because we knew some shit like this was bound to happen!” 
“I didn’t mean to...She was-”
“I don’t give a fuck.” Ajax said lowly, his eyes hard and dark. 
“You need to leave.” Bianca said sternly, arms crossed and eyes dead-set on him. Rowan stood in his place, stuttering like a fish out of water before she spoke again, much more conviction in her tone. “Now.”
Then the boy was dipping his head down and rushing up the stairs and out of the library. “Next time I see you, I’ll kick your ass!” Ajax shouted after him. He wasn’t the type to make threats but stoners had a type of strength like no other, so it wasn't one to be taken lightly.
Bianca rushed over to me who was now sitting up slow out of Ajax’s lap.
“Are you alright?” She asked worriedly. I nodded, coughing lightly once or twice. Ajax had a hand set on my back as I allowed my head to fall onto his chest, his free hand coming up to cradle my head.
“Thank you.” I muttered, voice still shaky. “But, why were you guys down here?”
Bianca smiled pitifully and rubbed her hand up and down my forearm. “I woke up and you weren't in the dorm, I got worried. I asked Ajax if you were with him and he said no, said he had an idea where you might be.”
“I told you to stop coming down here alone.” Ajax reminded firmly, looking down at me from where I was perched against his chest. I muttered an ‘I know’ and a ‘sorry’ before letting my arms go around his waist and hug him closer. Bianca let her hand fall from my arm, sending us both a look before bidding goodnight and leaving the library. 
Ajax and I sat like that for a while before he moved to stand, my arms falling from him as he rose. Dusting off his pajama pants, he outstretched a hand to help me stand. I wrapped both of my arms around one of his as we left the library together — my bowl of grapes and book abandoned and long forgotten.
When we got outside, I clung to him tighter as a chill swept by, my lungs thanking the breeze. “Can I sleep with you tonight?”
He didn’t stop walking as he leaned to kiss the top of my forehead. “‘Course you can.” He replied as we continued to walk together.
We made it to his room without being caught, going inside and getting comfortable under his covers. It wasn’t long before we clung to each so close, you couldn’t tell where he started and I ended.
“I’m sorry that happened to you. But I promise I won’t let it happen again.” He assured me sleepily.
“I know., but it wasn't your fault.” I mumbled, burying my face in his chest. “Love you.” 
“I love you, too.” He muttered, lifting my chin to peck my lips before allowing me to bury my face into his chest once more. His arms tugged me closer. I knew he was still fuming from what happened and I'd have to try and talk him down from potentially killing Rowan, or recruit Xavier to do it for me. In a weird way, I found it endearing to know he cared so much. But I don't like to see him upset.
And even though my chest still felt heavy and achy, and I’d have to sneak back to the girl’s dorm at the crack of dawn praying not to be spotted by Weems or the teachers — I knew it’d be okay.
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missmonsters2 · 1 year
Text
—JOUSKA | THREE
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Pairing: Wednesday Addams x OFC/Fem!Reader
Summary: Something and nothing at all changed. Wednesday is all too aware of the distance and the horrifying realization that if she wants to be closer, than she'll have to make the first move. Cue compulsively replaying a hypothetical conversation.
Warnings: Angst. Distracted!Wednesday. Wednesday generally being Bad At Feelings™️. Enid's wise words. Thing—the opportunist. Xavier absent but still not safe from Wednesday's roasts. Blood.
Series Masterlist | Library Blog | AO3
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Note: This was intense to write, but it'll only get more intense! Likes, comments, & reblogs appreciated 🥺
Part Two
⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷†⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷
Jouska: Noun. A hypothetical conversation that you compulsively play out in your head.
⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷†⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷
Something and nothing at all has changed since that night. 
"Hi, Wednesday."
Wednesday's eyes catch yours as she watches you flanked by two gorgon girls. You've got a white stick of a lollipop hanging in your mouth at the side, the grape confection already finished, but you don't like littering (unlike some of these other heathens at the academy).
Wednesday doesn't say anything back, but she does slow her walking down subtly, her brows relaxes and expression neutral as she looks at you. A nod of acknowledgment is all that is needed to satisfy you as you smile at her before looking away.
It's been like that since that night—the same acknowledgment, and it's all Wednesday can think about.
They've bonded, haven't they? Enid certainly said so. And if that was the case, why were you the same distance away? 
Wednesday can only think back to that night. 
"Black wings are the mark of a night faerie."
Wednesday doesn't rush her response. This was one of those moments, the one Enid was constantly telling her to be delicate about. 
The right words—Wednesday needed the right words.
It reminded her of when she first encountered the photo of herself from Rowan, and how she, too, thought she was destined for (bad) calamity. 
"Sometimes the dark doesn't cause calamity but rather is what no one expects at all," Wednesday looks at you, her eyes focused. "The solution."
But even as you give Wednesday a soft smile, she can see something dim behind your eyes, and the taste of utter defeat burns Wednesday's throat, knowing it wasn't the exact right words.
So, Wednesday was at a standstill. 
And she was also far from finding a nickname for you that she'd allow everyone to call you. The only bright side was everyone else was somehow doing worse than her with their suggestions despite her not having offered anything at all. 
There was a distance, Wednesday realizes. One that you seemed content to let be. 
Wednesday feels jolted by the realization that she's been fairly spoiled and blessed in her life (even if she didn't feel it at the moment). It had always been Wednesday who chose to keep her distance from those around her. She had her own interests and had been content to put them above everyone else. 
But ever since coming to Nevermore, her little ragtag of misfits—especially Enid—had intrusively barged into her personal space. Wednesday only had to take a small step forward, and everyone else had closed the distance. 
Everyone except you.
Wednesday Addams would never deny the fact that she wasn't free from things like desire. She desired many things: rain, mysteries, victory, the fear of others, and whatever things could be described as morbid.
She told her mother that she would never be like her—never fall in love, be a housewife, or have a family. And she had meant it at that moment (although she was very sure she'll never be a housewife). 
