#they tried to make her sympathetic but just said 'oh shes sad sometimes'

[hostilemuppet]

wild how a woman can be the protagonist of the majority of the movies and television shows in a franchise and then just get shunted to the side, often without malice, by people who consider themselves fans of the property. i'm talking about poppy but this is a wider problem of insidious fandom misogyny.

i talk a lot about fandom misogyny and male favouritism but it is... so much more egregious in trolls bc of how the protagonist is a woman and the franchise seems mostly targeted to little girls. its like if the mlp fandom zeroed in on, like, raritys dad. or shining armour. or fluttershys brother

#ask #like. obviously my faves to draw rn are both dudes. i feel very bad about it actually! i feel like i am betraying my core beliefs! #but im. yknow. acknowledging it. i could definitely do more with the female characters! #its one of the reasons i tried REALLY hard to like b4rb on my rewatch! unfortunately. i do not think she was a well written antagonist #they tried to make her sympathetic but just said 'oh shes sad sometimes' #they did something similar with v3n33r and i also think he as a load of shit 😭 at least your sister owned it dumbass

[nights-legacy]

What Agreement?! - Bakugou x Reader

Main Masterlist ~ MHA Masterlist ~ #2

I hope you like this!

Requested by @simply-trash5

1722 Words

+ You and Bakugou had been close ever since 1st year. After graduation, you two stayed close. From working at the same agency to being with each other's go for almost everything. Save for the few things he only shares with Deku and Kirishima. You thought from how personal and soft he sometimes acted with you, that he shared your feelings for him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Y/N's POV

I sighed as the train ride seemed to take forever. I could hear the whispers and clicks of people's phones from both sides of me. I ignored it, having got used to it over the past couple of years. Finally the train made it to the station and I quickly got off while dialing my phone.

"Hello?" Mina chirped on the other end.

"Hey Mina. Sorry I'm late. I'm just a few blocks away so I'll be there in a few minutes.

"Great! I was starting to wonder. But Y/N, to have is something you should know. Kat..." The sound of some fangirls coming towards me caught my attention.

"Damn. I thought they were going to leave me alone. You'll have to tell me later Mina. I'll be there in a few minutes." I hung up the phone.

After about 10 minutes, I was able to slip away to get to the party. I walked a few blocks to the restaurant. I was greeted first by Sero outside who was out for a smoke. I found Mina next who as soon as she saw me, she looked panicked a bit.

"What's wrong Mina? You look like you've seen the worst thing in the world." I chuckled. "Where's Bakugou? You mentioned him."

"Not the worst for me but for you maybe." I gave her an amused but curious look.

"Okay now you have to tell me." We walked into the actual room for our party.

"Well let's just say, um... Katsuki..." I listened to her until Katsuki's voice caught my attention. I quickly zeroed in on him, only for my stomach to drop by what I saw. Katsuki was standing across the room next to Kirishima. Kirishima wasn't the deal, it was Katsuki's arm around some girl I've never seen before, shoulders. "Yeah that."

"He has a... date?"

"Yeah. I tried to warn you on the phone. I'm sorry."

"I, um... That's fine." I stuttered.

"Y/N?" Katsuki looked over at that moment and saw me. He waved me over.

"I'll talk to you later, Mina." I walked over to the three standing there. Kirishima and I swapped greetings before he gave me a sympathetic smile and walked away.

"Y/N. This is Maya. My girlfriend. Maya,  this my best friend Y/N."

"Nice to meet you." I shook her hand. "Wow Kats. A girlfriend. I had no idea."

"Yeah. We wanted to keep it on the down low from everyone until we got more comfortable With each other."

"Oh that makes sense. Especially with our crazy friend group." I forced a chuckle. Plus, to prove my point Denki screamed something across the room before the lights flickered.

"Spark plug..." Kat muttered. Maya giggled and set her hand on Kat's chest. My throat closed off at seeing how close they were. Kat still didn't like us touching him outside a high five, a shoulder touch, or back slap even after all these years.

"Well, I'm going to greet a few of the others. It was nice meeting you Maya."

"It was nice meeting you too!" She said sweetly. I smiled and walked away. I could feel my eyes stinging as I walked towards a blurring figure with purple hair.

"Hey there Stormy." Shinso greeted me softly. I wiped my eyes. I looked up and he gave me a sad smile. 

"Hi." I greeted. 

"Come here." He held out his arm. I settled into his side and he hugged me tight. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It was bound to happen."

"Yeah. But we all thought it would be with you." He said softly. "Rooting for it actually." 

"Yeah. Sorry to disappoint."

~

As the weeks went by, Kat invited me out to hang with him in Maya. I went most of the time but eventually I started to distance myself from him. Kats kept calling to hang out but I made every excuse to say no. I even started to pair up more with other heroes for shifts.

"Okay. I'm heading out for the day." I said as I packed up my stuff. I stood up from my desk and grabbed my bag.

"See ya later." Sero said while saving over his shoulder. "Oh by the way. Katsuki is getting real antsy about why you've been avoiding him."

"I haven't been avoiding him. I've been avoiding ... them, together." I admitted. He sighed and turned to me.

"Y/N, babe. I know seeing him with someone hurt but he is still my best friend. You keep acting like this, you're going to hurt him."

"I know." I plopped down in my chair. "It just hurts seeing the man I'm in love with with someone else. I mean it was bound to happen but I didn't think... I mean, Kat never showed interest in dating much, ever."

"I know. It took us all by surprise. Even Deku."

"I just can't stand the sight of them being all lovey. It's like a knife to the heart thrice times over."

"Um... Y/N."

"And I'm so in love with him that I don't know if I can get past this."

"Y/N..."

"I can't help but love him, Sero." I said before looking up at him. He looked a little pale and gave me an apologetic smile. I gave him a confused look.

"You what?!" A familiar voice snapped from my right. I quickly looked to see Kat standing there with a confused glare.

"Why didn't you tell me?!" I panicked, looking at Sero.

"I tried!" I looked back at Kat and he stood there with his cams crossed.

"Kat."

"Explain." He said in a condescending tone. The tone made me a little upset. And hurt. I looked away and got up.

"I'm leaving." I walked towards the elevator.

"Oh no you don't." He snapped and followed. I rolled my eyes and covered him in fog so he couldn't follow.

Later that night, I was sitting on my couch watching some TV. There was a familiar knock on the door that made me freeze up. I looked at the foyer before getting up. I walked to the door and opened it.

"Really? Fog?" He said unimpressed.

"Worked didn't it." I said. He rolled my eyes. I went to close the door.

"Wait!" He put a hand on the door keeping it open.

"Kat, I can't do this right now."

"Y/N. Please let me in. We need to talk." He said quietly, trying to hide the fact that he was pleading.

"I don't want to." I started to close the door again.

"It wasn't real!" He shouted, panicked. I paused and reopened the door.

"What wasn't real?" He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. I finally noticed how disheveled he looked, like he had gotten dressed in a flurry and his hair was entirely out of place.

"The relationship with Maya." He said. I was silent for a minute.

"WHAT?!" I exclaimed. He bit his lip. "Get in here!"

"Okay." He stepped in and kicked off his shoes. We walked in farther.

"Explain!" I snapped.

"Maya and I made this little agreement."

"Agreement?"

"Yeah um."

"So you lied to everyone?" I said in disbelief

"Well, yeah." He said. "But..."

"Katsuki!" I scoffed. I was pissed at him. "Why would you do this?! This isn't like you. You don't lie!"

"I know but..." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I just can't believe you would do this and..."

"Will you just listen to me?" He snapped. I looked at him only half surprised.

"Yeah, yeah." I nodded. He sat down.

"I did it because I thought it would make you jealous and if you had feelings for me, you would speak up or do something. When you didn't I figured you didn't have feelings for me." He sighed heavily and sat back on the couch. "But then I heard you today."

"Shit. Right." I muttered and hugged myself.

"Maya agreed to help me and I shouldn't have done it but I did. It hurt us both in the end." He let his head fall into his hands. I had never seen him act like this, so it must really be bothering him. I sat down next to him. "I nearly caused myself to nearly lose another best friend. Again."

"You haven't lost me." I said softly. He looked over at me.

"I haven't?" I could see the doubt hidden in his eyes.

"No. I wasn't going to leave you. I just needed time to get past the fact you were with someone else. As you probably heard me say to Sero, I'm in love with you and it hurt to see you with Maya." I admitted. "I had to face it sooner or later but I wasn't going anywhere."

"Oh. Good." We sat there in an awkward silence. I was looking down at my lap. "Hey, look at me."

"What?" I looked up at him. He took a big breath. Cupping my chin, he moved in closer.

"Tell me to stop and we can go back to being friends." He said. There was a beat of silence before I pulled him in the rest of the way by his shirt. The kiss was the complete opposite then you would think coming from Bakugou Katsuki. It was sweet and longing when I thought it would be, well rough and hard.

"We are not going back to being just friends." I said when I pulled away. He chuckled and slithered his arms around my hips, pulling me close. He pulled me into another more passionate kiss.

"Fuck no." He said breathlessly.

"I think we need to thank Maya majorly. We owe her big time." I chucked.

"Oh she benefited from the arrangement too." I lifted an eyebrow in confusion and curiosity.

"How so?"

"She was trying to make the girl she likes jealous too. Except, it worked in her favor." He huffed and did his trademark Bakugou pout. I giggled. I looked up at the clock.

"Okay come on." I stood up, holding out my hand. He gave me a bitch face but took my hand anyway.

"What?"

"We're going out for something to eat." I pulled him up. "And you're paying."

"Fine but I get to pick the place." He smirked.

"Fine by me."

Tag List: @iris-shihabi @cl0verbby @lilparcheesie @keigos-baby-bird @evilunicorns4minions

#imagine #imagines #my hero academia #mha x reader #mha #mha imagines #boku no hero academia #my hero academia imagines #bnha imagines #bnha #bakugou #katsuki bakugo #bakugou x reader #bakugou imagine #bakugou x y/n #my hero academia x reader #mha x y/n #my hero x reader #bnha x reader #boku no hero imagines #mha bakugo x reader #mha bakugou

[eisdendrobium]

fly high, my little dove

pairings : ayato x reader summary : you've loved ayato for so long yet never once had he return the feeling, so with a heavy heart you decides to let go.

"i like you, Lord Kamisato."

you could see his eyes widened and a surprised chuckle left his mouth. "what is it that you like in me?" strong yet curious eyes stare at you, waiting for your answer

"well.. you're kind and.. charming, i mean you could protect inazuma and fight,, it's really cool you know..?" you answered with such uncertainty in you.

i mean, it's not that you're making up excuses for liking the Yashiro Commissioner, it's just the way his eyes stare at you so intently with an expression you couldn't read.

he opened his mouth to answer but nothing came out for a second-probably thinking what he's going to say.

"what makes you suddenly say all of this to me?"

"i- well.. i made a bet with Miko, she said that if i got accepted at a company in sumeru i should confess to you, and... i got accepted"

he nods his head, and stays silent for a moment before speaking again. "but you're just confessing right? not..." your eyes widen and you shake your head "no! of course not! ...i'm just confessing"

suddenly an unexpected adrenaline runs in you and you muster up your courage to ask him your last question,

"well... how about you?"

"well i don't really have any plans on leaving inazuma right now.." a way to make the situation more awkward ayato.

"no- i mean.. do you see yourself dating..." you mutter, eyes casting downwards, suddenly losing your braveness

"pardon? could you please repeat that? i didn't quite catch it"

"do you see yourself dating, Lord Kamisato?" "i'm sorry?" if it weren't for the suffocating atmosphere you were sure you'd strangle this man to death for making you repeat that three time. but you repeat your question anyway, making sure it's louder this time.

and how you could see the way his face fell into hesitation, he turns his head to the side and let out a breath "uhm.. i'm sorry, but.. i don't see myself dating anyone right now"

ouch.

you inhale a deep breath and plaster a big smile on your face "oh, yeah! it's fine, i totally understand!"

Ayato gave you a small sympathetic smile "sorry" and proceed to leave the scene.

Miko, who's waiting not far from the scene went out of her hiding spot after Ayato walks away. You could see the sad smile on her face as she embraces you.

tears starts pouring out of your eyes while you try so desperately wipe them off but it never seem to stop flowing anyway.

you tell yourself that it was better to tell him now and move on later than never telling him how you feel, over and over again yet somehow, it hurts. so damn much.

Miko tries to comfort you yet it just made you feel worse "shh... it's okay.. let it all out.. it's his loss rejecting an angel like you.."

his words of rejection keeps playing inside your head, and oh how your heart broke even more every time you remember. You feel like a fool. Loving a Yashiro Commissioner and thinking he would feel the same way as you.

---

ever since that day, you starts to avoid ayato at all cost, i mean how could you not? every time you look at him you feel the urge to break. So, you disappear, always leaving the scene whenever he enters or hiding amongst the crowd whenever he's around.

the only time you see each other is when it was work. even at work you tried your best to avoid looking at his figure. and so did he.

---

sometimes you overthink, about him, about you. What is it that you really love about him? years you've spent loving him yet never once did he gave you the same loving feeling. Small, fragile, awkward, and disappointment. that was all he ever gave you - all that he made you feel.

loving Kamisato Ayato is torture, a torture so addictive you couldn't escape it. Falling harder every day even when all he gives you is his cold gaze and fake smile.

you could see how he laugh and smile around thoma and the traveler. You also heard one of his speech a few weeks after that day.

"if an opportunity comes to you, treat it like you would treat something dear"

it felt like a void was sucking you in and you couldn't help but chuckle. Of course, if you were an opportunity he wouldn't treat you like how he did all these time. If you were an opportunity he would smile and laugh with you like he did with Thoma and the traveler.

---

finally. it's the day of your departure, three months after that day. You could finally be free. Bidding your last goodbye to everyone, you stops when you were in front of him. "i guess this is it, thank you for everything Ayato" you look up at him, seeing how his violet orbs are dancing around, reflecting the sun.

this was the very first time you've ever called him by his actual name, not the usual 'Lord Kamisato'.

"yeah, thank you for everything too" he replied, eyes darting away from you to the ship you're boarding.

and right after that, you left.

---

a year had passed since you left inazuma. happy to say you've moved on from Ayato, your life is amazing, you love your job, you've met loads of friends, and.. you may have met a new person to put your interest on.

but you missed your homeland, so you decides to take a visit there.

arriving at inazuma you were greeted by Miko and Thoma. greeting them and everyone else you knew along the way before finally meeting him again.

Thoma gesture him to come when he sees you. Walking towards each other you finally lock eyes with Ayato. after many years not being able too.

Thoma and Miko seemed to understand something and stops their track to give you and Ayato some time alone.

"Ayato." his name came out so smoothly out of your mouth, yet you keep your tone firm.

"[name]" he spoke softly in return, violet eyes never leaving yours

you give him a small nod

"...you finally say my name" you said breathlessly.

a/n : reblogs are greatly appreciated! and please feel free to comment what you think about this fic ^^

#ayato x reader #ayato angst #kamisato ayato #genshin impact #genshin angst #kamisato ayato angst

[makos-ribcage]

Make your heart feel a little better ㅡ ༝ ˚ ｡⋆ 𓇼 ⋆｡ ˚ ༝

[] - baizhu notices your sh scars

𓇼gn!reader (wrote it with a fem in mind, but realized i didn't wrote anything pointing towards that, in case i did and didn't noticed, do let me know)

! - self harm scars mention, insecurities

this is going to be written on my own experiences and how i wish people would react, also how i feel when other people see them, yet i tried to make it as relatable as possible :)

You were a mess, you were aware of it.

You grew up being a shy, introverted person. You went unnoticed most of the times. But as time passed and you grew up, you wanted to be something different, you really wanted to be like those extroverted people you saw, those who can talk freely to anyone, those people that could bring life to anyplace. And you really tried to become one of those people.

But you couldn't, for some reason something was always missing, and it would always make you wonder, "What, exactly, is wrong with me?". Yet you managed to keep your sympathetic made up personality to those who didn't noticed those awkward moments where you didn't knew what to say and said something weird instead, they either didn't noticed or didn't cared. Despite all of that, you were still trying. And as you grew up and talked with more people and made more mistakes that learnt from, you started being more and more convincing.

But sometimes, late at night, you would remember how your personality was made up, and you knew that if you started to act how you really were, you would go unnoticed again. Those late night moments when the little voices in your head calling you names were a little more loud than usual led to certain scars in both your arms. And as you kept growing up, new ones appeared.

You never cared to hide them, when they were few, you would say you got them at a battle, or a cat on the streets attacked you. Once they were enough for it to be suspicious, people were too afraid to ask, it was obvious that if they did asked it was going to be a really awkward conversation, so they would just ignore them. Somehow some people didn't even noticed they were there, you were friendly, smiley, happy and could talk to anyone, how could someone so joyful do such thing? Every now and then you would get someone who would ask why you did that to yourself, but you would just change the topic awkwardly.

As long as no one mentioned them, you would forget about them, remembering only on those nights where new ones would become present. But during the day, when you were putting your little act in front of people, convincing enough to even convince yourself that you were actually happy, you would forget about them, and even see them as something stupid you did when you were feeling "kinda" sad.

That morning you were helping Baizhu collect herbs for the pharmacy, you two met each other not too long and discovered you really like each others company.

The first time you talked with each other was when Qiqi put on a commission to the adventurer's guild to some made up fruit that she believed it existed and Baizhu played along with her to see how far she will get. Katherine asked you to go check if it was an actual serious commission and once you asked Baizhu about it he asked you to play along for a bit.

Some weeks passed and now you were keeping him company collecting herbs in a kinda dangerous zone, you were there to keep him company and help him in case he got in trouble.

At some point, he asked you to hand him his basket where he was putting all of those herbs that you didn't even knew the name of but was too scared to ask in case he would think you were stupid.

As you reached your hand, palm facing up, totally forgetting about those silly scars of yours, he paused his movements letting out a small "Oh" sound. Keeping a neutral expression, he didn't look surprised, annoyed, sad, pitiful or anything like that, just his usual face.

You cursed mentally, but didn't move, with time you realized people would only pay more attention to it if you desperately tried to hide it. You kept your hand in the same position, praying that he would react the way everyone does: absolutely not caring.

But your body froze when he took the basket away from you hand at the same time he grabbed your forearm to avoid that you moved it away from him.

He caressed the top of your arm gently, feeling the texture and relief of the scars. You wondered what the fuck was he doing before you remembered the fact that he is a doctor.

"I might have some medicine to help the scars fade... And these ones seem rather... Recent" he finally made a different expression, furrowing in annoyance for a second, and you couldn't help but to feel like a bother.

"There's no need, Doctor Baizhu, they're... Actually old and I don't think they can fade any more, also I don't want to be a bother to you." You said, quickly and stumbling into your words, something that happened to you when you're nervous and something that would giveaway to people that you were actually really awkward with words.

He pushed one of those scars that were slightly purple, and as the pain became present, you tensed your muscles. Baizhu, of course, noticed that.

He looked up to you, a calm small smile on his face as he finally let your arm go.

"You're going to keep me company on the way to the pharmacy, aren't you? I'll bandage them with some healing herbs once we are there, it will be just a second, you won't be a bother". He reassured you. You just nodded slightly, giving up on making him leave the topic and just hoping he will forget the entire deal once he does what he wants to.

Both of you walked together in silence, and you couldn't help but think that you completely ruined any form of relationship with him, totally convinced that from now on, any attempt to interact with him was going to be awkward. Telling yourself that if you were actually happy and extroverted this wouldn't even be happening to you.

"Oh... I forgot to pick violetgrass..." He looked at you, with his typical polite and friendly smile. "Can you keep me company to pick some, maybe... In 3 days?" He asked you, and as those silly thoughts that he hated you disappeared, you nodded, now with a small smile yourself. "Sure!" You said, genuinely happy.

Once you were in the Bubu Pharmacy, on one of the rooms for his patients and sitting at the end of the bed while he was on a chair in front of you, the awkward ambience slapped you in the face once again. Your back arched, your knees to your chest and the arm he was treating extended in front of you.

A small table was next to him, with everything he needed. Some herbs for the scars and a different bunch of others for the ones that were more fresh, so they wouldn't open up again. You really liked the pharmacy, it was quiet and people usually wasn't around there for too long, it had nice views and everyone that resided in it was rather quiet, except Changsheng who just had to made a statement every now and then.

The herbs gave a nice aroma that reminded you of him, you couldn't help but think that you were going to smell like him for a while, and as the warm light of a candle and a bit of sun filtering through one of the windows illuminated both of you, you felt like you wanted to cry. It has been a while since the last time someone cared for your scars in a normal manner instead of pitying you or demanding explanations or just assuming the worst and asking you why. At the end of the day, you didn't knew why either.

But he wasn't demanding anything neither asking any questions, he just genuinely wanted your arms to feel a little better. Make your heart feel a little better.

You switched arms as he finished the one he was working with. "If you ever do it again, come see me right away, alright?" He seemed to think about his words for a few seconds before smiling at you with a slight chuckle. "Actually, come see me before you do it. Let's talk it over instead". He said calmly, staring into your eyes, making you feel save. He definitely wasn't judging you or thinking that you were insane. He wanted to help.

Your shoulders relaxed, and you let your legs hang at the end of the bed as you stared into his eyes as well. "I will." You said finally, smiling at him.

#baizhu #genshin impact #baizhu x reader #gender neutral reader #sh mention #fluff #soft #genshin impact baizhu #makO's works

[lizziecanrailme]

『First Love/Late Spring』

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Summary: Wanda is renewing her feelings of past events.

Warning: Insecurities | grieving | westview mentions | Wanda is a sad girl |

A/N: The title is inspired by “First Love/Late Spring” by Mitski.

―☆―

Wanda let out a shaky breath, turning on her side. Her body shuttered as she woke up from anything nightmare, a memory.

A memory of westview.

Where she hurt so many people.

Where she lost her family.

It’s been years since westview, since the horrific incident took place.

It was suppose to be a town where she and vision grew old together. Where they’d have a happy life as a couple, as parents, maybe even grandparents.

But of course that didn’t happen. It was taken away from her.

For once she wished she could have something for herself. She wished she could just be happy.

She tried to push those feelings down, because she’s moved on. She has you.

So why couldn’t she let go?

