#when tav stops and leans in to really look at his face and he's sort of gently rattled by having the full force of their attention | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thunderwavesolveseverything · 4 months

Text

Playing the Hero

[Astarion x Named Tav]

Phayelynn's eyes flitted side to side with a sense of urgency. It hadn't been her who the Gur was after. A flicker of worry crossed her face as she failed to spot any sign of Astarion.

“He’s downstairs, brooding as usual,” Shadowheart said with a roll of her eye, letting out a giggle, “Astarion? Really?” she raised an eyebrow, “That’s who you’ve decided to fancy out of our little group. I guess I can’t say I didn’t see this coming, but...” she teased.

Phayelynn flushed, quickly rushing to defend herself, "What?" she sputtered, “I don’t fancy him,” she spoke in a hushed voice, looking towards the stairs. “I’ve only known him for, what, a week?”

Shadowheart shrugged her shoulders. “That’s plenty of time to gain attraction to someone,”

Phayelynn leaned back, scrunching her nose up- was it?

Thanks everyone whose kept up with this story 💜💜💜

Here's another long one for you!

Also, we go a little more into Phayelynn's backstory here, which I'm excited to share. She's the character I use in actual campaigns, and I kinda want to post her character sheet on her eventually?.....

(word count: 5,358 )

Read on AO3 or below :)

Masterlist for Phayelynn's adventures here

Phayelynn’s heart thumped so hard that she could feel it pounding in her throat as she ran through the labyrinthine streets of Baldur’s Gate.

She’d been on the run all night, with little rest before she had to get on the move again. Her breaths were short, shallow, and labored as she willed air into her tired lungs. She ignored the sweat trickling down her face, stinging her eyes just enough to be annoying. The early morning sun had just started to rise, casting eerie shadows on the towering buildings that surrounded her. The chiming of the city bell pierced through the silence, waking its citizens to start the day while it only added to the sense of urgency and danger that engulfed her.

She had no clue where she was headed, the streets unfamiliar as this was her first time past Wyrm’s Crossing. Her journey to the Upper City had been clandestine, having snuck into the back of a cart with no windows to avoid detection. Now, she was hopelessly lost, with no bearings or landmarks to guide her. Time was working against her, and she couldn’t afford to stop and ask for directions, not when the Flaming Fists were hot on her trail.

Phayelynn’s heart kept threatening to burst out of her chest with every step she took. She strained her ears, listening for the sound of their pursuit as she swiftly swerved around a corner, trying to shake them off. But the sound of their boots thudding against the cobblestone and the jingling of their armor only grew louder. Her eyes widened, and her heart sank as she realized she had trapped herself at a dead end. She skidded to a stop and, in frustration, slammed her hands against the brick wall.

Turning around, she pressed herself tightly against the wall, trying to make herself as small as possible. She could feel the panic surging through her as she realized the gravity of what she had done- or rather, what she had failed to do. And now, she was going to be at the mercy of the man she had attempted to kill.

The impenetrable fortress of Wyrm’s Rock had been looming when she had first stood in front of it, its walls towering high and its gates firmly shut. But it wasn’t so impenetrable. After all Phayelynn was able to sneak in fairly easily, thanks to Raphael’s detailed instruction.

Their plan had seemed foolproof- get in as a hired performer, blend in with the night’s dinner party, and then take out Vizdos with the knife Raphael had given her. Foolproof.

But not Phayelynn proof.

She’d been watching him all night as she performed on stage. He mingled with all sorts of members of the court, his haughty laugh playing a sharp chord in her gut. Even how he sipped at his wine sprung a vile feeling in her stomach. She was welcomed to stay after her performance; the compliments of her playing and songs would normally get to her head, but she could hardly recall any of them as she continued to stalk her prey.

Phayelynn hadn’t even noticed someone had been watching her more intently than some puppy-eyed admirer, until a dark-haired man approached Vizdos, whispering something in his ear. Vizdos’s face flashed with alarm, his hold on his goblet tightening as he seemed to be scanning the crowd, searching for something. And then their eyes met, and everything came crashing down.

All the years she had spent convincing herself that she was no longer afraid of him turned out to be a lie. The moment he recognized her, her fear tripled, and she felt her hands start to shake. The knife she had kept ducked up in her sleeve clattered to the floor as she desperately scrambled for the door.

And now she stood face to face with the guards he had rented out for the duration of his visit to the city.

The distant sound of bells grew louder and more insistent, causing Phayelynn to startle. Surely, it wasn’t for her. Suddenly, a loud, lurching noise pierced the air, making her jump in fright. The ground shock as pulse waves shot out from above. She kept the palms of her hands against the wall to keep herself steady.

The Flaming Fists stopped in their tracks, their attention captured by the strange and ominous sound. They looked about, back from where they came in from, and up to the skies, looking for its source. As they searched, a vast shadow fell over them, blotting out the sun.

Phayelynn didn’t understand what she was seeing as long, writhing tentacles reached out from a monstrous ship in the sky that seemed to defy all reason. The sight filled her with unspoken horror, leaving her utterly speechless. A shiver ran down her spine as she felt the blood in her veins turn to ice.

Even the Flaming Fist, so intent on capturing her only moments ago, stood frozen in fear as they realized what it was. A Nautiloid was no ordinary sky-ship fueled by magic but a Mind Flayer vessel. And it was hovering over Baldur’s Gate.

With a cry and clank, as they abandoned their weapons, the Flaming Fists turned and fled, abandoning their mission and duty in the face of such terror, shouting about how this was the end.

Normally, Phayelynn would’ve laughed at their cowardice, made some sort of joke, anything, but she could only watch in horror at the scene unfolding before her. The famed Flaming Fists, who were supposed to protect the city, were running away, leaving her and every other citizen nearby to fend for themselves. She gaped, unsure what to do. She quickly realized it was a Mind Flayer ship, reading about them in books, but she’d never thought she’d see anything like this in her life. The screams and cries of the citizens of the Upper City started to fill the air, and Phayelynn knew she had to start running again.

As she ran out of the alleyway, she found herself right in the middle of the chaos, fast erupting in the streets. She followed the flow, hoping the locals knew where they were going, hoping that they had some sort of escape plan.

Up ahead, she could see the ship fully for what it was, and it was haunting- a picture that would be forever painted in the back of her mind. She stopped running as the people around her brushed past her. She was going to die here.

One of the ship’s tentacles had wrapped around the bell tower, crushing it easily. The deafening sound of the bell’s final toll rang loudly as it came crashing down. Shivers ran down Phayelynn’s spine as she watched in horror as stone and brick rained down on the streets below. If she had kept going, it would’ve crushed her, like it just had those who had kept running past her

Those who survived quickly turned on their heels, their cries of anguish heard as they ran back towards where she stood.

Phayelynn was getting lost in the crowd as people frantically pushed and shoved each other out of their way in a mad scramble to escape. She felt claustrophobic, looking for any opening, any way to squeeze out and find somewhere to hide from the mayhem and destruction around her. Suddenly more tentacles appeared, snaking down from the ship and lashing out at anyone in their path. She watched as the moment someone was touched by them, they combusted into ash.

She weaved through it, tears welling up in her eyes. As she pushed forward, she watched in horror as someone before her was reduced to ashes. Unable to get out of the way in time, she ran through it. Desperately trying to keep some composer, she spat and wiped at her face. She was then knocked off balance by a mother, frenetically shoving her way through the crowd with her child in tow. Phayelynn stumbled, tripping over her own feet.

Phayelynn was gasping for air as she crumpled to the ground amidst it all, bringing her hands up to cover her head. People rushed over her without a second thought.

Her mind tore away with thoughts of Raphael and whether he was watching her from somewhere. And if he was, was he disappointed? Was he not helping her because of her failure to kill Vizdos? That didn’t sound like him, though. He was probably trying to find her, or maybe he had no idea any of this was even happening. She didn’t know which of the latter made more sense.

She then thought of her uncle, who was residing just outside the city. She wished she had never set foot in this damned city like he warned her to. If she had listened, she would never have gotten herself into this. Why did she never listen to him?

The commotion around her came to a halt, and she knew that meant everyone around her had gone or was dead. Wearily, she lifted her head, only to be met with a slimy tentacle wrapping itself around her ankle.

As she opened her mouth to speak, a sudden burst of energy engulfed her body. She tried to scream out, but before she could finish, her body disintegrated into dust that slowly descended to the ground.

----------

Phayelynn’s body jerked upright with a sudden gasp. She found herself lying in a bedroll near a lit fireplace. Her eyes darted around the room, struggling to catch her breath as she fought to shake off the remnants of the lingering fear left behind from the nightmare.

The sun’s warm rays streamed through the windows, casting a tranquil glow over the quiet room. The only sounds heard were the crackling fire and the sweet melodies of birds chirping outside. She tried to focus on it, helping her steady her breathing but was struck by a sharp pain piercing her side. She attempted to sit up, to toss the covers off of her to look, but a gentle hand pressed down on her shoulder, urging her to stay still.

“Easy,” Shadowheart’s voice coaxed her back down onto the soft bedroll.

Confused and disoriented, Phayelynn looked around again, taking in the rustic decor and simple furnishing. Her gaze eventually landed on Shadowheart’s worried face, and she struggled to find her voice.

“Where are we?” she rasped, her voice barely above a whisper.

“We’re at Ethel’s,” Shadowheart said, looking around the place, then back down at Phayelynn. “Thankfully, we weren’t far away.”

Phayelynn couldn’t shake off the restlessness that Shadowheart’s reply had awakened in her. In flashes, the memory of the fight with the Gur flooded back, and with it, the image of his knife stabbing her over and over again. Her vision started to blur, and the panic began to set in. Phayelynn tried to sit up again, but the pain was too much, and she grimaced, clutching her side.

Shadowheart let out a small sigh, her patience wearing thin as she watched Phayelynn’s stubbornness. Despite her annoyance, Shadowheart still extended a helping hand. She gently placed her hand behind Phayelynn’s upper back, steadying her while the other pressed against the healing wounds. She muttered an incantation, her voice low and soothing, as the healing magic began to flow from her fingers. Phayelynn visibly relaxed, sinking into Shadowheart’s hold as the energy washed over her, easing her pain.

“Lae’zel is outside,” Shadowheart informed her, nodding towards the front door. “Keeping watch.”

Phayelynn’s gaze followed Shadowheart’s gesture, and she could faintly see the glinty of Lae’zel’s armor in the sunlit, standing guard outside. She felt a sense of comfort knowing that the githyanki decided to stay, much against her reservations about coming here in the first place.

Shadowheart continued, “And Gale is downstairs, making you a cup of tea for when you wake up.”

Phayelynn’s spirits lifted even more at the thought of a warm cup of tea. Her lips curled into the faintest smile, barely visible on her tired face. She hadn’t expected the gestures from her companions, who still stood by her side. She felt guilty to say, but she half expected them to abandon her. It wasn’t like they were friends, though she wished she could call them that. They were only forced together by circumstance. She couldn’t help but feel like a burden, constantly relying on them for help and getting herself into trouble. Admittedly, the fight with the Gur was not entirely her fault, and she had worked to prevent it, but she still felt responsible for it.

But it wasn’t her who the Gur was after.

With a sense of urgency, her eyes flitted side to side in search of any sign of Astarion. A flicker of worry crossed her face as she failed to spot him anywhere. The memory of the last time she had seen him played out in her mind, causing a wave of fear to wash over her. He had been shot with an acid arrow by the Gur. The thought of Astarion being taken by Gandrel sent shivers down her spine.

“He’s downstairs, brooding as usual,” Shadowheart said with a roll of her eye as if reading Phayelynn’s mind. Phayelynn breathed out a sigh of relief as Shadowheart let out a giggle. “Astarion? Really?” she raised an eyebrow, “That’s who you’ve decided to fancy out of our little group. I guess I can’t say I didn’t see this coming, but...” she teased, letting her hand drop from Phayelynn’s side.

Phayelynn was quickly taken aback by Shadowheart’s statement and quickly rushed to defend herself, hoping Shadowheart wouldn’t notice her blush. “What?” she sputtered, “I don’t fancy him,” she spoke in a hushed voice, looking towards the stairs. “I’ve only known him for, what, a week?”

Shadowheart shrugged her shoulders, finding amusement in Phayelynn’s denial. “That’s plenty of time to gain attraction to someone,” she said, “It’s nothing to be ashamed about. I’d just be careful with Astarion,” she warned.

Phayleynn leaned back, cheeks turning even redder. She scrunched up her nose- Was it? No, she shook her head, “You got the wrong idea!” she argued, hoping to change the subject.

But Shadowheart wasn’t going to let it go, “Oh, have I?” she titled her head, “So you just let any old vampire lure you into their tent and drink your blood? Very pragmatic.”

Phayelynn’s heart sank as she remembered that now everyone knew about what actually happened in Astarion’s tent last night. She wasn’t sure if she preferred them knowing the truth or if it was more embarrassing than what they had assumed had happened. “He was hungry, and I-I just wanted to help,” she tried to defend her actions, ignoring the headache that was forming.

“Wanting to help nearly got you killed,” Shadowheart pointed out, a little harsher than she had intended. She sighed, feeling guilty. “We’re supposed to trust each other. He should’ve told us. We could’ve helped. Could’ve been better prepared against the Gur.” she narrowed her eyes. “Or you should’ve come to me this morning. I couldn’t restore some of the blood he took from you. Do you realize how much blood you’ve lost after today? You’re lucky to be alive.”

Phayelynn didn’t realize how serious her wounds had been until hearing the sharpness in Shadowheart’s tone. She had almost died today. As she tried to speak up to apologize, her words were abruptly interrupted, leaving her feeling uncertain and uneasy.

“Oh, petal!” Ethel’s voice called as she walked up the stairs, holding a bottle of salve in her hand.

Her voice had a sickly sweet tone that made Phayelynn feel even more uneasy. “Something told me to get my arse up here. I was going to apply more salve to your wound. Don’t want scars on such a beautiful girl, now do we?” she kneeled down beside them, opposite of Shadowheart, pointing at Phayelynn as she continued, “Lift up ‘ya shirt, now, girl.”

Phayelynn felt Shadowheart’s caution around Ethel instantly, which left Phayelynn even more confused. Didn’t Shadowheart seek out Ethel’s help with removing the tadpole, and then healing her while she slept on death’s door? There was an unspoken tension in the air, and Phayelynn couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

As Phayelynn struggled to remove her shirt, which was still tangled with most of her belts and other traveling clothes, Shadowheart moved to help. Shadowheart lifted Phayelynn’s shirt up enough only to expose her wounds, allowing Ethel’s cool hands to apply more of the healing salve.

Phayelynn watched wide-eyed as she finally got a good look at her injuries- there were at least five, if not six, different marks where Gandrel’s blade had pierced through her skin. Frowning, Phayelynn watched as Ethel twisted the lid back onto the bottle of salve, closing it.

Ethel pushed herself back up, her knees cracking, causing her to let out a faint sigh. She gazed down at the two girls, and a smile appeared on her face, “Oh, these old bones,” she muttered. “Your friends were so worried when they brought you to me, petal. Thank goodness they did, or you might not have made it. You owe them a big apology for frightening them like that.” Ethel said, her finger pointing towards Phayelynn, then the stairs for emphasis. “Now, let’s get ya’ up on ya’ feet. Your friend should be just about done making you that cup’a.”

Phayelynn’s cheeks flushed with shame, the guilt of making them all worry about her hitting her. “I’m sorry,” she apologized, turning to look at Shadowheart for a moment.

“I guess it could’ve happened to any of us.” Shadowheart shook her head gently, reaching out to help Phayelynn stand.

Phayelynn took slow and unsteady steps down the stairs, her hand gripping the railing tightly for support. Shadowheart walked beside her, providing a steadying hand to help her reach the main area of the home. At the bottom of the stairs, Astarion was leaning against the wall, lost in thought, until the sound of their footsteps brought him back. Phayelynn’s heart skipped a beat, hoping he hadn’t overheard Shadowheart’s teasing. She tried to put it out of her mind as he stood up straight and moved to greet them.

“Look who’s still alive,” Astarion said with a sly grin, though his relief was evident. He quickly tried to cover it up. “Have a nice nap?”

Shadowheart rolled her eyes at his attempt to hide his concern. “Please, you were the most worried out of us all.”

She continued leading Phayelynn further into the home while Astarion trailed behind them, biting back a clever remark he failed to think of as he kept a watchful eye on Ethel as she guided them towards a dining chair near the large open fireplace.

As Phayelynn entered the main area, she saw Gale taking a teapot off the firepit, and mixing herbs together before pouring the water into the cup. As Ethel guided her to a chair, Phayelynn’s eyes met with a girl she didn’t recognize, and she couldn’t help but wonder if this was the cause of the tension in the room. The girl didn’t acknowledge her, tears streaking down her face as she sniffled, attempting to gulp down a spoonful of food.

Gale perked at her arrival, carrying the hot mug over to her. He gave her a delicate pat on the shoulder, relieved to see her up and about, “You have us all a fright.”

“Sorry,” she said sheepishly. Grateful for the tea, she took a sip, feeling its warmth spread across her body, asking, “How long was I out?”

“A few hours.” Gale’s smile faded as he answered. He nodded towards the front door. “Lae’zel is getting antsy.”

“She can wait a little while longer.” Shadowheart’s tone was laced with annoyance as she followed Gale’s gaze, crossing her arms against her chest. They had hit yet another dead end on their quest for a cure, and she couldn’t help but feel bitter about it.

Phayelynn furrowed her brow and looked at them expectantly, eager to know what was happening. “But I thought we were here for a cure?” she asked, her voice tinged with confusion.

Shadowheart, Gale, and Astarion exchanged a knowing look, silently communicating that it was time for Phayelynn to drop the subject, especially with Ethel still near. Phayelynn looked between them, catching their silent conversation, and frowned. Shadowheart had insisted on coming to Ethel for a cure, but something had clearly gone wrong. What had happened during the time that she was out affected Ethel’s ability to help them?

As they stood there in silence, the girl sitting in front of Phayelynn let out a long whine, her stomach growling audibly. With a whimper, the girl let out a long whine, drawing everyone’s attention to her.

Ethel, the seemingly frail old woman, held out some bit, sharply reprimanding her with a pointed bony finger, “I don’t want a crumb left on that plate, Mayrina.”