And really, it's not like Wednesday loves you or anything. But Wednesday has once felt enough to kiss a boy (who turned out to be a serial killer), and when she thinks of Enid, Eugene, and Xavier, she does feel like she has a strange little group to call a family of her own. She begrudgingly accepts Bianca to something like a distant, irritating cousin.
You piqued her curiosity very early on with your unintrusive smiles and waves. Now, you had an enigmatic background and a perhaps sense of self-preservation to remain distant. But it was too late. 
Wednesday desires mystery, and she desires you. 
They're not mutually exclusive.
⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷†⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷
Blood drips down from Wednesday's cheek. She touches her finger to the cut and looks at it curiously.
"You're distracted, Addams." 
Wednesday looks back to Bianca, who somehow manages to look both smug and concerned. While being beaten by Bianca again still leaves the feeling of self-pity, her rage is directed at herself. 
"And yet, you barely managed to defeat me," Wednesday drawls. 
"Well, pull your head out of the dark, gray clouds and focus so I can put you in your place again without your excuses," Bianca shoots back without hesitation. 
Wednesday starts to move into position when the coach halts it and tells her to go to the infirmary to take care of her cut. Clenching her jaw, Wednesday puts her equipment away and leaves the room. 
The cut stings, and Wednesday knows it was her own fault that Bianca cut her too deep. She was distracted. She has been lately ever since her realization that if she wanted to close the distance, she would have to be the one to intrude in your space. 
The problem was that Wednesday only knew how to intrude into someone's space when she was suspicious they were a serial killer—accusing and without permission. 
And thus, Wednesday has been afflicted with hypothetical conversations her brain refused to stop producing. It was costing her sleep, and now the victories that should belong to her. 
"Wednesday!" 
Turning around, Wednesday sees Enid skipping her way down toward her. The blonde frowns when she glances at Wednesday's cheek and pulls out a white handkerchief. It’s the only colorless fabric she owns. "Fencing?"
Wednesday nods, accepting the cloth as she dabs it against her face, wiping at her jaw where it dripped.
"Lose?" Enid winces in pain. 
A dark look crosses Wednesday's face, and Enid quickly changes the subject. 
"Are you excited for parents' weekend?" Enid asks. "I'm surprised Principal Weems has made it so early in the year. I hear she's making changes so parents visit once at the beginning of the year and once at the end of the year."
"If by excited you mean begrudgingly accepted it, yes," Wednesday monotones.
"But it'll be interesting to see who the fairy godmother's parents will be, right?" Enid rocks on her toes in anticipation. "I heard her dad is, like, a high lord or something."
The comment does spark interest in Wednesday. She is curious about the two people who had loved you so much that they took you out of isolation and parted ways with you in this safe haven. 
Assuming that they could visit you, anyway.
"That's also a witless sobriquet," Wednesday comments absentmindedly.
Enid only huffs. 
"Enid," Wednesday calls evenly.
"Hm?"
"How—why—" Wednesday takes a deep breath as her eyes close for a moment. When she opens them, she finds Enid staring at her curiously with an amused smile. Wednesday knows it was because she’s never this inarticulate, but Enid is gracious enough to not say anything about it and waits patiently for her to gather her thoughts. 
As patiently as she can, it seems.
"Not to rush you, but you should probably hurry on and say whatever it is you want to say so you can get on to the infirmary. The cut is starting to soak through my handkerchief," Enid gently pushes. 
Wednesday grinds her teeth for a second before sighing through her nose lightly. 
"How did you decide on how you wanted to be closer to me?" Wednesday asks, leaving as much emotion out of her tone as possible but cringing at her sentence. "Especially since it was obvious I wanted to keep my distance."
Enid's lip twitches, and Wednesday already regrets asking, but before she can turn around and leave, Enid answers. "Well, in your case, I think it was easier for me to tell you didn't really want to be alone, so I didn't ask."
Wednesday makes a vague face of disgust while Enid continues on. 
"But in your case," Enid stresses, smirking at Wednesday's unblinking face. "I think you should ask to do something together to be closer."
Wednesday's eyes flicker as she processes Enid's words. The memory of Tyler's efforts to take her to the catacomb, how he set up lights, and a movie pops into her mind. 
"Like a date," Wednesday says slowly, and horrification begins to set in.
"Er, I think that's a little too advanced for you," Enid cuts in quickly. "Maybe just try to find a way to spend more time together casually but consistently."
Enid looks at her watch. "Oh, I gotta go. Yoko and I need to start planning for the boat race this year." With that, Enid happily skips down the hallway. She turns around once and yells, "Oh, don't forget to wash the blood out of my handkerchief. I trust you'll know how to do that!"
Wednesday nods before she continues on her way to the infirmary. When she enters, she sees Weems talking to someone sitting on a cot behind the curtains. 
"I'm happy you've found a friend to help you, but I'm concerned—" Weems stops as soon as she sees Wednesday, frowning as she sees the cut and then sighs, "Coach Vlad had told me you and Bianca frequently spared without your helmets. I had hoped he was joking."
The curtains suddenly opened, and Wednesday wasn’t surprised. She could tell it was you by your silhouette. 
Immediately the hypothetical conversations she's been creating pops into her mind again.
"Hi, Wednesday," you smile with a short wave before you eye her cut. "Hope the other person looks worse off."
Weems clicks her tongue in disapproval, but Wednesday's lip twitches upward slightly. 
The principal is about to say something else when a small, lanky boy walks in. He clutches his wrist, but Wednesday can’t make out his feature with his overgrown fringe covering his eyes. He seems to see just fine, though, as his posture stiffens at the sight of you.
"O-Oh, F-Fae," he starts to say but then stutters. "No, sorry, I-I mean—"
"It's fine," you wave away his attempt at saying your name. "Did you hurt yourself in psychitect?"
He nods.
"I suppose I should go find the nurse. She went down to the cafeteria for a quick snack," Weems says before she looks at you. "We'll finish our conversation later."
