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#she also told me that m:ax is ‘yucky’ because he’s a boy
writeandsurvive · 6 months
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Author's note: just a little Gibbs idea I've had in mind. Maybe I'll get back to writing for him more... :) maybe it's because I'm binging NCIS from the beginning again. I tried to keep it as gender neutral as possible, hope I did well. Also, it's not proofread and I'm not a native English speaker.
Summary: you're babysitting your brother's twins by yourself and ends up calling for help.
Warnings: age gap, I guess?, talk of near death experience, taking care of babies, reader not wanting kids, siblings banter
Babysitting ~ Leroy Jethro Gibbs
"Are you sure you're up for this?"
"Seriously? It's the fourth time you're asking. We're gonna be just fine!" You reassured your brother, as you're sitting on the play mat your ten months old nephew and niece. If you were completely honest, you were a bit anxious about babysitting the twins all by yourself as it was the first time. But you couldn't let your brother know that, as he was already struggling to leave.
"All you have to do is feed them, change their diapers at some point and put them to bed." He got down to pick up his daughter, finally saying goodbye.
"I promise they will be alive and in one piece when you come back. Hopefully, tomorrow morning." You grinned at him before grabbing your nephew and gentle holding him on his feet. "Now go daddy, have fun." You said with a baby voice, like it was your little dude saying it. After one more kiss to his girl, he put her down and did the same with his son.
"It's just a work thing." He told you for the umpteenth time.
"Yeah, but the beautiful single mom from your office will be there."
"She left just a month ago. I'm so not ready to jump into anything." He couldn't bring himself to say the name of his wife and mother of his children. One day, she just decided that being a mom and a wife wasn't for her and she took off. Which is why you were babysitting that night.
"Don't jump into anything, just jump on her."
"On those elegant words, I'm out. Bye babies, I love you!" He sent them kisses as he was walking towards the door. "What are you doing?" He asked when he noticed you were following.
"Going to a party of course!"
"Don't leave them out of your sight! Even for one second!" He scolded.
"They are on their mat, playing!"
"And your niece is starting to crawl!"
"Just leave and bang someone."
"And you wonder why you're still single..."
He finally left but not without holding his shoulder after you punched him.
"Okay babies! We can do this, right?"
Turned out, you couldn't. Or at least, it wasn't going as smoothly as you thought it would. Shortly after your brother left, your niece started to cry her heart out, wondering why daddy wasn't there, for sure. Then, your nephew decided that he wasn't going to eat. The food didn't seem yucky to you but it was to him, and he thought throwing around and at you was funny. So did your niece. By this time, your brother had already texted you twice and you obviously lied. The little boy being covered in soft food, you decided to give them both a bath, hoping it'd tired them a bit. But they both were very much against the baby shower gel, and your niece pooped in the tub. Which made everyone almost throw up.
After a (very) long struggle, they were finally in their PJs, clean and ready for bed. You thought a break was coming, but your niece had a meltdown. Which caused your nephew to have one too. You didn't know what was wrong, you tried everything you could to calm them both but nothing was working. You contemplated calling your brother several times, but it was his first night out since she left and you didn't want to ruin it for him. After over an hour of struggle, you did call someone.
"Gibbs," he answered.
"How much do you love me?" You immediately asked over the crying. You barely heard him chuckle.
"I'm on my way."
"Thank you, thank you, thank you! I owe you one!"
You didn't know how long it took your team leader to show up at your brother's house. But somehow, as you were trying to soothe the twins on your brother's bed, you felt a presence behind you. "How did you get in? You know what, I don't care. Help me, please, I don't know what to do."
Whether or not the twins noticed that there was someone else in the room, they weren't stopping. Gibbs got closer to you, look down at the twins. "First, you're gonna take a deep breath."
"They are crying bloody murder!" You exclaimed.
"The more frustrated and anxious you get, the more they'll cry." You felt his hand on your shoulder and his gentle squeeze. You closed your eyes, tried to block the noises and took a deep breath.
"Now, are they fed? Changed?"
You wanted to give him a snarky comment as you always do, but didn't have the patience for it. So you just said yes.
He grabbed your niece into his arms, "Grab this little guy and do what I'm doing." You followed his instructions. Holding and bouncing your little man a certain way. After the eventful evening, you almost missed how incredible Gibbs looked with a baby in his arms, how gentle and soft he was. Such a natural. You nearly stopped everything when you heard him starting to sing a lullaby. It was quiet and you could barely hear him above the crying. That's when you realized that only your nephew was still crying. "You stopped." He warned you. "Don't get frustrated, hon. Sing to him."
You took another deep breath and did as told. Slowly, your nephew was calming down. It was magic.
"Lead the way to their bedroom." He whispered.
He put down in the little girl in her crib, and helped you putting down the baby boy, as he noticed you were too scared of waking him up. You stayed there for a moment, silently looking down at them, Gibbs right next to you.
"It's official, I do not want kids."
Gibbs chuckled and slid his hand in the back of your neck, bringing you to him so he could kiss your hair. You took the opportunity to go for a hug and he gently returned it. It suddenly became much easier to breathe.
"Is the baby monitor on?"
You checked, and grabbed the part you were supposed to keep with you.
"I need to change." You said after leaving the bedroom.
"You can take a shower."
"Do I look that bad?"
"You look like you need to relax."
"True. Will you be there when I get out?"
"Yes, give me the monitor." You did and felt shivers all over your body as his long fingers brushed against yours.
"Grab anything you want from the fridge. I'll be quick."
"No rush."
It was one of the most amazing shower you've ever had.
You knew you didn't want to have children most of your adult life, but it just got confirmed. You didn't want this to be your daily life. You loved kids, and you loved the twins more than anything in the world, but you didn't need one of your own.
When you reached the kitchen, it was sparkling clean. The big mess from dinner was gone. The toys were put away. Gibbs had his back turned to you as he was doing the dishes. "I don't know if I want to scold you or kiss you." You regretted the last words as soon as they got out.
Gibbs looked at you over his shoulder with a smile. "You're welcome."
"Seriously, you didn't have to!"
"No problem! You accepted to babysit twins after the crappy days we've had at work."
"Yeah," you sighed, remembering the awful case the team dealt with and only closed a few hours ago.
"How you feeling?" He asked, turning off the water and drying off his hands.
"How you feeling?" You retorted, earning a shy smirk from Gibbs.
"I'm fine." He reassured you, or at least, tried.
You got closer to him, grabbing the hand towel for him to put it away, and locked eyes with this man you've been in love with for a very long time. "You almost got killed, Gibbs." You said barely above a whisper.
"It comes with the job." He just said.
"Doesn't make it okay when it's such a close call." You could see the scene again. The bullet rushing so close to his head. A few centimeters to the left and Gibbs wouldn't be anymore. That thought hurt. It scared you more than anything else. And you couldn't control the tears forming in your eyes.
"I'm okay." He said one more time, knowing that you needed to hear it. So did he.
You felt his arms slowly wrapping around you, and before you knew it, your face was buried in his neck, as you inhaled his unique scent deeply. You held onto him tightly. "I can't lose you. Not you. Ever."
But you would, one day. Him being older than you, you knew that and Gibbs definitely knew it too. Which is why he never acted on his attraction and feelings for you. He knew you were feeling the same, he knew you were in love with him - even though he couldn't understand why or how. He could easily have given in, and enjoy whatever moments with you. But he refused. He couldn't do that to you, nor to himself. Everyday in this job, he could lose you too. That bullet could've been for you and not miss. Losing Shannon - and Kelly - was the hardest thing he's ever had to go through, and he couldn't bare the idea of losing another partner, especially you.
Which was why he tried to get you to leave NCIS several in the past few years. At first, it was pointing out how this job sucks - he loves it but he's a bit of masochist -, how you'd be better off doing something safe. Then it was introducing you to someone who had move on from this job and never felt better. And lately, it was asking Vance to find you a desk job you would actually enjoy. But nothing worked. You were still there, by his side, in harm's way.
Would it hurt to give in just this once? He wondered as he felt you clutching onto him. You fitted so perfectly in his arms, you smelled so good. You were showing your vulnerability, which you rarely do, with anyone and Gibbs found it very appealing.
He was looking down at you, you were looking up. He could lean in a few inches and his lips would reach yours. He started to, very slowly. But before it happened, your phone went off. You rushed to it, not to answer but mostly to shut it down, after it would wake up the twins, despite them being upstairs.
"Seriously!" You said after picking up.
"Just wanted to check in. Are they safely in bed?" You rolled your eyes.
"Of course not, I told you we were having a party. Can't you hear the music? Do they prefer scotch or bourbon?" You saw Gibbs smiling.
"You suck."
"So do you. Go back, and enjoy your night out, idiot."
"Hey, wait. Are you--sure it's not too soon for me?"
"She left, bro. Screw her. Whether it's a one time thing or more, as long as you're happy with it, just go for it. You deserve some fun."
"Says you, who can't move on from her boss, even though nothing ever happened. I mean, I tried to introduce you to some nice pe--" you hung up before he could finish. You knew Gibbs hear the entire thing.
"I'm, uh, gonna check on the twins."
But he held you back. "They are fine." He whispered.
"You already knew, didn't you?" You could look into his magnificent blue eyes. "That's why you've been trying to get rid of me?"
He sighed and brought you closer. His nose in your hair, his lips against your forehead. "I can't lose you either." He whispered, returning the vulnerability you showed earlier.
Hearing those words, you didn't think twice. You lifted your head up and crashed your lips on his. Gibbs didn't have the strength nor will to fight it. He intensified the kiss quickly, backing you up against the wall, where it happened for the very first time.
First of many.
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deadmomjokes · 2 months
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For anyone interested, following up on that preschool dance time incident, I have finally put together a playlist of my child's (current) favorite songs.
I have, over past few months of building this list and in the past few days of pruning it of old tracks she's not into anymore, asked her the name of each song, the artist, and what she thinks about it. These are her responses.
Time of your life by the band singer called Greeeeeeen Day SHHH NO DON'T TALK THAT'S MY SONG I WANNA HEAR IT!!! *sings along with shocking accuracy*
Middle by Jimmy in the World I think maybe it's about a roller coaster, and you have to be patient too. 'Cause see, it says "It just takes some time," so now you have to wait, and be patient.
PAIN by 'Magine Dragons I'm a freight train named PAIN! So this is my song. ^_^
Gimme that Fire OOOOOOEEEOOOO by.... um... i don't know this guy You know, you should not touch fire, it's HOT. Also, don't say gimme, you can say please, that's more polite.
Polaroid by 'Magine Dragons *too busy singing along to offer commentary*
Here Comes the Sun doo-doo-doo-doo by I don't know, that's a singer but probably I don't know their name I think that's about how it's okay, so don't worry. See? 'It's alright.' So it's alright!
It's the Hotdog Song! by It's Green Day too! This one is really called Polly Anna, but its picture is a hotdog on the music website on the computer, so it makes me think of hotdogs. I think this one is for being optimistic! *thumbs up* YEAH!
Record Player by Um.... It's the guys that sing it, and a girl sings it too What is a record player? Why did she dyed her hair green? 🤔 Oh, he says he's in the elevator, I like to go on elevators too. 😊
Be Careful by I don't know who sings that, I just like it because it says "be careful," and it's good to be careful. It's a dramatic song, so you have to do a dramatic dance. Like BALLET. *the most dramatic ballet dancing you've ever seen*
BONES by That's 'Magine Dragons, too. I think I like 'Magine Dragons a LOT. Magic isn't real, but this is a being determined song. *muscle arms*
I don't know what this one's called, but I think the band is Green Day, because it sounds like that. This one's got the big drums that are really loud, and that's why it's a rock song. I like rock songs, they're DETERMINED.
Am A Mess by A. J. R? He maybe needs a bath if he is messy... [see also] I like that funny whistle sound.
Astronaut in the Ocean (that's a rap song) by *shrug* That's really silly, because astronauts go to space, not the ocean. I think he needs a spaceship instead. Maybe he's lost and that's why he's in the ocean instead of space.
The Stick Song by Um... Mama? Who does sing this one? Stick is not a season-- the seasons are like winter and summer-- but it is a fun song. *proceeds to do a tappy kicky dance* [see also] You should probably not drink alcohol-- some people like to drink it, but it can make you real sick in your brain and your tummy-- so I think he needs juice instead. Maybe his friends will bring some for Christmas.
Shotgun by That guy also sings the other song we heard in the car, and he has a deep voice that is ~calm~ It must be hot where he's going, because he says 'hot sun' a lot. But what does "feelin like a someone" means...? 🤔
Daylight by The Guy Who Sings It It says 'running from the daylight,' but the daylight is just the sun, and you can't run away from the sun because it's all over, so maybe he just likes to stay inside until it is night. Yeah, that's what that means.
Paint the Town Red by Lady Rap Singer There is a part with a rap- a girl rap singer, because most rap singers are boys but she's a girl- and she says UGH like something is yucky. I like that part. But why does she say UGH?
SUNYOOF by ???? It is called SunROOF, but it sounds like he says sunYOOF, so I call it sunyoof. And we have a sunroof in our car, so I like this song in the car the most.
Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift I don't know how the summer is crool, but that's just what it says. [see also] WHAT? Blue is not a shape! *thinks* My body is shaped like arms and legs, not blue....
Liddle Bit of Sunshine by One-Re-Public, that's also who sings the song Counting Stars Mama, when it says SUNSHINE you gotta open the sunroof because it says 'throwing up the shade for a little bit of sunshine," so you gotta let in the sunshine, okay?
Young by Miley Cyrus *also too busy singing along with shocking clarity to make comments*
Antee Heeeero by Taylor Swift I don't know why she says she's a monster on a hill, because she's just a girl.
The one with the deedle-ee-deedle-ee-dee-dee guitar thing by *still busy playing air banjo* I think this one is about being patient, because he says he's gonna wait, and that takes a LONG time. And it has a good harmonies, that's the part where it's like a duet, only lots of guys sing so it goes "ooooooo" together, and then the guitar thingy goes like *kicking and flailing* like that!
I think she's got a future in writing music reviews, js
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bvttoneyes · 1 month
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Vent Post
So yesterday I was sitting with my friends (outside of the event bc it was way too loud) and this older guy comes near us.
My friend Livvy tells me to move but I don't and I stay there. (I should've listened).
Anyway, he starts talking and I'm replying bc he seems nice. Then he starts asking me “do you like spicy books?”
which I reply with ; “um.. idk I don't mind them ig”
then he starts recommending me 21+ books (mind you he knows I'm a minor) and I'm sitting there awkwardly and trying to tell him to shut up without saying it
Then he starts going into detail about what the smut does (HE STARTS GOING INTO DETAIL OF A 18+ PERCY X GODDESS HAREM FANFIC?!?)
and yea.. he also didn't understand the basics of female anatomy, so I had to explain that not all female born bodies are super curvy?? Like that's basic knowledge??
And then he kept talking about smut, kinks and all that shit. I wanted to burst out crying.
He even has the balls to ask me; “what type of body to you prefer on men?”
I answer: “um.. I prefer hugs..”
“Yea but like, super buff or skinny?”
“ummm... scrawny ig?”
“hey I have a scrawny body!” then he lifts up his shirt to reveal his waist—then I add; “i also prefer girls... so..”
he ignores that.
he even asks for my number. “you got Snapchat? discord?”
me; “no sorry.”
“any type of messager??”
me; “youre not getting my number. you're too old for me.”
“only 2 years older!”
okay at least he got the memo on that... But after when I'm huddled up with my friends walking back to school—he follows us.
he starts complaining about this girl he's talking to. mf texted her “dating advice; don't leave a boy in read of 6 hours if you want to keep a boyfriend.”
and she replied with; “i was at school and if I have my phone out I get expelled???? and your not my bf????”
I told him she was right and he rolled his eyes
anyway, he follows me up to my homeroom to grab my bag (cuz he goes to the same one) and he keeps talking about his job and all that.
when I finally got away from him I nearly cried, I had so much yucky feelings around him. (AND IT DIDN'T HELP THAT HE USED TO FOLLOW MY OTHER FRIEND AROUND LAST YEAR)
and during lunch I'm happy I'm smiling again—then he comes near, and stops in front of my group. I'm immediately grab my friend, livvy's hand and rush into the girl's bathroom and we wait until he's gone to go back.
I have to see him everyday because he's in my homeroom. I don't like him and I feel like he's trying to get closer with me like he did with my other friend (he kept following her after she ONCE needed his help with a math problem)
ALSO ALSO ON THE SWIMMING CARNIVAL WE WERE PLAYING T OR D ON AN APP.ON HIS PHONE AND IT KEOT BRINGING UP NSFW DARES AND TRUTHS?? AND EVEN WHEN IT WAS NSFW he made it seem like it was
a few questions he asked that apparently I answered 'wrong'.
what do you do in the privacy of your bedroom?
i said sleep
what do you do infront of the mirror?
I said brush my hair
next dare was for me to take something off (I was in a bikini btw!!) and I took off an earring. he sighed like he was expecting something else.
Like please just leave me alone, Ryan. I don't like you you make me sick and uncomfortable.
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teabreakpancakes · 2 years
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Dearest Friend Of Mine Axe Boy x Orphan! Male Reader
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Genre: Fluff
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they are both kids in this
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Robbie could vividly remember one of his friend's from the orphanage. He was the one who welcomed him and Dolores—an energetic boy around his age with a memorable smile that he could never forget.
He was a kid that was all over the place, never staying in one spot for too long. Weirdly enough, he'd stick to Robbie like glue which at first, annoyed the boy but eventually, he warmed up to him.
He was confused on why he still stayed despite him being a cry baby though.
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Before the church took over, (Name) would help him do work, assisting him even though he himself was struggling—though, most of the time, Dolores had to intervene so they wouldn't get hurt.
(Name) tried assisting him with chopping wood once. Let's just say that they were both scolded by Dolores.
When the church took over, it was good for a while. Me and (Name) would occasionally work on the garden as a hobby but then the weird people came and started giving us this yucky violet medicine.
They kept telling us that we were sick—(Name) in particular didn't take it too well, a week after he started refusing the medicine, they decided to inject the medicine into him instead.
(Name) doesn't like the medicine, he says that it killed his mother. Seeing the medicine would make him freak out, he ran out of his room and went for me and Dolores when they tried forcing him to drink it.
He cried a lot that day, I've never seen him cry so much, It hurt to see him cry like that. I like it when he has that giddy and bright smile on his face whenever he sees a friend of his.
"Don't leave me like mama did when she drank the weird medicine" He pleaded, pulling on the fabric of our clothes while we had him in our arms.
My shirt became damp because of how much he cried, it seemed like our roles were reversed but if it meant that he'd be the one sobbing pathetically then i'd rather be the one who cries.
While Dolores was away, I gave him the lollipop I had in my mouth, it seemed to work since his sobs turned into sniffles instead. He was already asleep by the time Dolores came back with one of the weird people.
They took (Name) to his room even though I secretly wished that they didn't.
A month passed, many things had changed. Dolores was acting a bit weird, she said that she wouldn't let me take the medicine.