Why couldn’t she just forget about it. Actually move on and be happy with what she has.

She’d never understand

▂▂▂▂▂

You sighed as you entered you & wanda’s home. You both moved in together a couple months back. Wanda has been distant recently, which you didn’t judge her for. Everyone needed space sometimes, especially her. After all she’s went through, she needed her times of thinking.

When you heard complete silence, you weren’t exactly worried. You were just a little uneasy, so you put your stuff down and went to the bedroom. As you watched through the corridor, you heard little sniffles and muffled sobs. Eyebrows immediately furrowing, you put a pep in your step.

Once you reached the door that was cracked open, you peeked inside. Your face forming a sympathetic look. You lightly knocked on the door, so she was aware of your presence.

Her body froze, her breathing making an attempt to slow down. You entered the room, slowly making your way to her.

The bed creaked when you sat on it. You just sat there, looking at her with uncertainty. A few minutes passed before she turned to you. Her eyes were puffy and red, along with her face. Tears tracks are dried on her face.

It was a heartbreaking sight, seeing her so vulnerable. Even after all the times you’ve seen her emotions exposed, it always made your heart break. Soon her voice broke the silence, “I miss them.” It was a clear statement.

Her boys, oh, how precious they sounded. From all the stories she told of them, they must’ve been amazing kids.

She didn’t talk of vision much, unless you asked. You never felt jealous when she spoke of him. He was her first love, even if he was a synthezoid. He made her feel loved and important, he was and still is a major part of her life.

“All I wanted was him, all I wanted was a family.” she said. You didn’t say anything, wanting her to continue. “That’s all I wanted, but I was hurting people in the process.”

Shes talked about westview before, about how the accident changed a lot in her life. About how she hurt people, how she was hated by them. She has hurt people, but you still loved her.

It was complicated for Wanda, she wondered how you could love her. After all the pain she caused.

“Yes you’ve hurt people, but you tried to fix the situation. You’ve made mistakes, but who hasn’t? And besides, in the end you let them go, because you knew it was wrong.”

That’s what you said the last time you both had this conversation. It gave her some reassurance, but she wasn’t so sure now.

“Wanda, I know I can’t convince you to love yourself. But I want you to know that I love you. No matter how many mistakes you’ve made, I will always be by your side. You’re my whole world, and I hope you know that.”

Wanda was speechless, her eyes burning with tears. Her green eyes stared at you with so many mixed emotions. Much of the despair disappeared from her body, but some remained.

She’s hurt so many people around her, she’s afraid she’ll hurt you. Like she hurt vision, how she hurt the people in Lagos and in westview.

She was dangerous, just like Tony said.

But she loved you so much, how could she hurt you? She’d never hurt you on purpose and she’d never want to on accident. She’d do absolutely anything for you.

She was silent for a while as your words sunk in. She eventually fell forward and buried herself into your stomach. You smiled slightly, bringing your lips down to her forehead, giving her multiple kisses. This action wasn’t much, but to her it was everything.

Vision might’ve been her first love.

But you’re her late spring.

#wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff x reader #hurt/comfort #wanda maximoff hurt/comfort #tiny angst #nvm I take that back #Wanda misses vision #and her boys #wandavision

[skydoesthings]

hiii @starinthegarden my amazing mutual <3 i got you for the @mcythorrorgiftexchange , heres your pirates au shinyduo horrors

It's all your fault

Gem sighed, and yelled at Etho.  “Come on, Etho! Sweep the hull faster, it’s almost time for lunch!”

 She didn’t want to yell at him, at all, he was her amazing but sometimes pathetic older brother, but she’s been…touchy, lately. Dealing with some problems. Etho screamed back quickly.

“Jeez, Gem, I’m done, I’m done! Let’s eat.”

 “Finally.” Gem shot back, still upset. She hopped down from the crow’s nest on her beautiful ship, named Glamour. She was named by someone very special. And, yeah, Gem was a pirate. The captain of the seven seas. And she had a crew. An amazing one, but they were missing a member. The one closest to Gem. The one Gem had killed…

Etho walked up to Gem. “You okay?” He asked her, worried. “I’m fine, don’t worry about me. Come on, we need to round up the rest of the crew.” She said quickly, avoiding eye contact. As they walked, Gem felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up and heard a familiar voice whisper in her ear.

“Oh Gem~”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The whole crew was together for lunch. Well…most of the crew. Gem and Etho were there, and so were Grian, Scar, Impulse, Joel, False, Mumbo and Cleo. There was a person missing though…someone who couldn’t come back again. Her loss had hit Grian and Gem the hardest, and Grian couldn’t look Gem in the eyes anymore. They ate and talked, and as usual, the random creak of a floorboard and a sudden chilled breeze could be heard and felt only by Gem. She was the first to leave again, as usual. Scar tried to make her stay for longer, but everyone else had given up on her already. She went back to her cabin, sparring with the practise dummy. Suddenly, she heard soft footsteps, even though there was no one else in the room. She looked around, but no one else was there. Then, she heard the whispers again.

“Gem~”

“Y-you’re not real, you’re not real, you’re not real.” The familiar voice sent Gem spiralling, as she fell to her knees. “Aren’t I?”

And then she materialised in front of her.

“It’s just me, Gem!”  The woman smirked, clearly enjoying herself. “It’s just Pearl.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The crew had hit rough patches. They were under attack by other pirates. Gem and Pearl were furiously fighting, and they were in a position where Pearl was behind Gem. Both of them had been pushed to the edge of the ship, and Gem was currently parrying the captain of the other ship. The enemy captain was an amazing fighter, and he was getting closer and closer.

“No, no, stay back, stay BACK!” Gem slashed furiously with her sword, killing the captain. She was going to turn to Pearl and help her, but then she heard a whisper from behind.

“Gem…”

Pearl couldn’t see Gem’s fight. No, she didn’t even know that Gem was fighting. From Pearl’s point of view, Gem slashed her on purpose. Gem immediately turned around, panicked.

“Oh my gods, Pearl I’m so sorry, I-“

She stopped. There was a huge slice through Pearl’s stomach, which had been done by Gem’s sword. Pearl’s organs were falling out of her stomach, and tears fell from her eyes. “I…I trusted you, Gem…” Her eyes went glossy, and she fell overboard. Gem snapped, tears streaming down her face. “PEARL!”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gem shot awake, gasping for breath, sweat streaming down her forehead, tear marks on her face. “Pearl…”

Scar came in. “Gem? Are-are you okay?”

She sighed. “I’m fine, Scar, just a nightmare.”

He got a sympathetic look on his face. “Do you maybe want to talk about it?”

She nodded. “Yeah, that would help…it was that day again. It was like I was reliving that day again. I KILLED her, Scar. I did. I’m the worst captain.”

Scar looked sad. “Pearl…” He then hugged Gem tightly. “It wasn’t your fault, Gem, it was an accident.”

Gem started to cry. “She’s dead because of me! She trusted me, and I killed her!”

Scar looked at her, but his face began to change. “Are you thinking about how much of a monster you are?~ Poor Gem, killed her crewmate, and now feeling sorry for herself.”

He wasn’t Scar anymore. He was someone else. Gem couldn’t speak, as this person went on. “You’re right, you know. You are a monster. And, your whole crew hates you~”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“…Gem! GEM!” False was yelling, shaking her. Gem was on her knees on the floor, face white, unable to speak, but she managed to mutter out a word.

“F-False…” Gem didn’t trust herself to speak any more. She wasn’t sure what was real and what wasn’t anymore.

“Gem, are you okay? You weren’t responding to me at all.” False said, worried.

Gem sighed. “Do-don’t worry about me, False, I’m fine…”

“You don’t look fine.” False said flatly.

Gem changed the topic quickly. “So, what did you need me for?” She asked, getting up.

“Well, uh, Grian pushed Scar off of the poop deck-“ “HE DID WHAT?!”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gem fished Scar out of the water. “Seriously, Grian?”

“It was an accident!” He squawked indignantly.

An accident. The words echoed in Gem’s mind, but she suppressed it, and turned around to yell at Mumbo. “And you couldn’t do anything except stand there and laugh?!”

“I can’t swim!” He protested.

“My god…” Gem groaned, putting her head in her hands. “You three are actually impossible. Scar, don’t get pushed into the water again. Grian, please stop pushing Scar into the water. Mumbo, at least try to stop Grian from pushing Scar into the water. I’m going to go talk to more sensible people.” She said, reeling Scar in. “Thank you Gem…” Scar muttered, getting back on the poop deck.

Gem just sighed again, and left to talk to Impulse. “Why are those three such idiots?”

Impulse chuckled. “I don’t know, Gem!”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gem sat on the side of her bed, and sighed deeply. Like, really deeply. She was just so tired…the nightmares didn’t help either. She heard the strange creak of a floorboard again, but she just gave up, slumping onto her bed.

“Whatever’s there, go away. I’m not in the mood for dealing with you right now.” She groaned, burying her face in a pillow. She rolled over, exhausted with everything.

A breeze flew past again. It was always cold and creepy, but it seemed just a tad softer than usual. Then, it felt like the breeze had realized what it was doing and immediately got harsher. Okay then, the weird creepy breeze hates Gem too, apparently.

“Wallowing in self-pity again, Gem?~ Pathetic…”  The familiar voice rang in her ears, and as Gem tried to cover them, trying not to have a panic attack, the voice whispered again, louder more than anything. “That won’t work~”

The lights flickered slowly, and then shut off. The boat began rocking harshly, and lightning strikes were visible outside. The vague cries of the crew yelling “Storm!” seemed extremely loud to Gem’s ears. She hugged herself in fear, wide-eyed, and realized she was trembling. With shaky hands, she got up and lit a candle. She saw a black blob on the ground darting its way towards her, and then rising, forming the shape of a woman, a very tall woman, but a woman nonetheless. The candle blew out, and a heartbeat started ringing in Gem’s ears. Something really bad would’ve probably happened to her, but she chose that moment to pass out.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The same scene played out again. The same nightmare-flashback, where Gem killed Pearl, but this time, it was different. At first, Gem couldn’t tell what was happening, but then she realised. Oh god, she was in Pearl’s body. She was witnessing Pearl’s point of view.

Pearl really couldn’t see that Gem was fighting. Pearl was fighting furiously on her own. Then, the world exploded with pain. The crew shouted with joy, but quickly turned silent. Even the enemy ship stopped fighting. Pearl looked down, and she saw a huge gash across her stomach, her guts falling out slowly. Pressed to the edge of the ship, she tried to clutch it for support, her arms, flailing wildly. Pearl couldn’t tell much, but she knew that Gem caused this. Why? Gem was her best friend, they cared so much about each other, Pearl trusted her with everything, why had she done this?! Did Gem actually hate her?! …Was Gem saying something? Pearl couldn’t hear her, everything was turning black, all she could do was say something hoarsely.

“I…I trusted you, Gem…”

Then, she fell overboard.

…

…

Why was Gem still in this dream?

But then, Gem understood. She saw a wispy shape come towards her, one that heavily resembled Pearl.

“Everything that happened, it was all your fault. You did this to me. You killed me. I’ll never forgive you. This will be your eternal punishment, Gem~ You will never wake up. I’ll never let you leave. I’ll never let you rest. You shouldn’t have killed me. Now, you’ll suffer.”

Pearl’s voice came out raspy, and vengeful. She opened her mouth, or a torn gash of what used to be a mouth, revealing inky blackness inside…and then she lunged at Gem. “It’s all your fault.”

#sky actually wrote #geminitay #pearlescentmoon #shiny duo #gempearl #? i guess #pirate au #captain!gem #ghost!pearl #mcythorrorgiftexchange #grian #false #cleo #scar #mumbo #impusle #joel #etho #mentioned #im so tired

[nyotasaimiri]

Arc Two (redux) 75

Arrowmail watched them go, then looked down at Sonny. “Curious. Well, we may as well start studying that carving for them, yes?” he suggested. “We might find something they missed.”

Sonny dimmed down and all but literally shrank back on herself. “Yeah. Let’s do that.” Her boots scuffed quietly on the old stone floor as she retreated back away from the cold room.

Arrowmail blinked unhappily as he followed her back into the chamber with the ancient script. She was avoiding looking at him, keeping her focus on the floor and then on the wall. That meant anxious, usually. He made a quiet rattling sound, unconsciously mimicking Arjun clearing his throat. “Sympathetic. You are nervous? Do you… regret staying behind?”

Sonny huffed softly as she started running her glowing hands over the stone, looking for hidden marks. “Sure, I guess. I mean no, it’s better if I’m not in the way, but I guess… yeah, I am nervous. It ain’t for me, though. I mean…”

Arrowmail took the hint—she wasn’t ready to talk about it. He tucked his hand into her free hand, just briefly, and pulled out his notebook (he wondered if it said something about him, drenched in new recording technology and he still preferred a physical ledger). “Respectful. We should record all we can from this room. That will let them focus on handling whatever they find.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Sonny made a quiet noise halfway between heat-sigh and radio drone, shook herself a bit, and started scanning the walls again.

Arrowmail busied himself with writing down what the Captain had read earlier. It still fascinated him, how flawlessly she had read it. If it hadn’t been for her response to it, he might have suspected a prank, almost. But that was not like their captain, not at all. She did not joke when it was not the right time. He hummed, quite satisfied. It was a good trait. And they were good words. They reminded him of some of the earliest Glitch poets, with the formal structure and the talk of destinies.

“Musing. I do wonder what she meant about remnants.”

“Eh?” Sonny flickered and looked up from her studying. “What’s that?”

Arrowmail laughed, embarrassed, and shook his head. “Apologetic. It’s nothing. I was talking to myself, really.”

“Oh, that’s… that’s alright.” Sonny turned back to the wall. Her hands were moving a lot slower now, and Arrowmail could tell she wasn’t really focused on it. “Guess I needed a distraction, is all.”

“Worried. Sonny?” Arrowmail set his notebook down. “What’s wrong?”

Sonny waved a hand at him and avoided looking his way again. “Really now, it’s alright. It’s gonna pass in a minute.”

“I could help it pass quicker?”

She stopped, shoulders bowed forward, then looked back at him. Her thin humming voice was almost plaintive, almost pleading. “Arrow, you saw what happened to Lis. I’m scared for our captain and the old man. They don’t get along, you saw, and we don’t know what’s in here, not really.”

Arrowmail stepped forward and offered an arm. “Gentle. They will be alright, Sonny. He’s practical, and the Captain is strong now.”

Sonny shook her head hard. “She ain’t, she really… She tries to hide it, but she can’t really. I can read her, y’see? I can read it plain and clear, she feels like she’s losin’, like she’s fightin’ something all the time and she’s not on top, not at all. Sometimes… but not much. I told the old man off and all, ‘cause he ain’t right either, but… She’s still her, but I’m scared, Arrow.”

Arrowmail hummed, uncertain. He was trained as a scribe, a scholar. This sort of thing was such new ground to him. But he couldn’t bear seeing Sonny sad. He’d known that after the Baron’s keep, and he’d worked so hard to learn to fight, to make sure nothing would ever make her sad again. So she would never be dimmed and darkened by all the evil in their world. But this was something his sword wasn’t good for. All he had were his words.

“Pensive. Do you remember,” he said slowly, emotions failing to lead the words because even he couldn’t name them, “when we fought the Occasus at that Keep? How we were cornered, those awful cultists, but Nyota charged in and just threw them away from us? Hadley was down, I was, I couldn’t protect you… but she protected all of us. She said she would, didn’t she? This isn’t too different, really.” Arrowmail offered his hand again with a soft, gentle glow in his eyes. “Confident. I think she can do that here too. You did say she’s still our Nyota. That’s just what our Nyota would do.”

Sonny looked up at him. “You promise?”

“Hesitant. I can’t control…” He shook his head and started again. “Affirmative. Captain promised it. So she’ll make it right.”

Sonny warmed again and leaned back into him. “Y’know, you’re right. You’re right. She will.”

#arc two #repost

[animeboye]

Mid Dragon's World Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Memories of Mom

It was 11:45 the next day. Yet another typical day at school: I had my first four classes and was now eating lunch with Jericho and Cassie. Like always, the twins sat together while I sat across from them. We were all eating the same thing: mashed potatoes with gravy, green beans, Salisbury steak, and some chocolate milk to drink.

I sat there at the table and dug my fork into my gravy, head resting in my left hand. I was still feeling the same way I did yesterday. Actually, today I was feeling a bit worse. I pulled a scoop of mashed potatoes up to my mouth and took slow bites. While I chewed, I looked over at Jericho and Cassie then immediately turned my focus to the wall. After I swallowed my food, I took a drink from my milk carton.

“Hey Jake?” Cassie asked.

“Yeah?” I asked back, my focus returning to them.

“Are you okay?” She asked me again.

“I’m…I’m fine. Why?”

“Well you haven’t talked a lot today. What’s up?”

I sighed. I had figured out why I was so sad but I didn’t know if I should tell them. What would they say if I told them that the reason I was sad was because I was jealous of them for having a mom? All my friends had moms: Jericho and Cassie, Theian, Z’haer, even Alex had a mom. But I didn’t. Dad would sometimes show me pictures of mom if I ever asked about her but pictures weren’t good enough. I didn’t want to see pictures of my mom. I wanted to see her for real.

“Jake, if something’s wrong, you can tell us. What’s wrong, dude?” Jericho asked, sounding worried for me.

“Well…No. It’s nothing.” I said, taking a small nibble of my Salisbury steak.

“C’mon, Jake! We can help you!” Jericho promised, now sounding even more worried about me.

I guessed I might as well tell them what was going on. I took another drink of milk and explained everything to Cassie and Jericho.

“I miss my mom.” I said, a sinking feeling developing in my stomach.

“You miss your mom?” Cassie repeated. “Where is she?”

I looked down and away from them.

“She’s dead. She died when I was born.” I said, rubbing my left eye.

Things were silent for a bit as Jericho and Cassie let what I just told them sink in. After awhile, Jericho spoke.

“Aww Jake! I’m sorry.” Jericho said sympathetically.

“I’m sorry too.” Cassie also said in a sympathetic voice.

I sniffled a little, rubbing my nose. I looked back at them, feeling so terrible. I didn’t even want to eat anymore.  

Letting out a rush of breath, I continued explaining to them.

“When I saw you talking with your mom, Jericho after we walked back to your house, it just made me so sad. All my friends knew their moms: you guys, Theian, Z’haer, even Alex got to know his mom.”

I tried to take a couple more bites of my food, having a difficult time doing so and took one last drink of my milk before I stood up and was about to throw my food out.

“I’m going to recess.” I said. “You guys coming?”

“Sorry Jake. Our mom’s picking us up to go to the dentist.” Jericho said.

“Oh…” I replied, feeling disappointed. “…Alright.”

“Hey Jake. Don’t feel bad. We’ll play together tomorrow, kay?” Jericho smiled, trying to make me feel better.

“Okay…” I said, still feeling a little sad.

I threw what remained of my lunch in the garbage bin and set my tray on the table next to it. Once outside, I sneaked around to the back of the school, changed into my half-dragon form, and flew up to the roof, just like I did at my old school. I found it a little harder to get up there since the school was two stories and my old school was only one.

Sitting down on top of the roof, I looked down and saw Jericho and Cassie walking out of the school with their mom and little sister. They got into their van which was parked by the curb and drove away.

Well, as long as I was up here, perhaps I could try to get a little sleep. This time, however, I’d try to make sure to wake up when the bell rang. I laid down, curled into a ball and folded my wings over me like a blanket. Almost every part of me, except for my head and my tail were covered by my wings. I could feel my tail starting to burn from just laying there on the seriously hot roof. I pulled my tail in and tucked it between my legs. I smiled to myself as the pain started to go away. I yawned and laid my head down as I fell asleep.

As I slept, I dreamt that I was in a hospital. For some strange reason, there was no one around. Everything was completely quiet. Slowly I proceeded down the hallway, looking in each room only to find that no one was in them. Suddenly I heard crying. The cries sounded like a baby’s. Worried for the baby I followed its cries as they grew louder and louder with each step. The crying seemed to be coming from the room at the end of the hallway.

When I entered the room the crying was coming from, I found a woman lying in one of the beds. Her eyes were wide open as was her mouth. She was covered in blood. She was dead. Next to her was a blanket with a baby wrapped in it. I picked the kid up and held him in my arms. This didn’t calm him down though. I didn’t know what to do. I never took care of a baby before.

Just then I felt something poking out from the blanket. I held the baby up and noticed that a tail was slowly making its way out of the blanket.

A TAIL?! I thought to myself. Yep. It was a tail alright. And a very familiar tail. The color of the scales, the spikes, the bottom of the tail. There was no doubt: That was tail was mine. Which meant this baby…was me.

Removing the blanket from the baby…me, I saw he…I had tiny little wings growing out of my back. My wings looked so small, so small that they could easily fit in the palm of someone’s hand and so fragile like they could be easily crushed.

Carefully, I wrapped my baby self in the blanket again and looked at the woman who I knew now was my mom. What happened to her?! She looked like someone killed her. The bed she was in was soaked with blood, especially around her legs. I didn’t like this. Whatever was going on was really starting to scare me.

Just then, I could hear strange moaning. At first it started out soft, kind of quiet but it quickly began to grow louder. Eventually it became so loud that I placed my baby self next to mom and covered my ears and squished my eyes shut. My heart was beating rapidly and I was breathing fast and loudly. I didn’t know what was making that terrible noise but I wanted it to stop! I prayed for it to stop!

I slowly moved my hands from my ears, finding that the noise did stop. Once again it was quiet. Slowly I opened my eyes but what I saw once I opened them made me let out a loud scream.

In front of me was a ghost that looked like my dad! Only…the ghost had two large black eyes that made it look kind of like an alien. Its body looked like some kind of a gas, its arms disturbingly long and its fingers looked more like spikes.

I started panting again. I felt like I was going to pass out from fear. The ghost slowly moved closer to me. I had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. As I looked over at the bed my mom and the baby me were in, I noticed that both of them had disappeared as did the blood. In fact, the bed now looked as if no one had even been in it.

The ghost raised a spikey finger, pointing to the bed. “YOU…KILLED…HER…” It said slowly.

“What?” I asked it, not understanding what it meant.

“YOU…KILLED…HER…” It said again.

“YOU KILLED HER!” It shrieked.

