#there's.....i counted over 14 in there n they're all Big

[undercoverpena]

4. green smoke

frankie morales x f!reader | chapter four of do me yourself

summary: a meet-cute in a hardware store? impossible, out of the question. except, that's exactly what happens. a need for screws leads you to a broad-shouldered, brown-eyed man who you're sure is about to change your day, never mind your life.

wordcount: 3.7k chapter warnings: [see masterlist for series warnings] meet cute, flirting. fluff. flirting in person and over IG. frankie calls you 'rainy' (paint related from chp.1) no other descriptions or name used, you wear a date outfit but not specified and the shoes have heels but not mentioned what kind. minor discussion of past canon events incl. drugs. no use of y/n. an: if this as a friends episode this would be called "the one where they talk"

prev chapter | frankie's ig

key: frankie is in bold, you are in italics

Friday soon arrives.

It comes hand-in-hand with a tumultuous storm, bringing with it ominous rumbles echoing through your house. The air feels charged with tension, wrung tight, all sense—as if it’s holding its breath while the world around seems to retreat into darkness. Even if the time on your laptop says 14:43.

Your gaze fixates on beads of rain running down the window, all racing one another—like you have been for several minutes. The steady patter provides a rhythmic backdrop to your solitude, interrupted only by the occasional sighs that escape your lips and the soft tapping of your pencil against the notebook—a feeble attempt at pretending you’re concentrating.

Pretend is the optimum word.

Merely putting on a show of focusing on the task at hand. In reality, your eyes keep flicking to your phone—the one lying silent on the counter, eagerly anticipating the next notification that’ll make it illuminate.

Your work, the one thankfully with a deadline of next week, continues to sit ignored—barely considered, never mind plotted. Because it isn’t what fills your mind.

It’s him.

Just thoughts of him—mind populated with vivid memories that refuse to fade, unable to stop lingering on the way his eyes crinkle when he smiles or his infectious laugh. The one which has dug itself a place into the walls of your home, lit it up.

Then, you think of his lips, the ones that are purposeful, all heavenly. The mere thought of them sends a shiver down your spine, a longing present, spreading—

Unloading a delivery and you’re falling on me.

It's difficult not to smile at his message.

Something he effortlessly elicits from you now. Has done so since the very beginning. A thing he continues to do so the more the two of you speak.

It's giddy, almost teenage-like, the way your heart scampers to catch itself as your fingers try to pretend they're not darting to reply.

Excuse me? Rain. Oh, that is such a dad joke. It was. I’m pretty proud of it. Bet it made you smile. I will not confirm or deny. So that means it did. Shut up.

Thumbs swirling over the screen, you roll your lips, toes twitching on the floor as you grin.

So, how big is the candle going to be in the middle of the table? Ummm, appropriately sized for a restaurant? Hmm, I have only gone on dates with inappropriately sized candles. Are you flirting with me when I’m at work? Are you saying that like you don’t flirt with me when I’m at work? In my defence, you choose your own hours. Do you mind me flirting with you? Not even a little bit. Good. Because guess what I’m wearing right now? Hopefully nothing. I’m wearing sweats and a baggy T-shirt. Still hot. Get back to work, Butterscotch.

You know it’s not long—a handful of hours until you’ll be across from him.

Likely with your smile hurting your cheeks, eyes unable to stand looking away from him for more than a few minutes. Unable to explain or rationalise how straightforward it is with him, how natural it feels to get swept up in all of this and find yourself wanting to be around him.

Something you try to put to the back of your mind, to not clock-watch, not count down. Doing well at it until you hear your phone buzz and see his name appear on your screen.

The laundry you're putting away ignored, the item dropped from your hand to the floor, before wiping your hands on your thighs, taking a measured breath, then lifting the phone to swipe it.

His voice fills your ear almost immediately. All hello and your name, a can you hear me? following.

And your heart skips a beat—missing a whole thud against your ribs as you stare at the outfit hanging on the closet door.

“I’m really sorry—“

And your heart falls. Descends gradually, like a feather freefalling. Doing so until it has nowhere else to go but sit in the hollow void. Disappointment beating, pulsating.

“—Harold… he had to leave early, his heart was playing up and he said he’d come back. But I can’t make him do that, wouldn’t be able to enjoy ourselves if he just—"

“—Frankie—“

“—And I’ve tried to move the reservation, rang the restaurant. But, they’re booked up and I really want to take you there—”

“—Frankie?”

You brush the fabric, the hanger holding on to the top of the door with sheer will as you do so between thumb and finger. Half-smiling—even still. Listening to the way he takes a breath, to the way he cares so much.

“It’s okay,” you interrupt, swallowing, shoving the dismay down. “I… promise.”

The voice you hear back is soft. So tinged with sadness, and regret, you half-want to call him Butterscotch just to make him laugh. “You sure?”

Biting the inside of your cheek, you reassure him, comfort him—voice steady as you do so, "We can reschedule. It's not a problem."

A moment of silence follows, with a sense of letdown settling in the air like fog. It sits there, resting, hanging. Because even if you know it’s just a minor adjustment, a twinge of disappointment still seeps in. Not so much a sharp pang, but a lingering weight that makes your shoulders sag, as though everything had deflated like a balloon slowly losing air.

“Baby… I’m really sorry.”

“It’s okay,” you assure him, a smile making its way onto your face despite the circumstances. "There's always next time."

“Not drove you away then?” he half-laughs, one you imagine is a little forced.

“Not even a little bit.”

Sighing, you swear you hear him smile with it. “I promise I’ll make it up to you.”

You grin, nothing but light and easy, “Just make sure next time you can show up, that’ll be a good start."

Frankie laughs, it flowing down your ear before it’s joined by a promise that he will and he can call you later, if you like? A thing which sounds like a good idea, even more so when it's followed by the fact he wishes he could stay—talk, but you know. Nodding to no one but yourself as you bid him goodbye, leaning against the wall—hanging up, full of bittersweet.

You let your head fall against it, rolling it there as your eyes flick back up at your clothes, lingering over it.

And an idea appears.

It grows—smothering over sadness before it blooms.

Then, you’re grinning. One almost as large as you do when he makes you giggle. Almost.

You’re thankful the sign still says open when you step out of your car—fingers tugging at fabric, ensuring it sits how it’s supposed to.

Even for a surprise, you wanted to look as picture-perfect as you should have been entering the restaurant. The paper bags catch your leg, noise crinkling against the air as you yank on the handle—entering, being washed in wood chippings, bleach and paint.

For a moment, one stuck between time and space, you look. Glance. Unsure where to find him, until your eyes land on him and find his head lifting at the sound of your entering.

Whatever Frankie had been in his hand dropped, all forgotten. His mouth parting at the sight of you. Taking you in. Sweeping brown, surprised eyes all over you as heat rises up your neck and brushes over your ears.

“I know I’m a little overdressed for buying a hammer, but…”

Mouth falling open, he looks torn between grinning and speaking. “What are you…”

Shrugging, watching his eyes roam up and down the outfit you’d chosen. The one that had been on the hanger for days—one you’d not thought could be replaced by anything else.

“Well,” you begin, smirking, “My date got caught up at work and I’d been really looking forward to seeing him.”

Frankie smiles, hand rubbing along his jaw as he stares.

“But then, someone told me there’s a secret restaurant here. One behind a metal door that says, Staff Only?”

Dropping his hand, and swiping his tongue across his lips—he slowly moves around the register. Coming to join you as you hold the bags up, the heels of your shoes clicking on the shop floor tiles as you meet him halfway.

“I also suspect that you might not have eaten, since you've been alone for most of the day.”

It’s at that moment his stomach roars. It grinds, what you assume is coffee, before groaning inside of him as he claps a hand on his apron.

“The only problem is,” you say, narrowing your eyes, scrunching your nose. “I… I didn’t know what you would like, so I might have bought a ridiculous amount of food.”

Taking a bag, his eyes widen when he opens it. “You’re staying, right? To help me?”

Reaching inside the bag he didn’t take, you pull out a single, battery-powered candle. “It’s a date.”

He gives you a wide smile, his eyes twinkling with happiness. "I just need to lock up," he says.

You watch with a flutter of excited nervousness as he moves around the store, flipping the sign on the door from 'Open' to 'Closed', and then securing the door. The lock clicks into place, echoing in the quiet store. He then proceeds to shut off the lights, plunging the store into a soft, inviting darkness lit only by the glow from the streetlights outside.

Turning back to you, he extends a hand.

"Shall we?" he asks, his voice filled with anticipation. You place your hand in his, feeling the warmth spreading through your fingers.

As you walk together towards the back of the store, a tinge of excitement flutters in the air. The 'Staff Only' sign looms above the door like a secret entrance to a place you shouldn't be, but with a gentle gesture, he ushers you inside.

You don't miss the way his fingers brush your lower back, the heat they ignite up your spine as his chest meets your back, face close to yours. Lingering, eyes sweeping over you.

"Lemme just..." he whispers, elongating it, before he bends to pull you a chair out—one with three wheels, no back—fingers sliding up to brush over your shoulders as you sit down.

“Careful.”

Swallowing, you suppress the effect he's having on you, forcing a smirk. “Oh, I’ll try, Morales. Don’t want you to have to fill out the accident book.”

“Harold would murder me.”

Snorting, you watch him join you—taking the candle from your hand, flicking it on and placing it directly in the middle before the two of you begin taking food out. He gazes at bundled packaged burgers, stealing a fry from the bag before it’s laid out over the desk.

“So, as it’s our third date.” His eyes flick to you, mid-bite of his food as you twirl a fry in your fingers. “I get to ask you challenging questions, right?”

“Fuck,” he says, under his breath. Grinning. “Alright, let me have it.”

Nudging him with the tip of your shoe he laughs. “Okay. You and Luca’s mom?”

“Ah.”

Grabbing a napkin, he wipes his mouth. “You don’t have to worry.”

“And as everyone in history knows, those words are how people stop worrying.”

Smirking, he turns on the wheely stool, facing you, knees abutting yours. “We haven’t been together since he was born—we… we weren’t even together by the time he reached six months. He… he doesn’t know any different. We have things we say, and truly, she’s a fantastic mom, we have a great co-parenting situation.”

“Okay.”

His fingers land on your knee, dancing over them, light and feathery as he sighs. Heavy. Weighted. It makes you swallow, makes you want to dig your fingers into your leg to stop yourself worrying, thinking—overdramatising whatever it is.

Scratching his head, he rolls his tongue from his cheek to the front of his teeth. “I wasn’t a good person then… a lot of shit had happened—I’d left the service, found myself… haunted, I guess? Me and her, we met, we… seemed good. She seemed good. And then, I…”

Your hand slides over his, one of your fries still in hand as you do. “You don’t have to tell me.”

“I want to.”

Nodding, he half smiles.

And then he does.

He tells you about his days in the army—and the sleepless nights when he was back home. The sense of loss he felt without it, the uniform that meant nothing when he joined a regular job. How flying helicopters for people with money who had no cares in the world began to make him hollow, carving a piece inside of him that didn’t fill with laughter at barbecues and trivia nights. He tells you how he’d rambled to someone about the lack of sleep, before he found a little white bag in his locker—an opportunity, a chance to not overthink.

That it had stayed there for days, almost a week until there had been news about someone he had once worked with.

Then he explained how it wasn’t a problem, but it also very much was. How he was lost, drowning—that people reached out, but the lights had been on, but no one was home. How it became a coping mechanism, a small dose to take the ache away—before he learnt he was going to be a dad. Her worries about him making her ignore the signs, much further on than they thought—and then, one month later, how he failed a drug test.

Trace amounts, barely anything, but still plenty.

His license, revoked—paused. His future dwindled, a baby due to arrive, one he’d heard the heartbeat off at the same time as he found himself at the threat of being alone. A second chance dangled, offered—do better, Frank. Don’t be selfish.

“—but, I didn’t change. Don’t change.”

Your heart falls, and descends.

Watching him shake his head, grabbing a handful of fries before stuffing them into his mouth as he chews, and you pick at one from your own box.

“Things were good—Luca, he had ten toes, ten fingers. He was great, happy. It made us being good seem real? But, it lingered, y’know? If work kept me later, there was this distrust, this question. And I couldn’t blame her, didn’t. Never would either. I broke that, I know I did. But…”

“It wasn’t healthy?”

Shrugging, he swallows, before nodding. “Then, I helped a friend, one from my squad. Had to… it was dangerous. I was gone longer than I said—and she worried, panicked. I knew before I left that when I got back I’d likely find my stuff packed—not that I blame her. I know we tried. But, I broke it. But now we’re better… better co-parents than partners, you know?”

Nodding, you chew, rolling the salt on your lips together. A beat passes, ice clanging in the drinks, cartons scratching against the table as the two of you eat.

“That was probably a lot.”

“It’s okay. Are you… are you good now?”

Nodding, he chews another fry. “Clean since Luca was born. Five years, fifty-seven days.”

“Well, I know this might be weird to say, but I’m proud of you.”

Smiling, he chews his cheek, meeting your eyes for the first time since he began sharing. “You’re a bit too good for me, you know that?”

Smirking, you steal one of his fries. “Oh, a hundred per cent. You might have a bunch of followers and good taste in paint colours, but did you know that I can sand down a dresser to the point a prominent Instagram DIYer has told me ‘I did a good job’.”

“Doesn’t sound that trustworthy. Bet he doesn’t know what you call wrenches.”

Pouting, you narrow your eyes as he laughs. “Thank you for telling me.”

Nodding, he rolls his lips. “I had to… ‘cause… are we enacting third date-talk honesty?”

“Of course.”

Half-smiling, he nudges himself closer on the stool. “I really like you.”

Biting the inside of your cheek, you look up at the ceiling, before grabbing his knees and wheeling yourself closer. “I quite like you too.”

Smile spreading, he places his hands on top of yours. “Yeah? Because I wouldn’t blame you for wanting to… run from all of that.”

Smirking, you try to move closer, even if the wheels of both stools try to prevent you. “Did you know, honesty is really, really hot?”

Brows raising, chin lifting, his lips slide further into his cheek. “I’m glad you came.”

“I’m glad too.”

Swallowing, his fingers slide in between yours, eyes flicking from one eye to the other. “I’ve been thinking.”

“Dangerous, that.”

“Well, I’ve seen your house now.”

Nodding, you smile. Feeling it, whatever he’s going to say, ask, think lingering in the silence. His grin widens, a spark igniting in his eyes that sends a rush of warmth through you.

“So, I think it only seems fair you see mine.”

Wiping your hands on your napkin, licking your lips as you cross a leg over the other. “Well, for fair sake I definitely should.”

“Do you want to… now?”

“Tonight?”

Nodding, that same flush of pink rises up his neck, up his jaw.

Smirking, you loosen your hand from his—resting your palm on his cheek, elbow on your knee. “I’d like that.”

The car ride to his should be tense, but it isn't.

Instead, it's filled with soft laughter, teasing comments and shared glances—your fingers twitching, wondering whether a hand on his knee is too soon. Even when everything else feels so normal, natural.

When he pulls up outside his place, anticipation fills the air—a rush of warmth flooding through you, making your fingers clamp together and stare out at the place as he says, this is it.

It’s nice, well-kept—charming, from what you can already tell. Eyes spot chalk drawings on the patio, lit up by the outside lights and a plastic red car close to where he's parked.

“Luca has some good parking,” you smile, pointing to it next to you both. “You learn from him, or?”

Smirking, he undoes his belt. “Maybe, I taught him how to park. I’m very good with heavy transportation.”

You don’t miss the way he emphasises the sentence. Your 'oh' is swallowed by the sound of him opening the door and telling you to wait.

Watching as he moves around the vehicle, his eyes holding yours. Earlier, you'd been thankful that the rain had taken a pause; now you wished it hadn't stopped its lashings that glued clothing to skin, thighs pressing together on the seat before the door beside you opens.

“What a gentleman.”

“Just wanted another chance to chance to check you out, really.”

Swatting him, he takes your hand, his laugh blending with yours as he leads you up to his front door.

If he feels nervous, he doesn’t show it. Finding his keys and slides one into the lock without missing. Opening the door without as much as an awkward shove of the door.

If anything, it’s effortless. It not even squeaking or catching as he pushes it open.

“It’s not a lot…” he begins.

But he couldn’t be more wrong.

It’s cosy and warm. Exuding an unmistakable homeliness that immediately comforts you. Dark woods, off-whites, and splashes of orange, caramel, and greens intertwine harmoniously, creating a space that feels both freshly decorated and deeply loved. A balance you assume exists because of him being the one to bring it all together, knowing from the videos you've seen how talented he is.

As you glance around, you begin to see the traces of the Frankie you’ve been getting to know. Photographs of him at the beach, with his son, with friends and more with Luca at varying ages.

Then, there are the plants. An assorted mix of them, some big that you remember from photos, some greener than others—some tall and in plants with animal faces like raccoons and beavers, others in decorative pots placed on shelves.

As you step in further, you spot furniture you recognise from videos—even noting the stacked pile of books from a photo he’d shared recently and a record player on a side table.

“C’mon, let me show you around.”

He leads you, hand in yours, showing you his well-equipped kitchen, and dining space. Occasionally, he points things out, like the markings on a wall he’s using to measure how tall Luca gets and the scuff marks from dragging the dining table in after varnishing it. Before finally, the two of you are outside the half-open door to his bedroom.

Frankie giving you a wink, bodies almost flush.

“That where the magic happens?”

“Not usually…”

"Maybe that's cause people haven't been saying the right magic words." Shrugging, you lick your lower lip, staring at the beading on the door. "I should tell you, I've heard I'm quite good at magic words..."

You let it linger, sit. Before you turn on your heel, fingers brushing over a table as you head back in the direction of his living room.

He follows, a step or two behind, letting you and your eyes capture all the personal touches before you feel fingers on your wrist, tugging you back, body flush to his.

Wrapping an arm around your waist, you find your throat dry—eyes flicking to his mouth.

“Go take a seat, I’ll bring us a drink.”

It’s soft, the nod you do as he slips his hand from your waist. You move, almost on auto-pilot, to sit down on his sofa, running your fingers over a cushion—one stitched with greens, golds and oranges.

When he reappears, you look up at him, noticing the hint of nerves in his gaze as you plaster on a reassuring smile as he places them down on the coffee table.

Slowly, you reach out, squeezing his hand, "Your home is lovely, Frankie."

He chuckles, a soft blush creeping up his cheeks as he joins sitting down. "Yeah?"

Nodding, you press your knee against his. “So.”

“So.”

With a smirk, you draw a measured breath. “I believe... I want to kiss you now.”

Swallowing, his gaze flickers to your lips, lingering, before snapping back up to your eyes. Warmth spreads over your cheeks, neck and ears. “I believe you should, Rainy.”

A response there, nestled between teeth and tongue, is muffled as his lips meet yours—for the first time in several days.

an: as a warning, the next chapter will include smut. if you wish to skip the smut, you can miss the chapter as there will be no other scenes. the following chapter will pick up the next morning.

NEXT CHAPTER ->

#frankie morales x reader #francisco morales x reader #frankie morales x f!reader #frankie morales x you #frankie morales #triple frontier x reader #francisco morales fanfiction #triple frontier fanfiction #pedro pascal characters #francisco catfish morales x reader #catfish morales x reader #pedrostories #jo: dmy

[kookslastbutton]

Love's Remedy ༓ jjk (m) l ch. II

✑ Summary: Jungkook is a romantic. He comes from a highly intelligent family who wants him to carry out the lineage. Being this way, he goes to college to be a pharmacist but his friends say college isn't just about studying! With a little persuasion, he goes to his first frat party thinking his hat will help him pick up a girl-or woman he means.

Pairing: STEM major!virgin!jungkook x STEM major!hot girl!reader

AU/genre: angst, smut, fluff, s2l, college au, mini-series

Rating: M, 18+

Word Count: 2,783

Warnings: angry koo, jealous koo, gym rat koo, thicc thighs koo, protective koo, kook checks his abs out, koo gets in a physical fight with an aggressive jerk that involves punching, name-calling (half pint, hermit crab, b*tch, Bambi, honeysuckle, kookie), mention of blood (minor), jk is very cute and determined towards oc, oc has philophobia (fear of relationships), oc has poor self-esteem, cussing, bit of crying...sorry lot of warnings this chapter

Now Playing: seven, summertime sadness, she’s kerosene, angels like you+

A/N: Yes, I'm aware this chapter is short, still Jungkook is shirtless in half of this and I am not sorry. This chapter also gets heavy but I hope you enjoy! 💞

<< ch. I ༓ ch. II >> | series masterlist

A week passes since the frat party and Jungkook hears nothing from you. He's reluctant to accept that you've likely already deleted his number but why else would you be radio silent? Why would someone like you ever be interested in a shy little nerd like him?

He's disappointed but when he gave you his number, it's not like he was expecting anything in return.

Well, he can’t stay hung up on you forever—he'll give you one more week. In the meantime, it’s 5 p.m and he’s off to do his daily lifting at the gym. He read somewhere online that evening is better for building strength, and that is exactly what he intends to do.

With a basic black tank top and gym shorts on, Jungkook scans the expanse of the facility. The place isn’t too crowded being that it’s nearly dinner time but it’s still moderate. He’s hoping Jackson will join him soon, considering they’re buddies now because isn’t that what guy friends do? Workout together?

When he makes his way to the weight room he quickly finds it's packed with guys double his size. Half of them look like they're upperclassmen while the other half is split between first-years like him and a small handful of women. He sheepishly strolls over to an empty pull-up bar, deciding to start with chin lifts.

Jungkook sets his water bottle on the ground, reaches for the handle, and lifts his body up until his chin is level with the bar, legs swing in the air slightly. He then extends his arms back out. The burn in his biceps feels good. He repeats the motion a few more times but has to stop when he hits six.

He takes a big swig of his water, already sweating evident from the tank top sticking to his back. The coolness of the water helps but between his own sweat and the sweat of others around him, Jungkook is tempted to throw his shirt off. Most of the men in the room aren’t wearing any more than shorts anyway so why can’t he?

Jungkook grasps the edges of his tank, pulling it up a little. How did his abs look? Were they good enough to show off? He’s working out diligently since 14 but he was still on the smaller side compared to the rest of his peers.

The mirror to his left helps him get a better look so he shifts his body over. When he does he catches a slight glimpse of a familiar face in the top right corner. Jungkook instantly drops his shirt, whipping his head around.

What were you doing in the weight room? And with some buff guy twice his size closely behind you? All he’s doing is staring at your ass in those tight purple shorts which so happens to have a matching crop top.

Jungkook scowls at the sight.

When you take a seat at one of the bench presses a couple of feet away, his eyes widen. The guy you came with stands behind your head as you lean back. He helps you set the barbell. It’s too far for Jungkook to hear what he’s telling you but he’s convinced it’s nothing good. Whoever this guy is he won’t stop grinning, and you’re grinning back!

You said you don’t do relationships. You said you'd think about going out with him. You said a lot of things but here you are with some guy that looks an awful lot like a boyfriend, how disgusting…

Fuck it.

Jungkook turns his eyes away from you, yanks his tank off, and grabs the pull-up bar again. He’s gonna knock ten of these out in one set.

Shoulder-width apart, he keeps a steady pace though he makes sure to take deep breaths to prolong his stamina. His eyes fixate on the back wall of the weight room to avoid you and your supposedly new boo from getting in his head.

Apparently, you just didn’t want him. It’s fine. Jungkook exhales. It’s all fine.

After three sets of chin-ups, Jungkook releases himself from the bar to check his phone. He takes another glug of his water too.

Jackson: hey Kook, I was planning to join you at the gym today but I got my family in town tonight. Man, it’s only been a week….can you believe they’re here to visit already?

Jungkook: Wow, all I’ve gotten from my family is a short text saying good luck. They must miss you a lot but yeah, it’s no problem. We can work out another time?

Jackson: You got it bro. Thank you for understanding 🙏🏼 Also, there’s a second thing 😬

Jungkook: ??

Jackson: I might have told my parents about you so are you free to get lunch with us tomorrow? My parents want to meet you. Our treat.

Jungkook: Really? Okay yeah. I’d love to meet them. Time?

Jackson: We don’t know yet but likely 1pm if that’s okay?

Jungkook: Sure, I’ll just be studying so. Text me when you know.

Jackson: I will. How’s the gym?

Jungkook hovers his thumbs over the keyboard. When he glances up to think, he’s reminded of your lingering presence. You’re no longer bench pressing anymore but instead doing a set of bent-over dumbbell rolls. With the way you’re torso’s angled, anyone who’s anyone has a direct view of your rear end. Any decent person would pay it no mind but that same douchebag next to you keeps gawking.

“It’s not meant to be a fucking sex position,” Jungkook mutters and types out a response. “Fucker.”

He makes his way to the black punching bag on the other side of the room, passing a strong glare at that young man as he nears the two of you. He doesn’t know his name but he’d really like to go over there and knee him in the balls. His eyes flicker at you for a moment, so pretty.

“The hell are you staring at my girl for half-pint?” The man calls Jungkook out in an aggressive stance. “Keep your eyes in front before I fuck you up.”

Frazzled, Jungkook scurries to move past the both of you with his head down. “Sorry, I didn’t mean anything.” He doesn’t get three steps before a solid form blocks his path.

“Who are you apologizing to? Your feet? Look me in the damn eye when you talk to me.”

“Jun-ho stop,” you come up beside the man, tugging at his arm. He yanks himself out of the grasp, however, jolting your body back. You nearly lose your balance.

“I’m just trying to teach this little hermit crab what happens when you stare at another man’s woman, baby.”

Jungkook clenches his fists as you struggle to re-stabilize yourself. You should not be with this asshole. He doesn’t deserve you, he doesn’t deserve to be calling you his baby. Who the fuck does he think he is shoving a woman like that.

“Don’t fucking call me that,” you spit. “I’m not your woman. Now leave Jungkook alone. He doesn’t need this.”

Jun-ho gives you a cocky smirk. “Oh? So he’s Jungkook huh? You know him too. You fucking him behind my back or something?” He takes a step towards you. Jungkook lunges forward seeing your obvious discomfort.

“Don’t touch her!” Jungkook stands between you and Jun-ho. He’s shaking so badly but he doesn’t budge. “Take another step and I’ll–I’ll–“

“You’ll pound me in the ground? You and what army? You can’t even talk.” He snorts and moves to toss Jungkook to the side. “Get out of my way.”

Jungkook feels the back of his neck heat with rage, his ears red and burning. There’s no way in hell he’s letting Jun-ho get to you.

“She told you to stop, so why don’t you just–fuck off!” Jungkook shoves Jun-ho back with as much force as he can. His body’s not built and his arm muscles aren’t as ripped but he’s got some big fucking thighs that manage to anchor him to the ground.

“You shit.” Jun-ho grits his teeth and punches Jungkook straight in the gut. Jungkook doubles over in agony. His hand clutches over his abdomen as he groans. You hurry in front of him but you’re thrown to the side by a pair of large hands. “Move bitch,” Jun-ho snaps, eyes bolstered on the smaller man.

“Hey, what the hell is going on over here?” The manager of the gym rushes over to the three of you. He grabs Jungkook and offers him support. “You can’t be doing this young man. You need to leave now.”

Jun-ho shakes his head. “Count yourself lucky this time Jungkook. Could have been a lot worse if it weren’t for this old man getting in the way.” He stares at the manager and then at you. “Come on __.”

“You’re fucking nuts if you think I’m coming with you. I’m staying with Jungkook.”

“No, you’re fucking not.” Jun-ho reaches for your arm until his head is knocked backward by a clean, punch to his jaw. “Fuck! You Fuck!” He holds his jaw, stumbling into a rack of dumbbells behind him.

Jungkook’s knuckles bleed as he holds his own wrist. He winces at the sharp throbbing and stinging from the punch. “Okay no more, no more,” the manager anxiously darts his eyes back and forth between him and Jun-ho. “I want you all out of my facility this instance.”

After being thrown out of the gym, Jungkook returns to his dorm room. He insists he takes care of his injury himself but it doesn’t sit well with you so you follow him.

“I’m so sorry about this Jungkook. Jun-ho’s a bastard.” You finish wrapping his knuckles in the elastic bandage then lean forward to place your hands on his shoulders. “Promise me you won’t ever do that again.”

Jungkook holds your pleading stare from his seated position. Your soft hands are simultaneously soothing and unsettling. He’s not mad at you for what happened at all. But seeing you with a jerk like Jun-ho when you rejected him, someone who’d never treat his girl like a piece of trash causes all kinds of knots inside him.

“You’re not going to see him again right? Because I can’t make that promise if you do.” His voice is low, nervous that you'll say yes.

