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m1ckeyb3rry · 2 months

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── THE GLASS PRINCESS // THREE

Series Synopsis: You wake up in a strange room with no memories, broken glass at your bedside, and a prince named Zuko as your only chance at figuring out who you really are.

Chapter Synopsis: You have your first day at the Royal Fire Academy, where you meet the other girls, including Kaho.

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Zuko x Reader

Chapter Word Count: 5.1k

Content Warnings: complicated relationships (strangers to friends to lovers to enemies to strangers to lovers to enemies to lovers), amnesia, alternate universe, lots of secrets and lying and mystery

A/N: zuko in his letters (sage, wise, cool and collected) vs zuko irl (SOO fucking awkward)

To His Royal Highness The Prince Zuko,

I apologize for my earlier language. In truth, it feels strange for me to speak to you as if you were my friend. I think that it is because you are my benefactor, and a prince besides, so there is a need for formal and proper conduct. We have that kind of relationship, if you can see it from my perspective.

Your offer of help is greatly appreciated, though I am not quite sure what I have done to deserve it. I shall try to solve my troubles on my own, when I can, but if it should come to it, I will try to remember that I have the prince of the Fire Nation on my side. I wonder how many girls at the academy can claim that, indeed!

Anyways, my roommate is nice. Her name is Jia-Li, and she is self-reportedly average, but all told, we get along well enough. I wish I could say the same for the rest of my classmates — barring, naturally, Ty Lee — but I am afraid to report that we already do not get along. There is this one girl, Kaho, who has a specific grudge against me, despite my attempts at avoiding that outcome…but I should not bore you with the details. Suffice to say that not everyone is as kind as Jia-Li and Ty Lee and Mai and you have been. It is as Jia-Li said, though: two true friends are better than ten false ones. It does not upset me (though it might if I am challenged to an Agni Kai!)

Thank you for feeding Bian. She did seem pleased when she returned to the aviary at the academy. I also gave her a treat. By the way, the falconer said she was supposed to be yours. Is that true? If it is, then I do not think that I deserve such a creature, though of course I thank you for giving her to me anyways. She is very beautiful and possesses a gentle heart, which is a solace in the more trying times.

Ever Your Highness’s humble and obedient servant Sincerely, Ursa

P.S. I am sorry to say that I still do not recall anything about my past. I shall keep you updated if that changes.

You were up before Jia-Li, nervous energy thrumming through you in anticipation for the first day of classes. Ty Lee had stayed late into the night, and then you had spent the candle Jia-Li had lit for you writing to Prince Zuko, so you hadn’t had any time to read or prepare for lessons.

“Ugh,” Jia-Li groaned when you threw open the curtains, the rising sunlight filtering into the room, a beam landing directly on her face, which she promptly covered with a pillow. “What are you doing?”

“You’re a Firebender, aren’t you? Don’t you all rise with the sun anyways?” you said.

“I don’t know who told you that, but they were full of bullshit,” Jia-Li said. “I rise after I’ve had a full night’s rest, which I have not yet.”

“Breakfast is soon,” you said, pulling on your shoes. “You’ll miss it if you don’t get ready now, and then you’ll have to go to class on an empty stomach. I’m sure that doesn’t sound appealing.”

“On second thoughts, I miss not having a roommate,” Jia-Li said, though she did toss aside her pillow and roll out of the bed, thudding to the ground and shoving her feet in a pair of fluffy slippers. Her hair stuck up every which way, and there were bags under her half-lidded eyes as she trudged past you to her vanity table. “You can go ahead and meet Ty Lee in the dining hall now, if you want. I’ll come down later.”

“Do you think she’ll be there already?” you said.

“Yeah,” Jia-Li said. “That girl is the epitome of a morning person. She’s probably been anxiously waiting for you for a while now.”

“Then I shouldn’t keep her waiting any longer,” you said. “See you in class, Jia-Li.”

“See you, Ursa,” she said.

As Jia-Li had predicted, Ty Lee was waiting outside of the door to the dining hall, where all of the girls who boarded at the academy had their meals. She was playing with her fingers nervously, but when she saw you, she bloomed with joy, dancing over to stand beside you.

“Good morning! Are you ready for our first day?” she trilled.

“Not at all,” you said. “I didn’t have any time to read yesterday. I don’t know anything. If the teacher calls on me, I’ll be lost.”

“It’ll be fine,” Ty Lee said, putting a piece of bread on her plate and spreading something on its fluffy surface. “We’re new, so we’ll probably get away with sitting in the back and doing the bare minimum.”

“Let’s hope so,” you said, copying her, trusting her to know what was and wasn’t good to eat at the school. She flounced to the end of the table, and you followed her, sitting across from her so that you two could talk.

“Ty Lee!” a girl said. “Come sit with us!”

“No, sit with us!” another said.

“We asked first!” the first girl said.

“So? She obviously likes us more, we’re way hotter!” the second argued. They began to squabble as you gave Ty Lee a bewildered look.

“What is going on?” you said.

“Besides Kaho, almost everyone at the school liked me…” she said awkwardly. “I guess you could say I was popular! Everyone’s happy I’m back.”

“Looks like it,” you said, baffled at just how many people were trying to claim the spot at Ty Lee’s side. Thankfully, none of them tried to take your space, though you got your own share of dirty glares, which you could only cock your head at in confusion.

“Guys, go away. I’m trying to hang out with my friend from the palace, Ursa,” Ty Lee said.

“What was she there, a servant?” one of the girls said. You glanced down at your clothes, which were the same uniform as everyone else, and then you swallowed. Unlike the other girls, with their expensive hair ribbons and jewelry, you didn’t have anything to your name that marked you as a daughter of nobility — because you weren’t one. It was a safe assumption for the girl to make, and it was even one you’d made about yourself in the past, so why did it hurt your feelings that she had said such a thing?

“Hey!” Ty Lee said. “She’s a friend of the prince — I mean, the princess! Yeah, that’s right, she’s Azula’s friend!”

Immediately, the girls scrambled away from you, and the one who had called you a servant paled. Dropping to her knees before Ty Lee, she bowed her head.

“I am so, so sorry. I didn’t mean any disrespect to a friend of Princess Azula’s!” she said.

“Apologize to Ursa,” Ty Lee said, chipper again now that she had found some kind of justice for you.

“It’s fine, Ty Lee. I can see why she thought that, so I’m not upset,” you said. The girl took the opportunity to leap to her feet and race to the other side of the table, the others following suit at the reminder of the princess.

“Those girls are all jerks,” Ty Lee said once you were alone again. “I’m sorry she was talking about you like that.”

“It’s not something you should say sorry for,” you said. “You didn’t do it. Anyways, I was expecting it; Jia-Li told me that the girls aren’t that nice, so it’s not a surprise. The real question is why you claimed my association to be with the princess instead of the prince.”

“Oh, that’s an easy one to answer,” she said. “They all remember Azula from when she attended, so she’s a more concrete threat in their minds. Only a few of them have met Zuko, and he’s been banished for a while, so his name doesn’t carry as much weight. Besides, if you’re associated with one member of the royal family, you’re associated with all of them, so I wasn’t technically wrong.”

“Alright,” you said, forcing yourself to chew on your food, even though it felt heavy and leaden in your mouth. It wasn’t a question of taste; somewhere, in the back of your mind, you could tell that you would ordinarily like eating this. It was your nerves which were ruining the experience, which made your tongue stiff and your jaw tight. You knew, though, that you needed food in order to have energy for the day, so you made yourself eat it despite your misgivings, despite the mental labor that even the mere act of swallowing took.

The classroom was small, which made sense, considering there were only a few girls in your year. What didn’t make sense was that the two desks in the very front were left open, though you had an inkling that one specific person had something to do with it.

“Ty Lee. Ursa,” a girl said. Her hair was pin straight and dark, half of it tied up with a white-and-gold ribbon, the rest falling around her shoulders, her midnight eyes reflecting the torches hanging around the classroom. “We saved you two seats.”

“Kaho,” Ty Lee said through gritted teeth. “You shouldn’t have.”

“I know,” Kaho said. “You can say I did it out of the goodness of my own heart.”

“Like I said,” Ty Lee said. “You shouldn’t have.”

“Thank you,” you said softly, not wanting to get into an argument with the very girl Jia-Li had warned you about last night.

“See,” Kaho said. “At least one of you has proper manners. Though, to be honest, I would’ve expected the daughter of a nobleman to be raised better than the girl that the prince found in the trash.”

“She wasn’t found in the trash!” Ty Lee said.

“Wasn’t she?” Kaho said.

“You can let it be, Ty Lee. It’s fine,” you said. “Let’s just sit down before the Etiquette Mistress gets here.”

Your first class was on the proper etiquette to have in polite society. Considering the many subtleties of etiquette, this was something you were nervous for, as you had no idea how to behave in polite society, or what any of that meant in the first place. It seemed that the others expected as much, for there was a multitude of snickers as you sat in the very front and waited for the Etiquette Mistress to arrive.

“Wonderful, everyone is on time!” the Etiquette Mistress said as she walked in exactly at the second class had to start. She was a neatly dressed and perfectly put together woman, with not even an eyelash out of place. “Let’s begin promptly with a review from our last class. Who can tell me what the three pillars of etiquette are?” She scanned the room, but only one girl had her hand raised. “Kaho?”

“Respect, consideration, and punctuality,” Kaho said, smirking as she folded her hands in her lap. The Etiquette Mistress did not frown, but the corners of her mouth threatened to tug downwards, and before you could think about it, you were raising your own hand.

“Ursa?” the Etiquette Mistress said. “Do you have something else to add?”

“It’s a common misconception that punctuality is a pillar of etiquette. However, in truth, it is not a pillar unto itself but rather a natural development and extension of the pillars of respect and consideration,” you said, though you had no idea where the words were coming from, only that some long-dormant knowledge of yours was bubbling to the surface. “The third pillar is actually honesty, madam, though of course honesty does not imply brutality but tact, benevolence, and integrity.”

Everyone in the room was silent. You could feel Kaho’s eyes boring holes into your back, but you stared steadily ahead, waiting for the Etiquette Mistress to react.

She smiled slightly. “That is correct. I also appreciate that you addressed me with a title; it demonstrates an elegant sort of etiquette that a lady must be born with or else have studied in depth from a young age.”

“Thank you, madam,” you said. The Etiquette Mistress nodded before turning to the board so that she could continue to teach you a lesson on which utensils to use for which meal.

This, too, you excelled in. You were the only student who knew when to use each utensil, even during the trick questions that the Etiquette Mistress threw out to trip you up. With every subsequent test passed, you felt your approval in the eyes of the Etiquette Mistress rising, though it was rapidly falling amongst your classmates, especially Kaho, who must’ve once been the star of the class.

“I thought you said you didn’t have time to study!” Ty Lee hissed once the Etiquette Mistress had left and you all were given a five minute break before the History Mistress arrived.

“I didn’t,” you said.

“Huh? Then how’d you manage to answer her questions so perfectly?” she said.

“I’m not sure. I just knew it already, somehow,” you said.

“Looks like Prince Zuko has a keen eye,” Kaho said from behind you. “To find the diamond amongst the sludge.”

For some reason, even though she was calling you a diamond, it didn’t feel like much of a compliment. Ty Lee seemed to agree, her kind, open face closing into a dark scowl.

“Kaho, you should just shut up,” she said.

“Is that a challenge?” Kaho said.

“It could be, but don’t forget that I’m one of Azula’s most trusted comrades. Is that a fight you think you could win?” Ty Lee said. Kaho seemed furious, but she had no argument, not when Ty Lee was objectively correct.

“The History Mistress will be here soon,” Jia-Li interjected, trying to break the tension. “Let’s forget about all of this and move on.”

“Sozin’s beard, Jia-Li, nobody cares about history,” Kaho said, rolling her eyes. “Just sit in the back and keep quiet like usual.”

Jia-Li stuck her tongue out at Kaho when the other turned away, but you noticed she did not stand up for herself. Ty Lee was the only one who was brave enough to say anything, and even then, you wondered how much of it was false bravado and how much of it was genuine self-confidence.

“Good morning, class,” the History Mistress said.

“Good morning, History Mistress,” you all chorused in unison.

“Today, we will be learning about an event that occurred relatively recently, but will definitely be written down in the history books in the years to come: Prince Zuko’s defeat of Ba Sing Se,” she said.

Ba Sing Se — it was where the prince had found you. You knew that the city had, at some point, fallen to the Fire Nation, but you didn’t know what had happened or how it had happened. This was definitely a topic of some personal interest to you, and you could not help leaning forward in your seat a bit.

“I thought we might go over this, since we now have a personal connection to it in the class,” the History Mistress said. “Namely, Ursa, who was found by Prince Zuko during the invasion.”

The entire class turned to look at you as the History Mistress began to draw a diagram on the board. The weight of their gazes was a suffocating burden, but you did not afford them the privilege of seeing you crumple, for you knew that you had to, in some way, remain strong, lest they pounce upon your perceived weakness.

“During his hunt for the Avatar, Prince Zuko and his uncle, the former General Iroh, found themselves separated from their ship and amongst Earth Kingdom refugees fleeing to the capital city of Ba Sing Se.