“YOU KILLED HER! YOU KILLED HER!!! YOU KILLED HER!!!!”

I woke up, sweating and panting, my heart beating so fast I thought it would pop out of my chest. What a freaky dream! I could remember every bit of it. The abandoned hospital, the bloody bed, my mom’s body…and the ghost that looked like my dad blaming me for her dying. The ghost’s words make me think…was it true? Was I the reason mom died? If I was never born, would she still be alive?

Before I could try and answer my own question, the bell rang. I flew down, changed back to my human form, and returned to class with the rest of the kids. For the rest of the day, I couldn’t stop thinking about what the ghost from my dream said. It was hard for me to concentrate when all I could think of was that ghost and its horrible voice screaming at me that I killed my mom.

The school bell ran at 3:30 just like always, meaning it was time to go home. I grabbed my things from my locker and proceeded right out the door. Outside, I saw Theian and Z’haer in their human forms standing by the curb. I ran over to them, wondering why they were here. Dad usually didn’t send anyone to come get me unless I was late getting home.

“Hey Theian, hey Z’haer.” I said. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We told your dad we’d pick you up from school today and so…here we are.” Explained Z’haer.

I followed Theian and Z’haer down the street. A few blocks away from my school, I followed them into an alley and they changed into their real forms. Theian crouched down, letting me on his back. As soon as I was on, the two of them flapped their wings, rising into the air and flying straight for home.

We flew high through the sky, everyone below us looking even smaller than ants. I held onto Theian as tightly as I could so that I wouldn’t fall off.

“So Jake, where was your buddy Jericho?” Asked Z’haer.

“His mom picked him and his sister up to go to the dentist.” I explained.

“Oh.” Z’haer replied. “By the way, how did school go?”

“Well…” I said, stalling as I started to think about that dream again.

“Well what? Did something happen, Jake?” Z’haer asked concerned.

I was quiet for a moment. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Then I explained to them what happened.

“During recess today, I was sleeping on the school roof. I had a nightmare about…”

“About what?” Asked Theian.

I didn’t say anything for a bit again. It was hard for me to think about that dream let alone talk about it. I started thinking about what the ghost from my dream said. About me killing my mom. It made me think about something that maybe Z’haer or Theian would be able to answer.

“Theian…Z’haer…do you…do you think I shouldn’t have been born?” I asked, feeling a sudden heavy pain in my chest after having asked.

I could tell that my question surprised both Z’haer and Theian. I knew they weren’t expecting me to ask but I wanted to know what they thought.

“Jake.” Z’haer said in a surprised voice. “Why would you ask something like that?”

“In my dream…” I began explaining. “I was in this hospital with nobody in it. I walked into one of the rooms and saw my mom’s body laying in a bed covered in blood. Then this weird ghost that looked like dad was shrieking at me, saying that I was the reason mom died.”

I stopped for a moment and sniffled a little. I took another deep breath, feeling like I was about to start crying. I didn’t want to think that I killed my mom but I knew she died giving birth to me. If she never had me, she would still be alive and with dad.

I rubbed my eyes, tears starting to run down my face. I laid my head in between my arms and cried.

“Jake.” Theian said. “Can you listen to me for a moment? You didn’t kill your mom. I’m sure your mother loved you very much and I don’t think she’d want her only son to blame himself for her death.”

I sniffled again and wiped away my tears. “Thanks Theian.” I smiled.

“You know, I never knew either of my hatch parents. They could be alive or dead. I don’t know. But even then I guess I’m okay with it. I had Angela for my mother and that was good enough.” Said Theian, sounding strangely happy.

Theian’s words helped make me feel a bit better. I wiped my eyes one more time and smiled to myself.

“Hey Z’haer!” I called. “What’s your family like?”

“Mine?” Z’haer asked me. “Well, I’ve got a mom, a dad and a brother and sister. I’m the middle hatchling in the family. My sister is the oldest, then me, then my brother.”

“Do you ever see them?”

“Yep!” Z’haer said. “Every night when I return to the dragon realm I make sure to pay them a visit. My parents are getting pretty old so my sister and brother look after them while I work with you guys.”

I could see my neighborhood coming up. Theian and Z’haer began to descend to the ground and we landed in the driveway. I hopped off Theian’s back as he and Z’haer changed into their human forms and came in the house with me. Inside I saw Alex and dad in the living room, sitting on the couch together watching TV. I kicked off my shoes then walked into the living room, set my bag by the reclining chair next to the couch and sat down.  I grabbed the lever on the side of the chair and pulled the footrest up, my feet going up along with it. I sighed comfortably as I sank back into the chair.

“Welcome home Jakol.” Dad greeted.

“Hi dad, hi Alex. Hey Alex, how did you get home?” I asked.

“I flew. How else would I get home?” Alex answered.

“Well, we should probably be going. I’ve got to check on my family.” Z’haer said, stretching his arms.

“Z’haer.” Said dad as he stood up and walked over to Z’haer.

“Remember not to—“

“I know.” Z’haer interrupted. “I haven’t told my family I’ve been working with you. They don’t suspect a thing.”

“Good. The last thing we need is word getting around the dragon realm about us. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you or the others how disastrous it would be if one of the Leaders learned of our plan.” Dad said, sounding suspicious.

“I understand sir. I swear I won’t say anything.” And with that, Z’haer opened a portal in front of the door. Theian entered first and then Z’haer. Once they had entered through it the portal closed behind them.

Dad sat up, resting his arms on his legs. He turned and looked at me and Alex.

“So how was school today boys?” Dad asked us.

“Same as always: didn’t talk to anyone. I did get in a fight with some kids who were tricking to start something with me.” Alex said, sounding a little angry.

“Did you win?” Asked dad.

“Well of course!” Alex said sarcastically. “Come on dad! I’m a half-dragon fighting some humans! They didn’t have a chance!”

“Ah that’s true.” Dad smiled. “Nicely done son. Good to see you’re getting some training in without my telling you. And how about you, Jakol? How was your school day?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” I said, thinking about my dream again which yet again made me feel sad.

“Why not? Did you get in a fight too, Jakol?” Asked Dad.

I shook my head then looked down without saying anything.

“You okay Jake?” Asked Alex, sounding really worried about me.

I shook my head again, this time not looking at my dad or Alex.

“Well what’s wrong? Come on. You can tell us.” Alex said, sounding even more concerned.

I sighed and turned to them. If I was able to tell Theian and Z’haer then it should have been okay for me to tell dad and Alex why I was upset. Deciding to tell Alex and dad, I looked straight at them and said…

“I miss my mom.” I said sadly.

“Mom?” Dad repeated. “What made you think about her?”

“Well everyday after school, my friends Jericho and Cassie’s mom picks them up from school. Now when I see them with their mom, it makes me kinda angry and kinda sad at the same time. It makes me wish my mom was still alive.” I explained, feeling pain in my chest, my eyes watering.

I sniffled again. “I miss mom so much. I wish she was still here…”

I shut my eyes and rubbed them. I turned away from Alex and dad, not wanting them to see my face in case I started crying.

“Well…” Dad began. “I can’t bring her back but I still might be able to let you see her.”

“Really?!” I exclaimed, a sudden smile appearing on my face as I turned to dad again. “How? How are you gonna do it?”

“I’m going to use a spell to show you my memories. It is one of five spells known to only a select few denizens of the dragon realm. I’ve already taught this spell to Z’haer.” Explained dad, standing up and coming over to me with Alex following him.

I remembered that spell! It was the very same spell Z’haer used to show me, Theian, and Jericho Alex’s memories. Dad kneeled down by the chair, Alex standing over him.

“Now do you know how to do this, Jakol?” Dad asked.

“Yeah. When we went hunting, Z’haer used that spell to show us Alex’s memories.” I answered.

“Ah yes that’s right. Well, shall we do this?”

I nodded, excited that I’d get to see mom, even if it was just through dad’s memories.

Dad placed his hand on my forehead and grabbed my left hand. Both of us shut our eyes and when I opened mine, I was now in a building that looked like some weird laboratory. The building was shaking terribly like there was an earthquake. A group of two dragons, four kids, and two adults, one who was carrying a little dragon in his arms, were running out of the building. Behind them laid the body of a dead dragon and next to that dragon was my dad, also in his dragon form. He struggled to stand up but collapsed to the ground. As the building started shaking even more violently, a portal opened up in front of dad. He crawled towards the portal and just as it started to close behind him, the building exploded. Dad got caught in the explosion and was flung forward into the dragon realm.

Rained poured from the dragon realm’s sky, hitting my dad’s orange-red scales. He was panting loudly, coughing up some blood. Struggling, he lifted his head and opened another portal. With what little strength he had left, dad crawled toward the new portal. His head fell to the ground, groaning in pain as the portal began to disappear. Dad jerked his head up and tried to focus as the portal reappeared. Slowly he crawled into the portal and lost consciousness when he entered into it.

“That day I barely escaped with my life.” I heard dad’s voice say. His voice was really loud. I couldn’t tell where he was.

“With what little strength I retained from my battle with Doulstraz’s parents and my facility’s explosion, I escaped into the dragon realm. However I wasn’t safe yet. If someone from the dragon realm found me, it would be all over for me. I had to escape once more to the human realm. So, with my last ounce of strength, I opened another portal and made my way into the human realm. Although I was able to get out of the human realm, I knew I wasn’t safe yet. My body was badly beaten to the point that I was on death’s door.  As I slipped into unconsciousness, I feared this was it. I was going to die without seeing Tourajé’s dream fulfilled.” Explained dad.

Dad’s memory changed. Now I was standing in a hospital room. My dad, who had changed back to human form, lay in a hospital bed, wrapped in bandages that made him look like a mummy. His breathing was better now but still not too good. A woman walked into the room and sat down in a chair next to my dad’s bed. She didn’t look like a nurse. Was she the one that brought dad to the hospital? I walked closer to the woman and studied her, noticing just how similar she looked to my mom, only younger. This must have been my mom when she was younger.

I smiled widely. I couldn’t believe it: I was standing next to my mom! I was so happy I thought I was going to cry. Tears formed in my eyes as I called out to her. I knew from Z’haer’s explanation that I couldn’t interact with my dad’s memories but I didn’t care. I still wanted to let mom know I was here. Right next to her.

“Mom, it’s me! Hey mom, it’s Jake!” I shouted, trying to get her attention.

But she didn’t notice me. I tried to give her a hug but my arms passed through her. I looked down and frowned. I really wanted to talk to her and have her talk to me. To hug her and be hugged by her but I couldn’t. All I could do was watch her through dad’s memories.

“When I woke up I wasn’t sure where I was. Why was I wrapped in bandages and why couldn’t I move my body? I had found myself changed back into my human form. The woman you see before you, Jakol, who would eventually become your mother, found me collapsed outside of the restaurant she was working at. She brought me to a hospital and made sure I got the treatment I needed. Everyday she would stop by and visit me, sometimes bringing gifts with her.”

Dad’s memories changed yet again. This time I was standing outside the entrance to the hospital. Dad, whose body looked as good as new, was walking out of the hospital with mom behind him.

“My recovery was fast, and five weeks later, I would be released from the hospital. With my body as good as new I was ready to get back to my plan. My first plan was to gather together two groups of dragons to help me with taking over the world. My view was simple: one group would be my Followers. They would help with the actual takeover, make sure that no humans tried to fight back. The second group would become my Apprentices. Their job would be to take care of the humans we captured, keep them fed and watered. Yes, my vision was right in front of me, clear as day. However, there was something that stood before my vision…Your mother.”

As dad started down the road from the hospital, mom called to him. He stopped and turned around.

“What is it?” Dad asked.

“What are you going to do now?” Asked mom.

“I don’t know.” Dad shrugged.

“Do you have a home? I can drive you.” Mom said, offering dad a ride.

“I had a home once. Don’t anymore.”

“I’m…sorry to hear that. If you want, you can stay with me. I have my own place.” Mom smiled.

“I didn’t understand this woman. Why was she so concerned about me? Was it simply because I was gravely injured…or was there something more to it? Nonetheless, she fascinated me in a way no human ever had. I wanted to know more about her. So since I had nowhere to go, I agreed to live with her.”

The scene changed again and this time, I was standing in my mom’s apartment. She and dad sat on the couch together in her living room.

“You know, I was just thinking: We’ve known each other for five weeks and we don’t really know anything about each other.” Mom said.

Mom giggled. She stood up and walked in front of dad.

“I’m Christa Peterson. I’m 26 years old and I’m a waitress at Denny’s. What I really want to do though is paint. What about you? What’s your name?”

“I don’t have one.” Dad shrugged again.

“Come on, you can tell me. I won’t think it’s weird or anything. So what’s your name?” Mom asked, dropping onto the couch and nudging dad’s shoulder.

Dad grumbled something under his breath. Neither me or mom could hear him so she asked him to repeat what he said but a little louder.

“My name is Saulstrance.” Dad said in a much clearer voice.

“Saulstrance? That is a bit of a weird name. What kind of name is it?”

“It’s a dragon name. Look, Christa, there’s something you should know about me.”

Dad stood up and changed into his real form. Mom’s eyes grew wide when she saw what dad really was. She couldn’t believe that she was looking at a real live dragon. The idea musta seemed too crazy for her.

“Even though your mom knew early on what I really was, she still wanted me to be with her. The longer I spent with her, the more I realized that I was falling for her. I truly found her to be a unique and interesting human. If there was anyone I wanted to rule my soon-to-be kingdom with me, it was her. I shared with her my dream of making the human realm a better place, a dream that she confessed she shared. She also wanted to see an end to the suffering this world brings. Being with me gave her hope as she thought I may very well be able to make ours and Tourajé’s dream a reality.”

Everything changed again and this time, dad and mom stood close together in a dark bedroom. Mom and dad held each other as they kissed for a long time. Mom looked a little bit older in this memory while dad still looked the same. Mom and dad stopped kissing and she led him to the bed.

Suddenly, everything changed again. We were back in the living room. Mom was hugging dad and when she let go, she looked down at her belly which was a lot bigger than it was in the last memory. This was when mom was pregnant and I was the baby in her belly. I smiled for the two of them although I wasn’t really sure why. After all I was the one that was going to be born. Why would I be happy that I was about to be born if I was already born?

“When your mom was already three months pregnant, she had already begun deciding on names for you. We had gone through so many names until we came across two we really liked: If you were going to be a boy, we would name you Jacob. If you were a girl, we were going to name you Samantha. I suggested to her that instead of naming you Jacob, we should give you a dragon name, since you were going to be a half-dragon. And so that was when we decided your name would be Jakol.”

And again everything changed. I was back in the hospital this time. Mom was laying in a hospital bed with a nurse telling her to push. She was screaming at the top of her lungs, gripping the blanket tightly in her hands.

“Alright, you’re doing great Christa. Now, just one more push.” The doctor said.

Mom gave one large push, screaming even louder this time before falling back into the bed. A baby’s cries suddenly filled the room and there I was, me as a baby, my little wings and tail as fragile as they were in my dream. Even though the doctor noticed my dragon parts, he didn’t say anything about them. After cleaning me off, he gave me to my mom and dad. My dad held me in his arms before giving me to mom. He laid me beside her since she was too weak to hold me.

“Hi Jake.” Mom said, sounding exhausted. “I finally get to see my baby boy. For the first…and last time.”

“Last time? What do you mean Christa?!” Dad said alarmed.

“Christa isn’t strong enough to bear children. In fact, her body is so weak that even birthing one child could kill her.” The doctor explained.

“What?! But then—No! Christa! Why?!” Dad exclaimed, his voice shaky.

“Because I love our son. I love Jake more than life itself. It would have been wrong of me to kill him so I could live.” Mom said, her breathing growing heavier and her eyes shutting every now and then.

“But--!” Dad exclaimed.

“Our Jake is a very special boy. And not just because he’s part dragon. It’s because he’s our boy. Take care of him.”

Dad nodded in agreement, looking down at the ground.

Mom picked me up and held me in her arms. For the next four minutes, she held me, singing a lullaby to me which made me fall asleep. As soon as I was sleeping, mom laid back down and fell asleep too. Only…she wouldn’t be waking up.

“No! Christa! Wake up!” Dad shouted, causing the baby me to wake up and start crying.

“No! No…” Dad said. He couldn’t believe mom was gone. He lowered his head. I walked closer to him and what I saw shocked me. This was the first time ever that I saw dad crying. Seeing mom laying on the hospital bed dead and dad crying made me cry as well.

Dad’s memory ended and I was back in the living room. When I felt under my eyes, I found my tears from when I was seeing dad’s memories were still there, traveling down my face. I wiped my tears away as dad took his hand off my forehead.

That night I was getting ready for bed when dad and Alex came into my room.

“How are you feeling, Jakol? Are you better?” Dad asked.

“Yeah.” I answered. “I still feel a little sad but…I’m also happy. Even if mom isn’t around anymore, I can at least be happy knowing that she really loved me. I’m glad I was born to you and mom.” I smiled at dad.

Dad smiled back at me. He walked up and rubbed my head. Then he left my room with Alex following behind him and shut the door.

With a smile on my face and feeling nothing but happiness, I crawled into bed and drifted off to sleep. While I slept, I had another dream about mom, only this time, it was a happy dream. Mom, dad, and me when I was about four were on a beach together. We walked down the beach, with me in the middle holding both my parents’ hands. They would pull me up occasionally and I would swing in the air, giggling. I looked up and smiled at mom and dad and they smiled down at me. Mom picked me up, put me on her shoulders, and gave me a piggyback ride. With dad following behind us, she ran around the beach, laughing with me.

“I love you mommy.” I said, smiling.

“I love you too Jake.” Mom said, also smiling.

#animeboye #dragon #dragon's world #original writing #dragon boy #half-dragon #dragons #tf #dragon hybrid #Dead parent #Sad #sad boy #Nightmare #Mid Dragon's World #Written when I was in my twenties #Memories #Mom #mother and son #Mother #heartwarming #what if scenario #half dragons #Family #Families #Spector #Hospital #Childbirth #Self paradox

[frosnpls]

cw vent,, doin bad tonite lads

idk if i have PMDD or if it's the SAD or if it's the work stress or if it's the state of this country and the fact that I'm slowly losing hope of both living independently/being able to afford such as well as ever being able to ever begin to transition properly or just whatever the fuck but man im not having a good time

i keep thinking lately about how ive never been able to catch a break and like sometimes i feel like im blowing it out of proportion and that its not fair because i do actually lead a fairly privileged life but also like. i was literally bullied at the age of THREE by my nursery teacher because she mistook the clear signs of my neurodivergence as misbehaviour. i struggled through school because nobody noticed i was neurodivergent and the people who did didnt want to admit it. i developed body dysmorphia by the age of like 8 iirc. i was bullied throughout all of my childhood and struggled so badly because i didnt have any support in place because somehow nobody noticed the very clear signs of adhd and autism. i lost my teenage years to severe bullying which caused permanent trauma and then lost the four years of my life after finishing school to essentially becoming a carer for an abusive suicidal boyfriend and then spent months after his death blaming myself for "not doing enough" when i had literally become a recluse because i was afraid that if i went out he might need me and i wouldnt be available. this year was the first year i think ive ever actually felt Right because i felt like i had myself figured out and i was doing what i wanted and i felt free and i just. i think theres an element of grieving for probably like a good sixteen or so years of my life where i was consistently traumatised by something and had no chance to find myself as a person

i feel consistently selfish for it but i just want someone to see how much im struggling and acknowledge it yknow like. offer some help or take care of me for a bit. i dont understand why but im in this role of a protector and caretaker for others and whilst i want to look after people and i care so so deeply about the people i do look after id also like to be looked after occasionally, you know? like. the day my cat died my partner was there and i got out of bed and my mum gave me the news and i went downstairs and i held her and i went back to my room and got in bed and started crying and. my partner put their arm around me and said he was sorry and i just curled up into them and cried and i genuinely think its the most ive ever felt cared for in at least my working memory

when i was younger sometimes my dad would try to comfort me when i cried and when i tried to explain why i was crying he would say "oh, [deadname]" in this really sympathetic tone and i remember always hoping he would do it when i cried because it made me feel like someone was actually acknowledging how much i was hurting and there came a point where he stopped saying it and idr if it was just because i was getting older and it sounded condescending or if it was at the point where i started hiding from my parents when i was upset because i didnt want them to worry but there was a period of time where i would actually miss that exclamation every time i cried even though i wasnt coming to my dad for comfort

i want to ask for help and seek help and comfort and be vulnerable enough to let people know i need it but also theres people who rely on me and i worry that if i dont seem positive or up to it they might think they cant come to me and i want them to be able to come to me i really do. then also i feel like if i bring my hurt to others all im going to do is upset or inconvenience them and i dont want to do that

im just trapped because i dont want anyone to worry about me but also i kind of do and it makes me feel so selfish like why would anyone ever want people to worry about them but its just in that way that like. iwould maybe just like to be asked if im alright before ive expressed that im not. i would like someone to notice that im quieter than usual or that i dont seem as enthusiastic or upbeat as i do most of the time and ask how im feeling. even that makes me feel selfish though and i hate it because i know realistically that isnt selfish but equally any normal person would just seek out the comfort they need right?? but i cant because if i initiate it then it means im annoying someone or upsetting someone or taking up someone's valuable time

i dont understand how i can be both looking after others, taking time to check on them and make sure theyre alright, give advice and welcome people in if they need me, and then also at the same time feel like the world biggest dickhead if i even dare to think about asking for the same from someone. or refusing to take my own advice. i need a mental health break from work desperately and my partner keeps telling me this as well but i keep refusing because we had 4 staff members off sick this week and if i went off as well it would make things hard for them. i just cant,, prioritise myself

im tired of england and im tired of the world and im tired of having to figure out how im going to manage to exist in the way i want to one day and im tired of feeling selfish for desiring human contact and im tired of waking up before the sun's up and im tired of feeling sad and not understanding why and im just. im just tired

#sorry for this. fucking cringeass dump i just needed to write it all down somewhere #cw vent #personal

[samstree]

Just a Little Pretense

Jaskier and Geralt stage a fake breakup. Someone’s feelings get hurt for real.

The reverse trope series: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

AO3

“… It would be to take you off my hands!”

Geralt’s voice echoes in the ballroom, between the tall walls and the high ceiling. Everyone on the dance floor has fallen into silence. Even the band has stopped playing, their lead singer gaping with round eyes.