Jungkook might not have personal relationship experience but he's witnessed his share of unhealthy relationship dynamics more times he'd like to count.

“Jungkook…” You muster up the best reassuring smile you can and tuck a few loose strands of his hair behind his ear. “Nothing's going to happen between me and Jun-ho anymore. We weren't anything serious. But you care too much about me, I’m not worth the trouble.”

Hearing this, he reaches a hand up to close over yours. “Please don’t say that. Everyone deserves to be cared for and as long as I can help it, I’ll be the first to do it.” His big, doting eyes search into yours. "And good, don't go back to him __. He's not the type of man you need."

"And what type of man do I need Bambi?" You stroke his puffy cheeks and quirk your head to the side inquisitively. Jungkook flinches at the touch.

"Bambi?"

"You didn't like it when I called you baby so, had to come up with something else."

"But." There's that pout again. Jungkook doesn't like being called a baby but when someone reaching this level of adorable, its so hard to shake. "But I just knocked a bitch out for you. How can you keep calling me baby names?"

The chuckle that leaves your lips is heaven to Jungkook's ears. "Aww Jungkook," you coo. "It's 'cause you're a little honeysuckle. So sweet to the taste." His ears perk up at that, gnawing on his bottom lip. "But if you want me to call you something else that might take some more time for me to figure out. Until then do tell me, what do I need?"

"Someone that'll protect you."

"Mhm, okay but—"

"Emotionally, physically, and mentally." Jungkook lists out loud. "That means someone to stand up for you, support you in the ways you need. Someone to help keep losers like Jun-ho out who only look out for themselves." He pauses, contemplating thoughtfully. "You need someone you can trust too. When you're sick you'll be taken care of and he'll never ever cheat on you. Even if you fight, he'll always stick by your side. You'll watch movies together, cuddle under the covers, and stargaze on summer nights. He'll also peel perilla leaves for you and love you until sunrise. Finally, when the time's right he'll ask to marry you, only if you want, of course."

Jungkook waits for you to give him a reply, a little breathless. He notices the distance between you and him somehow got larger. You're now about two feet away from him when you were only mere inches before.

"I'm sorry." He lowers his head. "It's silly I know. Everyone tells me I'm some kind of dreamer boy, just a hopeless romantic."

"It's not silly Jungkook." You soften your expression. "It's a beautiful idea and somewhere out there will gladly share those things with you. You'll live a full life together having all those wonderful experiences."

"Wanna have them with you though." His eyes flicker up at you. "I really like you __."

Oh no, no no no. You push down the pressure building from inside you. "No, I can't. I'm sorry Bambi, I want to but you don't know me." A small tear spills out of the corner of your eye. "I'm not able to....I can't love you like that."

Jungkook gets up from his chair and reaches for your trembling hand. You're tempted to pull back if it weren't for the fact that your hand feels warm in his.

"I can," he says. "I can love you if you let me."

You shake your head, and another hot tear rolls down your face. "Sorry, I don't know why I'm even crying." You quickly wipe your wet cheeks.

"You don't always need a reason. Sometimes it just happens and that's okay. I cry all the time when I'm by myself." Jungkook grabs your other hand slowly. "Just wanna be here for you."

You blink back the remaining tears welling in your eyes. You're embarrassed this is happening at all. Jungkook is the sweetest, most kind-hearted, and most selfless person you know. He shouldn't have to be dealing with any of this.

"If we can't go out, is it okay that we are friends?"

"I don't want to do that to you Kookie."

"Hey, I like that one," he says with a lifted voice.

"You do? I didn't even think about it like the others."

"You were thinking about me?" He bounces in the air a little, at least that's what it looks like to you by the sudden rush of energy Jungkook responds with. He likes knowing you've been paying attention to him, even if only a smidge.

You dart your eyes past him, fingers curling in his hand. "Well I mean..." Jungkook waits intently. "I guess...yes, some."

"Oh please __, please let me take you out. We don't even have to call it a date."

"You're too persistent, you know that?"

"But is it working?"

"I'm not ready yet Jungkook." His shoulders slouch and he opens his mouth to say something though you continue before he can get anything out. "To give you an answer. I'm not ready to give you an answer yet is what I'm trying to say."

"Well, that's okay. You wanna think about it longer? We can four years until graduation."

"You're such a goof, you'd wait that long for an answer?"

Jungkook shakes his head. "No, I'd wait that long for you." He pauses. "Okay maybe I have been watching one too many Korean dramas. Even I threw up in my mouth a little."

Too both share a laugh, this is the weirdest, emotionally exhausting day ever. "Thank you for what you did today with Jung-ho. And for trying to comfort me. Will you possibly be able to wait another week? If it's too long you can tell me. I've made you wait long enough."

"A week from now, let's meet up okay? Or call at least. Even if it's a no, I don't want this to be the last time I get to see or hear you."

"Okay." You nod. "I promise."

And that was the end of that night, as Jungkook walks you to your dorm soon after. It was getting dark out after all.

A/N: tysm for reading! Lmk what you think and if you wan to be tagged comment/ask 💞

Masterlist

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@hoseokteardrop

no reposting, copying, or translating my work– © kookslastbutton

#jungkook smut #jungkook fluff #jungkook angst #jungkook x reader #jungkook imagines #jungkook fanfic #bts smut #bts fluff #bts x reader #bts fanfic #fic:lovesremedyonfire #kookslastbutton

[lilacmingi]

THROUGH THICK AND THIN

My works are 14+ ONLY. If you’re under 14 DO NOT interact with me or any of my works. Ageless blogs and blank blogs risk getting blocked

Pairing: Vampire!Jungkook x human!fem reader

Word count: 2,280

Note: This is from my first BTS imagines book on Wattpad from 2018. This version is the rewritten 2024 version! ALSO THANK YOU FOR 500 FOLLOWERS!!!! WOW

It was early afternoon and you and your best friend, Jungkook, were at your place sitting on the couch watching a movie together. The film of choice was a vampire movie—one of your favorites. Your eyes were glued to the screen, knowing exactly what was about to happen, as the both of you had seen the movie roughly a hundred times.

Someone (a vampire) was about to jump out at the main character, you both saw it coming. At the same moment the person jumped out in the film, Jungkook grabbed you and shouted loudly causing you to yelp in response.

The force from his sudden and lighthearted attack caused you to fall over onto your back, thankful that you were on the couch.

Jungkook hovered over you with a mischievous grin, giving you no time to react as he pretended to bite your neck by making playful growling sounds and nuzzling his nose against your skin.

"Jungkook stop!" You begged through giggles, the ticklish sensation making it hard to speak.

"I'm a vampire!" He exclaimed, continuing to act silly.

You were laughing so hard you could hardly breathe, making minimal effort to stop him due to all your squirming. After a few attempts, you were finally able to push him away a little. He took that as a sign to stop and propped himself up to gaze down at you, the movie long forgotten.

"What would you do if I was actually a vampire?" He asked, his tone lighthearted.

"Hypothetically?"

"Of course."

You huffed out a light chuckle, amused by his question and always up for a little theoretical discussion about things like that.

"I wouldn't care. Vampires are literally my favorite supernatural creature. Plus, it's you. I know you wouldn't hurt me."

He grinned.

"But vampires aren't real, so I know you're not one."

His smile faltered a bit. "Yeah. They're not, are they?"

"But if they were, I wouldn't be bothered."

His smile returned.

He leaned down and gave you a light kiss on your forehead. Affectionate gestures like that weren't uncommon in your friendship, however, they didn't help your crush on Jungkook. As much as you had wanted to confess your feelings, you were also afraid that you were misinterpreting the gestures. Some people are just very affectionate, though you couldn't really recall anyone you knew that platonically kissed their friends.

"Do you like me or something?" The question was asked teasingly and in a playful manner, but you were hoping to get a serious response.

"What?" He asked, surprise lacing his tone.

"Well, you're always giving me little kisses on my face. Do you like me?" You tried to keep your tone light, playing it off as if you were just teasing him.

His expression changed and his eyes avoided yours. "Well..." He trailed off.

The mood shifted, turning more serious.

"Don't be afraid to be honest with me, Jungkook. We've known each other for three years." You encouraged him.

"Yes." He sighed, his eyes closing as if to avoid seeing your reaction.

"I knew it!"

"Y/n, don't embarrass me about it." He huffed.

"Why should you feel embarrassed? I feel the same way about you."

"You feel the same way?"

"Was it not obvious? I let you give me kisses all the time and cuddle with me. I don't ever push you away or tell you to stop. Could you not take a hint?"

"No?" He said it like a question.

"You big goober." You giggled and delivered a light smack to his shoulder.

"I'm not a goober." He defended through laughter. "I just wasn't sure how you felt. That's all."

Your joint laughter soon faded and the room went completely silent, the atmosphere changing in a matter of seconds. Jungkook stared down at you with his big and innocent-looking doe eyes that never failed to make your heart leap. He gulped nervously.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked.

"You kiss me all the ti-"

"On the lips." He specified.

The beating of your heart sped up at his request, only managing to utter a meek, "Yeah."

He leaned down and pressed his lips against yours. He kissed you softly, being very gentle and almost hesitant in his actions at first. Only when you reciprocated did he pick up the pace, pressing his lips closer to yours and kissing you harder. What you were experiencing in that moment was nothing like you had ever imagined (and you did imagine it... many times). Raven strands of Jungkook's lengthy hair caressed your forehead as they fell, untucking themselves from behind his heavily pierced ears. The faint ticklish sensation paired with the feeling of his lips moving against your own and his hand that had found its way to your waist was a combination that made your head spin.

Bringing your hands up to his luscious hair, you slid your fingers between the layers of wavy tendrils, playing with his locks. He seemed to like that, as he released a mix between a groan and a sigh against your lips that had butterflies erupting in your stomach. It was after that he began to get rougher. His hands gripped your waist and then one of your thighs, squeezing so hard it almost hurt. The pace of his breathing got heavier and you could've sworn you heard a faint growl from the back of his throat.

He pulled away for only a moment, reattaching his lips to your jawline, his piercing dragging against your skin making your eyelids flutter. He placed hot kisses down the side of your neck where he started nipping at the sensitive skin. His hands went back to squeezing your waist, the inhuman grip making you wince.

As much as you enjoyed the moment, it was now getting to a point where it was no longer enjoyable for you and his intensity was making you nervous.

"J-Jungkook." You didn't mean to stutter, but things were heating up very fast and he didn't seem to realize how uncomfortable you were.

He nipped harshly at your neck, making you release a small squeak of surprise.

"Jungkook!"

As if your voice had broke through an invisible barrier, Jungkook snapped out of his daze and pulled away. He was breathing so heavily his shoulders were heaving up and down. His eyes were wide with fear as if he realized he was about to do something terrible.

He looked scared.

"What was that all about?" You inquired.

"I-I have to go." He scrambled off you and went to grab his keys.

"Jungkook-"

"I need to go right now, Y/n." His voice was firm as he spoke, walking out of your apartment without another word or even an explanation.

You sat there dumbfounded.

The door to your apartment slammed shut and just like that, you were left a confused and flustered mess on the couch.

He was in such a hurry to leave, barely managing to speak without stumbling over his words, it had you worried.

Was it something you did? Did he regret kissing you?

The longer you sat on the couch, stewing in your anxious thoughts, the worse you felt. It got to a point where it became unbearable and you found yourself reaching for your phone.

You

If I did something wrong, I'm sorry

You sighed, leaning your head back on the couch cushions to stare at the ceiling, memorizing the texture while worrisome thoughts flooded your mind once again.

After sitting for an unknown amount of time, you decided to go check on Jungkook in person. He hadn't responded to your text and it was beginning to worry you. If you had somehow done something to make him uncomfortable, you wanted to know and you wanted it taken care of right away. The both of you had been through thick and thin together. Good times and bad times. And if something was bothering either one of you, you talked about it.

The first place you drove to was a nearby park, a place where the both of you liked spending time at, but Jungkook was nowhere to be found. If he needed to clear his head, you assumed he would've been there. The only other place he could possibly be was home.

It didn't take long for you to arrive at his apartment building since he lived nearby. You hastened inside and went straight to his floor.

When you arrived at his front door, you didn't bother knocking. The both of you had been friends for years and neither of you usually knocked when you visited each other.

You stepped inside and saw Jungkook's keys lying on the floor along with the glass dish that usually held them. The bowl looked as if it had been knocked over and a huge piece was broken off of it.

Oh no.

Your first thought was that he was hurt, or maybe someone had broken in. You hoped it was neither.

"Jungkook?" You called out.

"Y/n?" His startled voice came from the kitchen.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." He answered frantically.

"The glass dish by your door is broken. I thought you cut yourself."

"No. I'm fine."

You proceeded towards the kitchen, only for him to speak up when he heard you approaching the entryway.

"Don't come in here!"

"Why not?"

"I-uh I lied. I did cut myself. Sorry. I didn't want you to worry about me."

"I can help if you want." You responded, stepping into the kitchen.

"No please don-" Jungkook tried to stop you, but before he could finish his sentence, you were already standing in the doorway.

What you had expected to see was nowhere near the sight you were met with.

Jungkook's beautiful and captivating rich brown eyes were a deep shade of red, his mouth smeared with blood that matched his crimson irises. As if that wasn't jarring enough, you spotted two sharp fangs poking out of his mouth, which hung slightly agape in shock.

"Y/n. Don't freak out."

"You're a..." The sentence went unfinished, as your voice was stuck in your throat. You were too stunned to even utter the word that floated about in your head.

"Please don't be scared."

Jungkook took a step towards you, but you instinctively took one back, your actions making him frown.

Too overwhelmed, you spun around and took off towards the front door, jerking it open and bolting out as fast as you could.

You didn't get very far when your legs slowed and you came to a complete stop in the hallway as your rational thinking finally kicked in. What were you doing?

Jungkook's words from earlier that night replayed in your head.

"What would you do if I was actually a vampire?"

Your expression fell into one of disappointment, your heart sinking. It wasn't just a silly question. He was being serious when he asked you that.

Your words came to the forefront of your mind, hitting you like a knife to the chest.

"I wouldn't care. Vampires are literally my favorite supernatural creature. Plus, it's you. I know you wouldn't hurt me."

Why were you running away? What you said to him earlier was true, though you assumed the question was theoretical. Still, your answer was genuine. And yet, here you are standing in the hallway of his apartment building ready to flee like a scared animal.

Not only that, but it was clear Jungkook didn't want you to see him like that. He tried to stop you from coming into the kitchen and yet, you ignored him. If only you had listened. Then again, you thought he was hurt. You were worried. How were you supposed to know he was only trying to hide his identity from you?

There was no time for overthinking, you had to make things right.

Spinning around on your heel, you hurried back inside Jungkook's apartment.

When you found him, he was leaned over the kitchen counter, sniffling. His head shot up when he heard you enter the room.

"Y/n?" Your name was uttered weakly.

Clearly, he wasn't expecting you to return.

The blood had been cleaned from around his mouth and his appearance had returned to normal.

"I'm sorry." Your apology came out in a pathetically feeble voice, your jaw clenching to stop the tears that threatened to well up in your eyes.

Wasting no time, you ran up and hugged him as tightly as you possibly could. He wrapped his arms around you, relaxing in your hold as a sense of relief washed over him like a soothing wave.

"You asked me what I would think if you were actually a vampire. I answered honestly, though I thought you were just asking silly hypothetical questions. Now I see why you asked it in the first place." You sighed. "I'm really sorry for running away. I was caught off guard and unable to process everything."

"It's okay. That's completely understandable. Besides, I shouldn't have kept it a secret from you."

You pulled back and looked at him, gently wiping his cheeks where he had been crying.

"Hey. Through thick and thin. Remember?"

He nodded.

"So... we confessed to each other earlier. Does that mean I'm dating a vampire?"

Jungkook chuckled. "I suppose it does. As long as you're okay with that."

"Are you kidding? I'm more than okay with it."

He grinned at your response, swiftly sweeping you into his arms.

"What do you say we pick up where we left off earlier?"

"I like the sound of that." You giggled as he attached his lips to yours and carried you off to his room.

Jimin ♱ Yoongi ♱ Taehyung ♱ Namjoon ♱ Hoseok ♱ Jin

Masterlist ᝰ — enjoyed this imagine? reblogs & comments are very much appreciated!

DO NOT steal, plagiarize, copy, repost, alter, or translate my works in any way

🏷 @h3arteyes4mingi @weird-bookworm @poppy2007 @parkjennykim @evidive @mxlly143 @lizzymizzy-blogg @minhanbyeol @dinossaurz @laylasbunbunny

#jeon jungkook x reader #jungkook x reader #jeon jungkook x y/n #jungkook x y/n #jeon jungkook x you #jungkook x you #bts vampire au #bts imagines #bts oneshot #bts scenarios #jungkook vampire au

[brnesblogposts]

Birthday Girl

(repost)

pairing: avengers x reader

a/n I kinda hate this but i needed to write because it’s been months. this only includes the og 6 + wanda & bucky, i could add in others too, just ask! or give me recs because i really don’t know what to write.

reblogs appreciated if you enjoy !

———————————

Eighteen years. That's how long you've been on this earth for (not counting the few off-planet missions you've been on), and as of today, you are officially an adult. You weren't a big fan of birthdays—I mean, you used to be when you were younger, and there was nothing to worry about. As you've gotten older, birthdays have become a reminder of the multitude of responsibilities you'll have to adopt.

You hadn't told anybody it was your birthday; reminding them was the last thing you wanted to do because the Avengers are known for their parties, and they look for the smallest reason to throw one. This year, though, that wasn't going to happen, or at least you were hoping they'd forgotten. 

It was 8:00 a.m., your alarm is blaring loudly on the bedside table, and without opening your eyes, your hand feels around for your phone and eventually finds the snooze button—just five more minutes. 

Suddenly, you become aware and alert. As you stir yourself awake, your body senses a loud, continuous noise, and you feel as if you're being watched. "HAAAAPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR Y/N, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU," your eyes shoot open to find Natasha and Wanda at the end of your bed singing their hearts out and grinning so hard their jaws must be hurting. 

"Wakey, wakey, sleepyhead, it's your birthday!" "My girl is all grown up," Natasha says, wiping away fake tears dramatically. "Vision is making waffles for you; get up so you can eat 'em while they're still hot!" Wanda slaps your ankle, and you curl into a tighter ball. "Five more minutes," you whine, and to your surprise, the two women are not putting up with your nonsense today; your blanket is ripped off you, and you're met with the cold morning air. "Be downstairs in 5 minutes or I will pour a bucket of water over your head," Natasha retorts sternly; she is not messing around. You sit up, looking half dead, but you crack a smile, and with contented sighs, the girls leave your room. 

The kitchen erupts into roars of cheers as you enter wearing sweatpants and a hoodie. It's too early for this. 

The first to hug you is Tony, who says, "Happy birthday, kid; just because you're eighteen doesn't mean I'm going to stop being your overbearing father figure." You smile at him because that's all you can do and there are about eight hundred other people to hug; you just want your waffles. 

"Lady Y/N, Happy Birthday!" Thor booms, "In Asgard, at your age, you can start drinking; I brought you back some Asgardian mead for us to share!" Just as he finishes talking, there is a chorus of "no"s and stern looks sent his way. "Thank you, Thor; maybe when they're not looking," you say with a wink, and he returns a smile.

"Happy birthday, y/n." Bruce smiles; you'd be lying if you said you didn't have a soft spot for the guy. You give him a quick hug, which is awkward because, well, it's Bruce.

"Y/N!" "Happy birthday, pal!" Steve hugs you and accidentally lifts you off the ground; once he puts you down and you can breathe again, you thank him.

"Happy birthday, y/n! Now that you don't have a bedtime, we can spend more time scheming!" Clint smirks. The man is your partner in crime and also the reason why you get into trouble. You ignore his snide remark and give him a hug. 

"HAPPYBIRTHDAY Y/N!! I know you're eighteen now, but that doesn't mean anything because you're only a year older than me. What I'm trying to say is.. you can't boss me around." 

"Thank you, Pete," you say, and you smile. You swear his birth certificate is wrong. The kid doesn't seem a day past 14. 

"Happy birthday, doll; it would seem you're catching up to me," Bucky says as he hugs you. "Eighteen and one hundred and six?" raising an eyebrow "Yeah, same thing," you sarcastically rebuttal.

As everyone sits and tucks into their waffles, you take a second to look at everyone. You're happy they didn't forget. 

#avengers #bucky barnes #captain america #iron man #marvel #spider man #avengers x reader #avengers x platonic reader #reader x avengers #avengers fanfiction #avengers family #the avengers

[happilyhertale]

Long Last Love - Aemond Targaryen x female!reader, Part 4

Summary: You are finally engaged to Aemond Targaryen. As the daughter of Daemon and Rhaenyra, you will now live in King's Landing and no longer on Dragonstone. Your marriage to Aemond is imminent, as is your life together. The relationship between Aemond and your family has never been particularly easy, but the future will show whether your love will withstand this and subsequent tensions.

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x fem!reader

Warnings: In some parts Smut (uncle/niece) as well as violence

Author’s note: Hey you (:

This is the follow-up story to "Long Lost Love".

The story starts just before the wedding of Aemond and y/n and goes over the events of the first season hotd. However, the events are not quite similar to those in the series. English is my second language, please forgive me if I made any mistakes (: For this part I had to translate a few sentences into High Valyrian. I used a website for this, if it's not correct, sorry!

Word count: 4k

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

The sun is high in the sky, only small, light clouds adorn the blue sky beside it. You let your gaze wander as you stand on your balcony. The sun's rays lightly warm your face while you are lost in thought.

You are pulled out of your thoughts when you feel arms wrap around you. Or at least they try to. Your big belly is in the way, but the hands gently wrap around your belly and caress it tenderly.

Gently Aemond lets his nose wander over the side of your face, "My Queen..." you hear him whisper. You smile.

You are expecting your first child. It will be the third child to walk through these walls. Helaena and Aegon have already had twins, Jaehaera and Jaehaerys. You love the little ones. They're sweet and reserved, like Helaena. And especially now that you're heavily pregnant and happy to sit anywhere, you sit with Helaena for hours while the little ones play around you. And the little ones have also become so used to your presence that they are almost tearful when you don't sit with them. Little Jaehaera likes to sit by your side and show you different flowers that she has collected in the gardens with Helaena's help. She likes to put the flowers on your belly, making sure that the flowers are ordered by colour and size. As she does this, she tells the baby, as best she can, what the flowers look like that are currently on your belly. She is a clever little girl and it makes you smile every time you watch her.

It actually took you a while to get pregnant. The talk among the servants was already getting loud. At first they said you didn't find Aemond attractive enough to sleep with him. When Aemond tried to counter that, he made you moan so much at night that his name echoed throughout the Red Keep. But then they needed another explanation. Soon after, you heard talk about not being fertile.... When you heard this, you could only shake your head, but Aemond became angry. In his anger you stopped him, because after all, according to the servants, you were always to blame and it would not have made any difference if he had given free rein to his anger.

But what they didn't know was that you didn't want to get pregnant right away, but wanted to enjoy some more time with Aemond. And thank the gods, Aemond is very well-read, even when it comes to female nature. And so he also got hold of scriptures about how and when a woman can become pregnant. Therefore, at times when you desired him more than you otherwise would have, you took special care that he did not pour his seed into you. To your surprise, this worked for a while, but when you realised you were pregnant, you were overcome with a joy you had never felt before.

Immediately you noticed that something was not normal. At first you thought you had just eaten something bad because you were overcome by a persistent nausea. But Aemond also drew your attention to the fact that your breasts had become larger. When the second moon passed and you still didn't bleed, it was clear to you. You were pregnant.

But you didn't want to just tell Aemond, you wanted it to be special. So you made your way to the kitchen. You let the servants know that you were going to have your dinner in your chambers and that you had special requests for it.

Everything you eat for the evening must be small in size. So baby vegetables, like small carrots, small broccoli florets, small corn on the cob and so on. Also, there should only be small fillets and small breads.

That got you a few funny looks, but they fulfilled your wishes.

Then at noon you intercepted Aemond, gave him many kisses on the lips and told him that in the evening you would like to have dinner with him alone in your chambers. He just smirked at you and was delighted, of course, because he had something naughty in mind.

When Aemond came to your chambers in the evening, it was not long before dinner arrived. But at first Aemond did not notice the effort you had made. He was sitting next to you at the table, had just come from the training ground and was hungry. He filled his plate with various vegetables and pieces of fillet. Lively conversations filled your rooms until at some point he looked at his plate, "Did we actually only get leftovers to eat today? Why is the food so small... Don't they know that I train every day?"

You had to stifle a grin and bit your lips to help yourself.

He looked at you, "What? What's so funny?"

You let your gaze wander to his plate, "Look again closely"

His gaze slowly wandered down, "Small carrots.... Baby corncobs, small broccoli.... Even the meat is small! Just like for babies... But I doubt even a baby could get full of it..."

He slowly looked up at you and saw you grinning, "Are you with child...?" he whispers. You nodded and tears came to your eyes. Aemond jumped up and hugged you hastily.

You hadn't expected that and so you both slide off the chair. He let you fall on top of him and kissed you continuously, you started laughing, "Aemond! Stop it!" you giggled.

"My dear wife... My Love! Now I won't leave your side for a second.... You produce new life... our child..." He continued to kiss you.

Aemond spent the rest of the evening with you in your shared chambers. He was supposed to attend a council meeting to be introduced to the assumption of royal duties. But when the servant came to tell him that the council was waiting for him, he simply sent him away. Instead, he caressed you for hours, which led to you finally making passionate love to each other.

A soft "mmmhm", which sounds next to your ear, brings you back to reality. You turn your head to Aemond, he smiles.

"A penny for your thoughts," rings in your ears. You just chuckle softly.

Then you hear him whisper, "A girl would be nice".

You giggle softly, "You don't want a boy?"

He presses his nose further into the crook of your neck, "I am satisfied with everything... Whether it's a boy or a girl... But the thought that I could father something as tender as you... that would be lovely... "

Again you giggle, "I don't know if that's so tender in me.... it kicks all the time"

He kisses your neck, "Our girl has the temperament of a dragon... I feel we're having a girl"

You shake your head slightly, "Mhmm I don't think so.... something so restless can't be a delicate little girl."

He chuckles.

During your entire pregnancy, Aemond took care of you and hardly let you out of his sight. But you have a guilty conscience about it. You didn't want him to struggle with his royal duties and then feel obliged to be by your side all the time. You wanted to give him a few quiet hours when he didn't have to be by your side all the time. Another reason why you like to sit with Helaena and the little ones.

In doing so, he would not tell you that he likes to be by your side and literally watch your belly grow. He still likes it best when you are in your shared chambers.

His favourite thing is to caress your belly while you are surrounded by a mountain of pillows. He lies next to you and talks to your belly. Sometimes he brings in a book to do this. It lies on his lap while he reads to you and the child. But sometimes he just makes up stories about dragons and battles, and makes you laugh with elaborate and illogical endings.

But it also happens that when the baby seems restless in the evening and is constantly kicking, he talks to the baby in High Valyrian. You point out to him that it is not relevant whether he talks to the baby in High Valyrian or not. But he justifies himself by saying that he feels it makes the baby calmer and he wants it to get used to the sound. And even when he speaks softly, you can hear him whispering to your belly that there is no reason for all the kicking and that it shouldn't stress his pretty mother so much. Then, even more quietly, he whispers that he can hardly wait for it to come into the world, it seems as if you are not supposed to hear that. But of course you hear all of it and you just smile and lovingly stroke his soft hair as you listen to his murmurings.

However, your pregnancy does not only bring such pleasant moments. Aemond is always by your side and tries to keep every possible unpleasantness away from you, but that doesn't change the fact that you are now fat and ugly. Once called the most beautiful princess in the entire realm, you now feel like some fat lord who would only drink and eat. Only the missing beard on your face would make the difference visible. At least that's how you feel. Since a few moons have passed and you have already gone through most of your pregnancy, you are convinced that your belly has a life of its own. Judging by the size and movements inside.

You never saw it as necessary to have a lady-in-waiting by your side. You have always been able to take care of yourself. But now you have to admit to yourself that you need help. Your belly is the size of a dragon's head. Of Balerion, to be precise.

Alicent immediately had new dresses made for you when your dress suddenly tore at the seam on the side of the dress at dinner. You were startled and could only look at Aemond in panic.

Aemond didn't hesitate for a second and immediately put his leather waistcoat on you. Still shocked, you sat there, unable to move at first. Aemond, however, carefully helped you up and was about to lead you to your chambers when Aegon's voice rang out, "Brother... now let us at least see something beautiful at this dreary dinner".