“It seemed to be a damning sentence; after all, what place does Fire Nation royalty have in such a city? But our prince is wise and loyal. He and his uncle opened a tea shop in order to bide their time, blending in with the city and learning its secrets.

“Taking a risk, he wrote to his father, telling him he had found a way into Ba Sing Se. The Fire Lord Ozai, who has always had the utmost of faith in his son to do what must be done, sent him the Soldiers of Agni in aid, promising a larger army if the Soldiers of Agni were not enough.

“For those of you who do not recall our lesson from the beginning of the term about the military structures that Fire Lord Azulon put into place, the Soldiers of Agni are the most elite Firebenders in the nation, excepting, of course, the royal family.

“So these proud men, who were the epitome of Fire itself, donned the muddy browns and greens of the Earth Kingdom on the command of their lord and snuck into Ba Sing Se in the same way that Prince Zuko and former General Iroh had. There, they met the prince, who formed their plan of attack.

“On the agreed-upon date, the Soldiers of Agni and Prince Zuko stormed the palace, beginning by executing all of the guards who tried to fight back. The rest of the guards, knowing they were outnumbered, quickly defected, and when the former General Iroh tried to stop them, they took him prisoner for the royal family, allowing the Soldiers of Agni and Prince Zuko to continue their invasion.

“Their main goal was to get rid of everyone who lived in that palace, in which they were successful. Not even the Earth King’s pet bear was spared. He and the rest of the palace’s inhabitants were destroyed, along with an entire wing of the Earth Palace, which the Soldiers of Agni brought crumbling to the ground with their fire and their might.

“Sadly, all of the Soldiers of Agni that fought to take the Earth Palace lost their lives that day. Most of the palace staff were Earthbenders, and they fought back, outnumbering the Soldiers of Agni ten to one. The Soldiers of Agni possessed superior skills, but those were barely enough against such a large quantity of enemies.

“We cannot forget the sacrifices they made. It is through the bravery, spirit, and courage of the Soldiers of Agni that the Fire Nation finally took Ba Sing Se for good. Even in a confrontation where they were at such an enormous disadvantage, the Soldiers of Agni kept fighting for their country, their home, and for the Fire Lord, eventually emerging victorious, though they were unable to enjoy the fruits of their victory. We must always follow this example of duty and selflessness, ever asking ourselves what we, too, can give up for the welfare of the Fire Nation.”

After her long-winded explanation, the History Mistress exhaled, wiping away a tear from the corner of her left eye and then holding her hands to her heart. You all had a quiet moment, presumably in honor of the Soldiers of Agni, and then, tentatively, Jia-Li raised her hand.

“History Mistress, what does all of that have to do with Ursa?” she said.

“That’s something you should ask her, not me,” the History Mistress said, motioning towards you. “Go on, Ursa. Tell us what part you played in this entire tale.”

You gulped. “To be frank, I don’t remember myself what my role was, but I’ve been filled in by Mai and Prince Zuko. Apparently, I was a Fire Nation soldier on the front lines, but at some point, I was taken prisoner by the Earth Kingdom. They were torturing me in Ba Sing Se for Fire Nation secrets. After invading the city, Prince Zuko found me, and he brought me to the palace to be healed. It was there that I woke up without any memories.”

“You were a soldier?” Kaho said, without even raising her hand. She scoffed. “You look entirely too soft to ever have been fighting on the front lines.”

“Kaho, she was in jail for who knows how long,” Jia-Li said softly. “Of course she’s not in fighting shape anymore. Especially if they were torturing her…poor Ursa. You’re so brave for not giving in.”

“That’s right,” the History Mistress said. “We must all endeavor to be like Ursa, as well, who after all of her ordeals is still set upon nothing but improving herself for her country. She truly is the example of what a Fire Nation citizen should be like. Now, let us thank her for sharing her story.”

“Thank you, Ursa,” everyone said. You sat on your hands and hated every second of it. You didn’t like the attention being called to you once again. You just wanted to fade into the background and be forgotten, but more and more, it seemed like that was impossible.

“The topic of prisoners is a great segue into what we’re going to be talking about in today’s lesson. Who can name one historical Fire Nation figure that was also kept in captivity by the Earth Kingdom?” the History Mistress said.

To no one’s surprise, it was Kaho volunteering once more, but this time, she was unchallenged, as you focused all of your energy on writing notes about the material. After all, you didn’t know any of this, and you figured it was likely important that you pick up such things, considering the entirely blank slate that was your mind at present.

The academy’s aviary was only a short walk from the dormitories, and you found yourself frequenting the path already, both because of your correspondence with Prince Zuko and because Bian was one of the few beings that you could say without question was your friend.

“I don’t understand why they already have decided that I am so worthless,” you sniffed, finally allowing yourself to cry in the solitude of the aviary.

Bian tilted her head at you, nudging you with her cold beak. You wiped away your tears before scratching her on her feathery chest.

“I don’t even know half of their names,” you said. “Yet they are convinced that I am someone less than them. Someone worthless. They think of me as waste, Bian — a rubbish girl who does not deserve to be their peer.”

Of course, your messenger hawk was not intimately acquainted with the subtleties of such politics and divisions, but for the moment, it seemed as if she understood, as she let out a low, rumbling coo. It was the most comfort you could dream of, and you bit your lip to prevent a sob from falling past your lips.

“Maybe it’s true,” you said. “You can decorate trash all you want. At the end of the day, you can’t change what it is. Maybe I don’t belong here. I don’t know what Prince Zuko was thinking, sending me to study with these girls.”

Bian nipped your sleeve, almost like a reprimand. You gave her a warning look, reminding her to keep her beak to herself, but all you earned in response was indifference — your reward for thinking a bird could read your expressions and would care about them, even if she could.

“And for some reason, Kaho has a personal vendetta against me,” you said. “I can’t think of anything I’ve done to deserve it. Is it because I corrected her during our etiquette class? But she hated me even before that.”

Jia-Li had mentioned something about Kaho envying you for your closeness with the royal family, but it wasn’t as if you had chosen that. You hadn’t chosen to be saved by Prince Zuko. You hadn’t chosen to lose your memories. You hadn’t chosen to live like this. None of it was in your control, so why did she blame you for it all?

“I just wish I knew who I was,” you said. “Things would be easier if I knew there was someone who loved me. Someone who was waiting for me to come back. If I was a Fire Nation soldier, then my family — they might be nearby, right? I should…I should be trying to find them, not studying at this school!”

You could feel the judgment rolling off of Bian in waves, which was ridiculous, because she was after all just a messenger hawk and was incapable of judging anyone. Still, if she were a person, you fancied she would be judging you at the moment, and your shoulders slumped as you realized how ridiculous you sounded.

“I’m in a position that many greatly desire, and here I am, complaining. I am in an elite institution, my tutelage sponsored by a prince who is only all-too-eager to help me with whatever I need. It is silly that I am so upset, it’s just that — it’s just that I feel like some part of me is missing. Like I lost who I am when I lost my memories, and not just in the sense of my identity. It was something physical. There is something more to me that is out of my grasp, and no matter how hard I try, I cannot reach it,” you said, extending your hand and closing your fist around empty air.

As per usual, there was nothing. It was a futile exercise. No matter how many times you did it, the result would be the same. You would not be able to find that part of you again, not for some time.

“Who am I, really?” you said to Bian. “That’s what I want to know. Who was Ursa? Who were my parents? Did I have siblings? What about friends? What did I do for fun? I don’t know any of it. I feel like I will only be happy again if I can find out. Even if it’s terrible. Even if it means reliving the torture that the Earth Kingdom put me through. I just want to remember.”

But try as you might, there was still nothing. You still had no idea who you were. Although you had had a full day of instruction at the academy, you were in no better of a position than you had been on the day you started.

Ursa,

You really can just call me Zuko. You don’t have to refer to me as the prince, unless you are completely more comfortable with that. Though it is true that I am your benefactor, I am not someone you should defer to. If you can bring yourself to do it, then I should like if you actually think of me as your friend. I would like to consider you mine, and so I will speak to you as if you are until you tell me otherwise.

I’d expect that none of the girls at the academy can claim that the prince of the Fire Nation is offering them friendship, and will be on their side even if they should reject that offer! Anyways, I have no doubt that you will be able to solve any issues that come your way, but sometimes, it is nice to have support. I want to be that for you. Even if it is not me, I hope there is someone at the academy who you can turn to for that.

It is a relief to hear that your roommate is someone likable. I asked Mai about Jia-Li; though she had nothing favorable to say, there was also nothing unfavorable, which is almost more of a compliment, coming from her. It’s good to know that you do not have to sleep beside someone you detest.

And speaking of, I am angered to hear that they have been treating you that way. Please remember that you are worth ten of them in my eyes. You only need to say the word, and I will have them spoken to harshly. Especially that Kaho, who has always been the horrid type (Mai was a little more explicit in her description, but I will spare you the specifics. Just imagine the most obscene expletives you can think of, and then imagine something even worse — that is probably in the range of what she was saying about her). Do not let her get you down; she is a spoiled, sheltered girl whose father is an Admiral and allows her to get away with doing whatever she wants because of his high status in the military. If you stand up to her, then I am sure she will back down. People like that usually do.

Yes, Bian was supposed to be my hawk, but I already have one and have no need for another, so she would’ve just sat in the aviary once I received her. It is for her own good that I gave her to you. If you do not like such an extravagant creature being yours alone, then you may imagine that you are borrowing her from me for the time being (though I will not accept her return — I think that she is attached to you now).

She is an exemplary bird, is she not? The falconer was very proud of her when she hatched. Although, I don’t know if anyone else would agree that she possesses a gentle heart; it’s not something typically said about messenger hawks, which are frequently ill-tempered. It is further proof that she is fond of you and was always meant to be yours, no matter whose name she was hatched in.

My own life has been dreadfully boring as of late. Meeting after meeting after meeting…it is definitely busy, being the prince of the Fire Nation. It’s like everyone wants to talk to me suddenly! But I’m not complaining. I much prefer being home to living on a ship and constantly wondering when I can go back, even if I had considerably more free time back then.

I cannot think of anything else to write to you about, but I do not wish to stop quite yet, because once I am done with this letter, I will have to attend to some paperwork that I have been putting off.

It has been sunny recently. The cooks made my favorite meal yesterday. Mai has been moping a lot more than usual (I think she misses Ty Lee). I gave bread to the turtleducks in the pond, and it seemed to cheer their spirits. My father allows me to sit at his right side for meetings nowadays, though as always, Azula is at his left.

That’s about it. I guess that, as the heir to the throne, I should not keep procrastinating. It’s not very princely of me.

Yours, Zuko

P.S. Once again, I am sorry to hear that.

P.P.S. Please keep writing to me frequently, and with as many boring details as you care to include. I like hearing from you will take any excuse to not fill out these ridiculously tedious forms.

#zuko x reader #zuko x y/n #zuko x you #zuko #avatar the last airbender #atla #reader insert #the glass princess #canon au #m1ckeyb3rry writes

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flightrising · 1 year

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Update: Emergency Maintenance

Friday, March 31, 2023 19:14 Server Time

Hello everyone! We have another update for you regarding today's emergency maintenance.

This was an attempted XSS attack. We were able to interrupt the attacker while they were in the middle of probing for vulnerabilities in our site's defenses. At this time, we have no reason to believe that player or employee information is compromised by this attempt. If you are concerned about financial information, Flight Rising does not store any of your financial information. All gem purchases are handled by either Paypal or our credit card processor, Braintree.

In the interest of the security of the Flight Rising website and our employees' well-being, we are keeping the site in the emergency curtains-down maintenance overnight. It's important that we monitor the site when we come out of maintenance and it's currently after 10 pm for much of our team. Tomorrow we will have more information for you about what happened today, along with an update on the Mistral Jamboree extension.

#FlightRising #Flight Rising #Flight+Rising #Emergency Maintenance #Mistral Jamboree #Not an April Fools Joke #Forgot that tag #Very tired rn #Good night sleep tight

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tempvstas · 6 months

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Good Things Come To Those Who Wait

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Content Warning(s): some angst, leona being emo lol

Character(s): GN!Reader(no pronouns mentioned), Leona Kingscholar

Authors Notes: Hello all, I am not dead, just busy :] Life update, started uni so I've been busy with that, also, bit off more than I could chew so I burned out HARD. Genuinely lost motivation to write. But I do want to get back into the flow of writing. I'll try and fulfill requests(esp the ones sitting in my inbox, sorry to everyone who sent me requests before im not ignoring you i swear 💀) when I can but theres no guarantee. I wanna write what I can and what I want to and atm its Leona :]]. Please enjoy LMAO

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Leona couldn't remember the last time he had felt the warmth of another.

Moonlight filters through the open balcony of his room, a gentle breeze causing the curtains to sway slightly. He can feel your hands curled around his waist, his tail wrapped around your leg respectively. He stares at you, watching your chest rise and fall slowly, your soft snores seemingly filling up the room.