"It's fine," you wave it off. "I can help Wednesday. We’ll be gone before you’re back."
Weems purses her lips in disapproval, but you just give her a look back. Sighing, Weems nods before she turns to walk out. "Glad to see you fitting in more this year, Wednesday. It's pleasant to see you in my office less."
"It's too early in the year still," Wednesday haughtily replies, eyes trailing Weems as she leaves the room. 
"Come along, Henry."
Once alone, Wednesday's eyes trail to you. 
"Well, take a seat," you stand up and gesture to the cot near her as you rummage through the cabinets. 
"I can do it myself."
"I'm sure you can," you absently say as you move bottles back and forth in search of something. When you find it, you turn around with a lopsided smile. "But I assure you I can do it better."
Wednesday only raises her eyes challengingly but sits down as you sit on the stool and roll over to her. She sits primly with her back straight as a rod when you come closer and closer. To allow your proximity, Wednesday has to open her legs for you to come between, being the one wearing pants. 
"Pretty nasty cut," you mumble, and Wednesday can smell grape lollipops. 
"I've had worse."
"Bragging, I see," you smirk as you put on gloves and use tweezers to soak a gauze pad in saline solution. "Xavier did tell me you took an arrow for him once."
"Xavier has an abnormally large mouth," Wednesday speaks tersely with a furrow of her brows. When you gently dab the soaked gauze pad on her cheek, it doesn’t sting, but Wednesday clenches her fists closed with your face so close. 
"I think he was bragging," you continue to dab. "Enid and Eugene have similar anecdotes. Thing, as well."
Wednesday huffs while you merely grin lightly. 
Enid's words and Wednesday's haunted hypotheticals were plaguing her again. 
"What were you and Weems talking about?" Wednesday asks to redirect the conversation. She had been curious since she walked in, as it seemed like a rather serious conversation. 
The thoughts aren’t going away.
"She was checking in after I told the nurse I had a friend to help me apply the medicine, and I'd only come in to do monthly examinations or if something serious happened."
Sometimes Wednesday isn’t used to people answering her questions so quickly and without pretense. She’s used to them being defensive. 
'Thing shouldn't be applying your medicine.' Wednesday clenches her jaw, refusing to let the thought slip out of her mouth. With you in sight, her mind refuses to stop the compulsive hypothetical conversations.
"I see," Wednesday says slowly. "And why is Weems so particularly concerned?"
"She's my legal guardian," you answer straightforwardly, inspecting Wednesday's wound as the bleeding slows. 
The sudden new information makes Wednesday blink. 
'If you use your brain and think about it, Thing is a disembodied hand with stitches all over. Do you think that's sanitary? Forget the fact that Thing is vain and does well in washing his hand and moisturizes.'
You put down the tweezers and take off the gloves. Lifting your fingertips, you hover them over the cut. Wednesday watches as you concentrate before warmth and tiny little firefly-like lights seeps onto her cheek. 
When it’s over, the sting of the cut is gone. Wednesday lifts her hand to touch her cheek and feels a thin bump of her skin scarred over. 
'I understand your need for secrecy. I've been told I lack regard for others’ safety but I have no intentions of being the reason for your untimely death.'
You turn to grab a tub of cream and unscrew the lid. "It's not exactly perfect, but better than the usual way," you say as if apologizing. "I'll get better at it as my wings heal."
"Your powers are linked to your wings?"
'And of course, I understand you don't prefer the nurse's care. Her touch is indelicate and I imagine your wings are sensitive.'
You hum and say quietly, "A lot of it, yes. Our wings are embedded into our backs and take root inside our bodies. It's why we usually die without our wings."
"And Weems is your guardian?" 
You nod. "Yes. As you know faeries stay in isolation, and faeries with my wings are...outcasts," you smirk. "My parents can't look after me like regular parents do because the more in contact with me they are, the more it exposes my location."
It makes sense. Whoever had done such abominable things to your wings should stay far, far away—lest they want Wednesday to find a way to paralyze them without taking their wings. 
Still.
Wednesday studies your face as you apply the scarring cream. Your parents must've been heartbroken and scared witless to take you out of isolation and have Weems take over guardianship. 
'As such, I must take responsibility for Thing and offer to take his place in applying your medication. This is an acceptable trade, is it not?'
"Your parents must've adored you so," Wednesday comments. She can certainly relate to that as she internally rolls her eyes at the thought of her own parents. 
You finish applying the cream, and Wednesday has had enough of the repetitive one-sided conversation in her head. It was going to drive her crazy—and not the respectable kind. 
But just as Wednesday opens her mouth to get it over with, her words die on her tongue when you look at her.
It was the same smile as that night, the one that made Wednesday's throat burn with utter defeat.
You must miss them. 
"Yes, I suppose they did."
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Wednesday lies in bed, staring at the ceiling, and the incessant noise of Enid's snoring is somehow amplifying her thoughts.
This. Is. Inconceivable. 
The thing with Wednesday is that she had an obsessive personality. That's why solving mysteries is such a good pastime for her. 
The only problem is when the mystery hasn't been solved, and she is left alone with the agonizing cliffhanger. 
What if the words hadn't died on her tongue? 
What if she had said them anyway, despite your smile that seemed to make Wednesday miserable. 
But the truth of the matter is that she didn't, and now, she is stuck in bed coming up with new hypothetical conversations that revolve around one matter.
'Thing is indisposed.'
'I'm offering my company and assistance. Thing may stay as an additional conversationalist.'
'Surely, you must have more to say to me daily than greeting me.'
'Thing has questionable scalpel skills; therefore, I believe he's been applying your medication inaccurately. I can't have your wings—your life source—healing poorly on my hands.'
This is all Enid's fault, Wednesday determines. She turns her head to watch her peacefully, blissfully ignorant sleeping roommate. 
Maybe she should come through with the threat of smothering Enid with a pillow. But in the end, Wednesday turns her head back to the ceiling. 