Alicent immediately hissed Aegon's name angrily. You only tightened your grip on Aemond's arm, unable to return a sentence or at least an insult to Aegon.

"Brother, avert your gaze from my wife. I have already warned you once and I will not repeat it," Aemond replied dryly. You just hear Aegon giggle at that.

Of course, you burst into tears when you were in your shared chambers. That was proof to you that you had become fat. But Aemond, of course, was there to convince you otherwise. That a wonderful new life was growing inside you. Yet that was little consolation for you. Nevertheless, Aemond held you all night and assured you that you were not fat and that you were getting beautiful new clothes. And that was the moment you realised you needed help. The next morning you went to Alicent and asked for a lady-in-waiting to help you dress for the duration of your pregnancy, so that your belly was warm and safe. She must have guessed how hard this was for you, because she just smiled warmly and hugged you tightly.

But for Aemond you were not fat, his child was growing inside you, and every inch your belly grew was proof of your love. He desires you more every day, and it costs him great effort to keep his hands off you. Whether it is to make your aching body parts more bearable by gently massaging your neck, your back or your swollen feet, or to let his fingers do other soothing work.

But even though he's constantly trying to make you feel good, your hormones are unstoppable and this often ends in outbursts of anger, which Aemond feels most often because he's usually by your side. However, you often burst into tears shortly afterwards and apologise to him incessantly while the tears still run down your cheek.

No one has told you how exhausting pregnancy is, both physically and mentally.

But Aemond bears it bravely. He endures every tantrum stoically, only to take you in his arms afterwards, caress you and assure you that he won't leave you for a less fat or more sociable lady who doesn't go into hysterics all the time. He admires the way you put up with the discomfort of pregnancy and sees it as a small thing to put up with your tantrums. Probably also because he knows that everything that passes your lips during these tantrums is rarely meant that way.

He is just happy when you lie in bed with him in the evening and he can caress you for hours.  This has become your little ritual. Aemond no longer has any obligations in the evenings, the evenings are your time together.

Then he puts several pillows in your bed so that you can lie comfortably. He massages your feet, because they usually always hurt, or he goes in search of something edible in the Red Keep that you crave. He is doing all this so that you can at least find a few hours of sleep, because at the moment it is hard for you to find any sleep.

This time it is a knock that brings you back to reality. A soft but hurried knock, followed by a "Ñuha dārilaros? Ñuha dārilaros?" (My princess? My prince?) echoes through your chambers.

Aemond sighs, "Māzigon isse!" (Come in!)

You turn to the door and see a dragonkeeper enter, he bows his head briefly, "Ñuha dārilaros, issa nūmāzma Meraxes." (My princess, it is about Meraxes)

You stiffen, Aemond holds you in his arms, "Skoros nūmāzma zirȳla?" (What about her?)

"Issa... issa acting strangely. Ēza issare syt tubissa. Issa daor eating properly se kessa daor ivestragī anyone va zirȳla" (She… She is acting strangely. She has been for days. She's not eating properly and she won't let anyone near her.)

Aemond answers for you, "Syt tubissa sir? Se ao sagon sepār māzis bē lēda bisa sir?" (For days now? And you're just coming up with this now?)

The servant nods, "Ñuha dārilaros.... īlon... īlon gōntan daor jaelagon naejot jenigon ao lēda bisa. Yn issa becoming tolī se tolī aggressive se iksis nūmāzma naejot pykagon perzys" (My prince... we... we did not want to bother you with this.... But she is becoming more and more aggressive and is about to spit fire)

Aemond always manages to make the dragonkeepers stutter with nervousness. You lightly press your elbow into his side.

"Kirimvose syt letting nyke gīmigon. Kesan sagon va ñuha ñuhoso" (Thank you for letting me know. I will be on my way.)

Aemond looks at you incredulously. He turns to the servant, "Kostā jikagon" (You may go.)

He just bows his head and hastily leaves your chambers.

"You can't really want to go to the Dragonpit"

You look at him, he looks worried, "Why not? My dragon is in a bad way. Of course I will be by her side"

"You're heavily pregnant. You shouldn't be around a dragon who is behaving irrationally. Let me go."

"I am aware of my pregnancy. But I am not terminally ill. So I will be by her side. Because you won't be able to go near her any more than the dragonkeepers."

You kiss Aemond gently on the cheek and head for the door.

"Then at least let me come with you," you hear Aemond say.

"So you can protect me from the dragon fire?" you smile at him.

"That's not even a little bit funny," Aemond looks at you seriously. You accept his raised arm and you make your way to the Dragonpit.

It worries you that Meraxes is behaving like this. She's not aggressive, not one bit. Except she has to be, and she has to protect those she loves. But this unprovoked aggressiveness worries you. As quickly as you can, you go to the Dragonpit. The way is more strenuous than you thought and so you cling a little to Aemond's arm.

When you arrive at the Dragonpit, Meraxes notices you immediately. She is standing in a corner, alone, and that is unusual. She is a social dragon and at least always near Vhagar. But Vhagar is crouched in the opposite corner, asleep. At least that's how it seems. Meraxes looks towards you and wants to come towards you, but she suddenly falters in mid-motion. A rumbling makes itself felt in her chest and she cries out. She stops and looks at you. Aemond holds you tightly by the arm and stands half in front of you. You think it's sweet that he wants to keep you safe. He seems to really want to shield you from the dragon's flames. Not that his body could protect you from a dragon's flames. Nor would he need to protect you from Meraxes. But it's the thought that counts.

Meraxes lets her head wander, keeping an eye on everything and observing every living thing in the Dragonpit, while her tail slides back and forth menacingly. Out of the corner of your eye you see Vhagar raise his head briefly and also let out a growl. Aemond looks in Vhagar's direction and raises his hand reassuringly. Meraxes takes a few steps back and sits down, as if Vhagar has told her to calm down. Her nervousness worries you and you cautiously walk in her direction, but before you can step out from behind Aemond he holds you back, "Ȳdra daor sesīr pendagon nūmāzma ziry." (Don't even think about it)

But you shake off his arm and walk carefully towards Meraxes. She is still watching everything closely, but you are now close to her. The closer you come to her side, the calmer she becomes, until you stand at her side and gently stroke her neck. "Skoros iksis pirta ñuha riña?" (What is wrong my girl?), you say calmly to her.

She snorts, you have to smile a little and continue stroking her, letting the warmth of her body flood through you. "Gaomagon ao feel mērī?" (Do you feel alone?)

Slowly she turns her head towards you, you take a step towards her head and she gently presses it into your side.

At the same moment, her rear end moves to the side, and as you look to the side, seeing what her rear end has exposed, you gasp out, "Aemond!"

Aemond, startled by your silent scream, immediately wants to rush to you, but Meraxes moves her head menacingly in his direction and again a rumble sounds in her chest. He does not see you, for there is a huge dragon skull between you. "Y/n!" leaves his lips in near panic.

Still standing in the same spot, you whisper to her, "Sagon iā sȳz riña. Ivestragī zirȳla māzigon naejot nyke, ēza naejot jurnegon tolī se babies tolī mirre..." (Be a good girl. Let him come to me, he has to take care of the babies after all)

Her head moves in your direction again and Aemond takes a step forward. This time her head stays at your side and Aemond hurries to you. As he steps closer to you, you hear him, "Skoros iksis ziry??" (What is it??)

You smile at him, "Jurnegon.... Meraxes ēza ilagontan drōma", (Look... Meraxes has laid eggs) your hand is still gently on Meraxes.

Aemond starts to smile, his hand moves down your arm. You slowly walk towards the eggs and stroke your hand along Meraxe's body. You kneel down carefully and look at the eggs. Three eggs in the colours gold, blue and green lie there. Each egg shell shimmers in a different colour. Carefully you take the eggs, "Ñuha riña, mazeminna care hen zirȳ, okay?" (My girl, I will take care of them, okay?). Again you hear a sigh from her.

When you reach Aemond, he takes the eggs from you. You walk towards the dragonkeepers, "Ziry should sagon arlī naejot normal.  Ēza ilagontan drōma." (She should be back to normal. She has laid eggs.) you grin and present three eggs.

"Emā naejot gūrogon care hen drōma, kostilus. Skori ñuha riña iksis āzma, jaelan se kasta drōmon naejot sagon placed isse se riña's cradle" (You have to take care of the eggs, please. When my child is born, I want the blue egg to be placed in the child's cradle.)

The dragonkeepers bow their heads briefly, "Hen rhinka ñuha dārilaros" (Of course my princess). Aemond carefully hands over the eggs to the dragonkeepers.

Amond's arm is around your waist as you make your way back to your chambers. Again and again he kisses your cheek, "The blue egg for our daughter?" he asks you.

You smile at him, "Yes... I thought our son would be pleased that his father always has a Sapphir with him.... And he has a blue dragon by his side."

Aemond looks at you lovingly and gently kisses your lips.

A few weeks later, Aemond tells you at dinner in the evening that your family is coming to King's Landing. You are initially delighted until he tells you the reason for the visit. Luke's claim as heir to Driftmark is challenged by Vaemond Velaryon. Your gaze darkens and your anger is clearly visible. But just as you are about to get upset, Aegon speaks up, "Niece, what did you expect? With such a strong appearance and rather few features that scream Velaryon.... it was bound to happen." Your eyes shoot sparks in his direction and Alicent hisses "Aegon!"

Aemond squeezes your hand, knowing how hard it is for you to hold back at the moment.

You just throw your napkin on your plates and wordlessly leave the table. Aemond comes after you, having given Aegon a warning look.

As quickly as you can, you make your way to your chambers.

"My Love," you hear Aemond behind you.

He holds your arm as he reaches you, "My Love… Surely you haven't eaten enough. Let me get you some more food."

But you're too angry to even think about eating for a moment, "I can't be in the same room with Aegon for a second longer! Otherwise there's a danger that I'll sit on his face with my fat ass to suffocate him!!!"

Aemond has to suppress a smirk, "We shouldn't try that.... In the end, it could be a fetish of his..."

You give him a warning look. He just embraces you and presses you against him as far as he can, and lightly kisses the tip of your nose. "Try to see it that way... You haven't been able to see your family since our wedding... which I'm not necessarily sad about.... but they will be here again and you can spend time with them. And try not to pay attention to Aegon... as I do most of the time."

You nod slowly, "Do you know when they will arrive?"

"In about a week"

"How do you actually know they're going to come here?"

Aemond gently strokes your cheek, "My mother told me this afternoon and I asked her to let me tell you". You nod slowly and begin to smile, "Will you behave?" you ask him.

He grins slightly, "I'll do my best".

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

Tag list

@leahjean  @afro-hispwriter  @jeyramarie  @powellssaturn @notabotiswear @hoshi-miharu-blog @random-human02 @m00n5t0n3 @sporadicshepherdzinebear @drewsgfduh @stargaryenx @dark-night-sky-99 @notabotiswear @ccosmic-illusion @darylandbethfanforever9 @grungegrrrl @spn-obession @carlottalhn @elle4404 @girl-with-an-orange-cat @genshinimpactislife @imjustboredso @tragicbucky @dollfaceyourfear @magnificantmermaid @mllemarianne @stargaryenx @mikariell95 @khaothick @aemonds-wifey @burningshewolf @munsonswrld @jackierose902109 @scaraxmouche @bucky-thorin-winchester @alexandra-001 @yentroucnagol @cicaspair418

#aemond x y/n #ewan mitchell #hotd #aemond fanfiction #aemond imagine #aemond x you #aemond targaryen #aemond fic #aemond smut #aemond fanfic #house of the dragon #hotd imagine #hotd smut #hotd fanfic #aemond targaryen x original character #aemond targaryen x targaryen!reader #aemond targaryen x you #aemond fluff #aemond targaryen imagine #house of the dragon aemond #aemond drabble #aemond one eye #prince aemond #dad aemond

[raccoonfallsharder]

Hi! I just read your new chapter for the Take What You Need fic with Rocket and first off– perfection. every. single. time. I'd also like to request self-care/life-task for a chapter: Rocket lovingly bullying you into washing your already-ginormous-and-still-growing pile of dirty clothes? It's something I keep doing and would love to see how you write Rocket responding to it.

thank you for your patience with me! i'm so sorry i couldn't get this out sooner. i hope it is everything you were hoping for and that it helps get your laundry done a lil sooner next time my little sunshine-daffodil. may all your laundry-days feel like a studio ghibli sequence with the minor addition of a foulmouthed space-raccoon. please know that i wrote each word with love ♡♡♡

✩࿐࿔ it's frickin laundry day. [new 1/14 for @moonchhu]

smut-free fluff | no use of y/n | gn reader | drabbles | word count: 1,923.

✩࿐࿔ take what you need.

࿔ eat somethin. at least grab a frickin’ snack. (wc: 576) ࿔ go to frickin bed already. (wc: 737) ࿔ get outta bed & get your shit done. & stop doomscrolling (wc: 925) ࿔ take a damn bath. (wc: 1,375) ࿔ leave your frickin skin alone. (wc: 1,579) ࿔ take a fuckin study break.(wc: 1,020) ࿔ drink some goddamn water. (wc: 1,209) ࿔ stop destroying your frickin clothes.(wc: 1,649) ࿔ just buy the damn thing already. (wc: 1,271) ࿔ it's frickin laundry day. (wc: 1,923) for moonchhu [NEW 1/14] ࿔ get some goddamn sunshine ࿔ did you take your meds today?

big tasks are overwhelming. it's okay to break them into smaller bits and just do one thing at a time - even one day at a time.

this is about as wholesome as it gets (for me) i think. can be read platonically or romantically. mcu-based, meant to take place post-volume 3, but headcanon however you want ♡

You stare at the enemy helplessly. It feels like it’s expanding right before your very eyes: bursting from its confinement, ready to crawl over every available surface. To the untrained eye, it might just look like a growing pile of laundry in the corner of your room — but for you, right now, it may as well be your nemesis. Sleeves and socks tumble over your overstuffed laundry hamper, and if you wait much longer, it’s going to start creeping over your floor. There’s the sharp rap of knuckles — low on your doorframe — and the sound of a boot against the door itself as Knowhere’s Captain kicks it open without waiting for a response. Perfect timing, you think drily, and you follow the thought with a yelp. “Hey! I could’ve been indecent!” Of course — of course — Rocket’s eyes go straight to your laundry pile. “The only thing indecent in here is that,” he snarks, jutting a clawed thumb at the hamper-bag. “What the hell?” Classic. “Did you want something?” you ask, annoyed. “I did,” he admits, “but now I’m frickin’ distracted. Do you even got any clean clothes left?” You betray yourself with a nervous glance down at the sweatpants you’re currently wearing. “What the hell, kid,” he repeats flatly, but it’s no longer a question.

read more on ao3 ✩࿐࿔

if you find any of these at all helpful, they're meant for you.

feel free to ✩ request reminders ✩ via reblogs, asks, and tumblr or ao3 comments if they would be helpful for you. it may take me a hot minute to get to them depending on life n stuff, but i will do my best. i'm slowing down a little on these reminder requests for a month or two while i focus on getting Window Across the Galaxy ✧*:･ﾟ done, but you can still feel free to send them!

if you’d like to join my fanfiction taglist, please comment or send me a message or ask! ♡

@suicidalshitstick ✩ @glow-autumz ✩ @evolvingchaoswitch ✩ @wren-phoenix ✩ @pretty-chips

(total word count: 12,264)

#take what you need #laundry day #rocket raccoon fluff #rfh fluff #rocket raccoon fanfiction #rfh fanfic #self care reminder #break down big tasks! #self care tips #gotg fanfiction #gotg fanfic #guardians of the galaxy fanfiction #rocket raccoon #slice of life #reader insert #rocket raccoon x you #guardians of the galaxy #laundry #chores #housework

[inrainprose]

Twenty Questions for Fic Writers!

tagged by @rongzhi, thank you!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? A cool 137 works! I have about 80 more on my ff.net account.

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 1,614,083 yoooo

3. What fandoms do you write for? I write for a lot of different fandom because I like to write one or two pieces for every show/movie/manga/anime I enjoy. These days it's mainly BLs and Naruto.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Flip the Coin, Naruto. 37 chapters - 329,138 words - 9,296 kudos

We'll Make a Home out of it (Brother to You Part 1), Naruto. 5 chapters - 20,825 words - 5,808 kudos

Ajar Hearts, MDZS. One shot - 7,421 words - 5,006 kudos

You Were Born Today (I'm Grateful) (Brother to You Part 2), Naruto. 7 chapters - 25,934 words - 4,596 kudos

It Takes a Village (To Make a Village) (Brother to You Part 3), Naruto. 7 chapters - 55,154 words - 4,557 kudos

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I do respond to every comments or close to it, usually with a few days/weeks delay. I like to get replies to comments, so I give them out too. Usually the reply matches the length of the comment. I like this link with the readers and I want them to know I'm out there haha.

6. What is a fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Probably These Violent Delights Have Violent Ends since it's a Malec Romeo & Juliet AU... Slightly different ending but still terrible.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Most of my fics have happy endings since they're just one shot of people being happy after all the angst. But I guess it would be Ending, Beginning since the whole point is to write my ideal happy Naruto epilogue.

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not consistently. I've had a few repeated offenders on Naruto fics and the occasional not very polite comment, but nothing major.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Not at all, I never have. It usually fades to black, or it's very tame. Like sex does happen in some of my fics but it's never explicit.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? The only proper crossover I did was Stranger Things x X-Men with Eleven attending the Institute.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? I have, someone started to post Flip the Coin on ff.net at some point without mentioning me anywhere. Was warned by a reader. There is also an audio version of it in spanish on youtube for some reason, I never went to the bottom of that...

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes, a few! Mostly some Malec stuff in Russian, and some Spanish too. And I translated some of my own fics myself between French and English.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? No, never. Did some RP though does it count.

14. What's your all-time favorite ship? The ship of my heart is Naruto n Sasuke 4ever, otherwise my faves vary.

15. What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? The one I'm most torn over is Start Digging because I was really into it and had quite a bunch planned, but the fandom deserted my heart for some reason. If I get back into MHA I might pick it up, but so much happened since then... Otherwise I don't write a lot of multi-chaptered fics and I tend to write one shots in one go and post them immediately so I don't have that many WIPs.

16. What are your writing strengths? Big Feels I think? And emotional dialogues. That's what I enjoy anyway.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Fight scenes because I hate them. And also I feel like my vocabulary is not very varied since English is not my first language, sometimes I have the impression that I use the same words ten times in one fic...

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I do it if the other is not supposed to understand it, I like it. But I only ever did it with language I had a grasp on, it would feel strange to just google trad some stuff. If I can't and it's not that relevant I would just put "they said something in that language" or something like that.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Weirdly enough it was the manga/anime Get Backers. I went on a deep dive in search of this fic since I deleted it from my ff.net account a long time ago, and thus abandoned this post for several days, but I can't find it sadly. It was a self-insert.

20. Favorite fic you've written? I like my work a lot and reread it frequently. The ones I enjoy the most vary with time, but I have to say Flip the Coin for the sheer size and work that went into it and the audience it got. A true accomplishment in my book :)

Tagging @convenientalias, @morathicain and all the writers passing by :)

#writing #personal #ask meme #kinda #i like talking about my fics can you tell

[deadboyfriendd]

20 Questions for Fic Writers Game

Thank you for the tag <3 @jo-harrington

1) How many works do you have on A03? - none, actually. I haven't made it to tht neck of the woods yet.

2) What's your total AO3 word count? - That would be a big ole 0

3) What fandoms do you write for? - Stranger Things currently. I used to be a writer for The 100 back in my Wattpad days. Sometimes I throw around the idea of writing for Fargo or Criminal Minds.

4) What are your top five fics by kudos? - I would say probably Stains in the Granite, Cochise, Stone Gothic, H E A D L I N E R S., Kate, and The Bisbee Letter Series

5) Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? - I try really hard to respond to the really meaningful ones, but if I have poo brain that day it slips. I read all of them and reread them over and over until they're engrained in my noodle brain though! .

6) What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? - Stone Gothic or Sockpuppet. Stone Gothic is angst in terms of bodily violence Sockpuppet in terms of ouchie feelings OR OR OR She Makes Dirty Words Sound Pretty. Can you tell I love angst?

7) What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? - Hallmark, probably. That was kind of the whole point of doing a Hallmark movie themed fic.

8) Do you get hate on fics? No.

9) Do you write smut? If so, what kinds? - Yes but it has to be there as a plot catalyst. I write very flowery very feelings-oriented smut, even if the characters don't have feelings for each other. Though, I feel like everything I write is feelings-oriented.

10) Do you write crossovers? - It never went I don't think I've written one yet but if I get a good idea I'm not opposed to it. Maybe if you wanna count SITG or Cochise since they're based off of 50 First Dates and Tombstone?

11) Have you ever had a fic stolen? - Not that I’m aware of.

12) Have you ever had a fic translated? - Again, not that I'm aware of.

13) Have you ever co-written a fic before? - Nothing that I would explicitly credit myself with but @dr-aculaaa and I loom over each other's docs like God. I'm pretty sure Drac has inadvertently written half of my fics.

14) What's your all time favorite ship? -We're big Steddie fans around here. Keep an eye out for a Steddie fic I have brewing.

15) What's a WIP that you want to finish, but doubt you ever will? - LMAO might be that steddie fic that I just talked about. I also have a very flowery and angsty AU of an AU of an AU baby about Robin that I've been screaming to her about that is on the very back of burners.

16) What are your writing strengths? - I'm really good at analogies and descriptive writing. I've always written about feelings because I have a lot of them and I'm painfully self-aware of them.

17) What are your writing weaknesses? - LMAO editing process? I don't know her. Every work you get is beta read by Drac and that's IT. If it misses Drac then it was meant to be a part of the fic. In terms of my actual writing, I think it's smut writing. I'm good at making people love each other not good at making them fuck.

18) Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? - There has to be a place for it that makes sense. I used lines in Latin in Cochise and Bisbee because my Eddie is very much based off of Doc Holliday, who spoke Latin, and used that line very much as a plot catalyst. I use a lot of analogies to Marlowe's Doctor Faustus which also has Latin in it, which was crucial to the storylines of both Bisbee and Cochise.

19) First fandom you wrote for? - The Walking Dead when I was entirely too young to be fic reading or writing. Maybe One Direction before that? Also W A Y too young to be fic reading or writing. The first fandom I ever had success writing in was The 100. Still too young but I'm proud of those 100k notes.

20) Favorite fic you've written? - The Cochise and Bisbee universe. I LOVE writing in that prose and I LOVE reimagining these characters into Tombstone. It's so personal to me since I'm from Arizona and I love living here and all of the cowboy stuff. It feels like I neglect it sometimes but really, I'm trying so hard to get them perfect because this is absolutely my passion project and I'm so proud of them even though they get like zero reads.

No Pressure Tags: @dr-aculaaa @bettyfrommars

#tag games #flea speaks #This is more like an interview with flea #flea's friends

[collegeoflore]

love when you rb ask games bc im desperate to know everything about your little guys. 2 & 14 for both xarrai and ieriyn

ur in luck bc i looove rambling about my little guys :) ty for the ask!!!! 💖💖💖💖💖

2. What's something about your OC that people wouldn't expect just from looking at them?

xarrai:

see the thing is by design xarrai looks like Just Another Bard, esp if we're talking about like pre-game when they're just living their life in baldur's gate. sure they’re like, a 6'7" (if we count the horns n everything) purple tiefling who's covered in tattoos but the gate is a big city and that's not really all that unusual. there are plenty of things one wouldn't expect just from looking at xarrai but that's kind of their whole thing. sooooo here is a kind of silly and fun example i haven't talked much about: they have such a soft spot for tiefling kids. they're immediately smitten with the kids in the grove and half the reason they actually end up helping the tieflings out is because they don't want anything to happen to them. they nearly start shit with kagha over the whole thing with arabella and are just barely talked down by gale (much to astarion's disappointment lol.) mol and mattis remind them so much of themself (or at least of the child they could have been) and i do think xar keeps an eye on mol in the guild post-game, or at least whenever they're in baldur's gate. they would never ever want to be a parent (and would make a frankly abysmal one at that. like can u imagine them and astarion trying to raise a child? the thing would need therapy before it could talk.) but they are fond of the little shits. they're fond of yenna too (they were also an outer city street kid once after all) but the tiefling kids just Get Them.

ieriyn:

honestly i think ieriyn is kind of an open book, at least early/pre-game. you can pretty easily predict like. most things about this kid in one look. BUT i do think once someone gets to know him they find that despite being sheltered and naïve he really does have a strong sense of right and wrong and a soft heart. he's just like. spoiled and stupid about it. he also has a dry sense of humor that takes a minute to really notice.

and here's a silly one too: i think he's really into houseplants. he's a houseplant girlie. his room at home is full of lush tropical plants and he loves taking care of them :) (as long as he can wash his hands immediately after touching the dirt. he hates dirt. he has autistic tboy swag for real.)

14. How does your OC want to be seen by other characters?

xarrai:

hmm okay so this is... it depends i think on who we're talking about. xarrai is constantly trying to show other people exactly who or what they want to see - patriars see a pretty whore, tavern patrons see a flamboyant bard, the guild sees a talented information broker, the list goes on. for the first section of the game, every member of the party sees someone different in them too because they're trying to secure their control over the situation and others are more likely to listen to them if they think xarrai is trustworthy. it doesn't take long before the party starts to notice that their views of xarrai don't line up tho tbh; it's hard to maintain like six different personas, even if the differences are only slight. (this does cause some trust issues, especially with lae'zel who already did not get along super well with xar lol.) generally though the kind of Core Vibe they're trying to put off is someone carefree and unassuming. they don't want to give anyone too much insight into what they're thinking or feeling, and they would much rather be underestimated than properly appraised. they sort of try to hide their "real" skills behind their more "showy" ones - if someone is praising them for being a great storyteller they're likely not paying attention to the way that story is being spun, and if someone is busy thinking about how good xarrai is at giving head they probably don't notice that they've stolen half the gold from their purse lol

ieriyn:

ieriyn desperately wants people to see him as Worthy. of what he's not entirely sure honestly - love? praise? care? power? he's trying really hard to seem competent and in control but he's largely just scared and lost and alone. like. he's terrified of his magic because it's unpredictable and hard to control but he wants people to think he's good at it, and tbf, he does have raw talent he absolutely is a Magical Gifted Kid (again. autistic tboy swag), he's just being held back by his own fear. he just wants people to see him as special and worthy of the greatness he tries to pretend he deserves. if that makes sense. idk i am still working on getting a really good solid grasp of ieriyn tbqh

#there Is an edgy backstory reason for xarrai’s soft spot for the lil tieflings but i talk so much abt their edgy backstory LOL #漫言 #oc. xarrai #oc. ieriyn

[buggysmalls69]

Well I'd best explain myself.

Hey. It's milk ✌️

If you know me from being moots elsewhere.. Hi! This is my special interest blog. A real rebloggy blog. For reblogging. And talking about my interests if I feel like it!

Current interests:

In no particular order

- Figures ✨

I collect figures. I have like well over 300 at this point. I don't keep track anymore and this one is slowly but surely subsiding. I will always adore figures and collecting them though. My figures make my room a safe place for my senses. They're all so pretty 💖

- Pokémon 🌈

Oh my god an autistic person who likes Pokémon it's a miracle. Yeah. I started playing Pokémon when I was 3, so 17 years going strong. I originally preferred the toys and cards, but heart gold and soul silver converted me and then I became a mega fan. Tracking releases, learning lore, creating fanart. Mind you I was like 7. There's a deviantart account out there from when I was 6? and yeah that shit Sure Is (you can try and find it I don't really care anymore jfjsjfjg). Anyway!!! Faves are cleffa, whimsicott, blaziken, galvantula, giratina, mimikyu and Registeel. Faves by proxy include lapras, torkoal, lilligant, gengar, rayquaza, mudkip and ledyba. Fave humans are Iono, Lillie (LillieMoon 💖💖💖), Ingo and Emmet, allister, N, Erika and Elesa. Gen 5 is currently my favourite but I have played gen 5 a LOT the past few years and a lot of my faves are gen 5. I attended both the Pokémon center pop up in London in 2018, and EUIC 2024 in London, also for the Pokémon center lmao.

- Bugs 🐛

Woo big surprise it/they user enjoys bugs. My favourites are moths, exact favourites being hummingbird hawk moths and Madagascan sunset moths. Also a huge fan of weevils, worms, snails, beetles, bees and butterflies! I hope to have a butterfly collection one day in frames :3

Hatsune Miku.