Whenever i'd come over to her room, she'd take my medicine and throw it out the window. I assumed that she did the same with hers.
Within that month, (Name) started getting weaker. They also started giving us these really painful treatments that we couldn't avoid, the only good thing was that I started crying less.
A month later and my sister was even more weird, she seemed.. out of it. One time, she couldn't even recognize me.
(Name) was bedridden, the weird people told us that we weren't allowed to see him anymore.
Two weeks later, we see the nun and the priest carrying white flowers into his room, does he like white flowers? maybe I should get him some when I see him again.
Robbie stood up from his bed, he was gonna go to see Dolores again.
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Little did he know that it would be the last time he’d ever see her again.
Robbie sat in the garden, bathing in the sun after working on the vegetable garden with Bane.
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There was apparently going to be a new hunter, another child like him.
He was curious on whether or not they'd get along since other than memory, there was no other kid at the manor. He was glad to have the adults to hang around with but he wants to play with other kids too.
Memory was just that, a memory, so he couldn't play much with her. Occasionally, Victor, Andrew, Servais, Fiona, Anne and Fiona would play with him but he still wanted to be able to play with someone his age.
Robbie carefully raised his head, ensuring that it wouldn't fall off again—he was glad to have his head again but naturally, it wasn't kept in place like how a human would normally have their head attached so he had to be a lot more careful.
Standing up, he pushed his hand into one of the pockets of his pants, taking out a pink lollipop and putting it into his mouth.
Robbie didn't like having his head covered all the time, he usually only had it covered during games but other than that, his head often laid bare.
The boy walked into the manor, ignoring Kreacher as he passed through the hallway leading to the kitchen. Walking into the kitchen, he's met with the sight of Guard 26 taking out a tray of cookies from the oven, Philippe decorating a cake on the kitchen island with Edgar—they seemed to be having a pleasant conversation so he didn't disturb them.
Walking deeper into the kitchen, Luca, occasionally twitching as he stirred some batter in a large bowl. The inventor saw Robbie through all the ingredients that laid on top of the table, "Hello kiddo, the others are in the garden, setting up for a welcoming party for the new hunter".
Robbie thanked him, handing him a red candy before heading out to the garden, wanting to help set up.
Mary greeted the child with a small smile before heading into the manor to get more decorations, giving him a soft pat before leaving.
Robbie helped the other survivors and the hunters decorate the garden till noon, knowing that the new hunter would arrive at 6pm sharp.
They all changed into presentable clothing, waiting for the new hunter to arrive as the clock rang, signaling that it was 6pm already.
Naiad, Bi'an, Eli and Margaretha went to the gate to fetch them beforehand, not wanting them to get lost after getting dropped in front of the gate.
Everyone on the garden looked to where the sound of footsteps came, eagerly looking for the new hunter only to not see anyone—that is, until B'ian gently coaxed someone from behind him to step out.
A sickly looking white haired kid stepped out from behind him, bandages covering his neck, from under his sleeves and everywhere else that wasn't covered by his clothes.
His eyes were violet, and weird black crack-like veins could be seen where the bandages weren't covering. He would spasm as if getting electrocuted occasionally and chainless shackles were around his ankles.
He was dressed in a large white coat that reached his knees, a black band around one of his arms, he was barefoot but it seemed that he didn't need any shoes since he was floating above the ground.
His pale lips trembled as his eyes shifted from everyone in the garden. He stopped when his eyes landed on Robbie, his mouth going slack.
"R-Robbie?" his voice cracked as he ran towards the other boy. Robbie's eyes widened in recognition, his friend was still around?!
Robbie ran towards his friend, not caring if his head fell off while he ran. They hugged each other tightly, holding on for dear life.
"Wait, HOW'RE YOU HERE?!" Robbie exclaimed, pulling away in order to question the white haired boy. (Name) blinked rapidly before going "ohh".
"Well, there was an invitation in front of me when randomly woke up, I was dead so I don't know how I woke up but here I am—" the boy was cut off by Robbie asking him about how he died.
(Name) gave a lopsided smile, "Remember how they did tests on us? I died because they went too far" he explained how his eyes had turned violet from how much "medicine" they gave him.
The smiles on everyone's faces dropped when they heard about how cruel they were to literal kids.
But moving on from the discussion, they all celebrated the arrival of the new hunter. Robbie introduced (Name) to everyone except Kreacher and Freddy, wanting to stay away from them.
Joseph took many pictures that day, wanting to preserve the smiles they all had that day. Demi had made drinks for everyone—all non-alcoholic because she didn't want anyone to be drunk.
(Name) stared at Luchino, in awe of the fact that there was a huge reptile in front of him that could talk. "Can it speak?" he asked, leaving Robbie on the brink of tears as he and the others laughed, Luchino uncharacteristically chuckling as he explained to the curious child.
(Name) chased Hastur around while Yidhra and some of the others cheered him on as he tried getting the Eldritch god to lift him up using his tentacles.
Mike and Servais performed tricks for the kids, leaving them in awe. They even went to the rollercoaster in one of the maps, riding it till it was time to watch the fireworks prepared by the two inventors and Joker.
(Name) and Robbie were carried by Wujiu and Michiko, the others sighing in defeat because they weren't the ones near the two kids when they fell asleep.
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psh, sober? me? yeah, no
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louisisalarrie · 2 months
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Thanks for answering my ask, the bbg ending one. Your response has given me quite a bit to think about! Yes, I haven’t been here since the beginning, but from what you said about B she used to post a lot of F content? She really doesn’t seem to have gotten anything much out of this whole deal when you think of what she might have achieved. Crazy. And what you said about using it as a scandal for publicity- bless poor L, I think the fact that he fought so hard against it in the first place, and so many people know that (I mean we’re all still talking about it) means that the end could be very messy and not in a good way for him. I suppose I’m saying that the thing that would benefit him most to work towards ending it without ending his career is for people to forget it’s not real, to go along with the narrative, maybe? It’s so tough though, isn’t it, considering all the evidence that’s out there?
I think our society, the way we are encouraged to view and judge others (those with celebrity), seemingly for our entertainment, and to stop us from involving ourselves in important topics, is awful. And the fact that everything is set up to push groups of people to pretend to be other than they are to benefit those with all the power (rich older white men most of the time) is so sad. When there’s such beautiful diversity that should be celebrated rather than squashed. Sorry for rambling, got on my soap box a bit there! But thanks again for making your blog somewhere to dive into difficult topics! 🩵
Never apologise for rambling, anon. Love to hear your thoughts! 🧡
Yeah, B used to post F a fair bit. That whole family was very involved and would post F non stop and talk about louis and really do anything that could get them attention from the fandom. It was super yucky and weird. Even if you did believe F was louis’ kid, having the baby’s face all over the internet all the time was super inappropriate as he’s a minor. And then the photoshopped pics she posted? And posting photos that aren’t even her but saying it’s her baby bump? It was a hot mess.
And absolutely, I agree with you how horrific the entertainment industry is. Fans, and the general public, are told what to think about a certain person. We’re fed narratives to keep us buying magazines, clicking on websites, talking about celebs online, and buying tickets to their shows. Without us, celebs are nothing. They don’t make money and can’t have a career and so PR happens through whatever means possible. PR can be minor, or it can be a huge scandal. It just needs to grab attention and headlines, no matter the narrative. BUT horrible crazy huge narratives like “louis is a shit dad and goes clubbing and fucks a million girls and doesn’t support his son” stay in the media longer than “louis donates £1,00,000 to a children’s hospital”, because no “sources” can comment on that positive headline. But “sources who are close to louis” can keep adding tidbits to a negative headline, and therefore, can keep a developing story going and louis in the headlines. And us, in turn, would give it more publicity by fighting against that narrative.
Sure, we can make up our own minds about it that contradict the narrative (us larries, for example), but that’s because we’ve dug deep and been here for so long and read theories and talk about it. The general public see a catchy headline, and it sticks. They don’t bother looking into it further. Why should celebs be themselves, when they can make more money by being someone else?
Also, Larry coming out, whether it was gonna be during 1d or years from now, is a huge scandal. It’s always in their PR team’s back pocket. The boys want to, so they keep dangling it in front of them, and it’s gonna be a moment that goes down in history. The headlines would be swaaaamped with larry, and larry content from the 1d days, for months. Sources can add so much to it, there’s so many larry fans and fan content to show, so many theories the headlines can hint at, so it’s major and everyone is happy when that finally happens. Everyone is happy and the team have gotten an insane amount of money and larry are happy and most of their fans are cool with it. But there’s still so much homophobia in the industry, and in the world.
Louis has fans that believe he’s straight, because he is portrayed to be, but hey! we’re still here, aren’t we? And we don’t believe that. But if he came out as gay, well, it’s not a thing to hide that you’re straight by pretending to be gay. So the homophobes and antis/whatever fans don’t like larry, won’t stay. Ya know?
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shimmerbeasts · 4 months
Note
SPOTIFY WRAPPED - 33 - Ahri / Jinx
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Spotify Wrapped||Accepting.
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Song: And He Runs by Blixemi
She was loud this evening.
"Of course, I love you, Pow-Pow. I always loved you. I would never leave you alone. How can you even think that, Powder? You wound me, my little kitten."
Vi's voice drifted through the large open space of the mine shaft. It bounced off the walls, flashed across the fan blades in white dashes and turned into scribbly lines upon Bunny, who was sitting at her designated spot on the working desk. Ever since Silco's speech about how Powder had to die, Jinx had been working tirelessly to not let Vi affect her too much. Which was why she kept Bunny in the open now.
Unfortunately, that also meant that Vi could talk far more frequently right now. Much like the boys could. Jinx's head darted up and she glowered at Bunny. Bunny, who was smiling at her with a mouth with too many, pointy teeth - bunnies do not have pointy teeth, no, no, no! - and with warm eyes, green eyes, firey eyes, eyes of bile, eyes of love, tiger eyes.
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Jinx's fingers absentmindedly toyed around with Fishbones. The shark plushy looked worn out and beaten. Its tails and fins had a stale quality as if the Loose Canon had gnawed and suckled a bit too often on it. Anything to soothe those itching teeth and that fidgeting impulse to gnaw and bite at things in her close vicinity. She longed for one of her gags, but she had already thoroughly chewed her way through her last one. And so far, Jinx had not found any suitable material for a new one.
"Nobody asked for your opinion", Jinx growled at her reflection in the mirror. She could not even look at Bunny. "I don't miss you, okay?! I am fine. I am fine! I just need to find something suitable to chew on. Fishbones does not do it for me anymore."
To demonstrate, Jinx showed the fin into her maw and hungrily sunk her teeth into it. The fabric tasted stale and icky from her crusted-up saliva. Not even suckling at it felt soothing. Jinx's expression darkened even more as she thought she could feel the ghost of a touch on her shoulder and warm breath on her ear as the ghost of her sister whispered:
"Of course, you miss me, my little purrbox. You always miss me, Pow-Pow. And I told you, you have to stop chewing around on your toys. You are going to break them. But it's okay. I am here now. Everything is going to be fine, Powder. Believe me."
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That did it!
Spitting Fishbones out, she shoved the toy underneath her working desk and placed her boot on it, pressing down upon the animal's head as she imagined something squirming against her weight. Spinning around, Jinx seized Bunny from her designated spot. Hands wrapped around the soft, stuffed rabbit, the Loose Canon strangled the animal, watching Vi's scribbly face gasp in shock and pain - yes, choke for breath! - as she lectured the rabbit:
"Oh, you are a class act, sister! Sister, thought I missed her. Like you would have missed her!"
She grabbed Bunny by her ears and tied them into a knot, imagining how badly it must hurt. "There!", she called triumphantly and gave Bunny a shake for good measure, "Now, you cannot hear me complaining that I have nothing for my aching teeth! And you don't get to call me your little purrbox or Pow-Pow anymore. Stop talking to me like I am a child!"
Jinx threw Bunny across the fan blade, banning her from her designated spot. Vi had no right to speak to her like that! Pretend like everything was fine and she hadn't left. Vi left, Vi left, Vi left! Never forget that she hates you! She can never love you again because you are a Janna-forsaken Jinx! Jinx roared and slammed her balled fists against her temple, keeping her head low. The nettles stung again. They were yucky! The fire under her soles was yucky! Everything was so very yucky!
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"WHY WON'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME ALONE?!"
Her yell echoed ghostly through the mine shaft. It was then that Jinx's vigorous sniffing made her catch the smell of someone else, standing in the shaft on a fan blade. Sniffling, the Loose Canon could make out the odour of roses and wood and grass in spring, a hint of lime. The smell, that felt Piltovan without being from Piltover. Ahri, her mind realised and she looked up.
The fox Vastaya stood at the end of the fan blade opposite her. Bunny had landed between her padded and clawed feet. The plush had been twisted from the throw and looked at the fox with pleading button eyes as if it was hoping Ahri would show mercy when Jinx hadn't. The Loose Canon forced her hands to relax, feeling her padded insides and claws tap against her fingertips to activate the muscles. Bashfully, she looked at Ahri and muttered:
"I, ehm, I wasn't talking to you. I am sorry you saw me like this. I am normally not like this."
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0 notes
kmr95 · 9 months
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in franks voice a good weird funny real human "hi you reached frank from the ymca" hah so one can dream but maybe but very slim chance since theres billions of real humans who wanna go to ivy league like alan tuing attended princeton so did einstein. ivy league might very small chance let me in for diversity since i am autistic or i have very high functiong asd or aspergers of course again well its difficult to tell since im close to neurotypical thankfully so I do wish autism or down syncdome wasnt veggatables sorry again if i offend anybody. I used to go to a autism summer cap in 2016 and i met real friendly humans and some of the counselors were from the uk. again real humans come and go in life so even real friends or relatives I don’t see often or never sen like my aunt myrtle or cousin barbara etc. cousin barbaras son has asd as well. Its sad though real friends like Irene befriend a fake ass mom of course so to more same old same old idiots who say i type analog silicon or digitized text walls well again you didnt take english class or attended prestigious schools like rutgers like frank did and you don't know what paragraphs look like obviously. i type paragraphs simply again not so long so i space them. again my real friend from the ymca frank beltane or frank stabile he told me about his nicknames before he died so he passed away but i will remember him for being a real friend a real human a good weird smart simple and funny. he studied sociology. oh course i will raise my adopted boy or fe"male" and call them frank ymca reid hah even before he died of course and raise them with physical verbal discipline and i will raise them of course again with eabos. Ill remain a virgin forever. in 2022 age 26-27 I realized a simple fact everything's always been old school.
alan turing went to the most prestigious school of course but was he being simple to think of eabos well no. he was an immigrant like ashley bernards parents again. ashley bernard she is great at math again like alan turing or charlie wills or abdul etc ashley bernard is mixed no accent she is tri lingual. I have only talked to her dad and messaged her relatives this month june or last month. I dont wanna talk to ashley right now because again nobody is special and eabos. I havent talked or messaged ashley bernard in like 5 months of course. last time i saw her in real life or analog was halloween 2022 again. you might know this refernence my name is ken "come on little bill" matthew reid or my long nickname rolls off tongue hah. i slapped kids in high school silly idiotic game and i snitched on one of the kids because well again I was a selfish idiot again thinking i was special and i was worried schools like rutgers or ivy league would judge me but you know things don't bother me as much anymore since knowing eabos and we all have something to hide as humans/ imperfect idiots again so i did do something sort of with dogs when i was 13 so i wont be vulgar again. my free will.
so anyway i hate bill cosby etc. of course so rape abortion to fe"males" is bad and inhumane. rape because you want a fe'male" or male so bad is still wrong but rape to be evil fake is really bad again. I feel yucky but again fe"male" humans are the weirdest human gender so its just how life is and it turns on most males in a good weird way and a bad weird way. when i was a teen or a minor i got motivated by a fe"male" deanna johnson in high school and i put a pic of her on my weight bar yuck and i had crush on brianna sanders from jack and jill group or nicki guerco in high school etc. so many real humans on earth overpopulated again overwheming a good and bad weird. it's also risky to drive and I have sped in my life before I knew eabos. I almost got killed riding my bike on the road in 2016 a bus almost hit me and my fake ass mom passed out while i was driving and she had injurys which i don't feel bad for of course. my ribs hurt and the air bags came out this happened in 2019 i could have died not be able to tell eabos obviously again. i am guilty of speeding on the turnpike or highway going over 100 to catch a flight in trenton but it was very late at night in 2018 and another time in 2018. some idiots in 2022 speed in the home life neighborhood like 100 mph like at glassworks my home life again. i have sped in my home life in freehold and in glassworks but like only 40 50 but it's still wrong. my real friend again elliott peyton told me twice about his real friend dying and he sped and drove far to the hospital. hopefully he was in great hands but sadly he died like frank. i wish my real friends got to meet my other real friends like frank from the ymca. so again obviously ill care what real humans and fake evil humans say analog silicon way or digitized me fighting fire with fire until you care. I will dismiss you not read or see what you care about. until you get or care what i say about eabos of course again.
#military #army #marines #navy #usa #worldwar2 #wwII #life #turing #chatgpt #reddit #twitch #tumblr #twitter #youtube #algorithm #google #tech #technology #callofduty #sports #comedy #fun #Princeton #ivyleague #marryville #ymca #frank #cancer
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xxgothchatonxx · 2 years
Note
It’s once again 1am, let’s get our Hanni on, babe!!!
Primavera (oh! Spring!):
* God, such a shame that we lack Eddie now. She was masterful.
* William!!! BABY BOY!!!! That’s my SON!
* Father/daughter reunion!
* “You were supposed to leave.” Has a MUCH stronger impact because of the vitriol in Hugh’s voice. AMAZING!
* & once again, YOU STAB THE BOY!
* “I wanted to surprise you.” BASTARD MAN!!!!!
* “Do you believe you could change me the way I changed you?” I FORGOT ABOUT THAT LINE! SHIT! God, season 2 was amazing.
* WHY DOES BRYAN LOVE DROWNING ALL OF THE PEOPLE WHO’VE FUCKED HANNIBAL???
* Oh no wait this one works because Teacup
* OHHHHH THE SHININESS ON HIS FACE WHEN HE BECAME THE TEACUP!!! NIIIIICE!
* ABIGAIL IS STILL ALIVE??? THIS BITCH CAN’T DIE!!!!
* Now why did Hannibal hold onto her so tightly from that damn jacket??
* This girl still being so tethered to Hannibal is fascinating. Her need for a father figure is insurmountable. But also fucking hilarious because she is completely ignoring the good father figure in her life strapped to a hospital bed in front of her. Stay with William and never contact Hannibal Lecter again. ¡Así de fácil!
* UMMMMMMMMMMM YUCKY.
* I do not approve of this nightmare inducing knife going through oh shit no he is in the office. Fuck this shit.
* And we’re back at the great Gatsby papers raining down on him.
* I’m so happy we have fire again. We’ve been really lacking that.
* Holy shit. He gave him the answers. He told Will exactly where to find him. Bastard.
* Eight months? I’m glad that William has made a healthy recovery. I am also excited for some father daughter bonding in Italy!