Silly Herbivore. He muses, brushing a stray strand of hair out of your face, tucking it behind your ear. You're so vulnerable, nestled against his chest. Wholeheartedly clinging onto him as if you were afraid he'd disappear. As he stares at you, he can't help the slight bitterness that wells up in his throat.

Why did you choose him out of everyone? Out of pity? He's never been good enough. The elders and servants back home made that quite obvious enough. He almost laughs out loud at the thought. He would never be good enough, would never be anyone's first choice, and would never put in enough effort because he was just too damn lazy.

A worthless, selfish, arrogant, too prideful for his own good, lazy, a good-for-nothing second prince who will never amount to anything.

Does he even deserve you?

Your slight movements startle him out of his thoughts as he stares down at you, blinking up at him with bleary eyes.

"Leona?" You mumble, rubbing your eyes. "Can't sleep? That's unusual," you tease him, shooting him a sleepy grin. Unwittingly, Leona feels the edges of his lips quirk up, "I was planning on it, until you started squirming around," he huffed. You study his face, a frown marring your features. Leona pokes your brow where it's creased, chuckling slightly, "Don't do that, your face will get stuck like that." You scowl at him, "I'm not a kid," you grumble, "Besides you have that look on your face and I'm worried about you."

Leona stares at you, an eyebrow raised, "Mind elaborating on what 'that look' means." You sit up so that you're face to face with him. "You know, that look! When you get all broody and emo, and all 'oh my sevens im so angsty grr'. That look." Leona wrinkles his nose at your wording, "Very funny Herbivore." You continue to stare at him, concern causes your brow to crease even more.

"Leona, what's wrong? I can tell something's up with you. I know you don't like opening up, and that's fine, but you know I'm here for you, right?" You reach over, taking his hand in yours and giving it a gentle squeeze. Leona's breath hitches in his throat for a second, he finds himself shutting his eyes for a moment. When he opens them again, he finds your gaze trained on his.

Not looking away from him, holding his gaze unwaveringly. Genuine sincerity in your eyes.

"Leona." His ears twitch at the sound of his name being called. Your voice is firm, to get his attention, but soft enough that he doesn't feel the urge to flinch away. He sighs, feeling that you wouldn't let this matter go easily.

"I know you are. If you want the truth, no I'm not fine." Leona grimaces, this feeling of opening himself up was foreign to him. "I'm far from fine. I'm just.....what did I do to deserve you?" His voice breaks a little at the last part, but he continues. "I'm worthless, selfish, arrogant, too prideful for my own good, lazy, a good-for-nothing second prince who will never amount to anything. Compared to Farena or that damned lizard Malleus, I'm nothing. I have nothing. I will never be anything more because I will always be overshadowed by people like them." He takes a second to collect his thoughts before continuing. "I've always had to work hard to earn my keep only for everything to crumble like sand. All my hard work amounting to nothing because someone just so happens to be lucky enough to just be better." His ears flatten against his head out of irritation.

You listen to his words, staying silent. You give him a moment to catch his breath before hesitantly reaching over, pressing a hand to his cheek. Leona flinches, but then leans into your touch after a brief second. "Hey...look at me," you nudge his face so that he's staring at you.

"Look, I will admit you can be selfish, hell sometimes kind of a dick. You irritate me and sometimes I want to strangle you cause you won't let me get to class on time because you won't get off me." You pause, before continuing, "But you are not worthless. And you're not a good-for-nothing second prince. I love you, faults and all. You, Leona Kingscholar, are the best damn thing that has ever happened to me okay? I would go to hell and back for your stinky ass." Leona laughs softly at your nickname for him, leaning more into your hand. "You are worthy. I didn't choose to love you because I felt pity for you, I love you because of who you are. You say that all your hard work crumbles to sand? I've seen you pick yourself back up again. You're passionate about what you're interested in, and even if you won't outwardly say it, I know you care. You're not a saint by any means, far from it. But that's what I love about you. You're flawed and imperfect, and I say that's better than some perfect curated image of who you're supposed to be." You poke his chest to emphasize your point.

"So don't you ever question why I love you okay?" Your thumb brushes over the scar over his left eye, pressing a soft kiss to his eyelid. His eyelashes tickle your face as you do so. "I love you, scars and all. And I'll say it as many times as I need to."

Leona stares at you, a mix of emotions in his gaze. He clears his throat, his tail tugging you closer to him. "Fuck...that was hot," he smirks, leaning in, his nose brushing against yours. "Seriously? I give you this long speech and thats what you have to say?" You roll your eyes playfully, smacking his shoulder lightly. Leona's laughter rumbles in his throat as a hand gently holds onto the back of your neck, pulling you in for a kiss. Despite his rough exterior, his kisses are gentle, his lips molding against yours. His other hand finds its way to your waist, holding you in place as you straddle his hips.

The two of you part for air, small gasps can be heard between you. You wrap your arms around his neck as you settle next to him, head nestled in his neck. Leona adjusts his position into a more comfortable one, his chin resting against the top of your head. The two of you lay in silence, the only audible sound being the occasional breeze that ruffles the curtains. Slowly you find yourself falling into the embrace of sleep.

"Herbivore?" You hear his voice above you. "Mhmm?" you mumble sleepily, feeling your eyes drooping.

"....I love you." You smile, hearing his words, before drifting off.

Ensuring that you're asleep, Leona leans over, kissing your forehead, watching your sleeping face. "....Thank you for being in my life.....and for not giving up on me," he whispers, before settling against you and drifting off himself.

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#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #disney twisted wonderland #ashers writing #twisted wonderland imagines #twst x reader #disney twst #leona kingscholar #leona kingscholar x reader #leona kingscholar twisted wonderland #leona kingscholar x you #YALL DONT UNDERSTAND THE CHOKEHOLD THIS MAN HAS ON ME #I LOVE HIM SO FUCKING MUCH #IF HE WAS A CHEW TOY I WOULD THROW HIM AROUND(affectionate)#GRRR CURSE YOU LEONA KINGSCHOLAR #anyways im not dead guys hello #im so normal about him

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aaizawashouta · 8 months

Text

So This Is Love

pairing: naruto x fem!reader

word count: 2k

summary: he’s more than a war hero, your personal sunshine

warnings: none

Lazy fingers trail over warm skin. Early morning light pours into the bedroom, dancing with the sheer curtains that billow in the breeze. You forgot to shut the window last night, but summer was sneaking up early this year. A soft smile touches your lips as you trace over familiar scars. Naruto sleeps next to you, sheets pooled at his waist and snores slipping from his mouth. The sunlight warms his skin, making him glow. He looks ethereal, your very own god. Pressing a soft kiss to his shoulder his own lips twitch at the feeling.

Your eyes meet sleepy ones when he catches your hand. Lips parting when he brings it up to his mouth, placing light kisses to each of your fingertips. Your teeth dig into your bottom lip, fingers tingling. His smile is blinding as he stares at you. Blonde hair, a golden halo around his head and blue eyes you’d surely drown in if you stare too long.

There aren’t many days like these. Where you get him only to yourself. The war may be over, but his dreams are just on the horizon. Naruto turned out to be a very important man and you couldn’t be more proud. Smiling at him you tilt your chin up, eyes meeting his as you gently place your lips against his. You can’t help the head sigh that escapes you when his hand weaves into your hair.

“Good morning.”

“Mhm.”

Naruto laughs when you pull away from him. He loves how easy it is to get you all flustered. Some days treating it like a game, trying to beat his personal best. You roll your eyes, ignoring his grabby hands and make your way to the kitchen. It doesn’t take him long to follow after you.

It’s something about the way he watches you. His eyes devour you from where he sits at the dining table, elbow on the table, chin in hand. He grins at you, his whole aura almost as blinding as the sun peaking out from between the drapes as you bring him a cup of tea. He takes the cup from you, calloused fingers lingering on your own. Eyes trailing as the cup lifts to his lips, and down his throat. Licking your lips at the bob of his adams apple.

“Honey, you’re staring.”

Your eyes meet his. “So?”

A yelp escapes you when hands wrap around your thighs and lift you to the table. You glare at him when your ass collides with the mug, almost tipping it over. Naruto only smirks, leaning in to capture your lips with his. Your stomach clenches, the taste of him and your favorite tea almost drowning you. The feeling of his thumbs rubbing soothing circles into your inner thighs, the only thing keeping you afloat. Tipping your head back when his lips leave yours, leaving a burning trail down your neck. The pace is slow, lazy, matching the tone of your morning. Naruto’s thumbs keep rubbing into your skin even as his hands rise higher, finding themselves underneath his shirt you had picked up from the floor earlier.

“You’ve got studying to do, Naru.”

He grumbles against your shoulder. Iruka makes sure to come by every so often while Naruto is on missions. That way you can help keep him updated on how he’s doing with his work. He has to do the work, if he wants to be hokage. He won’t let Kakashi keep the title forever.

“I don’t want to.”

You can’t help but snort at his pouting. “I know, but I can help, yeah?”

You keep your eyes trained on the sketchbook in your lap, attempting not to be conspicuous when you look up to study him every now and then. The idea makes you snort. As if your staring has ever bothered him. You stared so hard when you first met him that you hadn’t heard a thing he said to you for about three minutes. It was the most embarrassing thing that had ever happened to you, but hey, he thought you were the cutest thing.

Once he figured out you truly weren’t an idiot. It all worked out.

When he looks up at you now and catches you lost in thought as you admire him, his lips tilt up into a teasing grin. You wink at him before looking back down at the book. You’ve drawn him a hundred times before. This one is probably your favorite. Him at home, content with you. Holding the piece back a bit, you study your favorite parts. The gentle way his lashes rest against his cheeks. The slope of his nose. He looks peaceful. Godlike.

“What are you drawing over there, honey?”

You don’t have to look up from the sketchbook to know that his smirk has turned more haughty than before, and when he leans forward a little, you lean back at the same time to keep your sketchbook out of his reach.

He knows you draw him. He’s seen a few of them. He’s seen almost all of your artwork. In fact, he has one of your drawings tattooed on him. He got it while on your honeymoon. You thought he was crazy but he thinks he was being romantic. Whatever. But this one, it feels different. More personal. It’s not him being vulnerable on the page, but you as well.

“Just the garden,” you lie, with a little shrug, looking back out the window for added effect, scrunching your eyes slightly as if to examine it in depth.

“The garden,” he repeats. He doesn’t believe you. Not like he has to. He knows without a doubt you’re lying. “That why you keep looking at me?”

“Maybe I just missed you, ever think of that?” You counter, but it comes out in a harsh whisper, like you're trying not to cry. Closing the sketchbook quickly, you nearly jam your finger in between the pages. His gaze burns over you, taking you in from your averted gaze, hands clenching your sketchbook, your rigged posture, back pressed so hard against the chair, as if purposely trying to keep a distance from him.

“Honey, I’m right here.”

You huff. As if you don’t already know this. As if you haven’t had your eyes on him since you crashed into him in the living room when he walked in last night, arms around his neck and legs around his waist. He’d been gone for almost a month. It’s why you couldn’t sleep last night — because he’s home. He’s here and all you want is him close. You want him with you. You want him living inside you where he can’t ever escape; where the thought of losing him is only a nightmare. Your eyes have gone misty, something you can’t hide when you glance up at him when you feel a finger lazily drag up your arm. You raise your brows trying to feign innocence as you place the sketchbook on the other side of you. He could easily reach it if he wanted to, you’d have no chance at keeping it from him, but it seems that he can sense the anxiety radiating off of you. Naruto’s smirk falls into something softer, gentler. Something you’ve only seen a handful of times — something that he saves just for you.

“Dance with me.”

You hesitate for a small second. “What?”

His eyes brighten as he pulls himself up into a sitting position. He grabs your phone that’s sitting on the coffee table and raises the volume. Suddenly, it’s two years ago, the beginning of June and you’re standing in the middle of a crowd — all of your loved ones there to celebrate the two of you. The song tugs on your heartstrings more than it ever has before. Naruto’s eyes slightly crinkle with his smile.

“Dance with me.” he says softly as he extends his hand out for you to take.

Without much effort you're in his arms, swaying to the song that played during your first dance as a married couple. You can’t seem to stop the tears that fall from your eyes. You aren’t sad, but this feels like a lot. He’s got you wrapped up in him. One arm wrapped around your waist holding you to him, while the other is cradling your head, fingers weaved through your hair. Your head rests on his shoulder, hands tight around his waist, both of you lost in each other, in the magic of the radiant sun, the silence of the early afternoon.

“Do you regret marrying me?” Naruto whispers in your ear.

“No.”

“You’d choose this life again?”

“I’d choose you every time no matter what it meant. I can deal with this, Naru, as long as I get you back every time. Every time.”

His eyes rest heavy on you, and your pulse starts to race when the soft light in his eyes slightly darkens into something else. His gaze lingers on your lips long enough for you to tilt your chin up, bringing your mouth closer to his, and when his lips realign to that familiar smirk you know, like always, he’s more aware of the effect he has on you than he should be. Maybe you should be embarrassed by that, but it makes things easy. You never have to ask, he just knows. Like how you’re standing here with the electric hum of excited energy flooding your veins already, desperately waiting to feel his mouth on yours. He lowers his head slowly, eyeing you with a playful gleam telling you that he’s teasing you — that he knows his slow pace is driving you crazy. But it doesn’t last long, the moment you run your tongue along your bottom lip, his playful attitude breaks, and his lips collide with yours. You pull him closer as his hand slips down to grab at your thigh. Without much thought you jump, wrapping your legs around him as he carries you back to your bedroom.