- One piece ☠️

Pretty new one but yeah, I'm caught up so I spend a LOT of time thinking about them damn pirates. Faves in no order are Zoro, Luffy, Usopp, Sanji, Robin, Perona, Mihawk, Law, Corazon, Ace, Yamato, Katakuri, Crocodile, Buggy, Doflamingo, Lucci, Okiku, and Big Mom.

- No but for reals Miku 🎧

Fun fact! I've been a Miku fan since 2010. That's 14 years baby!! My first vocaloid songs that I remember hearing are nyan cat (duh), world is mine, Romeo and Cinderella, butterfly on your right shoulder, gugurekasu, and my all time fave, corruption garden. Absolutely underrated banger. This should be a general vocaloid section really because my favourite cryptonloids are Kaito, Luka and Miku and then my favourite non cryptonloids are Meika Mikoto, Lily, Nekomura Iroha, PoUta, Teto and Luo Tianyi! My favourite producers are PinocchioP, Neru, Giga, Kira, Iroha(sasuki) and OwataP!

I went to Miku expo in London 2018, 2020 and I am going in 2024!!! A selection from my personal wishlist for London 2024 setlist :

Paradichlorobenzene - OwataP 💛

Kokoro - Toraboruta 🧡

Kunoichi Demo Koi ga Shitai - MikitoP 🩵🧡

Digital Girl - Kira 🩵

Break it, Break it! - E.L.V.N ❤️

Non Breath Oblige - PinnochioP 🩵

Erase or Zero - crystalP 💛💙

-Minecraft 🌲

Yeah yeah you can laugh all you want. I've been consuming Minecraft since it came out, and I've played it for 10 whole years. I got pc edition 5 years ago now (INSANE). I love Minecraft. I tend to play just random mods shoved in a folder, but I do play with friends sometimes!!! If anyone ever wants to play please tell me I will kiss you.

NON SPECIAL INTERESTS BUT VERY IMPORTANT TO MY IDENTITY

-Dinosaurs (since I was like 4)

-Sanrio (as long as I can remember)

-Animals

-Anime in general

-Art (lotta A's huh)

-Shitty adult cartoons (south park, family guy, American dad, I have encyclopedic knowledge of all 3 and I can recall every episode. I also know family guy season 4 word for word :3)

-Sitcoms (Actually enjoy: Two and a half men, modern family, young Sheldon kinda, does house count? It should. Encyclopedic knowledge: Big Bang Theory, Two and a half men, Frasier, Friends)

THE "SOMETIMES" SPECIAL INTEREST

- Five Nights at Freddys 🐻

I know, I'm so cool. This game has had its dirty grip on me since it came out. Basically I hate it but every time a new game comes out I can't help but go on a self destructive info absorb and I watch like 6 hour video essays on the new lore and implications. It's fun I like fnaf silly Creachure. My fave is the puppet because I'm non binary haha.

-UNDERTALE ❤️

I pretty much tick all the boxes for middle school anxiety huh. Yeah undertale is a beautiful masterpiece and every few years I'll have a mega "aaaaa undertale" phase where I'll just do nothing but play and consume undertale content. I've played the game through at least like 10 times? A few of each ending. I'm still really bad at sans fight.

-Animal Crossing 🐾

I think everyone should have this one. Occasionally I'll just be like "hm being an adult in the real world isn't really what I wanted right now" so I play animal crossing until oops 6 hours passed. I'll then play for about a week before putting it down again. I tend to stick with new horizons, just because it has the best gameplay. Also BUGS heheshhfksjgh. Fave villagers are Lily, Eugene, Beardo, Judy, Merengue, Lolly, Merry and Marina. I also love Flick and Celeste.

Kinning!!

Yeahhh I kin some bitches. Big deal.

- Yamada Ryo

The big one. She's just me for real for real. I love her for realsies. Also um hi bocchi kinnies.

- Rina Tennoji

She's so fucking autistic. I also struggle with expression (fluctuates between under and over!).

- Kokoro Tsurumaki

Genki. I have made it my personal goal to make people happy in recent years and it's really helped my own mental health

- Madoka Kaname

😳🩷🖤

- Kirby

Small, Round, Pink, Poyo

- Flandre Scarlet

Tiny Creachure clinging to childhood (with a dash of trauma).

- Kanna Kamui

I just, deep down. I experience friendship the exact way Kanna does. I have no concept of boundaries. I will crawl into your bed at night.

- Stocking

Sweets, hypersexual, kinky, goth, chubby. Me.

- Yamato

Oblivious, love friend so much, bad family relationships.

- Kuromi

*cough cough* *straightens paper* Although Kuromi may look and act tough and punk, she is actually very girly and is attracted to good-looking guys. That is all.

And yeah I think that's pretty much it. Obviously this post will get updated as regularly as it needs it. Hope u enjoy my silly content!!!

#figures #death #bugs #pokemon #hatsune miku #one piece #Minecraft #Dinosaurs #Sanrio #Milkytalk #updated 28/4/2024

[checkoutmybookshelf]

What Did I read This Year? A 2023 Retrospective

Ok, so this was a big year for my Tumblr blog, so I thought it would be fun to go over what I read this year! The rules for the retrospective are thus:

Only book reviews count, because I actually read or reread those books this year. First Lines, meme, and quotes do not require that, so they're not counting. Little reading updates and thought posts also don't count. So let's see what I read this year!

January 3: Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

January 5: One for All by Lillie Lainoff

January 8: Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

January 10: Shadowfell, Raven Flight, and The Caller by Juliet Marillier (trilogy, so counts for three!)

January 13: Raybearer and Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko (duology)

January 19: Magic's Pawn, Magic's Promise, and Magic's Price by Mercedes Lackey (trilogy)

January 22: No Dominion by CE Murphy

January 29: Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

February 5: The Walker Papers by CE Murphy (series of 9 books because I'm counting by the original publishing order, not the rebrand and republish, where it's 10 books)

February 12: Wildwood Dancing and Cybele's Secret by Juliet Marillier (duology)

February 19: Shakespeare Saved my Life: Ten Years in Solitary with the Bard by Laura Bates

February 24: The Cardinal Rule, The Firebird Deception, and The Phoenix Law by CE Murphy (trilogy)

February 27: The Gallagher Girls series by Ally Carter (seven book series)

March 3: Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

March 6: Imzadi Forever by Peter David

March 17: The Bright and Breaking Sea and A Swift and Savage Tide by Chloe Neill (first two books of a series)

March 19: The Harp of Kongs, A Dance with Fate, and Song of Flight by Juliet Marillier (trilogy)

March 24: Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn

March 26: The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri

March 29: Kenobi by John Jackson Miller

March 31: Spice Road by Maiya Ibrahim

April 2: Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

April 5: The Phantom of Pemberley by Regina Jeffers

April 9: The Blood Trials by NE Davenport

April 12: Arrows of the Queen, Arrow's Flight, and Arrow's Fall by Mercedes Lackey (trilogy)

April 19: Dracula by Bram Stoker

April 26: Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

April 30: Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray

May 3: When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn

May 7: Scales and Sensibility by Stephanie Burgis

May 14: The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

May 17: Star by Star by Troy Denning

May 21: The Protector of the Small Quartet by Tamora Pierce (four books)

May 28: That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams

May 31: Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer

June 11: Through the Fire by CE Murphy

June 14: The Song of the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce (four books)

June 18: The Circle of Magic Quartet by Tamora Pierce (four books)

June 21: The Circle Opens Quartet by Tamora Pierce (four books)

June 25: Uprooted by Naomi Novik

June 28: The Immortals Quartet by Tamora Pierce (four books)

July 2: Artemis Fowl: The Eternity Code by Eoin Colfer

July 5: Storm Front by Jim Butcher

July 9: The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce

July 12: Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston by Esme Symes-Smith

July 16: An Offer From a Gentleman by Julia Quinn

July 19: Battle Magic by Tamora Pierce

July 23: Tempests and Slaughter by Tamora Pierce

July 26: Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery

July 30: Melting Stones by Tamora Pierce

August 2: Claws and Contrivances by Stephanie Burgis

August 6: Gladiator Bear by CE Murphy

August 9: Artemis Fowl: The Opal Deception by Eoin Colfer

August 13: Red, White & Royal Blue by Casy McQuiston

August 16: Ten Thousand Stitches by Olivia Atwater

August 20: Long Shadow by Olivia Atwater

August 23: Fool Moon by Jim Butcher

August 27: Grave Peril by Jim Butcher

August 30: Artemis Fowl: The Lost Colony by Eoin Colfer

September 3: The Blonde Identity by Ally Carter

September 6: It's In His Kiss by Julia Quinn

September 10: On the Way to the Wedding by Julia Quinn

September 13: Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer

September 13: The Artemis Fowl Files by Eoin Colfer

September 20: Dark Water Daughter by HM Long

September 24: X-Wing: Wraith Squadron by Aaron Allston

September 27: X-Wing: Starfighters of Adumar by Aaron Allston

October 1: Summer Knight by Jim Butcher

October 4: Maskerade by Terry Pratchett

October 8: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

October 11: Artemis Fowl: The Atlantis Complex by Eoin Colfer

October 15: A Shadow in the Ember by Jennifer L. Armentrout

October 18: The Secret Shanghai Series by Chloe Gong (four books, two novellas)

October 25: Heat Wave by Richard Castle

October 29: Raven Heart and Polar Heart by CE Murphy (two books in a series)

November 1: A Light in the Flame by Jennifer L. Armentrout

November 5: The Phoenix King by Aparna Verma

November 8: Icebreaker by Hannah Grace

November 12: Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

November 15: The Dragon Prince of Alaska by Elva Birch

November 19: The Dragon Prince's Librarian by Elva Birch

November 22: Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree

November 26: Wildfire by Hannah Grace

November 29: Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer

December 3: A Fire in the Flesh by Jennifer L. Armentrout

December 6: The Mask of Mirrors by MA Carrick

December 10: The Dragon Prince's Bride, The Dragon Prince's Secret, the Dragon Prince's Magic, and The Dragon Prince's Betrayal by Elva Birch (four of a series of six books)

December 13: Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri

December 17: Death Masks by Jim Butcher

December 20: Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

December 24: A Christmas Like No Otter by Zoe Chant

That's about where I got to this year, and it has been a wonderful year in reading. I'm so looking forward to next year! Leave your favorite book from 2023 and your most anticipated 2024 book in the tags, and may you have a Happy New Year!

#books and reading #books and novels #books #book recommendations

[khoicesbyk]

The Royal Romance.

Love Everlasting.

A/N: I had a different name and plot for this fic over a year ago. But after being in the RP community for more than a year, I've decided to write the current Royal Life of my favorite OTP.

Rated: Mature (at times can and will be Explicit. I'll be sure to change the rating when and if that happens). | Contains sexual content and strong language. (You know? The usual. Y'all should be used to this from me by now 😁) | Bolded and/or italicized words are conversations and thoughts of the characters. | Main Characters: King Marquise Rys (LI) and Queen Shanelle Miller-Rys (MC) | All Characters and names: (except MC and original characters created by me and/or other authors [their characters have been mentioned and/or used in the story with their permission] ) are property of Pixelberry.

Current Word Count: 50K words. (may be slightly more or may be slightly less. Look, I stop counting after editing and re-editing and driving myself insane. 🤷🏾‍♀️)

If you’d like to be added to my tag list. Just reblog or dm me and I will gladly add you! 😁😘

This series is rated Mature and/or Explicit. It is NOT reading material that is safe for those under 18. Reader discretion is STRONGLY advised!

Missing a chapter or want to read a chapter again? I got you covered! Click ——> Here!

Tag List: @choicesficwriterscreations

TW: Mentions of Cancer. Reader Discretion is STRONGLY ADVISED!

Matrimony. Part 3.

The next day came bright and early and before Shanelle knew it she was at her duchy, with Marquise, her parents, and especially her girls. She and the girls were all congregated on her bed.

“Girl!!! How many rooms do you have in this place?” Bron asked.

“36 bedrooms with 56 bathrooms in total in the main estate. Plus 14 guest cottages and 10 servants' quarters.” Shanelle replied.

“And it's all yours?” Dee asked.

“All. Mine!” Shanelle replied.

“Since it's all yours, can we go back to the wine cellar?” Nina asked.

“Which one? I got like 12 of them here.” Shanelle replied.

“Well shit! In that case, let's go through all of them!” Nina said. 

“Drunk. Ass.” Rob said to her. 

“H! A! P! P! I! L! Y!” Nina sang. 

The girls laughed. 

“Seriously. Thank y'all so much for coming to Cordonia.” Shanelle said to her girls.

“Chile! Thank your boyfriend. He flew us out on private jets.” Rob replied.

“You mean he spoiled you?” Shanelle asked.

“Yeah pretty much. I don't wanna fly any other way.” Rob replied. 

The girls laughed. 

“It's so good to have a friendly face around here.”

“What do you mean Shan?” Aly asked.

Shanelle sighed.

“A lot of the nobles here are still loyal to Marquise’s father and my uncle. So they're being petty and intentionally distant. Oh and then there's the floozie. She's been floating around lately.”

“Why?” Chutney asked.

“Because she's still trying to win my man back. Oh and she tried me yesterday,” Shanelle replied.

The girls all looked at her.

“Don't look at me like that. Y'all heard me loud and clear.” 

“What happened?” Nina asked.

Shanelle told the girls everything that happened the day before. 

“Excuse me?” Bron asked.

Nina looked around. 

“I'm sorry. I must've heard you incorrectly.” Nina said.

“Lemme get this straight: this bitch talked shit about your family and she's still breathing?!” Robin asked.

Shanelle just looked at Robin.

“Oh hell no!” Dee piped up.

“No, she fucking didn't!” Aly hissed.

“This bitch!” Chut seethed.

“Yup. If Marquise hadn't jumped in between us. She'd be dead by now.”

“Why is he defending her?” Nina asked.

“He's not. As much as I don't like the bitch, she's a big fish here. She can put a bug in people’s ears and turn the court against me.” Shanelle replied.

Nina nodded slowly.

“So we are gonna set a trap for the bitch.” Shanelle announced. 

“How?!” the girls asked.

“At the tea next weekend we're going to get her to show her ass right before we beat her ass,” Shanelle replied.

The girls cheered.

“In the meantime, get your best Southern Belle ready, ladies. We are going to the Derby tomorrow.”

The next day dawned bright and early. And after a good breakfast with the ones she loved the most, Shanelle was ready to seize the day. She made sure to coordinate her outfit with the outfits of her girls. She was determined to make sure she and her girls stood out. 

They arrived after Marquise and stole the show. Many were clamoring for a chance with the kingdom’s new Queen Regent. No one had ever seen a Queen dress the way she did. Many were intrigued, some were appalled, and others applauded her boldness to break the mold and standard of what a Queen should be. But all eyes were on her and her girls. Cameras flashed as they walked the red carpet. 

Marquise watched proudly as Shanelle and the girls owned the cameras, the carpet, and the paparazzi. When they got to the private box, there was champagne waiting and the girls were over the moon.

“Oh. My. God! That was amazing!” Bron squealed.

“So much fun!” Nina and Chut agreed.

“Those cameras loved us!” Rob quipped.

“That was so exciting.” Dee added.

“I will never get tired of that,” Aly said proudly.

Marquise chuckled at the girls’ excitement.

“I am very glad to hear you girls had fun walking the red carpet. This event is a big deal.”

“I don't see my parents,” Shanelle said.

“They have their own private box next to this one. See?” 

Marquise showed Shanelle and the girls where her parents were sitting.

“Awwww!” the girls said in unison.

“The box to the right of theirs is where King Edward and Queen Genevieve are sitting. And the box to the left of this one is where Regina and my father are sitting. As I said, The Derby is a big deal. A lot of money is raised and won. And since this is our first event as the new Regents, all eyes are on the two of us.” 

“I like the sound of that.”

“Good. Now get comfortable ladies. The first set of races is about to begin.”

“Question! Do we get to bet on the races?” Rob asked.

Marquise snapped his fingers and a primly dressed man appeared.

“Place your bets with Gustav. And here's hoping one if not all of you win a little money.”

Shanelle watched as the girls scrambled to Gustav and placed bets on the race. 

“How many bets have you placed?” Shanelle asked Marquise.

“A couple. The main race is the one to watch, bet on, and win.” Marquise replied.

“Have fun y'all?” Shanelle asked her crew. 

The girls all answered at once.

“I'll take that as a yes,” Shanelle said with a laugh.

Just then the first race was announced and began shortly after that. The race ended with Nina winning a little money. 

“Congratulations Nina. A $500.00 bet in the Cordonian Dollar converts to a $1,000.00 win in the American dollar.” Marquise said to her. 

“I just won $1,000.00 on one horse?!” Nina asked him.

“Place your bets, ladies. The next race will start soon,” Marquise replied.

Marquise watched the girls place a frenzy of bets. 

“Satisfying isn't it?” he asked Shanelle.

“Yes, it is. Also, I didn't know the Cordonian Dollar was ½ that of the American dollar,” she replied.

“It used to be ¾ of the American dollar but it's depreciated over the years. Thanks to those who shall not be named.”

Shanelle nodded before looking over his shoulder at her parents.

“Is it okay if I go check on them?” Shanelle asked.

“Be my guest,” Marquiss replied. 

Marquise motioned to the guard standing by the door that connected the suites. Shanelle quietly slipped into her parents' suite.

“Well don't you two lovebirds look cozy?” she said to her parents as she sat down next to them.

“It has been a long time since your father took me to a horse race,” Shantel replied. 

“I thought you two used to go to the races all the time.”

“We did until you showed up.” her father piped up.

“Not my fault you two decided to be a couple of horny rabbits.”

Damien rolled his eyes with a smile. 

“How are you enjoying yourself at the race my darling?” he asked Shanelle.

“Me and the girls are having a blast. Nina even won a little money in the last race,” she replied.

“She did? That's wonderful. Now if only your mother would quit being so stubborn.”

Shantel scoffed.

“Oh no, you don't Damien! You are not about to gamble away my retirement money!” 

Damien grumbled under his breath.

“It's okay, Daddy. I'll put a bet in for you.”

“Thank you, my darling.” 

Just then Queen Genevieve walked in. 

“Well isn't this just adorable? The two parasites I mean parents of the woman who will doom us all look mighty comfortable.” she sneered.

Shanelle set her jaw and Shantel rolled her eyes.

“Hello, sister-in-law. Do you need something? Does Edward?” Damien asked.

“No no. I just wanted to see how much damage and destruction Her Regency has done to the kingdom.” Genevieve replied.

“Anything I do for and to Cordonia can't be any worse than the havoc you and your husband have wreaked over the years.” Shanelle snapped at her.

Genevieve scoffed. 

“You'll fail soon enough child. You don't belong here.” Genevieve sneered before walking back into her suite. 

“Don't you dare let what that snake said get to you Shanelle,” Shantel said to her.

“I'm not worried about her momma. I can handle her. I'm worried about you and Daddy. I don't want her or Edward coming after you two.” 

Damien waved her away.

“You don't have to worry about us. Your mother and I can take care of ourselves.” 

“Your dad’s right. We will be just fine.”

“Okay. How was your visit to your duchy Daddy?” Shanelle asked her father.

“It was great. Your mother and I had an amazing time in Granier.” Damien replied.

“We really did. We visited a new vineyard there. It was named after your grandmother.”

Shanelle cleared her throat. 

“Speaking of…Marquise and I went to see them. Well, we went to see where they are buried.”

Damien nodded.

“Good. I have been meaning to take you and your mother to where they were laid to rest for years.”

“I know. It was good to see them. I even saw the inscription of their nicknames. I know that you had something to do with that.” 

“Of course I did. Edward Dominic Miller may be the oldest child and the one who became King but he has never been the only child. Our father's final wishes made sure that I had as much input on his and our mother’s burial as he did.” 

“It made me smile to see it.”

Damien smiled at her.

“Good. The last thing your grandfather said to me was to make sure you got everything you deserved to have.” 

Shanelle smiled softly at Damien. 

“I wish I could've gotten to know them.”

Damien nodded slowly.

“As do I, my darling.”

The race began and ended winning Shanelle money. 

“I knew Starfall Lane would win!” 

“Congratulations my darling. The owners of that horse are also the owners of the odds-on favorite to win the main race, Marabelle’s Dream. They're old friends of mine. They'll be happy to know you went with their horses.”

“I should go. I'll check on you two later.”

“Alright, baby. Have fun.”

Shanelle took one last look at her parents before heading back to her own suite. When she got back she was greeted by a very drunk Bronwyn.

“Princessssssssssss!” she said as she ran up and attached herself to Shanelle. 

“Oh, Good Lord,” Shanelle said as she peeled Bron off of her, “Bron! Baby, how much alcohol have you had?” 

Bron hiccuped.

“Including this glass? Maybeeeeee a bottle and a half?” she replied while swaying and near losing her balance. “Whoooooaaaaaaaaa! Good save Princess!”

Shanelle looked at the girls.

“Why y'all let this child drink so much? You know this girl’s a lightweight!” Shanelle asked as she guided Bron back to her seat.

“They kept serving. We kept drinking.” Nina replied.

“That's it! No more alcohol for y'all!” Shanelle says. 

The girls booed.

“Don't boo me! Y'all are drunk. Off your asses mind you. I don't need y'all wobbling all over the place.”

“Whatever! Where'd you run off to anyway?” Robin asked.

“Went to check on my parents. And while I was there my dad’s monster-in-law showed up.” Shanelle replied.

“His monster-in-law?” Dee asked.

“His brother's wife,” Shanelle replied.

The girls groaned.

“What did she want?” Nina asked.

“Nothing other than to give me my daily reminder that I’m going to destroy Cordonia,” Shanelle replied.

The girls groaned. 

“Exactly,” Shanelle said as she swiped a glass of champagne.

“She won't be at this tea thing next week will she?” Aly asked.

“Unfortunately. She and Queen Regina are required to attend. But that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun at their expense.” Shanelle replies.

“So does that mean we have Carte Blanche to act a fool?” Chut asked.

“As long as you're subtle about it. We want those who don't like me to jump first.” Shanelle replies.

“Say no more.” the girls say to Shanelle. 

“That's why y'all are my squad,” Shanelle said before taking a sip of her champagne, “this is good. No wonder little miss lightweight is drunk.” 

Bronwyn rolled her eyes.

“Ya, mama!” 

“I dare you to walk yo drunk ass over to her suite and say it to her face!” Shanelle dared her.

“Umm, I’m brave, not stupid.”

The girls dissolved into cackles.

“Now can I have another glass please?” Bron asked.

“Just one!” Shanelle replied. 

Bron waved one of the staff members over and plucked a champagne flute off their tray.

“Thank you, Johann!” Bron said to the server.

“Ooh! Look at you being all prim and proper!” Shanelle teased.

“Marquise taught us how to flag down the staff. They're really nice. They call us each Lady.” Bron said before taking a swig of her champagne. 

“Speaking of which, where'd he run off to?” Shanelle asked.

“He was summoned by his dad,” Dee replied.

Shanelle groaned. 

“That is not going to end well,” Shanelle muttered.

“What do you mean by that Shan?” Aly asked.

“To put it mildly, those two hate each other,” Shanelle replied.

“WHAT?!” the girls exclaimed.

“Yeah. They have no relationship. Marquise literally wants nothing to do with Constantine. But he has to deal with him until we're married.” Shanelle replied.

“How bad is it between them?” Robin asked.

“When I came here with him a few months ago, we were in the throne room when Connie threatened to have him hung. So if that isn't a prime example of how bad it is between them then I don’t know what is or will be.” Shanelle replies.

“Yooooooo! Are you serious?” Robin asked.

“Yeah. That was the same day I had met Edward.” Shanelle replies.

“Geez! I can't imagine what that's like.” Bron said.

“Same.” Nina agreed.

That's when raised voices were heard coming from Constantine’s box.

“That's not good. They must be arguing about something major.” 

Just then Marquise walked into the suite. Annoyance and agitation clearly written on his face. With a deep breath and a frustrated hand running down his face, the look on his face changed. 

“Everything okay?” Shanelle asked him.

“Nope. Not even close. But there's nothing I can do about it.” Marquise replies.

“Do you want us to jump him?” Robin asked.

Marquise snorted. 

“While I appreciate your offer, you'd never get past his guards. And I would never forgive myself if they hurt any of you.” Marquise replied.

“That's why we'll get our chance next week.” Shanelle quipped.

“Indeed. Now have any of you made your final bets?” Marquise asked.

“Yep!” the girls replied.

“Good. Because you are in for a surprise.” Marquise said to Shanelle.

“What surprise?” Shanelle asked.

“The winning horse of the main race will be gifted to Her Regency.” He replied.

“I get the winning horse?” Shanelle asked.

“That's what I said,” he replied.

The girls looked at each other.

“Umm, Your Majesty!” Bron said.

“Your Regency actually.” Marquise corrected her.

“Yeah, that too. Umm, is your Spanish Prince friend still available?” Bron asked him.

The girls cackled.

“Bronwyn Davis you just got engaged!” Shanelle said to her.

“I know but still! If that offer of a 90-day marriage still stands, I'm taking it!” Bron said.

“Logan would be so mad at you!” Nina said to Bron.

“Yeah well, when he sees the million-dollar alimony checks start to roll in he'll get over it real quick.”

Shanelle shook her head with a smirk. Just as the main race was announced.

“Let's take our seats and watch who wins,” Marquise said to Shanelle. 

They watched as the horses lined up and soon were off. The winner Marabelle’s Dream won the entire box a lot of money. 

“Congratulations ladies! Enjoy your winnings.” Marquise said to the girls as they cheered.

Shanelle watched her girls collect their winnings before turning her attention to her fiance.

“So are you gonna tell me what you and your father were arguing about?” she asked him.

“Trivial bullshit,” Marquise replies.

“Marquise…”

Marquise shook his head.

“He's pissed that the Derby is going to be given to you and not Regina or Genevieve like it would normally be.”

“He's pissed about a horse?” she asked.

“Yup. Under normal circumstances, the Derby winner is gifted to the Queen. But the owners of this Derby winner have decided to give the horse to you. As a sign of good faith.” he replies.

“You mean as a sign of good faith for the new Monarchy?” she asks.

“Precisely. Now, are you ready to meet your new horse?” he replied.

“Let's go.” 

Marquise led the girls from the suite down to the track, where Shanelle was presented with a dozen red roses and her new horse. 

“First you get me a Corgi and now you get me a horse. Not bad, Your Regency.” Shanelle whispered to him.

“I'm just getting started,” he whispered back. 

The couple snapped a few pictures together before she called her friends over and got a few pictures in with them. When they returned to Shanelle’s duchy everyone was buzzing. Later that night while everyone was off in their rooms, Shanelle was standing on her balcony with Marquise with a glass of wine in her hand. 

“Today went well, don't you think?” she asked him. 

“I think so. A lot of money was won and raised today.” he replied.

“How much of the money raised will go to charity and how much of it will go to the nobility?” she asked.

“Ideally, none of it would go to the nobility but since it does for now, half and half,” he replied before taking a sip of his drink. 

“Just imagine this time next year, all of the money raised will go to charity,” Shanelle said to him. 

“What a glorious future that will be. Did you have fun today?” he asked.

“Yes. I've never been to a Derby before. This was an amazing experience for me. And to be able to share it with you, my parents, and especially the girls, I couldn't ask for anything more.” she replied.

“You can always ask for more. I will always give you more, my love.”

The two smiled at each other as they clinked their glasses together. They spent that Sunday with her friends and her parents touring the new vineyard at her father's duchy. The next week Shanelle and the girls spent the week in Paris strategizing over the Queen’s tea, sightseeing, and even doing a little retail therapy, while Marquise was in Cordonia starting the process of forming the new Monarchy. Her friends were there, he didn’t want her to stress. 

That Saturday was the Queen’s tea. And Shanelle was nervous and excited at the same time. But she was thankful for her girls being there and having her back. As they each got ready, the girls went over the plan to Naya to show her ass.

“Okay so let's go over this one more time, nobody makes a move until she does.” Shanelle said to the girls.

“Yeah yeah, whatever! Just let me know when we get to beat her ass.” Nina replied.

Shanelle snickered.

“Chile! You gonna give me a bad name,” Shanelle said to Nina.

“As you always say bestie, if you stay ready and y’aint gotta get ready.” Nina said with a shrug. 

Shanelle nodded. 

“Amen! Well, ladies, I’m ready. Let's go turn this shit out.” Shanelle announced.

With one final look in the mirror, the girls were out the boutique door and headed to the main dining room where the tea is being held. After looking around and appraising the theme and decor, Shanelle was impressed.