Jaskier blinks, impressed.

All the eyes are on the two of them. Jaskier’s back prickles with the gazes. As the fight escalated, more and more guests have stopped dancing just to eavesdrop on the witcher and the bard, the most peculiar couple in the room.

Which is just perfect. The more people witnessing their breakup, the more awkward it will be afterward, and the easier it will be to get out of this tedious party. And here Jaskier is, regretting ever having doubted his dear witcher’s ability to perform.

Who would have thought Geralt is a method actor? Drawing inspiration from a past argument is ingenious.

His old acting professor back in Oxenfurt would approve of this. The show is going swimmingly and he is pumped with adrenaline—maybe he should go back on stage one day, do a play or two.

But alas, he can muse the idea later. The show must go on.

“Really? Just like that?” Jaskier croaks, seemingly on the verge of crying. He’s not so bad himself, classically trained and everything. “Thirty years, Geralt. I followed you for thirty years, and just like that, you will kick me out of your life? Did I ever—” he breaks off with a whimper. “Did I ever mean anything to you? Or were you ready to cast me aside this whole time?”

A tear rolls down. His lips wobble. The crowd erupts in hushed murmurs and sympathetic sighs. The set-up, the build, everything has been perfect. Now the only thing left is for Geralt to break things off, and the two of them can ride into the metaphorical sunset and never see this court again.

Jaskier waits in anticipation, but his witcher opens his mouth.

And closes it.

Geralt looks as upset as he should, angry and torn and equally shocked, his golden eyes wide and his jaw clenched tight. It’s a nice picture to paint for the audience. They are supposedly having the biggest fight in their lives and his body language is very convincing.

More than convincing.

Except, it just might be … too convincing.

Wait—

Jaskier focuses on Geralt, who looks as if he wants to shrink into himself, his shoulders slumped and arms drawn in. He looks as if he’s waiting to be struck. Wait, something’s not right.

“I can’t do this.” A whisper leaves Geralt’s lips, small and achingly sad.

It’s not the line he’s supposed to say.

Geralt’s eyebrows droop ever so slightly, and there’s a flash of distress behind the molten gold. It’s gone in a second, hidden behind a façade of indifference.

The tells are subtle, near imperceivable to the untrained eye, but to Jaskier, they are clear as day—Geralt is hurt. For real.

Oh.

Fuck.

“Geralt,” Jaskier tries, instantly snapped out of his character.

And yet, there’s no reply. Geralt lowers his head, turns around, and flees the scene within one heartbeat and the next. The crowd is too eager to make way for him.

“Shit,” Jaskier curses, ready to chase after Geralt, but the Countess de Stael appears out of nowhere with a flock of maids and positively blocks him in all directions. She’s eager to lament the loss of love and companionship, and to offer Jaskier a place at her court once again. Oh, shit.

Jaskier brushes her off, all the while painfully remembering he and Geralt’s goal from the beginning—to use the breakup as an excuse to get out of this place.

Well, the plan is shit. Is it too late to notice?

Weaving through dozens of nobles is a lot more difficult when they all want to extend sympathy, and Jaskier is only placating them absent-mindedly, faking regret and heartbreak. His mind is full of his witcher, who is either brooding or spiraling over the venom he spewed earlier.

The truth is, Jaskier has long forgotten about the mountain—not because it didn’t hurt. To be shunned by Geralt, blamed for everything, and denied friendship, was the worst thing to have happened to him at the time. It’s just that Jaskier has forgiven it, so long ago and so completely.

Jaskier cannot get to their room fast enough, and when he pushes open the door, the sight of Geralt’s dejected face is a stab through the chest. The witcher is perched on the bed, somehow looking a lot smaller than he is.

Jaskier never should have come up with the stupid fake breakup thing, never should have inadvertently reopened the old wound. They healed, together. They shouldn’t be hurting anymore.

“I explained. We can leave now,” Jaskier tires, but in fairness, he doesn’t remember what he said to the Countess. “Geralt?”

The witcher himself crosses his arms, hugging his midriff and avoiding Jaskier’s gaze. “Good,” he answers curtly, shoulders still tense.

He looks angry, and when Geralt is angry, it’s most likely with himself. Oh, whatever heartbreak Jaskier acted out earlier, it’s not a match to a fraction of what he’s feeling now. It must be the one millionth time Geralt’s self-loathing has broken Jaskier’s heart, and it never gets easier, not when Jaskier caused it himself.

“Hey.” Jaskier desperately wants to wrap his arms around Geralt. So he does. He sits down on the bed and pulls his witcher into the biggest bear hug, which is returned immediately and so very tightly. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s okay. I’m sorry. I fucked up, Geralt. I’m—”

“Don’t be.” Geralt buries his nose into Jaskier’s neck and shakes his head. “I never should have said those things, Jask. I should be the one apologizing. It was wrong and untrue and I would never abandon you. You are my best friend. How can I ever? Please, believe me…”

Geralt trails off, his hands rubbing circles into Jaskier’s back. Although it’s unclear who he’s trying to soothe.

“I know. It’s okay. I know,” Jaskier murmurs, over and over again, sealing each reassurance with a kiss pressed into silver hair.

“I never meant it, Jask.”

“I know. It was fake. We were pretending.”

Geralt pulls away, golden eyes dead serious, pausing between every word. “I never meant it.”

Jaskier meets his gaze unwaveringly, with not an ounce of doubt. “I know.”

They stay there for a while, just holding each other. Geralt keeps sniffing Jaskier’s scent the same way he always does to check for injury or distress. He thinks he’s subtle, the sweet man, so Jaskier never mentions it.

Despite what an outsider might assume, Geralt is the sensitive one between the two. He’s so careful when it comes to their relationship, especially after the mountain and sometimes to his own detriment.

He’s so scared of hurting Jaskier again.

“I was an idiot for suggesting it,” Jaskier breaks the silence, nudging Geralt in the knee.

Geralt hums, lips pursed.

“Fake breakup is a terrible idea. Next time we’ll just grit our teeth and sit through the month-long party.”

Still, no smile.

“Alright, you win. Next time I won’t take you to a month-long party to start with.” Jaskier gently pats Geralt on the cheek. “For your delicate sensibilities, darling.”

Finally, finally, Geralt’s lips turn upwards, just a smidge.

“You are an idiot,” Geralt says, the crease between his brows fading. “Just…don’t make me make you cry again.”

Melting into the warmth welling up between his ribcage, Jaskier leans forward and presses a tiny kiss at his witcher’s forehead, so softly as if he’d break with any more force.

“Yes, dear.”

Being careless with Geralt’s heart is a mistake that Jaskier never wants to repeat. As he put a hand over his witcher’s languid heartbeat, Jaskier feels the soft thrumming against his palm, and realizes just how terribly he needs to guard it with the same care too. Against his frivolous self, and against the past that never seems to stop haunting them.

Because Jaskier needs this thing between them to work. If a faked breakup already seems unbearable, he shudders to imagine a real one.

A witcher’s life is already riddled with pain and sadness and could-have-beens. A poet would hate it if he added himself to the list.

---

Tagging: @wanderlust-t @rockysstupidity @flowercrown-bard @alllthequeenshorses @mothmanismyuncle @percy-jackson-is-sexy- @constantlytiredpigeon @behonesthowsmysinging @kitcatkim3 @endless-whump @rey-a-nonbinary-bisexual @llamasdumpsterfire @dapandapod @kuripon

Please feel free to tell me if you want to be removed or added to the list <3

#geraskier #geraskier fic #reverse trope #fake breakup #geralt x jaskier #post mountain #hurt/comfort #geralt of rivia is a sap #soft jaskier #jaskier is an idiot #don't mind him #established relationship

[chosonore]

cynosure

cynosure [noun. one that serves to direct or guide; a center of attraction or attention]

pairing: sukuna/f!reader

summary: in which sukuna re-discovers being human one aspect at a time, through many lifetimes, at the price of losing you over and over.

wordcount: 8.7k

content/warnings: reincarnation au, slow burn but also not really because there's only hints of romance? language, it's not canon at all, just pretend sukuna was never sealed away, lowercase is intended

a/n: this is more self-indulgent tbh sukuna is probably uncharacteristically soft? sometimes i'm reminded of the fact that he used to be human and while we don't exactly know how he became a curse just yet, i kinda felt sad about it lol i'm too sympathetic with everything, it's gonna kill me one day fhuierhfa a lot of these moments are based on my own experiences, where i had to remind myself that even the small things in life are really good and important, especially during the pandemic. that being said, i hope you enjoy and stay safe everyone :) (and please don’t judge me too hard on this lol i haven���t written in like what. six years?)

001.

“oh,” you stared at the tall, pink-haired man in front of you. “i didn’t think anyone would be here around this time…” he stared back at you, not replying nor making any move to scoot over so that you could sit on your bench. it was only then that you noticed the black markings framing his face and adorning his wrists. you were a little dumbfounded - your mother had always said that you had a poor survival instinct. though you supposed that his pink hair eased your nerves a little; surely someone with pink hair couldn’t be as evil. but you couldn’t recall ever seeing someone like this around the proximity of your village. maybe he was a vagrant. 

“i don’t mean to be rude but… that’s my bench and i would appreciate if you could maybe… scooch over?” you asked gingerly, not wanting to upset the stranger. you approached him slowly, grasping your basket tightly. if he got a little rowdy, maybe you could just wack him with the basket, right? although it probably won’t hurt but it surely would stun him long enough for you to run.

“i don’t see why i should move just because it’s your bench,” the stranger answered gruffly, crossing his arms. were you naive or just stupid? “do you not know who you’re talking to, woman?” 

you cocked your head to the side, not sure what he meant. maybe he was one of those famous poets or musicians that your parents liked to talk about. you weren’t entirely sure. even though he sounded annoyed, the look in his eyes didn’t quite match the hostility - he looked rather bored, unamused even, but not hostile. maybe you could humour him a little. “am- am i supposed to know you? i’ve never been outside of the village so i don’t know much. only what the merchants tell me. i apologize if i’ve offended you,” you explained hastily, then pointing at your basket. “i just came here to enjoy the sunrise. um, today is my birthday, so i treated myself to some dessert!”

“if- if you scooch over a litte, i could share some with you…” you tried to bargain with him. now you were truly starting to sound desperate but this was your favourite spot and it was the first time in a while that you had a free day to relax. out of all days, just why did he have to be here now? you’d be damned if you let your day get ruined by this unfriendly stranger. 

“are you trying to bribe me?” the stranger narrowed his eyes at you and you thought this was it. he was going to kill you and bury your body in the forest and your parents would come look for you, only to find your empty basket and then start a huge search party to find you and- the pink haired man moved to the side, refusing to look you in the eyes. “sit.”

you let out a squeak in glee, quickly taking a seat beside him. he watched in silence as you unwrap your desserts, glancing at the objects in question. even though you’d offered to share with him, he didn’t actually expect you to give him some of your food. sukuna was surprised when you handed him a… round squishy thing? 

“what is that? how is that going to satiate me?” he asked, almost offended, which made you giggle. you didn’t reply, instead thrusting the mochi towards him until he begrudgingly took it, closely inspecting it in suspicion. 

“that’s a daifuku mochi. it’s made out of rice flour and filled with red bean paste. but come to think of it… do you even like sweets? i’m sorry if you don’t particularly enjoy it,” you explained and grabbed one as well. you were about to bite into your mochi when you saw the stranger opening his mouth, ready to devour the entire mochi in one go. in horror, you quickly grabbed his wrist to stop him, only to have him suddenly pin you down and tower over you.

“i’m sorry, i’m sorry!” you hastily said, now suddenly aware of the dark, threatening aura that he was emitting. maybe he was a killer after all. “i just didn’t want you to eat it in one go! they’re kind of difficult to eat in one go… plus you’re supposed to savour and enjoy it, take your time eating it!” 

sukuna stared at the girl in disbelief, you’d grabbed him out of nowhere just to stop him from eating too fast? not only were you not aware of who he was, you apparently did not know how to be cautious around strangers. it irked him that you were acting like he was a harmless human being. so much so that he briefly contemplated killing you. “who are you to tell me how to eat?” he growled at you, not softening his grip. he saw the panic and fear in your eyes but for some reason, he couldn’t quite put a finger on it, it didn’t fill him with joy as it usually did.

“i’m just telling you how we usually eat mochi!” you harrumphed, now annoyed that he was acting like you just committed murder. “you didn’t know what these were, so i was just trying to explain! food is supposed to be enjoyed, not ravished all at once. you have to appreciate your food because there might be days where you won’t have any. and besides, enjoying and properly tasting your meal is the least you can do to show gratitude to the person who cooked it for you.” sukuna let up and sat back on his previous spot, seemingly accepting your answer. you sat up, adjusting your yukata and pouted at him. what a rude stranger! you at least expected an apology from him but seeing that he was already taking a bite from his mochi, you guessed you should just let it go. it wasn’t worth getting angry over anyways, not on this day.

“why are you looking at me like that, little girl?” sukuna questioned, taking another bite from his mochi. he did actually enjoy it and it took every bone in his body not to hastily eat more and to savour it like you’d told him to. maybe this wasn’t so bad after all, it made him think about his meals a little more. not eating for the sake of eating, but for enjoyment, he mused. sort of like living for enjoyment, not for the sake of living. 

“you never told me your name,” the girl replied innocently. sukuna sighed. so you really weren’t aware of who he was. “my name is y/n! now it’s only fair if you tell me, especially because i shared my food with you. please?”

before sukuna could reply, he sensed someone quickly approaching. they were hiding somewhere in the forest; it likely was a jujutsu sorcerer, trying to exorcise him. he could deal with them later, but not here, not with you around. the girl looked at him in disappointment when he abruptly stood up, turning towards the forest behind them. unfortunately, he had the inkling that you wouldn’t let it go until he answered: “my name is sukuna, king of curses.” your eyes widened in recognition but you didn’t immediately react or scramble away from him, most likely frozen in fear. 

“now go. someone is coming and you do not want to be in the crossfire.”

002.

as a seamstress, you’ve encountered all kinds of customers. ranging from rude and bratty to eternally grateful, you’ve seen it all. your supervisor had always told you to remain calm and polite, to just adhere to their wishes to not cause any ruckus. after all, people of status often assumed that they were untouchable and could treat others poorly. it wasn’t worth the hassle to start a fight with them, you could lose your job after all. there was moments you’d have to stand up for yourself but this wasn’t it. fortunately, your employer paid you well, enough for you to provide for your family. the customers were high-profile after all.

you looked at the clock on the wall, your next customer was supposed to come soon. it was a nobleman that apparently travelled here from far away, having heard that the store offered beautiful, one of a kind fabrics. you just hope that he wasn’t rude and that you could leave in time. you’d been working overtime for weeks now, taking every appointment and customer that you could get. your mother’s birthday was approaching and you’d been saving up to buy some of the soft and silky fabrics to sew her a new yukata. your mother had always sacrificed her own comfort to buy the best items she could afford for your siblings and you and now that you were older, you could finally treat her to something nice as well. your employer was even willing to give you a small discount and you gratefully took up on her offer.

the chime of the doorbell made you look up, the good feeling in your stomach slowly fading when you saw who entered. you were familiar with the customer after all; he was well known in the area, being a rather volatile and sometimes scary aristocrat who had the reputation to be particularly difficult and having outrageous demands. you hastily stood up, brushing the wrinkles out of your clothing and walking over to greet him. you bowed politely, taking the outerwear that he took off and placing it on a nearby armchair. “sir, i’ll bring you a few samples shortly. do you have any colour or pattern preferences?” you asked him, placing a pot of tea and a cup on the small side table for him to enjoy. you made note of his wishes and disappeared in the storage room to pick up the samples. the customer had made himself at home, eyeing you scrutinizingly. he made you queasy, looking so incredibly unfriendly and you could tell that you were not going home early tonight.

you showed each of the fabrics to him, explaining what materials they were made of and what occasions they were good for but with each explanation, he just looks more and more uninterested. not to mention the snarky remarks he made, seemingly not happy of the choices you presented him. you were running out of options and you didn’t know what else to do to please him when suddenly you heard someone enter the shop. both the customer and you looked over confused - you weren’t expecting any more customers today, it was already late after all. a tall, pink-haired man entered the shop, scowling at your customer. you jumped slightly; he looked scary and you were terrified, not sure what to do in this situation. not only were the black markings on his face and body terrifying, there was also a threatening aura surrounding him, dark and slowly spreading out, all your instincts were screaming at you to run. should you politely ask him to leave? he looked like he wouldn’t take it too well. before you could ask him whether he was looking for something, the stranger spoke up: “you know who i am, leave.”

your eyes widened, slowly inching back towards the back of the store. you were not aware of who this man was but by the looks of your pale-faced customer, he surely did. “this is outrageous!” he exclaimed indignantly, jumping out of his seat. “you can’t just burst in here and demand that i leave! i have an appointment! are you aware of how long the waiting list is? this is the finest shop in the entire prefecture and i would rather die than to give up my spot for a scoundrel like you.” the stranger raised his eyebrows at the shorter man, clicking his tongue in annoyance. you slowly reached out to grab your pair of scissors. they probably weren’t of much use but it made you feel more safe, knowing you could at least somehow defend yourself.

“oh? you would rather die? i’m sure that can be arranged,” the stranger threatened and it was with horror that you watched his fingernails, sharp and pointy, grow in size. he wasn’t human, you’d just encountered a monster. he would kill you and it wouldn’t take him much effort to do so, you were sure he could just stab you with those fingernails. your customer squeaked and left the store in panic, slamming the door in the process, while you quickly hid behind the counter. you hoped he would leave you alone, you didn’t want to get involved. this wasn’t your problem, you were innocent and it was an unfortunate coincidence for you to be here. 

“stop hiding,” the stranger commanded, slowly approaching the counter. you peeked from below the counter, holding your breath. what else could he possibly want from you? demons surely didn’t need money. oh god, was he going to kidnap you?

he swiftly rounded the corner and knelt down to take a closer look at you - you couldn’t react fast enough, he’d already grabbed your chin and made you look at him, turning your head from side to side as he examined you. his fingernails were slightly digging into your skin, making your face scrunch up in discomfort. “so it is you,” he exclaimed in a low voice, then abruptly standing back up. you were confused - what did he mean by that? at least he didn’t kill you, at least not yet. but what else could he possibly want from you? “i need a new kimono. that scumbag just left anyways, make one for me instead.”

a kimono? a simple kimono? you couldn’t believe what you just heard. this demon just came in here, threw a fit but all he wanted was a simple kimono? you couldn’t help but scoff at the situation though it probably was difficult to enter a store without people fleeing or refusing to serve him. while he did look human, the markings on his face made it difficult not to feel threatened. but why did he know you? you had never seen this man in your life before. not in passing, not on drawings, nowhere. no matter how hard you wracked your brain, you just couldn’t recall. “d- do you have any- any colour preference?” you questioned him, watching how he took a seat and grabbed himself the cup of tea. 

“white,” he answered curtly, taking a sip from the tea. “i’ll leave everything else up to you.”

you felt uncomfortable but there was nothing else you could do than follow his orders. you grabbed a few plain white fabric samples and slowly inched over to him, holding them out with your trembling hands. “what?” he deadpanned. you huffed in frustration. 

“sir, you should… you should choose the fabric. it’s your kimono after all, you might not like the feeling of the fabric or it might not be a good fit for your everyday life,” you explained.

“i don’t care, just choose whatever. i’m above the comfort you stupid mortals choose.”

“that’s stupid,” the words left your mouth quicker than you could stop yourself and you slapped your hands over your mouth. the stranger looked at you as equally shocked. “i mean- i mean there’s nothing wrong with indulging in comfortable clothes!” you explained quickly, pressing the samples into his hands. “see you wouldn’t like scratchy clothes, right? or fabric that quickly makes you sweat or feel too warm! i always talk to my customers about what kinds of fabrics they would prefer… i believe life is too short to wear ill-fitting clothes or ones that don’t feel comfortable! good clothing should make you feel like… like a warm hug.”

the stranger didn’t look like he understood what you meant, making you scoff again. some people really didn’t care about what they wore and how they looked like and it just bothered you. good quality fabrics and well tailored clothing could make you feel confident and safe, even in the worst situations. how could you possibly relax if your clothing was maybe scratchy or ill-fitting? “i’ll prove it to you!” you exclaimed and left the room to gather your supplies, then coming back to instruct him where and how to stand so you could take his measurements. now that he was towering over you, you were suddenly very aware of how tall and broad he was. you felt like a dwarf next to him. up close, you noticed more details about him. he was attractive, you couldn’t deny that - the long wispy eyelashes, the watchful ruby eyes and his soft-looking pink hair. if he picked up on your staring, he didn’t comment on it.

once you were done taking notes and choosing fabrics, you gave him a slip of paper, noting down time and date for him to come back to pick the kimono up. “as for payment-” you started but the stranger dropped a huge bag of coins on the counter. you gasped, pushing the bag back into his arms. “sir, that’s too much! i’ll calculate the exact price for you but-” 

“take it,” he insisted and pushed it back towards you. “i have enough. you need the money right? see it as a generous tip.” your face flushed, you didn’t even know what to say and instead only profusely thanked him. it was so much money, the tip was enough to cover your family’s expenses for a year.

when sukuna picked up his kimono weeks later, he still didn’t understand what a hassle you made about the choice of fabrics and why you were so diligent in taking the measurements. he was fine with everything as long as he had something to wear in the first place. he didn’t care, he wasn’t a measly human that whined about the mildest inconvenience. in the private of his abode, he tried the kimono on, abruptly halting his movements as soon as the fabric touched his skin. so the girl was right, the fabric did feel incredibly good on his skin. it was very smooth and silky, a little cool on his skin. very lightweight but not flimsy. the kimono wasn’t too short and fit his tall statue well, you really did a good job he supposed. he glanced at himself in the mirror. it did look good on him, even the matching colours and patterns were chosen well. you really were a good seamstress, no wonder everyone was flocking to the store.

now that sukuna wore the kimono, he suddenly didn’t want to take it off. it was comfortable and soft, reminding him of you.