With Naruto, kisses are more than just feeling his lips against yours. It’s his calloused fingers slowly brushing the inside of your thighs, in a slow teasing motion, that drives you crazy until you're grinding against him. Desperate for him to touch you, really touch you. It’s the taste of his spearmint tongue brushing against your own, sending white-hot jolts of pleasure straight down to your core. It’s the smell of him — intoxicating, mouthwatering, enough to make you weak at the knees. But more than anything, it’s the sound of him — of the deep exhales when your fingers dip into the band of his pajama pants to tease him, the throaty groan when you grind your hips down into his, the position of you resting over him on your bed one of power, one he gives only you. It’s the surprised laugh that echoes from him whenever you nibble on his bottom lip or pull away to catch your breath.

Your seconds away from doing that when he breaks away from the kiss, grinning up at you like he knows you weren’t breathing. He probably does. The man knows you like the back of his hand from the moment you met. Naruto only shakes his head, a soft laugh pouring out of him, his thumb running along your cheekbone. He’s looking up at you like you hung the stars and the moon. But that can’t be right, can it? Not when he’s magic, a myth. Something you can’t really phantom. A god in your bed, carved marble under your fingertips. He is the earth and you, it’s lone moon, never far and always following closely behind.

There’s more studying to be done. Another mission that’ll take him away for who knows how long. But in a world of peace, for now, you’re willing to share him. Willing to be placed to the side so he can conquer his dreams. Willing to do anything and everything to help him.

His finger taps your nose, causing you to scrunch it. He grins down at you before bumping his nose against yours. “You’re everything.” He says it so softly, as if mirroring your thoughts. Assuring you in a way that baffles you always. How does he know? But that’s the magic of him, you think.

This is love, on a Sunday morning.

#naruto uzumaki x reader #Naruto uzumaki x you #naruto x reader #naruto x you #naruto smut #naruto fanfiction #naruto one shot

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ohtobeleah · 1 year

Note

I was having such a relaxing evening and now I’m stressed. 🥲

Thought I’d used this ^^ as our update post because it was too good not to hahah. As always, here’s the Terms of Endermeant Masterlist if you need to catch up. (Fun fact, this is the 20th chapter of ToE wtf…..

Warnings: Mentions of domestic abuse & violence. Gun related themes. Bradley Bradshaw x F!reader.

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~*

“Hangman’s Direct Hits?” You chuckled softly at the name of the playlist Bradley showed you on his phone. The one he was listening to out loud, the one that filled the void. The one Jake had made in his spare time. “Is he actually that sure of himself?” He couldn't be helped, at this point Jake Seresin was a lost cause.

“Man has two air to air kills, he’s gotta be.” Bradley mumbled back as he watched your eyelids fight to stay open. “None of us are gonna boost that ego of his any higher than it already is.” It was late, your hospital room was dark, and you’d been given some pretty stellar painkillers for your shoulder. “You know, you should get some rest bubs.”

Bradley liked to use his time in the hospital working on his laptop. He had a grand plan. He’d managed to swindle the blueprints and schematics of his home from the realestate the Navy went through. He was, as he sat with his feet kicked up at the bottom of your bed with his hood pulled over his head, rendering a 3D digital composite of Odette's new room. The one he’d promised her. The one he was going to make perfect for a perfect little girl who held his entire heart captive.

She wanted yellow polkadots. Or lellow as she specifically said as they looked at paint samples in home depot the other day. Bradley wasn’t all too keen on the lellow polkadots, but he’d meet the three year old half way and do her up a feature wall that could easily be repainted if need be. So long as he could do a composite imagine to see exactly what these lellow polkadots looked like amongst the digital curtains and bed frame.

After all, he wasn't just a pretty face.

“Come lay with me?”

“I’m content here, I’m just working on some things while I have the time.” Bradley replied through a yawn of his own. He didn’t sleep much when he was in the hospital with you. He chose to stay by your bedside the nights he stayed. He got maybe one or two broken hours here and there but other than that he was running on pure steam. “Get some rest gorgeous.”

“I think you need some rest too.” You mumbled back as your head lulled to the side. “There's room? If you wanna lay down for a little while?” It wasn't much of a statement, but a plea laced in temptation. Bradley raised a single eyebrow as he peered over the top of his laptop screen. “Plenty of room for you Roos.” The way you said his name made Bradleys core temperature rise. His cheeks flushed a crimson rose’ at the fleeting thought of you. But he shook his head and sent you a soft bashful smile that could have swooned the entirety of the moulin rouge.

“Such a little minx aren't you.” Bradley adjusted himself quickly in his sweats as he shook his head at the sight of your tight lipped smile. You still had bands in your mouth, keeping your jaw shut and in place. Your shoulder was still immobilised for another ten weeks before an incredible amount of physiotherapy would begin to get you back on track.

“Just miss you is all.” Bradley never thought his heart could break anymore than it already had over the last few weeks, but hearing you say you missed him when he was sitting right in front of you made his heart explode inside his chest–it sent shrapnel into his organs and from the shock of your admission he forgot how to breathe. “So much.”

Bradley didn't say anything in response, he let his actions speak louder than any words he could say. He pressed his lips together and sighed through his nose, he shut his laptop and carefully placed it on the table before he turned back to you, gesturing for you to shove over.

Which you happily did.

Bradley laid in the bed that wasn't big enough for the both of you as you curled into his side the best you could. He let you rest your head on his chest and intertwin your legs with his as he wrapped an arm around you. Drawing you as close as he possibly could.

“For what it's worth, I can't wait until you’re outta this hospital.” For the second time in the space of three minutes you broke Bradley Bradshaw's heart just by proxy as you played with the string of his hood and closed your eyes to hopefully coax yourself into a dreamscape filled with better tomorrows.

“For what it's worth, I can't wait until I can have my life back.”

***~***~***~***~***~***

“Amilia! Slow down!” Reuben shouted as he ran after his sister in law down the pathway of their quiet suburban parkway. “Slow down!”

“Run fucking faster!” Amilia shouted as she ran till her lungs felt like they were on fire and her legs felt heavy and the bottoms of her feet hurt from pounding against the bitumen. But she wouldn’t slow down, not until she got to Jake. “Hurry up! Payback he’s hurt! Dots in trouble!”

Reuben had been out on the back porch with his wife enjoying a glass of red under the festoon lights he’d just installed. Everyone knew why work had been called off until further notice, it left a sour taste in the mouths of everyone that knew you. But that didn’t mean the Daggers couldn’t enjoy just a little bit of happiness where they could.

At least Reuben got a good ten minutes of peaceful enjoyment out of his newest home improvement job before Amilia came barreling out in a fit of panic, screaming about how someone was in Jake's home down the street.

Amilia was a personal trainer by trade, sure she could pour a beer and make up a fancy cocktail if need be but what she did best was putting her body to the test day in day out in more ways than one. So even though her feet hurt from running barefoot and her lung’s caught on fire from her unregulated breathing pattern—she willed herself to give just a little more.

“Four percent more—just four percent more.” She kept running, so fast and so panicked that by the time she finally reached Jake's front lawn she swore she had no oxygen left in her lungs to shout his name into the darkness that had consumed his humble abode. Reuben was hot on her tail, still confused as to why they were both running down the block in the middle of the night in their pyjamas. “JAKE!”

“Amilia, what the hell is going on?” Reuben asked as he watched his sister in law frantically pull at the front door handle. It was locked. “It’s locked—“

“Won’t be for long.” If Jake had a dollar for every time the window panel beside his front door had been busted this month he'd have two whole dollars. Which wasn’t exactly a whole lot of money but when you stopped to think about why a glass panel would be broken in that small of a timeframe, it was a little odd. “Watch out.” With all her might and a groan that came from somewhere deep inside her soul—Amilia Fisher smashed her elbow into the glass panelling beside Jake Seresins front door. It cut her up pretty good but she didn’t care. All that mattered was getting inside and as she reached her arm through and over to the handle like a pro—Reuben wondered for a minute if his sister and law had done this before.

The answer was yes. Yes she had. In a past life.

“Jake!” Amilia shouted through the dark home. “Reu he went to the garage to check the breaker box, where’s the door to the garage?”

“Over to the left past the kitchen—I’ll check on Odette.” The pair wasted no time in going their respective ways through the darkness of Jake Seresins home. Payback was still afraid of the dark—he knew it was an irrational fear but that’s what irrational fears were. Fucking Irrational. But he fought off his own demons as they swarmed his mind. He raced up the stairs with a pounding heart and a heavy set of lungs, he turned down the hall to where he knew his friend's bedroom was. Hoping the little girl who’d stolen the hearts of an entire squadron of Naval Aviators was still sound asleep in the safety that was her uncle Jake's bed.

“Amilia said Jake was hurt?” Chelsea tried to comprehend what she’d managed to figure out in the flurry that had been her panicked sister's rampage through the house. “She took off Bob, ran out the door like some mad woman screaming bloody murder.”

“We’re on our way.” Bob hated the fact he was riding shotgun in his own car, but it wouldn’t come close to how much Rhett hated driving Bob's Suzuki Jimny. “Less than five minutes.” Bob and Rhett were only around the corner when Amilia found Jake.

“Oh my god—“ She froze at the sight she saw in the corner of the garage as she flashed the flashlight on her phone and caught a glimpse of Jake on the ground in a puddle of blood. “Oh god, Jake!” She was by his side in seconds. “Oh no oh fuck oh Christ I’ll need to see a fucking chiropractor after this!” She huffed as she lifted the full limp weight of Jake from his stomach and flipped his unconscious self onto his back. His head lulled to the side. His eyes were closed and non responsive. He was out like a light. “Hey—hey!” Amilia tapped Jake's cheek softly at first but that impatience and worry grew into a harsher slap that left a sting in its wake. “Jake for the love of god please wake the fuck up.”

This wasn’t what Amilia thought she would be doing during her time in the good old U S of A.

“Mmm—“ Jake's eyelids fluttered as he let out a soft groan. “Mmm—“

“Hey it’s me, it’s Amil—“ Before Amilia could get her name out of her mouth Jake's eyes shot out of his head in shock as adrenaline rushed through his veins, with a loud gasp Jake did the unthinkable. His arm shot up and soon enough his hand had wrapped itself around Amilias throat. Tight.

“Ja—!” She clawed at his fist as he restricted her airways, but it didn’t take long for the fog to fade from his mind. “Stop! It’s—it’s me!” Jake immediately pulled his hand away as he snapped out of his trance like state and sat up to hold Amilia to his chest as she coughed and splattered in his embrace. His hand trailed into her hair as he held her close in shock horror at what he’d done.

He could never take that back. Jake had two confirmed air to air kills—but choking Amilia Fisher was officially the worst thing he’d ever done.

“I’m so sorry—“ Jake couldn’t believe what he’d just done. “I’m so fucking sorry.” Why he did that he’d never know, but he couldn’t ever take it back. “Are you okay? Are you hurt? Wh—“ As Jake pulled away to take Amilia in, he saw the blood dripping down her forearm from her elbow. “You’re bleeding?”

“So are you!” Amilia snapped as she tried not to think about the fact she’d just been choked by a guy she really liked after she’d just run out of her brother-in laws house in the middle of the night. “Your head, you’ve got a nasty gash Jake you probably have a concussion.” Then it dawned on him, where was Odette in all of this? “We should get you to the hospital—“

“Where’s Odette?” Jake grumbled as he tried to sit up, his vision blurred and his head spun as he did so. Amilia was quick to help him up with a hand pressed into his back and the other wrapped in his hand. “Where is she? Where’s Dot?”

“Reubens here, he’s gone to see if she’s alright—“

“What happened?” Jake was barely able to keep his head straight on his shoulders, it wasn’t good—there was far too much blood for Amilia to be comfortable with as she looked at the back of Jake's head as he slouched into her. “My head—“ He pouted, Jake's bottom lip poked out and quivered as he tried to regulate his breathing. “Hurts.”

“It’ll buff out.” Amilia shrugged her shoulders as she tried to lighten the mood. She assessed the damage, he was definitely not in a good way. Jake just frowns at her, he was so in love but did she really just say that? What the fuck did that even mean? “Here, can you stand?”

“Yeah, yeah I’m good.” Jake wasn’t good, he wasn’t alright and he certainly couldn’t stand on his own. He clung to Amilia for dear life as she called his bluff and pulled him up off the ground of his garage. “Woah—“ Jake clung to Amilia tight as she wrapped his arm around her shoulders and placed a gentle hand to his chest.

“Okay big guy, where’s your keys?” Amilia asked as she walked with Jake back into his house slowly but surely. Darkness still consumed the humble abode, but through the darkness came a shining light from a phone that was heading back down stairs. “She alright? Have you got her?”