It’s then that Thing opens the door and scuttles across the room in haste. She sits up as he climbs up onto her bed and pulls at her blanket.
"What is it, Thing?" Wednesday frowns.
Thing begins signing and tapping.
"Speak clearly, Thing. You're skipping words."
Thing taps frustratedly but slows down.
"Someone…slapped…back today?" Wednesday raises her brow but then frowns deeper. "It opened a wound up...and you can't fix it yourself? Need help...now?"
Thing taps multiple times to signify that is correct. Immediately, Wednesday gets out of bed and grabs her sweater. 
"Where is she? Her room or her studio?" Wednesday asks as she shoves on her shoes, and Thing climbs onto her shoulder.
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When Wednesday arrives at your studio, following the same sequence she did weeks ago, she finds you fallen on the ground, your wings just barely over your shoulder as you hold yourself up by your elbows.
Blood drips down and soaks your feathers, somehow making obsidian look even darker. 
Wednesday walks up quickly and crouches beside you, and you barely notice her until she speaks. "Who did this to you? I want their name." She seethes.
"It was...an accident," you raggedly breathe. "She didn't know. Meant to be a friendly goodnight clap on the back."
But that doesn’t soothe Wednesday at all. Not when the back of your dress shirt is dredged in so much blood that there isn’t even a spot of white left, and your right wing twitching in obvious pain.
"What can I do?" Wednesday demands, but there was a softness to it that is almost desperation. 
You swallow. "I—I need you to move my wing over my shoulder more—until I can reach the cut to seal it." You screw your eyea shut. "I can't move it on my own."
Wednesday nods. She carefully reaches out to touch your wing.
It is velvety.
Wednesday imagines it would've been more magnificent to the touch had your feathers not been weighed down and saturated by blood. 
As Wednesday begins to spread your wing up and over, your breath hitches sharply.
Wednesday stops.
"Don't stop," you grit your teeth, taking in ragged breaths. "It hurts the longer you drag it out. Just—be gentle."
Gentle is not often used to describe Wednesday. She’s sharp and jagged, like broken glass. That's probably why she still plans to discover who did this to you and slowly butcher them—accident or not—as she carefully keeps moving your wing.
When it’s finally close enough for you to reach, Wednesday watches you use healing magic for the second time that day. You slump onto the grass, exhausted. 
Thing grabs Wednesday's attention to the pile of towels neatly folded in a tree's hollow trunk. She finds a set of spare clothing and grabs those along with the towels. 
"Is the pond water sterile?"
You nod with your eyes shut.
Wednesday places the shirt next to you and then turns to the pond, and sticks her hand in to find it was lukewarm before she soaks one of the towels.
“Change into this clean shirt for now,” Wednesday orders you but her tone lacks the usual bite. She wrings the towel and passes it to Thing. “Help her wipe the blood on her back. Turn around as she changes,” Wednesday warns Thing.
Wednesday turns away and keeps her focus on the pond, soaking the next towel. Thing taps her leg when they’re done. You look extra tired from having to change shirts but it was better than letting your bloody shirt make you sticky and then crust over before you could shower. You seem to realize it yourself as you make an effort to keep your dirty wings from soaking your shirt again.
When she returns to you, Wednesday cleans the blood out of your feathers gently but thoroughly. When she uses her fingers to brush aside some of the feathers, your wings trill. 
"Tickles," you mumble. 
Wednesday doesn’t comment as she continues until the blood is washed out and properly dried. Thing hands her the ointment you use and begins to apply the salve with precision. 
It’s quiet.
Peaceful.
Wednesday feels the tension in her shoulders leave now that you are fine and she is here. 
All those hypothetical thoughts and conversations flew right out of her head.
"I will apply this for you from now on."
You open one eye to peek at Wednesday, and she stares back at you as if to challenge her. You close your eye again and nod.
"Thanks for your services, Thing," you mumble tiredly. "Your severance package will be a bottle of dew drops."
PART FOUR
2K notes · View notes
the0racl30fd3lphi · 1 year
Text
More than friends, less than lovers. x.t
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pairing: xavier thorpe x gn!reader
summary: the whole hyde ordeal has faded slowly in the background as life carried on, the student body ready to grasp onto some new drama. luckily for them, a love triangle is exactly what they needed to fuel the gossip.
warnings: fluff, angst, love triangle (kinda)
a/n: y'all this idea literally came to me at 4 in the morning so please bear with me (as i also wrote it at the ass crack of dawn) i am so obsessed with percy and xavier and wanted to write this desperately, he is all i can think about.
word count: 1,727
part 2 part 3
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You hated this. This, stage, between what you were and what you could be. Xavier was your best friend. He always had been, truth be told. Yet as soon as he broke up with Bianca your relationship had a shift. Suddenly somethings had a deeper connotation, a hidden meaning. You didn’t hate it. In fact, this was exactly what you had been waiting for for years. Until She came along.
You didn’t hate Wednesday, unfortunately. She had done nothing to spark your anger. It wasn’t like she was purposely making Xavier adore her. It looked like she would rather be without it, being honest. But did it annoy the hell out of you that he was so enamored with her so quickly, when she did nothing to give the idea that she would reciprocate? And yet he seemed to not want to give up on her? While simultaneously leading you on, making you believe you might have a romantic future with him? And being oblivious to the pain it caused? It was the only thing you ever thought about.
Genuinely, you wondered how he could still be so obsessed with her to buy her a phone, after she wrongfully got him imprisoned. If that wasn’t a walking red flag you didn’t know what was.
You and Xavier had stayed close throughout this internal turmoil you went through. It hurt like a bitch, but you’d be damned if you lost him over a girl he liked. Suppressing your feelings wasn’t anything you were stranger to, there were other ways to get out your thoughts.
Something you did often, that you’d never tell him was how frequently you abused mimicking his ability. At first he had found it interesting and expressed he had no problem with you copying his habits. But if he knew what you used it for he’d probably be mad.