“Alright, y'all. This is it. You ready?” she asked her girls.

“Hell yeah!” they replied.

Shanelle nodded before turning to Gladys.

“Open the doors, Gladys.”

Gladys nodded before opening the doors. Soon the dining room was filled with many of the ladies of the court. Including Naya, Queen Genevieve, and Queen Regina. Once everyone was seated Shanelle stood up to give her welcome remarks.

“Good afternoon one and all! I am truly honored and humbled that many of you have joined me here at my duchy for this tea. This is the first of many events that I will be hosting. I know that many of you don't know me and I don't know you, but after today I hope to change that. That way we can begin to form a strong and thriving Cordonia. So please do enjoy yourselves this afternoon.” Shanelle said to the ladies in the room.

As the crowd began to mill about, Shanelle returned to her friends.

“Well, that was nerve-wracking but I did it!” 

“You did great! I heard so many people compliment your outfit.” Robin told her. 

“Thank you, babe. Now the game really begins.” 

Shanelle looked across the room at the many different ladies.

“So now comes the fun. So ladies, how about a game of divide and conquer?” Shanelle asked the girls. “And no throwing drinks on people. Yet.”

The girls laughed before dispersing into the crowd. Shanelle was reminded of what Marquise had told her, that this tea was also a great networking opportunity for her. She spent most of the time at the tea making the rounds. Meeting and greeting as many of the ladies as possible.

As Shanelle was in the garden speaking to a Duchess of a lesser-known noble house, Naya struck.

“Hello, Duchess Mildred! It's been too long.” Naya said to the Duchess.

“Hello, Princess Naya. Indeed it has been. May I help you?” the Duchess asked.

“Yes actually. Do you mind if I steal Her Regency for a moment?” Naya asked the Duchess. Shanelle silently prayed the Duchess would say no, but unfortunately, she obliged Naya.

“Sure. I'm sure Her Regency and I will get the chance to speak again.” the Duchess said as she left. Leaving Shanelle with Naya and her cronies. 

“Well, this event isn't as much of a disaster as I thought it would be. Although you still don't belong here or with him.” Naya sneered. 

“And yet here I am. And I’m still engaged to His Regency.” Shanelle shot back.

Naya scoffed. 

“Not for long.” Naya spat at Shanelle.

“You rejected my invitation weeks ago. So what are you doing here Naya?” Shanelle asked.

“Oh, I was always going to turn you down. I wouldn't be caught dead attending any event that you’re hosting. But I was invited to a tea by the actual Queens of Cordonia and I would never disrespect them by saying no.” Naya replied.

Shanelle looked through the doors to see the Queens who were whispering to each other at a table and rolled her eyes.

“Are you here to antagonize me or does this conversation have a point?” Shanelle asked.

“Although I should just sit back, relax, and watch you inevitably crash and burn like the failure that you are, I’m actually here to help you out,” Naya replied.

“How generous of you Princess,” Shanelle said as she rolled her eyes.

“Yes, quite. Not that you deserve my help, allow me to introduce you to a few of the ladies of the court. Meet Duchess Kayla Nottingham of House Vescovi, Duchess Kaitlyn Winslow of House Fierro, Lady Jacqueline Yearling of House Weathermane, Lady Patricia Cullen of House Aster, Baroness Diana Ericson of House DiVello, Baroness Bianca Varness of Comery Isle, and lastly, Countess Madeleine Amaranth of House Amaranth.” Naya said as she introduced each of the ladies.

Shanelle smiled politely.

“It's nice to meet each of you, ladies.”

Naya scoffed.

“My dears, meet the woman who will plunge us all into debt, death, and despair,” Naya said to the ladies as she introduced Shanelle. 

“It must really bother you that Marquise is my soon-to-be husband.” Shanelle quipped. 

Naya waved her off.

“Oh please. You two won't make it to a year.”

Shanelle shook her head.

“It must really bother you that he chose someone who isn't a drunk just like her mother.”

“Excuse me?!” Naya’s voice raised. 

“Yes, I know all about her and how she died. I even know about the ladies you brought with you. I also know you thought bringing them with you would intimidate me but it doesn't. Take Countess Madeleine for example. I know she was engaged to Marquise’s older brother Leo. But thanks to their dad it was a disaster and inevitably it fell apart. Shortly thereafter, Leo abdicated. I also know that Lady Jacqueline’s older brother was convicted in Italy of a double murder. I also know that both Baronesses are half-sisters because their father couldn't keep it in his pants or to Baroness Diana’s mother. Lady Patricia’s father and uncle are under investigation by Interpol, for their business dealings with the Saudi government. Duchess Kayla has all but squandered her family’s fortune on get-rich-quick schemes, and Duchess Kaitlyn has been accused of being a spy for the kingdom of Gemmora. But I bet you didn't think I would know any of that, did you, Princess?” Shanelle asked. 

Naya was stuck.

“That's what I thought.”

“Why you insolent little mutt!” Naya sneered as she stepped to Shanelle.

“Who you calling a mutt?” Nina asked as she and the girls walked up.

“This is a private conversation that doesn’t involve you!” Naya snapped at Nina.

“Actually it does. Princess Naya meet Nina Keane.” Shanelle said. 

“Why the hell would I want to meet her?” Naya asked.

“Because I thought it was pertinent that Nina meet the woman who set her brother up.” Shanelle replies.

“I don’t even know her brother!”

“You know how you called my ex and lied to him? That very same ex is her twin brother.” Shanelle said.

Naya cleared her throat.

“Not that I owe either one of you an explanation, but I've already apologized to Marquise for my indiscretion.”

“You mean you stood in his bedroom doorway and tried to play the victim?” Shanelle asked.

Shanelle's crew cackled, and she knew Naya was close to snapping; she just needed to push her a little more over the edge.

“You know it's sad that you, a woman who's supposed to be of such high regard and social status, would degrade and humiliate herself for a man who has repeatedly told her that he doesn't want her. As a matter of fact, I wonder what your husband would think if he found out you were actively continuing to throw yourself at Marquise.” 

Shanelle could see Naya was about to break.

“It must really truly bother you that at the end of this tea, I'll be the one in his bed. I'll be the one he wakes up to tomorrow morning. It must infuriate you that I'm the one he loves. And it must break your heart that I'm the one he'll be marrying. Not you. You made your decision, Naya. And Marquise made his. His decision is me and me alone. Not. You.”

Naya seethed before she shoulder-checked Shanelle as she stomped back inside the estate with her friends behind her. 

“Now can we beat her ass?” Nina asked impatiently.

“Patience my young grasshopper. Besides, it's time for my closing remarks. We are gonna end this thing with a bang. So get ready.” Shanelle replies as she leads the girls back inside. 

As they made their way back inside, whispered words could be heard. Most of them are positive and in Shanelle’s favor. One positive word, in particular, came from Olivia Nevrakis, the Duchess of Lythikos. Marquise told her Olivia is extremely hard to impress but it seems that she's achieved the seemingly impossible. 

As the girls made their way back to their seats, Nina took the opportunity to have a little fun. She walked past Queen Genevieve and hip-checked her, causing her to spill her drink all over the table.

“Why you clumsy little!” Queen Genevieve seethed. “Look at what you've done!” 

“Oh my goodness! I'm so sorry! It was an accident!” Nina apologized.

“I should have you arrested for this!” Genevieve sneered.

“Come now, Genevieve. It was an accident. It's not like she meant to do it on purpose.” Shanelle said to Queen Genevieve.

Shanelle walked away with Nina while hiding stifling her laugh

“Have fun babe?” Shanelle asked her best friend.

“I sure did,” Nina replied proudly.

“Good. Now let's head back to our seats.”

She and Nina walked to their table where Nina took her seat, and Shanelle remained standing to give her ending remarks. 

“Once again, I would like to thank all of you for joining me here today. I know that many of you had a preconceived notion about me and I accept that. I'm a newcomer here. Many of you have been here for decades. But it is my sincere hope that I was able to change your minds, at least some of your minds, about me. So again, thank you so much for spending your afternoon with me here at my duchy.”

That's when Naya stood up and walked over to Shanelle.

“If I may, I'd like to propose a toast to Her Regency. If she doesn't mind?”

Shanelle internally rolled her eyes.

“Go right ahead, Princess.”

Naya smiled venomously at Shanelle. Luckily, her girls were ready to jump.

“Your Regency I'd like to toast to you. May you not be the common American mutt you've always been. Although I don't have any high hopes for you as Queen, here's to praying that you don't doom us all to hell. Because let's all be honest, you don't belong here or with His Regency. But here you proudly stand with your god-awful-looking goons at your side. Ready to ruin the only kingdom many of us call home. Cheers.”

Naya ended her toast by throwing her drink at Shanelle. That's when her girls stood up ready to throw hands.

“OH HELL NO!” Rob shouted. 

“Oops! It seems I've accidentally spilled my drink. Do forgive me for being so clumsy, Your Regency.” Naya said mockingly.

“NOW CAN WE BEAT HER ASS?!” Nina asked.

“You know what?” Shanelle replied.

That was all it took for Shanelle to swing on Naya. Naya stumbled back then looked at Shanelle in shock.

“Something you need to know about this American mutt and her goons: Bitch…we fight.” Shanelle said before she tackled Naya to the ground. 

And the fight was on. 

When Naya’s friends tried to intervene, Shanelle’s crew was right there to back her up. Many of the guests had to get out of dodge as shoes, glasses, and other objects were thrown as well as fists. You would've thought that it was an episode of Bad Girls Club. It took over three dozen guards to separate the two groups of women. And when the dust settled, Shanelle and her crew stood tall.

“Gladys!” Shanelle shouted.

“Yes, Your Regency?” Gladys asked.

“Get this bitch and her scallywags the fuck out of my estate!” Shanelle replies.

Gladys nodded resolutely.

“And oh! One more thing, Gladys. You see those two old crones cowering in the corner over there?” Shanelle asked, pointing to Regina and Genevieve.”You can throw their no good asses out too!” Shanelle growled. 

“At once Your Regency!”

“Are you insane, child?” Queen Genevieve asked.

“This is outrageous!” Queen Regina shouted. 

That's when Shanelle put her foot down. 

“Shut up! Both of you! I have had all I am going to take out of the two of you! Whether you two or anyone else likes it or not: I am the next Queen! And I will not be disrespected! Not by you two, not by Naya, not by her scallywag friends or anyone else for that fucking matter! And since you two invited the bitch, you can leave with her.”

Shanelle looked at Naya.

“And you! If you ever step to me and mine again…” Shanelle sneered.

“Bitch it's on sight!” Nina said.

“All fucking day!” Robin added.

“Y’all fucked around and found out!” Bron quipped

“GET THEM OUT OF HERE NOW!” Shanelle shouted. 

Everyone left in attendance watched as Regina, Genevieve, Naya, and her friends all screamed and shouted in protest as they were dragged out of Shanelle’s estate. Once they were gone Shanelle turned to her friends behind her. 

“Y’all good?” she asked.

“Yeah. We good.” Rob answered. 

Shanelle turned to Nina with a smirk.

“You feel better?” Shanelle said to her. 

“Yeah. It felt really good to beat her ass.” Nina replied. 

The two smiled at each other. That's when Olivia spoke up.

“Well, it's about damn time someone put that spoiled brat and those two bats in their places. You did well, Your Regency.”

Shanelle nodded.

“Thank you, Duchess Olivia. I appreciate your kind words.”

“Please. Call me Olivia. And you're welcome. Now I don’t know about the others that are still here but, if you need it, you have a friend in Lythikos.”

“Duchess Olivia is right.” Duchess Mildred spoke up, “we stand with you, Your Regency. You have comported yourself admirably. I honestly don’t know that I would have had the grace to put up with the Princess and her incessant pestering.” 

Shanelle nodded. 

“Thank you, everyone. And Olivia, I'm sorry about your dress.”

Olivia waved her off. 

“It's a dress. I'll be fine. Now I think you have a mess to clean up but I also think you sent one hell of a message.”

Shanelle chuckled softly.

“And what message is that?” she asked Olivia. 

“Don't fuck with me,” Olivia replied with a wink before leaving. 

Shanelle watched as the rest of the guests filed out. When everyone was gone, Shanelle let out a breath she didn't know she was holding before turning to her friends. 

“I don’t know what I would've done if you girls weren't here. I appreciate y'all more than you know.” Shanelle said as her voice hitched. 

“There was no way we would let you do this by yourself, babe. Especially me. It's been us against the world for years. And that's the way it's gonna stay.”  Nina said to her.

“Hell yeah!” the girls say in agreement. 

Shanelle shook her head with a smile.

“FabBabes for life!” Shanelle said to her girls.

“All day bitches!” the girls say back. 

The girls laughed together. 

“Now there's glass and shit everywhere and we're all barefoot. So be careful where you step.” Shanelle said as she and the girls began to make their way out of the dining room.

After a trip to the infirmary, a good long hot soaking bath, a good meal, and a change of clothes, Shanelle and the girls were sitting on her bed enjoying some wine. They may have been battered and bruised but the girls were victorious. 

“Whew! What a goddamn day. Amirite?” Shanelle asked her crew.

“Chile! We proved why we're the baddest today.” Bron replied.

“Come on somebody!” Rob agreed. 

“So just so we're clear. She's been calling you an American mutt this whole time?” Aly asked.

“Yup. The entire time that I've been here I've been an American mutt.” Shanelle replied.

“Mmmhmm. She needed her ass beat.” Dee quipped.

“Agreed.” Chutney agreed. 

Shanelle snickered.

“Y’all are the greatest support system a girl could ever ask for.”

“I just have one question. What do you think your fiance will do when he finds out?” Rob asks.

“He already knows,” Marquise replied as he walked into the room.

The girls all look at him as he walks into the room. 

“How do you know what happened?” Nina asked.

“A.) it's my job to know. B.) I had hidden cameras installed on the off chance Naya would show her ass. And apparently, I was right.” Marquise replies.

The girls looked at each other. 

“I'm gonna say this now, you sir, are weird as hell,” Bron said to him.

Marquise shrugged.

“Maybe. Or maybe it's the fact that I know how Naya operates. She is the type that will instigate a fight or argument and then play the victim. And I knew she wouldn't pass up an opportunity to try and humiliate Shanelle in public.” 

“Your ex has issues.” Rob pipes up.

“Ones that I'm so happy to unsubscribed from,” he said as he poured himself a glass of wine.

“So what happens now?” Dee asked.

Marquise reached into his pocket and pulled out a small flash drive.

“Simple. I make a phone call and the camera footage on this flash drive exposes Naya and stops whatever attempt she’ll try to make, to make Shanelle look bad.” Marquise replied.

Marquise smirked before pulling out his phone and dialing a number.

“Who are you calling?” Shanelle asked.

“Donnie! Listen I’m sorry to call you so late but you know that one favor you owe me? Yeah, that one…” he said as he walked away. 

“Who's Donnie?” Chut asked.

“Donnie is the Editor-in-Chief for the CBC,” Shanelle replies.

“What's that?” Dee asked.

“Think CNN but strictly Cordonian. According to Marquise, Donnie has covered the Royal Families for years.” 

“You mean he's talking to the press?” Nina asked.

“Talked to and convinced him to run a counter-story to the press release that Naya is having drafted that says she and her entourage were unfairly attacked by Shanelle and her friends.” Marquise replied. 

The girls all started talking at once. 

“Whoa! Whoa! Calm down ladies! By this time tomorrow, Donnie will have the footage and the story ready to publish on Monday. So you all have nothing to worry about.”

“Except for finishing this bottle of wine,” Nina said as she poured herself a glass. 

“You are gonna drink me out of house and home!” Shanelle said to her.

“And your point?” Nina asked before downing her drink.

Everyone in the room broke out into laughter. The girls spent the rest of the night gossiping and giggling. The next day it was time to say goodbye. And the girls weren't ready to say goodbye. 

“I don't wanna goooooo!” Bron whined.

“We knowwwwww!” Rob, Dee, and Chut agreed.

“Hmmmm…maybe I can convince Thom to film a movie here.” Aly quipped.

Shanelle shook her head with a smile.

“Awww! C’mere girls!” Shanelle said to her friends. 

They all came together for one big group hug.

“You girls don't have to leave.” 

“Really?” Nina asked.

“Yes really. Y'all don't have to leave. But y'all getting the fuck up outta here! Bye! Get out!” Shanelle replied.

The girls booed as Shanelle cackled.

“Look I’m trying to fuck my fiance at all hours of the night and I’m not trying to have an audience.” 

The girls each made a face.

“But in all seriousness, thank you all so much. I had the greatest time. And we got to whoop that trick.”

“Ayyy!” the girls replied.

Shanelle laughed as the private cars came around. 

“Y’all be sure to text me when each of you lands.”

The girls saluted before getting into their respective cars and pulling off. Shanelle watched until the cars were out of view before she walked back to the entrance where Marquise was waiting with open arms. 

“I hope you had fun this weekend my love.”

She felt him wrap his arms around her.

“I did. Having them here meant the world to me. Fighting and all.”

He kissed her forehead.

“Stop that,” she said to him.

“Why?” he asked.

“Because I’m beginning to love it,” she whispered.

He smirked before kissing her forehead softly again.

“That's the point, my love. I want you to love it.”

She slid her arms around his neck. 

“Why are we still outside? The faster we get inside, the faster I get to rip this suit off of you,” she said to him.

He shook his head before leading her inside the estate. Once inside he picked her up and carried her back to her bedroom. Once inside her bedroom, she wasted no time pulling him into a deep kiss. As he walked her backward to the bed their legs got tangled and they tumbled onto the mattress causing the two to break out into laughter. 

“Have I told you I love you?” he asked her.

“Lately?” she replied 

He rolled his eyes with a smirk.

“Yes, Tyrese. Lately.”

“No. But you can always tell me now.”

“Why tell you when I can show you?” he asked.

“Show me how?” she asked.

“Like this…” he trailed off. 

He crashed his lips into hers. She felt his passion, his hunger, and especially his lust for her at that moment. He went from kissing her lips, to kissing down her jaw and neck. Only stopping to nibble on her earlobe. He trailed soft slow kisses down her neck until he was sucking and gently scraping on her pulse line with his teeth. She moaned softly. He stopped long enough to look into her eyes.

"God I love making you do that."

He kissed her again before pulling her down towards the giant mattress under the stars.

"I am yours, Your Regency."

"Damn right you're mine. Now, let's get you out of this outfit."

His mouth found hers as they quickly undressed each other. He kissed his way from her lips, down her neck, and across her collarbone. He placed hungry and heated kisses all down and across her breasts. He listened to her chest rise and fall with each breath that she took.

"God I need you," she whispered. 

"As you wish, my Queen."

He went back to kissing down her lower body. He rolled over onto his back with her sitting on his face.

"Marquise!" she moaned softly.

"Try not to scream so loud we wouldn't want to scare the staff. Ohhh and you might want to hang on."

When he descended onto her clit she nearly jumped out of her skin. All she could feel was his mouth.

"Fuck yes! Feels so good!" She screamed as she leaned back on her knees as she rode his tongue.

Her body was on fire. His mouth felt like heaven. Every time he made a sound it would send shockwaves shooting through her. Her clit throbbed harder and harder every time she felt his tongue slide over it.

"Mmmmmmm..." he hummed as he feasted on her.

"Shit! Marquise! Don't stop! Don't stop! God! Don't! Stop!” She shouted.

Shanelle was about to break and he knew it. With his arms tightened around her thighs he went for it. He drove his tongue inside her hot core and didn't stop until he heard her scream. Her thighs twitched and her body shuddered as her orgasm shredded everything in its path. When he let her go he could still taste her on his lips.

"So fucking good!" He said as he licked his fingers and winked at her.

"God, you don't play fair!" She said while trying to catch her breath.

"You forget Kings don't play fair."

She rolled her eyes at him.

He slowly dragged his tongue up her body. Stopping only to play with her breasts. At this point, he wanted and needed to be inside her in the worst way possible.

"Fuck! Come here." He said to her.

He needed to feel her. He wanted to feel her vaginal muscles clench and release. When he brought her to her feet he plunged his tongue into her mouth. With his lips still on hers he positioned himself between her legs.

With a condom on, he inhaled sharply as he circled her entrance.

"You ready?" He asked.

When she nodded her head, he thrust his hips forward plunging himself inside her. As he threw her legs over his shoulders, she grabbed the rug underneath her.

"Oh My God! Oh My God! Oh My God! Yes! Yes! Yes!" She shouted.

"That's it, love! Tell me what you want! Tell me how good it feels! Tell me how you like it! I want to hear you, baby!"

He was doing it to her. Just like she always knew him to do. He was using his words to ignite her fire and desire.

"Marquise! Give it to me! Fuck me! I need you! I need this!" She shouted.

"Yeah! That's it, baby! Take it! Take this dick!"

When she looked into his eyes he had this raw carnality in them. Every thrust was more powerful than the last. The grip he had on her thighs tightened. She begged him to give it to her and he was more than happy to oblige. She was getting dangerously close to her climax and he wasn't too far off from his own.

"I-I'm about to cum! I—!" She struggled to say.

"That's it cum on this dick! Let it out! Let it all out! Cum for me!"

He was barely hanging on himself. One final thrust of his hips was all it took to throw her over her edge. Her eyes rolled back and her body shuddered as her orgasm ran through her.

"Yes! Cum on this dick! Cum for me!" He encouraged her. One last roll of his hips was all it took; to take him out.

"Shit!" He hissed as he lost himself with her.

When it was all said and done; they were both breathless, tired, and satisfied.

"Well, that was fun!" He piped up.

Shanelle just shook her head and chuckled.

"You have no idea what you mean to me, do you?" He asked.

"After what just happened I have a pretty good idea. Although it never hurts to compare notes." She replied.

 They snuggled together under the covers.

“This is all I want. You. In my arms. Every night.” 

“Is this before or after you blow my back out?” she asked.

He just snickered.

“Both,” he replied.

“Of course. I want it to be this way every night as well.”

“Good. Now I have to get some sleep. I have to be back at the palace tomorrow.”

“Why can't you stay?” she asked.

“Well, interviews for commission and council heads start tomorrow,” he replied.

Shanelle nodded.

“Now you don't have to come back right away if you don't want to, my love.” 

“So I can stay here for a few days?” she asked.

“Mmhmm. You'll have to be back by Thursday. Because come Saturday I have a title to retain.” he replied.

“What title is that?” she asked.

“I have been Master Of The Hunt for 4 years running. If and when I win Saturday I will not only have won 5 years straight but I will become Grand Master Of The Hunt.” he replied. 

“Exciting.”

“Indeed, and once I win I will get to celebrate with the most beautiful woman in the world on my arm.”

Shanelle blushed. 

“I like seeing this side of you.”

“What side?” he asked.

“This highly confident, strong, takes no prisoners' side. Very sexy,” she replied.

“Thank you, my love. You have to remember that I was groomed for this. Readied and prepared on the off chance that I would be called upon to lead and now? That time has come.”

Shanelle softly kissed his shoulder as she snuggled against him.

“Don't do that.”

“Why not?” she asked.

“Because I need to get some sleep. Not go rounds, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, or 8,” he replied.

Shanelle giggled.

“Fine. I'll play with you later.”

“Thank you.”

She drifted off to sleep listening to the beat of his heart. When she woke up the next morning, he was already gone. But he left her a cute note and a vase filled with beautiful red roses on her nightstand.

These roses are red. And violets are blue. Never forget my love, my heart belongs to you. XOXO

She shook her head with a smile. 

Meanwhile, Marquise was in his office at the palace interviewing candidates for several different council positions. While he had a moment to himself he pulled out his phone to text Shanelle to check-in. Just as he got ready to text her, there was a loud banging on his office door. He smiled to himself because he knew who it was.

“Just open the door Naya,” he called out.

Naya stormed in. Her face contorted with rage. 

“What the entire hell is this?!” she asked.

“Whatever do you mean Naya?” he replied.

She slammed a newspaper down on his desk.

“Princess Naya Laurent-Sauvageon of House Sauvageon attacks Her Regency in a fit of jealous rage!” Naya read the headline to him.

Marquise looks at her totally unfazed.

“Maybe next time you'll learn to pick on someone your own size,” he said with a smirk.

That's when it clicked for her. 

“You! You did this! You’re the one having the press run this smear campaign, aren't you?” Naya asked.

Marquise shrugged.

“It's not a smear campaign if it's true,” he replies.

“This will ruin my reputation, Marquise!”

“Funny. You weren't thinking about your reputation when you attacked Shanelle for no reason other than you wanted to.”

“You reckless bastard! How could you be so damn cruel?!” Naya asked.

“Because you decided to be stupid enough to test my patience. I told you to stay away from her but you won't and don't listen. So now it's time for you to learn the hard way.” he replied.

“I can't believe you would do this to me. I thought you loved me!”

“I did. I loved you dearly. But now I don’t care. And that's your fault.” Marquise said nonchalantly.

Naya was flabbergasted. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. 

“What happened to you? This isn't who you are Marquise. You would never be this cruel to me. What the hell did that mutt do to you?” Naya asked.

Marquise slammed his fist down on his desk, causing Naya to jump slightly. 

“Don't you ever call her that again!” he growled at her. 

“I will call her whatever the hell I want. And there's nothing you can do about it!” Naya sneered. 

Marquise cocked his head to the side as he leaned back in his chair.

“Are you threatening me?” he asked.

Naya crossed her arms and glared at him.

“Not only am I threatening you, Your Regency. But I am here to tell you that I will use all of my influence on the court to make sure that this frivolous engagement of yours is seen as a farce and that your mutt is humiliated!” Naya replied.

“Be careful what you say to me Naya,” he warned her.

“Or what?” Naya asked.

Marquise smirked.

“I heard your husband is returning from his Humanitarian fellowship to Ethiopia today. It's been a long time since he and I have spoken.”

Naya gave him a death glare

“Perhaps we'll have a chance to speak on Saturday. After all, you and him will be hosting the Grand Hunt this weekend.”

Marquise watched the fire drain out of Naya. 

“Now that we have that settled, I have other matters to attend to. You can see yourself out.”

“This is not over you son of a bitch!” Naya hissed. 

That's when Marquise cleared his throat, stood up, and walked over to the door to close and lock it before turning back to face her.

“You never learn do you?” he asked her. 

Naya glared at him without saying a thing.

“I have tried to give you grace but you continue to try me. You continue to defy me. And now I've had enough.” he sneered. 

“I'm not afraid of you!”

Marquise shrugged.

“Maybe not but you do hold a mountain of debt that is still owed. And if you continue on like this, even with Tariq’s money in your corner I promise to make that debt impossible to pay back.”

“You wouldn't dare!” 

“I wouldn't dare what?” he asked.

“You wouldn't dare intentionally bankrupt me just to protect some commoner!” she replied.

He grabbed her chin roughly and brought her face close to him.

“I will not be defied, Naya. Not even by you. So as long as you do as I say, you have nothing to worry about. But if you intend to defy me, you and your father will get a summons of repayment with an amount that neither of you can pay.” 

Seeing the tears of fear shining in her eyes was all the answer he needed.

“You will not defy me, will you Princess?” he asked.

“No, Your Regency. I won't defy you,” she whispered.

He let go of her chin and moved her hair behind her ear.

“Good girl. Now go home. You and your husband have guests to prepare for.”

Naya took a step back from him before he opened the door for her and she left his office without any further incident. Later that night, Marquise was just about to leave his office when he got a knock at the door. It was Constantine.

“I hope I'm not interrupting His Regency.”

“What do you want?” Marquise asked him.

Connie took a seat across from Marquise.

“I had an interesting conversation with Princess Naya. You’re blackmailing her?!” Constantine asked.

“And here comes the moral police,” Marquise replied.

“As if that article wasn't bad enough, you threaten blackmail?!” 

Marquise downed the drink he had in his hand before glaring at Constantine.

“Oh fuck off! Blackmail has always been your bread and butter. So don't you dare sit here and chastise me! She and her father wouldn't even have the debt if it wasn't for you!” Marquise spat at Connie. 

“For someone who hates me so much, you act just like me, my son.”

Marquise chuckled dryly.

“So I've made our people suffer under high taxes, shuttered our borders, destroyed our kingdom’s economy, all while drinking myself into cirrhosis, and sleeping with any hole that had a pair of legs attached to it like you?”  Marquise asked.

“What I do in my life is my business!” Constantine replied.

“And yet you flaunt it for the world to see. Making it everyone’s business.” 

Connie looked disgusted at Marquise.