* “You talking about God or Hannibal?” ¿Por qué no los dos? Not to say that Hannibal has a god complex, he does. But he also has a massive fucking perfectionist ego. And, most importantly, he’s Hannibal.
* Gotta admit, love the giant heart thing.
* I’m very confused. We didn’t get enough of a time to have Will be in the investigation and talk to this detective. Because the next time that we see Will after he leaves to go and talk to this detective, he’s heading down the stairs and heading out and this other detective, some thing with a P, is there waiting for him. He just feels like there’s a scene missing. Or… I don’t know. The editing for this film rushed. There was no clear marker that time had passed. Although I am happy that we didn’t get some little interrogation, because the real meat and potatoes what is the conversation from before with this P detective. Again, just wish there was a clearer signal that time has passed.
* This P detective is driven by knowledge. By fact. Which is such a great change from everyone else in the show. As I’ve said yesterday, our three mains, Hannibal, Will, and Bedelia, are all driven by curiosity. By the unknown. This detective is driven by knowledge and a need for closure. There is a clear beginning and ending with him, there is a vast ocean of unknown with the three.
* All right William, let’s have our first murder POV of the season.
* I like this so much better already. We go with a soft fade and not black and whooshing. This is amazing for my oversensitive-ness.
* Is it purposefully meant to look like a heart? Because I also end up hearing a heart in the background. It reminds me of “Daredevil”. I associate heartbeats with “Daredevil”. As one should.
* These close-ups are both disgusting but also cool.
* And now we’re getting gross. And now we are growing our stag. It gets grosser and grosser season.
* “Hannibal follows several trains of thought at once,” OH, ME TOO! “ without distraction from any–“ Never mind.
* “You still want to go with him?” “Yes.” BITCH! I get it, your prefrontal cortex is not fully developed, but at least try and think.
* I see that William is back to hallucinating Abigail. Shame, that.
* Hannibal. Are you spying on your boyfriend?
* You know how I said on the beginning of this that Abigail refuses to die? Kind of regret saying that now.
* You know I’m an absolute SLUT for duality.
* What kind of love how my Italian is bringing me back.
* I’ll take what’s behind door number one.
* Catacombs time, bitches! Let’s go! Best time of the year!
* I didn’t recognize that that was Will‘s voice. It sounded like Fredick lol
* Will is extra sassy tonight.
* Follow the smell of your boyfriends cologne, you little puppy!
* I LITERALLY GASPED!!!! FORGIVENESS??
Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you... um... I think they ate the lighting director from the first two seasons because not only is it dark in terms of subject matter... sometimes you literally can't see shit unless you've got ALL the blinds and doors shut, and the lights off and all that.
So, with the non-pendulum-whoosh thing here, I think it might have something to do with Will and Hannibal becoming one, if that makes sense? Like, Will doesn't have to "go into that mindframe" anymore because it basically IS his mindframe now? Because if memory serves, I think it does come back during the Red Dragon arc (second half of the season.. the last Hannibal arc ever *sobs forever*) when Will’s getting into the mindframe of a different killer, not Hannibal. 
Yeah, Abigail has now died three fucking times and I swear it doesn't get any easier to watch! My mum was like "HOLY SHIT, SHE SURVIVED?! HOW DID SHE SURVIVE?!" and I'm sitting there in dead silence. Then That Shit happened and she was like "OH FOR FUCKS SAKE, AGAIN?!"
Oh my god, the forgiveness thing has a continuation in the next episode that is so fucking funny to me, I’m curious if it will be as funny to you... it probably will, we seem to have similar tastes in really *snort-worthy* cannibal jokes.
Ok, so in the next episode it officially becomes a fucking Dracula story with the setting (and some imagery) and it also fixes some issues a lot of fans had with the novel/film Hannibal Rising, re: Hanni's backstory. Also there’s a Supernatural cameo! Granted it’s hard to recognise him but once you know who it is, it’s like ‘OMG, YOUUUUU!!!” 
And more delicious Bedelia and such. Have fun! :D
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kaeyasaki · 3 years
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“they’re so mean!”
the young girl pointed her finger at you as kuroo snickered.
“they are mean, they made me cry too!” your boyfriend exclaimed, falsetto heartbreak laced through his tone as he shot you a sly smirk.
you had been asked to accompany kuroo to babysit his niece while his sister and her partner were away. kuroo being adamant on being the ‘favourite uncle’ - despite the fact he was the child’s only uncle, he’d still insisted upon being the favourite regardless - had agreed within a heartbeat and mentioned you’d be there with him too.
“tetsurō, stop messing with this poor child’s head.” you rolled your eyes as the little girl before you balled her fists as you spoke.
“stay away from him!” she yelled, small frown wiped across her mucky face.
you glanced over at the child, slight annoyance washing over you as kuroo only made it harder for you to win her over. he was always so adamant on you being a part of his family, yet sometimes he’d make it so difficult.
“tetsurō,” you warned, hard glare aimed his way. “stop lying before i really do make you cry.”
“you see that? they really are mean!” kuroo gasped, his niece tugging on his arm as if to drag him away. you rolled your eyes and shrugged. there was no point in trying to win a battle with neither kuroo or a child from the same bloodline as him, you’d only agitate yourself more.
a few moments of peace passed by before kuroo’s phone started to ring. tutting in slight irritancy, kuroo stood up and mouthed ‘it’s work’ to you before heading down the hall to take the call leaving yourself and his niece alone together.
you bit the inside of your cheek, unsure of whether she was genuinely upset with you for all the lies your boyfriend had joking fed her. you tried to avoid eye contact, but jumped at the sudden contact in your lap, the young girl crawling into it before tugging on your shirt.
“don’t tell uncle roo,” she whisper shouted. “but i actually prefer you more, i don’t want to make him sad though.” a smirk tugged on your lips as you held the infant in your lap a little more securely.
“is that so?” you asked, slight laugh in your voice as the girl vigorously nodded.
“yes.” she confirmed, grabby hands gripping your shoulders as she stared right into your eyes. “he’s smelly, but you’re pretty.” she giggled, hands gripping a little stronger as she laughed.
you smiled at the child, genuine relief washing over you as you picked her up and sat her in your lap properly. “well, since your smelly uncle’s gone for a minute, let’s get your tea set out and give him the smallest cup before he comes back.”
the girl snickered, teasing grin on her face. she was definitely a kuroo.
her hands messily grabbed at her small china tea set, cups and plates clumsily placed around the small play table you were sat at as she mindlessly babbled about all the things a child naturally would. you smiled and joined her as she happily insisted upon you sitting next to her before kuroo came back.
unbeknownst to you, your boyfriend was leaning in the doorway listening in and had been for the past few minutes. he wore a gentle smile upon watching the two of you interact, warm and satisfied feeling inside him as he pulled out his phone. he’d cancel all his meetings for tomorrow, because since he was now certain you naturally fit into his arguably dysfunctional family, he absolutely had to start planning on officially making you apart of it.
and just like that, ring shopping tomorrow had suddenly moved to the top of his priorities.
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jaaneedo3 · 2 years
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Love and Other Dogs: Part 9
Pairing: singledad!chrisevans x femalereader
Warnings: the tiniest sprinkle of angst. Sorta.
“Hi handsome!” You greeted Ollie as he hopped in the car, he gave you and Chris both a kiss on the cheek. “How was school?” Chris asked. “Good, we made slime in science! Bobby tried to eat it!” He giggled. “You don’t eat the slime please.” Chris glanced at him in the mirror. “I tried it once, it was yucky.” Ollie stuck his tongue out. You covered your mouth trying not to laugh at the little boy's honesty.
“Oliver James, we don’t eat slime.” Chris said with a chuckle in his voice. “Right daddy, because it’s yucky.” He said it so simply. “Then at recess Sam told Bobby to eat a bug and he did!” His eyes wide, not believing he did it. “He also eats his boogies.”
“Maybe we don’t spend a lot of time with Bobby.” Chris said with a hint of concern. “He’s gotta have a robust immune system.” You laughed.
“Are we going to grandma’s again?” Ollie asked, looking out the window, restaurants and little shops on either side of the car. It was still early and not too busy yet for a Friday afternoon.
“We thought we’d take you out to dinner tonight.” You turned to give him a smile. “Celebrate your first week of school!” Even though it had really only been two days, they had started at the end of the week, you never understood why schools did that.
“And we have some news.” Chris said as he parked in front of the cafe you guys would go to on Saturdays after the park.
“We haven’t been here in forever!” Ollie hopped out of the car taking your hand so he didn’t get lost in the growing crowd.
“It’s only been a few weeks.” Chris ruffled his hair, he was glad Ollie skipped the hair gel today, holding the door for you two.
The three of you were seated in the back of the cafe happily eating your grilled cheeses and listening to all the things Ollie has learned in school so far. You were enjoying this moment. Chris’ hand resting on your thigh, your hand on top of his.
“Mama?” Ollie looked at you, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Napkin please.” Chris gave him a look.
“Yes bubba?” You answered him. “Are you daddy’s girlfriend?” Your eyes shot to Chris who was just as shocked as you were.
“What made you ask that?” Chris asked. “I heard grandma and aunt Carly talking yesterday and they said they were so happy that mama is your girlfriend.” He held his drink with both hands, sucking the juice through the straw staring at you and Chris with his big eyes. “He’s too smart.” You laughed and squeezed Chris’ hand.
“Yes, Y/N is my girlfriend.” Ollie nodded. “I have a girlfriend too, she’s in the other class.”
“I’m sorry what?” Chris asked, shocked. You laughed at his surprise. Ollie nodded excited. “She’s pretty and she shares her fruit snacks with me.”
“Ollie, it's been like two days.” Chris ran his hand down his face with a laugh. Ollie shrugged and ate more of his food.
“Are you okay with me being daddy’s girlfriend?” You asked, a little nervous he could say no.
“Oh yes! Plus you’re a way better cook.” He gave a big smile making you laugh. “Hey! I do alright!” Chris tickled Ollie making him giggle.
“Come here.” You held your hands out to him. He wiggled away from Chris and ran right to you, climbing in your lap. “Careful.” Chris whispered, helping him up.
“I love you.” You whispered and kissed the side of his head holding him close to you.
“I love you too, mama.” He whispered back, hugging you tighter. Your tears were practically waterfalls coming from your eyes. You kissed his head a few more times before pulling away. “Why are you crying?” He wiped your tears away.
“They’re happy tears baby.” You sniffled, trying to compose yourself. You glanced at Chris who was wiping his own tears away.
“Come here buddy.” Chris carefully pulled Ollie into his own lap and hugged him. “We have a surprise.” Chris cleared his throat and wiped another tear away. You took a deep breath, nervous again and pulled the ultrasound picture from your bag. You handed Ollie the picture with a smile. He studied it for a moment before looking at you and Chris, brows furrowed.
“What is it?” He was looking at it again, turning it to the side to see if he could make out what it was. Chris laughed and took it from him, turning it right side up pointing to each little blip.
“Those.” He looked at Ollie then glanced at you. Your hand found its way to Chris’ arm, you gave it a squeeze encouraging him to go on. “Those are the two babies in mama’s belly.” His hand came to rest on your stomach, you both smiled at him.
“I’m gonna be a big brother?!” Ollie’s eyes were wide with excitement. You and Chris nodded happily that he was excited. Ollie took the picture back from Chris and studied it again. “They look funny.” He made a face making you guys crack up.
“Mama! Save me!” Ollie screamed with a giggle pulling you out of your thoughts. He came running into your bedroom and hid behind your legs. “Save you from what?” You kneeled down to be at his level. “The tickle monster.” He whispered. Before you could say anything else there were loud stomps coming from the hallway along with playful barking from Dodger. Chris rounded the corner and came into the room hands out in front of him ready to tickle anyone in his way, letting out some kind of Pterodactyl noise he came right for you guys. Chris went straight to Ollie, tickling him. Giggles and squeals erupted from him as he wiggled around trying to get out of his grasp.
“Mama’s turn!” Chris wanted to share the love of the tickle monster and carefully started to tickle you. You being extremely ticklish, this was enough to make you burst into a fit of giggles.
“No! Stop, you're not being careful!” Ollie shouted upset and tried to push Chris away from you. “You’re gonna hurt mama and the babies.” He protectively laid across your now showing bump with tears rolling down his cheeks. You had just finished your first trimester and you were planning to tell Chris’ family tonight at dinner. Much like his father, Ollie had become very protective of you and his little siblings. He was always careful when snuggling you on the couch, made sure you had your water and were drinking it, he was even a little funny with Chris like Dodger used to be.
“Hey hey hey.” You rubbed his back. “It’s okay.” You pulled him into a hug.
“Bubba, I would never hurt mama or the babies.” Chris became serious, dropping the tickle monster act.
“Daddy would never do anything to put any of us in danger or hurt us.” You ran your fingers through his hair. He hugged you tighter.
“Oliver, look at me.” Chris said. Ollie peeked over his shoulder and looked at Chris sniffling. “You know I will never hurt you or mama or the babies, right?” Ollie nodded. “I will always protect the four of you in every possible way.” Chris took Ollie from you and hugged him, kissing his head. “You, mama, and the babies will always be safe with me.”
“Promise?” Ollie sniffed and looked at Chris.
“Pinky promise.” Chris held his pinky out. Ollie smiled and wrapped his tiny finger around Chris’ giant one.
_______________________________
“Okay, we’ll go in and you don’t say anything, you let them read your shirt and ask.” Chris said as your guys pulled into Lisa’s driveway.
“Got it!” Ollie unbuckled the straps to his booster seat. He had done such a good job at keeping the pregnancy a secret, but was practically vibrating from the excitement of letting everyone know tonight. You opened his door and he hopped out. He took both yours and Chris’ hands swinging them as you guys made your way to the door.
“It’s getting cold.” You said a shiver running down your spine. It was just the start of November and it was already much colder than it was a week ago on Halloween when you guys were making your way around Lisa’s neighborhood, Ollie going door to door in his Spider Man costume.“I wanna be Uncle Tom for halloween!” Ollie had told Chris over dinner at the beginning of October. Chris faked being shocked, but he knew that Ollie and Tom had a special bond and he would have actually been shocked if he wanted to be anything else.
“Ready?” Chris asked, you could feel the excitement radiate off Ollie and it was only making you more excited. Chris knocked on the door and let you guys in. Ollie made quick work of unzipping his jacket, letting it fall to the floor and headed straight for the kitchen.
“Grandma! Read my shirt!” Ollie couldn’t keep the smile off his face.
“Ollie not like that!” Chris called after him. You laughed, grabbing his arm so he couldn’t go after the little boy.
“It’s okay baby.” You smiled, kissing him. “He’s excited.”
“Are you serious?!” Lisa came out of the kitchen. Whisk still in hand. You and Chris smiled. “You’re pregnant?!” She jumped up and down with you.
“You’re pregnant?!” Carly and Shanna asked together, abandoning the table they were setting.
“Congratulations!” Scott pulled you all into a group hug.
“Did you have an ultrasound yet?” Carly asked, hands going to your stomach. Her eyes went a little wide feeling over your stomach more. “You already have a bump!” Everyone’s hands were now on your stomach. You couldn’t help the smile that spread across your face.
“Yes! We brought pictures too!” Chris said and pulled a few pictures out of his jacket pocket. You had had another ultrasound and had some new pictures, these ones looked a little more like babies than the first. The pictures were snatched out of Chris’ hand and passed around the room. It was quiet while they all scanned over the pictures.
“Oh my gosh! Are you having twins?!” Shanna screamed jumping up and down.
“We are!” You and Chris said together. More screaming and jumping filled the room. The kids looking at you guys like you were nuts. Dinner was spent asking all about the pregnancy, if you guys wanted boys or girls, name ideas, and everything in between. A smile stayed plastered across your face the whole time overwhelmed by the love that the whole Evans’ family has showed you.
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saeyoungchoismaid · 3 years
Text
Line Without a Hook
Pairing: Leviathan x gn!reader Genre: Angst, Fluff, hurt/comfort Warnings: none Summary: Dating Leviathan started out fine but slowly goes downhill because of his insecurities. Can he win you back after pushing you away or is it too late? Word Count: 1.7k words
A/N: THIS WAS WRITTEN BY THE LOVELY @cyberbunny33​ AND ALL CREDIT GOES TO HER. I simply proofread and edited it :)
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“"She's a, she's a lady, and I am just a boy"
He's singing, "She's a, she's a lady, and I am just a line without a hook"”
A slew of emotions spark inside Leviathan when he feels your head rest against his shoulder. His body stiffens, trying to suppress the ever-growing blush as it travels up his chest and to his pale cheeks. His hands shake as his grip on the controller tightens.
“(Y/n)! Don’t try to distract me with your normie tactics!” Leviathan bellows as he attempts to focus back on the screen in front of you two. 
“Distract? Who, me? Never,” you giggle back as you lean further against his shoulder, smirking to yourself as you get in a quick combo to throw his character off their feet. This throws him into a panic as he shouts at his character to get up while you happily hum, punching in another combo and follow it up with a projectile.
Your ‘yes!’ and his ‘no!’ harmonize for a second as your fighter strikes a cool pose, ‘winner’ appearing across the screen. You jump up and celebrate your first, and probably final, victory of the night.
Levi whines as he stares at the screen and turns to complain about you distracting him. He freezes though, his sunset eyes gazing at your dancing figure. Your laughter is music to his ears and your smile appears brighter than the sun. He doesn't notice the small smile crawling onto his face the longer he stares at you.
*
That was the night he confessed.
On accident, but it was a confession nonetheless.
A few months later, you wondered if he truly did love you like he claimed…
*
It’s not something you thought much about. You know Levi had a deterrence towards being touched. In general and in public. Public display of affection was just something he's not comfortable with. It had nothing to do with you. You accepted that when you first met him and when you accepted his confession.
But like any normal person in a relationship, you began to crave his touch outside the safety of his room. You wanted to show him off. You wanted to kiss him and hug him and hold his hand on the way to RAD or in front of his brothers, but anytime you reached for his hand or tried to give him a hug, he would recoil and move away from you, telling you off for being so clingy and for acting like a normie.
One time, he even asked if you wanted to fight when you reached out and tapped him on the shoulder. 
You thought by now that he'd also have that craving for touch and intimacy, but it also seemed like he was quickly losing interest in being alone with you because any time you initiated something, he would move away or dismiss you. The more you reached out for him, the farther he would move away from you. It made you wonder; was he ashamed to be seen with you? Did he realize you, a human, weren’t worth his time?
You didn't know that he was having the same thoughts. Was he, a yucky otaku obsessed with 2D women and games, worth your precious time? Would he be able to live up to your expectations of being a good boyfriend? What if he did something wrong? What if he made you uncomfortable? What if he did something and you began to hate him and avoid him? He wouldn't be able to handle the thought of you hating him.
He pushed you away for that reason. Afraid that you would realize he wasn't worth your time. That if he indulged in you, you would leave, leave him for one of his brothers. He'd be a wreck without you.