003.

your favourite spot was one below a tree, on top of a hill where you could see everything. the small city below, the horizon, the stars in the sky. you often came here when you felt like your life came crashing down your shoulders. it didn’t feel like your own anymore, not with your future already laid out for you without you being able to control it. complaining had always felt redundant and ungrateful to you - you had everything you needed, a loving family, food on the table and your family was wealthy enough to not have to worry about money. but in return, they expected everything from you, their eldest daughter. sometimes, the pressure was too much for you but they expected you to do as they say. everything was well until they announced that you were to get married and they’d found a suitor for you. you couldn’t even protest, the decision had already been made behind your back and you couldn’t refuse. you sniffled quietly, wrapping the blanket tighter around you. you didn’t know this man; he might be a complete asshole and not treat you well at all.

the wind was biting at your skin, cold and unrelenting, and yet you felt safe here, away from all your worries. the starry sky made you feel like your worries were miniscule, reminding you that there was so much more out there for you to discover. you’d always liked the sight of stars, they always made you happy. on lucky days, you’d even get to see a few shooting stars. you’d close your eyes and clasp your hands, hopeful that whatever wish you made would come true. the crunch of leaves and twigs made you look up in alarm, scared that your parents had found out you left the estate and now found your secret hiding spot. you couldn’t quite make out the figure in the darkness, only being able to tell that a tall person was approaching you.

you were wary, inching towards the tree behind you to hide but froze when a voice rang out: “i know you’re there. i was looking for you all over the city, little one.” a man clad in a kimono was coming closer, stopping right in front of you and looking at you in disdain. your eyes lit up as you recognized him; you’d met sukuna a couple of times in the city before, mostly when you went to pick up some books to read. he’d been there one time when you were choosing your books and scoffed at your choice. you’d ask him about it, wondering why he thought that your choice was a bad one. he went on and on about how historically inaccurate the book was and that the information about curses was wrong and how an author like that should be ashamed to even publish it. you appreciated the dialogue, you liked having someone to discuss with you. your parents didn’t like that you read fantasy books and books that talked about supernatural events and beings, dubbing them as nonsense and that you should focus on your studies instead.

after your third meeting, sukuna had finally opened up and told you his name. your meetings became more frequent then but you’d never met anywhere other than the bookstore. you were surprised that he even found you here; you decided not to question him though, sukuna always seemed to know where you were, always sensing where you were headed. truthfully, you looked forward to spending time with him. he was attentive and always listened to you, barely ever talking. oddly enough, it made you feel like finally, someone was paying attention to your thoughts and needs. lately, a heavy feeling in your chest was always accompanying you when you met up with him. it was a dull ache, some kind of yearning that you couldn’t quite put a finger on. it didn’t help that you felt like you’d met him before, but you really couldn’t recall where you had met him before. “what are you doing here?” you questioned him, scooting to the side to offer him some space on the picnic blanket.

unceremoniously, he sat down and glanced over to you. he didn’t reply, simply shrugging. “why didn’t you bring a coat?” you asked another question instead, frowning at his choice of clothing. aside from his kimono, he wasn’t wearing anything else. “you’ll catch a cold!” you scolded him, swatting his arm before tugging on his sleeve and signalling him to move closer to you so you could wrap the blanket around his shoulders. you struggled a little to reach him, almost stumbling - sukuna’s arm immediately shot out to hold you so you wouldn’t fall. your cheeks flushed red and you were thankful that it was dark. you cleared your throat and sat back down, snuggling into the blanket and his side. 

“by the way, i read that book you disliked the other day,” you told him, rambling about the contents of the book and what you thought of it, all while sukuna simply listened to you. he only spoke up when he challenged your way of thinking or to agree, otherwise staying silent and just watching you.

suddenly you grasped his hand in excitement, pointing at the sky. “oh, oh! look!!” sukuna’s gaze followed the direction you pointed to, spotting some shooting stars flitting across the sky. “you have to wish for something!” you squeezed his hand and nudged him, then squeezing your eyes shut to prepare yourself to wish. 

“what would i even wish for?” sukuna frowned and pinched your cheek. “what do you wish for?”

“you’re not supposed to share wishes! if you do, they won’t come true,” you argued back and stuck your tongue out at him. sometimes, he really was too skeptical, never indulging in harmless fun. it might be childish to believe in these things but sometimes that little spark of hope was all you need to wait for better things. you sighed when the shooting stars disappeared and let go of his hand, screaming internally. did you really grab his hand like that? you sure hoped you didn’t unsettle him. 

“i don’t think i told you, but my parents have found a suitor for me,” you confided in him quietly, staring at the grass near your feet. “i’m supposed to marry him next year but… i don’t want to, i don’t know this person and i just want to live my life with no one controlling it.”

“i see. there’s still time to get to know him, isn’t there?” you knew sukuna was trying to console you but it wasn’t exactly working. your words frustrated you a little; subconsciously, you’d hoped that he shared the same opinion and maybe, just maybe, help you do something reckless. 

“i don’t want to get to know him,” you huffed and crossed your arms (sukuna thought you looked like a petulant child). “i… i already like someone.”

“you do?” sukuna looked at you surprised and that was the first time that he’d shown any other emotion than indifference. you nodded shyly, hoping that maybe he’d get the hint. you weren’t confident just yet to confess to him but maybe he’d get it from your description alone? 

“i recently met him and i really like that he makes me feel like, you know, important and always pays attention to me. he doesn’t talk a lot but i think that that’s okay, we still have a silent mutual understanding, i guess. and i also think he looks really handsome! although i-”

sukuna had enough of your rambling, he felt annoyed that you were telling him about your stupid crush. whatever boy you had a crush on, they would never amount to the likes of him. why would you look at someone else when he was right there? right here, with you. sukuna reached over and grabbed your cheeks to make you look at him before pressing his lips on yours. you froze for a short moment before returning the kiss, holding onto his kimono when he wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you closer. why would you pay attention to someone else when he could be with you? for the first time in his existence as a curse, he briefly felt human again. maybe shooting stars were the key to wishes coming true after all; in this moment he wouldn’t mind being human again, being alone with her with only the stars as your witnesses.

004.

gradually you were really starting to dislike your night shifts. usually, you’d ask to cover them because it was quiet, there were no nosy customers and the only people that ever came in so late were sleep deprived students that pulled all nighters to write papers or study. well it used to be that way until a group of, presumably, freshmen started coming more and more frequently - they wouldn’t have been so annoying if it wasn’t for them talking and laughing obnoxiously loud. they would stay until late in the night and kept ordering drinks. the audacity to have oddly specific orders, to watch you like a hawk while you were preparing their drinks, it made your blood boil. to top it all off, one of the guys kept flirting with you, even when you’d already made it obvious that you were not interested at all. no matter how uninterested and abrasive you acted, the guy would not leave you alone and his friends would try to act as wingmen. clueless and horrible wingmen.

you were glad that you were never alone during your night shifts, depending on the weekday you’d work in a team of two or threes. whenever they could, they’d cover for you and you were thankful but also felt bad, which usually resulted in you taking over anyways. you placed the basket on the counter, grabbing a towel to dry the cups you’d just washed. the chime of the doorbell made you look up, your heartbeat speeding up at the sight of sukuna coming in. like the group of freshmen, sukuna had recently started to visit the café more and more. he usually only came late at night and he probably was your favourite regular. scratch that, he was your favourite, no one was as calm as him and he never caused trouble. yeah, maybe those night shifts weren’t all that bad, you thought to yourself. you looked forward to him visiting every time you had a night shift.

“hi sukuna,” you greeted him softly and gave him a smile, placing the cup on a shelf. “the usual?” he took a seat near the bar, placing his wallet on the counter and taking off his coat. sukuna was peculiar, not particularly in a bad way. you always thought that he was a little mysterious. he always wore the same kimono - who wears kimonos everyday in this day and age anyways - the same white kimono but maybe he just owned mulitple of them. you could never tell what he was thinking and he had never shown any emotions other than brief moments of bliss when he was having his usual order. his order had always and would probably always be a simple black coffee and some daifuku mochi. it was a weird combo, you mused, but somehow fit him. it was a sharp contrast, just like his tattoos and the soft pink hair. you finished up the order, pushing the cup of coffee and the plated mochi towards him - you’d sneaked another one in just for him, knowing how much he seemed to like them. sukuna looked up at you, ready to protest but you just brushed it off, telling him that it was okay.

out of the corner of your eye you saw your not so secret admirer approaching with an empty cup and you instantly knew you were bound to be annoyed again. you sighed, returning to the cash register to take his order. “so, when am i finally going to get to take you out?” the guy asked, leaning on the counter to get closer to you. you gritted your teeth, ignoring his question and instead took the empty cup, placing it in the kitchen sink behind you. 

“oh come on, don’t ignore me, baby,” he whined, not letting up until you answered. you were annoyed, so so annoyed. your co-workers were currently organizing the inventory so you were all by yourself - usually that would be fine but you’d had enough. this week has already been awful and you just wanted to be left alone. you glanced around, spotting sukuna on the side. suddenly a lightbulb went on in your head and you faced your admirer confidently. 

“i’m sorry but please stop flirting with me and trying to ask me out,” you started and pointed to sukuna who was innocently taking a bite from his mochi. “i already have a boyfriend and i don’t think he appreciates you cornering me like this. you being this persistent is really annoying, girls don’t like that.”

upon hearing his name, sukuna looked up and as if on cue, he glared at your admirer. “yeah, i suggest you fuck off. get a hint, you creep, she’s mine,” he snarled, making a move towards the other guy who was already scrambling to get away and profusely apologizing. mine, mine, mine. his words kept repeating in your head, your heart squeezing painfully. was he interested in you? would he ever come to see you more than just a barista? you sighed in both relief and affliction, trudging over to sukuna. 

“i’m sorry i dragged you into this,” you apologized embarrassed, shoulders drooping and you stared at the floor just so he wouldn’t see your reddened cheeks. “he’s been pestering me so much and i kind of thought that that was the only way to get him to back off.”

“i don’t mind,” sukuna replied curtly, resuming his seat. he didn’t say anything else and you slightly panicked, you wanted to keep talking to him, stay in his company for a little longer. 

“ah uhm sukuna, i want to thank you! if… if you don’t mind, i would like to treat you to another drink?” you suggested, your face now beet red. this was the most straightforward you had ever been with a guy, usually too shy to make a move. in distance you could hear the chime of the doorbell and the doors slamming, indicating that the group had left. you were alone. sukuna didn’t reply at first and you were sure you’d fucked up and got ready to backtrack and laugh it off when he nodded. 

“go ahead, little one,” he nodded towards the counter. “you choose the drink.”

you didn’t know why sukuna kept calling you little one but for some reason, you didn’t mind. it did however make your heart ache in what you could only describe as melancholy. you weren’t sure why. while you started brewing some green tea for the two of you, the sound of thunder rumbled in the distance. the pitter patter of raindrops against the glass front was the only sound audible in the entire café. sukuna hadn’t uttered another word, not even making a sound of acknowledgement when you handed him the cup of tea and sat next to him. 

“you didn’t bring an umbrella,” you noted, looking out of the window. it was raining heavily, with no signs of it stopping anytime soon. “i guess you’ll have to stay here for a little longer, otherwise you’ll get sick. i hope you aren’t sick of me though.”

sukuna took a sip of his tea. “i don’t mind your company,” he replied, looking at you. you couldn’t tell what he was thinking but you sincerely hoped he wasn’t joking. hearing that gave you a little hope. 

“i like moments like this,” you confessed to him, clutching the warm cup with your sweater paws. “having a warm cup of tea and watching the rain from the comfort of your home. or in this case, a café. the sound of rain is really calming, isn’t it? makes you forget about all your worries for a while, it’s just you and your cup of tea.”

again, sukuna didn’t reply for a while. you thought you’d bored him to death with your monologue until he spoke up: “i don’t see how it’s any different from having a cup at any time of the day.” your cup was placed back on the counter. you frowned, not sure how to explain it to him. in moments like these, sukuna seemed to be something of an old being that has seen everything, feelings now dull and locked away. 

“well, see it like this. making yourself a cup of tea or coffee everyday is a normal thing to do, right? it happens almost automatically because it’s just part of your daily routine, you like how it tastes, it makes you feel more awake or helps you sleep. but… but you never really take your time to enjoy it, right?”

sukuna was contemplating, you almost giggled at the little frown on his face. but you were glad that he was willing to listen to you and discuss it with you, instead of dismissing the topic entirely. “but what does that have to do with rain?” he finally asked. 

you pointed outside. “you wouldn’t really go out in this weather, right? not if you have any emergencies or urgent matters to attend to. and same goes for everyone else; it kind of… kind of forces you to stay inside, to fully enjoy your warm beverage. the sound of rain is pretty calming, it’s some kind of whitenoise that might block out intrusive thoughts, at least it does that for me. so it’s only you, the sound of rain and your cup of tea. for a few minutes, you can just relax and have a moment for yourself.”

sukuna still didn’t quite understand how humans worked. it’s been hundreds of years since he’s ceased to be human, he’s forgotten what is what like being human. what human emotions entailed. but he agreed, it has been a while since he’s felt at ease and peaceful even. it was a moment of bliss, a moment that caused a flare-up of old, buried feelings inside of him.

004.1

you still hadn’t mustered up the courage to actually ask sukuna out after you dragged him into that fake dating-situation. he did still come late at night, being the most loyal customer of the café at this point. it was almost… almost as if he’d seeked out your company. though he did tell you that he didn’t mind your company; your ego deflated a little. sukuna still wore his kimono but paired it with a thick winter coat - it was winter after all and the weather had been very extreme. the ground was covered in inches of snow and you hadn’t seen the sun in weeks. sukuna insisted on walking you home when your shift ended. you weren’t sure why because he’d never offered to do so before. you were thankful though since it was still snowing and the streets were completely empty; even though the snow looked beautiful, it was still a little eerie to walk home in this weather. especially since a lot of busses weren’t running anymore due blocked roads.

“sukuna, aren’t you cold?” you asked as you switched off the lights and fumbled with your keys. finally finding the right one, you closed up, shoving the keys back in your back and fishing out your gloves. “you don’t even wear gloves!” you gasped when you saw his bare hands, handing him one of yours. sukuna looked at you as if you were crazy.

he wasn’t cold but he couldn’t tell you that, couldn’t let you know that he was a curse. but handing him one of you gloves? you were too nice, always thinking of others first and never being selfish. sighing, he put on the glove that was uncomfortably small but he’d endure it for your sake.

“it’s been a while since we’ve had this much snow,” you mused and took a few steps around, giggling at the sound of crunching snow beneath your feet. sukuna simply followed you, looking comical with the bright yellow and tiny glove on his hand. you smiled at him, admiring how etheral he looked underneath the streetlights with the snowflakes flurrying around him and some getting stuck in his hair. your heart suddenly ached, a far away memory emerging. it was blurry and unclear, a cold night similar as this underneath the stars and a face staring at you. you couldn’t tell who it was nor were you sure whether it was just a case of déjà vu.

“you know, this kind of calls for a snowball fight,” you grinned at sukuna mischievously and grabbed some snow, beginning to form it into a ball. he raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, looking at you defiantly. 

“i’m not going to indulge in childish business like th-” he didn’t get to finish his sentence as you hurled the snowball at him and giggled like a maniac as it hit his shoulder. you quickly hid behind a bush as you quickly tried to form another, enjoying the dumbfounded look on sukuna’s face. clearly, he didn’t expect you to follow through with your plan and was caught by surprise. “oh you’re on,” he growled after a moment and grabbed himself some snow as well. you quickly threw another snowball at him, this time only being able to hit his leg. eyes widening at the sight of sukuna raising his arm to throw his snowball at you, you let out a squeak and dove behind a tree - the snowball still hit you square on your back, making you yelp at the cold feeling.

for minutes you could only hear the crunches of snow, loud laughter and snowballs hitting objects. you sat on a bench, exhausted from running and ducking away and your belly was starting to hurt from all the laughter. sukuna caught up to you, juggling a snowball in his hands. “you gonna give up?” he asked, a smirk gracing his lips. clearly he was winning, being able to aim a lot better than you. you missed him most of the time but had fun regardless. 

“never!” you replied, holding out your arms to defend yourself from the incoming snowball. it never came and instead sukuna was inching closer with an evil look in his eyes. oh no. what was he up to? you yelped when you realized that he was aiming for your neck, jumping up to get away from him. sukuna was quick to react and grabbed your arm, pulling you back into his chest and holding you close, smushing the snow against your neck. “ew sukuna, stop!” you laughed and squirmed in his arms until he threw the snowball away, rubbing your back gently. 

“that was really cold, you know,” you pouted, burying your face in his chest. 

he wrapped his arms around you, sighing quietly. “i know, i know, sorry.”

you swore that you felt his lips on the crown of your head.

005.

you were, undoubtedly, lost. your phone was about to die and you were stranded in the middle of the city, not sure where to go. to be fair, it was very, very easy to get lost here and it was your first time visiting. your grandparents lived here and while you’ve visited before, you couldn’t quite remember anything anymore. you were a child back then. and the city had drastically changed too, making it difficult for you to navigate yourself around. though your poor sense of direction was probably at fault as well. you sighed, trying to call your grandparents again. no one was picking up. you turned your phone off to save some of the battery, maybe you could call them later.

luckily, you’d brought your cameras so you could at least keep yourself busy until someone freed you from this misery. you walked towards the nearby shrine; there didn’t seem to be any people here, it was very quiet aside from the sound of cicadas. you took a few photos before continuing your journey, soon finding yourself standing on top of the hill. the view from here was breathtaking, even more so because the sun was starting to set, painting the sky in a beautiful yellow and orange hue. you fumbled with your camera again, trying to take a photo when someone suddenly moved into your shot. you paused and looked at the person in front of you who was staring at you as well. considering they were wearing a kimono, you assumed that they must work here. did you make a mistake? maybe you weren’t supposed to take photos and this person came to tell you off.

“i’m sorry!” you said quickly, quickly shoving your camera in your bag. “am i allowed to take photos here?” 

the stranger frowned at you, clearing his voice before replying: “how am i supposed to know? i don’t work here.” 

you groaned, rubbing your face in embarrassment. of course you’d say something wrong, you always did. and now you probably annoyed him too - he looked really annoyed. but since he wasn’t working here and there was no one else around, you guessed you could take photos after all. there was no one to tell you off anyways. however, the stranger was still standing there, looking at you in what seemed like interest. you felt awkward just continuing your endeavors without acknowledging him, so you asked: “do you live here? i’m just visiting, so i’m not very familiar with the city.”

“you could say that,” the stranger simply replied. when he didn’t say anything else, you decided that it probably was okay if you just continued taking photos without acknowledging him. though it did make you queasy, knowing that he was just watching you. didn’t he have anything else to do? a few minutes passed. he sighed and walked over, pointing at your camera. “what are you doing?” you were surprised at how straightforward he was, not expecting to engage in a conversation with you. maybe people in this city were just extra talkative and you’d have to get used to it. your grandparents never told you about this though. 

“ah i’m visiting my grandparents here and i thought i’d document my stay here. so i can look at these photos whenever i want and just have the memories on photo,” you explained and rummaged in your bag to show him the polaroids you took earlier. “i particularly like polaroids because you can’t edit or change them… whatever moment you capture, it’s true to what you saw. there’s no need to make photos beautiful when they hold a special place in your heart and are tied to a specific memory.”

the stranger nodded, pointing to your polaroid camera. “and you take them with this device?” his choice of words startled you a little, he didn’t seem to be familiar with this type of camera which you found odd. everyone knew what these were nowadays, almost everyone owned them. but you didn’t want to judge him or make him feel stupid though, patiently explaining to him how the cameras worked and where he could purchase them. he seemed to be really interested, closely inspecting the camera, turning it around and fumbling with the buttons. only after you finished rambling, you realize how much time had passed - it was almost dark now and your grandparents were probably worried sick. your phone was turned off the entire time and you forgot to call them. 

“excuse me, i really need to call my grandparents!” you looked at him apologetically, leaving him with your photos and camera. normally, you would be very wary; normally, you wouldn’t even show anyone your photos, rather keeping them to yourself because they were your precious memories. but something about him resonated with you, he seemed familiar and yet he didn’t.

you found a spot a few meters away from him calling your grandparents and profusely apologizing to them for not calling sooner. you promised them to wait at a popular and well known spot nearby so they could come to pick you up since it was already getting late, then hung up. to your relief, the stranger was still standing there, watching you intently. “thank you,” you smiled as he handed you your belongings. “my grandparents are picking me up soon, thank you for keeping me company. won’t you be going home soon?” 

suddenly his face expression turned rather… sad? somewhat melancholic and you feared you’d said something wrong until he shook his head. “i have to go somewhere later. let me walk you for a bit, it is dark after all.” you looked at him a little dumbfounded, not expecting him to suggest something like that.

“oh you don’t have to! i’ll totally be fine, i-” “i want to. let’s go,” he interrupted you, already beginning to move. you hastily followed him, clutching your bag in your hands. the entire walk was rather silent, none of you saying a word. it wasn’t a tense and uncomfortable silence though - you very much enjoyed his presence. it made you feel safe too, even though you’d told him earlier that you didn’t mind walking by yourself, it was comforting to know that he was by your side. you were in an unfamiliar city after all. hell you even got lost, so who were you kidding. you wondered who the stranger was, what his story was, what his personality was like. this was a one time meeting though, so you didn’t really have any hope of meeting him again. that was very unlikely.

“okay this is the spot. my grandparents are going to pick me up here, so it’s okay if you go,” you pointed at a café and gave him a reassuring smile. he didn’t look impressed. “o-oh wait, i need to thank you somehow.” you held a finger up to signal him to wait for a bit and fished out a polaroid you’d taken earlier. it was a simple shot, only the temple, bits of the trees and the sunset in the background. but you thought it was appropriate, the two of you had shared this moment after all. 

“here, this is for you. it’s not a lot but i guess… it’s a really nice photo and maybe the start of your collection, if you decide to get a polaroid camera?” he took the photo from you, inspecting it before nodding and thanking you. he looked like he was about to say something else but was interrupted by some bright car lights and the sound of honks.

“ah, i have to go! it was nice meeting you,” you bid farewell to him and waved, running towards the car. sukuna watched your figure retreat, arms dropping to his sides.