“Shhhh—“ Reuben replied as he made his way down stairs with a sleeping Odette in his arms. Her face was pressed against his collar as he carried her. “She’s still asleep, she’s fine, she’s alright.”

“What the fuck happened?” Jake was still bleeding, his blood was all over Amilias hands. She had a pretty nasty gash herself from the glass she’d busted and now that Jake knew his niece was safe? He really felt the pain settling in.

“You’re real pretty you know that right?” Amilia could feel the heat rising in her cheeks as she looked to her brother in law who stood there with a shit eating grin smeared across his face. “So pretty Oz.” Jake cooed as he leaned on Amilia for support. The nickname made her heart skip a beat inside her chest as she felt her core temperature rise to new heights yet to be reached. “Hey, we were meant to go on that date tomorrow–” Payback raised an eyebrow at Jake's omission, Amilia hadnt mentioned that to anyone.

“A date huh Oz?” Yep, that was gonna stick like super glue.

“Let’s get you up to the hospital.” Amilia tried to steer the conversation back on track as she held Jake up. She sent Reuben a look to shut the fuck up as she did so. This was not the time nor the place to be talking about her love life.

“Hangman!?” Bob came bounding through the front door like he was expecting a murder scene to be unfolding before him. “You okay? What happened?” Amilia was already sick of that question, she didn't even know herself what really happened. All she knew for sure was that someone intentionally meant to hurt her Flyboy. “Oh my god you’re bleeding.”

“The girl alright?” Rhett asked a little more nonchalantly, Reuben nodded in response before Rhett vanished into the garage, looking for the power box. He flipped the power back on and suddenly it became blindingly apparent how much blood Jake Seresin had lost and just how much intent behind the force he’d been struck with was there.

“Son of a bitch is lucky he’s still standing.” Rhett mumbled out as he made his way back into the house. “There’s an awful lot of blood on the ground.”

“We’re heading to the hospital right now.” Amilia replied, she was still carrying most of Jake's weight as his head lulled towards her.

“Your hair smells like Strawberries–” Jake mumbled as he found himself consumed by the scent of Amilias hair. Rhett frowned and tried to stifle a laugh. “And cream, strawberries and cream.” Everyone did their best to ignore the clearly delirious aviator who hung from Amilia like she was his life support.

“Who’s gonna take Dot?” Payback asked. The gears turned and the cogs moved inside Rhett Abbotts mind as he stood there with arms crossed and dark eyes. His rugged, rather unhinged persona did a world of good when it came to protecting the people he loved. But it served as a mask of his own sometimes too. No one expected Rhett to advocate for you, hell they all thought the last place he wanted to be was here caught up in all this mess.

But when the question of who would look after Dot lingered in the air, Rhett was the first to give a legitimate and wholehearted response.

“She should come to the hospital, Fe’s been driving me crazy about seeing her.” Bob could read between the lines, he knew Rhett cared. He knew Rhett was just thinking of you and your best interest. He’d been the one who sat with you day in and day out for a week straight while Jake and Bradley rotated in and out. “I can take her.”

“Someone should call Rooster, let him know what’s happened.” Payback added as he handed Dot over gently. Rhett took her on his hip and within a second she was sinking against him like she was in the safest arms in the world. He smiled genuinely as her squished cheek against his shoulder and Bob knew in that moment his brother would do just about anything to keep Odette safe.

They all would.

“I'll call–” Amilia was the first to put her hand up. “I’ll call him from Jake’s phone on our way over.”

“I’ll take Dot straight up the Fe’s room.” Rhett followed the pair out of the house. Amilia just nodded as she guided Jake towards his truck. “He got a booster?” Rhett opened the back of the truck and confirmed what he’d just asked before Amilia even had a chance to ponder the question. “Alright, do you want me to drive or are you good?”

Amilia couldn’t even reach the clutch, suddenly the old statesman Reuben let her drive around with the mismatched pins in the roofing wasn’t that big of a car.

“Uh—no, maybe you should drive.”

***~***~***~***~***~***~***

There wasn’t a lot in this world Jaidyn Dolan cared about. He cared about his reputation as a fine Naval Aviator, he cared about his car, his collection of watches that cost a pretty penny. He cared about what products he used and if they were organic and ethically sourced. But the thing he cared about the most in this world was his pride, his ego—and most importantly he cared about making sure you knew that crossing boundaries and understanding that you couldn’t just walk away from him like he didn’t waist the best years of his life trying to turn you into the household slave he desired.

“Hollow point—“ The man who sat in the car mumbled as he handed Jaidyn the box of bullets he’d asked for from a friend of a friend of a friend. “You planning on doing some damage brother?” Jaidyn didn't respond as he pocketed the box—he was on a warpath. He’d never been more ready to seek revenge for everything you’d done to him, everything you put him through. From having that fucking kid he told you to abort, to leaving him in that air bnb he had brought his buddies back to, for fucking around with Jake Seresin behind his back. For making him feel like less than a man should.

He knew you’d fuck him, there was no way you hadn’t. A guy like Hangman didn’t hang around for less than getting his dick wet. Jaidyn knew the guy long enough and well enough to understand that Jake chased pussy like he was playing in peak hour traffic.

“Nah—damage was done ages ago.” Jaidyn finally replied as he looked out across the street to where Bradley Bradshaw's empty house stood shrouded in darkness. “I’m just cleaning up loose ends.”

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~

“Hey man s’going on? Dot alright?” Bradley’s ringtone was what drew him out of his light sleep he’d fallen victim to as you laid your head on his chest. How you were able to sleep he never knew, but with enough pain killers to put an elephant into a state of euphoria—he was able to understand.

“It’s uh, it’s Amilia—“ She could help the panic in her voice but she knew it was unmistakably noticeable as she sat in the back seat of Jake’s truck with Dot in her booster seat.

“What happened?” Rooster didn’t need to say anything more before Amilia was filling him in. She was giving him every detail about the events that transpired that she could recall with quick haste. “Slow down, Ams—slow down yeah? Where are you now? Who’s with Odette?” Bradley could barely keep up as his feet padded along the laminate flooring of your hospital room.

“We’re on our way to the emergency department. Rhett said he’s gonna bring Odette up, it’s the safest place for her to be I guess.” Bradley couldn’t help but to smile as he turned back to where you laid still sleeping soundly in the hospital bed.

Rhett cared—they all knew it even if the guy was too stubborn to admit it.

“Okay, yeah—” Bradley knew it would be a good thing, you had been apart from your little girl for far too long now. Longer than anyone really thought you'd be. He watched the rise and fall of your chest as you slept soundly, knowing that when you woke up and saw your little girl was here–all would be right with the world again. “Yeah, bring her up.”

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~

In the middle of the night while all was quiet and all those who cared enough to worry about the safety and security of Jake fucking Seresin we’re pre-occupied, Jaidyn Dolan took no safety precautions as he broke his way into the back kitchen window of Bradley’s home.

He was a man who had nothing but everything to lose. Not an ounce of sanity or stability remained in his mind as Jaidyn stood in the kitchen, looking around to see the dirty dishes still in the sink. Sippy cups and rubber suction plates told him that little Odette had been here and would be back. If there was a sure fire way to break whatever hope, whatever strength, whatever chance of a life you had after Jaidyn that you so desperately wanted, he knew to go through that little pest you called a daughter and take Bradshaw out in the process.

“What’s Rooster Boy got prepared for me this evening?” Jaidyn mumbled to himself as he placed the handgun he’d managed to get his hands on ontop of the kitchen bench. The same kitchen bench that Bradley sat Dot at for breakfast while he’d cook her pancakes.

Jaidyn opened the fridge like he was right at home and peered in to find exactly what he was looking for. “Ah, good to see you’re good for something Bradshaw—“ He snickered to himself as he reached in to grab the neck of the beer bottle sitting on the shelf of the door. “Don’t mind if I do.”

He was in no hurry, Jaidyn knew from his research, his reconnaissance—that nobody would be home for hours. He had time. Time to dick around, time to go through Bradley Bradshaw's entire life. Time to sit and stew. Time to enjoy a beer and eat the leftover pasta bake that Bradley had half hazardly covered in his haste to get out the damn door. He had time to look through the boxes of unpacked things he carried over from Jake’s place, going through the things you’d started to rebuild your life from the ground up with. Work clothes, Dots toys, sentimental possessions you'd begun to replace.

“Huh—“ Jaidyn took a sip of the beer he’d stolen from Bradley’s fridge as he stopped by the mantelpiece above the fireplace. Photo frames sat collecting a light covering of dust, from old family photos to new photographs that captured the love and warmth that was you and Bradley. Little Odette between the two of you in some, one of her sitting on her Toosters shoulders told Jaidyn all he needed to know.

He was irrelevant.

“Fucking pathetic—“ Jaidyn growled as he snatched the picture frames off the mantelpiece and smashed the frame on the corner. The old worn photo slipped out from the glass with ease. Jaidyn took the pack of smokes he carried from his back pocket and lit the cigarette he held between his lips. As he took a long draw of the nicotine and settled into his surroundings. Without a second of regret or remorse, Jaidyn took the lighter to the edge of the photo and watched it burn.

Jaidyn watched as Nick and Carole Bradshaw burned up into nothing but ash with a wicked smile the devil himself would have been scared of.

“Fucking pathetic—“

***~***~***~***~***~***~***

“Rhett!” Amilia groaned as she stumbled her way across the car park into the emergency department with Jake slung over her shoulder. “Would you give me a hand here? for crying out loud!”

Rhett slowed his strides down to a halt as he waited for Amilia to catch up. He thought she’d been right, but assuming made an arse out of him.

“Ere—you take Odette, give me Seresin.” Rhett gestured and Amilia was happy to oblige. “Thought you were right, my bad.” Amilia shook her head as if to say it wasn’t a huge deal. “You want me to take him in or do you wanna take Odette up to her ma?” Amilia settled the little girl on her hip as she mulled over the option she had as she walked with Rhett—who was now carrying the deadweight of Jake. “Fuck he’s a heavy bastard isn’t he.”

“I heard that—“ Jake grumbled under his breath as he tried his best to step in toe with Rhett.

Amilia didn’t want to leave Jake's side, she was beginning to develop real feelings for this guy. Fast and all consuming too. She’d never felt like this before, so sure of someone. So trusting. She didn’t want Jake to feel like he couldn’t trust her to stay by his side when he so clearly needed someone.

“I’m pretty cut up, should probably get cleaned up too—might be best if you take Dot and I stay with Jake but I’ll head up after.” Rhett chuckled to himself, he knew that was going to be the answer. He knew a lost cause when he saw one because it was like he was looking in the fucking mirror.

“Sure Oz.” Rhett nodded as he placed Jake down on one of the empty hospital chairs with a groan. “I won’t tell your boyfriend here that you didn’t wanna leave his side, wouldn’t wanna inflate his ego and make him all the more harder to lug around.” Amilias jaw nearly hit the ground in shock.

“He isn’t my boyfriend rodeo clown.” She snapped. “He’s just a mate—“

“Right right, my bad then.” Rhett gestured for Amilia to hand him over Dot. “Guess your mate here’s pretty lucky to have a friend in you isn't he.” Amilia truly did believe Jake was lucky in a sense—if he hadn't kept her on the phone, who knows how long he would’ve been left to bleed all over his garage floor. She didn’t respond until she was sitting beside Jake in an empty chair, watching one of the emergency triage nurses come over as she popped on some latex gloves.

“Luckiest bastard alive if you ask me.” Amilia cooed as she pushed some of Jake's bloody blonde locks behind his ear, admiring his profile as Rhett took in the sight. Damn—if that was just friendship he’d been doing it wrong his entire life. “Luckiest bastard alive.”

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~

“Aw hell kid.” It didn’t take long for Rhett to make it to your room. Dot was, as she had been all night through all the chaos and all the drama, groggy and sleepy. She clung to Rhett’s jacket like he was her very lifeline, a protector she felt safe in the arms of. “You’re kinda cute aren’t ya.”

“That she is.” Bradley chuckled as he met Rhett in the hall just outside your door. Dot heard her Toosters voice and was quick to rub her eyes to see if she was really seeing him standing with open arms ready to take her in or if she was still dreaming.

He was there. He was always there.

“Tooster—“ Dot mumbled through a pouted bottom lip.

“Hi baby, I’ve got you.” He groaned as he took her from Rhett, the little tot had been passed around more tonight than she had been her entire life. “Gonna see mama, you ready?” Dot nodded silently with tired eyes.

“That Fisher bird was pretty switched on tonight.” Rhett made sure to mentioned as he trailed behind Rooster. “He’s pretty banged up, if she wasn’t there when she was I can't imagine the state he’d be in.”

“We know for sure it was Dolan?” Bradley asked as he placed Dot down onto the bed and watched with tears in his eyes as Dot immediately curled up and snuggled into your chest. You were still under some pretty intense pain medication. All you did in reaction was pull your little girl closer, as close as you could possibly bring her. Even asleep you were her most fearsome protector. “Like this wasn’t just a random break and enter?”

“Would that be any better?” Rhett asked as he crossed his arms over his chest and stood at the base on your hospital bed.