“Auntie Ethel, please,” Mayrina let out another whine, begging for mercy, “One more bite, and this pie is gonna come back up to say hello.”

Phayelynn’s eyes widened, pushing her chair back before that could happen. She looked between her companions, then Ethel, then the girl Mayrina, quickly putting together that whatever this was had to be the reason for her companion’s reasons for being on edge and eager to leave.

Ethel, with a stern expression on her face, pointed at the plate of food in front of Mayrina. “Don’t make me get the wooden spoon,” she threatened, “You know you need to eat for two, so stop procrastinating and get to it.”

Mayrina suddenly rises from her seat, her face contorted in pain, as she clutches her stomach. Phayelynn immediately springs into action, placing her teacup on the table and moving to assist her. But before she can reach Mayrina, Ethel quickly intervenes and forcefully pushes Phayelynn back down into her seat. As Phayelynn looks up, she sees Shadowheart and Gale quickly approaching, the look on their faces suggesting that they don’t appreciate Ethel’s behavior.

Ethel’s voice booms across the room, “Gods, grant me patience. Mayrina, eat your food now or face the consequences.” Her tone is that of a strict disciplinarian admonishing a child.

Phayelynn, visibly upset, not by being pushed but by Ethel’s treatment of the girl, doesn’t think twice about speaking up, “Do you treat all your guests this way?” Her voice was firm and resolute as she confronted Ethel, clenching her fists tightly at her sides.

Ethel’s face contorted with anger as she turned to Phayelynn, her voice dripping with venom. “Oh, Petal. I’m the reason you’re still breathing, so watch your tone, sweetie.” she snapped, “Your friends have rudely refused my help with the worms in your heads. I’m not afraid to kick you lot out and show you the door.”

Phayelynn furrowed her brows, unsure why Ethel’s help offer had been declined. Before she could respond, Astarion stepped forward, pushing past Shadowheart and Gale. He reached out and grabbed Phayelynn’s arm, pulling her back with a firm tug.

“That won’t be necessary,” Astarion interjected, his voice calm but firm. “We can escort ourselves out. Thank you very much for your…,” he trailed off, gesturing with a dismissive wave of his hand. “Hospitality.”

Ethel glared at the sarcastic comment. Phayelynn, on the other hand, wore a frown on her face and allowed herself to be led away, but she wasn’t willing to let things go, but Astarion expected it. He pinched his brow together as she opened her mouth,

“Something isn’t right.” Phayelynn started. Her eyes then sparkled with a mischievous gleam as she opened her mouth to speak. She lowered her voice, “She’s a witch or a hag, yeah?” She looked furtively at Ethel, who’d turn to make Mayrina sit back down and eat.

Astarion ground his teeth together, “It’s none of our business.” he said curtly, hoping to end the discussion until they were far away.

As Astarion dodged Phayelynn’s probing questions, she knew that her suspicions had been correct all along. Ethel, the supposed healer who lived in the woods, was not as innocent as she appeared. There was something more dangerous about her. Despite the warning signs, Phayelynn wasn’t willing to leave the situation alone.

“I knew it! That’s why you’re all so eager to leave this place,” Phayelynn gasped, her eyes widening in realization. “But we can’t just abandon that poor girl.” Astarion’s gaze turned cold, and he spoke with a fierce determination, “I told you, it’s none of your business. We need to leave now.”

With all the strength she could muster, she freed herself from Astarion’s grip and took a step back, determined to make it her business. She turned swiftly on her heel, her gaze fixed on Mayrina, and asked with genuine concern, “Do you need help?”

“You know, deary,” Ethel seemed to be getting increasingly agitated by their presence. “I don’t appreciate busybodies around here. This is my home, and I want you all out.” With a pointed finger, she gestured towards the door, her message clear.

“No, this woman is clearly in trouble,” Phayelynn shifted her gaze from Gale to Shadowheart, her heart pounding in her chest as she silently pleaded for their support. They had to see that Mayrina was in danger, that Ethel had something nefarious afoot.

Gale had been the first to see Ethel for what she was, his senses alerting him to the unmistakable scent of magic. It was the putrid, foul-smelling kind that could only have come from a hag. He conveyed his suspicions to his companions through their unspoken connection of tadpoles, while Ethel and Shadowheart worked tirelessly to save Phayelynn’s life.

They had to exercise caution until Phayelynn woke up and they could leave. They’d play as polite, considering what she was and what she might be capable of doing should they anger her. While Phayelynn had been resting, Shadowheart volunteering to keep a watchful eye on her, Ethel offered them the cure they had originally come here for, by plucking out one of their eyes, kissing it, and then putting it back in its socket. When they refused, Ethel insisted on making Phayelynn some tea. However, Gale knew they couldn’t trust her. So, he stepped in and offered to make it himself, lying that Phayelynn had a specific preference.

Gale watched as Phayelynn now stood, staring down Ethel, not grasping the gravity of being Ethel. This would be no easy fight. He agreed they couldn’t just leave Mayrina, but they were unprepared for this fight. Before he could reach out to her through the tadpole, to warn her, to tell her they’d come back after they regrouped, Ethel let out a growl,

As Ethel’s lips curled into a sneer, her eyes flashed with a wild glint. “You want to play the hero so badly? Fine. Let’s make this interesting,” she spat out.

With a flick of her wrist, Ethel transformed Mayrina into a luminous orb, which she then vanished into thin air. As Mayrina disappeared, she left behind a trail of glittering dust, the only sign that she had been there at all.

Suddenly, the world around them began to fade away, the warm glow of the fairylike sunlight washed away by a sickly green-yellow hue. The scene began to morph into something entirely different, something dark and foreboding. The sunlight wetlands morphed into a swamp, murky and insidious, reeking of decay. The air was thick and humid, the tranquil sounds of the wilderness Phayelynn had woken up to gone, taken over by unknown screeching creatures and the incessant buzzing insects.

Outside on the front porch, Lae’zel was alarmed at the sudden change in the surroundings, and she jumped to her feet, her eyes wide in alert. She muttered curses under her breath. She takes a few steps forward to investigate, but before she can reach the door, she spots three small, red-eyed creatures charging up the steps that lead to the front yard. In their tiny hands, they hold weapons that gleam menacingly. Without hesitating, Lae’zel lets out a fierce battle cry and charges forward to confront the creatures. The istik’s inside can deal with whatever mess they gotten themselves into.

Phayelynn and the others watched Ethel, who stood before them, start to twitch. Ethel’s features twisted and contorted into monstrous proportions. Her body grew, towering over them, and her nose stretched out, pointing as rot and moss covered her grew from her skin. Her hands grew into giant paw-like claws.

Phayelynn and her companions stood rooted in dread as they watched Ethel convulse before their very eyes. Her once gentle features distorted into a grotesque mask. Her body began to grow, stretching out like a towering monolith that loomed over them. The hunched form of an old woman twisted and bulged as her skin became covered in a pallid leafy moss that seemed to grow and spread before their very eyes. Her human features contorted into snarling lips and pointed snout, and her eyes glowed with a fierce, otherworldly light. Her hands, once dainty and frail now grew into massive, paw-like claws that could tear through anything in their path.

“Little half-elf, so desperate to be special.” Ethel’s mocking wrenched through Phayelynn’s mind, making her cry out and clutch at her head.

Ethel stomped closer, letting out a growl that sent shivers down Phayelynn’s spine. Without thinking twice, she stepped back and instinctively raised her hand, shouting, “De Torno!”

Her fingertips glimmered with a vibrant purple light, and as she released her spell, a powerful shockwave erupted from her hand, sending Ethel flying off the stairs. Ethel landed in a heap, barely escaping from falling into the blazing fireplace. The impact was so strong that it reverberated through the room, leaving Phayelynn trembling with the after-effects.

Astarion knew this was going to escalate and was prepared. Swiftly and silently, he cast a misty step, teleporting behind Ethel. With his keen eyes locked on the hag’s movement. As soon as she got up, he took advantage of her momentary vulnerability and launched himself forward in a brisk and fluid motion. With an expert flick of his wrist, he delivered two precise dagger attacks. Ethel staggered forward, disorientated and unable to react immediately.

Shadowheart watched as Ethel shoved Astarion. With a fierce hiss, Shadowheart unleashed a guiding bolt, and Gale followed up with a firebolt. The hag let out a blood-curdling cry and staggered, her eyes darting around frantically like a cornered animal. Her vile smile revealed rotten teeth as she cast the same spell that had trapped Mayrina on Phayelynn, transforming the bard into a glowing ball of light and causing her to disappear. Ethel’s gaze then flickered around the room before settling on the fireplace behind her. She rushed towards it and disappeared through the brick.

Her voice echoed through the room with a cackle, “Enjoy playing with your new friends! I’ll enjoy playing with mine! Bye-bye!”

As she let out a high-pitched, almost maniacal laugh, her voice rolled across the entire room, bouncing off the walls and filling the space with an eerie energy. With a tone of evident delight, she exclaimed, “Have fun playing with your new friends! I’ll certainly have a great time playing with mine! Bye bye!”

The atmosphere in the room was tight and discomfiting as Shadowheart and Gale exchanged glances, both feeling a sense of blame and guilt. Phayelynn had been taken by the hag, and they had failed to stop it. Astarion’s face contorted with anger, and he vented his frustration by forcefully plunging his knife into the wall, leaving a deep gash in the wood.

As the group stood there in silence, Lae’zel’s heavy footsteps could be heard echoing through the room, her armor clanking and splattered with fresh blood. She marched in with a determined look on her face, surveying the scene with a steely gaze. It didn’t take her long to figure out what had happened here. She spat on the ground,

“Kainyank.”

--------

Also, just look at all the sass from them. I love them so much 💜

#astarion x tav #astarion x oc #astarion romance #astarion x mc #tav bg3 #astarion x reader #astarion x female tav #astarion x female oc #astarion x female reader #shadowheart is my bestie she just doesn't know it yet

13 notes · View notes

imperator-titus · 9 days

Text

I'm gonna make a huge mistake and post something because I haven't written in forever and I finally did yesterday. I'm not gonna make it all pretty and perfect for tumblr engagement because I don't have the energy or care to.

Just a note, I did try writing the story from the beginning, but got really hung up on it. Since I'm not really interested in doing a real fic, I figured why not do snippets? If I post anything else, it's probably going to be out of order.

Anyway, some relevant tags to determine if you want to read or not. Technically one of them was supposed to be a surprise but I don't want someone to waste their time if they don't like that sort of thing.

Tags: Astarion x Tav (Rowan, not reader, human, agender AFAB but lets the team refer to them as female), Canon x OC, Isekai, Angst, All the Vampirism Warnings (Blood, Biting, etc.), Sexually Suggestive Situations, Allusion to/Mention of Suicide, Memory loss, Gender Dysphoria

Rowan was in her tent that the others were kind enough to find for her. She was on the edge of sleep after silently sobbing for the past hour when there was the quietest crunch of pebbles outside the flap’s edge. She stopped breathing, suddenly alert and taut, straining to hear what came next. After a while, she assumed that it was a mental trick brought on by exhaustion and how near to sleep she’d been, so she closed her eyes.

She'd been almost asleep again when the flap softly opened. Spinning around, she laid eyes on Astarion.

“Shit,” he said softly, looking actually a little ashamed. Rowan almost didn't hear him with the pounding of her heart in her ears. “Now hold on, it's not what it looks like.”

“So you don’t eat people?”

“Don't be disgusting, I don’t eat people,” he answered indignantly, although his head bobbed from side to side as he relented. “I do drink, well, their blood.”

“So vampires are a thing here?”

“Here?” He asked in confusion. Rowan shook her head as if to dismiss the point. “It would be more accurate to say I'm a vampire spawn-” Rowan made a disgusted face and Astarion stopped in the middle of his rehearsed confession “What?”

“Just, that word--”

“Spawn?”

“It's fucking vile, please stop saying it.”

Astarion scoffed. “Oh, I'm sorry, is my very being disgusting to you?”

“No, it's just the word. It's gross, especially the way you say it.”

“Spawn,” Astarion enunciated with vitriolic precision. She made another face. “You know, I came to you because I thought you'd be more understanding, but-”

“No,” she interrupted, raising a hand between them, “you came to me because I'm the weakest and least capable of defending myself if I woke up.”

Astarion chuckled, a little bit less upset. “Fine, you've seen through me.”

“I would've understood,” Rowan started as she sat up, tugging her thin blanket up over her exposed legs and hips, “if you'd asked me during normal business hours when I was wearing pants.”

“You're right, I simply--” Astarion sighed, lowering himself to his knees inside her small tent. “Things have been difficult and if I could just have a little bit of real blood, I could be stronger. I didn't want to risk you saying no.”

Rowan took a deep breath and let it out slowly between tight lips. After a moment, she asked, “it's gonna hurt, isn't it?”

Astarion opened his mouth in surprise before emitting a low chuckle in the back of his throat. “I imagine so. I've never bitten a thinking creature before. Well, except for a few kobolds.”

“So you don't know when to stop?” For the first time, uncertainty entered her voice.

“I didn't intend on sucking you dry, but you're right. This is an area in which I can admit to being inexperienced.” His voice became soft as he added, “I would do my best to be gentle, if you’d indulge me.”

They sat in silence as Rowan considered it. Eventually, she touched the right side of her neck. “Can you do it from this side?”

Astarion’s eyes would've lit up if there was any light in the small tent. Playfully, he leaned towards her, hands bracing on either side of her body on the bedroll, and asked, “Already have a preference, darling?”

“The other side is… for someone else,” she answered sadly. The humor drained out of the vampire.

“Well, I humbly thank you for what you can spare.” He guided her to lie the rest of the way down and did his best not touch her except for the necessary parts. He opened his mouth and his fangs tentatively scraped the soft skin of her neck. He thought she flinched away from him, but realized it was a shiver.

Skin broke as he finally got the courage to defy an old edict and taste real blood. Astarion heard her strangled cry of pain and felt the fabric of his shirt distort and tug at him as she instinctively grabbed at him. He almost pulled away, but the taste of her blood touched his tongue and he was awash in mind-altering ecstasy. Nothing could compare to the rush it brought through his body.

It warmed him from the inside, spreading down his throat and into his chest. The feeling of gaining something lost. Maybe he leaned down on her for a better angle, maybe she pulled him towards her.

At some point, he registered her crying. It made him want to stop, but just a little more, he told himself.

“Don’t… stop…” Rowan pleaded quietly through her tears, close enough to his ears that her breath moved the curls of his hair.

It wasn't the type of request he’d heard before from too many lovers to count. The warmth turned to ice and Astarion immediately disregarded her plea. He removed his fangs from her neck and gave the two wounds a practical lick to stop the flow of blood. He pulled away and her hands weakly let go of him. He felt briefly ashamed, and a little horrified, but it was Rowan who was unable to maintain eye contact.

“Why would you say that?” He asked a little too coldly. Something in him hurt but he didn't know what quite yet.

Rowan’s chest and stomach heaved as she tried to hold in a loud sob. She had to put a hand over her mouth to muffle the sound. Uncharacteristically, perhaps out of shock, Astarion pulled her blanket up to her shoulders before slipping out of her tent.

#astarion ancunin #bg3 fanfiction #fanfiction #astarion x tav #isekai #bg3 tav #Rowan OC #tw blood #tw biting #angst #agender oc #tw suicide #tw suicide mention #astarion #original character #tw memory loss #tw gender dysphoria #titus writes #a non hero's guide

2 notes · View notes

catofulthar000 · 3 years

Text

"ii requiire maiintenance."

Scully's voice is soft from the doorway, so quiet Tavros might not have even heard him approach. He hasn't been looking too hot, lately; sagging loose skin and sunken eyes, working his jaw back and forth like a grinding hinge as he feels one bony hand along the wall.

List of things you wouldn't wanna see standing over your bed at 3PM on Alternia: he looks like a daywalker at this point.

Tavros perks up immediately, pushing back from his desk and looking over him with gentle concern.

"Hey Scully, Uhh, What do you need?" He asks, biting his lip.

He'd really been trying, feeding him and cleaning him, giving him games to play or tasks to complete. Any time he wasn't out getting food or occasionally visiting with people he spent watching over or caring for Scully. He still had hope, that he would get better. He had to get better.... Right?

"Uhm.... Do you want something else to eat before bed? Or.... Are you tired?"

Scully has been following him like a shadow, quieter and quieter as the cycles went on, glued to Tavros's side whenever he wasn't working. He stands now, half-hunched over and gaunt, peeking out from under his overgrown hair and clinging to the doorframe.

(He's been having a lot of trouble getting around. Bumping into more things, having to feel along the wall as the ambient buzz of his psionics becomes less and less. Voidrot is a bitch.)

"food, ii thiink. ii'm experiienciing 2ome abdomiinal tor2iion."

He stands without hesitation, smiling soft even if he can't see it, it carry's into his tone. "Alright, Uh, I have some more of that grain and broth soup I can heat up for you. That should be pretty gentle" he humms.

He crosses over to him to take him to his computer chair, still warm from where he'd been sitting, and helping him into it. "It'll just be a minute."

He fishes a half full container of soup from his mini fridge and pops it in the microwave, grabbing a spoon and making sure it's clean.

"You went and sat with the bees earlier? They were happy to see you..." They were also worried, but so was he. They were all worried about Scully, but it'd be okay...

He takes out the container, checking it's not too hot to hold, or eat, before handing it over to him, taking his hands and guiding them around it before placing the spoon in.

"Thank-you."

Scully follows--he doesn't even swing his arms when he walks, which is ... weird, maybe--and hovers at his elbow, staring blankly off to the side rather than straight ahead. His brow knits, momentarily, but he turns his attention to the soup as soon as his hands are nestled around it.

It's ... probably hard to watch, sometimes. His hands shake so much now that most of the soup doesn't even make it out of the bowl, and what does make it to his mouth stays there for a moment with the stilted, shuddering motion of his adam's-apple (he called it his rumblesphere, weird biology) as he struggled to swallow.

Most of it goes down half-chewed. Thankfully, it's Soup™️. He can't manage more than soup these days; poor guy bit into a slice of an apple, the other day, and a crumbled chunk of one of his teeth came with it.

He manages about a half a cup, though, sagging slightly with his head resting on Tavros's shoulder for balance.