006.

it was so cold, so incredibly cold. you really hated disliked these long winters, the sky was constantly dull and grey, the days were short and you hadn’t seen the sun in weeks. it made you feel sluggish and unmotivated, you were just hoping that spring was coming earlier this year. you yearned for sunshine and warmth, to be able to go outside without freezing and just spend more time outside. regardless, you held onto your daily walks because they gave you some peace of mind in your hectic life. you were approaching the last year of your studies and the amount of exams, assignments and your looming thesis were just suffocating you. but soon, soon you were done and could finally take a breather, until then, the only moments of relaxation you’d have were your walks.

despite the cold, there were a lot of people near the park; children who were engaging in snowball fights, elderly who were walking their dogs and some joggers too. your eyes were wandering around, watching all the busy people around. too absorbed in your task, you didn’t notice the man in front of you until you bumped into him. you quickly removed your earbuds and apologized to him, about to continue walking when he suddenly grabbed your arm, holding you back. you were confused, did you maybe accidently hurt him when you bumped into him? you looked him up and down to make sure that he was okay; there really wasn’t anything wrong. he let go of your arm. “is something wrong?” you asked concerned and turned to him. 

“y/n?” 

you froze at the mention of your name. how did he know you?

“who are you? i’ve never met you before.”

in all your past lifetimes, you’d taught him how to be human again, how there was value and joy in even the littlest of things. with each iteration of your existence, sukuna thinks that he’s learned to love you more than the last. when he sees how at ease you are spending time with him, a curse that is feared by everyone, he contemplates confessing to you. but something holds him back, it’s the fear; the fear that you won’t return his feelings. he’s seen you be with someone else, see you fall in love countless of times. he yearns for it to be him, hoping that you do choose him, love him. for thousands of years, he’s spent his time finding you - your reincarnations don’t recognize him and it pains him to get to know you anew each time but nothing pains him as much as his existence. he wants to hold you, be yours, grow old with you.

for the first time in thousands of years, sukuna wishes to be human again.

ps.: i am so sorry if i hurt your heart there omg

#jujutsu kaisen #sukuna #ryoumen sukuna #sukuna x reader #ryoumen sukuna x reader #sukuna x you #ryoumen sukuna x you #sukuna imagines #ryoumen sukuna imagines #jujutsu kaisen imagines #jujutsu kaisen fluff #fic: cynosure #writing

[cloudenthusiast2]

You bring home a new pet - Genshin x reader - Part 2

Character: Venti

Length: ~1500 words

Genre: total fluff

Venti went home absolutely shattered.

He spent his entire day singing his heart and lungs out, constantly trying to get people to listen to him. Mondstadt was full off many talented bards, no wonder it was so exhausting to make money with busking.

His shoulders that seemed so young but were so old bent under the great weight he was carrying. The sun has almost completely disappeared from the sky but the street lights still weren’t on. The town was dark and misty.

Normally Venti would’ve been sitting in Angel’s share by now, drinking all his painfully collected money away. But today he was unusually self-aware. He was too tired to pretend even to himself he was okay, and he knew that going drinking would be the stupidest thing to do.

He felt a little guilty. Not because of himself, rather because of you. He knew he didn’t exactly treat you right, drinking so much and barely spending time with you. The way you tried to hide your disappointment and sadness when you saw him drunk or hungover broke his heart every time.

It would be good to just go home and see you.

He turned left to the familiar little street. In that exact moment the street lights lit up, showing the way in front of him. You rented a house in the cheapest area possible but it was still nice and pretty.

Just a bit too many cats…

Venti rose his elbow in the last moment before he sneezed.

‘Bless you.’

He got startled by the sudden voice that came out of nowhere. He jumped, then pressed his hands on his pounding heart. He glanced at the elderly lady sitting on the steps of her house. She was silently laughing at him.

‘Please be careful, nanny, you almost made my heart explode’ Venti said jokingly, letting out a long sigh.

‘Eh, I did the same to many men in the past’ the granny answered, her mouth curving into a cheeky smile. ‘Get in the line.’

‘Oh, I sure will’ Venti winked at her.

‘You’re one hopeless lad’ the granny shook her head.

Venti was about to reply with something playful but the urge to sneeze interrupted him.

‘Cat allergy?’ the old lady asked after he finished an intense sneezing session with tears in his turquoise eyes. She seemed sympathetic. ‘My husband had it too, bless him.’

‘It’s a real curse.’ Venti agreed. ‘I like cats for they’re exemplary in enjoying their freedom, but I can’t be with one in the same area.’

‘Then why did your girlfriend get one?’

‘Sorry?’ Venti blinked.

‘Your girlfriend. She passed by an hour ago, holding a cat. She said she’s going to keep it as a pet.’

‘A- a cat?’ Venti stared at the old lady. ‘But… Wait, how did you know I have a girlfriend? Do you know me?’

‘Of course, you’re that naughty bard who keeps singing love songs from my grandma’s time when he’s drunk’ the granny laughed. ‘Your girlfriend likes to keep me company sometimes as well. I’m more surprised you have no idea about me although we’re neighbors.’

‘I’m embarrassed’ Venti chuckled awkwardly.

‘As you should be’ the old lady nodded. ‘Little rascal.’

‘Say, granny…’ Venti hesitated then shook his head. ‘Never mind. I gotta get home.’

‘Yes, hurry up and go. When the sun is down, it’s better to be at home in your lovers’ arms.’

Venti grinned and waved goodbye to the social old lady. But when he turned away, the smile quickly faded away and he couldn’t hide his worried expression any more.

You knew about his allergy. Then why did you get a cat?!

He knew you loved cats. You asked him to get one in the past. He also knew you were afraid of dogs so this pet was not an option either, that’s why you didn’t have any. But now… now you got one.

Have you finally had enough… and maybe even fallen out of love with him?

He was busy cursing himself as he ran towards your little house. Of course you’d replace him with a cat! Cats are a thousand times better than him. They don’t drink, they don’t need to be collected in the middle of the night from an inn, they don’t cost that much to keep and are still great friends…

He was panting when he finally reached the door. He felt like his lungs disappeared and he couldn’t breathe any more, while his heart continued to ache in worry. He burst into the house.

‘Y/n!’ he yelled immediately. ‘Where are you, dear?’

‘Venti!’

Much to his surprise, the voice shouting back was not angry or cold. It was scared.

‘Vent, help me!’

‘Where are you?!’

His concerns about the cat and your relationship all disappeared in a matter of a second as he turned panicked. All he knew now was that you were in trouble and that he must help.

‘In the bedroom!’

He was there in a second, breaking the door in. He stumbled into the room, searching for you with wide-open eyes.

‘Y/n…’

‘I’m here!’ you sobbed.

Venti came there decidedly to rescue you. He was so worried and panicked that something hurt you.

But when he actually laid his eyes on you, he couldn’t move an inch. He just stood there frozen, staring at the scene in front of him.

You were crouching on the top of your wardrobe. You were in tears, shaking and crying.

Under you, on the hardwood floor there was a… dog. A really small dog.

‘What’s happening’ Venti quietly said to himself. But he couldn’t answer, you were the one to yell again.

‘I can’t get down! It will bite me! I’m so scared, please help me!’

The dog turned around for the first time and looked up to study Venti. It was brown, tiny and had a really friendly face. It seemed like he has already decided he likes the bard because he started an intense tail-wagging session and ran towards the boy.

‘You see?’ you sobbed hysterically as if the warm welcome was a sign of the animal being a bloodthirsty beast.

Venti was still dumbstruck. He stared at the dog who rose on its hind legs, putting its front paws on the bard’s calf.

But Venti could never be surprised for too long. He got back to his usual witty self as soon as he could finally catch a breath.

‘I thought you got a cat’ he looked up to you who was still sitting on the top of the wardrobe. He had to clear this matter before anything else, now that he knew you were actually okay.

‘A cat?’ you asked through your tears. ‘Why would I get a cat when you’re allergic to them? I obviously didn’t!’

‘Then why did that granny say she saw you carrying a cat this day, my love?’

‘It must’ve been a misunderstanding, I swear! I adopted a dog!’

‘And now you’re on the top of the drawer’ he summarized.

‘Y-yes.’

‘Then why did you think it would be a good idea to…’

‘Get one? I thought that maybe if I’m… not enough now, maybe a pet would make you stay at home more.’

His eyes widened and stared in disbelief. You wiped your tears away.

‘Help me down, please’ you asked quietly.

‘No.’

This time it was you who blinked in surprise.

‘No…? Are you angry at me?’

‘I’m more angry at myself, don’t worry at love’ he reassured you. ‘But I’ll only help you get down if you revoke your previous words.’

‘That I adopted a dog?’

‘No, silly. That you’re not enough for me.’

You closed your mouth and studied his face for a while. It was one of those rare moments when he didn’t try to pretend he was okay and he actually let you see him sad. He didn’t try to smile or joke about it. He seemed genuine.

‘So you do love me’ you whispered.

‘I do, dear’ he promised. ‘And I’m gonna make sure to show that more often from now on.’

‘No more drunk nights?’ you asked. He gulped but strengthened himself and nodded.

‘I’ll try.’

‘Okay’ you answered, your voice cracking. ‘That’s enough for now. I love you.’

‘I know’ Venti chuckled. He closed his eyes for a moment, to get his balance back because he felt like the room was spinning with him. Then he bent down and grabbed the dog who was desperate for attention. He lifted it and stared into its friendly eyes. ‘And what am I gonna do with you now, buddy?’

‘Do you want to keep it?’ came the question from the drawer’s direction.

‘Not if it’s gonna make you climb furniture all the time’ he declared with a growing smile.

‘I’ll get myself together’ you promised. ‘You can also teach me how to deal with it and I’m sure I’ll learn not to be afraid of it.’

‘Good idea’ he nodded and gently hugged the animal. It was so small, he could understand why the nanny mistook it for a cat.

Venti turned around and started walking away.

‘Hey!’ you let out a scared yell. ‘Where are you going?’

‘To the kitchen’ he replied with a mischievous grin. ‘I gotta feed the dog.’

‘And who’s gonna let me down?’ you panicked but then quickly turned annoyed. ‘Venti, are you serious? You’ve just promised to treat me better!’

‘Alright, alright, I’m just joking, love’ he laughed and turned back to you. He put the dog on the bed and rose his arms to get you. ‘Now, don’t look at your beloved like that!’

You were growling as he helped you down from the top of the drawer. But as soon as he pulled you into a tight hug, all your anger disappeared without any trace.

You buried your face into his soft clothes. Venti laid his head on the top of yours and closed his eyes, finally getting to breathe more easily. He felt like entire rock fell off his heart in your embrace.

He couldn’t have been happier that he went home early that night.

#you can request other characters in the comments or asks #have a good day:) #don't forget to give love to your pets #and others around you ofc #cloudenthusiast #venti #genshin impact #genshin #venti genshin #venti genshin impact #venti genshin x reader #venti x reader #venti x you #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin venti #genshin fluff #venti fluff

[raindancer2004]

Rejected by a human?

Word Count: 6,561 Demetri x Swan reader Oneshot - Warnings: Angst, Fluff

Edward starts to step outside without his shirt on when Bella runs into his arms, asking to him to open his eyes and to go back inside. Bella says she can let him go now and Edward tells her that he loves her and that he can’t live in a world where she is not in it. They share a kiss as Demetri and Felix enter the hallway. Edward tells them “I won’t be needing your services after all gentlemen” “Still we should take this conversation to a more appropriate venue” Demetri replies. Edward nods and tells Bella to go and enjoy the festival. “The girl comes with us” says Felix. “Go to hell” Edward replies.

The doors burst open “Come on gentlemen, you don’t want to cause a scene” states Alice. “You wouldn’t” replies Felix. Demetri ignores the conversation between his friend and the female vampire as his eyes focus on the girl standing behind Alice. She has long brown hair and chocolate brown eyes. He feels a burning in the back of his throat but ignores it as takes her warm hand in his cold one as they all make their way to the throne room to meet with Aro, Caius and Marcus.

Once in the throne room Demetri keeps Y/N beside him, an arm wrapped around her holding her. Edward offers his hand to Aro. Aro tells the room that Bella is Edward’s La tua cantante and that Edward cannot read her mind. Aro then discovers that Bella is immune to his gift and Jane’s.

Edward and Felix then fight as Edward tries to stop Felix from killing Bella. Felix has Edward kneeling on the throne steps with his head in his hands ready to remove it, when Bella cries out “Kill me, kill me, not him, not him” Aro stops Felix and looks to Bella “You would give up your life for someone like us, a soulless monster” “You don’t know a thing about his soul” replies Bella. Before Aro can kill Bella Alice shows her vision of Bella becoming one of them, “Your gifts will make for an intriguing immortal Isabella. Go make your preparations” Aro says bringing his hands together.

Aro notices Demetri is holding a human in his arms. “What are we going to do with you my dear?” Aro says walking towards Demetri and Y/N; she hears a low growl escape Demetri as he pushes her behind him feeling the need to protect her.

Marcus recognises the mate bond and calls out “Brother” getting Aro’s attention, before getting up from his throne and offering his hand to Aro. Aro sees Marcus’ thoughts and sees that Y/N is Demetri’s mate. “Ahh it would seem another happy ending is to be had thanks to your visit” Aro says loudly. “What?” Y/N asks “It would seem that you are the mate of our dear Demetri.  You are True Bond Mates to be exact. This is rarer than Blood Singer Mate pairings like your sister and Edward” Marcus explains “The only other True Bond Mate pairing I have seen in my time was between my late wife and I” He continues. “What is a True Bond Mate pairing?” Y/N asks curious. “The True Bond Mate pairing is very sacred and should be treasured” Marcus answered smiling. “Wh-what happens now?” She asked “I’m sure Demetri would like the chance to get to know you and for you to get to know him in return” Aro replies. “So he’ll be coming back with us…?” “No my dear you will stay here with him” Aro continues “No. She can’t stay here” Bella cries out “Not with him!” “Now, now Bella, you know what you and Edward have been through the last six months, after all it is what led you here. Do you really want your sister and Demetri to go through that? It would be worse for them” Caius responds, Bella went to object when Edward shook his head at her.

“Thanks for the heads-up Alice” Y/N says sarcastically “What? Why are you blaming her?” Bella questioned. “Well Little Miss Crystal Ball over there” Y/N starts pointing to Alice, the Volturi guards chuckled “Would have seen this coming as soon as we decided to come here and save your precious Edward and yet she said nothing. Now I’m stuck here with someone I don’t know; someone who could kill me in an instant. I mean if she had told me this would happen, I could have at least a) packed some clothes and stuff or b) not come at all” Y/N finishes and Demetri feels sad hearing this, for he would never harm her for it would hurt him to do so. “I’m sorry Y/N, but I knew if I told you, you wouldn’t have come and that would cause problems for us in the future” Before anyone could respond to Alice, Edward said “We’ll be going now Aro” bowing his head “Thank you for your visit. Heidi will be here any moment” Marcus responds and with that Edward, Bella and Alice leave the throne room escorted by Demetri who took Y/N’s hand in his “Come cara mia, say goodbye to Bella” He says softly. Y/N watched as Edward, Alice and Bella left the castle “I can’t believe they’re leaving me here” She mumbled to herself, although Demetri heard and frowned slightly.

Demetri left Y/N at reception with Gianna. “I’ll come back and collect you shortly” Y/N nods and takes a seat and picks up a magazine to read. About 30 minutes later Demetri returns to reception and Y/N notices his eyes are a brighter shade of red than before. “Hello cara mia. Who do I have the pleasure of being mated to?” “My name is Y/N. You’re Demetri?” “Yes, yes I am. Come I’ll show you to my…our room that is unless you want me to stay away, then it will be your room until you decide otherwise” “Do I not get my own room?” She asked “Do you want your own room?” He enquired. “I-I don’t know what I want, I mean I only found out about vampires on the flight over” Demetri looked at her shocked “What do you know about vampires, about us?” “Only what Alice told me and to be honest that wasn’t a lot” He nodded “Can I ask you a question, although I don’t think I’m going to like the answer” “Go ahead cara mia. You can ask me anything” He replied “Y-your eyes, they’ve changed colour since I first met you a few hours ago. They’re brighter than before. Why is that?” “My eyes are brighter, redder than before because I have recently fed. My eyes get darker the thirstier I get” He replied “Oh ok. You drink human blood, right?” She looked a little worried “Yes Y/N I do, but you are safe with me. I promise you” She nodded although she wasn’t totally convinced.

They arrived at Demetri’s room “Sorry about all the stairs; the higher the rank of the guard, the higher the room in the castle” “That’s ok, just don’t expect me to find way back here if I leave the room” She let out a slight chuckle. Y/N noticed there was a marble fireplace on the right-hand side of the room with bookcases on either side; there was a blood red coloured rug in front of the fireplace. There was a sofa facing the fireplace with a matching chair to the right. On the wall opposite the door was a set of French doors leading to a balcony; a desk was placed to the right of the doors with a world map on the wall above the desk. On the wall opposite the French doors were 2 doors; one leading into a walk-in closet and the other leading into a large bathroom. Y/N noticed the bathtub on the left-hand side was big enough for two; a large walk-in shower was situated opposite the door. On the right-hand side of the room was a toilet and a double vanity unit with two sinks. “Wow. This is nicer than most hotels” Demetri heard her comment and smiled to himself. She then noticed the king size bed on the wall opposite the fireplace. “I thought vampires do not sleep” “It’s not for sleeping or at least it wasn’t before your arrival. A bed can be used for many things cara” He says softly in her ear whilst running his fingers up and down her arms; Y/N blushes and steps forward away from him. “Did you want to stay here on your own?” “No, I…” Demetri smiled “I don’t want to throw you out of your own room. Is there a guest room I could stay in?” Demetri’s smile faded upset that his mate didn’t want to stay with him or even stay in his room. “I’m sure I can arrange something, stay here”

He left the room and bumped into Heidi “Are you ok Dem?” “No. I finally meet my mate and she wants nothing to do with me” He replies sounding sad, Heidi looks confused. “She doesn’t wish to stay in my room with me or without me; she has asked to have her own room” He finishes. “Oh Dem don’t take it personally. This is all new to her. I mean the Cullens and her sister did just leave her here” She says sympathetically. “There’s an empty room opposite yours; Chelsea and I can turn it into her room” “Thank you at least she’ll be near me, all the other guest rooms are on the other side of the castle” “I know that’s why I offered. She can stay in my room in the meantime if that’s ok with you?” “Yes that should be ok. Come on we’ll go tell her”

“Y/N this is Heidi. You can stay in her room until yours is ready if you’d like?” “Hello Heidi, thank you for the offer, but I do not wish to throw you out of your room either” “No need to worry about that I’ll be too busy turning the empty room opposite Demetri’s into your room” “If you’re sure, that would be lovely thank you” Y/N smiled at her. “Do you have any bags with you?” Heidi asks looking around the room “No. It was only supposed to be a quick trip to bring Edward home so I didn’t pack anything” “I’ll take you shopping tomorrow and we’ll get you some stuff. In the meantime you can borrow something of mine” Heidi says smiling holding out her hand to Y/N “Come on I’ll show you to my room. Bye Demetri” “Take this” He says to Heidi too low for Y/N to hear and hands her his bank card. “Thank you Heidi. See you soon Y/N” “Bye Demetri” Y/N replies leaving the room. Demetri sighs and sits on the sofa his head in his hands ‘She is my mate and she wants nothing to do with me’ Demetri thinks to himself sadly.

Sometime later he stands and makes his way to the throne room “What a pleasant surprise my boy” Aro greets him “I would have thought you would be with your lovely mate” “Master” Demetri replies holding out his hand for Aro to read his thoughts. “Come with me” Aro says leading Demetri to his private study. “Be patient with her. She has just found out about vampires, about us few hours ago and on top of that she has a new home to get used to. She has also found out she is mated to a vampire” “I know but I want to be with her, help her settle in, get to know her and she won’t even stay in my room whether I’m there or not. Maybe I should have let her go” He looks down at the floor “Do not say that or think it. If anything happened to either of you, the other would end up like poor Marcus” Aro says placing a hand on Demetri’s shoulder. “Take care of her, treasure her my dear boy. She will come to love you in time.” “Thank you master. I hope so”

The following morning Heidi takes Y/N shopping for new clothes and stuff for her room. First stop was Boux Avenue for underwear; followed by a boutique shop “They do lovely dresses in here” Heidi says pulling Y/N into the shop. They bought a black knee length sleeveless dress, a black dress with spaghetti straps and a cow neck, an emerald green dress that came to her mid-thigh, a black waist length jacket and a black pair of stilettos. The next shop they went into they picked out jeans, t-shirts, pyjamas – both long trouser sets and short sets and a pair of flat black shoes. They also picked up toiletries and make-up. “I can’t pay you back for this stuff, I don’t have much money with me” Y/N said to Heidi “Don’t worry about the cost. Demetri has given me his card and told me to get you anything you need/want” Heidi said smiling “I can’t pay him back either” “Like I said Y/N do not worry about the cost, he won’t accept any money from you anyways. He is your mate and he’ll look after you”

Heidi then took Y/N into a department store “Let’s pick out some stuff for your room” Y/N chose some blue and grey bed sets “Blue is my favourite colour” She told Heidi. Heidi bought a big silver-grey rug to go in front of the fireplace and some grey cushions with blue flowers on; these were to go on the new black sofa Heidi ordered for the room. Y/N picked a large cream blanket, black and grey bath sheets, hand towels and wash cloths; whilst Heidi selected a coffee table, two beside tables and two lamps. “Demetri might change his mind about paying for all this when his statement comes in” Y/N chuckled softly “I can assure you he won’t and anyways the stuff for your room comes out of the castle decorating account”

While Y/N and Heidi were shopping Chelsea tidied Y/N’s room removing the boxes and storing them in a cupboard down the hall. Demetri lit the fire in Heidi’s room to ensure the room was warm ready for when they returned as Y/N’s room wasn’t ready for her yet.

“Good afternoon Heidi, Y/N, cara mia. I trust you had a good time shopping” Demetri said taking the bags from Y/N “We did thank you Demetri” Y/N replied walking beside him.