Each night, after leaving his dorm and sneaking back into yours, you drew a photo from that day. What he looked like when he smiled. How he laughed. Taking into extreme detail his face, scrunched, while watching a show together. Though you weren’t really watching the show so much as watching him.
You kept these drawings in a box, under your bed, all the way in the back. It was hidden enough to never be seen or touched by anyone. So you used the late Rowan’s telekinesis ability to bring it out and put it back. Was this a healthy coping mechanism? Oh not at all, seeing as some drawings that originated from the latest of nights and most intimate moments, would have made Wednesday blush. Of course it's all innocent, right up until you put it down on paper.
"Drawing lover boy again?" Your best friend Val, barked at you from across the room.
"Lover boy? That's a new one," you softly put the new drawing of him in the box, and back under your bed in the furthest corner. "Not such an accurate name this time, you're losing your touch my friend."
"Well you wish it was, so close enough in my book," She shrugs and jumps onto your bed.
"Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades," you pull your laptop on your lap, and press play on your favorite show to watch together.
"You sound like your father," She gags and you playfully slap her arm before shushing her and cuddling into her side.
——————————————————————————
It was lunch the next day, you had a free period the class before so you were waiting for Xavier to show up at your usual bench in the quad. He was taking a little bit longer than normal so you started early on your homework.
"If it isn't Xavier's little girl," she paused. "friend."
"Bye Bianca," you waved and put the volume up on your phone.
“Where is he this time? With Wednesday maybe?" she crossed her arms and smiled maliciously. "It's already started!" She laughed.
You tried to mind your business, she only ever wants to cause problems and you know this. "What's started?" you kept your eyes on your work, putting the volume lower to hear her better.
“He's bored of you. Just like when he got bored of me and you two got closer? He's onto Wednesday now, and done with you." She raised her eyebrows and put on an innocent doe-eyed look. "Well, anyway, have a good lunch!"
She walked away and went back to her friends. You didn't want to believe it. Would Xavier really replace you with Wednesday? He couldn't, he wouldn't. Even when he was dating Bianca, sure you hung out less, but you were still in his life. She was just trying to get in your head right?
“Sorry I'm late, got a little held up in class," He put his stuff down next to him and grabbed some food from the lunch you packed for the two of you. Cooking had become a stress habit for you, so nightly you sneak into the kitchens and prepare something for the next day.
“What kept you?" You put your stuff in your bag and grabbed a snack from the pile.
"Class, I said that didn't I?" He talked through a mouthful of food.
“Yeah but, what kept you? The teacher? Extra work?” you tried to press while eating your half of the lunch.
“Uh, just some extra credit work, wanna bring my grade up you know?” His answer was strained, and his eyes looked anywhere but at yours. So you followed his gaze, to Wednesday.
“Yeah, for sure,” You mumbled and went back to eating. Even if you wanted to escape him for another hour, to try and calm the thoughts in your head, you couldn’t. You two had the same class next period and you always walked together.
——————————————————————————
The day felt strained, any conversation with Xavier fell off track and eventually died out too soon. It’d been too long since this pattern started. Ever since she came to Nevermore, things slowly got worse between you two. You weren’t as close as before and it killed you.
So like every night, afraid to break habit, you snuck out of Xavier’s dorm to hang out. Right before you were going to knock on the door you heard two hushed voices in the room.
“You can’t keep doing this Xavier, you’re hurting her.” a voice pressed him for answers, sounding upset.
“We’re fine, Ajax.” Xavier fought back, offended anyone would accuse him of doing anything to hurt you.
“How dense are you that everyone can see it, but you?” Ajax stressed the end of his sentence still trying to be quiet.
“See what!” Xavier was getting increasingly agitated.
Your grip on the handle faltered and it wiggled just loud enough for both boys to notice it. Suddenly the door was opening and you smiled sheepishly at Xavier, “Hi.”
“I’m gonna leave,” Ajax looked between the both of you and you moved out of the way for him to exit. He sent one last glance Xavier’s way before he closed the door and went back to his dorm.
“Sorry, did i interrupt anything?” You apologized, still feeling the tense air.
“No,” He ran a hand through his hair in the same manor that always drove you crazy. “Nothing important.”
And just as quick as your conversation, Xavier went to sketching as you made yourself comfortable in his bed with your book. How quickly he could make your heart speed up and then break it felt like a world record now.
——————————————————————————
It’s been two weeks now since you accidentally overheard Xavier’s conversation with Ajax that night. Things hadn’t changed between you two, and you can’t figure out if that’s a good thing or not yet. Val had been pushing you to just confront him about your feelings. She knew letting them simmer inside was doing no one any good.
So on a night similar to that one fateful evening, you mustered up the courage to finally ask him what you meant to each other.
“Hey Xavi,” you asked, leaning slightly to the side now as he turned around from the mural he was painting on his wall to look at you. “What do I mean to you?”
He seemed to freeze, face tinting slightly rosier, whether it was blush or anger you didn’t know yet.
“What do you mean?” He dipped his brush in the cup he used to clean them, going right back to his art. It made you study his face, his posture, before continuing your question.
“I mean, I know what you mean to me. I know what i feel for you,” you felt emboldened by seeing him try and play off his nervousness watching him tense and straighten his back. “But I don’t know what I am to you.”
He paused and blinked, it looked like he was going to say something but he made no move to speak. After two minuets he finally opened his mouth, “Where is this coming from? You’re my best friend, you’re.. I..” He trailed off.
“But it’s more than that. More than friends,” he flushed pink, taking in a large gulp. “But less than lovers.” His grip turned white on the brush as he slumped slightly. Still he made no move to speak, so you turned away and went to collect your things. Nothing was said between you two as you packed up what you brought and slung your bag over your shoulder.
As you slipped out the door and into the shadows, mimicking a poltergeist you had once seen and turning yourself almost completely invisible. No one could even hear you breath and you floated through the halls back your dorm.