"ha2 DK contacted you?"

Tav tries a little to steady his hand without being too invasive about it, a warm, steady palm resting over his as he kneels next to his computer chair.

The soft mush of broth soaked rice doesn't need any real chewing, and Tav watches him eat quietly. He reaches up once to brush some of his hair back from his face, it's getting so long, but he doesn't seem to care to cut it, but at least he was keeping it clean for him....

He takes the container when he stops eating, setting it on the desk and putting an arm around him as he rests his head on his shoulder.

"Uhm.... Not yet.... You want to get in bed?"

"ye2 plea2e," he murmurs. He never seems to mind Tav's hands--sometimes when they're on his face he even leans into it, a twitch at a time--but this time he halts, his knees stuttering. That uncut hair hangs in his face as he slouches forward a little, with a shaking inhale.

"Tavro2,” he says, his shoulders hunching forward slightly as he tucks a hand over the seam of his own lips, "ii'm about two rumiinate."

He pauses as he's helping him up, almost anticipating it and changing direction once he confirms.

"Oop, Okay, Hold on." He mumbles, gently lifting him, (he's so light) and taking him just around the corner into the ablution block, steadying him over a basin.

"We're here." He confirms quietly, quickly pulling all his hair back and away from his face, gently rubbing his back with his other hand.

Scully is barely draped over the lip of the sink when he loses the contents of his gastric-sack. It's sparse, and it's thin, and this is probably the third or forth time there's been blood in it. His knees shake a little--Tavros's hands on him are just about the only reason he's upright, pitiful as he may be.

He nods, gasping, and feels until he finds the faucet to wash out his mouth. It's routine, now.

"2orry," he says, like he says every time.

"S'okay." He mumbles back, grabbing the glass by the basin to fill with cold water "Wanna try drinking a tiny bit before you lay down?" He asks, hand still slowly stroking his back as he stands behind him.

Mischief, the worm off the string peeks in the ablution block, sniffing Scully's ankle with a soft whine.

He nods, and when Mischief comes snuffling in, he nudges it gently with his foot in greeting. He likes Mischief a lot--more than once, Scully has been found curled up in it like a feather boa, sound asleep.

"thank-you," Scully murmurs, out of the sudden silence. His bony hand dangles around Mischief's snout, letting the baby Snuffle About with his fingers, "ii'm 2orry ii wa2n't your friiend."

The long blue beast fondly licks at his fingers with a golden tongue before pressing it's muzzle against his palm.

Tav smiles a little at the interaction before pausing when Scully appologieses.

"Oh.... Uhm.. It's okay Scully. It is not like everyone is always going to be friends with everyone...." He reasons as he stoops to gently pick Scully up, cradling him in his arms as he carrys him to the bed. "And, We are maybe kind of friends now.... Right?" He adds tentatively as Mischief follows.

He lays him down on the soft blanket he tucks him in with every night, waiting for Mischief to jump up on the bed and nestle under his head and around his neck, fluffy and warm, like an extra pillow.

Scully is silent, carefully feeling along it's muzzle, cradling it as he stares into space.

"ii treated you pretty poorly, though. you diidn't de2erve iit."

Tavros scoops him up, and he curls himself a little smaller. He's always fucking freezing now. It makes sense--he lost a lot of weight very quickly, and the heat leeches from him as easily as if he were standing outside in winter. We love a heat-sink king.

"ii don't thiink ii can be your friiend," he admits, with a whisper of something that might even be regret--just a smidgen, barely-there, "iit'2 not wiithiin my current functiional parameter2. ii would have, though."

Mischief nuzzles up, and Scully hesitates for a moment as he struggles to lift his head, so Mischief can nestle in with him. He buries his face in it's fur, and a little of the tension looses from his jaw. Better. Safe.

"Oh...... Well, That's okay.... You're still my friend, I think...." He humms as he tucks the blankets warm around him, making sure he's in a comfortable position before stepping away for a moment.

The two fluff bugs crawl over the blankets to curl up against him, and are soon joined by a pufftapod and a nugget, all gathering around to help keep him warm. Even Tink flutters down to nestle by his neck, licking his ear a couple times before settling down.

Tavros opens a shaded window to let some of the warm, morning air in, smiling as a few pairs of bees buzz into the room. "Uhm, Anyway, If you think you would have, Then that still sort of counts."

He comes back around to the other side of the bed, carefully crawling over to lay down beside him, pillow propping up his head a bit as he lowers himself face down, reaching out to let the warm weight of his arm rest over Scully.

One by one, everything Warm in the room curls up around him. Maybe they know, maybe they don't. Maybe they just know he's cold and he shouldn't be. The fluffbugs settle around his feet, the pufftapod at the small of his back. He tilts his head for Tink without thinking, a little more tension melting off of his face.

He thinks he might miss his lusus, sometimes. He doesn't know if it's a biological function or a sentimental one.

He shakily lifts one rail-thin arm from the nest of covers for the bees to alight on, eyes fluttering a little as Tavros settles in.

It may have been harder to notice before, but Scully is so ... fragile. Smaller than ever now that his skin clings to him like paper. He was 4'11 to begin with, and under Tav's arm he probably feels like a ragdoll, chilly and gangle-edged.

Scully nestles up to his arm with a sound that might have been exertion, might have been a weak little trill. The bees bumble over his wrist, between his fingers as he curls himself up small against Tav's side.

His eyes crack open, and he tilts his head suddenly, towards the blank ceiling as if staring at something.

They know something, in the way beasts do. Tavros should probably know too, but.... they're just worried. He's worried too. He shifts closer to help share his own warmth, arm curling around him to pull him in when he strains, returning a quiet trill.

They all settle in, safe and warm and still, a half a dozen beating hearts, breathing slow. Scully looking up so suddenly rouses Tavros from drifting off. His eyes flutter open as he peeks over at him, humming a curious noise, soft and sleepy.

"Hmmm.... Scully?"

"Hm?"

His head twitches towards Tavros, but his eyes stay glued to the ceiling, silent. One of his hands scritches idly atop the worm-on-string's head. He sags with exhaustion, but his eyes remain open, fixed above them even in his drowsiness.

"You okay....?" He mumbles. He can't turn his head to see what he's looking at, but he shifts his arm slightly, his hand resting over his on top of Mischief's head.

"yeah."

Scully nods against his arm, nestling a little closer. His voice rests at a murmur. Peaceful, unhurried as he dozes.

"ii wa2 ju2t watchiing the 2tar2."

Tav smiles sleepily, gently squeezing his hand as he settles back down. He assumes he means the fairylights hung around the ceiling, forgetting for the moment that he's blind.

"Hope they're pretty...." He sighs, nuzzling back into his pillow to drift off to the sound of buzzing bees and ambient city noise playing on his palmhusk.

He always liked the city noise better.

Scully curls in on himself, nuzzles against Tavros--safe, and warm, and more cared-for than he has been since before Dart disappeared--and Sleeps.

(When the cool light of the moon washes in, and the room starts the take on a little chill, and the animals start to whine, Tavros can find him. Still curled up so, so small, so cold he must have been lying there for hours, eyes still half-lidded open, staring up at the Stars.)

It's the soft, sad mooing of his lusus that wakes him first, then the slight chill that rouses him. His hand still rests over cold, stuff fingers, and he pushes himself up as he starts to realize just how cold they are.

He stares down at him, slowly tuning into the beasts' emotions, Mischief squirmed out from under him to lay on his unmoving chest, Tink nosing sadly at his ear with mournful lows. He doesn't have to check, he knows through them, but still he gently squeezes his hand, murmurs "Scully?" before his breathing starts to catch and hiccup, before tears start streaming down his cheeks.

His face scrunches up, eyes squeezing tight as he starts to cry, shaking with open sobs as he leans over him, one hand holding his tight as the other gently brushes over his hair. The falling tears burst instantly into bright red flowers with black and white centers, greenery stretching from under them to slowly weave a carpet of tiny blue flowers beneath them.

He doesn't know how long he cries, but it's long enough that by the time he opens his sore eyes, his entire room has been carpeted in flowers of grief, coating the floor and climbing up the walls, tangling through his bookcase and out the window, and encircling Scully's still body in a bower of red and blue and black and white...

He... has to get out of here. He needs to get away, from this, from anything, everything. He shakily let's go of his hand, climbing off of the bed and stumbling a little to catch himself on his desk. He can't just leave him here though, can he?

He fumbles on the surface for his palmhusk, brushing away forget me nots and pushing at the screen with leaden fingers and bleary eyes. Ringleader was Scully's other caretaker. He could take care of this, because Tavros, just

Couldn't.

A brief message, and he shoves the device into his pocket, more out of habit than anything, Before stumbling his way out of the room. He stretches his wings out in the cool moonlight and flys away from it all without a second thought.

#phii2hiing #action post #character death #death #emeto #the full rp #i've been crying for hours #buh #rip

14 notes · View notes

moonchildsaurora · 4 years

Text

The social butterfly of a Tech Genius

»»—— Crew Member #6 of Space Pirates ATEEZ ——««

all aboard The Perihelion, welcome to the co-pilot’s log system! here you’ll be able to access the crew’s profiles should you wish to read about their journeys: (no nsfw content)

[CAPTAIN] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]

an underestimated intellect with huge love for the cyber world and technology

you hear him before you see him in a crowd

a Drex’un who was born and lived his life in the technology-thriving city of Vollurn up until he was invited to join Hongjoong and Seonghwa on their journey

[database file: Drex’uns are often described as demon-borne even though not all bloodlines are derived from infernal ancestry. Purely for the fact that prominent horns protude from their heads, a prehensile tail that’s used for grabbing things and will coil around their legs when upset/nervous, sharp canines and eye colours that cover the entire sclera. Depending on bloodline, some Drex’uns have elemental abilities]

Mingi isn’t sure about his bloodline as he never knew his parents, though his intelligence goes far beyond that of an average being’s. Not only does he process knowledge extremely fast, his memory is remarkable; able to recall even the tiniest details and his ability to analyse/break codes allows him to have free reign in the cyber networks

his teal-coloured horns and tail have onyx gradient tips, adorned with a few gold jewellery (his actual ears are also pierced with hoops) to complement his molten gold eyes

making heads turn, be it for his energetic presence or fashionable attire; “just because I grew up on the streets doesn’t mean I have no pride for my looks”

learnt to be resourceful and street-smart at a young age, knows all the short cuts and side alleys of the city like the back of his hand (he’s had a lot of time to wander around). Also found out that he had a knack for by-passing security systems whenever he needed shelter for the night

frequents the ‘Merripalace Arcade’ where it’s both an underground hangout for tech whizzes and the cyber battlegrounds for competitive players. The first visit gave him a taste of a different kind of freedom and an introduction to the world of hacking. It’s probably one of the few places he’s felt a part of a community; no judgement of your species nor your background but rather your digital reputation is more valued and the sort of technological talents you bring to the network

if there’s one thing Mingi is a natural at it’s socialising, he could walk into a club alone and come back out later with a new social circle if he so wishes

“ok who DON’T you know here?”

“just look at that face, how can you say no to him?” – Mingi is walking proof that Drex’uns can pull off the puppy-dog face and get away with it

he was gifted a second-hand mirage drive by Einux, a Nagzoid [database file: a reptilian humanoid being with serpent ancestry so they tend to have more snake-like features] who became a shot-term mentor figure after Mingi unintentionally helped crack a system code for a database Einux was commissioned to work on (because Mingi thought that guy was just really bad at math on first glance)

[database file: a mirage drive is pretty much a miniature tablet with a hologram touch-screen and every tech whizz would protect theirs with their lives; especially when were layers of secret activities and programs stored into it]

“you remembered to wipe clean the data trail and replace the originals with the dud files right?”

“yeah of course...does planting a virus in the system that will cause ‘Time Warp’ to play every time they try to click open a file counts?”

“Mingi, I…….”

Einux introduced Mingi to his network of contacts and helped set him up with his first commission, safe to say Mingi was at a loss for words when he got his first pay up front (and that was just the deposit)

by the time Yunho had come across Mingi at the Tech Institute, he had been in the cyber scene for 4+ years already and never once had to deal with someone catching him in the act

Mingi.exe has stopped working

he’s met a couple of Sheirzois before but he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t lowkey checking out the blue-haired giant whilst panicking on the inside, he’d argue there’s always time to appreciate beauty

two options popped into his mind then and there; either he bribed his way out (as his mentor taught him) or he attempted to maybe throw some punches and then make a getaway

(expectation) looks like he’s intimidating & can fight vs. (reality) he’d probably cry if he hit someone & is just a soft boy all-round

extra trivia: ironically for an infernal being, Mingi doesn’t deal well with anything supernatural/ghosts-related. Once Woo and Yeosang pranked him, Yunho helped a little but he doesn’t need to know, and convinced him that the basement storage hanger was haunted after totems started appearing in odd places along with ominous noises. Mingi was so ready to abandon ship before Hongjoong did damage control & Jongho promised he’d fight all the ghosts for him

was already metaphorically weeping at the thought of having to empty his money pouch but turned out that Otis (his multi-coding bot) had somehow manage to win the Sheirzoi over along with an invite to drinks

“I’ve got many questions for you regarding your efficiently adorable bot”

“…and I to you as well, BUT first do you have a name? And secondly have you been to ‘Le Apollon’? Coz if not they make some really mean Northern Drops there!”

Yunho turned out to be one of the most chilled individual Mingi has met and he didn’t mind the other’s enthusiastic discussions about all technological inventions, and was even just as enthusiastic to share with Yunho about his own passion for cyber tech

one too many drinks later Mingi was accidentally spilling secrets he definitely wasn’t meant to and even ended up dancing on the table at some point, all while Yunho hyped his new friend up on the side

was forever grateful that Yunho never ratted him out to the authorities and consider him shook for the 2nd time in that day when he was offered a roof over his head, a more permanent one too

“do you want to be the big spoon, or is it my turn? We can rotate!”

thus the bromance of all bromances was born

living with Yunho not only meant Mingi would wake up to good vibes, but more than often would wake up to either the screeching of the smoke alarm or “HOLY SMOKES WHERE ARE THE WATER PODS? DID WE RUN OUT OF THEM? AGAIN?!”

putting out accidental fires became second nature to Mingi, initially he’d aggressively fret over Yunho but now he’s come to accept such is the life of a chaotic bright inventor and this is fine

in fact when Hongjoong and Seonghwa came across their humble abode (thanks to Yunho’s cleaning bot) it was an iconic first meeting over smoke. Yunho did most of the talking when Hongjoong pitched his desire to recruit a crew for space voyage, Mingi too busy sitting there staring at the two new-comers with shooting stars in his eyes and hearing about the prospects of an adventure. Within that day the crew had gain 2 more members, because Mingi and Yunho are a combo package deal

“oh has the system be glitching? If you don’t mind, would you like me to have a look at it?”

Hongjoong did a happy dance on the spot knowing that not only did he now have a talented inventor on his ship but also a gifted tech genius, he put Mingi in charge of managing the mainframe systems along with intel collecting this decision that Hongjoong would later semi-regret because (at times) the word “self-control” doesn’t seem to exist in Mingi’s vocab

Seonghwa adopted him and Yunho pretty easily and space mum’s cooking is Mingi’s fave, occasionally using his puppy-dog face he’s perfected over the years to his advantage in gaining extra midnight snacks (being everyone’s baby, no one’s really immune to this)

“Hwa you’re supposed to be the one disciplining the kids!”

Mingi and Yunho were known to be the chaotic fun duo, but with Wooyoung is just chaotic – not to mention he got his Yunhogizer confiscated by Hongjoong for almost a week after, “I thought we were all comparing assets, Wooyoung sent his to the group chat so I figured this was some kind of crew bonding”

also was one half of the reason that the ‘whatever happens at the Tav/clubs, stays at the Tav/clubs’ rule got implemented and one-night sexytimes were banned aboard The Perihelion after Jongho witnessed a random still semi-nude humanoid trying to sneak out of Mingi’s room without being noticed (Hwa went on parent-mode and panicked yell whilst covering Jongho’s eyes)

Jongho avoided Mingi (out of sheer embarrassment) for a few days and that was pretty devastating, considering how close the two became in their friendship that Mingi was one of the very few people in the crew whom Jongho was openly clingy with at times

no one can argue about Mingi’s loyalty to his crew/new family, and under his care-free flamboyant exterior he’s a genuine listener and will not hesitate to offer his shoulder for his family to lean on whenever they need it

recently he’s created new software to enhance Seonghwa’s cybernetic lenses (as a birthday gift) that’d allow him to see clearly miles ahead, in the dark and lock-on tracking function. What Mingi failed to let Hwa know was that he still hasn’t disconnected the sync link to his mirage drive and therefore if, for example, an image was sent through it’d appear in the other user’s field of vision

“wait for it, wait”

“what exactly are we waiting for Mingi? And why are you giggling over a screaming pink…starfish?” (that’s Patrick Star by the way)

seconds later there was a clamouring from the bathroom, the solid sound of someone falling before, “MINGI!”

“that my good lads, is what we were wa-oh whoops gotta go!”

(moodboard made with love, by @s1ardusk ♡)

#ateez headcanons #atzinc #atinyforatiny #aurorateeznet #ateez scenarios #pirate ateez #pirate ateez au #ateez au #ateez imagines #ateez drabbles #ateez blurbs #song mingi #ateez mingi #ateez writing #ateez fic #Perihelion Crew #pyx writes

46 notes · View notes

abysskeeper · 4 years

Note

Kissing prompt: In the rain. Missing the other.

@trafuris

This is also incredibly self-indulgent. At least it isn’t over 6k...though it probably could be if I let it...hence it isn’t very polished.

Maybe now they’ll leave me alone long enough that I can do fanfic...

---

The hum of the ship’s engines drifted off into nothing as they powered down, the noise slowly being overtaken by the rain hitting the ship’s metal exterior until it was gone completely. As the last of the rumblings stopped and the lights on the dashboard in front of him shut off, Cipher Nine sighed and rested his head against the back of his seat. He finally gave in and indulged the budding sense of relief that had been growing inside of him, pleased to finally be on Rishi after the past month and a half. It had felt far longer than that, especially in the last few weeks, and the amount of work was almost overbearing. Almost.