He wanted nothing more than to reach out to you. You had no idea how much willpower it took him to keep his clammy hands to himself, to keep his emotions and desires in check. That tiny voice in his head wouldn't leave him alone, dancing around as it told him that you're too perfect and he's nothing. You deserve so much more than a pathetic otaku like him, but he was selfish and refused to let you go. He wanted you to stay. He needed you to stay with him.
*
His eyes are wide the moment he sets his sights on you. 
You had left in a hurry during your weekly game nights so he came looking for you when you wouldn't answer your phone. He wasn't expecting to peak into your room and see you under your covers, sobbing softly into your pillow. He stops breathing as he fully enters your room, closing the door behind him before taking a breath and slowly advancing towards your bed.
“(Y/n)? Was—Was it something I said?”
It breaks his heart to see your tear-stained face when you pick it up and turn to look at him. Lovely and bright eyes now bloodshot and glassy. “If it was something I said then I  take it back,” he says as he rushes to your bedside. You shake your head as you sniff, trying your best not to look like even more of a mess in front of your hot demon boyfriend. 
“It's not what you said, it's what you didn't say and didn’t do…” you reply in an unsteady tone.
“Do you not love me anymore?”
“Wha—?”
“Do you feel shame every time we’re seen together?”
“N-No! Of course not—!”
“Then why won't you show me any affection! Why won't you let me hold your hand or hug you or—”
Levi lunges forward, crashing his lips against yours in a slow yet passionate kiss. Your eyes flutter closed as Levi fights the blush that burns at his cheeks. He fails when he feels your plush lips kiss back feverishly. His tail pops out unannounced, wagging as your hands come up to cup his face, his own hands having a tight grip on the sheets that have pooled around your waist. You pull back first, panting softly as Levi stares at you with a red face. 
“You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that…” Levi admits in a sheepish voice as he attempts to hide behind one of his hands. 
“Why didn't you? I've been trying to kiss you for the past month,” you whisper, afraid that if you spoke too loud, you'd ruin the moment and scare the serpentine demon away.
“I didn't think you would want to kiss a gross, yucky otaku like me,” he answers, “I thought that you would realize that I'm not the demon you deserve and leave me for one of my brothers like Asmo or even Satan.” He shrinks down as he speaks, shame and guilt weighing down on his shoulders as he thinks back to how often you would try to initiate something between him and yourself.
He avoids looking at you, opting to stare down at your bedroom floor. His eyes are only drawn to you at the sounds of your sheets shifting around. His blush returns when he sees you silently pat a spot next to you. Slowly, he crawls onto your bed and takes a seat next to you, his scaly tail wrapping itself around your waist. His cheeks burn brighter as you let out a soft chuckle.
“I don't think you’re ‘yucky,’ you know…” you murmur softly as you turn to face him. “Why do you think I agreed to date you?” 
Leviathan doesn't have a good answer for you. You had a point after all. Why would you agree to be his lover if you didn't have an interest in him to begin with? The more he thought about it, the more his guilt began eating at him. He neglected you. In the most horrid way possible too. He didn't just neglect you. He blatantly pushed you away and acted like he was disgusted by you all because he doesn’t think he deserves your love and affection. 
Your sweet voice brings him out of his toxic thoughts. “Levi, stop,”  you sigh as you cup his cheeks and turn his head to face you. Your gentle hold pushing the nasty storm clouds around his head away. “Please. Your self-loathing is what got you here. I love you, Leviathan. Nothing is going to change that. I'm not going to leave you for your brothers. I don't want them; I want you.”
His mouth falls agape. An uncomfortable stinging coming to his eyes as he bites his lip. Before you could see the tears, Levi throws his arms around you and buries his face into the crook of your neck. He's blubbering out apology after apology, begging you to forgive him for not trusting in you or talking to you about his insecurities.
You two sit there for who knows how long, holding each other, and finally indulging in each other's presence and touch. Levi had stopped sniveling some time ago, feeling a wave of drowsiness hit him after he was done crying. You fell asleep after he stopped, melting into his chest. He doesn't move, wishing to let you sleep after the whole ordeal, but he can’t sleep sitting up so he carefully moves the both of you into a lying position. Using his tail to grab your covers and pull them over your shoulders.
He lies across from you, gazing at your peacefully sleeping face. His cheeks gain color once more, feeling both embarrassed and grateful to have you forgive him after all he's done to you. He reaches out and gently caresses your cheek as he thought of how lucky he was to have you. He vows then and there to be better, to show you just how much he really loves you. If those nasty thoughts come back, he’ll go to you and talk to you instead of pushing you away. He promises to do the same for you. Because he needs you.
“I love you, (Y/n).”
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MASTERLISTS
Credit to the lovely @cyberbunny33​
More with Levi
Tag List: @katelynwithpaint​, @buzzybeebee​, @officialdevorak​, @thesoftkittylexy​, @jungialo​, @fanfictwarrior​, @ohbbobeyme​, @zeldan7​, & @otome-otakuwu​ ✦ if you would like to be added or removed, comment or send an ask. Also, remember to tell me if you ever change your username so I can continue to tag you :)
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theladyofdeath · 3 years
Text
The Return 2 {The Arrival, Part 2}
Summary: Back at the lake house, ten years later… Collaboration with @snelbz - part 2 to the sequel!
Word Count: 7136
The Arrival Series Masterlist
Shelby’s Masterlist
Tara’s Masterlist
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Even ten years later, Elain was still the first one awake whenever they took family vacations. She had woken up with the sun, tried — and failed, miserably — to rouse Azriel from sleep, read her devotions, gotten in some yoga, and started on breakfast, all before she heard the first footstep from anywhere in the house. But soon enough, she heard slow, sleepy steps on the stairs, though they headed towards the back of the house rather than towards the kitchen.
Ruling out Lannan and his voracious appetite, along with Thorn, Bennett, and John, Elain waited, mixing up the pancake batter after she put a large pan of bacon into the oven.
A few minutes later, Scarlett appeared, dragging a still half-asleep Cassian by the hand. He was yawning and had a hair brush, comb and two hair ties in his hand.
“Good morning, you two,” she laughed, pouring Cassian a cup of coffee, which he looked like he desperately needed.
He mumbled something that sounded like a typical morning greeting, while Scarlett gave her a sleepy smile after climbing up onto one of the barstools. “G’morning, Aunt Lainey. Are we having pancakes for breakfast?”
“And bacon,” she replied, smiling at her youngest niece. Layla and Scarlett had sleepovers all the time, being the two youngest and close in age.
Scarlett grinned and turned to Cassian. “Remember, I want two braids, daddy, not just one.”
He nodded, still drinking his coffee, but handed her the brush to start detangling her long, waist-length hair.
“Nesta not up yet?” Elain chuckled, pouring some of the batter into the hot pan.
“I like it better when daddy braids my hair. Mommy makes it too fancy,” Scarlett replied, scrunching up her nose.
“That’s right,” Cassian mumbled, running his fingers through his youngest’s hair. “Dad keeps the braids messy.”
Elain laughed quietly as she continued to make breakfast. “Well, if you have the magic touch, I may make you braid Layla’s hair. She always complains when I do it, and the art of braiding isn’t exactly one of Azriel’s many talents.”
“We don’t need to hear about Azriel’s many talents,” Cassian warned.
Elain jabbed him in the ribs, which only made Cassian laugh as he began to braid his daughter's hair.
“Is Thorn going back to jail today?” Scarlett asked.
Cassian sighed, Scarlett wincing as he made sure his braid was tight. “No, Thorn’s not going back to jail, ever.”
The ten-year-old rolled her eyes. “Never say never, daddy.”
Elain chuckled as she set a giant mountain of pancakes on the island. “Give your brother a break. He’s a good boy.”
“No, he’s not,” Scarlett said, earning a snap from Cassian for her to stay still while he worked. “He swears too much and he smells yucky.”
“All teenage boys swear too much and smell yucky,” Cassian promised. “Just wait until you’re a teenager and you like those yucky boys.”
“I’m not ever going to like boys,” Scarlett promised. “I’m going to stay single and awesome forever.”
Elain shook her head, humored, as she watched her niece.
“That would make daddy very happy and I’m holding you to it,” he replied, tying the elastic around the end of the braid and starting on the second.
“Aunt Lainey, does Luna like smelly teenage boys?” Scarlett asked, looking up at her.
Luna was Scarlett’s idol. Everything the girl did, the younger one was right behind, whether it was a trend, style or even just following her around. And Luna handled it well, for a sixteen-year-old girl. She never complained, even when her own baby sister was in tow. Cassian was sure that because she was a carbon-copy of Elain, right down to the soft, caramel colored eyes.
Elain smirked as she set a plate down in front of Scarlett, a small stack of pancakes on top of it. She pulled the bacon out of the oven before replying. “Oh, she does. And Uncle Az is not happy about it.”
“Isn’t happy about what?” The man in question asked as he rounded the corner, heading straight for the coffee pot. He paused to kiss Elain’s cheek. “Morning, beautiful.”
“Luna Bug’s boyfriend,” Cassian smirked, watching as Azriel’s good mood deflated.
“We don’t talk about him,” Azriel said, quietly, as he filled his mug. “And definitely not this early in the morning.”
“He has a name,” Elain said, simply. “And you should call him by it.”
“The name I have for him shouldn’t be said around Scar,” Azriel said, pausing as he passed her to kiss the top of his niece’s head.
“He’s a good kid,” Elain said, rolling her eyes. “And I think Luna and Lachlan are good for each other.”
“Lachlan,” Scarlett repeated. “I like that name.”
Cassian’s grin only widened as he looked up at Azriel, who sat at the table, sipping from his mug.
“Just wait until she thinks she’s old enough to date,” Azriel said, gesturing to Scarlett.
“Oh no,” Cassian said, shaking his head. “She’s already informed me that she’s staying single and awesome forever, so.”
Azriel snorted as the twins came into the room, followed by John, whose hair was sticking up in every which direction.
“Mom says she’s taking a shower then she’ll be out to help make breakfast,” John said, yawning as he flicked Olive on the back of the ear. She flipped him off, which earned a gasp from Scarlett and a laugh from Cassian.
“No need, your Aunt has been up since the crack of dawn,” Azriel said, nodding toward the food. “Eat up.”
John didn’t need to be told twice. At fourteen, he was eating more than nearly everyone else - followed closely by his older boy cousins, who were, no doubt, still sound asleep.
Lily was still mortified by her new haircut, but thanks to a French braid of some sort, it could barely be noticed. She and Olive got a couple of pancakes each and talked to each other quietly.
Once Scarlett’s hair was finished, Cassian got his own breakfast, splashing a bit of whiskey into Azriel’s coffee and his own when he thought no one was looking, and sat down at the table. Mid bite, his chewing slowed down as he looked at Olive. “Liv, I think you still have makeup from yesterday on. You’ll probably want to get that off before we go on the boat.”
She rolled her dark, lined eyes. “It’s Olive, Uncle Cass, and it’s waterproof eyeliner. I’ll be fine.”
Lily, fresh faced, shook her head. “She’s too cool to be seen without her makeup anymore.”
Elain was chuckling at the stove as the two girls quietly bickered and Cassian was immediately grateful he only had one daughter.
“What’re we doing today?” John asked, his mouth full.
“Ask when your mouth isn’t full and I’ll tell you,” Cassian said, sitting next to his middle child.
“Yeah, John, have some manners.” Thorn entered the room, grumpy as hell, the first thing out of his mouth directed at his younger brother.
“Says the asshole that spent yesterday in jail,” John muttered, mouth still full.
“Watch your mouth,” Cassian snapped, his mouth also full.
Azriel just shook his head, watching the three of them. He looked at Scarlett. “How do you and your mom handle those three?”
Scarlett shrugged as she hopped off her stool. With a piece of bacon in each hand, she said, “We stick together. Girl power.”
Elain laughed, winking at her niece as she fled from the room.
Layla appeared a minute later, on Rhysand’s back, wide-eyed and chipper. Bennett was soon behind, and Cassian snorted.
“How is it that the kids from your side are the ones still asleep when Elain is one of the first ones up?” he asked, looking at Azriel.
“Luna’s probably awake and talking to-.”
“If you say his name again, I’ll lose my appetite, then my mood will be destroyed for the rest of the day,” Azriel said, holding up his hand and looking at his wife.
“Lachlan is so sweet though,” Lily said, sighing, and Olive nodded, which earned them a look from both Rhys and Azriel.
“Teenage boys aren’t sweet,” Rhys told his daughters. “They’re crafty, lying, disgusting creatures.”
Lily and Olive looked at Thorn and Bennett, both shoveling food into their mouths. Their brother responded. “What?”
“Aren’t you going to say he’s wrong?” Olive asked, looking between them.
“No, because then I’d be lying and proving him right,” Bennett replied.
“And we’re pretty disgusting,” Thorn added, shoving an entire piece of bacon into his mouth in two bites. Bennett nodded and was getting up for seconds when Rhys stopped him.
“Save some food for your mothers, please,” he said. “After mom and Aunt Nesta eat, you can get more.”
Layla quietly approached Cassian and tapped on his shoulder, asking if he could braid her hair, too. He gave Elain a knowing look, but picked Layla up and set her in Scarlett’s vacated seat. “Only cause you’re the cutest one here,” he whispered, so only she could hear. She giggled and nodded, sitting still as he went to work.
Nesta and Feyre made their way into the kitchen soon after, with Azriel going to retrieve Lannan, who was still sleeping like the dead. Luna was the last to arrive, claiming she’d slept in, too.
“Y’all wanna make some sandwiches for the boat while we get everything ready to go?”
Cassian asked Nesta and his sister-in-laws.
“You don’t want to come back for lunch?” Nesta asked. “You want to keep nine kids on a boat all day?”
He shrugged. “They'll be swimming and wakeboarding and tubing. They’ll be busy. Plus Thorn and Bennett are taking out the jet skis.”
Thorn raised his hand.
Bennett gave him a high-five.
John frowned. “Why can’t I take one of the jet skis?”
“Because we’re older,” Thorn said, simply.
“That’s not fair,” John argued. “What kind of argument is that?”
“Thorn and Bennett are taking the jet-skis,” Cassian said, his voice holding no room for argument. “You can take one tomorrow.”
“Ooooh, me too,” Luna said. “I call one for tomorrow.”
Thorn rolled his eyes, the only sign that he was annoyed.
The second that Nesta and Feyre sat down with their breakfasts, Thorn, Bennett, and John were on their feet, fighting for what was left.
“Animals,” Lily scoffed, taking Olive by the elbow and leading her down the hall to their room to get ready.
Thirty minutes and almost just as many sandwiches later, everyone was loading onto the boat, save for Thorn and Bennett who took off towards the jet-skis as soon as they were given the okay. After strict instructions to stay within sight of the parents, they were firing them up and taking off, Cassian starting the boat and following behind.
Elain fell into the seat at the front with her oldest daughter, wrapping an arm around her as the wind whipped back their hair. “What’s Lachlan doing this weekend?”
Her knees were tucked under her chin and she looked out over the passing water. “He and his parents went to Orynth. They’re touring a college there, but he doesn’t want to be that far from home.”
“Far from home or far from you?” Elain asked, nudging her slightly.
Luna blushed. “Both.”
Lachlan was a year older than Luna, so college was much more prevalent on his mind, as a senior. Or it should have been, had Luna not already had her five-year-plan made, starting with attending the University of Velaris and ending with a degree in business and communications, an internship under her belt and an entry-level position in a company she could grow at.
“Sounds serious,” Elain said.
“Too serious,” Azriel muttered, and both of them turned around, unaware that Azriel was just on the other side. Elain lifted a brow. “What? She’s sixteen.”
“Exactly,” Luna said, crossing her arms. “I’m not a child anymore, dad.”
Azriel didn’t respond. He simply walked to the cooler, opened a beer, and sat next to Rhysand.
“Ignore him,” Elain said, her arm around Luna. “He’ll come around.”
“Doubtful,” Luna muttered.
“You’re the oldest girl in the family,” Feyre said, as she took the seat on her other side. “You finding a boyfriend is uncharted territory.”
“It’s just not fair,” she said, simply. “Thorn and Ben have had tons of girlfriends, since middle school, and no one has ever batted an eye. I get my first serious boyfriend, and dad…” She shook her head as she glanced at Azriel, who was sipping his beer with a rigid jaw. “It’s like I’m a criminal or something.”
“And you weren’t even the one in jail,” John muttered, gazing out over the water.
Cassian hit him upside the back of the head.
“Dad will come around,” Elain promised again.
“Maybe we should keep the boyfriend talk to a minimum,” Luna muttered. “At least for this weekend.”
“Why?” Feyre asked, propping her feet up in the empty second chair and giving her niece a comforting smile. “He’s going to have to get used to you dating eventually. And Lachlan is very sweet. You could’ve ended up with someone like your Uncle Cassian. He’ll get used to you having a boyfriend. I promise.”
Cassian brought the boat to a stop, effectively ending the conversation and started unloading the wakeboarding equipment.
“Can we ride tubes first, Uncle Cass?” Lily asked. “Tubing always gets saved for last and we never have much time thanks to you guys wakeboarding for hours.”
He was about to protest, even though he knew she was right, even with the unnecessary eye rolling, but Nesta said, “I think starting with tubing is a good idea. Let those two expend some of their energy before they board and try to do tricks they can’t accomplish. No trips to the hospital this year.”
The year before, there had been two trips to the hospital. One for Bennett, who’d gotten a concussion, and one for Cassian…who had thrown out his back, thanks to thinking he was still youthful enough to complete some of the tricks he had attempted.
He wasn’t.
This year, they were having none of that.
“Fine,” Cassian sighed. “Get out the tubes.”
The kids let out a round of excited yells, and up ahead, Bennett and Thorn were riding circles around each other.
Cassian, Rhysand, and Azriel took turns driving, seeing which of the kids they could throw off their tubes. Even Luna almost let out a curse - almost, but not quite.
Once they were done, everyone grabbed a sandwich as the wakeboarding began. Thorn was the first to go, which meant that John got his jetski, so everyone was happy.
At least until Thorn wiped out, then he was just pissed.
When everyone was worn out, Cassian brought the boat back to the dock, and one by one, everyone got off to slowly make their way back up to the house.
Rhysand was the last to get off, carrying a sleeping Layla up the hill. He laid his niece down in her bed before fighting everyone for one of the two showers.
“So what’s on the agenda for the rest of the day?” He asked as he stepped into the kitchen, fighting off a yawn.
Nesta was doing the same and Elain chuckled. “Seems like everyone could use some downtime. Why don’t we let the kids do their thing, take naps if they want, and we’ll start dinner around five-thirty?”
“A nap sounds awesome,” Nesta said, wrapping her arms around Cassian’s waist and laying her head on his chest. From the look on his face, he didn’t think she meant it literally. From the look on hers, she did.
And so everyone went their separate ways. Most of the kids ended up in the bonus room, either playing Xbox or entertaining themselves in someway. Ironically, only Luna and Lannan decided to lay down for naps, and Nesta, of course.
Elain’s alarm on her phone went off, letting her know it was five-thirty. She and Azriel had taken advantage of their alone time and were now just laying in bed together, although Azriel it seemed was half-asleep now that it was time to get up.