And in the faint night hair, before you left the wing his dorm was in, you could’ve sworn you heard him call your name and try to get your attention. But it was futile as you just sped up and got back to your dorm quicker.
Val said nothing as you slumped into your bed, rolling your stuff off the side and curling up with a blanket in your arms. She must’ve been able to infer what happened, and she climbed in next to you to hold you as you silently wept. Not even a shake ran through you as the tears fell. No one could hear the sound of your heart shattering that night.
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biggestsimponhere · 1 year
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angst to smut ask: #7 prompt for angst where the reader is actually the hyde and has been manipulating everyone into thinking it was Tyler. Eventually he takes things into his own hands and ties her up and hatefucking ensues
Hatefucking - Tyler Galpin x reader, OML, THATS A VERY INTERESTING PROMPT 🤭😈 this could easily have an actual angst pt 2 btw.
WARNING - Smut, dom/sub undertones.
You hadn’t meant to throw Tyler under the bus. He was just the easiest. He was there at every attack I mean it makes sense doesn’t it? So as Wednesday continued her hunt you subtly threw hints out about it being Tyler. “Where’d Tyler go after the dance?”, “Why didn’t Tyler follow you into the woods when you went after Rowan?” Of course you liked Tyler it was really such a shame you had to do this to him. Slowly the group started to question Tyler like you had been. You of course knew the truth. He wasn’t the Hyde. You were.
So all that being said. That’s how you ended up here. tied to a bed in what appeared to be an abandoned building. Tyler sat across from you in a chair. “Why’d you do it?” He asked leaning forward. “Do what Ty?” You asked trying to act concerned. You could easily break out of this if you tried. “Stop it, don’t act dumb” He spat, looking away from you. “Ty, I don’t know what you’re talking about, why did you tie me here” You said forcing panic into your voice. “Oh stop it, you manipulative little bitch” He said moving to stand over you. “Oh fine, but it was fun wasn’t it Ty” you said smirking. He just looked away from you, clenching his jaw.
“Oh just admit it Ty, you enjoyed our little game” You said looking up at him. “No I didn’t” he said glaring down at you. “Admit it Ty, you want me, I can smell it, the arousals coming off of you, is it me being tied up?” You laughed as he turned away again. “Enough” he said, his voice firm. “Come here Ty” Clearly the boy didn’t have much willpower cause he did come back. “Shut up” he said looking at you again. “Shut me up” You said smirking again. He leaned down and kissed you. You chased the kiss but he pulled away. “You want me too, don’t you?” He said laughing. “Obviously I want you, why do you think I’m still stuck to this bed?, you think I can’t get out?” You said shaking your head.
“Oh I know you can, I just wanted to see if you would try or not” He said before kissing you again. “Untie me please” You asked as he moved from your lips to your jaw and then to your neck. “No, I quite like having this power over you” he said sucking on your neck. You yanked at your wrists, the rope falling loose off of them. Then you flipped Tyler so he was flat against the mattress with you straddling him. “Power? Over me? That’s really interesting” You said grinding onto him and then watching him chase your hips. “Seems like the only one with power here is me” You said as you sucked on his neck. He went to thread his fingers through your hair before realising his wrists were now tied to the bed. “H-how, when did you do that?” He asked looking at his wrists.
“When I was kissing you, silly, men are so easy” you said pushing your hips against his again. You leaned down and captured his lips with yours again. “Is there something you want honey?, you’ve gotta ask. You know the drill” You continued kissing down his neck till he was breathing heavier. “You gonna ask pretty boy?” You said swiping the hair off his forehead. You quickly removed your clothes before sitting in front of him again. “P-please” He groaned out. “Please what?” You said, making him beg a bit more. “Please touch me, please” He said bucking his hips into your hand. “See that wasn’t so hard, was it?” You said undoing his belt. He was practically a mess beneath you and you’ve barely even touched him.
“Hey what’s your safe word?” He looked up at you confused. “I’m mean, not cruel” you said at his questioning look. “Red” He said as you pulled off his pants. Now that his jeans weren’t constricting him, you could see just how big he was. You bit your lip before pulling his boxers down. “Wait!” He shouted before you could do anything. “Yes?” You said looking up at him expectantly. “I- I wanna eat you out first, please sit on my face” He said making puppy dog eyes at you. “Are you sure? You don’t have to” You said, slightly concerned about crushing him. “Yes I’m sure, god I’ve never been so sure about anything” He said licking his lips. You moved up towards his face. You hovered over his face till he nodded at you. You were now fully seated on his face. He immediately started sucking on your clit.
You bucked your hips against his tongue. He then moved down towards your hole. He stuck his tongue in you feeling how you tightened around him he groaned before continuing to lap at you. You moaned out, bucking against his face. His nose rubbing against your clit making you moan louder. You threaded your hands through his hair as he continued to eat you out. “God!” You moaned out as you came into his mouth. You slid off of his face and back down his hips. You stopped for a second, untying his hands. “Can I suck you off pretty boy?” You asked to which he responded by rapidly nodding. You moved back down to settle in between his legs.
Leaning forward you licked his tip causing him to groan. You then moved your tongue from his tip down to his base and then back up. You took the tip into your mouth, swirling your tongue around it for a minute, before taking him deeper. He put his hand through your hair and pulled it into a makeshift ponytail. You hallowed out your cheeks before taking him deeper. Above you the hand that wasn’t in your hair gripped the sheets as he whimpered. You pulled your hand up to wrap around what you couldn’t fit in your mouth. You continued to suck him off till he couldn’t take your agonisingly slow pace. He gripped your hair a little tighter before fucking into your face.
You just let him chase his orgasm. He came in your mouth shortly after and you sucked him till he had nothing left to give. Then you slid off him with a pop and moved to kiss him again. “Please fuck me, please” he whined as you settled on his hips again. “Since you asked so nicely I suppose I can do that, are you gonna be a good boy for me?” You asked as you lined him up with your entrance. “Yes, yes please” he whimpered as you sank down onto him. It took a few to adjust to his size but eventually you got there. You started bouncing on him before eventually getting tired of doing all the work. “Be a good boy for me and fuck me, I’m sick of doing all the work” You ordered. So he flipped you around till he was on top.