It was rare for him to feel the need to completely disengage with his work for a few days, rarer still that he actually acted upon that feeling when it did rear its head, but the necessities of the past few weeks were rather intense. Rishi was what he needed now, he wouldn’t deny that.

He watched as the rain fell and streaked down the windshield in front of him. It was a shame about the weather, but even that couldn’t really bother him now. It was to be expected during Rishi’s rainy season and…Trick liked this kind of rain anyways. It wasn’t a downpour, just a soft, steady flow from the sky. She had told him a while ago it was calming for her and often helped with her meditation. He had never considered it before, but now, sitting in his turned off ship listening to it and watching it come down in front of him, he could understand her reasoning. There was a certain, appealing lull to it, when inside anyways. He wasn’t necessarily looking forward to trekking across the beach to their apartment in it.

But…that was ultimately why he was here.

He wouldn’t—couldn’t—deny the major reason Rishi lifted the weight strung around his neck was because he knew she was already here waiting for him. Presumably whole. He knew the past couple of days she hadn’t been able to check in with anyone at all because of a renewed campaign on Corellia she was partaking in. And he knew what awaited her in the form of opposition, he had been overseeing its progress for weeks. He was not the worrying sort, she was more than capable and if anything, worry was an insult to her skill, but compounded with everything else, he felt himself growing increasingly on edge. It was only when she messaged him earlier in the day, saying she had gotten to Rishi, that he felt some of it dissipate. If she could message and get herself to Rishi, then she was likely fine.

Still, the only way he would feel better, to ultimately shrug off the past month and a half and the lingering concern from the past week, was to get into the apartment and see her again in person. Confirm for himself that she was here and she was fine, and then finally take the time together they deserved after too much time apart.

He sighed and stood from his seat, throwing one last glance out across the landing pad and part of his stronghold. The rain wasn’t going to let up any time soon, but it was hardly bad enough to even consider waiting out. A little water was an annoyance but ultimately wasn’t going to prevent him from doing what he wanted. And what he wanted was to be in their apartment, with her, in her arms. With that thought in mind, he made his way through his ship and out the airlock. He paused briefly under the cover of the ship’s wing, only to make sure his comms were secure under a layer of clothing one way or another, before starting his way to the apartment.

He wasn’t running necessarily, but he was going at a quicker pace than usual, keeping his head down to avoid rain getting into his eyes and focusing on not letting his boots sink too deeply into the wet sand. He had made it maybe halfway across the beach when he finally looked up because he heard something several paces ahead of him.

“Tav!!!”

He barely had the chance to right himself before something—someone—barreled into him. He just managed to catch hold of her without stumbling backwards as Trick practically launched herself into his arms. He was momentarily shocked at feeling she was soaked, the rain resting on her skin and embedded in her clothes was slowly seeping into his own, but she was warm. And then her lips were against his in a second, hands cupping his face and thumbs tracing new patterns into the raindrops on his cheeks, and nothing else mattered. He sighed and smiled against her, adjusting them both just enough so that he had a better hold on her. Not that it was really needed, her legs only tightened around his waist in response.

She finally pulled away with a laugh, a soft, melodic sound that uncoiled a tension in him he hadn’t even known he was holding. “Hi,” she said with a grin. Despite the rain, he swore he saw stars in her eyes. She was radiant, quite literally, practically glowing in her excitement to finally be with him again. Something warm blossomed in his chest at the thought.

“Hello,” Tavon responded, chuckling before he even thought about it. Her delight was both infectious and equally matched. This—seeing her again—was all he had been thinking about in the quieter moments during the latter half of their time apart.

They stayed quiet for a few moments, letting the sound of the rain and the waves wash over them as they took each other in. He reveled in the feeling of her hands sliding down and around the back of his neck, the feeling as she leaned forward against him and rested her forehead against his, the way her chest steadily rose and fell against his as she breathed. He had missed her, perhaps almost too much. Almost.

“Not that I am complaining about a greeting like that,” he finally broke the silence as the rain started falling a little harder. How could he complain? It was what he wanted…it was better than what he wanted, as she usually proved to do. “But why are you out here? Drenched?”

She shrugged, “I told you, I like the rain when it isn’t cold. It’s nice to meditate in.” She paused for a second and her face darkened a touch, nearly hidden underneath her tattoos. He’d gotten used to spotting it though, he enjoyed causing it maybe a little too much. “Besides, I haven’t been here for that long and I figured you’d be home soon—”

Home. She said the word so easily, as if it was natural and obvious. Maybe it was, but “home” was not a concept he readily had in the past, and it wasn’t one he ever really gave much consideration to. “Home” had always been wherever he landed whenever he had some time off: Nar Shaddaa, Dromund Kaas, even Yavin IV or Tatooine on occasion, it never really mattered so long as it had a bed and allowed him the capability to prepare for whatever he had to do next. And he never really considered any of them home, they were just somewhere to go for a few days. But…he had a pull to Rishi, he had wanted to return to Rishi this time. Well…no, that wasn’t quite right.

He was staring into the eyes of where—to whom—he wanted to return. Nowhere else ever had her before, there was never someone waiting for him. He had never considered home before because there was never someone who he desperately wanted to get back to before now.

She was right, this was home. She was home. Perhaps that contributed to why the past several weeks felt particularly long. Actually, there was no wondering about it, that was why the past several weeks felt particularly long. He simply wanted to go home.

One of her hands rested on his cheek again, pulling him out of his new revelation. Without thinking, he leaned into her touch. “—I missed you, Tav,” she said and smiled. Her eyes traced over his face and he was all too happy to let her take him in again. She met his eyes after several moments and gave another weak shrug, “I wanted to see you again as soon as I could. Even if I only saved a couple of minutes.”

She felt the same, of course she did. Instead of answering her with words, he mimicked her, bringing one of his hands up to cup her cheek. After a moment, his hand slid back and curled into the tangles of her hair, gently guiding her to him so he could kiss her again. She came easily, happily, and fully rested against him as he brushed his lips against her. He was softer, slower this time as he kissed her with intent rather than pleasant surprise, taking the time to fully bask in the feeling of her lips moving against his, the way her body melded to him, and the way her hands were warm against the skin of his neck. He felt the residual remnants of the past weeks sliding away from him as he finally got the proper moment to simply feel her again. And when they pulled apart again and he smiled at her, it only confirmed his latest revelation.

She was soft and she was light and she was home.

She didn’t move very far away, pressing her forehead against his again, their noses brushing. “Tavon,” she mumbled, and he practically felt the way she said his name like a blessing. She was smiling again, not the excited one she had when she first greeted him, it was more tender and crooked and the raindrops hanging onto the lashes only accentuated how it lit up her eyes with love. Love…it wasn’t a word they had used yet, they danced rather expertly around their feelings in general, but when she looked at him like this, with a smile she only ever gave to him, he had no doubt it was with nothing but love. He had even less doubt the feeling that tugged at his heart every time was much the same.

They would get there with time, he knew that.

He smiled and moved his hand back to caress her cheek, nearly overwhelmed and incredibly content at the same time. Words probably wouldn’t cover how he felt, but he knew how to try, “Suffice to say, I missed you too, Nikki.”

Her blush darkened immediately, curling out from behind her tattoos as she bit her lip. “I-I—” she stammered before opening and closing her mouth a few times to say something. Eventually she gave up and shook her head before burying her face in the crook of his neck. She mumbled something, he felt her breath against his skin, but he couldn’t make out what it was. Probably a curse of some sorts.

Maybe he was a little cruel. Maybe he wanted to see her get flustered again—she was adorable—but it truly was the only way he felt he could properly convey just how much he did miss her. Besides, she would get used to her name again eventually, he wanted her to, so he might as well utilize it to his advantage while he could.

Tavon chuckled and momentarily turned his attention towards the sky. Funny how much he didn’t care about the rain now, he was soaked but it didn’t matter much anymore. The same as how nothing from the past month and a half mattered much anymore, the last remnants of tension pooled at his feet along with the rain. He sighed and turned his attention back towards Trick, smiling fondly and kissing the top of her head.

Undoubtedly this was exactly what he needed. He needed to go home.

#don't mind me #funny enough there's a pack rain scene floating around out there that started around the time you sent this #but they are nowhere close to kissing there #anyways #tavon will be the focus of the other prompt from her pov #but I couldn't not do the first time he realizes she's home for this #because shit is it a concept #and soft tav always wins #otp(op)#sometimes things just appear on my dash #tav #my writing #swtor #ideally this again just stays tagged for my own benefit #trafuris

4 notes · View notes

ufuckingpastry · 4 years

Text

Bad Bull Boys

Chapter 6: How Far We’ve Come

AO3 Link

First Chapter

Sollux stared one last time at the email before he dropped his head in his hands with a loud groan of dismay. This was bad. This was so bad. He had his fair share of bad days in his career as the self-proclaimed tech lord of the Bad Bull Boys (if he ever had the authority to change the name, he would, god), but this was definitely the worst of the bad. It might have been just an overreaction as his emotional state was heightened by the rapidly approaching deadline, but he was sure this was the worst. Sollux pushed away from his computer, rubbing the bridge of his nose, and stalked away towards the kitchen. He needed art for the new album in less than two months, but the artist they commissioned bailed out. He could hardly blame them. They had suddenly gotten a lot of work and had politely told him they had no time to work on the album art. He appreciated it, and he'd send a reply back when he had calmed down, but he was still left with a problem: he had nothing to present for the album cover.

Sollux grabbed a bag of chips he had nearly finished the night before. He popped them into his mouth as he paced. Salt dusted fingers raked through his hair, growing more and more agitated the longer he paced. He had nearly exhausted his options by this point. The artists they worked with before were either busy with commissions or busy with life. Sollux had very little time to go hunting for another artist this late, but he was going to have to, wasn't he?

Sollux stopped midstep, a thought coming to him. He turned on his heel and hurried back to his computer. He flipped to the group chat with his girlfriend and her girlfriend, typing so quickly autocorrect could hardly keep up with him.

TA: Fef, Neperta, do you know any artists that could do art for the albim cocovrr? Puffie bailed

Sollux waited, then waited, then considered the ramifications of tossing his computer out the window again in an attempt to release some tension, when finally Nepeta replied.

AC: Neperta??? Sollux, are you okay?

TA: Yes, I'm

TA: I'm fine. I'm stressed out.

AC: Obviously! I talked over it with Feferi

AC: You know, after she came up for a breath!

AC: We might know someone! We'll ask them tomorrow!

Sollux sighed with relief, slumping down in his chair. Good. At least he had a maybe. He would have liked more than that, but at least he had that.

Gamzee shyly handed off his latest piece of art to Tavros, who took it carefully in his hands. Gamzee loved showing Tavros his art, even if it had taken him some time to even work up the nerve to show them to Tavros. Gamzee watched Tavros' reactions like a hawk. He wanted to know everything Tavros thought of his work, yet feared that Tavros would think it bad or stupid and think that all his effort a waste.

Gamzee had to shake those thoughts from his brain, much like clearing an Etch-a-Sketch. Tavros never thought that. Even when he criticized some of his paintings, there was always a touch of praise, of wonder. Even now, he had lit up like a goddamn Christmas tree and talking about color theory and shapes and affection surged through Gamzee. Once Gamzee expressed his desire to start painting again, Tavros dove into researching art so he could support his boyfriend.

His boyfriend. Gamzee had to take a moment to think on that, Tavros' praise filtering through his ears like music. Approximately three weeks ago, Tavros had dragged Gamzee in behind a wall before a photoshoot and asked in a stuttering, shy way if they could make their relationship official. Gamzee, of course, totally didn't nearly collapse in shock and start crying with delight. No, of course not. That wasn't how it happened at all! Though, he was glad Tavros caught him and kissed him more stupid than he already was.

Gamzee's attention flicked back on to Tavros, who was now asking questions, when his phone beeped. Gamzee blinked, then fished it out to check the message.

AC: Hey Gamzee! Sollux had a favor to ask! Are you okay if I shoot him your number?

TC: Yeah, sis. What's the favor?

AC: Oh you'll see!

"Everything okay?" Tavros leaned over, wrapping an arm over Gamzee's shoulder.

"Yeah, I think? Nepeta said that Sollux wants to ask me a favor?"

"Huh." Tavros frowned for a moment, then focused on Gamzee's painting. "I mean, the colors in this? Amazing! You are, really getting the hang of it, huh? And the lighting! This corner doesn't match right, but everything else looks so good! Gamzee," Tavros paused, focusing on Gamzee with one of the biggest smiles he'd ever seen. "I'm so proud of you."

Gamzee dropped his head in his hands, whining as heat crawled down his neck. He felt Tavros get near, his chair scraping across the floor as he scooted close. Warmth blossomed where Tavros' lips pressed to his skin.

"Let me see you?" He asked softly, waiting patiently. Gamzee turned his head towards his boyfriend, sheepish and embarrassed and quietly proud. "There you are," Tavros said, cupping Gamzee's face. He kissed Gamzee again. When they parted, he whispered, "I love you."

Gamzee's face broke out into a grin so wide his face ached. "I love you too, Tav." He kissed him back, slow and sweet. His hands hesitated, never sure what to do during times like these. Was he supposed to hold Tav? Touch his sides? Hold his hands? Hold his face? Tavros seemed to sense his hesitation and took his hands in his own. His fingers stroked Gamzee's skin, rough and soft all at once and Gamzee parted in a fit of giggles. "Sorry, sorry bro," he said when Tavros looked at him in worry. "Just never thought I'd end up with you. Or end up so happy and sweet and-"

Gamzee startled when his phone went off, vibrating loud on the table next to them. He lunged for it, squinting at the strange number. "Uh, hello?" He said, confused.

"Good afternoon. This is Sollux Captor. Is… Gamzee Makara there?"

Gsmzee blinked for a second, the name not processing. Finally his brain picked up and he nodded. Then remembered he couldn't be seen. "Uh yes." There was a moment of silence before he winced, then added, "Speaking?" Was that you replied to these sorts of things? He couldn't figure out why he was being so formal! But… he never spoke much to Sollux. He was always a little intimidating, sharp in the way he spoke and moved. Then he realized Sollux was speaking and had asked him a question. "Uh. Sorry, bro, can you repeat that?" A loud sigh came from the other side of the receiver.

"The artist we had for the next album cover bailed and I need something to show in two months to the record company so we can release this thing. You were highly recommended. Can you help me or not?"

There was a long silence from Gamzee, stretching out to the point where Sollux asked, his irritation obviously rising, "Do I need to repeat that again?"

Tavros nudged Gamzee, knowing a fanboy freakout when he saw one. "You good?" He asked, rubbing Gamzee's shoulders.

"Yes, yes! Yes, I'd love to help! Uh, but, I paint traditionally. Don't you need to…" he trailed off, worried. He didn't want to ruin this opportunity. Plus, Sollux sounded so annoyed…

"I can teach you how to use the paint programs we use, or we can scan it. Doesn't matter to me."

"Uh, okay. But I don't even know any of the songs! How can-"

"We'll send you the tracks you can listen to."

"Oh! Do you want-"

"We'll pay you for your time, of course. How much do you charge?"

"I don't… this is the first time I'm getting paid for this sh-stuff. Stuff. I don't even know…" a beep made Gamzee glance down at his phone. Sollux had sent a picture of a check? An invoice? He realized Sollux was speaking again.

"... was the total amount of money we sent for the last cover, not including any royalties for using the art for advertising and promotions. We can use that as a baseline. I can also help you set up a pricing guide for commissions because, consistently, we have helped the artists of our cover albums receive more commission requests."

Gamzee blinked, then blinked some more, then listened to Sollux ask if he had more questions. "That all, sounds good. Overwhelming, crazy, and- but good. Yeah. I'd love to!"

"Great," came the sigh of relief from the other end. "I'll write up a contract for legality reasons and send it to you, along with any explanation of terms since, no offense, you don't sound like you have a lot of experience in this department. And I don't want you to get in trouble."

Gamzee felt a moment of sudden fondness for Sollux, that he cared enough to go through all this extra trouble. He thanked him for the opportunity- that's what people did, right??? And wished him a good day. After Sollux hung up, Gamzee collapsed back on the couch, his phone dropping on the cushions. Tavros scooted over, eyeing Gamzee’s dazed and bewildered expression.

“So… What was that?” He asked, giving Gamzee a nudge. Gamzee shot up, completely forgetting Tavros was even here. His hands fumbled with nothing and he shot a look at his phone, then back to Tavros.

“Uh, Sollux.”

“Sollux has your number?”

“I think Nepeta gave it to him.”

“Okay… What for? It sounded really official.”

Gamzee licked his lips, unsure why he was suddenly so nervous about this. Except, well. He had just been asked to do the cover for his boyfriend’s next album. Instead of probably thousands of options, it was him. Him! Of course he was nervous. Who could possibly blame him!

“Gamzee, hello? You’re spacing out again.” Tavros waved his hand in front of Gamzee’s face, trying to get his attention.

“Oh, right! Yes, of course! Uh, he. He asked me-” No wait, they’d be paying him to do art for that. That was a commission, wasn’t it?

“He asked you…?” Tavros encouraged.

“He commissioned me to do the band’s next album cover?” Gamzee replied, stuttering over his words. Tavros stared at him, beautiful brown eyes widening in shock. Then a brilliant smile broke across his face.

“Gamzee! That’s amazing! I’m so proud of you!”

Gamzee’s skin went dark under the praise and he gave a small smile too.

“I’m sure you’re gonna, do amazing! I can’t wait to see what you come up with too. And don’t worry about anything Sollux says. He can sometimes come across as harsh, but he means well. Usually.” Tavros’ phone beeped and paled when he read the text in all caps. “Shit. I’m late for practice. I’ve gotta go, babe. Karkat’s gonna have my whole ass if I’m any, later. I’ll text you when I’m done?”

Gamzee nodded and kissed his boyfriend goodbye. He was going to have to take a moment to process all this too. Every time he let his thoughts settle on the fact that he was going to be doing the art! For his favorite band! And he had been recommended specifically!!!

#gamtav #bad bull boys #gamzee #tavros #sollux #nepeta #slides in three years late with an update #i've got a week left of quarantine and thought i'd finally finish this chapter #i lost my progress from the last chapter so enjoy the time skip #hopefully it won't take another 3 years to update #mystuff

8 notes · View notes

imaginationlane · 5 years

Text

The Assistant [Part 7 of ? // Bill Skarsgard x Reader Imagine]

Warnings: Adult Language / Themes, Angst, Sexually Suggestive References & Minimal Gore References (in relation to a dream / nightmare sequence).