She looked up at him, eyes closed and lips parted and pressed a kiss to his cheek. He responded by rolling his head to the side, looking for her lips without opening his eyes. She kissed him again, but pulled away when his tongue brushed against her bottom lip.
Laughing softly, she got out of bed and started getting dressed. Azriel watched her with sleepy eyes. “I’m going to get Feyre so we can start making tacos. Will you get the kids up around six?”
He nodded, tucking an arm behind his head and closing his eyes again. She leaned down and pressed a kiss to the end of his nose. “Don’t fall asleep.”
“That’s asking a lot,” he replied, catching her before she could stand up, twining his fingers into her hair. “You wore me out.”
“Hush,” she said, blushing, and kissed him again before slipping out the door.
He heard a knock on a door down the hall and then Feyre’s voice joined Elain’s. The word daddy was unmistakable as they walked away and he couldn’t help but chuckle even as he blushed and covered his face with Elain’s pillow.
Once the smell of delicious food cooking started wagging towards their room, he decided it was time to get up, get dressed, and wake up his kids, knowing it’d be time to eat soon.
He stopped off in the boy’s room first, knowing Lannan would be the easiest to rouse. All he had to say was tacos, and his son was up and hurrying downstairs to help in any way he could, if it meant he could eat quicker.
Layla was still fast asleep in the room she and Scarlett shared, her braid messy from sleep. Getting her up was easy enough. She didn’t require bribery or any tricks, she liked to do as she was told. He just had to tell her that mama needed help in the kitchen and she slipped off to do what she could.
Luna’s room was at the end of the hall. She shared a room with the twins, but they were upstairs and already being told to go to the kitchen, which meant she surely was sound asleep.
Azriel didn’t bother knocking before he opened the door. “Hey, dinner’s-.”
“Fuck, Luna-.”
Luna dropped her phone and looked over her shoulder. Her eyes went wide in horror. “Dad!”
Azriel quickly shut the door, his hand remaining on the knob for a moment before he dropped it, and slowly walked down the hall, toward the kitchen.
He had not seen much, considering Luna had been under the blankets, but he knew enough about technology and the teenage mind to know exactly what had been going on.
Azriel was going to be sick.
He hadn’t even noticed the chatter going on in the kitchen as he entered.
Rhysand was in the middle of a sentence, even though Azriel had no idea what he had been saying, when Azriel said, “Elain, a word.”
The tone of his voice must’ve created alarm, because the room went quiet. Without noticing if Elain was following, Azriel walked into the living room.
He sat back on the couch, nausea brewing in the pit of his stomach.
Elain timidly entered a moment later. “You okay, babe? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“Worse,” he said, without any hesitation. “So much worse.”
He quickly and concisely explained what he’d seen, which thankfully wasn’t much, but he knew. Oh, gods, he knew.
He heard the male voice on the other side of the video call, recognized it and hated it all the same, especially the way that voice had said his daughter’s name.
“Why didn’t you knock?” Elain asked, shaking her head as she rubbed at a spot between her eyes.
“I thought she’d be asleep!” He defended, throwing his hands up.
“She’s a teenage girl, Az,” she sighed. “Regardless, you should have knocked. She could have been changing.”
“I wish she would’ve been!” His cheeks were on fire. “That would’ve been better than…that.”
Elain stood. “I’ll go get her. Why don’t you and the boys go eat on the deck? Some fresh air might help.”
He nodded, but didn’t say anything.
“Do not be mad at her,” she added before leaving the room. “It’s not her fault you didn’t knock.”
“She shouldn’t be having video sex with her boyfriend while we’re on a family vacation,” he whispered, shooting to his feet.
“At least she didn’t get arrested having sex in the back of a truck. So this isn’t the worst thing that could have happened on this vacation,” Elain replied.
“No,” he said, heading towards the kitchen to get a plate of food. “It’s the worst thing that could have happened to me, period.”
Elain rolled her eyes, watching as Azriel stormed into the kitchen and out of sight.
Calmly, she walked down to the end of the hall and knocked on the last door.
She could hear Luna sniffling. “Yeah?”
“It’s mom,” Elain said, leaning against the door. “Can I come in?”
A second passed. “Yes.”
Elain opened the door to find Luna sitting up on her bed, wearing a hoodie and wrapped in a blanket, as if she couldn’t get enough clothes onto her body. Her eyes were red and puffy.
Elain sat on the edge of the bed and looked at her daughter. “Care to tell me your side of the story?”
Luna shook her head, then looked at her hands as she said, “We were just facetime-ing. It got...slightly intimate, nothing was even really going on, and then dad walked in.” Her face fell into her hands. “Too much was going on for him to walk in on, though, I’ll tell you that. I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life. I just hung up. Lachlan probably thinks that I just lost connection.”
Elain huffed through her nose. “Look, I don’t know exactly what your father saw, he couldn’t exactly get the words out-.”
“Me, topless, showing my boyfriend my boobs,” Luna supplied, her face still in her hands. “I mean, I was mostly under the blankets, but… I think he got the point.”
Elain had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. Usually, she wouldn’t find things so funny, but this was Luna. Luna, who never did anything wrong. The fact that she was just like every other teenage girl, that she was just like Elain and her sisters at sixteen, was…almost refreshing.
She scooted closer and wrapped her arms around her daughter. “Your dad is having a hard time processing that his little girl isn’t so little anymore.”
“That’s an understatement,” she scoffed. “This is worse than my first period, first bra and first date combined.”
Elain couldn’t stop her chuckle again. “I think we’re probably gonna spend the rest of the evening separated. We’re gonna do our thing and the boys will do theirs. Are you hungry?”
Luna shrugged, fiddling with her phone case.
“You sure? Aunt Feyre and I made tacos.”
Looking up at her, eyes still puffy and blush still on her cheeks, Luna said, “I guess I could eat.”
“Good,” Elain said, kissing her forehead and taking her daughter’s face in her hands. “I know you’re a smart girl, and I know you care about Lachlan. But if and when things move past just showing him your boobs on FaceTime, promise me you’ll be careful.”
Luna’s cheeks were blood red again and she shook her head. “I haven’t… we haven’t… I’m still a virgin, mom.”
Elain stifled her laughter again. “I know you are, sweetie. All I’m asking is that whenever the time comes, promise me you’ll use that beautiful brain of yours and don’t let hormones get in the way. And when we get home, we can talk about birth control if you want to.”
Luna’s eyes went wide. “You’d…let me get on the pill? What about dad? He’d lose it if he found out.”
“If it means you’re being smart and safe, yes.” Elain smiled, and took her daughter’s hand. “And don’t worry about your father. I can handle him.”
“He’s awfully dramatic,” Luna mumbled. “He’s just passionate,” Elain said, correcting her. “Which means he loves as fiercely as he loses it.”
Luna chuckled, and nodded. “Let me text Lachlan about why I hung up so suddenly, then I’ll be out.”
Elain kissed Luna’s forehead before hopping off of the bed. “I’ll make you a plate of tacos.”
“Thanks, mom,” Luna said, as Elain walked out, and Elain knew it was for much more than the food.
As she walked back into the kitchen, all of the boys were out on the back porch, leaving the girls inside.
“We’re thinking about having a girls night,” Feyre said, as Elain approached. “Chick flicks, painting our nails, and mud masks?”
“I’m here for it,” Elain said. “Luna will be, too.”
Quietly, Feyre asked, “Is everything okay?”
“I’ll fill you in later,” Elain promised, and went to making Luna her plate of food. She came out a minute later, and cleared her entire plate in under five minutes.
When they were done, Legally Blonde was being set up in the living room, and Nesta was carrying out a basket of nail polish.
“Looks like the boys are going for a boat ride,” Nesta said, rolling her eyes. “Hopefully Cass isn’t driving. He can’t drive in the dark. I swear he needs glasses but he’s too stubborn to go get his eyes checked.”
“He’s in denial about getting old, Rhys was the same way,” Feyre sighed, searching through the basket for a color she liked. “But I finally convinced him to go a couple months back.
Now it’s like I have a sexy Clark Kent walking around my house in the evenings.”
“How’d you do that?” Elain asking, carrying wine glasses and a chilled bottle into the room.
The girls were all focused on the huge box of makeup Lily and Olive had brought down from the bonus room, sitting around it and begging Luna to do their makeup. Even Olive was willing to remove her thick eyeliner if it meant Luna would work her magic on her eyebrows.
“I can be very…persuasive,” she replied, filling her glass and taking a sip.
Nesta reached for the remote and turned the movie up to give their conversation a semblance of privacy, turning her attention to her sister. She whispered, “Spill.”
Feyre was blushing, clearly not expecting her sisters to jump on this particular topic. She settled back into the couch cushions and took a much larger drink of her wine. “I…let him go where no man has gone before.”
“What, like, Victoria’s Secret?” Elain asked, brow furrowed in confusion, but from the smirk on Nesta’s face, she knew exactly what Feyre meant.
“No, Lainey, not like Victoria’s Secret,” Nesta said, voice low enough that the kids couldn’t hear them over the movie. “She let him get in her ass.”
Elain blinked once and said, “Oh,” before going back to looking through the nail polish basket.
Feyre and Nesta looked at each other, before looking back at Elain.
Nesta whispered, “That was a very casual Oh.”
Shrugging, Elain glanced up at them, still looking through the basket. “That’s nothing new for us.”
Feyre’s brows shot up as Nesta leaned forward. “Okay, for the two quietest and most private in this family…you two have one hell of a sex life.”
Elain laughed, quietly, as she picked out a soft lavender nail polish. “What? We’ve always liked to keep each other…intrigued…in the bedroom.”
“And was daddy the one to introduce this…act?” Feyre asked, still dumbfounded.
Elain shrugged, falling back on the couch. “We thought we’d give it a try one day, and it was…nice.”
“Nice?” Nesta repeated.
“It’s not for everyone, but…yeah, it was nice,” Elain said. “Anyway, someone paint my right hand, please. My left is too shaky.”
Nesta did as her sister asked, even though Feyre was still staring at her, minutes later. It wasn’t until halfway through the movie, when Luna excused herself to walk into the kitchen, that Nesta excused herself to follow after.
When she walked into the kitchen, Luna was staring out the back door to where the boys were tossing a football around the campfire.
“You okay, Lunabug?” Nesta asked, referring to that old nickname from her childhood that they all still used.
Luna nodded. “Yeah, just…tired, I guess. I think I may head to bed early tonight.”
“I get that, it was a big day,” Nesta smiled, and hugged her eldest niece. “Don’t worry about your dad. I’m sure Uncle Cass and Uncle Rhys have been calming him down all night.”
“I know, I know,” Luna sighed, burying her face in her aunt’s shoulder. “How am I supposed to ever look him in the eye again though? He didn’t see anything, but he knew what was happening. It’s not hard to figure out.”
“You’re almost an adult, sweet girl,” Nesta said, tipping her chin back so she kept her head high. “Sooner or later, your dad is going to have to accept that.”
Luna nodded and hugged her aunt again. Nesta hugged her tighter and said, “How do you think I feel right now? My adult son got caught having sex in public yesterday.” She felt Luna laugh and pulled back to rest her hand against her cheek. “It could be worse. I’m sure you’re embarrassed, but this will pass, okay? Your dad is overbearing because he loves you.”
Luna’s smile was small, but Nesta could tell it was genuine. “I know. Thank you, Aunt Nes.”
“You’re welcome,” she smiled. “Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
With a goodnight, Luna was off to the room, Layla and Scarlett only a few minutes behind her. The twins, stubborn as always, said they weren’t tired, yet were asleep on the floor within ten minutes.
“Another drink, ladies?” Feyre asked, bringing out a new wine glass as she fell on the couch between her sisters.
“Please,” Elain begged, holding out her glass.
Nesta didn’t protest either as the three sisters finished the movie, drinking the night away.
*
“Fuck, the twins are only two years younger.”
Rhysand, Cassian, and Azriel were lying in the grass, a beer in their hands, staring up at the stars as their boys swam in the water, the firelight the only thing allowing them any guidance.
“I just… I knew this day was coming,” Azriel said, his words slightly slurred. “I just… I don’t know. I wasn’t ready for it.”
“Can we ever be ready for it?” Cassian asked. “Boys…they’re easy. But, girls…” Cassian shook his head. “We’re never going to be ready for anything they put us through.”
“I want to find this kid… And-.”
“And what?” Rhysand asked, laughing as he cut off Azriel. “You act like you weren’t a teenager once.”
“I was,” Azriel confessed, then sighed. “But…that was me…this is…my daughter.”
“Have you met his parents yet?” Cassian asked, sitting up and bracing his elbows on his knees. “Once we met Marion’s parents, we felt way better. Mostly because we know Lorcan Salvaterre has the capability to kick Thorn’s ass, and Thorn does, too. But it also showed us Marion is a good girl. She comes from a good family, who loves and cares for her just as much as we do Thorn.”
“We’ve met his mom,” Azriel admitted, staring at stars still. “Or Lainey has, I haven’t. But she said she was sweet. Granted, she says Lachlan is sweet, too. She thinks everyone is sweet, cause she’s sweet.”
“You guys should try to all go to dinner when we get back to Velaris,” Cass suggested, finishing his beer. He tossed his empty can into the pile by the fire. “Meet his parents, get a vibe for them, shake the kid’s hand hard enough to leave an impression. I’m sure they love Luna, just like we love Marion.”
“Them loving Luna isn’t the point,” Azriel began, quietly. “Everyone loves Luna. The problem is…is that I was a teenage boy once, and I know exactly what this kid wants.”
“You also met Elain when you were a teenager,” Rhysand pointed out. “And, you started dating when you were teenagers. You’re telling me that the only reason you wanted to be with Elain was for sex?”
Azriel paused. Then answered, shortly, “No.”
“Then maybe this kid wants more than that, too,” Cassian said.
“But he wants the other thing, too,” Azriel protested, then groaned, flipping over until his face was buried in the grass.
“You can’t make her a nun,” Cassian said, Rhysand grinning on Azriel’s other side. “You can’t keep it from happening. Teach her to be safe, and she’ll be fine.”
Azriel’s voice was muffled by the ground. “Why are you being the reasonable one right now?”
“Because I’ve also been a teenage boy who loved a girl. Because I currently have a teenage boy who loves a girl, even if he makes stupid decisions with her sometimes,” he replied. “But I have to let him make those decisions on his own so he can learn. Luna is smart, Az. She’ll make good choices, you just have to let her make them.”
He grumbled something into the grass that his brothers couldn’t hear and Rhysand ruffled the back of his hair before standing.
“It’s getting late, the kids need to get to bed.”
They called the boys out of the water, handing out towels and dousing the fire as they headed up towards the house.
“Bennett and I can carry the beers out to the garage,” Thorn said, and Cassian’s eyes immediately met Rhysand’s amused state.
“Good try,” he chuckled.
Rhys added, “You can leave them on the kitchen counter.”
The boys mumbled something under their breath, but did as they were told and they all went off to get changed and get in bed.
They found their wives on the couch, wine drunk and giggly, with the twins asleep on the floor.
“Everyone else in bed?” Cassian asked, sitting on the arm of the couch by Nesta. She laid her head against his thigh and nodded.
Feyre inclined her head to her daughters on the floor in front of them. “These two insisted they weren’t tired.”
Rhysand snorted. “I see that.”
Azriel fell onto the couch by Elain while Rhys gently woke the twins and sent them to bed.
Elain looked up at him and chuckled, quietly, as she ran her fingers through his messy hair. “You’re drunk.”
“I am not,” he lied.
“Your eyes are glazed,” she whispered, “and I could barely make sense of the three words that just came out of your mouth.”
“He only had…” Cassian cocked his head to the side, counting on his fingers. “Yeah, I lost count. How many beers you have there, Az?”
Azriel mumbled something incomprehensible and sighed.
Cassian chuckled as he stood, and gathered Nesta in his arms before walking down the hall, toward their bedroom.
Feyre followed, carrying the empty wine glasses into the kitchen.
Elain shook her head as Azriel’s eyes fluttered shut, thanks to her fingertips gently rubbing at his head. A moment later, she thought he may have fallen asleep, but then he said, “I’m scared for her.”
Elain’s fingers slowed, but she nodded. “Luna’s smart-.”
“But teenage boys aren’t,” Azriel said, opening his eyes to meet his wife’s. “I know that Luna’s smart. And everyone can keep telling me how smart she is, but it doesn’t make me trust any guy that she’ll ever be with any more. Men are idiots. And the last thing I want is for my baby to be heartbroken, crying over some dick that didn’t deserve her in the first place.” Elain’s eyes softened, but Azriel went on, “And the fact that they’re getting more….intimate, only means that Luna’s starting to trust him and like him more. And that scares me.”
“I know,” Elain said, quietly, crawling onto his lap and straddling his waist. Her forehead fell against his as his eyes fell shut, once again. “She spent the entire night thinking she’d disappointed you.”
“She didn’t disappoint me,” Azriel said, quietly, and Elain knew that he meant it. And as she pulled back, she recognized the look that was creeping into his hazel eyes: guilt.
“She’s probably still awake if you want to go talk to her,” Elain said.
Azriel hesitated, then nodded. After Elain crawled off of him, he waited a moment before pushing himself up and began to amble his way down the hall, until he reached the last door on the left.
This time, he knocked.
He waited, and when there was no response, he knocked again, only to find no response. He cracked open the door and peeked inside. The lights were off, and Luna was sound asleep, the hood of her hoodie pulled over her dark hair, and the fan across the room on high, pointed right at her.
He laughed quietly at the sight.
Yeah, she was growing up, but sound asleep, she looked like she always had: mouth hanging open, one hand tossed behind her head. She used to fall asleep on him like that, and he’d have to carry her to bed and tuck her in. That’s how she would always be to him: that little girl whose only man in her life was her daddy.
Except that’s not how it was, not anymore.
Azriel walked to her bedside and leaned down to kiss her forehead before pulling her blanket up higher around her. “Night, Lunabug.”
As he headed back for her door, he heard, “Dad?”
He spun around, that alcohol catching up with him and nearly knocking himself over, thanks to the quick motion. He grabbed the doorframe to steady himself. “I…knocked this time.”
Luna rolled over and looked at him. Thanks to the light in the hallway streaming in, he could see the hurt in her light brown eyes. “I’m sorry.”
Azriel’s shoulders sagged as he made his way back into the room and sat down on the edge of her bed. He ran a hand through his hair before saying, “You don’t need to be sorry. I’m sorry. You’re growing up, and that’s exactly what you’re supposed to do, but I’m still figuring out how to raise a young woman and not a little girl.”
Luna nodded, but said nothing.
“It’s hard, though,” he began, honestly. “When I was seventeen, Luna, I had no idea how to treat girls. I went on a lot of dates, and…did a lot of things on those dates…and, if I’m being honest with you, not a lot of those things meant anything to me other than what I got out of them at that moment.” He looked at Luna. “It wasn’t until I started dating your mom that I got some sense knocked into me.”
She chuckled at that.