He started his pace up again, and you moaned loudly in his ear. “God, I hate you” you moaned as he continued to pound into you. “Yeah I hate you too” He said moving to suck another hickey onto your neck. “For someone who hates me you sure seem to want to mark me a lot” you groaned as he pounded into you. “Could say the- same to you” he said gripping your hips. Surely tight enough to leave bruises tomorrow. You just moaned as you came around him. He followed shortly after, cumming inside you. He pulled out and laid next to you. “Y-you’re not gonna tell anyone I’m the Hyde right?” You asked looking him in the eyes. “Not until we figure out how to fix it sweetheart” He said brushing a strand of hair out of your face.
You wrapped your arms around him and he pulled you into him. “Goodnight, I love you Ty” you mumbled into his chest. “Goodnight. I love you, sweetheart.” You drifted off to sleep in his arms. He leaned down and kissed your forehead and then whispered “I’m sorry” against your hairline before he injected you with sleeping serum.
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infamous-if · 4 months
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Is MC is canonically immature as well? I always HC mine as being the opposite, because I feel like having shitty parents forces some people to grow up sooner.
MC being treated as an adult by their parents *cough* mom, as a kid, it just seems to make sense that they were sort of an adult as a kid, taking care of themselves once they realized no one was going to help them out, possibly contributing to how MC seems to be more “stoic” in terms of processing their emotions internally.
Of course they could still do and say questionable things because that’s just being human, but I feel like it would counter some of the immaturity amongst the cast. Unless we’re all destined to be train wrecks together?
Not canonically. I would say MC is (at the start) canonically a people-pleaser or non-combative when it comes to the people they love but that's part of their arc. They can be snippy and a general ass to their friends but when it comes down to the wire, MC isn't someone who would go against them. Obviously that can (and will) change as the story progresses. Part of the reason Orion pushes MC to be leader is not only for the band for their own growth.
You're right that shitty parents does force some people to grow up quicker! In the case of ROs like Seven and G, that did the opposite for them but G had the added layer of becoming famous at a very young age so they're kind of frozen in that time. Seven just doesn't know how to regulate and handle their emotions like an adult.
I do think—canonically—MC is more mature than some of the cast. Definitely more mature than Seven and G. More than Rowan and even Iris sometimes. There's no option to act like Seven because I don't see MC acting out that extremely like Seven does (but they can in the future.) And in the narrative, even if MC is getting wild or doing something they know they shouldn't be doing, they're reasonable enough to acknowledge that. They have a level of self-awareness I don't think Seven or G possess right now. Not even Victoria at some points.
The maturity and the trainwreckness are not mutually exclusive though ha! But as the story progresses, MC can definitely start becoming more immature or more mature based on where you guys decide to take them! So yes and no?
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Text
Xavier Thorpe - Take my hands
Warnings: Mention of burial, dark humor(like at one place), overall fluff, scratches
Words: 1.8k
GN PRONOUNS
Trope/Context: Reader is antisocial, not related to Wednesday Addams, but is the MC (storyline modified), Childhood friends to lovers <3, slowburn (A/N: One of my favorite tropes lmao, enjoy!)
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Black settled into my room. Not the usual morning sunshine.
Rain and clouds.
Ever since I got to this school, nature has been turning darker and darker everyday. My own room, shared with dear Enid feels even more hollow than usual.
“You have to wake up, Y/N!”
“Yes Enid, you could wake up the dead with that perfume you spray on everyday.” I replied snarky.
“Rude.” I watched her get out of the room after I took off the covers from me.
I liked her, maybe it was a secret to anyone in my life, but I do like her. She is nice. Probably the nicest person you could ever meet that doesn’t kill people for fun.
My visions have been more intense recently. Anything I touch makes me afraid that I will discover something about it. It is scary; that pleasant feeling of being touched by a live wire, but not every minute of everyday.
For some obscure reason, I could not get a certain person out of my head.
Not Enid, you may ask, but a certain seer.
Xavier.
It is not for the usual teenage gossip type of thinking. He is my prime suspect as of whom the beast may be. The Hyde. The hidden Jekyll.
Everything about his behaviour, timing, thinking seems to fit so perfectly. Too perfectly.
“Thing. Please write something to you know who. Don’t make it cheesy. Make it brief.”
I turned my head to look at Thing only to ear a thumbs up from him. Well, that may be good enough to talk to a hand.
As I walked to go to class, that darkness felt even more closer. Like it was following me from behind my back. It felt like a tick was tickling my brain, to try and tell me something.
I arrived in class, only to find Xavier sketching something in his book. I approached silently only to find him adding shading to a cello.
My cello.
My instrument.
My brain cannot deal with this right now.
“Hi Y/N, always a pleasure seeing you around.” Xavier turned around, offering me a warm smile. That turned something in a stomach. Good? Bad? Weird?
I’ll take weird.
“Felt inspired by my serenade?” I offered him my signature glare, looking over his shoulder to see his drawing.
“Truly inspiring.” He turned back to his drawing, leaving me behind him.
Those scratches on his neck, so curious. No wonder he is my primary subject.
“Stop glaring and sit down. I don’t bite.” He whispered. I snapped out of my mind, sat down besides him.
“I do like biting.” He looked up from his drawing, my Y/E/C eyes. His beautiful green eyes. He smirked a little bit before Ms. Thornhill started her class.
I don’t know what I was supposed to feel. How I was supposed to feel. Yes, he is my prime suspect but he saved me from Rowan. He was always somewhere, lurking in the shadows. My shadow not longer felt like one.
[Flashback]
“Help! Please someone help!” I heard screams coming from the casket. Hell, did that boy’s godmother come back from hell?
That thing did not sound like a women. More like a boy. I moved around the purgatory only to find a big red button with STOP on it.