“I bet you enjoy this. You finally get the power you have always whined about having. You finally have the throne you always dreamed of. To think everything I worked for, everything I strived for as King will now go to you.” 

“Is there a point to this?” Marquise asked.

“Yes. Pretty soon you'll find out that you can't have it all. You will have to make decisions that you won't like. Ones that will haunt you. And you'll have no one to blame but yourself and that girl you're so in love with.” Connie answered. 

“You think I'll rule the same way you do, is that what you're saying?” Marquise asked.

“Ruling is hereditary, my son. You will pledge your life to serve the people just like I did. And whether you like it or not, I will always be your father.” Connie replied.

Marquise nodded.

“You're right it is. And thankfully for me I have my mother to thank for how I will rule. Not you.”

Constantine stared venomously at his son.

“You're lucky I have no power now. Otherwise, you'd be in chains!” Connie hissed.

“Ahhh yes. Where would I be without Constantine Rys and his now truly idle threats?” Marquise asked mockingly.

“You have always been an ungrateful brat!” Connie replies.

“And you've always been a piss poor excuse of a father. Never any good to either one of your sons.”

“I have always been good to you and Leo!”

Marquise poured himself another drink.

“Then tell me again how and why Leo and Maddie’s engagement fell apart.”

Connie went quiet.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did I hit a nerve?” Marquise asked. 

“You keep your mouth shut boy!” Connie hissed.

“Why of course, Your Majesty. We wouldn't want the world to find out the actual reason Leo abdicated is because you slept with his fiancee and got her pregnant. It's a good thing that Regina convinced her to terminate the pregnancy and how fortuitous for you that you got her and Leo to each sign an NDA. Just to protect your image.”

Constantine’s nostrils flared. 

“Now get out!” Marquise sneered.

Connie got up to walk away and as he did he said this.

“Try as you might, my son. You will never be ANYTHING like Eleanor. But you will always be a part of me and I of you. We are much more alike than you think.” 

Marquise watched Connie walk out the door. He took a few minutes to compose himself before he went to bed. The next morning he was just waking up the next morning when he noticed steam coming from under the bathroom door. When he looked up, Shanelle was coming out of the bathroom in her robe with her hair wet.

“Well, good morning handsome,” she said with a smile.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. 

“I missed you,” she replied.

“What time did you get in?” he asked.

“I got to the palace late last night and when I got here you were already asleep. I didn't want to disturb you so I crawled into bed with you. I woke up about an hour ago and decided to get in the shower.” she replied.

Marquise shook his head with a smile.

“Come here,” he said to her.

She crawled into bed with him. When she felt his arms around her she shivered. 

“Well, you smell good.”

“Thank you. So how was your day yesterday?” she asked.

“It was fine until Naya and my father each paid me a visit,” he replied.

Shanelle winced.

“Yikes on yikes on yikes.”

“Imagine how I felt. Thankfully, she's gone home because her husband came back from Ethiopia yesterday. And the former King is in Fydelia with Regina so I shouldn't have to deal with either of them until the Grand Hunt Saturday.” 

“You mean we shouldn't. I want to sit in on the interviews if that's okay.”

“Of course my love. I would love to have your input on the selections.” 

“I want to know who it is we're working with when it comes to the kingdom and the new Monarchy. I need to know that we can trust them to put the people’s needs first.”

That put a smile on Marquise’s face.

“Well let's get dressed, my Queen. We have a busy day ahead of us.” 

Marquise hopped in the shower, the two got dressed and then had breakfast before they tackled the selection interviews. The interview process went smoothly. Some of the leaders Shanelle liked and others she could do without. And one interview shocked her. It was the first time she met Marquise’s cousin, Giancarlo Rys.

“Carlo! It's good to see you, cousin!” Marquise said as he greeted his cousin.

“It's good to see you too, cousin. Thank you for the opportunity to interview. Although I’m not sure what position it is you want me to fill.” Giancarlo said to him.

“I'll be happy to tell you. But first, allow me to introduce you to my fiancee,” Marquise said before turning to Shanelle, “my love I know this is a shock but I want you to meet my cousin, Giancarlo Rys.”

Giancarlo bowed.

“It is an honor to meet you, Your Regency.”

“The pleasure’s all mine. I had no idea he had a cousin.”

“Yes. My father Sebastian was Connie's younger brother. He tragically passed away when Marquise was barely 2 months old.” 

“Oh goodness. Please sit down.” Shanelle says to Giancarlo.

Giancarlo smiled. 

“Thank you, Your Regency,” he said as he took his seat.

“How is Nadia doing?” Marquise asked Carlo.

“My mother is doing well. When I told her you reached out she was so excited. She wanted to come but she's still recovering from her hip surgery.” Carlo replied.

“I understand. Please give her my love.”

“I will do that.”

Giancarlo looked at Marquise with an eyebrow raised.

“Alright cousin. You have me here. What do you have up your sleeve?” Giancarlo asked Marquise. 

Marquise snickers.

“You know me well. I'll get straight to the point. I want you to join the new Monarchy that Shanelle and I are forming. More specifically I want you to have your father’s old post as Keeper Of The Royal Archives.

Giancarlo blinked at him.

“You want me?! Marquise, I'm a history professor! Not a noble.” 

“I know. But you have been a historian your whole life. You are perfect for this role. And I’m sure Sebastian would be proud to have you follow in his footsteps.” 

“Does it really mean that much to you?” Carlo asked him.

“Of course. Again you are perfect for this role. Besides, Errol has got to go. He's a relic at this point.” Marquise replies.

Carlo shook his head with a chuckle. 

“And what does my dear uncle say about it?” Carlo asked.

“He's got his own problems to deal with,” Marquise replied.

“Speaking of which,” Giancarlo began to say before looking toward Shanelle, “before I go any further does she know?” 

Marquise shook his head no.

“Know what?” Shanelle asked.

“My father has cancer,” Marquise answered. 

Shanelle was stunned. 

“What?! Cancer?” Shanelle asked.

“Yes. He has a rare and aggressive form of lung cancer.” Marquise replied.

“Oh my God. I had no idea.” 

“Not many people know about it.” 

“Mariana told me that the surgery was unsuccessful.”

Marquise nodded before looking to Shanelle.

“Giancarlo’s wife Mariana is the Surgical Oncologist who performed his surgery. Unfortunately, the surgery wasn't successful and it metastasized to his liver.”

“Meaning what?” Shanelle asked.

“He's dying. He has maybe 6-8 months left to live according to him.” Marquise replied.

Shanelle was stunned. 

“I'm sorry to surprise you, my love. I wasn't trying to hide this from you. I just wanted to find the right moment to tell you.”

Shanelle nodded slowly.

“No, I get it. It's just…a lot. And I now have so many questions but they can wait for later.”

Marquise squeezed her hand gratefully.

“I appreciate that. And I promise to answer all the questions you have. Now back to the matter at hand.”

Marquise looked at Giancarlo.

“What do you say, Carlo? Are you in?” Marquise asked.

“I don’t know, cousin. It is an amazing opportunity. But I don’t know if I can give up my job as a professor.” Giancarlo replied.

“I understand that. And I would never ask you to give up your teaching job. But I need you, Carlo. I will even give you a light schedule so you don't have to give up your students at the university.” Marquise said to him.

Giancarlo laughed.

“You drive a hard bargain cousin.”

Marquise rolled his eyes with a smirk.

“Quit being an old man and say yes.”

Giancarlo shook his head and then turned to Shanelle.

“If you'll have me Your Regency, I will happily accept the position.”

“Since it means that much to His Regency, I would love to have you.” 

Giancarlo nodded.

“Alright cousin. I'm in. And besides, it's like you said, Errol is an old relic. I'm sure he still uses filing cabinets and floppy disks to keep official records.”

Marquise extended his hand and shook Giancarlo’s hand.

“It'll be good to have you here, cousin,” Marquise said to his cousin.

“Indeed it will. Now if you and Her Regency will excuse me, I have some good news to deliver.”

“It was good to meet you, Giancarlo.” Shanelle said to him.

“Likewise. And since we're practically family, please call me Carlo.” Giancarlo replies.

“Will do.”

Giancarlo smiled at Shanelle.

“I'll see you soon…Your Majesty.” Giancarlo said to Marquise before taking his leave.

#khoicesbyk #choices #choices stories you play #pixelberry #fanfic #choices fanfiction #love everlasting #king and queen of cordonia #king of cordonia #queen of cordonia #king marquise #queen shanelle #black queen #black king #black king liam #black love #black couple #black marriage #otp #my otp for life #otp forever #my otp forever #choices fic writers creations #the royal romance #fics of the week

[gemjin]

sundriedmango replied to your post “why are there so many spiders in my bathroom”

I hear that lavender repels spiders

oh worm ??

#sundriedmango #does that include daddy long legs because by spiders i mean daddy long legs #there's.....i counted over 14 in there n they're all Big

[sparklingchim]

long way home 13 | jjk

pairing: jungkook x reader

word count: 1.4k

genre: dilf!jungkook, friends to lovers

rating: pg

warnings: liddol nabi is incredibly missed by oc :(, cute i love u's in the end

summary: the one where you miss nabi.

a/n: hi hello after writing this i wanna buy adorable little baby onesies too

chapters: 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08| 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |

masterlist | long way home masterlist

⭒☆━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━☆⭒

You couldn't stop yourself.

No one would be able to stop themselves.

You're in the baby section of a clothing store and your arm is packed with soft coloured teeny tiny pieces of clothing that you picked out just for Nabi.

You had gotten off from work and were just looking at the stores that you were passing on your way home when you saw that there was a huge discount on all articles in H&M.

You got yourself some basics and looked through some underwear when you noticed the baby section from the corner of your eye.

From the moment you entered the section and saw all of the tiny clothes from up close you knew it was over. You would not leave this store without having your hands full of bags that are filled with cute little clothes for Nabi.

You had to contain your squeaks when you saw a dusky pink coloured hat that has little bear ears on top. It looks just like the one that Jungkook had recently gotten for Nabi - just in a way cuter colour.

You couldn't wait to put it on Nabi - just picturing her with this pink fluffy hat on, her big innocent eyes watching you through her long lashes and her cheeks all chubby and screaming to get pinched, makes you want to rush to Jungkook's apartment and put the hat on Nabi.

Approximately ten minutes later your left arm feels numb from all the clothes your piling up on it.

Once you are out of the store you're heading home with 4 bags. One contains clothes that you bought for yourself and the other ones, well...they're mainly stuffed with fuzzy onesies...and all of them might have little ears that'll make Nabi look like a little bear. You just couldn't help yourself when you saw the big selection of clothing with bear ears attached to them. Perhaps you also bought her some small plushie too, which...Jungkook will not be glad to hear about because Nabi's nursery is already filled to the brim with plushies.

You blame your little shopping frenzy on the fact that you haven't seen Nabi for about four days. You're happy that Jungkook seems to go to work more regularly now and that the babysitter that Nabi once hated so much is much more welcome now, but you can't help missing her. And Jungkook as well, because he hasn't been showing up either. The past few days you've been waiting for him to visit the coffee shop in the morning, but he never did.

You struggle to fish your phone from your purse but once you finally do you call Jungkook.

You hold all four bags in one hand in order to be able to hold your phone against your ear. You're lucky to only live a few blocks away.

Jungkook answers the call within a few seconds.

"Hey," he greets, baritone voice making your tummy feel all kinds of butterflies flying around.

"I have good news - well, honestly speaking, I think they're bad news for you. But good news for me."

"Have you been buying books with my credit card again?"

"I-" For a brief second you close your eyes, not believing his audacity. "I don't have your card anymore, remember? I returned it weeks ago, dummy."

"Well, then it can't be bad news if I haven't lost any money because of it."

"Stop acting like you didn't give me your consent to buy books with your money!" A sulky pout settles on your lips.

"Eight, y/n. You bought eight books," he reminds you.

You click your tongue. "I couldn't decide. I wanted to read all of them."

"Last time I checked you had only read three of them."

"Buying books and reading books are two complete different hobbies, okay?" you defend yourself. "You wanna know what the news are?"

"I'm all ears."

"I might have bought Nabi a few things. As in, a few clothes. And some plushies."

"A few?" he inquires sceptically.

"Like...three bags."

Jungkook is silent for what feels like an eternity. Now that you are no longer focused on his voice, you are aware of the sounds of passing cars and people that you had blocked out earlier.

"Three bags?" You can clearly picture him pinching the bridge of his nose right now.

"Everything looked so adorable and cute. I couldn't resist, Koo"

"You know exactly how many clothes she already owns, y/n."

"But...they aren't as cute as the things I just bought. I swear, you're gonna freak out when I'm gonna show these onesies to you."

"What am I supposed to do with all this clothing once Nabi grows out of it?" Jungkook grumps.

"Keep them for your next baby."

"That won't happen for at least another 10 years, I hope," he mutters.

"You want Nabi to grow up all alone?"

"I can get her a dog or something."

You shrug. "Sounds fair." The wind blows hair in your face. You jut your lower lip out, puffing upwards to get rid of it. "So, when will I see my baby again?"

"You just recently looked after Nabi," Jungkook points out.

"But, that was like, last week. I miss her. Don't you have to go to work? I can watch her while you're gone," you offer.

"You do know that I have someone to look after her, right? And if I remember correctly, you were the one telling me to finally get someone to help me with Nabi."

"That doesn't mean that I don't want to see her anymore. I still love her, Koo." After a moment of silence you inquire, "Is Nabi okay with the babysitter now? Or does she still not like her?"

"Well..." Jungkook clears his throat before he continues, "Nabi is still not really fond of her, but...she's slowly getting used to her."

"Sounds good. Do you think I could come over today? I'm dying to see how these clothes are gonna look on her."

"I don't think today's a good idea," Jungkook replies, voice thick.

"Well, then tell me when you'll have time." You stop at a red light. "Where have you been in the mornings the last few days? Even the grannies that always drink their morning coffee at our place have started to miss you. They always look around the counter area where you'd usually be."

"Don't be dramatic, please," he sighs.

"I swear! I'm not making this up."

"I've just been busy. That's all."

"I hate having to eat my cookie alone," you sulk.

"I started giving morning classes again. That's why I haven't showed up," Jungkook explains.

"Really? But you hate morning classes."

"I do, but I think I'll give it a try for a few weeks."

"So I shouldn't expect to see you in the mornings anymore?" you ask, shoulders slumping at the mere thought of not seeing him in the morning anymore.

"I mean, I could try and stop by tomorrow morning if you'd like that?"

Though you'd love to see him, the fact that Jungkook only wants to visit the coffee shop because you want him to and not because he wants to, makes you shake your head to the question.

"No need to, it's fine." Squaring your shoulders, you walk across the street with long strides after the lights turned green. "You know that you can just tell me if you don't want to hang out with me?"

"Y/n," he sighs. "You know that's not the truth."

"You really make it seem that way, though," you admit.

"It's just- Nabi's slowly getting used to her and I want to use that time to work more," he clarifies.

"I understand, Jungkook. I think it's good that you're being consistent with the babysitter watching over her. I just really miss Nabi, that's all." You exhale, kinda regretting having made that accusation.

"She probably misses you just as much," Jungkook says and you hear the smile on his face as he talks.

"Are you going to work later?"

"I am actually at work right now," he says.

"Oh! I didn't-"

"It's fine, I'm on my break now. But it actually ended three minutes ago, so I gotta hang up now. Get home safely, yeah?"

"Have fun at work," you say and in the next second you're exclaiming, "Jungkook! Wait."

"Hm?" Your heart flutters at that innocent sound.

"When should I drop Nabi's new clothes off?"

"I'll text you," he replies.

"Oh, and, be so nice and send me a pic of Nabi later? Pretty please? I really miss her."

Jungkook chuckles, which elicits a smile on your lips in return.

"Sure, whatever you want."

"Thanks, love you."

"Love you too, baby.

#jeon jungkook #jungkook #dilf jungkook #jungkook fic #jungkook scenario #bts fanfic #jungkook x reader #bts x reader #jungkook angst #jungkook smut #jungkook f2l

[mediabrainrot]

The Big Game (TSDK Ch. 4)

Pairing: Spencer x reader

Season: 2, Ep. 14

Word count: 7k

Summary: The team heads to Georgia to investigate a case where the police are being called by the killer before they're slaughtered, and the whole thing is filmed and uploaded online. With multiple unsubs and not a lot to go on, going to interview a witness becomes more dangerous than the reader and Spencer anticipated.

Warnings: canon typical violence, explicit gore, blood, animal death

A/N: don't ask why this took so long I'm mentally ill <3 anyways FINALLY the series rewrite part of my series rewrite can actually begin. These are my favorite types of fics to write- altering and rewriting canon. This chapter is gonna be a rewrite of The Big Game spencer gets taken by Hankel, but w a little extra ✨flavor ✨ broken into two parts like the episodes. - also I've gotten a few requests to be added to the taglist that I didn't respond to cause I'm evil and stupid, but I'm adding you now! and feel free to ask me, even if I don't respond, I see and I will!

Prev. - Next (coming soon)

The bar was hot and loud, not something you usually enjoyed, but you didn’t quite mind it this Friday night. Patrons all around buzzed with conversation, your entire team scattered across the building.

Garcia, watching Morgan dance with a group of eager girls. Hotch and Haley had joined them, much to everyone's surprise. JJ aimed darts effortlessly, smoking her male competition, and Prentiss continued to offer to buy more drinks so that she could flirt with the girl bartending.

There was something about the warmth of the crowd and the hum of voices carrying throughout that made you feel content, happy to see your team get some much-needed R&R.

However, you were the happiest (though you’d never admit it) to see Spencer letting loose.

This wasn’t either of your usual scenes- you spent most of your time together on the subway, at your favorite coffee shop, and in your apartment cooking dinner together when you weren’t at work. It had become a ritual for you both- coffee in the morning, ride to and from work together, and if work didn’t run too egregiously late you’d have dinner at your place. You spent more time with Spencer than anyone else on the team- than with anyone else you knew.

So it was a surprise to no one to find you sitting at his side, chin resting on your palm as you watched him converse excitedly with Anderson and Jones.

“No way, I don’t believe it. I mean, you’re smart, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t believe it.” Jones shakes her head, and you chuckle, leaning back in your seat. Spencer was detailing his incredible memory of the Star Trek franchise- sure, he had an incredible memory for everything, but Sci-Fi had an even more special place in his eidetic memory.

“I mean, come on,” she continues, looking to you for reassurance that there was no way he could remember every episode name, number, and line.

You shake your head, lifting your drink to your lips.

“He can, I’ve seen it with my own eyes, it’s incredible,” you say, glancing over to him as you take a sip, watching a smile grace his lips at your compliment.

They still look disbelieving, and you lean on the table towards them, eager to watch as Spencer proves them wrong.

“Okay, I bet you you can ask him anything about any episode and he’ll be able to answer.” You wager, and they both laugh.

“I’ll take that,” Anderson says. “What are we betting?” he asks, and you glance over to Reid, whose eyes dart to the drink in his hand, and then yours, and back to you. Your nonverbal communication has only accelerated since your first case together.

“He gets it, you drink. He doesn’t, we drink.” you offer, and Jones nods.

“Deal.”

“Ask me any, any question.” Reid challenges and Anderson asks first as JJ walks by, ruffling Spencer's hair fondly.

“Return to Tomorrow.” He quizzes, and Spencer answers without thought.

“Return to Tomorrow, season two, production number fifty-one. An Alien entity, Sargon, takes over Kirk’s body, while two others take over Spock and Dr. Mulhall’s,” he says, and you smile. You couldn’t quite articulate why, but almost nothing brought you as much joy as watching Spencer confidently, joyously, share his knowledge with someone who was eager to listen. Usually, you were that someone.

“Alien races identified?” Anderson asks, and you smirk- you don’t know the answer, but you know Spencer does before Andersons even finished asking it.

“Trick question, a race is never identified, Sargon is a disembodied mind.”

“And the Dr. McCoy quote?” he adds on, and when Spencer doesn’t answer immediately, you lean forward, studying him with playful worry. You watch as his hand retracts, his eyebrows scrunching together as he thinks, gears turning quickly in his head. He looks up and down, fingers fidgeting as he attempts to focus himself and retrieve the memory from the files in his mind.

Jones begins a countdown, leaning forward for effect.

“Five… Four… Three… Two…”

Spencer's gaze meets yours for half a second. He knows you don’t know the answer, he’s not looking to you to remind him, it was just something he did- when he couldn’t think, couldn’t find the answer, he knew he could look to you and his mind would quiet for a second, and there the answer would be.

This time was no exception.

“I will not peddle flesh… I’m a physician. Drink!” he says excitedly, a smile growing on his face as he speaks. You can’t help but grin too, wide and ecstatic that someone was appreciating that big beautiful brain of his.

You laugh, watching as they shake their heads in disbelief as they each take a swig.

“That’s insane.” Anderson laughs, and you and Spencer clink glasses as you lean in for another sip despite having won the bet, though Spencer refrains.

“That’s just Spencer. And I think if we’re going to keep beating you so soundly, we should probably get another round of drinks. This ones on me.” You push yourself up from your seat so that you can make your way to the bar. Jones laughs, raising her now empty glass.

“Can’t say no to that,” she agrees, and as you rise, so does Spencer.

Whenever you went out to bars- though that wasn’t very often- he accompanied you around, citing something about the number of women who unknowingly get Rohypnol slipped in their drinks on average every year. He knows you can take care of yourself, but he always said he figured a second pair of eyes couldn’t hurt.

You didn’t mind.

Before you could even turn towards the bar though, you were stopped by a familiar hand on your shoulder, turning to see JJ standing behind you both. “I hate to ruin the fun, but we've got a case.” She says with a sorry frown, and there’s a collective groan from all but Spencer.

“Right as we were about to get the rookies wasted,” you taunt and they roll their eyes as you all move to collect your things. JJ walks away, no doubt to let the rest of the team know, and you chuckle when you imagine the look on Morgan's face when he’s pried from the women he’s been grinding on.

“We’ll have to take a raincheck on that takedown,” you say, pulling on your jacket and making your way towards the door with Anderson and Spencer, Jones heading to the bar to close out.

“Oh, you’re on. There has to be something Spencer doesn’t know.”

You yawn, shaking your head a bit and retraining your eyes on the road.

“Tell me about it,” Prentiss chuckles, and you nod in agreement. Hotch had told you all to try and get some rest on the jet, but none of you actually did. The flight wasn't very long, to begin with, and visions of slashed necks and biblical slaughters were not exactly good for being soothed to sleep.

And now here you were, driving back from a morgue in rural Georgia, no sign of rest in sight.

“So, did you have a fun night with the Doctor?” Prentiss asks, and you roll your eyes. It had become a running gag between Garcia and her to tease your apparently ‘obvious’ crush on Reid. You had tried a thousand times to explain that he was simply a very close friend, but they continued to insist you were ‘in love'.

“Maybe he showed you a bit of his wilder side.” she teases, elbowing you in the side, and you laugh out loud at that.

“If you mean nursing a cocktail and reciting Star Trek trivia, then yes, absolutely wild,” you say, making you both laugh.

“I mean it, you guys never left each other's side, you never do. What's life been like in the apartment above the pretty boy, huh?” She continues her taunts, and you know the only way to get her to stop is to fight fire with fire.

“Oh, it’s great. And how did your date with Diana go again, exactly?” you ask, putting the SUV in park as you reach the precinct lot. Her smile falls, and she furrows her brow, reaching for the car door and getting out.

“Shut up,” she pouts, and you laugh, grabbing your bags and the files you received from the M.E. making your way towards the front doors.

“Not so fun is it?” you tease, and you flash your badges for the man at the front desk, making your way to the back of the precinct where you can see Hotch and JJ working at the evidence board.

“Yeah, whatever,” Emily huffs, half-joking in her annoyance.

“What did you find?” Hotch asks, getting straight to the point as he sees you both approach. You’d deduced on the plane that this unsub was a mission-based killer, which meant you had to work fast if you were going to stop him from killing anyone else.

“The victims' throats weren’t just slashed, they were slaughtered. Blood drained efficiently like a hunter or a farmer would.” Prentiss explains, and you hand the files to Hotch who opens them up and begins scanning them.

“Which might have been helpful if there weren’t over 42,000 farms in Georgia, let alone the rural areas,” you say, looking over JJ’s shoulder to peek at the stack of files she’s looking at. There's a beat, and you glance up to realize everyone is staring at you.

“What? Spencer isn't the only one who reads,” you say, and Hotch's lips twitch into a smirk for less than a second, before turning back to Prentiss.

“Regardless, JJ, look into any files with altercations occurring on farms that have livestock, it doesn’t have to involve violent crimes either.” He orders, and he nods, rearranging the papers on her table and moving to stand up.

“These the local files?” you ask, picking up the nearest folder and opening it up. Altercation at a local bar. Minor injuries with a pocket knife. Drunken disorderly. Not what you’re looking for.

“Yeah, I figured maybe we might see something they wouldn’t know to look for, so I’ve been going over everything, but I haven’t found anything substantial yet.” she sighs, visibly tired.

“Let me give you a hand with that. File room?” you ask, and she stands, eager for help, and begins to make her way out of the conference room.

“Please,” she sighs, and you follow her to the front of the building, adjacent to the receptionist's desk, into a dimly lit room, shelves upon shelves of file cabinets filling every available inch. You whistle at the sight of it all, and JJ chuckles. “Tell me about it,” she says, and you make your way over to the first cabinet, sliding it open.

You’re in that room for a long while- not quite sure how long, your only reference is a small window in the door that lets you see the front desk.

You walk over to the next cabinet, facing the window, and slide it open with another hearty yawn. There wasn’t exactly a “sort by location” option in a physical file system. You make a mental note to thank Garcia for all she does for the team when you get back.

When you open your eyes from your yawn, you're surprised to see Reid on the other side of the glass, locking eyes with you. He’s returned with Morgan, Gideon, and the local sheriff from the crime scene.

‘Coffee?’ he mouths, and you nod eagerly, mouthing ‘please,’ in return. He nods his head towards the break room, motioning for you to come with him. You set down the file you were just about to open and turn to JJ, calling out to her.

“Hey Jen, I’m gonna go grab myself a coffee, you want anything?” you call out, unsure of where she was in the maze of files.

“I’m okay, thanks,” she calls back, and that's more than enough for you to slide the folder shut and eagerly make your way towards the coffee machine- and, subsequently, Reid.

“Hey,” he greets softly, already walking towards the kitchen, which was visible from the front desk.

“Hey. How was the scene, what did you find?” you ask, turning and leaning against the counter. He grabs the coffee pot, dumping out the old lukewarm drink and starting a new brew. You both had a special talent for figuring out how to work any coffee machine without even looking.

“It was unusual, actually. They showed signs of being disorganized, but they still clearly had the forethought to use forensic countermeasures. Also, Garcia found a viral video of the murder posted online, the unsubs hacked into the victims' webcams and recorded the whole thing.” he says as if it's an afterthought.

“What? Seriously?” you exclaim, not what you were expecting to hear.

“Yeah, we brought the laptop back here, they’re gonna have me go through it as soon as it’s been fully dusted for prints,” he says, reaching for the now piping hot pot of coffee. You make no moves to grab your own cup, you don’t have to ask, or say anything, you simply know that Spencer will pour you your cup and that he knows exactly how you like it. You do however make your way over to the fridge to grab the creamer.

“Jesus, okay. So, calling the police to notify them before they commit the murders, recording it, and putting it online- these guys really want people to know what they’re doing.” you think aloud, handing the carton to Spencer, who pours it into both cups.

“It tracks at least, he’s mission-oriented, apparently his mission is to get his beliefs out,” he says, finishing your drinks and handing you yours. You refrain from gulping it down instantly, knowing it's piping hot.

Before you can respond, a tall, slender black man in a blue suit taps on Reid’s shoulder.

“Agent Reid, the computer’s ready for you,” he informs.

“Thank you.” he nods, and the man- who you know as Detective Franks, stops you from returning to the file room.

“You’ll want to come as well, Agent L/N. We have the suspects' website pulled up. You’re gonna wanna take a look at this.”

Back in the filing room, you and JJ continue to pour over as many cases as you can read in as short an amount of time as possible. The clock is ticking, you know that there are 5 more victims on your unsubs list, and you have no concrete leads beyond the profile.

So you read. Case after case after case. More familiar with a manilla folder than the back of your own hand.

Robbery. Trespassing, Trespassing. Trespassing. Drunken disorderly. Vandalism. Trespassing, noise complaint, vandalism, robbery, animal attack, breaking, and entering. On and on, only connected by their locations.

Nothing stands out, nothing you can use as a lead, nothing more than bored teenagers and agitable small-town folks.