Later that evening Demetri went to Heidi’s room to give Y/N her dinner “Gianna made chicken pasta with garlic bread and salad for you both. I hope it’s ok” “Thank you Demetri for bringing it to me. It looks delicious. Please thank her for me” He nodded and sat beside her on the sofa “Why did you come with Bella to save Edward?” He asked “Bella is my sister and asked me if I’d come with her, so I agreed…” She trails off “You wish you hadn’t come now?” He asked “Honestly, yes a little” He frowned “I don’t mean to upset you but this is going to take time to get used to; being the True Bond Mate of a vampire, especially as I always thought vampires were just characters in books and films” She answered him “I know cara mia. This is new for me too but we’ll work it out together” He smiled at her and she nodded unsure if she wanted to work it out with him.

The following morning Heidi came back to her room “Good morning Y/N, your room is ready whenever you are” “Thank you Heidi” They made their way to Y/N’s room that was opposite Demetri’s and Y/N noted it had a fireplace on the right-hand side of the room and a double bed on the wall opposite the fireplace, which Heidi had put a blue duvet set on. On the wall opposite the door were two doors; one leading into a small walk-in closet and other into a bathroom, which was smaller than Demetri’s. It had a normal size bathtub on the left-hand side and walk-in shower on the wall opposite the door, on the right hand side was a toilet and single vanity unit with a sink. The walls were cream and complimented the black and grey bath sheets, hand towels and wash cloths she had picked out. “Sorry there’s no balcony with your room” Heidi says to Y/N as she tries out the new sofa “I’m sure Demetri wouldn’t mind if you used his balcony if you wanted to sit outside anytime” “That’s ok, no worries, at least there’s plenty of light considering the lack of windows” Y/N replied “That’s true and we kept the walls a neutral colour for that reason also” “Thank you so much for doing this for me, I appreciate it. It just felt weird to stay with someone I didn’t know” Y/N explains, Heidi nods “I’m sure he understands”

Demetri comes to see Y/N that evening and brings her a few books from his room “Evening cara mia. I have bought you some of my books for you to borrow as there aren’t any in here” “Oh um…thank you. Y-you didn’t need to do that” She stuttered “I didn’t want you to get bored in here. I wasn’t sure what you liked so I bought a few different options” He replies as he places the books on the coffee table. “The room looks nice; I like the colour scheme” “Thank you. Blue is my favourite colour and it goes well with grey/silver” She replies and he nods “May I?” He asks pointing to the sofa; Y/N nods and Demetri sits on the other end of the sofa, leaving the middle cushion empty between them. They sat in silence for a while before Y/N broke it with a question “What do you do here?” “I am one of the four elite guards. I along with Felix train the lower and transitory guards” He answers and Y/N nods “Do you have a gift like Edward and Alice?” “Yes I do. I am a tracker. I pick up on the essence of someone’s mind and can follow it like a scent over any distance. To be able to do this I have to either have met that person physically or anyone who has met the person in the past” He explained “That’s interesting. Can you track me?” She asked “Yes I can although I cannot track your sister” “If I ever get lost all I have to do is call you and you can find me, like a GPS in reverse” She says chuckling, he chuckles too “Exactly. Although hopefully I won’t lose you” He replies. “Thank you for my new clothes. Heidi said you gave her your card to pay for them” “You’re very welcome. If you need/want anything else just let me know” He replies, she nods and gives him a small smile; feeling oddly safe with him although she wouldn’t tell him that anytime soon. “Am I allowed to leave the castle, to look around Volterra and stuff?” She asked “You can but I’d rather you didn’t go out alone, just in case something happens. Which reminds me please do not wander the halls of the castle alone as the lower guards do not have the best self-control around humans” He answered her “I understand and thank you for advising me about the lower guards. I’ll be careful” She replies. ‘Great so I need a chaperone when I go out now’ she thinks to herself.

The following morning Y/N got up and ready and made her way to Heidi’s room “Morning Heidi, any chance you’re free to come and look around Volterra with me?” “I’m free for a couple of hours” Heidi replies. Demetri was making his way to Y/N’s room after grabbing her breakfast from the kitchen when he heard this exchange and felt a little hurt that Y/N didn’t ask or want him to accompany her, as it would have given them a chance to get to know one another more. He had been given some days off by the kings so he could spend time with his new mate and had planned to spend the day with her but decided against it after hearing her conversation with Heidi, so he returned her breakfast to the kitchen and spent the day reading in his room.

A few hours later there was a knock on his door “Hey D, how you doing?” “Hi Fe, I’m fine” Felix entered the room and sat on the chair “You don’t seem fine. How come you’re not with your mate?” “Because she’d rather spend time with Heidi than me. In fact she’d rather spend time with anyone that isn’t me. She’d even probably prefer the twins over me” He closed his book and put it on the coffee table “I’m sure that’s not the case” Felix says “No it is, I went to see her last night and we talked for a bit but I got the impression she was relieved when I left her room so she could sleep” Demetri added “I’m sorry D” Felix said sympathetically “Don’t be. I should have guessed that after all this time, meeting my mate wouldn’t work out the way I thought or wanted it to” He eyes began to fill with tears that would never fall. “What are you going to do?” Felix asked “Not sure, I’m worried if I keep trying to get to know her when she wants nothing to do with me, I’ll push her away; but if I don’t do anything she may think I don’t care” Demetri replied “Yea that’s a tough one D. All you can do is try” Felix advised, feeling sorry for his friend.  

Heidi and Y/N return to the castle and Y/N decided to go for a nap, hoping she’d be left alone. Demetri knew they had returned but decided to stay in his room, figuring if Y/N wanted to see him, she’d come to him but she stayed in her room for the entire night.

Demetri knocked on her door the following morning “Come in” Came a sleepy response “Morning Y/N, I wondered if you’d like to go out for breakfast with me?” He asked sounding hopeful “No thank you Demetri, I’m not that hungry” She replied “Ok I understand” Demetri closed her bedroom door and sped to the training room “Fe I need to hit something or someone hard” He growled loudly “Come on then D” Felix replied and Demetri didn’t hesitate; he thumped his best friend hard and Felix stumbled back from the force “Thank you Fe” “No worries. Better me than a wall. I’m going to assume this is Y/N related” He replied rubbing his jaw “I’m going to ask Aro if I can resume my duties, no point having time off to get to know her if she doesn’t want to get to know me” He sounded defeated, Felix nodded feeling sorry for his friend.

Aro wouldn’t let Demetri resume his duties stating “You need to give her time but you also need to make sure she feels cared for. Don’t give up my boy” “I understand master” Demetri sighed and made his way back to his room, grabbing a book and sat on the balcony reading.

“I think I’ll visit Y/N and have a chat with her about mates” Marcus said looking to Aro and Caius.

Marcus paid Y/N a visit that evening “Good evening my dear, I was hoping we could talk?” “Evening Marcus, of course come in” She replied. Marcus sat on the sofa next to Y/N “How have you been?” He asked “I’ve been ok thank you. Heidi decorated my room for me and we went shopping for clothes and things for the room” She replied “Yes, I see you’re not staying with Demetri. May I ask why?” He questioned “I didn’t feel comfortable staying with someone I don’t know nor did I think it fair for him to leave his room for me. I asked if I could stay in a guest room or something and Heidi offered to do fix up this room. I suppose she chose this room as it’s opposite his” She answered him. “What do you know about mates Y/N?” There was silence for a few moments before she answered Marcus’ question “Only what you told me when I arrived here. Why?” “Well Y/N, there are some things you need to know. First if a vampire is away from their mate for too long, they start to miss them; the longer they are apart they start to become sad; this can lead to feeling depressed. Second if a vampire loses their mate then they become lonely and heartbroken, like me after I lost my mate centuries ago. Third there is only one mate per vampire; if we lose them or are rejected by them then we remain alone for forever” He spoke softly “Why are you telling me this?” She asked “I’m telling you this because your actions affect Demetri as well as yourself. He is one of our more reasonable guards; he’s not very talkative but he’s polite, formal even. He has also been described as elegant and charming by others that have met him” “You speak very highly of him Marcus” “That’s because I think highly of him; I have known him for many centuries and he is my own personal guard” Marcus smiled. Y/N nodded. “You know I only came here because my sister asked for my company and my whole life changed. I find out vampires really do exist and to top it off I’m mated to one” She explained “You should know a vampire’s mate is someone to be treasured, protected and above all else loved for eternity. Demetri would be an amazing mate to you if you let him. You should know that he had given up on the idea of finding his mate” Marcus said shifting slightly “What? Why?” She asked curious “He has been around for over 1000 years and had never met his mate; so he assumed that she must died before he had the chance to meet her or that maybe he just wasn’t meant to have one. Therefore, he stopped looking a few centuries ago and then you walk into the castle and into his life and…he feels so lucky to have finally found you; but the way you are acting towards him…is hurting him, even if he won’t admit it.” He said sadly “I’m not trying to hurt him; it’s just a lot to take in and to get used to” She defended “He just wants a chance to get to know you Y/N” “But I don’t know if I want this though, to be with a vampire, to become immortal. I always thought I’d grow up get married, have children and now I find out that none of that is going to happen. I mean I don’t even get to pick who I spend eternity with” Y/N said tears starting to fill her eyes “I understand that my dear but please remember what I said.”

Demetri heard this last part and felt his undead heart break, ‘She doesn’t want me, doesn’t want to spend eternity with me’. He knocked on her door once and left the tray of food outside her room and returned to his room grabbing a jacket and left the castle to go hunting.

Thirty minutes later he was standing on the roof of a building opposite a dive bar watching the humans below; happy couples coming and going. ‘I just wanted a chance. I would have done anything to make her happy…if she’d just given me a chance’ He thought. He drained and disposed of two humans that night before returning to the castle ensuring to be back by sunrise.

Meanwhile Marcus made his way to his room leaving Y/N to think about their conversation. Y/N left her room and crossed the hall to Demetri’s room “Demetri?” She called out as she opened his door; she got no response so she stepped into the room to see if he was on the balcony or in the bathroom. He wasn’t in his room so she decided to wait for him, figuring he wouldn’t be long. She grabbed his cloak from the bed and wrapped it around her shoulders as it was a little cold and sat on the sofa, picking up a book to read from his coffee table. She fell asleep curled up with the book waiting for him to return.

Demetri was shocked when he returned to his room before sunrise to find Y/N there; curled up on his sofa asleep with his cloak wrapped around her. He smiled at the sight in front of him but approached her with caution not wanting to scare her and shook her arm gently “Hi Y/N” He said softly “Mmm” Came the sleepy response, he smiled again and left her where she was and lit the fire to warm the room for her.

A few hours later Y/N woke up to find herself still Demetri’s room; wearing his cloak, and him sitting the in the chair reading “Good morning Y/N” “Good morning Demetri. Sorry for falling asleep in your room” “No need to apologise cara, you’re welcome anytime. I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you came by, I was out hunting” He replied “That’s ok, I just wanted to talk to you” She said fiddling with his cloak “What did you want to talk about?” He asked “I-it doesn’t matter now” She replied getting up and making her way to the door. “Did you want to spend some time together today?” He asked “Er, no I-I can’t. I’ve got plans” She said walking out the door. “It was worth a try I guess” He mumbled to himself, unknown to him Y/N had heard him and despite feeling a little guilty she returned to her room.

A few days later Demetri left for a mission with Felix and the twins “Have you said goodbye to Y/N?” Felix asked “No. It’s not like she’d care anyway” Demetri responded sounding indifferent, Alec went to say something but Jane put her hand on his shoulder and shook her head “Don’t” She mouthed to her twin. “Are you boys ready?” She asked and they nodded in response and made their way to the castle doors.

Y/N found Heidi, Corin and Chelsea in the kitchen “Have any of you seen Demetri? He’s not in his room” She asked the female vampires “He went on a mission for the masters. Did he not tell you?” Heidi responded “No, no he didn’t. It must have been a last-minute thing” Y/N replied, feeling a little hurt that he left without saying goodbye. Y/N left to make her way back to her room ‘I really have hurt him, just as Marcus said’ she thought to herself.

“I know Y/N hasn’t shown any interest in getting to know him but he at least could have said bye to her. She is his mate after all” Heidi said “I don’t blame him for not telling her. It’s not like she’s given him a reason to think of her or her feelings is it?” Chelsea responded defending his actions “But Chels” “No Heidi. Do you know how many times he has asked her out? Asked to spend time with her? And every time she turns him down. I think he’s accepted that she doesn’t want him. I’m sorry but he deserves better, better than her” Chelsea replied sounding a little angry “I agree with Chelsea. He has waited so long to find his mate, only then to be rejected by her. I feel sorry for him; he doesn’t deserve to be treated that way and especially not by a human” Corin said also sounding a little angry too “What have you got against human mates?” Heidi asked “Nothing, usually, but this situation has annoyed me. Does she think she’s too good for him or something? I’ll tell you this if I were her, I’d think myself lucky my mate was Demetri and not Alec or Felix” Corin added. “I agree with Corin, if I had a choice of Dem or Alec or Felix, I know who I’d choose. True Bond Mates is a rare and sacred pairing and she’s just thrown it away” Chelsea said.

Y/N had heard this conversation as she had stopped when she heard Heidi say her name, curiosity getting the better of her, although she wished she hadn’t now, after hearing Chelsea say that Demetri deserved better than her. That night she cried herself to sleep thinking of how badly she’d treated Demetri these past weeks, how much he must hate her now and that she’ll be alone in the castle forever.

Demetri, Felix and the twins had been gone four days now and Y/N was bored so she decided to take a look around the castle, wondering the many corridors. Without realising it she had walked to the other side of the castle and that is when she felt it; a rush of air and suddenly she was pinned against a cold, hard wall, in a poorly lit corridor. “Lucky me, I’ve found a snack” The male vampire whispered in her ear, his cold hand against her throat “I-I’m not a s-snack. I-I’m Demetri’s mate” She stuttered “Yes, I’ve heard of you. Although you are not his mate…not any longer” He licked her cheek “I heard you rejected him” He licked her neck, his hold tightening “I’m doing him a favour really by getting rid of you, he’ll get over you much quicker if you’re not around” Tears slipped down her cheek as she felt his teeth graze over her neck “SShh, don’t cry human. This won’t hurt for long” She closed her eyes and waited for him to bite her.

Just then she felt another rush of air pass her then she heard what sounded like china breaking and growling “Dem go to her” Felix said, Demetri rushed to her side and removed the vampire’s severed hand from her neck and scooped her into his arms, sitting on the nearby bench. “You’re ok cara mia. I’ve got you” He said low; one arm around her waist, the other cradling her head to his chest whilst stroking her hair. She was crying, her breathing was uneven “Deep breaths Y/N. In and out. Copy me” He breathed in and out, although he didn’t need to, trying to calm her down. Her breathing started to slow trying to match his. “Mine” He growled low in her ear, stroking her hair and she felt a warm spark go through her. Meanwhile as Felix continued dismembering the lower guard; Demetri held Y/N closer to him; breathing in her scent ‘Cherries and Honey’ “You’re safe now. I promise” He purred in her ear, feeling her relax slightly in his hold.

“Take her back to her room D. I will inform the masters” Felix said as he passed them. “Thank you Fe” He responded.

Demetri stood and carried Y/N in his arms bridal style straight to his room; laying her on his bed, after kicking off his shoes and removing his cloak he climbed on beside her and took her into his arms. She was crying into his chest “I-I’m sorry” She whimpered and moved out of his arms sitting up. Demetri sat up beside her and took her warm hand in his cold one and looked into her eyes. “I love you Y/N. Your happiness is very important to me. Please…give me a chance to show you how much you mean to me. Give me a chance to make you happy” He was pleading with her now; he couldn’t lose her, not now he had finally found her. “You-you still want me, even after I-I pushed you away?” She asked surprised “Yes, I still want you, I always have. You are my mate…mine forever if you’d have me?” He asked hopeful, she nodded “Yes. I’ll give you a chance, give us a chance” She gave him a small smile; he kissed her forehead and wrapped his arms around her. “I-I missed you while you were gone” She said quietly; he felt his heart warm at this “I missed you too and I’m sorry I didn’t say goodbye” He replied “I understand why you didn’t. I just hope you can forgive me and hopefully I’ll deserve you one day” She sniffled “What are you talking about?” He asked sounding confused “It’s nothing” She whispered “Y/N…tell me, please…why do you think you don’t deserve me?” He pulled back slightly so he could see her “Chelsea said that you-you deserve better…better than me; because of how I’ve treated you these past weeks, you know pushing you away whenever you ask to spend time with me” He took her face in his hands, thumbs wiping away the falling tears “Do not worry about what others think mi amore. You are my mate and although you had pushed me away, I still took care of you” He replied softly. “Can I ask you a question?” He nodded “How come you didn’t tell me you were going on a mission?” She asked, tears still falling “Honestly?” He asked and she nodded “I didn’t think you’d care that I was leaving the castle” He answered “I’m sorry I made you feel that way” She told him sounding upset “When I found out you had left the castle and you hadn’t said bye it hurt” She continued “I’m sorry too Y/N, I should have said goodbye regardless of what was going on between us” He laid back down taking her with him in his arms. “We’ll figure this mate thing out together I promise, since it’s new to both of us” “You said that once before Demi” She pointed out “I meant it then and I mean it now” He replied kissing her hair and holding her close. “Demi, you said that you’re a tracker, right?” “Yes, that’s correct” He smiled that she had remembered that about him. “I was wondering if you will show me how your gift works one day?” She asked curious “Of course, I will. We can play hide and seek if you’d like? Although I must confess, I usually win” He replies smiling.

They stayed cuddled in each other’s arms for the rest of the day getting to know one another. “Stay with me tonight Y/N. Let me hold you while you sleep” He said low in her ear “I’d like that Demi, especially after everything that has happened today” She replied feeling safe in his arms “I promised I would keep you safe and I always will.” He vowed “I need you to know that I feel safe with you; I have done since I arrived, I just didn’t want to admit it before” He smiled and tightened his hold slightly “I’m glad to hear it mi amore” He stroked her hair and felt her relax as she fell asleep ‘I may just get my forever with her after all’ Demetri thought to himself as Y/N slept in his arms.

#demetri volturi #felix volturi #aro volturi #marcus volturi #heidi volturi #chelsea volturi #jane volturi #alec volturi #caius volturi #volturi #twilight #oneshot

[maseshine]

Oii! Você poderia fazer a fic da música "You Belong With Me" com o Ben? :)

Right for you, Ben Chilwell

Prompt: You being his best friend and at karaoke singing "You Belong With Me" to him indirectly.

Warning: Disappointment, Sadness

Words: 1811

Notes: I was really excited to write this one. It's one of my favorite prompts and I already had it written, I don't know if that's how you imagined it, but I hope you like it a lot because I loved it so much🤍

Author's Note: I know a lot of people write with the use of quotes, but I'm used to using the dash, so I hope it's not a problem.

Being in love with your best friend is one of life's biggest clichés.  And sometimes it really hurt to see him and his "perfect girlfriend".

You sure as hell wouldn't have gone to karaoke if you knew she'd be there too.  Ben was perceptive in hiding it from you.  Really insightful.

You tried to keep your attention on Mason's out-of-tune presentation, but his eyes always seemed to betray you when they landed on the couple sitting across from you.

━ If you keep looking at them like that they'll think you're a maniac.  ━ Christian said giving his shoulder a little push.

━ I don't know what you're talking about.  ━ You changed the conversation.

━ And Mason can sing well.  ━ The brunette joked.  ━ We already know of his crush on Chilly, only he doesn't seem to notice it.

━ Or he knows and just doesn't talk about it because he doesn't feel the same way about me. ━  His voice came out dismayed, and Christian looked at her sympathetically.

━ If he doesn't notice, maybe he's not right for you, Y/N.

You didn't say anything else, Christian's words running through your head.  Maybe he was right.  She and Ben had been best friends for years, but maybe they couldn't be more than that.

━ Our next singer is Y/N  Y/L/N.  ━ You looked at the stage with surprise, you didn't put her name in the performance list.

His eyes fell on Mason who smiled innocently.  Motherfucker.  The boys made noise encouraging you to go on stage.  You took a deep breath before getting up from the table.

Your hands shook a little as you took the presenter's microphone.  His eyes scanned the available songs, stopping at one that fit his situation perfectly.  His ears picked up the beginning of the melody.

You're on the phone with your girlfriend, she's upset

She's going off about something that you said

'Cause she doesn't get your mood like I do

━ Babe... baby!  Come on, please calm down and listen to me!  ━ You heard Ben plead in the next room, your phone pressed firmly to his ear as he tried to reason with his current girlfriend.  All you knew was that he had shown his sincere side - apparently, not everyone knew he didn't have a filter.

But you knew the athlete more than anyone else, and he might need to stop and pull himself together occasionally, but it all came from his heart.

You were brought back to reality when you heard Ben grunt, dropping the phone against the table and running a hand through his hair.  You looked at him with sad eyes, reaching out and placing your hand over his so gently.

━ Want to talk about it, Chill?  ━ You asked him, watching as the corner of his lips twitched into a small smile with the nickname you gave him.

━ I don't believe you can save me from this situation, Y/N.  ━ Ben manages to say, clearing his throat to help transition into a new conversation.

You didn't want to push it any further - knowing that if Ben was comfortable enough, he would talk to you.  Hell, he told you everything.  Maybe it was because the two of you grew up together, so he had to hit puberty much faster.

Ben got undeniably hot fast, all the girls at his old high school noticed that.  You were about to ask him if he'd like to watch a movie, but his ringing phone interrupted, making you keep your mouth shut for now.

Ben suddenly straightened before grabbing the screen, a hopeful look flashing in his eyes as his girlfriend's name was projected in capital letters and a series of heart emojis.  You rolled your eyes with a small smile and gestured for him to take the call, swallowing your pride seconds after he left the room.  You left the house not long afterward, knowing you probably won't see your childhood friend for at least another week.

Walk in the streets with you and your worn-out jeans

I can't help thinking this is how it ought to be

Laughing on a park bench thinking to myself

Hey, isn't this easy?

You kicked a few pebbles off the path as you walked, with Ben by your side.  It felt strange for the two of you to be together – but a strangely comfortable stranger, as if life was supposed to be like that.

He was trying to chat a little about the weather, which quickly turned into a funny story of how he fell face first in the rain during last Friday's football game.

Her eyes were mesmerized by him as he threw his head back in laughter, his hands maneuvering in strange ways as he portrayed how the event actually happened.  You returned his laugh as you placed your hand on his bicep to steady yourself, little snorts following after.