“I’d rather it be random than intentional Abbott.” Bradley sighed as he leaned in to kiss your forehead gently. “My girls huh, what would I ever do without the two of you.” He felt like his little family was finally on the mend. “How’s Amilia holding up? After—“

“Oh yeah, nah home among the gumtrees down there is fine, got a few cuts on her forearm but nothing an amputation and a couple for beers won’t fix.” Bradley couldn’t help but to chuckle as he sat back in his chair. Rhett laughed along at his own tease before the two men settled into the slice once more and listened to the steady beating of your monitors. “She should be able to go home soon, you know.” Rhett hinted. “You got everything sorted?”

“Not even close.” Bradley groaned as he reached out for his laptop. “I’m stuck on the yellow polkadots.” Rhett wasn’t proud of all the punches he’d thrown in the name of someone he no longer knew, but watching as you and your daughter slept soundly like two peas in a perfect pod, he knew he’d die for you both before he ever let anyone ever hurt the two of you again.

“You sure do make domestic bliss seem riveting.” Bradley smiled in response, it was all he ever really wanted and whoever was playing the game that was life up stairs was truly making him work for it. “If you guys are good here I might head home.”

“Tell Bob there’s a beer in the fridge for him if he gets a chance to swing by my place in the morning.” Rhett turned on his heels soon after he’d acknowledged Bradley’s comment.

Bob didn’t drink, but it was always offered nevertheless.

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***

“Okay Jake, this might sting a little but you’re gonna be fine.” Doctor Taylor explained as he injected numbing fluid into the back of Jake's skull. Amilia sat close by, having her own war wounds attached to.

“How’d you get these bruises?” One of the triage nurses asked Amilia as they cleaned up her forearms and picked out the small fragments of glass still embedded in her arm.

“I’m not here about the bruises, I know enough about your healthcare system to know I don’t need anymore than the bare minimum care thanks.”

“Your travel insurance should cover most of the expenses.” It was clear Amilia had struck a nerve with the nurse who’d been tending to her not so emergent aid as she packed up her things and left.

“Lucky me.” Amilia rolled her eyes as she jumped off the exam bed she’d been perched on and made her way over to where Jake was sitting. “How’s he holding up doc? Got all his brain cells?”

“Ha ha—“ Jake smiled a tight lip grin through the sharp sting of the needle being poked into his skull. His eyes trailed down to the bruises coming up nicely on Amilias neck. Jake's heart sank into his stomach. “I’m really—“ Amilia stopped Jake from talking as she placed a gentle hand to his knee and stood before him.

“Got nothing to apologise for.”

“Can you do me a favour?” Jake asked as he drank in the sight of Amilia as he tried not to think about the stitches being sewn into his skull. “Can you go see how Dot is? Just need to know she’s okay.” Jake knew Odette was safe, he was concussed but he wasn’t stupid.

“Sure Flyboy, I’m on it.” Amilia nodded silently with a small smile before she left the room. Jake waited a few seconds after she’d vanished from his sight before he cleared his throat.

Hey Doc?” Jake slurred. He just didn’t want Amilia to see what happened next. “I don’t feel so good.” Doctor Taylor raised an eyebrow as Jake fell forward from where he’d been sitting. He crashed to the floor in a heap unconscious—

Turns out that fear of needles he had as a child was still prominent. But that pride of his was far too important to have him fainting in front of the girl he just wanted a fucking date with already.

***~***~***~***~***~***~***

“Y/n, Y/n—listen to me.” Jake cooed as he held your face in his hands as you sat crying on the couch. Jake had been kneeling in front of you from the moment he found you in the state of distress you were in. You remembered this moment so vividly, so clearly in your mind that it had become a core memory. You’d just admitted that you were falling head over heels in love with Bradley Bradshaw and couldn’t understand why you’d let yourself do that after everything that had happened.

“I’m fucked Jake! I’m royally fucked!” The snot that came out your nose as you ugly cried made Jake laugh. He loved you oh so much but if he knew anything it was that you were about to become someone to Bradley Bradshaw and he, you.

“You deserve someone who can’t wait to talk to you every day you delirious delinquent!” Jake shook you softly. “Someone who can’t wait to spend time with you, get to know you, fall in love with you yeah?” He tried to remind you as his voice echoed inside your head. “Please stop settling for half hearted, lukewarm, hesitant and indecisiveness.”

The vision of Jake your memory had painted had slowly begun to fade as your eyes fluttered open. But not before the final sentence that stuck to you like super glue echoed through your mind. “It’s always gonna be better to be alone than to be with someone who makes you feel unworthy of love—but if you really like Rooster, take the leap Fe, you won’t regret it.”

The steady beeping of all your monitors was the first thing you focused on when you woke up. The second and most important thing you managed to focus on as you came out of your grogginess, was the little ball of warmth that curled up against you.

“Oh—“ Bradley heard the whimper like noise escape you as he looked up from his laptop, he’d moved past the yellow polkadot and onto possibly erecting a treehouse in the backyard like his dad had made him when he was just a kid. He was sure there was a photo on his mantlepiece of the man, the myth, the legend that was Nick Bradshaw standing with Bradley on his shoulder right in front of the newly built treehouse. “Oh my baby, my sweet baby girl.” You cuddled your daughter as tightly as he could with your arm still in a sling. Immobilised. With your jaw still locked. Banded. With your heart pounding inside your chest with a love so unconditional it would never fade.

“Hi mamma.” Dot cooed as she stirred in your arms and first the jumper of Bradley’s you wore. “I missed you.” Rooster just sat back and watched the moment he wished had come under better circumstances. He knew he’d have to tell you about Jake, about Jaidyn. But he’d do that in the morning.

“Oh darling you have no idea how much I missed you.”

***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~***~*

Tags: @a-serene-place-to-be @lilyevanswhore @thescarletknight2014 @blindedbythelightt @averyhotchner @emma8895eb @blairfox04 @caitsymichelle13 @oxxolovemelikeyoudooxxo @teacupsandtopgun @aemondssiut @feltonswifesworld87 @akalei349 @notjustsomeblonde @americaarse @avaleineandafryingpan @phoenix1388 @xoxabs88xox @je-suis-prest-rachel @pono-pura-vida @rosiahills22 @starset21 @anarchyrising @caidi-paris @starkleila @criticalroleobssedperson @enchantingdreamergothprune @flrboyd @emma8895eb @endofdays56 @seresinsaint @topguncortez @mandylove1000

#terms of endearment// bradley bradshaw #rooster bradshaw imagine #bradley bradshaw fanfiction #bradley bradshaw #bradleybradshaw #rooster x you #bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley 'rooster' bradshaw #bradley bradshaw x y/n #bradley bradshaw angst #terms of endearment #Jake hangman Seresin x oc

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sweeter-innocence-fics · 4 months

Text

Learn To Love Again - Chapter Twenty-One: Spanking Redux (Daddy Kink)

Pairing: Pietro Maximoff x Reader

Work Summary: You have a hard time letting go. Pietro helps you out. An exploration of kink with Pietro Maximoff. Each chapter from chapter 2 onwards will be a different kink.

Chapter Summary: Your vacation is drawing to a close, and you decide to give spanking a second try.

Series Masterlist

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 4634

Read on AO3.

Masterlists.

Taglist: @ifilwtmfc @mcximffs @xlucyintheskywithdiamondsx @lanemarvels @maddieisbored @marrigold-2002 @kathrinchek @mrs-kai-anderson @ang3l1te @missryerye @strawberrysoldat @tayswozle @noz4a2 @rottenstyx @tiredbut-here @blueallover @alternativeprincess @annocaprosmaloka @thrutheburnout @idkman5335 @starmansirius

Taglist info.

Previous Chapter

Notes:

I've decided to stop apologising for the long breaks between chapters of this fic. I love this fic, but my mission has always been to update it sporadically, whenever I feel like. That hasn't changed.

I hope you enjoy this chapter, and have a happy New Year.

warnings for daddy kink (if you're not into that, I recommend you stop reading at the *** so you don't miss any plot), spanking, mentions of trauma/PTSD, nightmares, anxiety, maybe being a tad co-dependent, scars, mentions of past injury, using spit as lube, rough sex, neck grabbing, slut shaming, possessiveness, overstimulation, creampie

---

Pietro had been acting edgy all day, so it wasn’t exactly surprising when you were jolted awake by a hand grabbing at your arm. You blinked, disoriented, as the world around you came into focus.

Your boyfriend was sitting upright, staring off into the distance, unseeing. His chest was rising and falling heavily. The thin strip of moonlight that fell from between the curtains was enough to see how pale he looked.

“Pietro?” you murmured sleepily, and he looked down at you suddenly, like he hadn’t realised you were there. His grip loosened on your arm at once, and he grimaced.

“I’m sorry, my love. Did I hurt you?”

You were tempted to say, “I’ve had worse,” but you had a feeling that that wouldn’t make him feel any better.

Instead, you said, “I’m okay. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Pietro…” Sleepiness had worn away at the tact you usually would’ve used in a situation like this. “What’s wrong?”

You understood that Pietro would tell you things in his own time. He would share his trauma when he was ready to share it. You knew all of this logically. That didn’t mean that it wasn’t sometimes frustrating. He knew everything about you, but you still felt like you’d barely scratched his surface.

And right now, you were tired, and you just wanted him to be okay.

He let out a little frustrated noise. “It’s nothing. Just a nightmare. Don’t worry about me.”

“Baby…” You stroked a hand up his forearm. His posture relaxed a little. “Lie down with me?”

“I…” He hesitated for a moment. “I don’t want to fall back asleep.”

You knew the feeling. Sometimes you had to stay awake long enough to chase the nightmare away fully before you could bear to go back to sleep. You understood that.

“You won’t. Let’s just talk, okay?”

He didn’t respond verbally. Instead, he shuffled backwards so that he was half-propped up against the headboard. You supposed that was a reasonable compromise.

Wrapping both arms around him, you leant into him, squishing your cheek against his stomach.

“You can sleep,” he said softly, carding his fingers through your hair. “I don’t mind.”

“I’m not tired,” you lied. In truth, you just didn’t want to leave him to deal with his nightmare alone. “What was your nightmare about?” You felt his muscles tense against the skin of your face.

You were ready for him to brush you off, but instead, he said, “The usual. The night my parents died. The battle in Sokovia. The car explosion.”

His hand had drifted down to rest against the back of your neck. You could feel him tracing a scar there, the remnants of the damage that that explosion had done to your body. Tony had done an excellent job with the skin grafts, but your scars were still visible if you knew where to look.

“You still dream about that?” you asked, trying to keep your tone light.

“I dream about every time I almost lost you, or Wanda. It has happened… far too many times.”

You shifted so that you could sit up and look him in the eye. His hand fell from your neck, so you grabbed hold of it and guided it back up there.

Under the moonlight, you took in the sight of him. Although he looked nowhere near as exhausted as he had done at the beginning of your vacation, he did look sad. His eyes were glassy. In that moment, you wanted to destroy everything and anything that had ever hurt him.

“I dream about the battle of Sokovia too,” you breathed. “I barely knew you then, but I knew I didn’t want you to die.”

“I was a little bit obsessed with you from the moment I first saw you,” he said, huffing out a laugh. “It would be embarrassing if you weren’t my girlfriend now.”

“Really?”

“Really. I thought it was just a stupid crush that would go away with time, but then you had to go and save my life, and I knew I was screwed.”

You giggled, feeling suddenly very warm. His skin was hot everywhere it was touching yours. You pressed your lips to his. His free hand skimmed up under your vest to rest on the bare skin of your waist.

“For the record,” you murmured. “I thought you were an arrogant asshole when we first met. An annoyingly sexy, arrogant asshole.”

He tipped his hand back to look at you again, a half-smirk on his lips. “And now?”

“Now? Now you’re my annoyingly sexy, arrogant asshole.”

He pinched your hip and you squealed, jolting forward so you were half in his lap. Your thigh brushed over his crotch, and it was clear that his dick was starting to take an interest in the conversation.

You pressed your hand against him through his boxers, watching the way his eyes fluttered shut momentarily. He wasn’t hard yet, but he was getting there.

You shifted yourself into a kneeling position and slid your hand under his waistband.

“Prinţesă- Ah.” He cut himself off with a gasp.

“What was that?” you asked, batting your eyelashes at him innocently. The hand that was at your waist moved around behind you and slipped down the back of your underwear, squeezing your ass hard. It was your turn to gasp.

“You’re a little slut, aren’t you?” he murmured, kneading at the dough of your ass with one hand. You tipped forward, pressing your forehead against his as you redoubled your grip on his cock, sliding your hand up and down. “Just wanted to play with my cock, didn’t you?”

What you really wanted to do was suck him off, but he didn’t seem keen on relinquishing his grip on you, and the lube was out of reach, so you let go of his cock for just long enough to spit in your hand, and then went back to jerking him off.

“You can’t get enough of it,” he said, and then kissed you, drawing you closer to him. You were straddling his thigh now, using both hands to jerk him off, and he was letting out little breathy moans that were driving you insane.

You rocked down against his thigh, feeling the muscles flex and move to meet you. He was tugging at your vest. You reluctantly let go of his cock to let him yank it off you with more force than was strictly necessary.