Author’s Notes: Because I know that a lot of you have been waiting forever for this, I am back and I am so sorry for the wait. This chapter was supposed to be posted a little while ago, but I wanted to tweak it as this chapter will be important, and has major plot developments -- that will have an effect on future chapters. Plus, the wonderful, talented and amazing @andthereisawoman just recently created a new cover for this fic for me -- that I can’t stop marveling at! How wonderful is this new cover, guys? I’m in love, and I’ve officially found my forever cover lol.

As for this chapter: I will say this, it opens up with a dream / nightmare sequence in Bill's POV -- and the nightmare sequence alone has given me the most hell with this chapter. You guys have no earthly idea how much of a fight that this one scene gave me, for an entire year lol.

Also, the nightmare sequence sort of plays into the fact that Bill admitted shortly after the first IT movie came out, that he had nightmares for a few weeks after filming. While this nightmare will not be centric to the IT film in any way, I can say that the stress of playing such a complex character, and well... an affair, are heavily contributing factors in this scene in the story.

Finally, I’d like to give a big “thank you” to @theswedishblonde for her time in translating several of these dialog lines into Swedish for me. I really and truly, couldn’t do this without their help, and I sincerely appreciate the time they afford to me, whenever I need their help!

I’d also like to publicly thank @poeedamerons & @greenofallshades for literally putting up with my incessant back and forth on this nightmare sequence -- for the past year on Whatsapp lol. Also not tagged (because she’s not here on Tumblr), but no less important, Tav!

Musical Inspiration: I Still Wait For You by: XYLO

Missed the previous chapters and need to catch up? Please check out The Assistant -- Masterlist, here.

Summary:

A night out on the town for a few drinks, was all I had signed up for. But in reality… I got way more than I had ever bargained for when my boss and close personal friend, Bill Skarsgard, asked me to join him during a wrap party that the crew was hosting that night. In hindsight, I should have seen this coming. After all, we were both having issues in our own respective relationships and for some reason, we had found it easier to just confide in each other – rather than in our own significant others. Yet in the end, do the reasons ever truly matter when you begin an affair with your friend who also happens to be your boss? I often ask myself just how selfish could we be; he and I? The answer is: we’re completely selfish and neither of us really cares if this secret burns us alive – because it’s within each other, that we have finally found the things we had been looking for the whole time…

___

Stockholm, Sweden --

Feather-light kisses sprinkled themselves carelessly, all over Bill's shoulders and chest, as he began to stir out of his sleep. Gently luring him out of his serene slumber, a pressing weight could be felt on top of him, as he shifted his body to stretch out on the mattress slightly. Soon enough though, those sweet innocent kisses that he felt tickling against his skin, turned into open-mouthed pecks; leaving a small trail of saliva exposed to the open air. Closer and closer, the affectionate kisses drifted towards his mouth before finally -- Bill opened one eye and peeked at the woman who was adorning his body so tenderly with affection, this morning. Y/N's hair was marginally messy, but in spite of that minuscule detail, she was still a vision of absolute beauty to him. A content sigh filtered through his nose, while a peaceful smile inched its way across his face.

"Good morning to you too," he mumbled gingerly, as she peered up at him and returned his smile with one of her own.

"Mmmm... Good morning baby."

He could tell by her voice that she was perfectly happy, and had probably been awake a little longer than he had. In this perfect moment, there were no worries and absolutely no stress; it was just tranquil bliss. Everything with her was so easy. It always had been, and he was legitimately sorry that it had taken him so long to see it; yet, it was undeniable to him that he was happy that he had finally gotten out of his own way -- and made her his.

Streams of golden sunlight poured through the flimsy and airy curtains, while a gentle breeze blew into the room from the cracked bedroom window. Their home was one he didn't completely recognize, but instinctively, he knew it was theirs. It was a perfect late spring morning, and he could almost smell the scent of freshly cut grass lingering in the air. The tranquilizing sound from the wind chimes outside, meandered throughout the room, as he took a deep breath in from his nostrils; feeling the air expand in his chest. He could smell her faint perfume from the night before; and it instantly made him want her in the worst way -- all over again. Judging from her actions, however, he deduced that he wasn't the only one in the mood again this morning.

Grabbing her face with both hands, he pulled Y/N up towards him -- closing the gap between them and kissed her ever so affectionately. Bill could feel her relax into his warm embrace; coxing out a renewed spark of passion from him. Her breathy little moan, virtually undid him right then and there as his tongue intertwined with hers. Before he knew it, he pushed her down on the bed and hovered over her perfect body that he couldn't get nearly enough of. Y/N broke the kiss just long enough to pull her tank top over her, and Bill was more than pleased to assess that she wasn't wearing a bra. For a moment, he closely contemplated telling her that there was a new rule between them: She was no longer allowed to wear any bras. It had to be considered a crime against nature to keep something as magnificent as her breasts, hidden under such an annoying and burdensome garment.

Returning his attention to the task at hand, Bill's lust-filled eyes wandered back to the gorgeous woman in his arms; a woman he simply couldn't function without -- no matter how hard he tried. Her breath came out as ragged pants and gasps, as he continued kissing her neck and working his way down to her perfectly shaped peaks.

"As much as I'm enjoying this attention, and trust me Bill, I'm enjoying the hell out of this -- I did leave our breakfast on the stove," she hummed softly, hoping to divert his attention away from his task.

Begrudgingly, he pulled away; not wanting to actually stop just yet -- but willing to do so if she insisted.

"Is it still cooking or is it already made, and just waiting on us? Because if it's already done, I don't see why we just can't keep going," he chuckled lightly, causing her to giggle as well. Gingerly, she pushed him back once more.

"It's still cooking, babe. I just came in here to wake you up. But I'll make you a deal... I'll go finish preparing the rest of our breakfast, without my top on -- and you can even watch. Deal?"

He had to admit, the promise of watching her prepare breakfast topless, was a tempting prospect indeed.

"Fine," he sighed tiredly, moving off towards the side and allowing her to get up. Y/N slid off of the bed, leaving her shirt abandoned on the floor; just as she had previously promised with a wicked little glint in her eyes.

"Get up slowpoke, you don't want to miss out on this..." She teased back, hoping to coax him out of bed faster.

Bill smirked at her; stretching his long limbs across the bed as he watched her tiptoe out of the bedroom. The muscles in her back flexed elegantly, while she made her way out the door and into the hallway -- closing the bedroom door behind her. Running a hand over his face, he laid there for a moment trying to collect himself before heading out to join her. After all, she did leave him in a semi-hard state, and he was tempted to follow her out there and bend her over the kitchen counter to take care of this pesky problem. Smirking to himself, he couldn't get over how lucky he felt in that moment. She was here, with him, and there was nothing in this world that could kill this joyous feeling he felt. Everything felt whole and right within the world.

Y/N was perfect in every single way, and she was finally his. He had been waiting for what seemed like an eternity for this; and If the rest of his life would play out this way, then Bill found himself hard-pressed to find anything to complain about...

Throwing the covers off of his slender, yet muscular body, he sat straight up and tossed his legs off the side of his bed -- running his right hand through his messy bed hair. The moment his bare feet touched the floor, it was only then that he noticed the entire floor was soaked through with murky water. Finding himself absolutely perplexed by this, he leaned his head off to the side -- trying to discern what exactly was going on.

"Y/N? Why is the floor all wet?" He curiously called out to his lover.

However a moment or two went by, and there was no response at all; which was highly unusual.

"Y/N?" He hollered out once more, hoping to grab her attention. And yet again, there was no reply.

Now, Bill was finding himself feeling apprehensive at the situation.

Where the hell was she?

Soon thereafter, he gave up hope that she would even return to their room; so he stood up and proceeded to walk over towards the bedroom door; all the while, dirty water sloshed around his feet -- causing him to grimace. But it wasn't until the very second, once he opened that wooden bedroom door, that he knew something was inherently and terribly wrong.

It took more than a moment for the sights, sounds and smells to genuinely register within his mind; regardless, once they did – there was truly no mistaking the atrociously horrifying scene that laid before him. Everything that had once resembled the hallway in their shared home, was gone. Instead, it looked as if either a bomb had gone off, or a storm had come through and ripped their home to shreds. Large parts of the wall were either cracked, knocked over and completely blackened. Broken picture frames were either smashed on the floor, with glass shattered like intricate spider webs in the frames or hanging lopsided on the only parts of the walls that were left standing. Wires that were once hidden away, out of sight and out of mind, were now exposed and dangling carelessly from the ceiling; and randomly placed holes seemed to have appeared in different parts of that very same roof -- from out of nowhere. Electrical sparks shot freely from the exposed wires and flew only a few precious feet ahead; their loud pops and bright flashes caused him to jump back violently and turn his face away momentarily.

For the life of him, he couldn't figure out what had happened or even how he had even missed it happening. He should have heard the unmistakable sounds of his house being ripped apart, shouldn’t he? None of it made any sense, and he was left second-guessing himself on if he was actually seeing all of this.

"What the f..."

He couldn't even finish his sentence before the shock finally began to set in, and the bone-crushing chill in the air made the hairs on his arms stand at attention. Something wasn't right about this, and now, he was beginning to feel afraid for both himself and Y/N. Eventually, he took a hesitant step forward, causing the water that swished around his bare feet to echo slightly in the darkened and damaged corridor. Once he took another step ahead though, the bedroom door that he had just walked out of slammed shut behind him with a resounding and thunderous bang -- causing him to leap back into the nearest wall. With his heart hammering wildly within his chest, his eyes glanced back at the door in wide-eyed surprise. After he managed to take a brief moment to calm his nerves, he rushed back over to the door trying to open it, only to discover that it wouldn't budge. It was well and truly stuck; almost as if someone had sealed it shut -- from the inside.

No matter how hard he tugged, pushed, pulled or rammed his shoulder against the door -- it refused to give. Bill soon found himself surrendering hope on the idea of trying to get the door to open for him again, and instead, he turned his attention back to the eerily dark and smelly hallway before him. The odors that hit him were rancid and offensive; practically singeing off his nose hairs, and if he had to take a guess, he wouldn't be surprised if the wastewater from the sewer had managed to get backed up into the house -- thanks to whatever had caused all of the damage that he saw all around him. Treading lightly and thoughtfully, he decided to press on and try to locate Y/N and find out what exactly happened here.

"Alright, pull your shit together," his quiet words, served as the only other sound around him with the obvious exception of the electrical pops being thrown off from the nearby wires. Without a shadow of a doubt, he swiftly figured out that he needed to get his bearings in order if he had any hope of making it out of here alive. "You're going to find Y/N, and you're going to get the hell out of here." Yet, in the grand scheme of it all, he wasn't entirely sure if his words were meant to convince himself that things weren't as bad as they looked -- or if they were meant to be a source of self-comfort instead.

Large chunks of knocked over drywall, littered and blocked his path; meaning he would have to crawl over certain spots in order to make it to the other parts of the house. To make matters worse, a haze of smoke filled the small area, making it increasingly more difficult to breathe or see. Nor was that even mentioning the fact that he carefully needed to navigate around the loosing and hanging wires, that were in his way. One wrong move and he could either get a cut on his foot from something hidden in the water, accidentally electrocute himself, or potentially fall over something laying across the walkway. Nevertheless, with his mind made up, he gently prodded his foot forward in order to feel around before taking his next step; hoping that nothing would nic or cut himself in the process.

More statically charged, popping noises exploded from the looming and threatening wires nearby. Just when he thought the situation couldn't get any worse, he noticed how low one of the wires on his left, was hanging dangerously close to the wet floor. Refusing to take any chances at becoming electrocuted, he hastened his efforts to make it past the first piece of wall that was blocking his path. Luckily for him, it was only slanted against the other wall that sat on the opposite side. And as it turned out, this piece would be a lot easier to get by, because all he had to do was duck down and crawl underneath it.

He felt his stomach grow queasy at the idea of crawling through potential wastewater, but the fear of potential death was an excellent motivator in getting Bill to tough it out and complete the simple task that laid before him.

Once his hands hit the water, he had to stop for a minute to give his shaky limbs time to adjust to the temperature. The water felt frigid to the touch, and it was a miracle that his feet hadn't gone numb already. Determination propelled him forward, and steadily, he slid his hands onward under the water; mindfully looking out for any objects that could likely injure him. As soon as he emerged out from under the large piece of drywall, he stood back up and attempted to wipe the gunk from his hands and on his soaked, flannel pajama pants. Of course, it had been in vain, but he couldn't think about that at the moment; there other more pressing matters to worry about.

Coincidentally, there weren't as many exposed wires the further he drifted down the hall, but there were more fragments of burnt cream-colored drywall and wood, that was obstructing the pathway. The next two pieces were large, cracked and sitting side by side, and they required him to meticulously crawl over them -- without possibly falling through and hurting himself on whatever lied underneath. Parts of the insulation were strewn about all over the place, and the smoke was making it harder to breathe. It was a painstakingly slow process, but he managed to lay his body flat against the piece of plaster and wood; pulling himself across the planks with ease.

After he made it over the obstacles and back on his feet, the film of unforgiving smoke started to miraculously dissipate; thankfully allowing him to see a boldly, extravagant tree -- standing right in front of him. Bill stood there with his mouth gaping, feeling dumbfounded and transfixed at the mighty and wondrous sign of life before him; all the while trying to specifically figure out how a fully grown tree -- managed to grow in the middle of his fucking house. It stood there vibrantly, with its dark green leaves standing out brilliantly in a perfect juxtaposition to the wasted wreckage that laid all around him. Instantly giving in to his more inquisitive nature, he seemingly forgot the need to be conscious of where he stepped, as he made his way over towards the tree. It was only after he stepped closer to it, that he realized that it was actually an apple tree.

The magnificent apple tree had have been just over 30 feet tall, with ripe fruit good for the taking. In a moment of all-encompassing awe, he reached out with his right hand and plucked down the first captivating apple that caught his eye. The fruit was a beautiful scarlet red in color, and heavy to the touch. Without even thinking, he was overwhelmed with the urge to take a bite; but before he could -- another apple also snagged his wayward attention. Suddenly, he extended his left hand up and picked off the fruit from the branch as well. This particular one may have been smaller in size, but it was no less pretty or appealing to him.

He stared in fascination, at the apples in both of his hands, utterly blown away by the fact that something so amazing could survive whatever happened here.

It was only after he let out a sigh, that he finally heard it. A noise so uncharacteristic and out of place, that he had to wonder if he had only imagined it.

Quietly, he listened to the sounds that were taking place all around him -- noticing that something was off in the atmosphere. It took a few seconds, but he finally heard that peculiar noise again. It sounded as if something was weakly tapping against a hallowed surface. Curiosity got the better of him, effectively causing him to turn his head to look over his right shoulder. Sure enough, sitting behind the dark, overcast shadows of the room, there was a closed-door that appeared to slightly jolt forward against the frame -- every time the knocking was heard. Inching closer to it, he tried to remain as silent as possible while straining to hear the sound once more. He couldn't be certain if there was a person in there or not. Just as he arrived in front of the door, a loud whisper broke through the intense silence of the room; forcing him to halt in his tracks.

"Don't look back."

The whispered command startled him; causing him to turn his gaze downward in an attempt to subtly peek back over his shoulder. The energy in the room had changed ominously, whilst the air began cackling all around him; practically demanding him to fight against the urge to shut his own eyes. However, the millisecond his glossy eyes drifted down, it was then that he saw the haunting sight that he never expected to encounter. There, in his own hands were no longer two lovely apples he had picked earlier, but instead -- were two warm, slimy and crimson-stained human hearts. A terrified scream tore from his lips; causing him to drop the bloodied hearts into the murky water below -- and turn back around to find the most horrific display he had ever seen in his life...

The once pristine apple tree he was staring at not only one minute ago, was now dead. The leaves and apples had fallen off and onto the greywater saturated floor; instead, what was hanging on two strongest branches in their place -- were the deceased bodies of Y/N and Natalia. Both women looked to be hanging by their necks. Their chests appeared to be hacked open and exposed, with blood still dripping down the front of their white-colored dresses. Horrified by what was happening, Bill quickly stepped back; unable to comprehend the ghastly situation that was playing out in front of his very eyes. His left foot, caught on one of the hearts that was laying behind him, causing him to lose his footing and topple backward; landing harshly on his backside in the filthy water. The confusion and despair that shot through his mind, was raw and unparalleled.

This felt real, too real; and he was on the verge of a full-blown panic attack as he realized that when he took what he thought to be apples from this tree -- he was actually ripping their hearts directly from their chests.

Thanks to the horrendous vision in front of him, he couldn't breathe -- much less process what was happening. His eyes filled with tears, as the numbness silently crept in. The skin on both ladies was pale and void of any signs of life, plus their hair was matted to their heads. If he had to take a guess at how long they had been displayed in that tree, Bill would have assumed they had been dead for hours. Blood was splattered haphazardly across their faces, as their toes were tipped and pointed to the ground. He felt his own stomach bile beginning to rise up to his mouth; leaving an unpleasant burning sensation, scratching at the back of his throat -- yearning for an impromptu escape. The tragically twisted view before him had robbed him of all rational, and sensible thought, as he peered up at their lifeless bodies -- and screamed out once more.

Abruptly, and with next to no warning whatsoever, Natalia's eyes snapped open; causing Bill to jump back and let out another scared and confused yelp. Her light grey, cataracted eyes, drew his attention away from the gaping hole in her chest where her heart used to be.

"Come back to me, Bill."

Her voice was strained, while she struggled to call out to him.

He inched closer to her bruised and battered body, whilst wondering how just how on Earth she could even be alive. Those few precious steps, though, were all it took; allowing Natalia to finally reach out and grab his shoulder in her vice-like, death grip -- causing him to cry out in pain, as her nails embedded themselves deep within his tender flesh.

"Come back!"

___

Sitting in her living room, Natalia was calmly smoking a cigarette and watching the smoke waft around, silently drifting deftly out of the window -- and into the cool and dampened, pre-dawn air. She rarely smoked inside her home, but at the moment she didn't particularly care about abiding by her day to day rules. If anything, she needed the preferred release that only nicotine could provide for her nerves. While she snuggled further down comfortably in her favorite chair, she watched the glowing purple and pink hues, light up the early morning skies above her.