You sigh, closing the folder in front of you, exasperated. None of the angles you were coming at this from were working.

So maybe you should come at it from a different angle.

If location and cause of death couldn’t link the crimes, maybe another facet of it could. You reopened the last file you’d skimmed- breaking and entering.

“Home invasions…” you whisper, turning and circling one of the shelves to look at JJ.

“Hey, JJ, shift your focus to home invasions within the last six months. If he really was a farmer or a hunter, he wouldn’t need to practice his slaughters on people, he already knows how to do that. He must have been practicing something else-” “The breaking and entering.” she finishes for you, following your train of thought.

“On it.” she nods, and you head towards the home invasion and breaking and entering cabinets, yanking them open.

You’re still looking for a while even after this revelation, hoping you were going in the right direction when you come across a particularly odd file.

Case number 5426813, April 13th, 2006, reporting officer Rebecca Stevenson, incident: Prowler seen attempting to break into- the home across the street from your first victims.

“Hey JJ, I think I’ve got something. Come take a look at this.” You say, and she comes over eagerly, reading over your shoulder as you continue through the details of the case.

“We should show this to Hotch,” she says, and you nod, closing the file and making your way to the conference room.

As you approach, you smile, watching as Reid bites into a rice krispy treat you’re not even sure where he got, glancing over his case files.

He had a talent for finding snacks anywhere, which was funny considering how incapable he was of making himself a meal.

JJ’s voice brings you out of your thoughts.

“So, Franks was right, none of the open knife cases fit,” she says, having been the one to pour over those originally.

“Tell me there’s a but,” Hotch sighs, glancing over the photos of slashed necks on the corkboard in front of him.

“We looked into something else- home invasion cases. Three months ago there was a ‘prowler’ called in directly outside of the Kyles house.” you interject.

“A prowler?” Reid questions and you continue, glancing at the file over JJ’s shoulder to make sure you were getting the details right. “The witness was walking his dog in a nearby park. Going back to his car he saw a man in dark clothing go over the back wall and start sneaking into the house. By the time the state police got there, the prowler was gone.” you say, glancing from Reid to Hotch for reassurance that you were onto something.

“Only one man?” Hotch asks, dashing your hopes slightly.

“Apparently.” you say, losing steam slightly since you knew it was a team.

“Was the witness able to describe him?” Spencer asks, and if he was trying to help your case, it wouldn’t work.

“If he did, it’s not in this case file,” JJ replies, shaking her head as she shuts it.

“Is there a name and address for the witness?” Hotch speaks, and you answer eagerly, already having looked into it.

“Tobias Hankel. Lives about an hour from here,” you say, and there’s a microscopic beat while Hotch thinks it over, before saying.

“It’s a long shot, but he might be able to give us a description. Why don’t you and Reid go out there, see if you can find Mr. Hankel, and see if he remembers something? JJ you stay here with me and keep an eye on the press now that we know about the viral videos.”

Relief rushes over you, finally onto something concrete you can chase. Reid is already getting up, tossing you your jacket as you grab your bag, the three of you accept your instructions eagerly.

“Shit, where did i-” you frown, shuffling the contents of your bag around in an attempt to search for your keys.

“Back pocket,” Spencer answers frankly. You had a habit of losing things, so a best friend with an eidetic memory was always useful. Sometimes, you weren’t sure how he knew- he certainly hadn’t seen where you put them. Maybe the emphasis should lean more on best friend than eidetic memory. He holds the door open for you as you pull your blazer on and make your way towards the SUV, grabbing the keys from exactly where he’d told you.

The drive is mostly comfortable silence. Long transits with Reid were something you were more than familiar with. You picked the music since you usually drove, and he buried his head in a file or a book if you weren’t actively discussing the case. You made sure to play something that wasn’t too distracting for him, though he never complained.

The sun slowly set as you crept off the main road and onto bumpy dirt. Spencer couldn’t help but peek over the edge of his folder and watch you. He always watched you drive- he never meant to, but on long rides he always found his eyes drifting from the text to your features.

The sun was illuminating you in a particularly warm glow today, and he felt it would be a wasted opportunity not to appreciate it.

If you noticed he was looking, you never showed.

He watched as you swayed your head to the sound of the music, not too loud but upbeat to help keep you awake, humming off-tune under your breath. You rest one hand on the windowsill, the other outstretched as you grip the wheel with proverbial confidence. There was a familiar warmth in Spencer’s stomach as he watched you, soft and comforting like the setting sun on his skin.

He forced his eyes away despite it, lest you turn and meet his gaze.

It’s completely dark by the time one of you finally speaks, about ten minutes from your destination.

“I doubt someone like him is gonna be very welcoming. Rural Georgia, this far out, what's the play here?” you say, and Spencer squints, thinking.

“Well, he’s not a suspect. He shouldn’t have anything to hide.” He says, and there's a moment where you both lock eyes, and he chuckles. If anyone knows how unwelcoming witnesses can be, even those who have done nothing wrong, it’s the pipe cleaner with eyes.

“I could just ask to use his bathroom. Gauge his hospitability.” Reid offers, and you nod.

“That sounds good for now. It’s not like we’re investigating him anyways, we just need a description,” you say, annoyance already underlining your words. You can never understand why some people refuse to help when they have nothing at stake and lives are on the line.

You pushed the thought aside as you pulled up to the old, dilapidated house, making your way to the front door. You stepped up first, as usual, people were more receptive to a female officer than a dominant male personality. You knocked on the door, waiting a few moments as Spencer began bouncing on the balls of his feet, as though he was holding something in.

After a few seconds. The lock clicks and the door creaks open, and you plaster on a friendly smile, despite the uncomfortable feeling you’re getting from this house. The door is barely cracked enough to show the man's face- he’s young but older than you. Probably in his early thirties, about six feet tall.

Despite his age, his eyes were wide, and his stance was timid, paired with his shaggy blonde hair, he almost seemed like a teenager.

“Hi, Mr. Hankel?” you greet softly.

“Um… Yeah?” he answers, almost as if he were afraid of you.

“Mr. Hankel, FBI. I’m Agent L/N. This is Agent Reid.” you flash your badge, nodding back at Spencer who gives Tobias a tight-lipped smile. You’re thankful you decided to try and get Reid inside because you can already tell he’s not going to be easy to talk to.

“FBI…?” he says, surprised. Spencer doesn’t answer.

“May we come in?” he asks instead, biting the edge of his lip and raising his eyebrows expectantly.

“Um... “ Tobias begins, and he looks over his shoulder as if checking for someone. You dart your eyes to the adjacent windows, but the curtains are pulled firmly shut. “I’m sorry, I don’t let anyone in the house.” he shakes his head, but Spencer persists.

“Actually I, uh, really have to, um… uh, you know, go?” he says, and you refrain from smiling at Spencer's acting. He definitely could play the timid awkward guy when it benefitted him- and sometimes when it didn’t.

“You do?” you ask, trying to add onto the charade.

“Yeah, for like, 30 minutes,” Spencer says, his bouncing escalating.

“Why didn’t you say something in the car?” you joke, though you try not to show it in your tone.

“Uh, do you mind?” Spencer asks Hankel again, desperation mounting in his voice.

“My father doesn’t like it,” he says, and you’re reminded again of a young boy, not a man. “Father? You’re like, 30?” Spencer says, and you almost wince at his words, not sure how they’ll be taken. Tobias’s tone shifts ever so slightly, and his eyes lock with spencer.

“At what age can one start disrespecting their parents?” he asks, almost accusatory, and you clear your throat, trying to steer the conversation.

“You witnessed something a few months ago that might be very helpful to us,” you say, keeping your tone soft.

“I did?” he asks, as though he’s excited to have a chance to help.

“You saw someone go over a wall into a yard. You called the police.” You state, and his expression falls.

“Me?” he asks, confused. You shake your head confused with him.

“You didn’t?”

“Sorry,” he says, matter of factly.

“Hm, is there another Tobias Hankel here?” you wonder, more often than not fathers give their first-born sons their names, maybe that was it.

“Just me and my Father. Charles.” He says, shooting down your idea without even knowing you had it. Now you’re suspicious.

“There's a report on file that lists you as calling 9-1-1. You were walking a dog,” you say, not ask. He shakes his head before you can even finish.

“No, that’s wrong. I don’t have a dog,” he says, blunt and quick. His eyes never leave yours though, clearly confident in his words.

“Oh,” you say, racking your brain for something else you could ask him, coming up empty. “Well, sorry to bother you, sir.”

You say, and Spencer leans forward, trying one last time.

“Are you sure I can’t just quickly use the-”

“Sorry,” Hankel says, already shutting the door, only half of him visible through the crack. “Have a good night,” the door clicks shut and you hear the lock slide firmly into place.

Reid instantly stops fidgeting, dropping his ruse. You turn, making your way back down the steps.

“That's weird,” you say, and Spencer turns as the porch light clicks off behind you, your queue to leave. “Why bother calling the police in the first place if later you’re just gonna pretend you didn’t?” You ask. Something wasn't quite right, you just couldn’t place it. You were hoping maybe Spencer could.

He stops in his tracks, realization dawning on his features.

“To gauge the response time,” he says, realizing it as the words are coming out of his mouth.

“If you were going to kill somebody but you wanted to call the police first, what would you need to know?”

You blink, nodding as you clear your head.

“How long it takes them to get there-” before you’ve even finished speaking, Reid turns away from you and ducks down, making his way around the side of the house. “Reid-” you call out to him, careful not to raise your voice too much.

Reid watches as Hankel paces back and forth, biting his nails and whimpering, seemingly terrified. His eyes scan across the room and land on a computer monitor, and then another, and another, and one more- each playing a different seemingly innocuous video of random people. His eyes keep tracing the screens until the last one ends, and they land on Tobias Hankel. His posture is much stronger, his brow is furrowed and his eyes are tight, it’s like everything about him has shifted.

In the few seconds it takes Reid to process all this, his eyes widen, as he realizes he's being looked back at, not just looking in. Hankel turns and sprints in the opposite direction, and Spencer calls out in a worried whisper to try and grab your attention.

“Y/N, get back here!” he calls, and he watches as you round the corner just as Hankel swings his back door open, sprinting towards a large red barn behind his house.

“He’s the unsub! He’s in the barn! Come on!” He’s managing to yell and whisper at the same time, and before you can respond, he’s quickly but quietly making his way over to the second building. You follow after him, kneeling down next to him as he pulls out his gun.

“He’s in here,” he repeats, and you draw your weapon to match his. “Call Hotch,” he orders, and you raise your voice slightly, the gravity of the situation setting in.

“We’re in the middle of nowhere, Reid, we have no service.”

He groans.

“Ugh, great, of course we have no service.” He says, and you cock your gun.

“He’s definitely in here- okay, you cover the front, I’m gonna go around back. Hotch knows we came here, he’ll come looking for us. We’ll just wait him out!” He stutters, his speech hurried. You can practically feel his adrenaline, and he’s already up and moving before you can protest.

“No- no- no- no- Reid, are you sure we should-” he’s gone before you finish, and you sigh, lowering your voice, unable to yell after him as he disappears into the cornfield.

Spencer isn’t thinking, he’s just moving, which is unusual for him. He’s still getting used to being out in the field, and never quite this literally.

He ducks down below the stalks of corn, trying to brush them out of his way without creating too much of a commotion. He can see movement ahead of him, and he slows as he hears their voices- two now. He wonders if the second unsub had been waiting out in this field, and why.

“Why are you running from them devils, boy?” the voice barks, gruff and commanding.

“They’re the FBI,” Tobias shakes, timid.

“They’re devils! You’re doing the lord's work, you got nothin’ to be afraid of,” he reassures, and there's a pause, which Spencer takes as an opportunity to inch closer.

“...I don’t wanna do this anymore,” Tobias sniffles, and his plea is punctuated with a loud punch, crying out at the strike.

“Don’t disrespect me boy.” the man- who Spencer guesses is Tobias’s father- hisses, dishing out another painful welt.

“I-I’m sorry, I’ll-” another punch.

“You don't got no choices when the lord summons you to do his work.” He scolds, and Spencer scans his surroundings, trying to discern where the voices are coming from. They don’t quite make sense, he can’t quite place them in the wide expanse of this open field.

His concentration is torn abruptly and completely at the sound of something he rarely hears- your scream. Broken and piercing, punctuated by two gunshots. All concern for catching the unsub has left his mind as he turns the opposite direction and sprints back towards the barn.

He’s nearly to the edge of the field when he cries out for you, more terrified by the silence that was following your screams than the scream itself.

“Y/N!”

His call is cut off by a brunt force slamming against his jaw. It sends him tumbling down, his gun flying from his hands. He rolls to his back and reaches out to grab it, but a familiar hand picks it up first, cocking it and pointing it at him, defenseless on the ground. He raises his hands, mind torn between you off in the distance and his fight or flight instincts as a gun is pointed at his head.

“Wait, wait-” he pleads, he can see Tobias’s hand shaking, the terrified look in his eyes. He’d heard the conversation before, he knows there's a chance he can sway him.

“I couldn’t stop him by myself.” Tobias whimpers and Spencer is pushing himself away as he speaks, heart pounding in his ears.

“Okay, okay,”

“I tried to warn everyone.”

“Just relax Mr. Hankel-” Spencer urges, but the deep voice of Charles Hankel cuts him off.

“Shoot him.”

Spencer frowns, slowly processing what he's seeing.

“I don’t want to,” Tobias shakes, sincere and terrified in his words. But his demeanor shifts and Spencer feels his stomach drop. There would be no negotiating out of this.

“I said, shoot him, you weakling. He’s a Satan.” The words sound different, but they’re coming straight from Tobias’s mouth, confident and stern, the same face that spotted him looking through the window.

Just as quick as it happened, it went away, and Tobias was fidgeting and cowering with the gun shaking in his hand again.

“He didn’t do anything.” he bargains, before standing tall, gun steadying, pointed straight at Spencer.

“I won’t tell you another time boy, shoot him!”

And then there’s a loud thunk, and a piercing pain and everything goes dark.

“...split up?” you finish, watching as Spencer peels off into the darkness of the cornfield, unable to get his attention. You sigh, not liking the idea, but you can’t just leave the front uncovered.

You hear Spencer's voice once more, calling out to you in muffled whispers. You can’t quite make out what he’s saying, and as soon as you can say “...what?” the barn door flies open, startling you. You raise your gun, jumping to a defensive stance.

You make your way slowly around the door, shifting your weight so your footsteps make less of a thud with each step.

It’s pitch black inside, the only light is the dim house lights pouring in through the open doorway and your flashlight. It’s quiet, in an ambient, outdoor way that makes you feel like it’s not quiet at all. Trees rustling, chains clinking together, wind whistling, all overloading your ability to focus. You take a few tentative steps forward, unsure if it's the unsub or Reid you’re approaching. You’re going to kick his ass for splitting you up like this- not knowing where he is is making your brain fuzzy.

There’s a new sound, low and unassuming as you step forward. A quiet squelch of something being crushed under your boot.

You freeze, slowly lowering both your gun and your flashlight to see what you’re standing in, silently praying for manure.

Cow shit would have been preferable, because below your boot is fresh, deep red blood. It’s soaked into the dirt and the hay, and somehow the chunks of flesh mixed throughout aren't as unsettling as the tarnished pearl necklace lying within.

You raise your flashlight, following the trail of blood and viscera to an old, worn mattress,

You’ve seen a lot of gruesome things with your job. Murders and deaths most people wouldn’t even have nightmares about. But there's something about this one- the smell, the darkness, the mattress so soaked its seeping onto the floor, the ragged torn flesh of what was once a human being shred across the walls- that makes your blood run cold.

You don’t even get the chance to process it though, because there’s a low growl coming from behind you, and you’re almost thankful for the distraction. And then another growl, and a third, and you’re whipping your light around as fast as you can to see six bright white eyes staring back at you, rows of sharpened teeth still dripping with blood.

And then they’re moving, faster than you're really able to process, and you cry out, startled. You take a step back as you fire, tripping over something you can’t quite see and falling onto your back- onto the mattress.

The sound your boot had made when it had crushed the small pool of blood was no comparison to the sound of falling flat onto viscera. Your whole body begins to warm, blood and innards still fresh as it soaks into your back.

You fire one more shot, somehow managing to get two of the beasts in one, and then it’s quiet again, or at least you think it is because your ears are ringing.

Your flashlight and your gun are pointed at the lifeless dogs- dogs, just dogs, not beasts. Your senses are slowly returning, adrenaline wearing off. You can feel the wet and jagged entrails and bone below you, pressing against you, and you hastily push yourself up and away. You almost trip again, over one of the bodies of the dogs, and you feel your chest tighten. Despite the fact that they were about to eat you alive, you still can’t help but feel guilty. You can hear more rustling in the field, and your fight or flight kicks back in, mind spinning. Flight wins, and you step over the dogs, ducking behind a couple of barrels, between the outer wall of the barn.

And then you stay there, breath shaking and blood drying on your skin as you wait, for what feels like forever.

You couldn’t tell how long you’d been there if your life had depended on it, every one of your senses out of whack.

Finally, after an eternity, you can hear something, anything behind you. More movement. More commotion. Your heart rate picks up, and you wait for the footsteps to approach, gathering yourself one last time as you jump up, spinning and straightening your arms with your gun pointed out in one swift movement.

“FBI!” you shout, with all the strength and authority you can muster.

They’re yelling back at you, but their faces are obscured by bright white lights moving with them, and you can’t seem to focus on what they’re saying.

“Don’t move!” you add, voice cracking as you try to gain control of the situation. A figure steps forward, into the light, and a familiar voice and face finally come into focus.

“Y/N, it’s Morgan and Prentiss, don’t shoot!” he yells back, voice authoritative, but right now it’s the most comforting thing you think you’ve ever heard.

You lower your gun, and he does the same, inching closer.

“Are you hurt?” he asks, and you open your mouth to speak, but you don’t answer.

“Tobias Hankel is the unsub,” you state, matter of fact, unable to say anything else than what’s most prominent in your mind.

You flinch as a hand is placed on your shoulder, but you turn to find it’s only Emily.

Morgan and the Sheriff are talking in front of you, but you still can’t quite hear what they’re saying. You wonder how long you’ve been sitting there, letting someone else's blood dry on you. You think back to when you arrived, it seemed like so long ago.

“W-we just thought he was a witness,” you continue, your thoughts spilling out like the blood you’d fallen in, messy and unintentional.

“I… Had to kill them,” you say, and you glance from one dog to the next, now illuminated by the light as if you’re defending yourself. You look down at your hands, blood on them not quite dry, still tacky. You rub your fingers together and feel it beginning to congeal.

“I, it’s not mine. It’s not my blood,” you say, and you hear Morgan talking again as you look over to the mattress you’d fallen into. Somehow, in the light, it looks so different. When you were in it, when you could feel it, not see it, it was so much… worse. You can still feel it.

“They just… they just tore her apart. There’s nothing left.”

“Y/N, look at me, where’s Reid?” Prentiss questions, and that name, his name, finally snaps you from your stupor. You tear your eyes from the mattress and look at Prentiss, swallowing.

“Uh, we split up. He said he was going around back. I didn’t want to.”

You didn’t need to say the last part, but you’re having a hard time filtering your thoughts from your words.

You watch Morgan turn and run out of the barn, and the rest feels as much of a blur as before. Prentiss walks you over to the ambulance, where she sits you on the back edge and tells you she’ll be back. You’re poked and prodded by a man in a hospital windbreaker who asks you a few questions, which you answer without thought. Most of your responses are along the lines of- “It’s not my blood, it’s not mine. It’s not my blood.”

You’re using a small wet washcloth to wipe what you can of the blood off your skin. You can still smell it as though you’re still laying on that mattress, fresh and pungent.

It begins to sprinkle, cold on your skin and you're thankful for it, hoping it will wash some of the remaining viscera from your hair.

Finally, just like she said she would, Prentiss returns,

“Hey, any sign of him yet?” she asks the sheriff.

“We’ve got every one of our units on the road looking for him, he won’t get far.” He assures, before darting off to speak with someone else. You lock eyes with Prentiss, she doesn’t have to say anything for you to realize. Your stomach churns, and you think briefly that throwing up would really top off the horrible concoction of smells and sensations you're experiencing right now. You swallow. “We can’t find Reid?” you ask, already knowing the answer.

“Not yet,” she shakes her head, a tender reassurance in it. She can see the state you're in, and she doesn’t want to agitate it further. She’s called away by Morgan, and you’re left with your own thoughts,

How could you have let this happen? How could you have let yourselves split up? How long had you sat in that barn, cowering like a child while Reid was being-?

You couldn’t finish the thought. Visions of crime scene photos and deep gashes at the morgue cloud your vision.

No. No. None of that. You refused. There was no way.

You couldn’t think. You weren’t sure of anything. Of how long it had been. Of if the smell would ever leave you. Of where he had gone while you sat there motionless in the dark.

The only thing you could be sure of is that since you were the one who let him get taken, you were going to be the one to get him back.

-

@measure-in-pain @ilovespencerreidmarryme @spencerreid-187 @styleisart

#i actually wrote this. a while ago #dont worry abt it #spencer x reader #spencer reid #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid x reader #spencer x you #spencer reid fanfic #criminal minds #the big game #cm #cm s2e14 #cm 2x14 #criminal minds x reader #things spencer doesnt know #ch. 4 #tsdk. ch. 4

[yostresswritinggirl]

Abandoned By The Altar

Part 2; When you grow older.

Vibe Here

A timeline oriented story focused on your once perfect childhood relationship as Diluc’s bride to be, soon becoming estranged after the death of his father and his neglect. You only wish now that he looks at you the same way he did when you heard you were supposed to be together forever when you were young.

Pairings -> Diluc x Reader, Kaeya x Reader if you squint (All young at the first parts)

Word Count -> 8170

Themes -> Initial Fluff, Angst, Fluff again

Series -> #Bonafide Specials (100 followers event) Part 1 Part 3

Warnings -> Character Death, Slightly suggestive themes

Diluc's heart almost leaped to his throat when he had finally seen you, found you, now conversing with the new member of the family his father had adopted just yesterday. Kaeya, was his name. He looked peculiar, and older than him too.

Despite your spritely aura, he noticed his now brother still wary and even tensed at your presence, so the younger boy finally made his way over. The training sword bouncing against his hip with every step, he made his way next to you, offering a smile as he gestured to the blunette. "I see you've met Kaeya, he's my new brother, he entered the house yesterday."

Your lively eyes that was wide with happiness from finally seeing Diluc now held a hint of wonder as it landed on Kaeya, a toothy grin presenting itself on your face. The blunette can't help but blink, "Hello there, big bro Kaeya! I'm (Y/N), my mother and father are good friends with Master Crepus!"

You offered a handshake and he took it only a second late, handshake light yet tight. "Oh! I'm also Diluc's financee." Fiancée, Diluc corrected again as your hands part from each other. "Yeah, that."

Kaeya's only visible eye suddenly flew wide open as he chokes on air. Did he hear that right? These two children in front of him, years younger than him, already fated to marry in the future. What kind of customs does Mondstadt had, he warily thought in the back of his mind as he watches you two interact.

What a sad life it must be to be forced to something like that so early, he thought to himself before he saw you reach out to Diluc's hand. And the redhead, upon noticing this started to remove his used and dirtied glove, before catching your outstretched hand easily.

Kaeya only watched with an uneasy smile. He supposed this is something he needs to get used to if he wants to stay.

And oh boy, it's not something he's gonna get used to easily, the skeptic boy thought as he found himself getting dragged around by the Winery by you. You were touring him around and inside to places he had yet to see, entering rooms that normal people probably had no access to. You knew the Winery as if you had a map on you, and he supposed he expected this much if you were that close to his... brother.

"Were you," the innocence of your eyes as you whipped your head up to look at him hurt his heart over how in contrast it was with his, "forced to be together with Diluc?"

You let out a scandalous gasp on which Kaeya had to stop himself from snorting. "Why, no! I'm the one who even asked him about it," his snort turned into that weird sound again. "He's my bestest friend and I want nothing more than to be by his side always!"

F-Friend? God, Kaeya's head had been experiencing a numbing headache lately.

With his desire to be part of the Knights of Favonius, Diluc had more often than not, neglected giving you attention so often that it was a stark contrast to the closeness you two had before. And on days where he held his training sword, he'd realize just how he missed you and your imposing hugs.

But he wanted- no- needed to get stronger. He was blessed by the Gods with a Vision, and the weak are meant to be protected, and he can't let himself be the useless person he had been the day you were on the brink of death. Even if you hid it perfectly well and brushed aside the incident when you came to, he noticed how the veins in your hand were a more prominent shade of blue now.

How your fingertips get easily cold and how you always clung to the warmth his hand gives off as a result of his Vision.

When Kaeya asked about you, about his Vision, about his ambitions— he complied almost instantly, like a valve opened fully, all the answers Kaeya was seeking flowed out seamlessly like running water.

As the oldest out of you three, despite the fact that you'd all only knew each other for three days, Kaeya had already felt the urge to protect and be there whenever Diluc had busied himself with his justified training. He'd watch your lips turn into a pout as your redhead drag himself back outside with his sword and Kaeya would then distract you from your disappointment.

Crepus had been witness to this grand scheme for a while now, relieved that his new son had at least started coping with the new environment and interactions. But your presence had always astounded the people around you, and comforted those the same age as you. Despite being on the road and barely making lasting friendships, it was a mystery how you managed to entrance people like that.

"Diluc is just pursuing his dreams," the redhead, your uncle, started as he sat next to you by the benches. Boar Princess, he noted as you closed the book you were reading, opting to look up at him with those doe eyes again. "I know you must feel lonely, having to wait for him and everything. But he's doing it for you too, to protect you."

Your eyelids drooped in the implications and your lips pursed into a pout as you turned back to watch Diluc spar with his instructor. You sighed again before whispering under your breath, "But aren't we supposed to be together forever..."

You felt a big hand ruffle your hair, making you whine on how messy it was now. How old were you again? 11 years? Eh, should be enough. "Sweet (Y/N), being Diluc's fiancée doesn't mean you need to be around him everytime," he started talking about your promise and that had finally drawn your full attention. "You have your own life, Diluc has his path to be a knight. Sometimes what you want doesn't go the same was as he wants, and the same goes for him to you. But in the end you still are together, and still treasure each other."

The thought of having a daughter never really passed the man's mind in his whole life, he mused as he watched your beaded eyes fleet back to Diluc, before once again finding itself to Crepus with a firmer resolve. You wanted to learn more and it's time you finally understand the gravity of your promise.

Crepus placed down his cup of grape juice and turned to you on the bench. "You know your mother and father and how they're together, right?" A soft nod. "You two will be just like that, in the future together. Not always together but always end up coming back to each other, because your parents love each other always. Do you want to be with Diluc that way? Do you love and support him like that?"

Your button nose cutely scrunched up in contemplation and shortly gave him a vigorous nod with a wide grin. He grins back. "Good, thank you, I'm sure that Diluc too would support you in your dreams."

As if he had a sixth sense, the young master Diluc felt as if his name was being mentioned in important business as his eyes passes over the bench where you two reside. Sensing the distraction, his instructor finally allowed him a break, and the first thing he did was jog over to the two of you, "Father, (Y/N)." He watched you as you scrambled to climb down the bench, hurriedly taking off his dirtied glove to assist you down.

Crepus once again hid his smile behind his drink as he watched you bound over to him, the same fire in your eyes as you placed your hands on the child's shoulderd firmly. "Diluc, I love you!" You loudly declared before smashing your lips to his— Crepus spits his grape juice. "I'll support your dreams to the end-! Ahhhh, Diluc fainted! Uncle, HELP!"

The young master woke up a few hours later to you crying over and over, saying sorry for 'breaking him again.' Crepus and your parents were by the side, your mother's horrified face concealed by her hand after hearing what you've done.

Oh dear, the Ragnvindr thought to himself, my son is a sub.

Ever since that day, the people around you have started preparing you for your future of refinement and adulthood. You were no Vision-wielder unlike Diluc, and your handling swords were nothing to boast about. Your parents are businessmen and as their only child it would be you that will be inheriting and operating the work that they had built up, and so naturally that was the route you had to pick.

Your tutoring and Diluc's continuous training to get into Ordo Favonius made it hard for you both to spend more time with each other. Toys were replaced by books and swords, garden of Cecilias changed to libraries and training dummies.

Crepus, as a father and an uncle, alternates his time between you two. At times he'd be the one sparring with his child and grating the principles of knighthood to him, and on rare occasions that you were there, he walks you around as he talks about the wine industry and the operations of his business. Both of you started growing, separately, but there was a similar flame representing your spirit within both of your eyes.