━ I can't believe you still do that. ━  Ben said, his hand briefly resting on top of hers to hold her against him.  You raised your eyebrows in sync with the corners of your mouth, your laugh dwindling to a small laugh.

━ Do what?  You'll have to elaborate, Chilly.  ━ With his free hand, Ben lightly tapped the tip of his nose while smiling at his nonchalance.

━ That cute snort you make when you laugh too much.  I hadn't heard this since we saw Madders get stuck in the invisible wall of tape.

The memory provoked her to put her hand to her forehead as she chuckled her iconic laugh once more, remembering poor James' shocked expression as he recovered from the seemingly transparent 'door' and the few seconds that followed where he was frozen trying to understand what had just happened.

━ This is definitely the sound of joy.  ━ Ben said as he looked at you, just for you to poke him playfully.

Oh, I remember you driving to my house

In the middle of the night

I'm the one who makes you laugh

When you know you're about to cry

The end of the week approached faster than expected, especially since you spent most of your time pretending you didn't get Ben's text messages.

You needed time to pull yourself together and organize your priorities, and having him suddenly want you back in his life was an unexpected twist.  You've always had a stupid crush on Ben, but unlike the vast majority of girls who did, yours started when you were both young ━ when you had just gotten rid of the braces, and he had already started playing for a football team for the first time.

It was Friday night, and you had just curled up under the sheets, trying to get comfortable as an oncoming storm began to form outside.  Your phone was constantly indicating that you had a new message, but it was just Ben asking if you were going to the football game tonight.  Like the other messages, you ignored it and continued your favorite show on Netflix.

It was midnight when your phone woke you, realizing that you must have accidentally fallen asleep.  You could barely hear the phone ring due to the weight of the rain outside, but you answered anyway, surprised to hear a familiar, desperate voice on the other end of the line.

━ Y/N… I'm down here… me, something happened.  I didn't know where to go... I just drove, and I ended up here... something in me, I needed to see you.  Let me in, please.

He looked distressed, perhaps because he was crying.  You went down to the front door and opened it carefully, suddenly coming face to face with a saturated Ben Chilwell.  You reached out and dragged him inside, your eyes scanning his wet, shivering body.

━ Ben... you're freezing, you're going to get sick.  ━ You exclaimed as softly as you could,  not letting go of his hand, as you led him to your room.

You gestured for him to stay put before grabbing a clean towel from the bathroom, running back and closing the door before wrapping it around your shoulders.  You sat on the edge of the bed as he stood in front of you, seeming to have something to say, but couldn't think of how to start the conversation.

━ Why are you here?  ━ You finally said after a long period of silence, Ben's eyes strayed to the ground.  He cleared his throat a few times before realizing he was just whispering.

━ I saw Charlie with one of the Aston Villa players.  She was on top of him.  I... I asked her what the hell was going on, she basically said I wasn't good enough. Do you believe that? ━ He said exasperated, his hands pulling at her wet hair as it stuck to her forehead.

You closed your eyes for a moment as you took in this information, able to feel Ben's pain from where she sat.  But it wasn't a new pain, it was like it was the kind that was finally released after being repressed for too long.  As if it knew it was coming and would hold out until the dreaded day.

You pursed your lips and rose from the bed, standing right in front of him before taking his wrists and pulling them down between the two of you, your thumbs gently stroking the skin of his knuckles.

━ But why are you here?  At home?  You could have gone to Mase or called Madders.  ━ You muttered, hoping his tone of voice would calm you down.

Those eyes you fell in love with as a teenager were looking at you, taking in your details, your passion, your heart.  They were kind, just like you always knew he was.

━ Something attracted me to you, as if I was destined to be here. Do you know?  ━ He spoke so low you could barely hear him, but you could hear him clearly.

Were you obsessing over him by running out of words, confused as to what he was trying to say – was it a confession of love or some pity plea because you were the only one who cared?  You nodded your head to understand what he was saying, feeling your own radiance toward him for a long time.

A week later, he had returned to his girlfriend.

Standing by and waiting at your backdoor

All this time, how could you not know, baby?

You belong with me

You belong with me

His eyes traveled to the table where all his friends were sitting, everyone paying attention to his presentation.  Except Ben and his girlfriend.  A pang of pain whistled through her heart.  At Christian's words coming back to her mind.

If he doesn't notice, maybe he's not right for you Y/N.

Have you ever thought just maybe

You belong with me

You belong with me

Maybe Ben didn't belong to you.  Not how you wanted it.

#ben chilwell #chelsea fc #christian pulisic #football #football imagine #imagine #mason mount #ben chilwell x reader #you belong with me #angst #kai havertz #chelsea #london #music #timo werner #premier league

[fandom-imagines-stories]

Run to You Part Two

Derek Morgan x Reader

Words: 2494

Part One

Summary: Having been dating for a while, you finally feel comfortable enough to introduce your boyfriend to your daughter, Angelica. Derek takes on the role better than you could have imagined and you start to feel like a family. Then one day, Angelica disappears from a friend’s house and your ex husband starts making demands. 

Notes: Thank you all for the support you’ve shown for this series so far! Funnily enough, this three parter is actually similar to a Fox Mulder x Reader series I started a couple of months ago that may or may not see the light of day. I guess if you guys really like this plot and if you like The X Files, let me know if you’d be interested in that. 

Warnings: Mentions of domestic abuse, stalking, kidnapping. 

More Criminal Minds: HERE

-

Derek made a half-hour drive take twenty minutes and pulled up to the front of the school. Local police had already been called in and were bombarding you with questions. He broke through the wall of officers to get to you. 

“Oh thank god,” You exclaimed and he took you in his arms without a second hesitation. “She’s gone.” You sobbed into his chest. “He took her. I know he did.” 

“Ma’am, I need you to calm down and tell us who you think took your daughter.” A female officer said calmly, taking another step towards you.

“Stop crowding her. Everybody back up!” Derek ordered. 

“I’m sorry, sir, who are you?” Another officer asked, sounding defensive. Derek pulled out his badge. 

“SSA Derek Morgan. I’m from the Behavioral Analysis Unit.” 

“It’s a little early to call you guys in, isn’t it?” The first officer said. 

“I’m not here officially. I know the missing girl.” 

“Then we’re going to need to ask you a few questions.” The defensive officer snapped. You pushed in between them. 

“I know who took her. Please, we have to find my baby.” 

“Y/N, just take a deep breath, okay.” Derek put a hand on your shoulder and waited for you to calm down a little. “Now, what do you mean you know who took Angelica?” You tried to keep a sob from escaping, but the tears fell freely. 

“Her father.” You watched Derek’s face morph with confusion. “My ex-husband.” 

-

You sat in the police station with Derek’s hand running up and down your back as you slowly sipped a glass of water. You hardly remembered getting there or seeing members of Derek’s team arrive. Since there was already a leading suspect, the BAU wouldn’t be called in, but Agent Hotchner and Agent Prentiss came anyway to help Derek consult with the police. 

“Ma’am, my name is Gina. I’m going to need to ask you a couple of questions, okay?” The officer from earlier started. You nodded, drinking the rest of your water. 

“Um, Derek, maybe you should go talk to Agent Hotchner and Agent Prentiss. Ask them what they need to know from me.” You suggested. You didn’t want to have to explain everything to him like it was an interrogation. Derek nodded in understanding and gently kissed the side of your head. 

“Let me know if you need anything.” He gave Gina a thankful smile and joined Hotch. 

“The police said they don’t have any problems with us being here as long as we stay out of their way.” Hotch informed, casting a sympathetic look in your direction. “How is she?”

“Her little girl is missing, Hotch. She’s doing about as well as you’d expect.” Morgan sighed. 

“What do we know about the suspect? She seems pretty certain that her ex is the one that took her daughter.” Prentiss asked. 

“Just his name and that they used to be married. I’m gonna call and see what Garcia can dig up.” He pulled out his cell and kept his eyes on you as you spoke to the officer. 

“All-knowing goddess, what can I do for you?” Penelope answered cheerfully. 

“I need your help, babygirl.” He said seriously. “Y/N’s little girl is missing.” 

“Oh god.” She gasped. With still so many more questions, she readied her fingers over her keyboard. “What do you need?”

“Lance Booker. Anything and everything you can find on him: properties, businesses, residences, especially places in the last six years.” He heard a flurry of typing before she answered. 

“Got it. I’ll send you the list forthwith.” There was a long pause, followed by a sad gasp. 

“What is it, Garcia?”

“Lance Booker’s ex-wife, Y/N… your Y/N? Ugh, I hate my job sometimes.” 

“Penelope!” He shouted into the receiver, his sudden outburst making Prentiss jump. 

“Sorry, sorry.” Penelope fretted. “At the time of their divorce six years ago and Y/N receiving full custody of their daughter, Y/N filed a restraining order against Booker with claims of domestic violence. She’s filed multiple reports of stalking since then, but without breaking any of the terms of the restraining order, the police haven’t been able to hold him for anything.” Derek’s hand tightened around the device to the point where he heard the shell crack. 

“Thanks Garcia.” 

“You’re going to find her, Derek.” Penelope assured him quietly. He took a deep breath. 

“I’ll keep you updated. Keep looking into this guy and anyone else who might have taken Angelica.” He snapped his phone shut and pressed it against his forehead, trying to calm himself down. He needed to be the one who held it together. He couldn’t let you see any anger or panic in him because it would just make you angry and panicked even more. 

It seemed like you were finishing up with the officer so he started back in your direction. Seeing him, you stood. Judging from his expression, he knew. 

“Derek, I can explain.” You wanted to reach out to him, but you kept your arms tightly wrapped around yourself as if it kept you from falling to pieces. “I wanted to tell you.” You wiped a stray tear from your cheek. “I wanted to tell you about all of it. About Lance a-and our marriage and everything that happened, but I just didn’t know how.” His eyes softened and he ran his hands down your tense arms. 

“You don’t have to explain anything to me, baby.” While there were so many questions in his mind, none of them mattered. All that mattered was that you were here with him and Angelica was out there somewhere with that man.  

The group fell silent as your phone started to ring. With a shaking hand, you looked down at the unfamiliar number, glancing back up at Derek for instructions. He nodded slowly while Prentiss called Garcia to get a trace on the number. You took a deep breath and answered. 

“Hey baby.” The voice on the other end sent a tremor up your spine. You kept your eyes locked on Derek’s to keep from hanging up right there. 

“Lance, where’s Angelica?” You tried to sound calm but you wanted to rip the bastard apart. 

“You know, she doesn’t even remember me?” He hissed. “When I picked her up from school, she had no idea who I was. But I guess that’s what happens when you decide to replace me for six years.” 

“Lance, please. I need to know that she’s okay.” 

“Of course she’s okay. She’s got Agent Morgan protecting her, right? Oh wait, he failed at that too.” He barked furiously. Your body tensed up even more. 

“How do you know about Derek?” You asked slowly. Derek’s expression didn’t change, but he felt a shot of guilt go through him. He was the trigger. 

“I have ways of knowing.” 

“He wants you to change the subject. Keep talking about Angelica.” Agent Hotchner instructed, keeping his voice low so the other end wouldn’t hear. You nodded in understanding. 

“Lance, I need to know that Angelica is okay. I need to hear her voice.” You kept your voice as level as possible. There was a shuffle on the other end and you nearly broke down when you heard Angelica’s confused voice. 

“Mommy? W-where are you? I wanna go home.” 

“I’m coming, baby. Everything is going to be okay.” You cried, hearing the sound of the phone switching back. 

“We’re going to be a family again.” Lance growled. “I’ll call again soon.” The line went quiet and you finally stopped holding your breath, leaning against the desk. You let the phone slip out of your hand and fall to the floor. 

“Did we get a trace?” Morgan called to the agents behind him, keeping his eyes glued on you. Hotch sighed. 

“Garcia said there was something interfering with the signal.” 

“Lance was a phone technician, he knows how to hide.” You said blankly. “He won’t let us find him until he wants us too.” 

The agents and officers around you were in a frenzy trying to dig up all of the information they could possibly find on Lance. Every time they said his name, you felt the back of his hand or the heel of his boot. For six years, you had been free of him. Angelica had been free of him. How dare he come back and ruin what you had built all on your own?

 Something inside of you switched. You weren’t just  frightened anymore. You were pissed off.

-

You didn’t move. You didn’t eat the food Derek had put in front of you. You didn’t drink the water he’d brought either. All you could do was stare at the phone, leg bouncing up and down anxiously. You hadn’t wanted to go home, but both the police and Agent Hotchner thought it would be a good idea in case Lance tried to contact you there. A team was setting up a device to hook your phone up to so they could control the line. All you could do was watch from the kitchen table, hands clasped in front of you like you were praying.

Derek watched you from the living room as his team set up the phone. He sat down on the couch, running a hand down his face. He should have asked you about Lance sooner. Maybe he could have prevented this if he only knew what had happened. 

“We’re going to find her, Derek.” Prentiss said, sitting down next to him. She’d watched the way that this was tearing him apart. He didn’t respond. Both watched as the youngest of their team approached your table. 

“Miss Y/L/N?” You looked up, finding the agent you could only assume was Dr. Reid. No one else was that young. 

“Yes?”

“I, um, I’m Dr. Spencer Reid. I work with Morgan- I mean, Derek.” He asked to sit down and you just nodded in response. “I would like to talk to you about your ex-husband, if that’s okay?” 

“I don’t know what else I can tell you.” You sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose. “Lance was… mean. He was controlling and when he didn’t get what he wanted, he got violent. But he never hurt Angelica. Ever.” You stared at the table’s wooden surface. “I was always there to protect her.” You felt a tear slip down your cheek. Reid’s lips formed a thin line. 

“What was he like before? When you first met him or when you first got married?”

“Well he wasn’t the monster he is now, I can tell you that.” You sneered. “When I met him, he was sweet. Sure, he was mysterious and attractive, so I did whatever he said, but he was romantic and- and different from the other guys I’d dated. When we got married, I thought ‘this is it’, you know? Standing in that little church, everything felt exactly like it was supposed to. But after Angelica was born, everything changed. It was like he’d been hiding this creature under his skin all those years and it was finally emerging.” 

“Do you remember anything specific that might have triggered this change?” 

You shook your head. “I just remember the first time it happened. There weren’t any warning signs or anything. He hadn’t been irritable or upset. He just… snapped. Angelica was in her high chair and she had thrown her bowl of food on the floor. He must have heard the sound and he came into the kitchen. When I knelt down to clean it, he grabbed my hair and pulled me up, screaming about how it was my fault. How I made a mess and that he was going to show me what happens to people who mess up his life. And then he hit me. He hit me over and over and left me on the floor to clean. I should’ve- I should have left him right there. I should have taken her and run, but I didn’t. In my head, it wasn’t his fault. It was because of his past, it was because of me. I should have run. I should have left. I should-” 

“Miss Y/L/N.” Reid interrupted, allowing you to gasp for air. You must have forgotten to breathe. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he was stopped by the shrill, dooming sound of the phone. 

You bolted from the table and joined the agents in the living room, waiting for the signal to answer. 

“Okay, you remember how it works?” Derek asked. You nodded. “Alright. Keep him talking. Don’t let him go off the subject of Angelica. You just want your daughter back. You don’t want to hurt him.” He pointed at the device and you picked up the receiver with a shaking hand. 

“Hello?” 

“Tell Agent Morgan he can’t replace me.” 

“Lance, I’m tired. I just want Angelica back safe.”

“No, you want to play happy family with your BAU boyfriend. He isn’t her father. I am!” He spoke with the fury of a madman. Derek looked at the rest of the team grimly. Lance was spiralling. 

“What do you want me to do, Lance? I’ll do anything to get her back, just please, I miss my daughter.” You cried. Derek pressed the button and muted the call. 

“Y/N, you have to keep calm. I know it’s hard, but Lance is trying to push you. He wants you to break, but you can’t.” He took your hand, softening his tone. “I’m right here. You can do this.” Under Derek’s comforting voice, you could hear Lance start to ramble. 

“I just want us to be happy again. Do you remember when we were happy?” You waited for Derek to press the button again before responding. 

“Y-yeah, I remember.” 

“We can be happy again. We can be happy again…” His voice trailed off and you heard a shuffling sound. 

“Wait, don’t hang-” You exclaimed, but the line went dead. You slammed the receiver back down and kicked the coffee table it sat on. “He’s going to kill her. He’s going to kill her.” You pushed a lamp over and listened to the bulb shatter against the carpet. Before you could break anything else, or hurt yourself, Derek locked his arms around you, pinning yours to your side. “Let me go! He’s going to kill her! It’s my fault! It’s all my fault!” 

He kept a hold of you as you screamed, sitting down on the couch with you on his lap. The other agents just stood, watching the scene of turmoil. Reid was standing completely skill, eyes darting in between invisible words in his head. He suddenly looked at Prentiss. 

“Get Garcia on the phone.” He said, turning back to you and Morgan. 

“What did you get?” Prentiss asked. She was still trying to decipher everything that Booker said. Reid swallowed. 

“I think I know where he might be keeping Angelica.” 

-

General Tag: @rae-gar-targaryen; @takemepedropascal; @childhood-imagination;  @mylovegoesto; @yellowbadgergirl; @itmejado; @suckmyapplejacks

Series: @ weasleytommy, @ lowsodiumfreaks67, @panhoeofmanyfandoms

#derek morgan x reader #shemar moore #criminal minds #criminal minds imag #spencer reid #emily prentiss #derek morgan #badass #domestic violence #kidnapping

[iceywrites]

hi! what about 22. “Are you hurt? What happened?” and/or 23. “You fainted, are you alright?” with Ash and Eiji ? I love your blog and your writing so much! And no pressure to write it at all, have a good day/night :)

It really wasn't that big of a deal; it shouldn't have affected Eiji so badly. It's absurd in an unexplainable way. It was just Ash playing with Michael.

Michael was enacting a scene from a movie he had seen the other day while Ash was peacefully reading a book on the couch. There was a play knife in the brunette's hand and he hit Ash's abdomen with it, complete with sound effects, while Ash, playing along, overdramatically dropped on the couch. It should have been funny, really.

But Eiji's heartbeat started increasing rapidly. He doesn't remember much. Just that he called Ash's name, like a whispered prayer, as he desperately tried to grab a support. The corners of his eyes started overpowering his vision with a black curtain. He promptly collapsed after that.

***

Ash is worried sick. He has no idea what happened or why it happened. As soon as Eiji fainted, Max called their family physician. The doctor said that it could have been a panic attack since there was no sign of physical weakness or exhaustion. Max and Jessica exchanged a sympathetic look. The doctor suggested to get some tests done - just to be sure - and assured that Eiji would wake up soon.

Ash kneels down beside Eiji's beds. He dries off any sweat the develops on shorter man's forehead. He idly rubs his thumb along Eiji's knuckles, impatiently waiting like a dog waits for its owner to return.

His prayers are answered after an hour. Eiji stirs in his sleep, brows furrowed and eyes clenched tight. Ash occupies the barest minimum space required to sit on the edge of the bed. He holds Eiji's hand between his own, trying to copy the inkette's reactions when he wakes up from a nightmare.

When Eiji finally wakes up, Ash smiles. "Good morning, sleeping beauty."

Eiji blinks a few times, trying to adjust to the environment, when he jolts up. His eyes are wide again and there's fear swimming in those brown pools which were almost always filled with mirth. Eiji embraces - clings to - him like a dying soldier clings to his favourite memory. He mumbles Ash's name incoherently and only when Ash places his hand on the shorter man's back does he realise that Eiji is shivering.

Ash is clueless. He has no idea what to say or how to comfort the panicked man in front of him. "Are you hurt? What happened?" He asks uselessly.

Eiji clenches his fist around Ash's shirt in response.

To save both of them, Jessica enters the room. "Oh, you're awake!" Jessica observes. She pours him a glass of water. She places a hand on Eiji's back, trying to draw him out of that embrace but he just holds Ash tighter.

What has he done to Eiji?

"It's okay, I'm not asking you to leave him. But I need you to drink this water. Please?" Ash takes the glass and holds it for Eiji to drink. He makes sure that Eiji drinks all of it. When they're done, Jessica scoots closer to them and wraps her arms around the pair. She kisses Eiji's head then Ash's.

"Eiji, love, you fainted, are you alright?" She asks in a soothing voice after a few moments of silence.

"Yes." He answers as he loosens his hold around Ash.

"Good." She pulls them closer, almost protectively, and rests her chin on Eiji's head. "Did you skip lunch?"

"He did." Ash answers for Eiji.

"I might have forgotten." Eiji explains in a small voice. Ash doesn't buy his bullshit at all but that is an argument he'll have later.

"That could have been a reason for the weakness." Jessica says.

Silence envelopes them again and Ash mind starts devouring him when he sees Eiji's fragile state. Horrible. Disgusting. Swine. Filthy. Undeserving-

"Eiji, I think you need a little help too." Jessica finally speaks.

"Honestly, I'd thought about getting therapy even before I came here for the first time."

"Why?" Ash asks before he can stop himself. Why would anyone want to hurt Eiji? He didn't deserve any of that!

A small sad smile forms on Eiji's lips. "A lot of things had happened. My father died. I found out about my mother's affair. My leg accident. It was too much. Ibe san had suggested but I kept looking at the bills and kept denying it. Ibe san brought me here-"

"And look how that turned out!" Ash laughs bitterly.

Eiji shrugs. "It helped me a lot. I had never felt more alive. Thank you, Ash."

"I didn't do anything!"

"Sometimes, it's more of a feeling than an action."

Ash furrows his brows, not understanding the meaning at all. That's when Jessica continues. "I would highly suggest to get therapy. You have suffered too, sweetheart." She turns to Ash and says, "and before you start overthinking about it, it was not your fault, Ash. You are not responsible for anyone's condition."

Ash has a long list of points against that statement and of this was a debate competition, he would have easily won. But, again, that is an argument he'll have later. Eiji first.

He doesn't know what to say so he just places his hand on top of Eiji's.

"Yes. Okay."

"Yeah?" Jessica asks and she almost looks proud.

Eiji smiles and nods.

"Great! This hellish therapy sessions might just become bearable."

"Ash, were not going to have therapy at the same time!"

"Dammit!"

#😬✌🏻 #banana fish #ash lynx #eiji okumura #jessica randy