A huge part of her plan, would be going into effect today; and depending upon Bill's reaction to what she had coming -- it would also determine if she managed to adequately see the rest of her plan through or not. There was a relatively sizeable chance, that after she enacted this crucial part of her plan -- he could end up splitting up with her. However, it didn't matter because this was a risk she had to take. Admittedly, some part of her, sincerely wondered if he would even do such a thing. He had been home for well over a week and a half now, and he hadn't bothered to end things with her yet. She couldn't help but wonder why.

Why was he dragging ass on this?

It was a question that had been burning in the back of her mind lately. In her view, it was obvious to her from the start, that he had always had long-buried feelings for Y/N. The fact that he hadn't mentioned one measly thing to her about taking a break, being unfaithful, or splitting up for good since he had been back home -- had made her insanely curious into his reasons on why he was staying quiet about this.

Was there a part of him that had legitimately grown to love her? Was he having trouble coming to grips with what he had done to their relationship? Was he feeling guilty about what had happened, and was it eating him alive? She pettily hoped so. More importantly, did he have hidden doubts about Y/N? There had to be a reason, some semblance of an explanation there, and he was doing a great job at leaving her in the dark -- which was not something Natalia appreciated in the slightest.

These days, she had elected to sleep on the couch; pretending to be catching up with her work and wanting to get things done while she had the chance to do so. Thus, in the process, giving herself ample time and space away from Bill -- in order to sort herself out. Actually attaining any sleep though, was practically impossible; and these days, it was beginning to show. However, she was talented enough at masking the dark circles under eyes with concealer and other makeup products, all the while maintaining her regular schedule of activities and appearances. Ever since the first night he arrived back to her shared apartment, and she had attempted to lightly seduce him into bed and he shot the idea down, only for her to discover the reasons why in Ace's email to her after he left their apartment -- she had decided to distance herself from the idea of being intimate with him anyway. It would only put both of them in an awkward position; one that not even she was ready to face herself. Natalia knew he would possibly rebuff her advances if she made any further attempts, making them both feel uncomfortable and embarrassed; plus, she was no longer in a frame of mind to allow him to touch her. He had betrayed her trust, and while she wasn't entirely innocent over the course of their relationship and she acknowledged that to herself privately -- she didn't exactly feel right about rewarding his shitty behavior with sex either.

Not to mention, he wasn't even fucking smart enough to not get himself caught.

The thought alone, caused her to roll her eyes in annoyance.

Over the past several days, her mentally exhausting anguish was beginning to morph into silent fury and anger. If she could get through the rest of this day, with their relationship still intact, then she stood a chance of making sure that she could end this bullshit affair of his -- once and for all. By the time she would be done, Bill's choice would be made for him. And if she were lucky, she would be getting Y/N out of the picture for good.

From across the hall, it was the sound of strained moaning coming from the bedroom, startled her out of her perpetual trance-like state. Remarkably, the noises had sounded as though Bill were distressed. Natalia quickly stubbed out her half-smoked cigarette, tossing it outside and closing her window, as she silently tip-toed over to their shared bedroom door. Leaning her head against the door, her eyes fluttered shut as she concentrated on listening to what was going on inside the bedroom. The moans were becoming progressively more distressed. Going against her better judgment, she slowly clasped the brass handle within her small hand and opened the door -- taking in the scene before her. Bill was laying on their bed, tossing and thrashing about, almost as if he were trapped inside of another hellish nightmare. He had been having them a lot more frequently over the past week. For a second, she wondered just how much his role of playing a psychopathic, child-eating clown in a horror movie -- had potentially messed with his head.

If that were the case, it could certainly explain some of the changes in his behavior recently...

Thinking quickly on her feet, she briskly walked over to his side of the bed and snapped on the bedside lamp sitting neatly on top of her black nightstand. She reached out timidly and slowly began to rub his shoulder; calling out his name.

"Baby, wake up. You're having a bad dream," she mumbled quietly, trying not to startle him out of his dream. It took a few moments, but it finally worked.

Bill shot straight up in the bed, gasping for much-needed air and clawing at his chest. His heart thundered wildly against the breastplate of his chest, and he felt beads of sweat pouring down his face. Off to his left, he saw her... Natalia. And thankfully, she was alive and well.

"Hey, it's me! Calm down! Du har bara haft en mardröm, du kommer bli bra," Natalia tenderly assured him as she pulled herself closer to him, if only in order to help him realize that he wasn't dreaming anymore. Noticing that he was squinting while he attempted to look over at her, she reached back over to the lamp -- quickly snapping it back off as to not hurt his delicate, sleep-ridden eyes.

As furious as Natalia had been with Bill over the past few days, since she found out about his affair with his assistant, she did feel some slight remorse that he was having recurring nightmares over the past several nights. It was obvious to her that his role, of playing Pennywise, had taken a lot out of him -- both mentally and physically.

A part of her, felt a tad bit silly for even caring about his comfort at the moment; particularly given what she had just found out only a week or so prior. But the other half of her, even through the indescribable anger she felt churning away below the surface, did still care about him. At the moment, however, she had to push those warring feelings to the side, because it was imperative that she keep up the appearance -- at all costs.

"Baby, it's okay. Du är säker," she cooed faintly, pulling him into her embrace.

Bill, on the other hand, didn't catch onto her conflicting temperament. His mind was still racing, from the awful things he had experienced, and his breathing was still erratic. He felt her rubbing relaxing circles against his back, as his head rested against her shoulder; graciously taking a free moment of the peaceful serenity she offered to him.

"I'm sorry, Nat."

If she weren't paying attention at the time, she would have nearly missed his softly whispered apology. It was so faint that for a second -- she began to second guess her own hearing. His apology startled her; capturing her completely off guard and totally unaware. Her eyes widened in shock and surprise, causing her hand that was continuously rubbing soothing circles on his back -- to falter for a moment.

"Allt är bra, kom tillbaka till mig."

Almost as if on cue, a sweeping feeling of guilt started to creep into the deepest recesses of his very mind. As much as he cared for her, she wasn't Y/N. And it began to feel wrong to even take comfort in Natalia's reassuring arms. Taking solace in her embrace, wouldn't make what he needed to do, any easier -- in fact, it would be much harder on them both. In spite of that though, he couldn't deny that they did have a complex history together too.

Natalia had surprised him at a time when he least suspected it was possible. She had conveniently arrived in a disastrously messy period in his life, when he had all but given up on the idea of being able to find someone to take his mind off of the one woman he couldn't seem to have. Back then Y/N had John, who was an utter fool that couldn't even appreciate how good he genuinely had it with her, and even though that bastard didn't deserve her for a number of reasons, some that she wasn't even aware of yet, she appeared to be happy with him at that point in her life. It wasn't until shortly after he had gotten with Natalia, that he figured out just how wrong he was in that assessment on Y/N and John's relationship. Even with that knowledge, however, he couldn't bring himself to be selfish with her back then because her happiness actually meant something to him. But somehow, that managed to change for him recently. Now that things had changed and he had Y/N's affections, he knew it wouldn't be able to give it up. She was like a drink of fresh water, on a hot summer's day. There was no way in hell, he was passing up this opportunity to make her his.

When Natalia had shown up at that holiday party he was reluctantly attending, it had seemed like fate had opened up a new door full of opportunities and possibilities. Slowly, but ever so surely -- Bill found himself captivated by her charm and opening himself up to her. It was remarkable in the wonderfully unpredictable way that she managed to weave herself into his life. He couldn't lie, in the beginning, it felt as easy as breathing and he felt as if maybe he could finally get over the fact that he would never have Y/N. Admittedly, he would pull back at times, in the beginning, owing to the fact that it kind of freaked him out just how easy it was to turn to her in his moments of weakness. It was a feeling he wasn't quite used to with anyone else, outside of Y/N. But Natalia wasn't deterred by his reluctance, and she knew exactly how to push him out of his more elusive shell. It was something he had found himself respecting about her... At first.

As time went on though, certain things began to shift between them and it took a while for him to notice the things he had either never observed before -- or had simply overlooked during the time. While it was no secret that Natalia had an unrelenting Type-A personality, and it worked to her favor because she was smart enough to hone in on her emotions, it was also something that Bill really wasn't about on his own individual level. He gravitated more towards being a little more laid back, but also kept himself astonishingly well-organized. He went with the flow of the situations around him, whilst respecting the fluidity that life naturally offered; plus he liked to rationalize his decisions prior to making them, while quickly improvising and thinking on his feet when things changed -- much like Y/N did. It was a major reason why they worked together on both a professional and personal level. Their temperaments and approaches in life, were synced up and matched on a staggering level. Natalia, on the other hand, was incredibly analytical and tactical in her thinking, so when plans changed, she didn't like it as she generally strived to have control over a situation. Surprises tended to make her quite moody. In fact, just about two weeks ago, he had to talk her out of taking him on an impromptu trip to Greece -- when he had gotten back home.

She wanted a take him on a romantic getaway, just for the two of them with no distractions, within a day of him flying back home. It should have been obvious that it may have been cutting it a little close, however, the thought of that flew right over Natalia's head -- or she didn't care. On the other side of this proverbial two-headed coin, while he acknowledged that it was a sweet gesture, Bill had also wanted to spend time with his friends and family at home; catching up with the people he had missed for the past few months, due to his filming schedule. When he told her he was unsure about her idea to travel so far away from home, she didn't exactly take it too well. Of course, it should have gone without saying that the conversation had broken down into another strenuously heated argument between them. It was commonplace at this point. Natalia needed to have control over every situation; and it was something that, more often than not -- had rubbed Bill the wrong way over the past year. At times, he felt her incessant need to have total control over every minuscule aspect of their daily lives and activities, became downright disrespectful; made him feel kind of like his voice shouldn't fundamentally matter. Moreover, it was getting especially annoying since their disagreements almost always were dissolving into screaming matches; matches that left him feeling drained and where he would have to be the first one to apologize -- even when it wasn't his fault. It felt as if she couldn't accept any faults in the issues at hand, and it had been taking its toll on him.

His problem though, was that he hadn't properly communicated any of this. The only time he had said anything to her, was in the middle of their epic meltdowns. Bill was now realizing just how badly he fucked up, and it wasn't a smooth pill to swallow or digest.

This wasn't even counting the times she tried to ask him to get rid of Y/N as an assistant, or to essentially break their ties of friendship altogether. Those requests alone, back in the beginning when Natalia sincerely didn't have anything to worry about back then seeing as Y/N was wrapped up in a committed relationship, damn near drove him up a wall.

Nor, was he even mentioning the fact that over the past few months, she had been putting an astronomical amount of pressure on him to start house hunting with her; as if he didn't already have a jam-packed schedule as it was -- this new issue began to spark off new arguments too. Since their engagement, which was quickly becoming the biggest regret he had in all of this, getting him to commit to buying a new home with her had become her top priority recently and her reasoning was solid on the surface: If they would be getting married, it made perfect sense for them to buy a house together.

Bill understood that, on the surface level. It was the logical next step after all. And he would also be lying if he didn't admit that something was holding him back. He wasn't committing to it, even before things with Y/N started evolving to where they were right now.

Had they really both inherently doomed their relationship, from the start? Bill was beginning to suspect they had. His role, however, was entirely on him. His reluctance to pull the trigger, put his foot down and be more open with his himself, his emotions and face every single little thing he was thinking, feeling and experiencing in between -- that was all on him. That part, would never be on Natalia or Y/N. He needed to own up to that, or else he was doomed to repeat the same mistakes.

He knew what he had to do, but as he thought back to his hellish nightmare -- he felt afraid. He didn't want to hurt Natalia, even though he had quickly been noticing that they wanted two very different things out of life. They may have had contradictory viewpoints with how they each carried themselves within their personal lives, or within their own personal goals and aspirations, but he didn't want to hurt her either.

As soon as Natalia pulled back from his embrace, Bill looked in deep into her pale blueish-grey eyes and noticed for the very first time -- just how tired she looked. There were bags and dark circles under her eyes, and she looked like she hadn't gotten a proper nights sleep in days. Remorse filled his soul, whilst he absorbed her rough appearance. Could she not see that she was miserable too? In a stunning moment of pure clarity, he sadly knew that if they continued down this road that they would end up resentful and potentially even hateful towards one another; and it was in realizing that agonizing fact, that he knew what had to be done. It was time to end this with her. And he would do it tonight, after their joint annual family dinner. Once they arrived back here, in the privacy of her apartment, he would sit her down and talk to her about everything.

He just prayed that she wouldn't hate him forever because of this...

_____

Laughter, merriment and mumbled sounds of social chatter could be heard, floating throughout the air of the Holm's country house -- as Bill and Natalia's family members conversed smoothly with one another in the light and airy dining room. Natalia knew that Bill had always appreciated this little ritual that both of their families came together for. Since he was gone quite a bit to North America, filming for projects, auditioning for others, or even doing press junkets -- Natalia enjoyed being able to pull their families together so they could catch up once Bill was back in town.

Candles were set up all around the dining room, bathing the room in a mild ethereal glow. The wine was flowing generously, and the ostentatious table was covered with a luscious satin white table cloth; proudly displaying a bountiful amount of culinary dishes that made her mouth water. The delicious aroma's caused her stomach to rumble; forcing her to acknowledge the fact that she hadn't eaten properly in days. She was surviving off coffee, water, cigarettes, and the occasional snack. Soon though, that would potentially be behind her -- if, of course, everything went accordingly to her plan. Being seated in front of such a feast, finally got her in the mood to fill up her plate and actually eat a decent meal for the first time in a week and a half.

Natalia's older sister, Agnes, was located across the table from her; holding her six-month-old daughter in her arms -- while her husband William sat to her left. Their younger brother Max, was seated off to the other side of William; thankfully engaging in a conversation with Bill's younger brother Valter. Both young men were in their prime, and not looking to settle down anytime soon; which meant they had more in common with each other -- than they did with anyone else at the table. Bill's younger sister Eija, sat off to Valter's right, with her long-time boyfriend. Both of them were enjoying a tender conversation together, and paying no attention to anyone else at the moment. Natalia smiled at them, as they looked so happy and in love with one another. And beside Eija’s boyfriend, was her own mother -- Monica Holm. Bill's mother, My, was seated to the right side of her father, Viktor Holm who sat at the head of the table. Gustaf and his new girlfriend were both seated on the left side of Bill, and right beside Gustaf's lovely lady, was Bill's eldest brother Alexander -- who also took his place beside their mother.

Opportunities to get everyone together like this, were exceptionally rare. And for a nervous Natalia, it all came down to this. The festivities were beginning to wind down, and soon, her father would begin the round of toasts to congratulate everyone on their newest accomplishments. Her parents were sticklers for positive reinforcement as they were growing up, so it was only natural that they not only continued their tradition after their children had all flown the nest -- but that they also brought the partners of their children on it as well.

Like clockwork, Natalia had just taken her third bite of the jordgubbstårta, that her mother had prepared as a dessert, before she heard the light tapping of a polished silver fork, knocking on a dazzling crystal wine glass -- coming from the head of the table. She smiled adoringly up at her father, as he stood up and locked eyes with her; giving her a wink to let her know he wouldn't mind if she wanted to continue eating. She had truly been the apple of his eye, and he always made sure that his children knew how much he loved them.

"I would like to propose a toast," Viktor began confidently. "For some time now, our two families have gotten together to catch up, enjoy delicious food and to spend quality time with the people we hold most dear to us. Monica and I, always enjoy when it’s our turn to host these dinners and we’re grateful for having you all here." He paused, taking a quick moment to glance adoringly towards his wife of over thirty years. "Bill, son, thank you for introducing all of us to your beautiful family who we have grown to care for as an extension of our own. To my wife, thank you for putting up with me as I destroy our kitchen trying to help you prepare for these gatherings," he gently lamented, as everyone else began to chuckle. "And to my children, you continue to make me proud with each passing day. Skål!"

Everyone raised their glasses, echoing his hospitable sentiments and clinking them together lightly with their neighbors -- before taking a sip at the contents within each of their cups. Time passed, and a few more toasts were given around the table. It turned out, that Max had come prepared to this specific gathering -- as he announced to their parents that he had been accepted into law school. Witnessing their father beam with pride, and their mother's jaw drop -- had been worth the wait on telling them. It was an astonishment, that their mother didn't scream after he told them. It was a universally known fact, that their parents had been worried about what Max would decide to do with his future. Being bestowed with the knowledge that he had an overall direction now, had possibly put them at ease. It was a moment, that had made her immensely proud of her younger brother.

Once everyone had settled back down, however, the moment she had been waiting and psyching herself up for -- had arrived. Natalia cautiously looked around, scanning the room and watching everyone sharing their support for Max as they set glasses back on the table. Now, all she needed was to fester up her courage and get this show on the road. It was time to put those acting chops to good use, and appear more confident than she actually felt at the moment. One wrong move, and she was convinced she would lose her nerve. So she reached for her glass, gulped down a rather large swallow of wine, before taking a deep breath and steeling her frayed nerves...

"Well, I hope you all don't mind but I wanted to share some news with everyone -- since we're all together and it feels like we never get together enough these days," Natalia declared shyly, as she pushed back her chair and decided to begin her speech.

It's now or never. May God have mercy on me, if this shit goes sideways...

"I'd like to propose a toast of my own." She spoke more confidently this time, as she pushed her chin forward in a show of conviction. Bill, however, briefly looked confused by this sudden development, as he caught his brother Valter's eyes from across the table. Turning his focus back to Natalia, he noticed that she was looking down at him with her hand held out for his. Graciously, he smiled back at her and laced his larger hand through hers.

"For a while, I often wondered when I would find someone who would be special enough to love me for who I am; at the same time, I also questioned if I would ever be in a place that would allow me to recognize and accept that person for everything that they were -- once they managed to appear in my life. Alla vet redan att jag kan vara ganska jobbig ibland," her confession caused her siblings to chuckle and nod vigorously in a show of silent agreement. "Yet, when that special someone comes into your life, så vet du bara. With Bill," she paused momentarily, as she stared back at him. "I always knew he was special and unique. He's kind, caring, and compassionate; but he's also devoted, hard-working and best of all -- he's incredibly loyal." Bill felt his heart skip a beat, as he gulped. If there was ever a moment in his life, where he felt like the shittiest person on the planet -- this was quite possibly it. He didn't miss it as Gustaf choked on his wine, causing the elder Skarsgard to apologize and make an excuse about it 'going down the wrong pipe,' before Natalia methodically continued.