“But, I also know that Lachlan is not me,” Azriel continued. “I also know that I don’t know a lot about him. So, maybe next week we can have him and his parents over for dinner, and I can start to get to know him, if he means that much to you.”
He didn’t need any light in the room to see the tears lining her eyes. “I would like that.”
“Then you talk to him, I’ll talk to mom, and we’ll make it happen, okay?” She nodded, and he leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead. “Goodnight, Lunabug. I love you.”
Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and he was glad for what little balance he still had, so he didn’t topple over on her. “I love you, too, daddy.”
Wrapping an arm around her, he held her close, not letting her go until he felt her arms getting heavier. Until he carefully settled her back into the bed, tucking the covers around her, but not too tight, because she hated feeling constricted, and pushed the hoodie back just a bit to see her sleeping face.
She looked so much like her mother while she was asleep.
Quietly, carefully, he slipped out the door and closed it behind him.
He could tell the television and lights had been shut off in the living room, so he aimed for their bedroom instead, and found Elain sleepily beneath the covers herself. He stripped off his shirt and shorts, wearing just a pair of boxer-briefs and slid into bed beside her, aware that he probably smelled like a bar. Elain didn’t complain though, she just laid her head on his chest and slung an arm and leg over his body.
“How’d it go?” She asked into the darkness.
“Good. She was asleep, and I accidentally woke her up, but it’s okay. We needed to talk,” he admitted. He paused for a second before asking,
“Do you have Lachlan’s parents numbers?”
Lifting her head, Elain looked at him in the moonlight. “We are not talking to them about this at midnight, Azriel.”
“No, no,” he chuckled, rubbing a calming hand up and down her arm. “I was thinking it might be nice to have them over for dinner one night next week, all of them. Lachlan, Aelin and Rowan.”
Elain lifted a brow. “You’re serious.”
Azriel blinked. “Why wouldn’t I be serious?”
“Because you’re drunk and you just spent the entire day throwing a hissy fit,” Elain mumbled, nuzzling into his neck.
Azriel laughed, quietly. “Damn, you’re mean.”
Elain huffed then propped herself up on an elbow. “I’m serious. If they come over, you need to be nice.”
Azriel scoffed, his hand sliding down her back then up her shirt. “I’m always nice.”
“No mean-mugging the kid,” Elain went on. “You will ask him about his likes and dislikes, and you will not scare him shitless.”
Azriel sighed. “Yeah, yeah. I promise.”
“And you will offer Rowan some of your good whiskey,” Elain said.
Azriel looked pointedly at his wife. “There’s no need to get carried away.”
Elain grinned as she leaned down and pressed her mouth softly against his. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” he whispered, and closed his eyes.
He was sound asleep before Elain could even lay back down, and snuggle up to him beneath the covers.
He was over-dramatic, and surely a pain in her ass, but by the gods, she loved that man. He had given her three beautiful, perfect children, and although, sixteen years after their first was born, they were still figuring this whole parenting ordeal out….Azriel was doing a pretty damn good job.
Which only made her love him even more.
133 notes · View notes
tsrookie · 3 years
Text
Always In My Heart
Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Dr. Alyssa Brooks)
A/N: On today’s episode of ‘I have no idea wtf I’m doing’, we have something that I cooked up because I had terrible WiFi and no other app but Google docs would open up.
Trope: Fluff, but a tiny bit of angst?
Rating: General
Word Count: 2.3K
Warning(s): Mentions of character death
Summary: Their son has a very important question to ask.
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The delicious aroma of chicken and rice wafted through the Brooks-Ramsey household. The couple worked side by side in the kitchen as they had all those years ago, the only difference being that it was now a dinner for five and not just two.
Allison Dolores Brooks-Ramsey came into their lives nine years ago, and while it was earlier than they would have wanted, they didn’t regret a second of their lives ever since they first heard her voice.
The twins on the other hand, were planned, but nothing had prepared them for the chaos that Nathan and Natalie would bring. A new broken object every week, a dozen fights for the TV every day, and yet were nothing short of tiny tornadoes when they joined forces.
It couldn’t be more perfect.
“What time did Jackie and Emilia say that they would bring the girls back?”
“6:30, I think.”
“Ah. So we have time till 7:00.” They shared a knowing smile. Two aunts taking their nine and six year old nieces to the mall meant a complete raid of the toy store, and a new guitar.
“You need to stop letting everyone spoil the girls just because you have a soft spot for them, Ethan. Ally’s grown old enough to understand that she has her daddy wrapped around her finger, and we don’t need Nat coming to that realisation as well.”
“I don’t- I can’t believe you would accuse me of not loving all my children equally!”, he exclaimed in mock offense.
“Mhmm. So why did I have to come up with an explanation to tell Nathan why his dad wasn’t on board with ordering dessert when he asked for it, but relented once his sisters kept bugging him for another five minutes?”
He opened his mouth in protest, but decided against saying anything for his own good. “Well what can I say? They’ve inherited their mother’s persuasiveness. And I can’t really say no to you, can I?”
Alyssa’s lips curved upwards at that. The playful look in her husband’s eyes caused her to finally break into a grin. “At least you’re self-aware.” Stuffing the rice into the bird she added, “But I can’t exactly tell our son that his dad is too in-love with his mom that he sees her in his daughters and hence can’t say no to them. He’d gag in disgust.”
He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her, resting his head in the crook of her neck. “That he would. Alright I’ll try a little harder to resist their charms. Wouldn’t want my only son to end up hating me.” He said it without a hint of worry over it becoming true someday. Over the years, he’d learned to put aside his fears of not being a good father, and with the help of some therapy, and Alyssa’s unwavering love and support, he’d locked up his insecurities in a box and let it sink to the bottom of the ocean.
They took the stuffed chicken and put it in the oven, washed their hands and plopped down on the couch for some rare downtime.
“Crap.”
“Everything okay?”
“Fred’s mom got called in, so she’s dropping Nate off on her way to work.”
Ethan sighed. “There goes the hour I planned to spend with my wife, who I barely get to spend enough time with these days.”
“I swear, you were never this busy when you were chief. I have no idea why my workload’s ten times bigger.”
“I do.” Ethan smiled with pride. “One usually does have a lot of work when they’re at the front lines of the battle for making free healthcare accessible for every single person in the country. My brilliant wife, though she could choose to leave most of the work to her very competent team, opts to take it all upon herself. So that’s probably the cause behind all the extra workload she complains about.”
She smirked and perched herself onto his lap. “Well your very brilliant wife also knows that you called my team very competent just to avoid hurting my feelings, and that you and I both know that they’ll be running around like headless chickens without me taking care of things.”
“I know, love. But you can still make them do a little more instead of working yourself to the bone while still making sure that you have at least one meal with the kids every day.”
She sighed. “Yeah, to make sure that they don’t forget what I look like.” She leaned in closer. “Besides, are we really going to spend our last few minutes of peace talking about work?”
Just as she uttered the words, the door burst open, and Nathan kicked off his shoes and jumped onto the couch as Alyssa slid down from Ethan’s lap. She shot him a look that very clearly meant What did I just say?
Ethan gave her an apologetic look and ruffled his son’s hair. “Hey buddy. How was your day at Fred’s? I know you wanted to spend more time with him.”
“I did, and we were just about to open his new LEGO set when Mrs. Watson told us that she had to run up to her office for some emergency meeting.”, he pouted. “But it was a nice day. We watched Thor: Ragnarok and Luca, and we would’ve watched another movie if his dad didn’t tell us that two movies were enough for a day.”
Alyssa shot him a mildly stern look. “Well he was right. You’re too young to have movie marathons just yet. Two are more than enough, unless you want to have a headache.”
“But mom, I’m not too young! I’m a big boy! I can swing along the monkey bars at the park faster than Natalie, and soon I’ll swing across buildings just like Spider-Man!”
“Well Spider-Man got bitten by a yucky spider before he swung across buildings. Do you want to be bitten by a gross and poisonous spider?”
“Mommy, not all spiders are gross and poisonous. Dad told me that when I was four and got scared of them at the zoo.”
She rolled her eyes. Leave it to her husband to convince her kids that insects were anything short of creepy and disgusting. In reality, they were, but as someone who ran a mile away at the sight of a butterfly, she wasn’t going to accept that.
“That’s right, Nate. Some of them are certainly very poisonous and dangerous, but that doesn’t mean that you should be scared of them. If you maintain your distance and admire them from afar, there should be no problem at all.”, he said with a pointed look at Alyssa, who just huffed in annoyance.
Nathan giggled, his brown eyes lighting up with amusement. He loved watching his parents playfully bicker. It was way better than seeing them- ugh, kiss.
“We were pretending to be superheroes and Fred used his full name for his pretend name cause it sounded cool, and it is. Fredrick Anthony Watson sounds like something from that show you and mom watch with the guys in the stuffy suits.”
“When did you see us watching the show with the guys in the stuffy suits?”, asked Ethan with a slight hint of concern. Whatever he and Alyssa watched on their free nights was definitely not kid-friendly.
“I don’t remember. Maybe a few months ago.”
Their year old puppy, Ivy, woke up from her nap and bounced into the living room to jump onto her favourite person. Nathan squealed with joy as the fluffy hair of the dog tickled his nose.
Ethan and Alyssa smiled at each other. Getting another dog after Jenner was a decision that took a lot of convincing, but their kids were responsible enough and it was impossible to say no after two years of constant pestering.
“Fred told me that he was named after his great-grandfather William, and that he was this really cool guy who saved a bunch of guys from getting mugged in a dark, dark alley.” He turned to look at his parents as Ivy snuggled into his lap. “Who was I named after mom?”
The question caught her off guard, and she glanced at Ethan for backup.
When they knew that they were having a boy, they immediately knew what to name him. They hadn't, however, anticipated Nathan Daniel Brooks-Ramsey to ask such a question this soon.
Seeing his wife at a loss for words, Ethan spoke up. “C’mere Nate.” He pulled him closer and pressed a kiss atop his head. “We once had a friend named Daniel. He worked at the hospital as a nurse, and he was close to your mom and Aunt Sienna when they were interns.”
Having found her voice, Alyssa joined in. “He was an amazing friend. He was the only nurse in the hospital who helped me out when things got messy, and cheered up Aunt Sienna when no one else could. He’d join us for picnics and movie nights, and you could always count on him if you needed something at the hospital.” She took a deep breath, and Ethan nodded. “Things were going well, but then in my second year, something really bad happened.”
“Oh no.”
“There was this bad guy, who wanted his revenge on another bad guy, and he was ready to risk his own life, and the lives of everyone around him to do so.”
“That’s horrible! Who would want to do something like that?”
Ethan smiled wistfully. “A lot of people in this world actually do. You’re a good person, so you know that it’s wrong. But some people aren’t, and they don’t care about other people getting hurt because of their actions. That night at the hospital, Danny tried to tell the bad guy that it was wrong, and to think things through. But he didn’t listen, and did something that hurt both himself, Danny, Uncle Raf, another friend of ours, and your mom.”
His little eyebrows creased with worry, Nathan asked, “What happened then?”
“He… he died. Along with our other friend, Bobby. Do you remember what we once told you about an autopsy?” Nathan nodded his head. “Well Danny asked for his body to be autopsied, and thanks to him, we were able to find out what was wrong with mom and Uncle Raf.”
He fell silent for a moment, remembering the horrors of the day, and how eternally grateful he was to Danny for being the reason he didn’t lose everything. He couldn’t imagine a life without the love of his life and his children, and he wouldn’t have either if not for the sacrifices that were made.
He looked up at Alyssa, and she squeezed his hand in support. “We’ll tell you more when you’re older, but to make it short, you’re named after a hero too. If it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t have you, your sisters, or mom here with me.”
Nathan wriggled out of his dad’s arms, and set Ivy down so he could hug his mom as tightly as he could.
“Well… if you can hear me Mr. Daniel, I just wanna thank you. Thanks for saving my mom. I love her so much and I’m so thankful that I got to meet her because of what you did. I wish I could’ve met you, you sound like a really cool person, and I’m sure you were. So yeah, thanks. A lot.”
Alyssa’s eyes glimmered with unshed tears, and she held her son as she expressed her silent thanks along with Ethan.
What they had was precious.
Fifteen years had passed since they first met, and yet each day they fell in love a little more like they did when they held hands for the first time in the dim light of the NICU watching over little Ethan, or when she finally got to see the real him the first time she visited his place; the first time in years he let someone know a little of the worries residing deep in his heart.
With all the odds against them, it was a miracle that they survived, even more so that they managed to raise three perfect children who had more love to share than they could ever comprehend.
And they’d never forget all the reasons that made it possible for them to survive.
Ding!
The timer on the oven went off, and they got to their feet to get the chicken.
“Was he a good cook dad?”
“I… don’t really know, Nate. Your mom knew him better than I did.”
“Well there was this one time where he helped Aunt Sienna bake an amazing cake, so I guess he knew his way around the kitchen.”, Alyssa recollected fondly. It was for Jackie’s birthday, one of the few nights where the competition was completely forgotten about.
Nathan’s face melted into a glowing smile. “I love cake. So I guess I really would’ve loved him.”
She mirrored his radiant expression. “You definitely would’ve.”
“Why don’t you go play with Ivy while mom and I get the food ready? You can help us with the dessert later.”
“We’re having dessert?!”
Ethan grinned at his son’s excitement. “You bet we are.”
“Yay!” They watched as Nathan ran off to go play fetch with Ivy in their enormous backyard.
Ethan pulled Alyssa in for a sweet, lingering kiss as soon as he was out of sight.
“You’ve been wanting to do that for a while now hmm?”
“Something like that.”, he murmured as they broke apart.
She could see the ever-increasing strands of silver in his brown hair, and the faint wrinkles along the sides of his forehead, but his clear blue eyes were just as loving and devoted as she remembered from over a decade ago.
“We have a pretty good life, don’t we?”
Ethan kissed her again. “No, we have the perfect life.”
——————————
A/N 2: Aaaand I’m going MIA again. Honestly though, to everyone who’s read so far, thank you so much for sticking around. Means the world💙
P.S: I finally chose Chyler Leigh as my face claim!
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georgiapeach30513 · 2 years
Note
OMG our precious conversation gave me this precious idea!
but WHAT IF… Story’s babies are actually all girls? Now, she just wanted one boy coz growing up, she saw how her Mama is with Bladey, and she wanted the same bond with a mini Carter so she’ll have herself a little mama’s boy? Oh it would be so cute! But let’s face it… Papa’s going to be the happiest coz he’ll have himself 5 little Stowy books again 😹
- aree <3
Could you imagine how happy that not only Papa would be, but Carter just to have all these mini Stowy books running around? I think sometimes people forget how captivated he was with her as a little girl, and that's why she crushed so hard on him. And you know that those girls would be the BIGGEST princesses! I'm still going to keep Otto as is. So all these sweet NEW babies will be Carter's biological children.  So here’s the names...in order of birth, and Story is also currently pregnant.
Faelynn Magnolia Isabeau Astrid Alora Jade Odette Viola
🖤🖤🖤🖤
Cute and Horny
Summary:  Story and Carter have a lot of little princesses
Pairings:  Carter Baizen X Story Baizen
Rating:  cute
Warnings: wee little girls everywhere, 18+ ONLY
Word Count:  1.4K
Desperate Lives AU Masterlist
What If...? Masterlist
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Carter steps up behind his wife giving her a quick kiss, while she finishes up breakfast for her family.  His hands move down her stomach, and he cups the growing stretched belly of Story’s.  "Are you sure this is it?"
"Carter," she starts turning around, and making him move back because of the bump, "Number six, and number seven.  Yeah, I'm pretty sure this should be it," she gives him a quick peck before turning back around.  "Is Otto going to work with you today?"
"Yes.  Faelynn is going with Iris, Isabeau with James, Alora is going to be with Aster, and Odette is going to be with Papa and Mimi.  Her is a bit too little to be going to work,” Carter playfully says giving a quick cheek kiss to Odette.  “But Papa said he's putting her to work anyways.  You going to be okay, My Queen?" she nods her head, getting a tug on her leg from Isabeau.
"Hey, sweet Izzy girl, what is it?"
"I don't wanna go with James, can I stay with you?" while Story had thought she was going to get her a house full of daddy's girls, Izzy is most definitely a mama's girl.  She loves Carter, but she doesn't like to be too far from her mom.  "Please."
"Mommy is just going to the doctor."
"Why?  They're getting bigger.  The end," she jumps up on the stool and pouts up at her.  "Please."
"No.  You already told uncle James and uncle Beau you would keep Thorne and Arlo company, so that's what you're going to do.  And then, my sweetest little girl, mommy will come pick you up after my appointment, okay?" she throws her head back in defeat, blowing out a loud puff of air but agrees.  
Story and Carter finish getting the girls ready, making sure that everyone has their lunch, and he helps her load them in the car before taking off with their only boy.  Just the way Story wanted.  Rubbing along her stomach she takes a deep breath before dropping off her littlest girl with her parents.  Ransom holds Odette through the window, and she gives Story a sloppy kiss, "You be good Odie, don't let Papa tell you that daddy is yucky either."
"No kissy daddy.  Daddy yucky."
Story gives an angry glare at her father, "You shouldn't be kissing him so much."
"I'll stop kissing my husband when you stop, oh..." she lets a big puff of air out, and Ransom goes to ask if she's okay, "I'm fine.  Stop kissing mom, and that's when I'll stop kissing Carter."
Ransom turns to look at Odette, and she giggles at him.  "Mommy never quit kissy yucky daddy."
Next stop is dropping off Faelynn.  Her name fit her well.  Such a fairy princess, and reminding Carter so much of his own little princess growing up.  Always wearing a tutu, always wearing pink, but because she's going with aunt Iris, she wears a floral ensemble.  Making sure to show Icy when she jumps out.  "Story, you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, going in for a check up once I get everyone dropped off."
"She's picking me up afterwards!" Izzy screams up at her.
"Separation anxiety, huh?" Iris asks putting her hand on Story's stomach, "Ree."
"Braxton hicks.  Look at all these kids, and two have already went with someone else.  I know the difference.  Fae, be good for aunt Icy, okay Pixie Dust?" opening up the door she stands to give her mom a kiss, and then that big bump of hers.  "Love you baby."
"Alright, next stop the townhouse, and then Izzy it's me and you, until I get to the jobsite," her dramatic daughter throws her head back releasing a small growl, but Story just turns up the music, trying to drown her out.  She knows that the little girl is mostly feeling this way because there's going to be another baby.  Every baby after her, she gets more clingy.  Pulling into the townhouse, Aster runs out to meet her.
"Ah! Rory girl, come on sweet thing.  Uncle Beck is going to be with us today," Alora pulls herself out of her carseat and jumps up to the front to give Story a hug and kiss.  Leaving Story a bit breathless, and pushing on her stomach.  "Do I need to call Carter?"
"No.  I'm going to take Izzy to James and Beau, and then the doctor.  Love you!"
Aster doesn't listen.  Her phone already comes out and she's pressing it to her ear, to call her brother-in-law.  Story didn't look right.  
Story pulls into the jobsite, and has a short argument with her last daughter, "Izzy out of the car."