Diluc entered the ranks of the Knights when he was 14, and Crepus was overwhelmed by the achievement his son finally reached, of the dream he once had when he was a child. In that same age range, you've also ended up making a name for yourself as the youngest business entrepreneur and economic scholar, your name and prodigy reached past Liyue...

And in your hands lay a perfectly white envelope enclosed with the insignia of Sumeru. The Academia invites you into a scholarship program once you turned 18.

Your whole family rejoiced at the recognition and the opportunity and you wept in tears of happiness. Finally, your young mind cried, you were finally something worthy to be next to Diluc instead of a normal person that can't be blessed by the Gods.

A party had been in order for both milestones, and more prestigious individuals from all over Teyvat were present. Something came up before the party that forced you to be late once again, and Diluc realized just how long you hadn't seen each other, more so spent time with each other. Kaeya stood next to him before nudging him with an elbow slightly, "What's got you so worried, brother? You shouldn't frown on your own party."

At the remark, Diluc stood straighter and fixed his frown. Why is it now that he was reminded of your promises and dwindled time? In the back of his mind, he realized just how much at fault he was for being neglectful. The spark you two had felt estranged and distant, feeling as tho things won't come back to the way they were.

The Court Marshal's booming voice suddenly announced your family name and the hall turned silent as everyone lifted their gaze to the grand entrance. Your bedazzled self stood there in your ombre dress, short sleeve matched with elbow gloves, and a resin Cecilia hairpiece holds itself on the crown of your head.

Diluc and Kaeya, and several other boys in the crowd gasped at your regal aura. Was this really YOU? The same girl that spit a grape on his hand/complimented a stranger's eyepatch? You stood with the poise of a refined woman and your face enlightened with a subtle artificial blush. Gone was your toothy grin and replaced with respectful smile as you made your way through the crowd.

Suddenly the nervousness came crashing back to the knight and he scrambled to pick himself up as the distance between you two shortened.

"Master Diluc," you curtsied and he inwardly doubled over at the formality, finding it almost detesting. "I'm glad to meet you again."

"(Y/N)," he bowed with a hand on his chest. "You don't need to be so formal."

The respectful smile on your face turned into a full-blown grin, the one he was used to, as you barreled towards him for a hug. Purely due to instincts and conditioning, Diluc was quick to catch you into his arms to reciprocate the hug. Disappointed gasps and whines echoed through the hall at the display, but they stood there in awe as they watched, for the rare sight of the young master's genuine smile was there for all to see.

As you two first danced the night away, it was finally brought onto everyone the fact that young master Diluc and young mistress (Y/N) were already fated together.

The ballroom parted to give way to you two as you chatted the missed times together, falling easily into steps while updating each other of the things you had done. It's true, you two may had gone your separate ways and lost time but in the end, you'll find yourself in each other's embrace.

The darkness of the knight embraces the winery as crystalflies dance by the vines and the surrounding grassland. The freshly signed contract made its way in between the pages of the personal journal before it was pushed into the luggage together with the packed clothes.

There was a thick silence in the room as Diluc continued watching with his lips tight, leaning against the doorframe. A tension was obvious, but it wasn't between you two, but it was also against you two.

Tomorrow at high noon marks your official departure to Sumeru now that you had finished your secondary education, at the prime age of 18. All things necessary had been prepared, a convoy of knights to guide you until you reach past the border of the continent, and in that security is Kaeya. Cavalry Captain Diluc had matters to work on in the capital, it was not his official job to officiate your leave. Even if he wanted to.

It was one of the instances, of the many, that being a knight had pulled him away from you.

"Something's on your mind, I can feel it," Diluc snapped out of his thoughts when he felt the ghost of your fingertips brush away the hair framing his face, cupping both of his cheeks like you've always done. He takes one into his hand, squeezing it lightly as he offers a small smile.

"So are you, your hands are trembling," and indeed they were. You huffed at being caught but recovered, pulling him into your room and on to your bed. There were numerous times when you'd sleep together on the same bed when you missed each other; you were both 8 that time, now you laid there as 18 years olds. The implications had him gulp while you seemed unbothered.

"Four years," you recounted as you flopped back on your mattress, the room you took for yourself in the winery ever since you arrived 10 years ago. "Maybe lesser, depending on how well I do."

"You'll do good," he assured as he kicked off his boots and climbed next to you, now laying on his side to face you. Your eyes fluttered shut with a sigh and he couldn't hell but blush at the way your eyebrows scrunched together with your pursed lips, "I believe in you."

"It's the longest we'll be separated, you can easily find another girl that would bother you enough to get you to marry her." You both snorted at the idea, before laughing in harmony at the joke.

"Mmm, I should be saying that to you. Scholars and prestigious men attend the Academia, they can easily sweep you away with their wits," he bit back and you laughed at the idea. How funny the predicament is, joking about getting stolen the same day you finally signed your arranged marriage contract.

Talks about anything and everything blew the night away easily. Diluc can see in your eyes that the nerves within you wouldn't let you sleep, and keeping him locked in constant conversation would prevent him from leaving. He entertained you this much, uncharacteristically chatty, as if repaying the four years that will go by without each other. And at the back of Diluc's mind, his worry of losing you in those four years started to manifest and cloud his thoughts into a fairly sensible doubt.

"Lulu!" He yelped as he felt a sudden bite on his cheek, reflexively pushing you down by the shoulders under him to suppress the assault. He was strong, you'd forgotten this new fact. As you laid sprawled under him as heavy breathing mixed in between.

You gripped the wrists of his hands that now stands next to your head to keep him there. His eyes were wide yet bashful. You called out to him again and it was almost a whine, asking him to tell you what's in his mind, what's worrying him and distracting him like this.

And he spilled all his insecurities, for every word that slipped past his lips, his heart relaxes while his eyes clenches. Somewhere in the middle of his rant, you had his cheeks captured in your palms again, to swipe at the tears that passes by. He worked his ass off to become a knight so he can protect you but you will be too far for his claymore to reach you, he wouldn't be there to hold your hand so you don't go off on your own and wonder to somewhere dangerous. And he wouldn't be there to bring you into his arms to remind that he exists, the one and only person meant to be for you.

Diluc doesn't know when he started falling in love, he doesn't know when he started wanting your company as a lover. But he knows there would be men that would look at you the way he does, easily captivated by your aura and your beauty. And if they were to take your hand, he wouldn't know. He wouldn't know when he had lost you, if he had lost you already.

Diluc was an honest man to you, and he was honest when he said he was scared to lose you.

"I belong to you," you started as your fingers softly pats his cute reddened cheeks. "And only you. I'll get a ring and don it on my hand to let the world know, I'll write letters to you as many times as I can so you'll know I'm still alive and yours." You pulled him closer, foreheads touching each other, as you stared at the red windows to his soul. He nods in agreement, slightly assured.

"I want to stay here tonight," somehow you urged the words out of him so easily everytime. The introverted boy you once knew stood on his own feet now, proudly, "Just so I don't forget you easily."

"I won't let you forget me at all," Diluc froze from taking off his vest when he saw you with a mischievous glint in your eyes, "Not after tonight." Oh boy.

It was the devil's hour when you twirled a strand of his untied hair, wild and curly, around your finger. Luscious and thick, silky yet unkempt. "Don't cut your hair," you mumbled as you leaned against his bare chest, sending a smile as you tilt your head up to see him chuckle, "It looks better long, I want it extra long when I come back!" He mumbles his agreement against the crown of your head.

When the sun rose high in the sky and the caravan was set to go, many of the servants of the Winery had expressed their congratulations and their good lucks to your new milestone. Your parents were more worried than not knowing their only child, nomad at heart, shall venture the world alone for four years away from them. You were crying angrily at how they made it so sentimental, forcing the waterworks out of you.

Crepus had already given his goodbyes and stood to the side with Diluc before the clock struck exactly 4 PM. The man's vigilant eyes however did not miss the fact that you and Diluc seem to lack the necessary sleep to power through the day, even tho half of it is already gone. How they grow up so fast.

When you found yourself bounding over to Diluc one last time, he took your hand ever so gently, still coming into terms of your departure. You only hum idly as he stares at your bare hands, before suddenly he presented two silver rings of infinity. You had to stop yourself from gasping aloud, "A promise ring, so that everyone in Sumeru knows there's someone waiting for you back home already." His red gaze averted to the side in fluster, gingerly sliding the band to your ring finger as he did the other to his own.

Home. Yes, Mond is now your home, and specifically next to him is where you belong. You shared your last kiss before Kaeya had finally called for the carriage to start ascending, on the dot. You peeked out of the carriage one last time as you waved your goodbyes to everyone, the silver band catching the light of the sun as it shines with promise.

Diluc wished goodbyes to you that day. And as he turns to his father to board their own horseback and carriage, he ends up losing two people on the same day.

Dearest Diluc,

I hope this letter finds you well. The Academia had been very accommodating ever since I arrived, there are a lot of people here from all over Teyvat, just like you had thought! I felt quite lonely and inferior when I entered but I've gained nice companions along the way and things became easy. With my exposure to our families' businesses, studies were actually easier than I expected them to be. There's been talks with the professors of me being accelerated half a year with my progress, it seems four years may not be accurate.

I've also gained myself a senior, a really kind and intelligent upperclassmen. His name is Cyno, a nice gentleman. He's been teaching me on weapon mastery since he's really good with a polearm. You use a Claymore, right? If I come back wielding a polearm, I want to spar! But don't worry about him, he knows of our betrothal and his boundaries.

How's being the captain there? I hope Uncle Crepus and Kaeya are doing well with you mostly in Mond's city now. It seems the Academia doesn't really receive letters for 'security reasons' hence why I haven't received any of your letters. But no matter, I'm sure you're doing far better than I am, you're much stronger and capable now afterall! Make sure to take care of yourself always, get some breaks and eat your meals! I don't want to see you so skinny and weak when I get back!

Forever Yours,

(Y/N)

There is bliss in ignorance. As you fold up the letter into the envelope, the door to your room echoes a knock before it softly opens to reveal your upperclassman. His gaze falls on the envelope on your hand in silent question to which you return with a smile and a nod, standing up from your study table as you followed Cyno out of the dormitories to the Academia's post office.

It had been a year since you left Mondstadt, a year since you've last seen Diluc, and a year since Crepus had died. Your parents, not wanting you to be distracted by the loss and dent your studies over such matters, opted to refrain from informing you of the grave news. It has also been a year since you started writing letters to Diluc and never received a reply.

"Time will go by quickly, and you'll be back before you know it," the Sumeru denizen beside you reassured you of your lack of correspondence and you offered a smile at his niceties. It doesn't worry you that Diluc wasn't able to contact you like so, you only wish that he was able to receive your little notes so he's reminded to take care of himself.

Yet as you pass the envelope to the postman, there was still an uneasy feeling on the back of your mind. You turn around with a curious hum, calmly and slowly scanning the grounds of the Academia before walking once again to catch up with your senior, clutching the silver ring close to your chest as you fell back into idle chatter.

Once you've disappeared behind the doors of your next class, a lone man stands straight on one of the tower's roof. The warm wind of Sumeru washes by him in a force enough to whisk away his hood, but he did not care. He did not care over the way his red hair spills all over his shoulders as it danced with the wind.

Diluc only heaved a sigh before leaping back into the shadows on his last day in the desert nation, finding no proper clue and heading to the next nation over. But not before stealing a freshly folded letter from the shelf of a certain post office.

Two years. Two years. Sumeru Academia sent you off on graduation with both striking awe and somber disappointment. After losing the prodigy Lisa, they were now losing you, the now renowned master practitioner of economics. You did so well, SO WELL in fact, that your four years stay ended in just two because of your numerous acceleration as a year in you're already conversing with the modern founders of the practice.

They wanted you to stay longer but you've had your fair share of knowledge and waiting. Everyone knew of your relationship predicament, understanding where you're coming from, yet to leave another prodigy to Mondstadt. It was unnerving for them, but your smile had been nothing but reassuring. You comforted those with the promise of correspondence and accommodation, if they so wish to find time and pass by Mondstadt in the future.

And hence you find yourself in Dawn Winery, your luggage and naginata as your only companion. You barged in like nobody's business and started looking around for anyone- Kaeya, Uncle Crepus, Diluc- yet no one showed up. Servants are scarce and almost non-existent, you were confused beyond comprehension.

A set of footsteps echoed behind you and you twisted around in excitement, only to see one of the higher attendants you still remember, Elzer. "M-Mistress (Y/N)! Y-You're ali- you're here!" You cocked your head to the side, unsure of how to take his slip up.

Ah, right, priorities. "Have you seen where anyone is? Kaeya, Master Crepus, Diluc? I passed by here first since it's on the way but I can't find anyone!" The gravity of the change gnawed at you from the pit of your stomach, and you nibbled at your bottom lip at the flash of emotions that passed his face.

"We're unsure where Master Diluc is currently, but Master Kaeya is in Mondstadt-" A lead! Diluc must be patrolling somewhere in the city anyways so you bolted out of the mansion, thanking the man before he can finish answering all your questions. As you left so loudly, in your wake the other servants were now aware of your presence, and the feeling of dread revives in the Winery.

Two years must have gone by longer than you expected it to be, this thought passed you as you went through the main gates of the City of Freedom. The knights that were usually on guard are those you've never seen before, and the people around you barely spared you a glance with no recognition. Even the ones stationed at the entrance of the Ordo Favonius HQ were completely new when you went over to ask.

"Have you seen- do you know where the uhm," you paused in remembrance, "The Cavalry Captain. Do you know where he is?" With how new they were, you figured Diluc would be known by his title instead.

One of them nods and pointed at the Cathedral, "Yes, Ma'am. He's just finished an expedition and are conversing with the healers in the church." Finally, an exact location! You thanked them and flew off once again.

And so you found yourself in front of the altar of the anemo archon, alone in the completely silent establishment. There were no whispers to guide you or people to tell you where he is, it was too quiet, and you were turning helpless. Offering your bow to the statue you turned to walk back down the aisle, only to see a familar figure staring at you as if you were a ghost haunting-

"(Y/N)?" You gasped and ran towards him.

"Kaeya! You're here!" You embraced him softly, careful of the confusing clothing and the hanging polearm on your back. He embraced you just the same, a hearty laugh masking the nervousness on the back of his throat.

"Aren't you supposed to come home two years later?" Kaeya inquired as he stepped back from the hug, suddenly smirking, "Or are you telling me you ran away from school?"

You smacked his arm with a whine at such a preposterous accusation, harder than you'd intended as you heard him wince. Oh goodness, your training with Cyno really made you strong. "Ahhh, no, no! I finished early because I was too good ahah, who would've thought!" The blunette let out a rare snort on that of which only spurred on your laughter.

The familiarity of another had eased the tension on your shoulders as you conversed freely about everything that had transpired for you, how things had been and- you've realized now just how tired you were from the long travel you'd gone through even tho you were used to such lifestyle when you were young.

After things had died down, you finally asked, "Where's Diluc?" And the twinkle of lax delight hardened at the question. He took a few seconds to start as his eye shifted left and right, and your knees were shaking from the implications-

And then he finally told you everything. The death of Crepus. Diluc giving up his Vision. Him disappearing for two year, without return. All the disaster that had happened the moment you left.

Your legs gave out as your knees hit the floor painfully, it will probably bruise later but you couldn't get yourself to care. If you hadn't left that day, would it have gone differently? Would you be able to make him stay? You should have been there to comfort him, to be by his side and yet-

Please tell me you're joking, you cried out so desperately to Kaeya who dropped down to gather you into his arms. But you knew better than that, he knew you knew better than that, so he didn't answer. And the altar behind you listened to the echoed screams and cries of a maiden abandoned by grief and love.

And Kaeya stayed for as long as you needed him to be. And in the back of his mind, a bitterness bit—

That should have been Diluc, holding you and comforting you.

That should be him, showing you where Crepus Ragnvindr's gravestone lies to pay your respects.

That should have been him who stayed.

It had been almost two years now since you've gone back to Mondstadt, almost four years since Diluc disappeared, together with him he took away your hopes and promises. The talk about your arranged marriage had become taboo to the people who still knows, but they don't comment on the ring that still lingered around your finger.

Besides finally taking over the business in Mondstadt (your parents had established one in Fontaine while you were away) and being pursued by scholars all over the world, you've been dealing with the pain silently and alone. Numbing soon. Every passing day with no news of him claws at the idea of him being alive even, and the thought sickens you to death.

It was one of those nights when you couldn't sleep and had decided to stroll around the city during the dead of the night to clear your head. Your parents had sent you a letter of recall to Fontaine, asking you to leave the business to the managers. They didn't exactly put it into words, but you knew your parents better than anyone: you should stop hoping he'd return, was what they wanted to say.

You rubbed your forearm as you continued your walk. It must have been your time with Sumeru that made you so vulnerable to the cold now, was your thought process as another chilly wind passed by you. And then you heard it—

An echoed cackle and a crackle of icicles.

The hairs on the back of your neck stood straight as you stumbled to the side, narrowly missing a flying icicle. Thank goodness Sumeru Academia required combats class, you thought as you darted straight through the alleys, the Abyss Mage hot on pursuit. This was the worst time to leave your freaking polearm at your house, you screamed at yourself as you vaulted over empty crates before coming out of another street.

“Look out!” A gruff voice shouted as a sudden wall of black? fire manifested behind you. You heard the icicle melting as it touched the wall and dissipated with it, revealing a figure cloaked in pure black. Back turned to you, the Abyss Mage continued its assault which was now focused on the intruder. And their clash started just like that.

You hopped back when another barrage of icicle rain was summoned. This guy had a Vision(?) but it was something you’ve never seen before, nor had encountered in your classes about the elements. You can’t leave him now, not like this, and so you picked up a slab of wood from a broken crate. Abyss mages have shields yes, you need to break that.

Without a moment’s hesitation, you leaped over the ledge that’s in level with the floating enemy (again, thanks for the acrobatic lessons) and brought down the hard wood over the mage’s head. It produced a sickening crunch as the shield broke under pressure as well as fall through and hit it square in the head! It dropped back to the floor momentarily, and it made you aware that you two were plummeting to the ground.

You pulled your limbs close and braced for impact- “Shit, I got you.” You felt something cold and thin wrap around your body before it guided you to the cloaked person’s awaiting arms, stumbling a bit at the weight. You grunted at the inertia before you met eyes with orbs of red within a shadow, it looked at you widely behind an owl mask(?) and you looked back with a squint. Who?

Your little moment was interrupted when the Abyss Mage started rising from the ground again, slightly swaying from the blow you hit it with earlier. In alarm, you quickly placed your feet down to stand, the chains around you easily slinking away back to the person’s cloak. The man then stands in front of you protectively, cursing under his breath, “You need to leave, it’s too dangerous.” There was a weird strain in his voice now.

This made you scoff, so loud and offended, that you felt the man be taken aback by your response. “You can’t even disable the shield in time,” you ignored the way he seemingly cringed back to this cloak as you stood next to him, slab of wood at the ready, “Don’t worry about me, I had lessons.” Now it was his turn to scoff but relented anyways, as if he knew well enough that you’re not falling back easily.

Batarangs flew from his cloak as it hit the Abyss on the arms and chest, screeching in pain at the unexpected attack. You rushed over and clubbed his hand that held the staff, kicking it far away when it was dropped. A chain then latches around its waist as it was pulled to the cloaked man, who delivered a quick kick to its stomach when it neared, sending it crashing to the wall.

That was so... exciting! You gasped at the thrill of the fight, slightly hopping and clapping at yourself as you smiled at the stranger with the widest grin you had mustered ever since you came back. His gait was tense when walked up to you, past you, in front of you as he looked around for any onlookers or dwellers of the night that had witnessed the commotion. “That was really cool, what kind of power was that? You look like you’ve done this multiple times before.”

You heard the most subtlest sigh when you were sure you whisked away his attention, slowly he turns to his side but not sparing you a direct view. From what you can tell, he wore a LOT of black under that black cloak. “You shouldn’t have stayed,” he started with a sigh as he finally turned to you fully, “Who knows what could have happened-”

“WATCH OUT!” You shoved him by the shoulder as you threw your slab with a force so mighty it broke the face of the mage, immediately disintegrating into ashes and dissipating with the wind. Under you your companion grunted from the pain of being thrown to the floor, and when he looked up, he was scrambling to catch you again.

The icicle impaled through your thigh coaxed out and coated with blood as dark spots danced on your vision from the pain and blood loss. The man pulled you up against his chest, hushed whispers of panic begging you to stay awake as he was wary of the shrapnel still in you.

But you were stubborn. And so you fainted.

The next day when you awoken in your bed, the night before would have easily been passed off as a fever dream if not for the bandaged injury on your leg that had you immobilized for days. When the citizens of Mond finally got a hold of you and asked about the incident, you gave them as much information as you could about your hero,

“He was an unknown hero that appeared at the dark of the night.”

Days passed by and you heard rumors in passing of the one named Darknight Hero. The name made you facepalm.

The faithful day happened three weeks after the encounter with the "Darknight Hero" when you finally recovered from your injury, able to walk around and do your daily rounds of work and deliver the paperwork of the margins of the sales and cost-effectiveness of your family's business in connection to Angel's Share. You had prepared so many documents all hailing from your numerous studies in the Academia, graphs and studies of the data Elzer had expertly combined for you lay in your arms in a bundle of folders.

The tower had to be carried by two hands, and you grunted as you bumped your bottom against the thick door of the tavern, using your hip to swing it open with mighty force. "Ugh, Charles, here's all the economic reports I finally finished after three week-" if not for the man himself, the floor of the tavern would have turned into a sea of papers as your fingers trembled and slackened at the sight.

His towering build, the thick main of red hair, it's all him. The moment the weight from your arms departed, you immediately stumbled over to him, eyes wide and mouth open to call out to him, "Diluc-!" But he flinched away from you instead of meeting you halfway through. And that slight movement halted you in your tracks, eyes wide with horror and pain from the rejection.

Diluc's eyes widened at the change, his gaze passing at Charles before back at you, reluctantly gesturing at your bandaged thigh he spoke, "You should be careful with that injury, don't want it to open up." His voice had a rough edge to it now, deeper yet still veiled with velvety smoothness.

"You're here," your disappointment from earlier was changed from the enlightenment of the situation. His jaw tightened at the sight of the tears that started falling from your eyes, "You're alive!"

Forced away by Charles with the promise of taking over the tavern for the day, you and Diluc took a stroll around the city. Enthusiastic of catching up, you talked endlessly about your years in the Academia and the last two years that you had stayed in Mondstadt before his arrival. Yet opposite of your upbeat chatter, Diluc stayed silent and forward-looking, offering only nods and grunts in between your pauses that asks him if he was still listening. Everytime your hand brushed his when you walked too close, he'd immediately pull his hand back and step away from your personal space.

It was a one-sided conversation. And it ended quickly as it had started.

You stood now at the stairs of the cathedral, overlooking the imposing statue of the Anemo archon. Your location made you remember something, and you opened up another topic, "Your brother, Kaeya told me about what happened four years ago." His apathetic gaze suddenly turned cold as his shoulders tensed. "Diluc, I'm sorry for what happened and-"

"He's not my brother, (Y/N)," you've never thought there would come a day when you'd hear such venom come from his sweet lips. Nor the cold glare that was now in full view, directed at you, "And you shouldn't go around trusting that guy, he's nothing but trouble."

The lump now stuck in your throat prevented you from responding, but you figured you didn't have the chance to do so anyways. As Diluc had ended his warning, he turned away and started walking back to the direction of the tavern, muttering something about work needed to be done.

You tried to reach for his hand before he could have gone too far, but you froze a few seconds away- and then he was gone, out of your grasp, leaving you alone at the steps of the cathedral without a look to spare.

Your cradled your hand to your chest as you felt your eyes water again, the overwhelming distance now opening the truth in your gaping heart as you wept in silence: The promise ring was missing from his hand.

Days had gone by after that where you sat in the background in idle wait, observing as subtle as you can be, hovering around him. The Diluc that you once knew was different from the Diluc who disappeared for four years, and the differences screamed at your face at every one you picked up:

His soft gaze now seems hardened and hooded, as cold as the cryo slimes and as deep as the ocean floor. Whenever you look at them, you always feel as tho he was years away, in a place unreachable. Even when they fall on you, there's a hidden emotion behind them, but they never once softened at the sight of you.

Around his hands were thick gloves of either pure red or another black-red variant. They were rough and never off, hot and grazed with years of use. It was different, so different from the white ones you had gifted him on his birthday. You placed a grape on his palm once and giggled at the memory, expecting him to look at you with recollection, but he only stared at the grape before shaking his head. And he turns away from you to get back at his work.

Diluc's hair was longer than you've ever seen before. It reached past the middle of his back when it had only grew by the shoulder when you've last seen it. It was fluffier and wilder, held up by a ponytail that you can't even see past the thickness. You loved running your hand through it before and Diluc had always felt at ease when you do that; you reached your hand out to touch the ends of his long hair, but he immediately turned to you before you could even feel it on the edge of your fingertips, caught by the cold squint of his eyes. No matter how many attempts, he always managed to stop you.

Another thing that had changed was his wardrobe. There were barely traces of the white knight aesthetic he had when you were still young, no, now he felt shrouded in the darkness of the knight. Made to blend with the shadows, he dons all black besides his undershirt. He resembles no trace of the knight he once was when you look at him.

The last detail you hated the most was the way he had been... secretive to you, and anyone in general. For this reason alone, you barely visited the Winery now, only coming there for business purposes or to converse with the servants that still remembered you. Whenever other matters were to be discussed, you're almost immediately ushered out by one of his men, no questions asked. This had became so commonplace that you started seeing yourself out the moment the air felt unwelcoming.

The more you notice, the more you felt farther away from the Diluc you knew. But this was the same man you loved, and still love. The grief had changed him, the disappearance had changed him, but nothing can change the fact that he was the same person that held your hand when it felt cold.

Speaking of, you clutched the hand you spoke of as you felt the breeze pass by you. The sea of Cecilias danced with an orchestrated flutter, as if singing to you in music of their petals grazing one another. Ah, you realized, this was the same exact place you first met Diluc.

"Is your hand cold again?" He spoke from the table under the gazebo where you delivered the perfectly arranged document. This time you dealt with the matter of tax revenue and compiled the business proposals of those that had attended the party he hosted with the seneschal.

You simply nodded and he sighed. The disappointment breaking your heart into a million pieces, "You should know by now to wear gloves or long sleeves whenever you're out. You must have gotten lackluster due to the climate of Sumeru, you should fix that."

You felt the tears bite at your eyes painfully again. As of recently, you've been crying a lot more than you had ever been in your life. And yet these ones flowed with ease, without a hiccup or a sob, almost liberating. "I'll be leaving for Fontaine tomorrow," the shuffling of the papers stopped behind you, "Flint will be handling the management of the franchise here, I've taught him the necessary computations so you can trust the reports he'll give to the Winery. Mother and father wants me to focus on the expansion of the business, after all."

There was a moment of silence before the shuffling began again and with that pushed the final sword into your heart. You bowed your head, smiling to the Cecilias that caught your tears in their petals, "Thank you for everything, make sure you take good care of yourself, okay?" You didn't know if you were talking to the Cecilias or Diluc.

But you felt lighter than ever, as if the last chain that pulled you down were finally broken.

And you took a small step, and then another, bigger one this time. For the first time since you're back to the city, you finally breathed in relief and without restraints.

Soon you were making distance and you were finally ready to go,

until a gloved hand pulled you back. Your gasp caught into your throat as your head whipped to stare at him, his eyes just as wide as yours. "What," he breathed out helplessly and you've noticed how short his breathing was, did he chase you? "What do you mean? You're not leaving forever, right?"

Forever. You felt the warmth of the gloved ones in your hand squeeze as you saw a faint light return in the depths of his glossy eyes, and you felt it—

The reassurance of your promise, as you squeezed back—

Underneath his thick gloves, red and black, you've finally noticed—

If he hadn't finally let his hand find yours, you wouldn't have felt the ring hidden underneath the cloth.

You beamed at him with eyes full of adoration and pure hope, of a grin pearly white that it almost shone as it caught the sun, he felt burned by it— but before he could escape, he was tackled to the ground with loud laughter.

@boxofteenageideas @creation-magician @your-local-venti-simp @indigodreamtime47

#genshin impact #exile.flower #genshin impact diluc #diluc x Reader #exile.pocketwatch #this may or may not have a part 3 #goodness this took so long and with so many errors #Actually teared up a bit skskskkss #genshin impact x reader