“Ridiculous.”  I pressed on it; the coffin stopped its way into the pit of fire. I opened the coffin only to find the boy. We were supposed to play hide and seek.  
“What are you doing in here? This isn’t a place to hide” Xavier looked up at me with weary eyes.
“I thought it was original. Thank you though.” He got out of the coffin, still towering me with his height.
“You lost.” A smirk appeared on my face and we both walked away to back out there.   
[Present, time skip]
I was wondering where Xavier had run to. He always abandons me for some random artistic calling of his. Thing appeared before me, updating me with some desperate news.
He handed me the note I had mention to give to Xavier.
Awn, Y/N Y/L/N has feelings for me.
Cute, though I know Thing wrote that.
Meet me in the cabin. 9 p.m.
Xavier
Weirdly, I felt my heart beat way faster than it normally should. I feel ill, not in a pleasant way, terrible ill way.
“I will end you, Thing.” He apologized immensely before pointing to something around the place.
He pointed the note, which looked like it was covered in some kind of dust. I did not look like dry paint or led dust. Ashes. How thoughtful.
He must know that I am suspicious of him; that I think he is the Hyde.
The darkness settled again, as if it was telling me that I was wrong; that my track was far from where I was headed. I pushed it away, snapped a glace at my clock only to find the time running fast. 8:51 p.m.
I have to go. Hopefully I make it out alive, and sane.
[Xavier’s art studio]
I knocked two times.
I’m hilarious, I’m aware.
“My favorite dead body has arrived!” He almost screamed as he opened the door.
He was wearing a red shirt, hair still damp and sweatpants low on his hips. As much as I hated to admit it, he had some sort of effect on me. I suddenly felt hot, uncomfortable in my own skin. I almost felt a smile creep up on my face.
“Tad bit dramatic.” I snarked, passing through him and the door. “I hope those weren’t you godmother’s ashes you sent.” His clean and fresh scent filled my head. Comforting.
He turned to me, closing the door behind him. He leaned on the door frame, crossed his thin long arms around his chest.
“Maybe, maybe not.” He looked at me dead in the eye. “What did you want to talk about?” The paintings surrounding me were dark and were all filled with the Hyde’s face. I had never actually been in here before but he caught me trying to get in.
“What is it of the Hyde that captivates you so, Xavier?” I turned around every wall to have a better look at his artistry.  
“I keep having dreams about it. The only way I can get it out is by drawing it, even if it ends up with me getting scratched by my own drawing.” I snapped around to look at him rubbing his neck. There were three long scratches along it. I had noticed.
“Do they hurt?” Is a question I never thought I would’ve asked in my entire life. He tilted his head, approached me softly. He towered me even more than I would’ve thought.
He bent down to whisper in my ear. “Why aren’t you asking if I did this to myself?” He bent a little; looking at me dead in the eye.
“You have no reason to do this to yourself. I know you.” His gaze softened.
“You don’t think I’m the Hyde, then?” Shoot. He figured it out.
He stayed right where he was and I did not give him the satisfaction of fear or yet defeat in my eyes.
“Prove me you're not the Hyde, Xavier. Tell me I’m wrong.” I almost pleated, blinking endlessly.
“How can I prove this to you, Y/N? You are stubborn yet so deep into your theories.”
“Where were you when Eugene was attacked? If you tell me, you were here, and not wondering in the middle of the forest, I will believe you and drop this.” I sighted. “Please, tell me you weren’t out there.”
He stared almost blankly into my eyes. He stood up straight, passed his hands into his long hair and turned back to face me. “Take my hands, seek your answers.”
I could tell he was disappointed that I had asked him that. I dropped my bag on the floor, approaching him as slowly as he was.
His touch felt comforting and warm against my feverish skin. My head pulled back as I felt myself going under.
I woke up only to find Xavier hold me in his lap, passing his fingers in my hair softly, still holding one of my hands with his.
“Did you get your answers?” I nodded, proving to myself that he was not the Hyde.
“I’m… I’m sorry I doubted you. I shouldn’t have. You were the only person loyal to me, maybe except Thing.” I sat up from his lap, looking at him, both of us sitting on the floor of his Art space.
“Don’t be. We aren’t ten anymore. You know I’m innocent and I would’ve never, on my godmother’s grave have hurt all of those people and I think you may know that better than anyone.” Thunder roared behind us, I still felt his hand on mine but I did not pull away.
His Adam’s apple bobbed down a couple of times, as he looked at me deeply in the eyes.
“What did Thing tell you, in the note?” I nervously swallowed, his presence making me feel like a hormonal teenager.
“He told me that you, missy, have the biggest crush on me but is way too shy and antisocial to tell me. Is that true?” He tilted his head a little, making his hair brush his cheek.
I felt my own heart rush out of my chest. Thing was not lying.
“Thing isn’t lying.” I whispered lowly, tilting my head down. He reached his hand to tilt it back towards him.
As we were still close, he bent down to reach my ear, breathed in, and out making shivers run down my back.
“I hope you liked my godmother’s ashes or shall I say charcoal powder in the reply note.” He paused. I smirked slightly against his fiery skin.
“I like you too, Y/N.” He didn’t pull away but tilted my head once again towards him; making me look at his lips, green eyes, soft yet strong features.
I breathed shakily and leaned towards him. I felt his lips brush my own before he softly placed his lips upon mine. Electricity ran through me, with the satisfying after burn which was my heart heating up.
The darkness I had felt slowly pulled away, leaving my soul, and leaving at a certain state of peace.
His hand was soft against the skin of my cheeks, his lips soft yet delicate and passionate felt incredible on mine. He pulled away only to do it again, and again, and again.
I pulled away after a few second, feeling my heart flying like a hummingbird. “Not so bad?”
“Not bad at all, incredible if I must.” His gaze lightened, as he pulled me to kiss him again.
Two teenagers kissing on the floor of an art studio, two childhood best friends turned into…
Lovers.  
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