"I am so proud of each and every one of his new milestones, and while the road may get bumpy sometimes, I know that he will always be there -- no matter how difficult things may get."

Bill could hear her sister and mother, murmuring their agreements with Natalia comments in the background. The battle within him though was only just beginning; he could feel the pressure beginning to rise, whilst his anxiety stirred to life deep in the pit of his gut. Something didn't feel quite right about this, but nevertheless, he felt like shit as he listened to her sing his praises to everyone in the room. She had absolutely no idea what was coming later tonight, and she was inadvertently making him feel even worse without even meaning to.

"Therefore, I would like to privately announce to our families,"

Without warning, a foreboding feeling slammed into him at full force. The wheels in his head worked overtime, as he tried to piece together her end game here, when abruptly -- it all snapped into place.

Oh no...

Time slowed down to snail's pace. Seconds felt like several agonizing minutes, causing him to hear every beat of his own heart pounding away furiously in his ears. He wasn't an idiot, and he figured out exactly what she was about to do. His stomach felt like it was doing somersaults in his throat, and before he could think of a way to stop her...

"Bill and I are now engaged!" she gushed excitedly, as she pulled out the Ruby and Diamond engagement ring from her pocket, that he had previously given her -- leaving Bill sitting there in stunned silence. Gasps filled the air, as both families happiness caused them to erupt with celebratory rounds of "congratulations," being showered on the couple. The rest of her family stood up to give them hugs while Bill sat there in barely concealed shock; his composure, sloppily falling away momentarily as he absorbed the reality of what had just happened.

Suddenly, he felt the impact of a stiff kick on his shin from underneath the table, as his older brother Gustaf watched him intently. His lip curled up, signaling to Bill to smile. Once more, his mask of indifference slipped it's way back onto his face, as he stood up and accepted hugs and handshakes from her family members that began to surround them.

It was not as if he had any choice in the matter; what the hell else could he do? Just stand up and say, "I’m sorry everyone, but there seems to be some sort of mistake. I actually planned to break up with Natalia later tonight," and believe that it wouldn't cause a massive scene? Unfortunately, he knew that wouldn't go over well. Moreover, he didn't want to subject his mother to the needless drama either. He had too much respect for her, and even for Natalia's own parents, to legitimately consider doing that to them. Besides, when it boiled down to it -- Natalia didn't deserve to be humiliated like that either. Bill was well and truly stuck, with no other choice but to pretend that he was the happy and doting fiance.

In the end, he gracefully acted the role of dutiful fiance and leaned over to kiss her on the cheek. It was a brazen move, Natalia would give him that. Deep in her heart, she knew that the real test would be the one that took place later on tonight -- when they were both away from the prying eyes of their families and finally by themselves.

Tactically, Bill took a subtle peek around the table and noticed his own siblings watching the interaction intently. Each of them knew that this wasn't what their brother had wanted anymore. It seemed that even his own sister was giving him the side-eye. Her stern look, conveying a simple message: We're going to talk about this later, you fucking idiot.

Briefly, he wondered if his brothers had told her about his time with Y/N because she certainly didn't seem to be too impressed with him at all; and neither were his brothers. Regrettably, while Bill didn't want to make their judgments any worse, he knew it was coming when he felt his mother wrap her arms around him -- telling him just how proud of him she was. His green eyes glazed over and shut, as he hugged her back. Even though his eyes were shut, he could still feel the piercing stares of his siblings; harshly and silently criticizing him for not standing up and putting a stop to this.

His hands were tied, and there was very obviously nothing he could do, presently, to stop or curb the situation. So with that in mind, he sat back down in his seat and waited for the festivities to come to the inevitable end.

Natalia had well and truly fucked him and his plans up tonight, and there was a part of him that was a little bit angry about it; more so with himself for getting himself into this mess. His plan to end their relationship tonight, was effectively shot to hell. He literally could not leave her right now -- not after this grand little display of hers.

Fuck.

Bill shifted uncomfortably in his seat, knowing that his older brothers Alexander and Gustaf were probably waiting on what their younger brother's next move would be. They were already well aware of what had happened, between Y/N and Bill, since he had already told them about it -- once he made back home.

On his first night back in town, he had gone to meet up with his younger brother Valter at the local pub -- only to realize that his two older brothers, Alexander and Gustaf, were joining him as a surprise. It was a welcomed reprieve to just be able to sit down and catch up with each of them individually. A few hours and several drinks later, he ended up confessing about the affair to his brothers. None of the men were even remotely surprised by the turn of events; even going as far as to tell him as they all had seen it coming. Valter and Gustaf both cherished Y/N already, and while Alex also thought she was perfect for his younger brother -- he also didn't exactly like the situation they had both gotten themselves into. He was leary of the fact that Natalia would just accept Bill breaking up with her. Of course, Alex was simply speaking from personal experience with that particular subject. It was no secret that he wasn't exactly considered any kind of saint in some of his former relationships. But it was those relationships alone, that had taught him how to spot the signs of trouble yet to come. It was because of that, that Bill tried to take Alex's advice to tread carefully, to heart.

Now, Natalia had him by the balls and if Y/N found out -- any potential future they may have together could be ruined. He had to think, and fast. Because if the looks on his siblings' faces were something to go by, they weren’t going to let this go; if anything -- there was going to be severe consequences for this.

------

Headlights flashed ahead, as the dark grey Audi A3 sedan pulled into the small parking spot located just underneath the decently sized and sturdy white apartment building. The silence in the air was thick and palpable, with anticipation and suspense. Natalia was unsure of what to expect next, as Bill hadn't said a word to her since they both left the dinner party.

If she were lucky, Bill would simply go inside and simply feign sleepiness in order to get out of the discussion with her; but somehow -- she highly doubted that was about to happen. She was far from stupid, and she didn't miss the look of complete shock on his face when she told everyone of their engagement tonight. Of course, he straightened up and smiled; even going as far as thanking people for their well-wishes that they showered upon them -- yet his hesitation was certainly not missed by her clever and observant eyes.

Nervousness seemed to be settling deep within her spirit, at an almost rapid pace. In her defense, this felt like a good idea in her head at the time; back when she had gotten Ace's email, and learned about Bill's affair with Y/N. Hindsight was fifty-fifty though, and she was wondering if her impromptu announcement at the dinner party would push him over the edge -- causing him to leave her for good. If it did, she could conclusively kiss her revenge plan goodbye. To be fair, she knew there was a high likelihood of her getting an adverse reaction from him when she went into it; but when you're wrapped so tightly within the welcoming embrace of pure, uninhibited fury -- you tend to lose sight of the things are that should be undeniable. And although she wouldn't admit her fears so openly, due to her own anger and pride, she was particularly petrified of the possibility of him leaving her for doing this. Of course, when she sat back and thought about it, in the middle of those lonely nights recently, it was definitely considered downright pathetic to be worried about something like that. After all, without a shadow of a doubt, she should be the one leaving him. Yet, when it came down to it, she couldn't seem to pull the proverbial trigger. The love she felt for him, while wounded in the worst possible way -- was still there for him. How it was surviving, was beyond her own comprehension.

It was too late now though. Once her decision was acted upon, she knew she needed to see it all the way through; regardless of the repercussions. Ironically, it was the image of Bill kissing Y/N, which felt permanently seared into her mind -- that propelled her forward with her plan.

Neither of them said a word after she killed the engine to the car. She sat back in her leather seat, anxiously fiddling with her keys as she trained her eyes down towards her lap. A feeling of restlessness surged through her veins and Natalia had no idea why she was so nervous. In her opinion, it should be Bill who should be over there sweating bullets. There was no way he could get out of this, without having to come clean. Yet, even knowing that, didn't calm her down at all. If anything, it just put her on edge even more.

Why wasn't he saying anything?

The longer he sat there quietly, the more jittery she became. Realizing that she didn't plan to spend all night simply sitting in the car waiting for him to finally address her -- she lifted her hand to the silver door handle and propped open the driver's side door. They had some leftovers, in a couple of wrapped up dishes which sitting on the back floorboards, so she went ahead and opened the back door to grab them and bring them inside.

Bill exhaled deeply, as he too, finally opened his door and decided to help her get the food inside.

His mind was in a much different place than Natalia's, and it was consistently swimming between anger and fear. Luckily for Natalia, it was predominately aimed at himself at the moment; well, with the notable exception of his anger at her for once again -- going off and doing something, without consulting with him beforehand. This seemed to be an ever-repeating pattern among them, and quite frankly, it felt as if they could never find themselves sitting on the same page. It was annoying, and bothersome, to say the least.

Upon opening the front door to her apartment, Natalia quietly thanked him for his help as she pushed her way inside and Bill flipped the kitchen light switch on for them. He never said a word, as he took off his jacket, brushed a hand through his thick brown hair, and watched her put the leftover food on the stove in order to pull out her Tupperware dishes. He simply watched her work her way around the kitchen, just as he had always seen her do over the past year and a half -- and thought about how to approach the rather big elephant in the room. As he stood on the other side of the counter, he pulled out a stool and continued to watch her work.

"Nat, can you stop doing that and come here, please? We need to talk."

He noticed the way her back froze, the moment he uttered those words. Setting aside the aluminum foil package, she turned around and took off her own jacket; hanging it on the coat hanger she had next to the door. For the first time, since they left her parents house, he observed that her engagement ring was still sitting on her ring finger. She hadn't taken it off, since leaving the dinner party. The way the bright light in the kitchen hit the diamonds, causing them to sparkle and shine -- had caught his eye.

Instantly, he lost focus and remembered back to the night when he had asked her to marry him. Oddly enough, he proposed to her right here, in this very room of her apartment -- right after they had made dinner together. At the time, he was focused on doing anything that made her feel happy. And he knew, without a shadow of a doubt from their numerous pillow talks, that an engagement was something she certainly looked forward to having in their future. Natalia didn't know it, but he had purchased the ring a few weeks prior. Bill knew she adored rubies and thought they were stunning. It had taken him a little bit of time, but he was able to track down the ring that appeared to be perfect for her. A single teardrop-shaped, two and a half-carat Ruby, surrounded by a halo of diamonds -- with a plentiful amount of diamonds adorning the white gold, crisscrossed double band.

In retrospect, even he had to admit that was quite foolish of him to do that simply to keep her happy. It was dawning on him now, that it was a mistake because he wasn't actually ready to commit himself to a marriage; yet -- that didn't stop the fact that he still felt bad about causing this dysfunction in the first place.

"You're upset."

It wasn't a question, it was merely an observation and it hung in the air like a knife, causing him to momentarily flinch at her accusation. Was she wrong? No. He just didn't want this to turn into another row between them either. Enough damage had already been accomplished for one night.

Carefully selecting his next words would be imperative, and he knew it.

"I'm simply wondering why you chose to tell our families about the engagement; jag trodde att vi hade en överenskommelse."

Natalia slid into the barstool, just on the other side of Bill and folded her hands neatly in front of her. Her quiet demeanor only enhanced his sense of dismay, even further. And strangely, the sigh that exited her chest, sounded like one of defeat; leaving him wondering about what was to come next.

It wasn't that long ago, when she used to bring him happiness and a ray of hope to his future. When he thought about it, it was just after he had agreed to start seeing Natalia exclusively, that he began to start seeing a chance of happiness outside of Y/N and Natalia had a lot do with that. She made him feel comfortable, at least during that brief period in time; yet he couldn't lie to himself -- because the idea of fully giving up on his feelings for Y/N never fully resonated in his heart either. Those feelings only sat idly by, like the embers of once raging fire, threatening to reignite once again at the sign of any change in the environment.

And that was exactly what they did; those emotions reignited in a big, fiery and all-consuming way. It was something, he wouldn't let go off.

This was his fault, and he knew it.

"Since you're asking for my honesty, here it is; I'm tired of hiding something like this from our families. I agreed to be your wife the moment you asked me. I'm in this for the long haul. But asking me to keep it quiet, hasn't really settled well with me either. I want to be able to share this with our mothers, my mother -- even my own sister." She exclaimed wistfully; her ice-blue eyes bore into his, imploring him to see reason and understand her valid emotions.

"I have been so incredibly excited just to tell my own mother about this. And you..." She paused briefly, before looking down at the bar; unable to maintain eye contact any longer. "You asked me not to tell anybody about it. Do you realize how hard that is? Or even how unfair it is? To make me keep this news all to myself, that I just truly want to be happy about? And recently, I've been thinking about that; you do know that it feels a little silly to be hiding something this major from our own friends and family -- right? I'm not asking to announce it to the whole world yet Bill, I just wanted to privately tell our families."

Bill exhaled calmly, trying not to let his grip on his patience slip from him. Of course, he understood why she wanted to tell them all; he certainly wasn't impractical or uncaring in that sense. However, there were other underlying issues at the center of why they had both agreed to keep it quiet.

"I get that, I truly do. But Nat, we talked about this and you even agreed to it. You said that you understood the reasons we needed to keep it quiet. I told you, that with IT coming out -- things are going to change. If everything goes the way I hope they do, my career could be taking off. That means more offers, more auditions, more projects, more locations and with that comes more attention. Not all of that attention is going to be good either. If news about the engagement gets out, even through an accidental post on social media from one of our friends or family members, you could be dealing with a hoard of female fans talking massive shit about you, stalking you online, or following you around in real life -- and making your life absolutely miserable. And all of it, would be because you're with me! That's not even including the fact that we've been fighting more over the past almost several months. If I'm being perfectly honest here," he sighed, before turning back to her and grabbing her left hand in his right one. "I'm not sure if that would be something we would survive, because we have more than enough issues without that being added on top of our plates."

Natalia sat back in stunned silence, unable to fathom that he genuinely said that out loud to her. Her act of telling their families, couldn't have happened at a better time, as it became increasingly more evident that he really was planning on ending things with her. All she knew in that instant, was that she had to turn the tide of this conversation, back in her favor and quickly -- or entire plan would only dissolve from here.

"Are you --" her eyes filled with tears, threatening to spill over and down her lightly blushed cheeks, while she sniffled. "Are you ashamed of me?" Quickly, she pulled her hand back from his and stood up from her seat. Anger surged throughout her body, causing her cheeks to heat up in embarrassment and tears began to shine through her eyes, as Bill was left with emotional whiplash at what was happening.

"What? Natalia, no! That's not what I'm saying," he swiftly attempted to explain, but he knew it would be no use.

"That's what it feels like you're saying! It feels like you're saying that you don't think I know what lies ahead, or that I'm even strong enough to handle it! Do you really think so little of me?" Turning on her heel, she briskly walked back into the kitchen area and picked up the aluminum foil again -- trying her hardest to hold it together and finish her task of re-wrapping their leftovers.

"Where the hell did you even get the idea that I was ashamed of you? I never said that at all," Bill's frustrations were growing by the millisecond, as he stood up from his own spot at the bar. "I explain to you that I'm afraid of something, and suddenly that somehow means I'm ashamed of you? You always manage to do this! Every single fucking time, Natalia! You run off and do something on your own, never ask me how I may feel about it before you do it -- and then you get pissed off when I don't react the way you think I should. You did it right before I came back home too!" He finished accusingly, as he pointed a finger at her.

Just like that, the fuse was ignited and neither of them was prepared to back down from this long-overdue fight.

Propriety could be damned, he didn't care if his voice was starting to elevate anymore, because this thing right here -- was exactly what the main problem was between them. And honestly, Bill was at his wit's end with the drama she brought to the table in this relationship.

"So that's what this is about! You're still mad at the fact that I tried to book a private getaway for us, for when you got back home from Toronto? Jesus Christ, Bill!" She slammed the plastic see-through dish on the stove, as she shook her head and began to laugh sarcastically. "Excuse the fuck out of me, for trying to spend time with my fiance after not being able to see him for three fucking months!"

"Actually, I wasn't upset about that incident anymore and was more or less using that as an example; but yes -- you go off and do things, all the while, you don't even bother to include me in the equation at all! It's like I've become an afterthought to you! Did it ever occur to you, that I wanted to come home, see my family and actually spend some time with my mother? She's getting older, Natalia! I won't have her around forever!" He leaned across the bar carefully, both arms stretched out with his palms braced across the surface; narrowing his eyes at her.

Natalia pressed her lips together, as she pulled out a sheet of aluminum foil from the pack and set it off to the side.

"You’ve been acting like a jackass, since you've been away." The moment that allegation left her lips, Bill scoffed.

"Me being gone for work has nothing to do with this. We’ve been at each other’s throats even before I left. Have you ever tried considering the fact, that I may be annoyed by the continuous fighting we do all of the time? We fight over the most ridiculous bullshit! And if we’re not fighting, we’re fucking. I told you over the phone a few weeks ago, this shit needed to stop and here we are -- right back at it again!”

The sound of a wooden spoon scraping against the ceramic plate filled the room, as she finally set it down and wiped her hands on the hand towel that was hanging off the oven door.

"Let me ask you a question, do you even love me anymore? Because I love you, Bill! But Jesus fucking Christ, I really feel like you don't love me at all."

That one question managed to hit him dead center in his chest, almost knocking the wind right out of him. Just then, it was as if he were transported back to that nightmare with Natalia and Y/N both hanging in the tree, with their chests cut open and their hearts were laid out his hands. He was fearful of answering that question, because he didn't want to essentially rip the proverbial heart out of her chest and destroy her like this.

Now, it was Bill's turn to sound defeated. Without another word, he didn't wait for her reaction as he turned around and began walking down the hallway. Taking a couple of minutes to clear her own head, she finished wrapping the plastic bowl and stuck it on the bottom shelf in the refrigerator; wondering if she finally pushed everything too far.

Finally, she pushed herself away from the large appliance and decided to follow him down the hallway. If she were expecting to see him feeling defeated, she was in for a rude awakening; instead -- she found him packing his bags again.

"Bill, what are you doing?" The hesitation caused her voice to slightly crack, as she watched him continue to put more clothes into his suitcase.