"No, I don't want to stay here."
"I'm getting you right after.  Out of the car."
"No!  I don't want to stay with two boys.  Let me go..." she stops when Story's head dips down.  As if knowing her phone goes off with Carter calling.  "Mommy?  Mommy, daddy is calling.  Are you not going to answer it."
"Izzy get James or Beau."
Isabeau jumps out of her seat and runs into the jobsite spotting Thorne and the little Arlo, "Jamey, B there's something wrong with mommy," her face gets blotchy, and James scoops up the little girl to carry out with him.
"Ree, Carter is calling," Story just keeps her head dipped down, taking in slow breaths.  "Ree, you okay?" she shakes her head no.  "I'm going to answer Carter's call."
"My Queen, what's going on?  Aster called me worried sick."
"Carter, it's me.  I'm going to take her to the hospital.  I'll call her mom and dad, and let them know, and they can pick up the kids.  Beau won't be able to watch them all and work.  Izzy, you're going to have to cooperate and stay with uncle B, okay?" she gives him a pout, but says okay.  Walking up on the porch she watches as James helps her mother into the passenger seat.  "Ree, how far apart are your contractions?"
"About three to five minutes," James starts to speed up trying to rush her to the hospital, "I don't want to die in this car."
"And I don't want to to deliver twins.  I don't want to see that.  I'll do it, but I don't wanna," he continues rushing, getting another call from Carter.  "What?"
"Story, you ok, honey?"
"Three minutes, Baizen.  I don't want to do this without you."
"Honey, I'm already at the hospital.  You want me to sing you a song," she whispers out a yes, and Carter's flat tone, but still so sweet voice starts singing, "Beautiful dreamer, Beautiful Dreamer, wake unto me.  Starlight and dewdrops are waiting for thee; sounds of the rude world heard in the day, Lull'd by the moonlight have all passed away!  Where you at?"
"Pulling her in," Story looks to see her handsome husband who stands with a nurse and wheelchair, ready to get her admitted.  Opening up her door to help her out.  His eyes drift all over her face, checking to see if there’s any minor changes.  
Carter calmly rests his hand on her stomach, and he should have known.  She was taking too many breaks.  Stopping what she was saying just to breathe.  The nurse hooks her up almost immediately, letting them know the doctor would be here shortly, but the nurse never leaves.  When the doctor comes in, he takes a look at her with a smile.  "We don't have time for an epidural.  You're having these babies, right now, Story.  You ready?"
________________________________________________________________________________
Carter looks up from his son that lays sleeping on his naked chest, to look at Story in a similar position, August Blade Baizen nursing like a pro, while she smiles down at him wistfully.  "You sure, my Queen?"
"I think so," she whispers.  Her eyes never leaving Auggie.  "I do love this though," she looks over at her content husband and sleeping boy.  "But when is the stopping point if not now?"
"I'm just playing, honey.  Hugo James, you want to be a big brother?  Or are you okay with officially being our last?" when he lets out those sweet little squeaks, Story just gently giggles.  "I'll stop when you wanna stop."
"Four girls and three boys is an odd number.  But we just had these two handsome boys.  Let me get my gown back on, and cover my tits, and we can let the family meet them, okay."
"I really hate when you cover them though."
"Baizen, don't get cute and horny less than two hours after I pushed your sons out of my vagina."
Standing up he assists in getting her wrapped back up.  Giving a soft kiss to Auggie before, a long lingering one to Story, "I love you, Baizen."
"Love you too, my queen."
Masterlist
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asmo-ds · 3 years
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Hi! Im sorry for bothering you!
Do you know the song She by Dodie? I was wondering how the brothers heard a Male mc singing it while crying, but she is he because mc is thinking about the brothers, saying '[insert name] means everything to me' as the last line? Is that okay? Im sorry! Have a great day, i love your work!!!
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React to m!MC singing “she” by Dodie using their names
Warnings: masc!MC, Nothing bad rlly, just all the brothers being ~soft~
Summary: How the brothers react when they hear m!MC singing “she” by Dodie, but using he/him pronouns and the brother’s name at the end of the song 
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- He had heard his voice from down the hallway as he was on his way to his study
- He couldn’t help but close his eyes and lean against the wall outside MC’s door, listening to his sweet melody.
- When he was able to focus on the lyrics he couldn’t help but feel intrigued
- He figured that MC had to be singing about one of his brothers in this moment and couldn’t help but feel a pang on jealousy in his chest
- When he heard his own name whispered by the human man towards the end of the song he felt a tear run down his cheek
- Lucifer had forgotten what it felt like to be loved so tenderly that hearing someone sing an entire song so emotionally only to find out they were thinking of him the entire time was overwhelming.
- He hid in his office all night, pacing and running his hands through his now messy hair trying to figure out to how tell MC he felt the same way
- When MC came to check on him the next day he said ‘fuck it’ and kissed them quickly, blushing and apologizing before confessing them he had heard the song they sang
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- He was on his way to burst into MC’s room when he heard a soft voice singing
- Mammon had always been intrigued by MC and their feelings so he wanted to know what they sang for, he leaned his ear up against the door and listened closely for the lyrics
- He found it pleasing to find MC was in fact gay and was singing about a man 
- He hoped that the ‘he’ mentioned in the song was him, but at the same time he worried it may have been about another brother
- Though his thoughts were loud and overbearing with jealousy and questions, MC soft whisper of his name cleared his head up
- He burst into the room with a bright red face and the two boys just stared at each other for a few moments and the next thing they knew they were kissing passionately
- Mammon was embarrassed to admit he had been listening to MC for so long
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- He had heard MC singing through the thin walls that separated their rooms
- He leaned his ear against the wall in an attempt to hear him better
- He was only able to hear muffled singing at first and he couldn’t help but think his voice was lovely
- He wanted to know what he was singing about so he quickly and quietly made his way to MC’s door; which was much easier to hear through
- He listened to the lyrics and felt the envy bubbling up inside of him
- He was thinking of who he could be dinging about; had he fallen for one of his brothers? of course he couldn’t possibly be singing about him since he was just a yucky otaku-
- then he heard his name and he screamed in surprise; which led MC outside his door to find the blushy navy general laying on the floor passed out 
- He couldn’t be happier
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- He had sat down in the Library knowing MC was organizing books somewhere in the shelves
- He wanted to hang out with him right after he finished so he was reading and waiting but he heard humming and it distracted him from his reading so he listened closely to MC’s song
- He heard the lyrics and was immediately in a trance from how much he adored MC’s voice
- He thought about the lyrics and tried to wrack his brain for an explanation
- He began to think that maybe one of his brothers had swayed MC and he felt disappointment rise in his chest
 - Then he heard a soft whisper of his name and he almost cried
- He immediately jumped from his seat to run through the library and find MC
- MC had a blush on his face when the two of them made eye contact and Satan smiled softly; letting a sigh out as he walked towards MC and put his arms around him and kissing his forehead
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- He had been wandering around the house looking for attention from anybody
- He heard the soft singing and decided to shamelessly listen in; pressing his ear against the door and swaying his head to the rhythm
- He recognizes the song and quietly sings along with MC, wondering who the human man could be singing about
- He hoped it was him and he was sure they probably were singing about him because he is so attractive 
- But he also could tell from their behavior that they had a crush on him; though he wasn’t aware of just how strong those feelings were until he heard him whisper “Asmodeus” at the end
- Squeals and bursts in the room to tackle MC in a hug 
- Peppers his face in kisses
- “I knew you liked me too! I just knew it! Such a Lovely voice, MC! SO cuuuute!” 
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- Was on his way to get a midnight snack when he noticed MC in the kitchen
- He heard him singing and found it to be relaxing; so he stood outside the doorway to listen to MC’s song
- The lyrics made him feel a little sad as he thought that MC may have fallen for someone else
- He smiled though because MC sounded happy; and as long as MC is happy, Beel is happy
- He hoped that whoever he were singing about could make him the happiest human alive
- Then he heard the soft whisper of his name and stepped into the kitchen; thinking it was just MC calling to him
- The human blushes and asks how much he heard and Beel (being oblivious) told him he had heard his song and hoped that whoever he was singing for would reciprocate his feelings
- Beel is surprised when MC rolls his eyes and just places a chaste kiss on Beel’s lips
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- MC had though the avatar of sloth was in a deep sleep; but he was lulled out of it by soft singing from the human
- The human was singing mindlessly while scrolling through their D.D.D in one hand and petting his head with the other
- He grew irritated for a minute; thinking there was someone who had stolen their heart before he could
- He listened to the song grumpily; trying to find clues to who it might be
- The most obvious clue was given to him at the end when he heard the soft calling of his name
- and oh my Diavolo he has never sat up so fast
- He just stared at MC, both their faces flushed red, before Belphegor leaned in to catch the human in a loving kiss filled with feeling they’d both hid for so long
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frostsinth · 3 years
Text
Burdened by the Stars - Pt. 5
Part 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 - MasterList - Art
Holy Shit, it’s an update! A real update! For an existing story! Not a new project, not some random side quest.
Hey! I’m not dead! Whooo!
Welp. I hope you guys enjoy this! I’ve started writing the next chapter already, so hopefully it won’t be another four months for an update. Thank you for your patience! Lots of love.
Requested tags: @lightning-butterfly
“Auntie Gana!” Lorette squealed excitedly, launching herself onto my back and wrapping her arms around my neck. “I found you!”
I jumped nearly a foot, then laughed to dispel my jitteriness. Nearly toppling over entirely as her brother Corwin gave a shout upon the discovery of us both and jumped right on top. Our combined hot breath billowing like a cloud around us.
The afternoon with my nieces and nephews had certainly been refreshing. Though the mountain air of the goblin castle gardens was cold (colder even than the usual winter temperatures at lower altitudes), with all the running around we were doing, I hardly noticed. The six of them had been ecstatic to be pulled from their lessons early for the day, and had nearly bounced off the walls. Much to the disdain of their tutor, who gave me a dark glower as I pried the youngest off their chalkboard. But as I was the goblin Princess, and technically an adult, they had no recompense against my decision to dismiss them for the day to take over supervision of my nieces and nephews.
“It’s your turn to find us, Auntie!” Corwin informed me as Izaak and the twins skipped over. Likely alerted by the sounds of my hiding spot being uncovered.
I nodded my agreement, tossing Lorette over my shoulder as I stood up. She squealed and kicked, laughing so hard she was breathless. Her red braids slapping about her face as she wriggled. I glanced up at the sky, feeling the edge of anxiousness at the pestering thoughts of what Erramun might be doing. It was a thought that had often interrupted my afternoon. Leaving me more than a little distant and distracted, to the point where even my youngest charges were starting to notice. Hopefully he was still asleep, or at least resting quietly. Though with the sun sinking ever lower, I wasn’t sure how much longer I could assure myself of that.
“Alright, one more round.” I told them, placing Lorette back on her feet. “Then I’ve got to get you all back inside to wash up before dinner.” 
I ignored the round of groans at my response. The twins, Yua and Hilal, each grabbed on to one of my legs and began to loudly proclaim I’d have to drag them inside if that’s what I wanted. Hilal even argued that she wasn’t hungry, and that dinner was going to be yucky anyway, so there was no point going in. Apparently Niko was currently on a healthy eating vendetta. Feeling that his family was far too indulgent in sweets and treats not indicative of a well-rounded diet for growing boys and girls. So he had taken a firm mindset and an iron grip on what was being cooked and served for their meals. A decision that I gathered was not sitting well with his offspring. Or his husband, evidently. I looked around four a moment as Lorette ducked under my elbow and tugged on it insistently.
“Where’s Viktor?” I asked Izaak, who was currently having a shoulder shoving match with Corwin, the closest to him in age with only a year between the two.
“Viktor?” Izaak took a step back, letting his brother topple to the ground at his feet as he turned his attention to me. Craning his neck back to look up at me with his soft, umber eyes. “He went to pick flowers I think.”
“Shut up, you ninny!” Cried Yua, jumping up from my leg and shoving her older (and much larger) brother to little effect. “He wanted to surprise Auntie Gana!”
Izaak gave the 6 year old a barely concealed scowl. “Well then he shouldn’t have taken so long.” The little prince squared his shoulders and tucked his hands behind his back. “He should have stayed with the rest of us, now it’s getting dark.”
“It is getting dark,” I agreed, reaching out to ruffle his messy blonde hair, “We should go find him.”
Izaak squealed in displeasure, pushing my hand away. “Auntie! Please don’t touch my hair! It took me forever to get it combed straight!”
Corwin, having scrambled back up, attempted to now launch himself at his sibling. Trying unsuccessfully to rangle Izaak to the ground. They may have been close in age, but Corwin was a full blooded goblin, leaving him smaller and lankier than his half-blooded older brother. Izaak was tall, even for a human child at his age, and while Corwin was by no means a runt, he would likely never quite manage to catch up. Still, he gave Izaak more than a little trouble, hanging off him as he was.
“Be careful not to get Crown Prince Izaak messy!” He mocked as he did, giving a sharp toothed smirk, “Papa is never messy, so Crown Prince Izaak can’t be messy either!”
“Get OFF, Cory!” Izaak howled back, beating a little fist into his brother’s back.
“Alright, that’s enough,” I told them, prying Corwin off and tucking him under one arm despite his wiggling and the fact that one twin was still latched to my leg, “Come on, we’ve got to find Viktor before it gets too dark.”
“He’ll get scared if it gets too dark,” Yua reminded the others busily.
“He can’t see in the dark like us,” Hilal finished, tugging on my skirts and offering me a traditional pointy toothed grin from her place still wrapped around my leg. 
I glanced at her, returning her smile, then at Yua, now standing over her sister to tug at my skirts. The pair weren’t actually twins; Niko and Grier had adopted both of the goblin girls at the same time as chubby infants, and they had fast become inseparable. Now they championed the title of ‘twins’, rarely going anywhere without each other and making it a point to finish each other’s sentences. And thoughts, at times. It helped some that they didn’t look particularly dissimilar, though Yua had copper brown hair while Hilal’s was nearly pitch black. Other than that, they were the same age and height, and tended to prefer the same clothes and hairstyles. I brushed a few wild strands of Hilal’s hair out of her face as I finally put a kicking and wriggling Corwin back on his feet.
“But Auntie Gana,” Whined Lorette, “If we spend all that time looking for Viktor, we can’t play one last round!”
I thought about that for a second, tapping my fingertips dramatically against my lips as goblins did and leaving the children giggling excitedly. I had long ago adopted it as my signal to show them I had something fun planned for them. I could see them all bouncing on their toes eagerly as they waited. Even Izaak, trying so hard to be stoic and proper as he thought a Prince should be, had a glimmer of light dancing in his wide eyes.
“Well then, we’ll just have to make a game of it.” I told them. “First one to find Viktor… Gets dessert after dinner.”
I didn’t have to say it twice to have 4 of the five children screeching with delight and bounding off through the gardens. Certainly they must be deprived of sweets for such an incentive to work. I almost laughed at that, and almost being able to picture the tiniest of scowls at the corner of Niko’s lips when he found out. Soon their bobbing heads had disappeared among the hedges and paths. Izaak looked like he wanted to join them, his body slightly angled as if to launch into a full sprint. But he stopped, hesitating and looking up at me.
“Are you ok, Auntie Gana?” He asked me quietly, shuffling in place.
I looked at him in surprise. “Of course, Izaak! Why?”
He shrugged, bringing his hands around to rub at the palm of one. “I just thought you seemed a little quiet today… Are you and papa fighting?”
I almost groaned. “Did your inunu put you up to this? Or Niko himself?” I asked knowingly. Eying my oldest nephew suspiciously. Wondering if he had been spying on me this entire time. And also wondering if i had given anything away.
He gave me a sheepish grin. “Both. Inunu promised I could have three isiok if I asked, and papa said I could stay up a whole hour late with him.”
I would have laughed, shaking my head and putting my hands on my hips. “Is that why you aren’t racing off with your brother and sisters to find Viktor?” I reasoned, and he nodded.
“I already get dessert, even if someone else finds him.” He told me, sounding pleased with himself. “Papa doesn’t know inunu already asked, and inunu doesn’t know papa asked!”
I did laugh then, reaching out and giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze as we turned to make our way off the grass and walk along the main garden path. Mindful of his hair per his request. It hadn’t appeared particularly neat, but I was sure the messy locks were quite uncooperative. And I knew how much he tried. He slipped in a little closer, matching my stride with his and squaring his little shoulders again. I smiled to myself. He looked so much like Niko when he did that. A tiny little green-skinned, blonde-haired Niko, I corrected myself with amusement, but Niko-esque for certain.
“Two birds with one stone,” I mused aloud, wrapping my arm about his shoulders, “Very clever of you, Your Highness.”
He couldn’t seem to help grinning again, looking down at his shiny boots. “Yeah, but I think it only works if I have something to tell them.”
I shook my head once more, kicking up a little gravel as we went. “Not at all! The promise from both of them was just for you to ask me right? They didn’t say you had to get an answer.” I grinned back at him. “Or that you couldn’t tell me they asked you to.”
He seemed to think about that for a second, then nodded. “Yeah, Auntie, you’re right!” He looked up at me again, tilting his head to the side. “So you don’t have to tell me… unless you want to, that is.”
I sighed a little. “Alright,  here’s what you can say. You tell Niko I said that he needs to stop treating me like a baby and pestering me all the time. And tell Grier I said you should get four isiok, because you are a very sweet and clever little Prince and you deserve all the extra dessert you want.”
Izaak chortled, nodding in bemusement. “Alright Auntie. I can do that.”
“And tell them Lorette gets dessert tonight too,” I proclaimed more loudly, as the rest of the gaggle returned, the half-goblin triumphantly holding a screeching Viktor over her shoulder, “As she is the best little brother wrangler of all time.”
That brought a round of giggles as Lorette passed her still kicking brother to me. Viktor stuck his tongue out at her, then quickly offered up a messy fistfull of half pulverized flowers to me.
“You’re not coming to dinner, Auntie?” Corwin asked, shoving Hilal out of the way to come and stand next to my leg.
“Not tonight.” I told him, reaching down to push his curly black hair out of his eyes after taking the flowers from Viktor with a pleasant thanks. “I’ve got… other stuff to do.”
“Lorette cheated!” Squealed Yua, stomping one foot angrily. 
“She’s bigger than us! We can’t carry Viktor like she can!” Hilal agreed, pouting.
“Not forever,” I assured her, “Soon, I think Viktor will be taller than all of you!” I hoisted him up into the air over my head in illustration, which had him giggling with delight. “Besides, the deal was whoever found Viktor got dessert, not who carried him back.” I turned to the twins, who looked at each other for a moment before turning back to me. “And who found Viktor?”
“Lorette.” They admitted begrudgingly.
“So, the dessert award stands as it is.” I declared, putting the youngest back down on his feet to hold his hand instead. Not that I felt particularly bad. I knew my brother’s sense of fairness was indomitable, and having granted one child such permissions, I had likely granted it to them all. “Now, let’s get you all inside and washed up before your fathers take away my dessert.”