He was kissing you hungrily now, hands cupping your breasts. You grasped his cock again, jerking him off as you bounced up and down on his thigh.

Without warning, he hooked one arm under your thigh and pulled you closer to him until you were straddling his crotch. He slid your panties to one side, and, when his searching fingers found you dripping wet, he grabbed hold of his cock to line it up with your entrance.

You didn’t miss a beat. You took him in one thrust, barely pausing to adjust to feeling of him inside you. You were really fucking wet. He held onto your hips, pounding up into you with reckless abandon.

Tangling your hands in his hair, you rode him, clinging to him like your life depended on it. He pressed his face into your neck, licking and sucking and biting at the skin there, drawing deeper moans from you.

“Fuck. Fuck, I’m close,” you murmured, and Pietro took that as his cue to speed up, biting down hard on the skin of your neck. The moan you let out was frankly embarrassingly loud, but Pietro seemed to enjoy it.

“Mine.” His voice rumbled over the skin of your neck. You felt his stubble scratching at the sensitive area, but it was the authoritative timbre of his voice that pushed you over the edge.

“Pietro,” you keened, voice high and strung out. He held onto you, continuing to bounce your body up and down on his cock even as all the strength went out of you. You grabbed his shoulders, pressing your lips to his as his thrusts stuttered.

“Oh my god,” he moaned, and then let out a string of what you assumed were expletives in Sokovian. He came inside you.

“Fuck,” you murmured again.

“Fuck,” Pietro agreed. He wrapped his arms around you and rolled you over so that his cock slipped out of you, and you were lying beside him again. You nuzzled into his neck.

Neither of you spoke for a while. After a few minutes, you heard his breathing slow, and you knew that he had fallen asleep. You squeezed him gently, hoping to protect him from bad dreams.

When you awoke, the sun was out, and the bed beside you was cold. You sat up, confused. You were sweaty and sticky from the sex and a hot night’s sleep, so you got to your feet, snagging one of Pietro’s t-shirts from the floor, as well as a fresh pair of panties.

You dressed yourself quickly, and stepped out into the living room. Pietro wasn’t there. You wandered into the kitchen, and found a note on the counter.

Gone for a run – P x

That was interesting. At home, Pietro ran a lot. It was a part of his training. But since you’d been on vacation, both of your workouts had been limited to walks on the beach, the occasional sparring session, and vigorous sex.

Figuring he couldn’t be long, you went and showered. Once you were clean and presentable, you went back into the living room.

Pietro still wasn’t back. You felt a prickle of anxiety, hot on the back of your neck. Quietly, trying to calm your nerves, you made yourself breakfast.

Pietro was fine, you were sure. There wasn’t much that could hurt your superspeedy boyfriend. Most of the time.

Still.

You went to your nightstand. Your phone was in the top drawer. You hadn’t used it much since you’d been away. You were trying to limit your social media use, given the shitstorm you’d left behind you.

You tried to switch it on, but it was out of battery, so you unfurled your charger and plugged it into the wall. The screen lit up with the low battery symbol. It would probably be a few minutes before it was usable. That was fine.

You went to Pietro’s nightstand next, where you knew he’d been keeping his phone. It was missing. You supposed he must’ve taken it with him. That was good. You could text him, once your phone was charged.

You shut the drawer and left the room. Through the windows, you could see the trees blowing in the wind. Your heart was starting to speed up. You had no good reason to feel the way you did. Pietro was probably fine. The weather outside didn’t mean anything.

You checked your phone again. It still wouldn’t turn on. Feeling jittery, you made yourself a cup of tea and went out onto the porch.

The wind was cold and it was starting to drizzle, but still, you sat down at the little table and sipped at your tea. Your cup was half-empty and you were starting to shiver from the cold when a familiar silver blur zoomed towards you, and then Pietro was standing on the porch, looking down at you.

“What are you doing out here?” he asked, a little amused. He was dressed for a run, wearing grey sweatpants that hugged him in all the right places. His vest was stuck down with sweat and his hair was wild, from the running or the rain, you couldn’t tell. He looked very hot.

“Enjoying the fresh air.” You didn’t want to admit that you’d been worried about him. It was silly that his absence had made you so anxious.

“You’re shivering.” You shrugged. “Why don’t we go inside and watch a movie or something?”

“That sounds nice,” you said shyly.

“I need to shower first… Care to join me?”

A smile spread across your face, and you drained the rest of your tea in two gulps. He held out a hand to you, and you let him lead the way.

In spite of his run, Pietro was restless and fidgety while watching the movie. It was some romcom from the early 00s. He wasn’t really paying attention. It was hard to focus with you sitting beside him, looking like a wet dream, even though you were just wearing a t-shirt and sweatpants.

You didn’t say anything as he insinuated himself further and further into your space, but you accommodated him, letting your fingers brush lightly through his hair and down his arms. Your touches were affectionate, not sexual, but they still made him feel hot.

“Are you feeling okay, baby?” you asked.

“Of course. Never better. Why?”

“You seem distracted.”

He hesitated. After a moment, he picked up the TV remote and turned the volume all the way down. He could’ve muted it with one button, but watching the volume bar shrink gave him a moment to gather his thoughts, and figure out how to tell you what had been on his mind.

“I never thought I’d say this,” he said, “But I kind of miss New York. This place is beautiful, and getting to be alone with you has been the best couple of months of my life.” You were looking at him, your expression unreadable. Sometimes he envied Wanda always being able to know what people were thinking. “But I think I will be ready to go home soon. I can’t keep hiding from my responsibilities forever.”

“You know…” You shifted closer to him. Instinctively, he put an arm around your shoulders. Your face was so close to his that he could feel your breath on his cheek. “You don’t have to be an Avenger, if you don’t want to. It’s a hard life. You already have more than your fair share of trauma.”

Pietro exhaled. “I like being an Avenger,” he said. “And without the Avengers, I never would’ve met you.”

You moved towards him and he opened his arms to you, letting you crawl into his lap. You pressed a kiss to his lips, his cheek, his jaw, and then hugged him close, burying your face into his neck.

“You have me,” you said, turning your face so your words wouldn’t be muffled. “Wherever you go, whatever you do now, you have me.”

“I have been texting with Wanda for the past few days,” he admitted. “Everything seems to be going fine in New York. Quiet. And…” Again, he hesitated. He was glad you weren’t looking at him right at that moment, because that would’ve made it all the harder to get the words out. “She told me that she’s been seeing a therapist. For the grief. And trauma. She said I should talk to one too.”

You shifted back to look him in the eyes. The judgment he feared was nowhere to be found. Your expression was open, curious.

“And what do you think?” you asked, carefully. “Do you want to?”

“I think… I think it might be a good idea, yeah.”

You nodded. “That’s good. I’m glad Wanda is getting help. And I’m happy you’re thinking about it too. You deserve to be happy.”

Pietro’s relief was palpable. You wrapped your arms around his neck and kissed him. He smiled against your lips, hooking his hands under your thighs and dragging you towards him so you were straddling his lap. You let out a little gasp, and he dove into your neck, laying tender kisses down the column of your throat.

“So…” you said, trying to sound casual but biting back a moan. “When do you want to go home?”

“I don’t know. A few days. I want to wreck your pretty pussy a few more times before we go back to New York.”

Your face flushed with heat. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

His teeth grazed against a sensitive patch of skin and you moaned softly, grinding down against him.

“Bedroom?” you asked.

***

He nodded, wrapping his arms tight around your waist so he could stand up without putting you down. You tightened your legs around him as he carried you to the bedroom.

He dropped you onto the bed unceremoniously, his hands tugging at the hem of your t-shirt. You let him pull it off over your head, revealing your bare breasts.

You looked so pretty like this, your tits still bouncing from the impact of landing on the bed, your soft skin laid out for him like the most delicious buffet he’d ever seen. He couldn’t help but bury his face between your tits, relishing the soft gasp that fell from your lips as he did so.

It was times like this that Pietro had to make a conscious effort to slow down during sex. If he wasn’t careful, this could all be over in five seconds.

He grabbed you by the hips and pulled you towards him so you could grind against him. Your head tipped back against the bedsheets, releasing a ragged moan as he swirled his tongue around your nipple. You were always so responsive to his touch.

He swapped to the other nipple after a moment, holding you down against the bed. You were rocking against him, desperate for some friction, and that was when he decided to put you out of your misery.

He sunk to his knees, tugging on your sweatpants and panties. Realising what he was doing, you lifted up your hips to help him pull them off.

Now you were naked in front of him, unabashed and staring at him with undeniable lust in your eyes. That was something he’d grown to love. At first, you’d been a little shy about him looking at you and touching you. Now you were impatient for him to make you cum over and over again, and he was happy to oblige.

He spread your legs, splaying you out in front of him, and starting kissing your inner thigh. Your skin was so soft. It was something he marvelled at.

Usually, you kept your pubes pretty neatly trimmed, shaved and/or waxed, but you hadn’t maintained them much in a while, and they were starting to grow out. Truthfully, Pietro didn’t mind what you did with them, but he liked them a little bit messy, because it meant that you trusted him.

He parted your lips with his fingertips and moved in to kiss your clit.

“Piet,” you whined, and he decided to be nice, because he was magnanimous like that.

You were already so wet. His tongue dipped between your folds, tasting you. He would never get tired of this. The way you tasted, the pretty noises that you made, the way your skin felt against his.

He pushed his tongue inside you, meeting minimal resistance. As his nose bumped against your clit, you gasped and ground back against him.

He pressed his forearm against your stomach, pushing you back down into the bed and holding you still. You let out a shaky exhale as he wrapped his lips around your clit again.

“Pietro…” you breathed. Your fingers found their way into his hair again, fingernails scratching lightly across his scalp. His eyes drifted shut. He let himself get lost in you, just feeling the movements of your body and the pleasure of your hands tugging at his hair.

When he opened his eyes, he had no idea how much time had passed, but you were practically mewling, your knees drawn up either side of his head, torn between holding his mouth against your pussy and pushing him away.

He didn’t stop. Your toes curled against his shoulders, your whole body trembling as he made you cum one more time.

This time, he let you go. Your body went limp as he pulled away from you, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand. He was covered in traces of you, but it wasn’t enough. He needed to be inside you right now.

At superspeed, he stripped off his clothes. From his perspective, you were lying on the bed, almost perfectly still, a freezeframe of a moment between breathes. Slowly, your hands made their way down onto the bed to push yourself upright. He paused, letting time normalise again.

Your hair was wild and your eyes had a mischievous glint as he crawled over you, ready to fuck you until you forgot your own name. He had almost closed the distance between you when you put your hands on his shoulders, stopping him.

“Can we try something?” you asked, smiling at him almost shyly.

“Anything for you, my love.”

“Will you spank me?”

Pietro felt his cock give a little jump. The last time you’d tried spanking, he hadn’t been able to go through with it, because you were in an emotional state and he was scared that you’d wanted him to hurt you for real. Now, with you comfortable and post-orgasmic, staring up at him with love in your eyes, he couldn’t resist you.

“Are you sure?”

You nodded. “Please?”

As always, you had your safeword. You leant up to kiss him, but he grabbed your hips and rolled you onto your stomach. You let out a choked off gasp as he climbed on top of you, wrapping an arm around your neck from behind.

His forearm was pressed to your neck, as if he was choking you, but without the actual pressure applied. He knew you liked when he took control like this, and from the way your breathing hitched, he was pretty sure you were enjoying this.

He laid one hand against your ass. “Is this okay?” he murmured, lips almost pressed to your ear.

“It’s perfect,” you breathed. He slapped at the fat of your ass, watching the way the flesh jiggled. You moaned softly. He did it again, and you whined, “harder,” so he obliged. He loved your ass, and he was especially loving the way it bounced with every spank.

You were practically grinding against the bed, babbling a bunch of horny nonsense that was making drops of pre-cum leak from Pietro’s cock. One word stood out from the rest. Pietro paused.

“Did you just call me daddy?” he asked breathlessly.

“What?” Your eyes snapped open, and you turned, looking at him over your shoulder.

“You just called me daddy.” Pietro gave you a shit-eating grin. You started trying to stammer through an explanation, but he pressed a thumb to your lips, silencing you. “That’s really fucking hot.”

Your eyes were wide. “You like it when I call you daddy?” you asked, your lips forming the words against his thumb. Before he could respond, you grabbed his hand with both of yours, sucking his thumb into your mouth and looking up at him through your eyelashes.

“Fuck,” Pietro groaned as your tongue swirled around his thumb. If he didn’t put his cock in you right now he was pretty sure he was about to explode.

“Do you wanna fuck me, daddy?” you asked, eyes glinting.

Pietro swore again. He spanked you hard, making you yelp, and before you’d had time to recover, he’d rolled you onto your back and lined his cock up with your entrance.

“Prinţesă,” he murmured, and then he pushed inside you. You released his hand and wrapped an arm around his neck again, your free hand affectionately brushing the hair away from his forehead. He had never felt so in love.