He never spoke a word, as he ignored and pushed past her. Instead, he moved into their shared bathroom. Once he collected what he needed, he snapped the light back off and made his way back to the bedroom -- packing his toiletries away. After he was finished a few moments later, he belatedly glanced over at her. For the first time since this argument began, he noticed her silently crying as she watched him.

"I fell for you before I ever put that ring on your finger," he stated carefully. "I didn't think I could ever find someone who could potentially make me happy, and for a while -- you did. But we're changing Natalia, and I don't like the people we're changing into."

"So you want to run away, instead of facing our problems? Vad är det som du inte berättar för mig?" Her lips trembled, as she stood there -- waiting for an answer.

"Natalia," there was a delay, as he tried to take a step towards her. Natalia, on the other hand, took a quick step back. Her eyeliner and mascara were running carelessly down her cheeks, creating dark streaks which made him feel even worse.

"I'm saying we should use the time while I'm away in California working, to think about what we both want. Because we cannot keep going like this. It’s not fair to either of us. I’m not saying it’s over right now, I’m saying let’s take this time apart while I’m gone, to think and once I come back -- we can sit down and decide once and for all where we go from here.”

With that, he grabbed the handle of his large rolling suitcase and walked out of their shared apartment. Leaving a shocked and struggling Natalia behind.

He hadn’t ended it with her, but he did let her know that they needed time apart. And that was the opening a reeling and emotional Natalia needed, to enact the next step in her plan.

____

[Extended Author's Notes: Trust me, I'm shaking my head at Bill too! Bonehead! You should have just ended it with her while you had the chance!

I get why he didn't, because that's got to be a mind fuck where you're feeling your back against the wall, flashing back to a nightmare where you think you've ripped out her heart already and you don't want to hurt someone...

But man, I have to hand it to Natalia, the girl knows how to manipulate a situation when things are going off the rails. She saw what was coming, and threw a massive roadblock in Bill's path. She is not the one to play with, and Bill may have bitten off more than he can chew with her. He's obviously figured out, that he's backed into a wall; so it'll be interesting to see how if he's able to keep up the facade and find a way out of the mess he created -- or if things are going to blow up in his face.

One small part of me, feels a tiny bit bad that Bill is in this conundrum. After all, he started dating Natalia, because he was attempting to get over his feelings for Y/N in the first place; which he felt were always going to remain unrequited on the readers end. He and Natalia have had a bumpy road, but overall he did care about her and even asked her to marry him -- only for everything to finally come together with Y/N (who doesn't know about his engagement)... And now, it's all a big mess.

Now, our boy finally has the woman he's wanted all along and had finally mustered up the courage to tell Natalia it was over -- and she blew his plans all to hell!

Speaking of Bill though, I wonder where he's running off to after failing to completely break it off with Nattie... Guess you'll have to wait until the next chapter to find out lol.

____

And finally: If you've enjoyed this chapter, please don't forget to (kindly) leave a vote and/or comment! Each vote and comment helps more people see this story; so please be kind and submit a vote/comment before you leave.

And if you don't want to leave a vote on this particular chapter, just go back and leave on the chapters you liked the most.

I hope you're having a wonderful day/evening/night.

Take care lovelies, see you in two weeks (or less) with the next chapter! --ImaginationLane xoxo]

Tag list: @kikilikes, @readsalot73, @diianawonka, @goswedish, @rougxlips @ffixation, @shadowpriestess6, @vladsgirl, @mrsbillskarsgard, @billgardskars, @adoresfandoms, @mightbelindsey, @we-are-like-a-timebomb, @fandomimcurrentlyobsessedabout, @negan5589, @decayingdeathh, @unicorn-glitter-princess, @voidpaintings, @the-fandom-phantom-fanfics, @mishdennise, @thatonepuremoment, @voidpaintings, @peardream72, @nyleveeee, @rutuliukasg , @daddyssweetpeaches, @ambeazyyy, @billiemalamas, @frappylou, @jinnfruit , @isaxhorror , @totally-magneato, @wayward-dragon, @stanseba, @tonystar3k , @a-lethal-dose , @rachlou , @anastasiaskarsgard , @skarsgarddreams , @greenofallshades , @fichoe21 , @bohemianfortunes ,

#bill skarsgard #bill skarsgard x reader #bill skarsgard imagine #bill skarsgard fan fiction #The Assistant Series

87 notes · View notes

purple-haired-faerie · 6 years

Text

Jemma baby struggle part 3

As promised the happier update for this story. Although there is talk of miscarriage it’s not as much as it has been.

It’s been wonderful to write this with the lovely @ohbytheangel who just amazes me with her incredible ideas. We do have one last section, an epilouge if you will where we follow the twins and their family during the first few months of their lives.

***the third attempt***

As Cristina had predicted, once time had passed, Jules and Emma tried for another baby. Given that they had gone through two miscarriages they knew not to get their hopes up, and were being incredibly cautious and not leaving anything to chance. When Emma learnt that she was in fact expecting, She and Jules decided to make regular visits to the silent brothers to monitor their child. Like with the previous two children, Helen and Cristina were the first two know.

Telling them had been a strange conversation, as yes there was happiness but there was also the memory of what had happened to their last two babies. But when Helen whispered to Jules “It will be better this time” there was something in his heart that believed his older sister. As the saying went, “third time lucky” and by the angel Jules had never wanted a saying to be true more than he did in that moment.

At three months, Jules and Emma decided to tell the rest of their family of the pregnancy. There was excitement of course, but everyone waited to see how Jules and Emma were before they showed the excitement they felt. The memory of the miscarriage was still in everyone’s mind as well as the pain that it had brought with it. It was Tavvy who allowed everyone to react. Tavvy had known that Emma had been pregnant but had lost the baby, and that it had been an upsetting time, but he did not understand the full extent of the situation.

As a result, he saw no problem in running around screaming “BABY!” very excitedly. Emma couldn’t help but smile at Tavvy’s reaction, as Jules pulled a very happy Tavvy in for a cuddle. Looking at his family with a smile on his face, Jules went “it’s ok to be excited because Emma and I are expecting a baby, but I think it would be wise given everything that’s happened, not to get ahead of ourselves” and that's when the smiles and hugs started.

Both Jules and Emma had been expecting the fourth month to be emotionally difficult as it had been during the fourth month of their last pregnancy that the miscarriage had happened, and all the memories came back. But as it turned out, things ended up being a lot better than anyone had been expecting. They had gone for one of their regular checkups with the silent brother, when they received news that neither of them could have possibly imagined. “And you have been perfectly well?” the Silent Brother asked.

“Yes...is something wrong?” Emma asked, panic rising in her voice. “No, but you are expecting twins” the Silent Brother informed them. There was a pause before Jules softly kissed Emma’s forehead going “Twins Emmy, by the angel I hope they turn out like Ty and Livvy” which made Emma smile and lean into him. “That would be nice” she said softly. After so many set backs and heartbreaks, it was amazing for them to get some good news.

A couple of days later, they found themselves in front of their family, with Jules’s arm around Emma’s waist. “We got an update on the baby” Jules said, and paused, looked at Emma. “Or should we say babies” she finished, and allowed the rest of them to work out what her words meant. It was Ty who worked it out first by looking at Livvy going “they will be like us Livs” which caused Livvy to jump up and down and clap. That was enough for the rest of them to work it out. All of them except Tavvy who just looked confused, and upset that he didn’t understand. Kneeling down next to his brother and pulled him close going “Emma and I are going to have twins” he said, which made Tavvy’s face light up.

At the end of the fourth month, Emma had been sitting on the bed when she gasped. Jules looked at her and panicked but having seen a small smile on her face, he calmed down. Emma glanced at him going “I just felt our babies move” she said, and almost on cue, she felt them kick again. From then on, Jules had been desperate to feel their babies move for himself. He could always tell when Emma could feel them as she’d smile to herself for a moment.

At five months pregnant, Emma took Jules’s hand simply placed it on her bump. Jules looked confused but then he felt something against his palm. His eyes widened as he felt the bump again. But it was when Ema took his other hand and placed it on another part on her bump and he felt a kick from his other child, did he start crying. Given everything they had been through to get children, to actually be able to feel not one, but two children had been more than he could possibly imagine.

Tavvy was the next person they let feel the kicks. Emma had been sitting on the sofa when it happened. “Hey Tavs come here a second” she said, and beckoned him over. “Are you OK Memma? Tavvy asked. Since the pregnancy announcement, Tavvy had started calling Emma ‘Memma’ again which made her heart melt. she smiled as she went “I'm fine, just give me you hands for a second” she said, which he did. Taking Tavvy’s small hands, she placed them on the bump where she felt the babies kicking. He just looked at her wide eyes.

From that point, everyone wanted to feel babies kick in Emma’s bump, which was all very sweet, as they all made sure to be very careful with her. Every single night before bed, Jules made sure to feel both babies before he fell asleep, which made Emma fall even more in love with him, which she hadn’t even known was possible.

Both Jules and Emma had been reluctant to prepare for their upcoming children for fear that they would loose them, but when they had gotten half way through, Helen and Cristina gently asked if they should start getting ready for the upcoming arrivals. They decided to start on the nursery (they decided that when the twins were really young they would share a room, as Ty and Livvy had done but as they got older would have rooms of their own) as that would take the most amount of work. Jules decided on a pale green should they have a boy and Emma went with purple for a girl.

On their next visit to the Silent Brothers, they asked for them to find out the gender of the twins, but instead of telling them, they asked them to write it on a piece of card, which they did. The entire drive home, Emma struggled to not read what was on the piece of card, but they eventually got back to the Institute and Emma was able to hand the card over to Helen and Cristina. “Well, that’s all fine and good but don’t you think we need stuff to go in the nursery?” Helen asked with a raised eyebrow. “It wouldn’t hurt to get a few things” Jules said (as they only thing they currently had was a crib big enough for both babies) and with that, they left.

The doors had scarcely closed the doors when Helen called out “Ok guys they’ve gone, we’ve got painting to do” and with that the family appeared (they had been discussing a surprise and needed to hide when Jules and Emma had returned) and they all headed up to paint the nursery and built the crib that had just been sitting in the middle of the room, still in it’s box. It was the first thing they had done for the upcoming arrivals and the excitement could be felt in the room. They had just enough to finish, change and wash when Jules and Emma returned.

“We’ve got something to show you” Helen announced and turned to leave, expecting the other two to follow. “You go, we’ll sort your stuff out” Mark said, who walked into the room, followed by Ty and Livvy. Knowing they wouldn’t take no for an answer, Jules and Emma handed the stuff over and followed Helen’s lead. The other three waited a few seconds before following them. They got to the nursery (which was next to the room Jules and Emma shared) when Helen stopped and asked “are you ready to find out the gender of your babies?” and all Jules and Emma could manage was nod. Helen opened the door and let them in.

Two of the rooms were painted green, with the other two painted purple. Emma looked at Helen with a look of surprise on her face. “We have one of each?” Emma asked, and realised it was a rather stupid question. Helen just smiled at Emma going “yes Emma, you’re expecting a boy and a girl”. Emma beamed and she felt Jules gently pressed a kiss to her temple, and rest his hand on her bump. “Guys where do you want the stuff?” Mark asked from the door. He, Ty and Livvy had brought the stuff upstairs and had been quietly watching their reaction.

A few days later, they went out for clothes, and no one knew how it happened but soon everyone decided that they wanted to go. Deciding to make the most of it, the decision was made that everyone could choose one thing for the twins, with Helen, Aline, Cristina, Livvy and Dru choosing something for their niece, and Mark, Kieran, Ty, Kit and Tavvy choosing something for their Nephew. Cristina and Kieran had been taken aback by the fact Emma and Jules had classed them as and Aunt and Uncle but Jules had shrugged going “you’re practically married to Mark anyway so you are as good as family” which made them smile. They’d had a similar conversation with Kit earlier in the day.

Emma had been looking at something when she stopped and grinned at Jules in a way that made him feel like he should be worried. She grabbed a unicorn onesie and held it up to show him, and they both laughed. “I never did suit that unicorn top you brought me, but I think our daughter will suit a unicorn much better” Jules said. He was still getting used to calling the babies growing in Emma his son and daughter but it was still a great feeling. Putting the onesie in the trolley, Emma leant over and gave Jules a quick kiss on the cheek. Jules soon found a dinosaur onesie and Emma almost died on how cute their son would look in it. Much to their delight the rest of the family came back with some great choices of clothing for the arrivals.

As it turned out, the twins were incredibly eager to meet their parents, and the rest of their family, and decided to come two weeks early. They had woken up, and had Emma had rested her head against Jule’s chest, with his hand resting on her rather sizeable bump. That was until there was a pain in a stomach. Looking up at Jules, she went “I think we are about to meet our babies Julian” and for a moment all Jules did was stare at her, not quite sure what to think, feel or react.

Somehow he managed to collect himself together enough to actually do something. He gave Jem and Tessa a call to let them know that Emma’s contractions had started. Jem told Jules to keep calm and to call again when the contractions were stronger and closer together. Given she had gone into labour, Emma was staying oddly calm about the entire thing. Julian on the other hand had gotten himself into a total flap and was panicking.

“Jules go make yourself useful and go tell Mark and Helen that it’s started and to keep the rest of them busy. And get the bag out of stuff we got ready out” Emma instructed, and Jules nodded and headed out the door, before saying “I won’t be long, and Emma? I love you, so much” and with that, he had gone. He didn’t really registered the route he’d taken but he soon found himself in a room with his eldest Brother and Sister. He hadn’t even said anything, they knew something was going on, as they were both on the feet and they had come over and joined him.

“Emma’s gone into labour” he said and after a pause he went “I’m going to be a Dad” which made them both laugh. Mark tightly hugged his brother going “you already are a Dad Julian. Now go back to your woman, and let us look after the rest” he said, and let Julian go. Jules was about to go, but not before Helen gave him a tight hug and a soft kiss on his head. Jules headed back to Emma, grabbing the bag on the way, and desperately trying to get his head round the fact that in a matter of hours, he was going to meet his babies.

A couple of hours later, Jules made a second call to Jem and Tessa asking them to the Institute. As they waited for the pair to arrive, Emma clung to Jules going “when they arrive, please don’t leave me. I can’t do this on my own” and he just held her, and promised that he wasn’t going anywhere. He found himself gently rubbing Emma’s back, not sure what else to do. Eventually there was a knock on the door and Jem and Tessa allowed themselves in. Having quickly gotten themselves ready, Jem went over to Emma going “can you get to the bed now Emma, we need to examine you?” and Emma nodded and with Jule’s help, got to the bed.

“You’re nearly fully dilated Emma but you still have a a bit more to go, then you will be able to start pushing” Jem said, which made Emma almost deflate back against Jules, who had sat behind her, with one leg on each side of her. “How much does it hurt Emma?” Jules asked and she squeezed so hard that he lost feeling and she managed to get out a “not much”. But if she had thought this part was painful, she had no idea what was about to come when she started pushing.

Jules had always hated seeing Emma in pain. Apparently when they had been very young, Emma had fallen from the crib and had bust her lip. Emma seemed totally unfazed by the entire thing, but Jules had burst into tears and had screamed until their parents had arrived. But sitting on the bed, with Emma gripping onto his arms for dear life and screaming as she pushed was just awful, and Jules found himself on the verge of tears as he saw the woman he loved in so much pain, and there was nothing he could do, and it was destroying him.

Jules wasn’t sure how long Emma had been screaming, but soon her scream’s stopped and was replaced by a babies cry. Jem was quick to place the baby onto Emma’s chest going “meet your daughter” and Jules took one look at her and burst into tears. There was a slight tuft of blonde hair and when she looked up at her parents, it was big wide Blackthorn eyes. “By the Angel Emma she’s beautiful” Jules managed to get out, and all Emma could do was nod. She was tired from pushing out a baby and still had another baby to push out. Soon Jem cut the umbilical cord and handed the child over to Tessa to wash and weigh, and turned back to Emma who was getting the urge to push again.

It seemed that their son was eager to be reunited with it’s sister and before long, Jem had handed them their baby boy, who was the male version of his sister with blonde hair and Blackthorn eyes. Once Jem and Tessa had checked both children and announced that although early they were healthy, and had sorted the last bit of the birth, and ensured that Emma was doing well, they silently left the room. Emma sat there, leaning against Jules with a baby in each arm just looking at them. “Emma we made these” Jules said softly and Emma gave him a funny look and went “yeah well who did all the work?” and Jules was too emotional to even get upset.

“What shall we name them?” Emma then asked and after a pause Jules went “I was thinking Caleb Arthur for our son” he said, and it felt so strange for him to say that out loud. “Caleb Arthur Blackthorn, I think it suits him” Emma said, looking down at him. There was a pause and Emma went “I was thinking we call our daughter Milly Livia” she said, and Jules found himself swallowing a lump in his throat. Before the twins were even a thought, Livvy had been seriously injured and they had nearly lost her, but Livvy had defied the odds and survived. It seemed fitting that they should honor his brave warrior sister by naming his beautiful daughter after her. “You know we will never hear the end of it, but it’s a price I’m willing to pay. Livvy is a worthy namesake and it’s a fitting name. Welcome to the world Milly Livia Blackthorn” Jules said.

Emma managed to successfully feed both twins before Jules settled them down to sleep. He had glanced back at Emma, only to see that she herself had fallen asleep. Kissing her gently, he slipped out the room to find his family. They were all in the living room when he walked in, and he found all eyes were on him. “Both babies have been delivered and are healthy and are doing well. As is Emma but she’s exhausted” Jules said, and there was a sigh of relief in the room.

“But what we all want to know is what you called them” Dru said and their were nods of agreement. Jules sat down and went “our daughter was born first” and with a slight glance at Livvy he added “we’ve decided to call her Milly Livia Blackthorn” and with that, Livvy promptly burst into tears and hugged her older brother. When she finally let him go, she asked “and what of her brother?” which made Jules smile. “He was eager to join his sister and Caleb Arthur Blackthorn was born shortly after” he informed them.

The love in the room for the two small Nephilim that only he’d met was so strong. “When can we meet them?” Mark asked, which was something they all wanted to know. “When Emma has rested from delivering them. It’ll probably be best that rather than all bursting in at once, you come in smaller groups” Jules said, and he didn’t hear a single disagreement. “Jules you should return to your family” Aline said gently and Jules was not going to say no to that.

21 notes · View notes