That brought a fresh round of laughter, and the six royal children of the goblin kingdom darted eagerly around my legs and up and down the halls as we made our way back up to our quarters. I spared the tower a final glance before we ducked into the castle, wondering not for the first time just what I would find when I went back to my own rooms.
.....
I was able to hand off my nieces and nephews to their caretakers after helping them all get washed up and changed for dinner without running into either Niko or Grier. Which I took as a small blessing, as I kept nervously glancing out the window to try and gauge just how long I had left until the Kings might just decide to pop in. I knew it was unlikely; usually they met their brood in the dining room at the end of each day. But I didn’t put it past either of them to attempt to catch me unawares. Especially as I was sure they had already heard I had liberated their children from their studies early to play with them in the gardens. Little went on in the castle that the two didn’t know about.
That thought made me smirk to myself in accomplishment as I hesitated outside my own door, having seen the Princes and Princesses off down the stairs with their attendants before heading back down the hall. Certainly I could think of no one else who would have been able to smuggle an orc of all things into the castle undetected. I had even managed to get his mare into the stables with no one batting an eye at her blood splattered coat before I had picked up my nieces and nephews. I glanced about briefly to make sure I was alone once more before I slipped back into my rooms. My heart in my throat and my nerves jumping on end.
The sitting room was quiet and dark, and I closed the door and latched it behind me. My eyes strained in the dimness, with only the barest hints of light coming from under the door to the hall. Perhaps I should get my eyes charmed like Niko’s, I thought to myself as I fumbled for the candle by the entrance. Placing the bundle of pulverized flowers from Viktor on the little table there for a moment as I did.  It would certainly make living in a goblin castle half the year much easier. As the wick caught with a soft hiss, I heard the telltale creak of my bed in the other room.
Quickly I had to douse my nerves, straightening myself out with the reminder once more that these were my rooms. I was supposed to be here. Erramun was not. I felt another twitch of satisfaction at the corner of my mouth again, unable to resist feeling a little smug in that confidence. Even if he wanted to leave, he wouldn’t get anywhere without my help. It was a reassuring feeling to have the half-orc under my thumb. Though the reminder of my guest set my heart skipping again. Which I of course briskly ignored.
I used the light of the candle to find a vase amid my things, feeling each clutter and clank of my shuffling was louder than a thundering herd of cattle. Rather hoping the half-orc wasn’t sleeping. I had to move two small boxes and a stack of books out of my way. But I eventually found what I was looking for, and placed the small colorful vase on one end table. Gathering the messy bouquet up carefully from where I had left it by the door to set it into its new home. I ran my fingers over the pretty blooms, smiling to myself. I’d have to get them some water. But I should check on Erramun first.
However, it was suspicious how quiet everything was. I paused for a minute by the door to the bedroom, listening to see if I could hear anything beyond. I had assumed such a behemoth would be a snorer, though I guess that was rather small minded of me to think so. It was also, I realized, possibly silly of me to assume he would even be asleep. I had been gone for hours, perhaps he had woken, if he had slept at all. I pushed aside the fearful thoughts of what he had been doing this entire time if he had not been sleeping.
I hesitated with my hand over the handle. If he was asleep, would my entering wake him? And if he wasn’t… My face felt hot with the sudden reminder of a pair of dimples at the base of his spine. Not to mention the rest of that scene permanently burned into the backs of my eyelids. I glanced around the foyer once more, still trying to decide. Working to calm my suddenly racing pulse. Then chided myself with the reminder yet again that these were my rooms. If he was naked again, well then, I’d just have to scold him better this time. And… maybe I could get a better look. I scoffed silently, pushing away that thought as wholly undesirable and the heavy blush that accompanied it. Giving the handle a solid downward yank and shoving the old bedroom door open with my shoulder.
I had barely started to draw in a breath for a proper greeting when I released it suddenly in a loud shout instead, my body jerking forward with a sudden intruding force acting upon it. My hands went up defensively, the candle abandoned to gravity, as I reached for the sudden weight dropping on my shoulder.
Muscle memory took over then, and it was a blur as my hands found purchase. I shifted my weight, dropping my shoulder down and bending at the knees to use the larger form’s already moving momentum to my advantage as it went to grab me and send its weight forward. Then, a quick twist and a sweep of my foot had it flipping the rest of the way with a abrupt and heavy THUD that even managed to shake the room a little.
I blinked rapidly in the dark left behind by the now doused candle that had clattered to the floor, trying to make out whatever I had just laid low on the ground. My heart racing in my chest, my blood pounding in my ears. A muffled groan broke through the adrenaline, and I nearly scoffed in exasperation. Remembering that there weren’t actually a lot of possibilities.
“Erramun!” I snapped at the large half-orc currently splayed out on my bedroom floor at my feet. “What in the nine HELLS do you think you are doing??”
“Gana!” He said in surprise, tugging at his hand still in my grip. “It’s you!”
“Of course it’s me!! Who else would it be??”
“I thought you were someone else!”
“In my personal rooms, you big idiot??” I retorted, then looked down, realizing I had twisted his arm back with his elbow facing out and his shoulder turned in the way Niko had shown me. Leaving the half-orc completely at my mercy. I was sorely tempted to twist it a little further in my ire. “Who do you think would be just randomly coming in here other than me??”
The dark shadow at my feet gave a growl, and I gave a startled yelp as suddenly I found my own feet swept out from under me. I landed heavily on my back with a gasp, too surprised to react properly. A meaty hand on one shoulder, and the rest of a big orc pining me down with his body crouched over mine.
“I dunno. Could’ve been anyone.” He grumbled, and I saw the glint of his eyes in the dark. “This place is very odd.”
His dark hair spilled like water around us, and I had to take a few moments to calm my swirling thoughts as the smell of him filled my nose. Not to mention the heat of his body, with his big thigh on my left and the other between my own legs. One hand was firmly planted on my shoulder, half-pining me to the floor, the other held one of my hands flattened to the ground by the wrist. I wriggled for half a second beneath him, then stopped dead as I heard him snort.
“Not many can get the jump on an orc.” He noted, sounding heavily amused. I thought I could see the flash of his teeth. “But nobody can best them in actual combat even if they do.”
My temper flared at that, and I twisted sharply. Reaching up with my free hand to catch the back of his neck and burying one knee straight up. Catching his inner thigh and with a sharp upward jerk at the same time as I yanked hard with my hand. Toppling him off balance just enough to use my own weight to flip the tides once more. Using his greater weight and size to roll myself with him.
Another breath later, and Erramun was back on his back, and I glared down at him with a small but satisfied scowl etched into my brow.
“Must not apply to half orcs.” I replied smugly.
I couldn’t see him well at first in the low light of the moon filtering in from the balcony window, but at least now my eyes were finally adjusting properly. I could make out the edge of his jaw, the breadth of his shoulders in the cream colored tunic. The side of his face closer to the window was also mostly visible. His black hair caught the moonlight with dazzling strands of silver, and I was pretty sure I saw his pronounced brow raise up. Thought I saw even a bit of the white in his eyes as he widened them. I could distinctly see them blink very slowly after that, and saw his wide nose flair. In fact, I could feel his entire chest rise and fall as he drew in a deep breath.
It was then my brain decided it fit to recall that I was currently sitting directly on top of the half-orc. My knees barely reached the ground on either side of him, my skirts bunched up at my thighs, and my hand was still cupped around the back of his neck. I had managed to free my other hand from his grip, and had his wrist now pinned above his head. Which brought me leaning perilously close. My own wild hair cascaded down like a net around my shoulders, and I realized my face was not all that far from his.
It seemed he had realized this same fact a that exact moment as well. We stared at each other for a long, quiet breath. Frozen in place. I found myself wondering distractedly how well Erramun could see in the dark. Was I just a shape bathed in a silver outline as he was? Or could he see the way I hovered over him, with the collar of my dress dangling a few inches from his shirt, baring the top of my chest to him? Could he see the expression on my face? And if he could, was he any better at reading it than I was at the moment? Could he see the flush of my cheeks, and hear the race of my pulse at his proximity?
I abruptly and quickly pushed away from him. Shoving him so hard in my retreat that he gave another soft grunt as I stood. My face was burning hot, despite my better judgement, and my head swirled as I tried to compose myself once more.
“You’re an idiot.” I grumbled defensively, smoothing my hands down my skirts as I took a few steps away.
“You’re impressive.” He returned, his voice a bit breathy. I saw him sit up, propping his knees and leaning on his elbows over them. “You fight better than some orcs I’ve met.”
“I thought no one could best an orc.” I chided him, carefully making my way over to the bedside table to find a fresh candle. “What are you even doing out of bed? I thought you were supposed to be resting.”
It took only a short minute of fumbling to light the candle, and when I turned to face him once more, he was still sitting on the ground. Looking up at me with emerald green eyes and his long locks spilling over his shoulders. He grinned a little sheepishly, and I had to force my heart to beat again in its wake.
“Some people can best an orc.” He said, as if deciding on it in that moment, then chewed at his thick lip thoughtfully. “Some people can beat some orcs.” He amended, and those lips split back into a wry, crooked grin. “And I got tired of resting. I’ve been resting for hours.”
“So you decided to tackle someone instead?”
His grin grew by a few molars, and I eyed him warily. “It was fun. At least for a moment.” He winced, and his hand went to his injured side. “I think I may have torn it open again.”
“Serves you right.” I grumbled, walking around to light a few more candles around the room. “Perhaps you should just stay on the floor all night then. Seeing as you seem to like being there. At least I’d get my bed back.”
He chuckled, and I heard him give a soft huff as he pulled himself back to his feet. When I shot him a glance over my shoulder, he was using the bedpost to steady himself. I watched him blink a few times, then shake his head stubbornly. I scoffed with a click of my tongue, putting down the candle in my hand and bustling over to him.
“Let me see.” I ordered him, reaching for the edge of his shirt.
He grunted, but didn’t argue, pulling up the hem over his navel. Exposing the wrappings to my critical eye. There was a spotting bloom of pink at the center, and I ran my fingers lightly around the edge thoughtfully.
“Well, the good news is I don’t think you made it worse.” I commended him, unable to resist the urge to skim my fingers over his skin a little. Checking to see if it was hot with infection, I assured myself. “The bad news is you’re still an idiot.”
He laughed again, and I felt it in my fingers currently pressed against his flesh. I straightened slightly, reluctantly removing my hand and trying to ignore the fresh flush that rose to my own face. Perhaps I was the one coming down with an infection instead, I reasoned distractedly.
I almost jumped as his hand came around, catching mine as it retreated. My eyes jumped to his face, and he tilted his head to the side slightly as he peered down at me. Those thick lips of his twisted into a fresh smirk, one side higher than the other. I resisted the urge to quiver at the sight.
“Lucky then that I have you, Gana.” He mused. “You have brains enough for the both of us.”
“And brawn.” I quipped, which only had his grin growing. I shuffled in place, glancing down at our hands before carefully pulling mine back. “Still. No more tackling people in the dark, agreed? Damjan won’t be happy if I return his tunic with blood stains all over it.”
Erramun nodded, slowly pulling his borrowed shirt back down. “Who is Damjan?”
I hesitated only a brief moment, turning to walk over to sit at the edge of the bed. “He’s the General of the goblin forces. Retired, supposedly. But that’s his wardrobe you’re wearing.”
That had a small flash of surprise rolling across his features. “He is large for a goblin then. Or is he human?”
I shook my head, then gave him a small grin of my own. “He’s goblin. Half-goblin at least. And half-orc.”
“Orc?” He echoed, and I wasn’t sure if it was nervousness or excitement that laced his voice. His smile had quickly faded.
I nodded, considering him. “Yes. He grew up here though. I don’t know if he’s ever met another orc. Though I suppose he must have at some point.”
Erramun nodded as well, chewing on his lip as he stared at the ground. I could almost see the thoughts swirling behind his eyes. I couldn’t help but notice that he looked a little relieved. I leaned forward on my hands currently propped at the edge of the bed.
“You avoiding all orcs at the moment?” I poked, curious despite myself.
His gaze darted up to me, then he shrugged his big shoulders, coming around to the edge of the bed slowly. “Just most.”
I tried not to stiffen as he sat next to me, the mattress depressing almost to the frame with his added weight. “Any particular reason why?” I asked warily. “You aren’t on the run, are you?”
The soft chuckle in his chest rumbled like distant thunder, and I felt goosebumps skitter across my flesh at the sound. He glanced at me again, then down at the floor.
“I worry they might try to stop me. If they found out.”
I waited for him to go on, to explain that further. When I was answered with nothing but silence, I shifted in my seat. Debating only for a moment whether or not I cared enough to pry further. But the curiosity proved too much, and I even leaned a little closer to him.
“Found out about what?”
He glanced at me again, and I froze as his eyes ran over my face. Especially the way he seemed equally distracted for a moment as his gaze met mine. I wasn’t sure how much time passed before he finally spoke. But found myself releasing a breath I hadn’t known I was holding when he did.
“Let’s just say I’ve got something to prove to my family.” He mumbled, then his eyes finally dropped away and he shifted. “We should leave it at that. I don’t want you to think I’m stupid.”
His voice was strangely soft again. The way it had been when he had first mentioned the plight of his people at the border. With that same look I had seen a hundred times before on my brother’s faces. The weight of a thousand weights, I called it. I didn’t quite like his face in that shape. It made him seem older, more tired. It hurt me a little to see that look on him, when usually his eyes were filled with such vigor and bravado. I leaned a little closer, nudging his shoulder with mine until he looked up at me again.
“... I already think you’re stupid.” I assured him lightly, and my teasing tones had a smile flicking across his lips again. “But you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
He nodded, and I saw his eyes shift between mine for a moment. “Thank you, Gana… You have been very kind to me. And I have given you nothing but trouble.” He leaned a little closer, and my breath caught in my throat. “I would like to give you something else. To repay you.”
It took me far too long to respond with his breath splashing across my face. With his eyes locked in mind. Heat swelled in my chest, and my heart fluttered behind it. I swallowed slowly, trapped in those emerald eyes of his.
“... Oh yeah?” I fumbled my lips around the soft words. “What would you give?”
He paused a moment, and I felt the bed shift beneath us as he adjusted his weight. Somehow managing to shift even closer to me.
“What would you like? What can I give you, that would make you happy?”
I laughed shyly, glancing down. Away from those entrancing eyes. “I don’t want for much here.” I assured him, my heart thrumming in my ears.
“Surely there must be something you don’t have. Something you want?” He pressed, his voice still whisper soft.
My hands twitched, and I brought them together to cup in my lap. Thumbing at one as I stared down at them. So aware of his proximity I couldn’t seem to draw in a deep enough breath for fear of pulling it from his lungs.
“Freedom.” I admitted quietly. “... To go where I want. To see the world.”
“I can give you that.”
I scoffed, shaking my head. “No one can give me that.”
“But I can take you with me.” He pressed. “I can bring you back to my home. It is wild and untamed. That is a start at least.”
I glanced up at him again, and found him closer than I had left him previously. He was leaning on one hand, twisted at the waist. Almost at my eye level with the gentle bow of his broad shoulders and the relaxed curve of his spine. If I moved too quickly our noses might brush together. I kept my breath trapped in my throat. I saw his eyes move, and my face suddenly blazed hot.
Abruptly, I stood, putting a few steps between us. Squeezing at my palm for a moment and feeling horribly, horribly foolish. It took a breath to steady myself, but I turned back for him.
“... You are not here to promise adventures to silly girls in castle towers.” I reminded him bitterly.
He started for a moment at that, staring at me a little wide eyed. The candlelight danced in those eyes, and I had to look away. I made the pretense of picking up the broken candle from the floor where I had dropped it earlier. I ran my thumb over the smooth wax, trying to calm my racing heart.
“No, I’m not.” He admitted, and my efforts were demolished by the skip of my heart at the regret in his tone. “... But if you help me win the Princess, then I can still give you want you want.”
I almost laughed, shaking my head and feeling the sinking weight of his words deep in my chest. Reminding myself why this man was even here in the first place, and chiding myself silently for forgetting. Trying to swallow the sudden disappointment in my throat.
“I can’t help you do that.”
“You’re the only one who can.” He pleaded. “I don’t know this world. I don’t know these people, but I need to. I need to be better, to be bigger than I am. It’s the only way to help my own people. I see that now. My plan was foolish, and I cannot do it alone.”
I was already shaking my head before he had finished speaking. “I cannot help you win the Princess.” I told him firmly, stubbornness lacing my breath. Still refusing to look up at him.
“Fine. Not the Princess.” He agreed, and I heard the creak of the bedframe as he stood. “Then help me learn to be someone worthy of her. Of this court. Teach me how to impress the Kings. How to talk without saying anything. How to dress, how to speak. How to be… human. And goblin, if needed.”
I did laugh now, and turned to toss the candle to a pile of rubbish to be taken out later. “That’s ridiculous. You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“So teach me.” He insisted, and his voice was closer. Somewhere only a few steps behind me. “Teach me to be better than I am, to be human enough to be at this court, to pass for one of the goblins, and I will take you far away from this place when I leave. I’ll even tell you stories of all the places I’ve been and the things I’ve seen in the meantime.” 
I jumped as his hand grazed my elbow, and spun to face him once more. He peered down at me quietly for a long moment. Then his lopsided smile returned, and I felt my heart skip.
“I can’t give you your freedom, Gana.” His eyes sparkled with determination. “But I can give you the chance to take it.”
Excitement surged in my chest, and I felt the heat of my blood rushing through my veins. I felt the familiar itch; to run. To just go, to leave this place and never look back. To be out there, in the world where I so longed to be. I couldn’t quell the intensity of my desire, and felt it seep throughout my entire core. I saw his grin grow, and wondered if he could see it in my eyes. I chewed it over, trying to keep a level head. Trying to think it through.
“... No Princess? Just-”
“Just teaching.” He assured me. “Even if it doesn’t work, and the goblin Princess doesn’t like me and I go home, I’ll still take you with me.” His head cocked to the side. “If you want to go.”
It would never work. I had managed to smuggle him in, but I was only here for a month or two. Could I even smuggle him back to Geriveria? Or could I leave with him at the end, like he promised? Niko would never allow it. He’d send half of the Kingdom after me, and Val wouldn’t be far behind. Even Grier would think this was crazy. I didn’t know this man! I had no idea where he had come from, or what kind of person he was. And how was I supposed to keep him from figuring out who I really was? Once he found out that he couldn’t even use anything I’d taught him, surely he’d be mad. He would not keep his promise. Besides, how was I supposed to keep him hidden from my brother, the goblin King, my nosy nieces and nephews, my ladies-in-waiting, and everyone else in the entire castle? It was insane! It was dangerous! If I was caught, if Niko found out, if anyone saw him, who knows what they would do! And even if I could manage all that, two months was hardly enough time to train some wildling everything it had taken me a lifetime to learn. It was impossible. The odds were far too high, and the chances of success so slim I couldn’t even see them.
I felt a grin sliding across my face at the challenge raised, and felt my heart skip excitedly in my breast.
“You’ve got yourself a deal.”
To be continued ...
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