Time slowed down. Your head was tipping back slowly, revealing your neck to him. He was torn between kissing your neck and watching the way your eyes rolled back in your head. Your pussy was wrapped around him, so tight and wet and warm. He would never stop marvelling at the way you invited him inside you. He could stay here forever.

He watched your face. He was desperate to start thrusting, but he was still going so fast, and he didn’t want to hurt you. He took a few deep breaths.

Time was starting to normalise again, and you were looking at him expectantly.

Just as he was about to start moving, you batted your eyelashes at him, and said, “Fuck me, daddy?”

How could he resist that?

He started thrusting, feeling your body clench around him. Your eyes fluttered shut, and he didn’t know where to look, or touch. He wanted all of you.

Your boobs were bouncing with every thrust, looking so juicy and enticing. He squeezed them, kissed them, and then moved back to your neck. Your legs were wrapped around his hips, encouraging him deeper, and it must’ve felt good because each thrust was fucking a moan from your lips.

He was on his knees, his forearms either side of your head. You opened your eyes and looked at him, a smile playing on your lips. You guided one of his hands to your throat, so he wrapped it around your neck loosely, watching the pleasure overtake you.

You were about to come. He could feel it.

“You like it when daddy fucks you like this, don’t you? You’re daddy’s little slut, aren’t you?”

“Pietro,” you squealed, tightening around him. He clung to you, fucking you through your orgasm, letting the pleasure wash over you like a wave.

His whole body felt hot. He was torn between wanting to cum and wanting to stay buried inside you forever. Your fingers were in his hair again, tugging and scratching at his scalp.

“Cum for me, daddy,” you purred, and he couldn’t hold back any longer. He felt his balls tighten as he released inside you, a few more deep thrusts to fuck all of his cum into you. You exhaled shakily, and then patted his arms, signalling for him to release you.

As he pulled out, he couldn’t help but look at the way his cum dripped out of you. Your pussy was so pretty, especially when it was coated with the evidence of what the two of you had just done.

“Pietro,” you whined softly, making grabby hands at him. You could wash up later, he decided. He crawled over you, hugging you to him, and then rolled so that you were lying against his chest. You nuzzled into his neck.

“How was that?” he asked. You made a non-descript noise of pleasure, which drew a chuckle from him. “Yeah? Me too.” When you didn’t say anything else, he said, “I’m gonna get you a glass of water.”

You groaned, but didn’t argue. He detangled himself from you carefully, and then sped into the kitchen and returned with the water so fast that you hadn’t even had time to sit up.

He knelt beside you as you did so, passing you the glass as soon as he was sure you weren’t about to drop it. You drank deeply, eyes falling shut as a drop of water rolled down your chin. He wiped it away with his thumb.

“Do you need anything else?” he asked. “A snack?”

“I’m fine,” you said, half-chuckling as you set your glass down on the nightstand.

The two of you got back under the covers together. This time, you faced each other, instead of cuddling.

“So how was it for you? Really?” you asked.

“Seeing you turned on turns me on,” said Pietro. “And you have a very nice ass.”

You giggled, covering your mouth with one hand. “And the daddy stuff?”

“It was hot,” he said. “But I think I prefer it when you call me Pietro. I like the way you say my name. So maybe only sometimes.”

“Uh-huh.” You leant into him so that your faces were inches apart. “That’s good to know. Te iubesc, Pietro.”

“I love you too, prinţesă.”

#pietro maximoff x reader #pietro maximoff x you #pietro maximoff smut #pietro maximoff fanfiction

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vioxis · 7 months

Text

Consume 2/?

Masterlist's | Tiktok | AO3

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Word Count: 1,463

Pairing: Stalker!Konig x F!Reader

Summary: The story follows König and his obsession, You. The object of his desire, the constant temptation before him. Do you know what you do to him? You feign innocence, but worry not Shatz… He'll find that out on his own.

TW: NSFW! MDNI +18. Very obsessive and possessive behavior, Stalker!König, Breaking and Entering,

Will update with more tags along the way! Part 2/? A.N: That long name? Yeah, its thanks to the friends in discord, I'm truly grateful.

König marveled at how effortless it had been to tail you from a discreet distance, his keen instincts guiding him through the shadows. Your apparent lack of awareness, even when you parked in front of your suburban residence, intrigued him.

That's quite the lengthy drive Shatz, the dedication it took to traversing an entire town. The Corporation must compensate you well for such commitment.

König quietly observed your suburban home, his sharp eyes scanning the details of your surroundings. The night was shrouded in darkness, but your illuminated living room stood out like a beacon in the quiet neighborhood.

The pale moonlight filtered through the sheer white curtains, casting ethereal shadows across the room. König couldn't help but wonder about the person who inhabited this pristine space. Was everything as perfect as it appeared, or were hidden imperfections lurking in the shadows? He had a feeling that there was more to you than meets the eye, and he was determined to uncover the truth.

With a calculated move, he left the safety of his vehicle and moved stealthily toward the side window. Inside, you were engrossed in your laptop, bathed in the soft glow of the screen. Your work attire clung to your body as you sipped what appeared to be a cup of dark coffee, the steam rising in delicate weaves.

König continued his silent mission, circling the perimeter of your house. The back door, framed with mesh, hinted at a wide backyard beyond. The back yard housed a shed and the interior of your first floor contained a living room, a kitchen, and a laundry area. This deduction led him to the conclusion that your room must be situated upstairs.

With this newfound knowledge, König began to formulate his plan, contemplating his next steps carefully. The ease with which he had approached your home troubled him, and he couldn't shake the feeling that this was all too convenient.

König couldn't help but marvel at the series of fortunate events that had unfolded. Was this merely luck or had you indeed chosen the most breakable home in the neighborhood? It almost seemed as though fate was conspiring in his favor.

As he took a couple of steps back in the backyard, his sharp eyes caught sight of a window above the shed. The opportunity seemed almost too perfect, too serendipitous. With a grace born of years of experience, he effortlessly ascended the shed's roof, barely making a sound.

The gods, it seemed, had indeed graced him with an entrance to your room. He chuckled to himself, maybe it was time to move Shatz, this has become way too easy to breach.

His gloved hand reached out, and with a soft, almost imperceptible creak, he opened the window. The room beyond beckoned to him, a tantalizing invitation. König's initial intent had been merely to follow you home, but the allure of your house had proven too irresistible. It felt as if you had personally begged him to step inside. He surveyed the room in silence, realizing that maybe he should have brought his equipment with him if your home was this inviting.

However, a sudden movement on the floor inside startled him. In his haste, he had knocked something off an adjacent drawer, resulting in a loud thud. His heart skipped a beat as he saw yet another small statue he knocked over and a white Maine Coon sitting on the floor. The animals’ glassy eyes seemed to pierce into his very soul. König couldn't help but wonder if your cat was as gullible as its master, or if it had sensed an intruder in its domain.

König left the small cat statue where it had fallen and turned his attention to the drawer. Inside, neatly lined up, were your underwear – meticulously organized by color, type, and pattern. It was clear that you had an obsession for order, a detail that piqued his interest. Under his hood, he allowed himself a smirk, finding something in common with you that he could revel for a later time.

His moment of reflection was abruptly interrupted by the sound of your footsteps climbing the stairs. Panic briefly seized him, but he swiftly grabbed the first pair of underwear he could find and made a dash for your closet. The closet was a relic of an old-fashioned home, with shuttered doors.

Through the blinds of the closet, he watched with bated breath as you entered the room. You were tantalizingly close, yet seemingly out of reach. You spoke to Luna, your pet, with affection, addressing her by her long, grandiose name.

"Luna… did you knock over your replica again. My great Luna… Luna Selene Yuki the Great. My Tamer of the seas, Destroyer of worlds, everyone fear her," you exclaimed, nuzzling your nose with Luna.

König couldn't help but find the name rather pretentious, a long pretentious name. One that didn't align with the future he envisioned, you definitely will not be naming the kids he wish to burry deep within your cunt.

With careful and silent coaxing, you managed to lure Luna out of the room, leaving König alone in your closet. He pressed himself against the wall, his body tense with anticipation. The scent of your clothes surrounded him, but he couldn't afford to be immersed in it now, not with your imminent approach towards him.

As you moved closer to the closet, his heart raced, and he held his breath. It seemed as though you might discover him any moment. But then, to his relief or disappointment, you turned left and picked up a towel from a stool he had missed during his hurried entrance into the closet.

With a sense of relief, König heard the sound of running water as you entered the bathroom and started the shower. He seized this opportunity to stuff the underwear he had taken into his back pocket, a dark souvenir of his intrusion.

Turning his attention back to the slightly open window, he pondered whether you had deliberately ignored it or if it was a habit you'd unknowingly cultivate, allowing him easy access at any time. Deciding to explore this further on a later time, he took quick and calculated steps toward the window, preparing to make his exit.

But just as he extended his leg out, ready to slip away into the night, a soft moan reached his ears. He froze in his tracks, his head snapping in the direction of your shower. The unexpected sound sent a shiver down his spine, how delightful you sounded.

Slowly, his foot retracted back into the room, the faintest creaking of the floorboards beneath signaling his approach. He moved with deliberate, almost hesitant steps, each one bringing him closer to the shower door.

Inside, the steam-laden air was heavy with anticipation, seeping through the cracks of the door. Soft sensuous moans echoed against the tiled walls. His trembling hands reached out and gently grasped the cool, slick surface of the shower door, fingers curling around the handle.

"You're right there," he whispered, his voice a sultry murmur that danced with desire. He leaned in, the warmth of his breath fogging his sniper hood. "Enjoying yourself," he continued, his words lingering in the charged atmosphere.

"To whom do you owe that pleasure?" he breathed, his voice a tantalizing blend of seduction and mystery, as the unanswered question hung heavy in the air.

He withdrew his hand and sat down beside the door, his thoughts consumed by desire as he pulled out his cock. He didn't want to spoil his new possession just yet. Tonight, he yearned to sleep next to your panties, so his only option was his own hand.

Leaning back against the wall, he closed his eyes and listened to the muffled sound of your moans, concealed by the cascading water. In his imagination, his hands explored your body, tenderly lathering and playing with your breast, while your voice softly uttered his name.

He continued to fuck his hand into oblivion, gritting his teeth to hold in his own moans. “Fuck fuck fuck— I’m coming I’m coming I—" your screams could be heard through the door. “Right there with you, Shatz… sheiß…!” he gritted as spurts of cum coated your floors.

The shower still continued to run as he came down from the high of his orgasm. With a composed mind, he reached for the matching bra to the stolen panties, using it to clean up the mess he had inadvertently made on your floor. Another dirty item with thoughts of making a mess of the owner. Another keepsake for his collection, finally. A true piece of you.

He’ll come back once more, and this time with a plan.

#cod x reader #call of duty #konig cod #call of duty modern warfare #call of duty modern warfare 2 #cod mwii #cod mw2 #mw2 #cod smut #konig x you #konig call of duty #konig x y/n #konig smut #vioxi writes #konig fanfiction #konig mw2 #konig modern warfare

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buckgasms · 1 year

Text

Goldilocks - Trust

It's the follow up no one asked for 🤣 I've been thinking about Goldilocks and lumberbuck in the woods and I think they need a little update.

Just a reminder this is a dark story so please proceed with caution. For those who wish to stay, there will be dirty dark themes ahead.

Ok so in the original story it cuts ahead to when Goldilocks has been tamed and preggers, but obviously a lot comes before that to get her to that place....

There are multiple attempts at escape which all fail. This could be either due to Ranger Steve catching you or because you are too tired and cold or because you are starting to miss Bucky and don't want to be without him but you won't admit that just yet.

So when you are back, splayed across his lap, ass glowing from his spanks you swear on everything that this is the last time, you were just playing, you love him really. But nothing works.

"it's all talk isn't it baby? Even when I give you everything, a beautiful home, privacy, fuck you and fill you up so good... You just don't care do you?"

You sob and wiggle off his lap, clawing at his soft plaid shirt. "Please daddy bear, I swear... I was just confused for a minute but, but, that's why I came back!" Big tears roll down your cheeks and he instinctively wipes them away with his thumb. You lean into his palm, warm from spanking you, your own shaky hands rub over his thighs and bulge that's becoming more prominent as you cry.

He watches as you nuzzle your face into his jeans, whispering your love for him and the beast within is soothed for a moment. Until he feels your tongue licking at his clothed cock and it springs alive again, ready to mark you up as his for the millionth time.

🐻

Not long later he has you spread eagle on the bed, ploughing into you with the intention of never letting you go again. He presses his cock deep and you both watch as your stomach bulges and you can't control the hiccuping sob that escapes your lips as your walls flutter around him. He returns to a steady rhythm, leaning all the way forward to capture your lips in a kiss. Your fingers run through his hair as he presses soft kisses here and there. "I'm sorry Daddy bear.... Promise I won't ever run away again..." You whisper between kisses, wrapping your arms around his neck and he grunts in acknowledgement as your walls flutter around him. He locks eyes with you for a moment, searching for a trace of deception, but as he ruts into you, your face is blissful and pure. So he lets himself go...

🐻

The next morning you are awoken by kisses and a rough beard scratching at your soft neck. You squeak and roll around until his Bucky's lips meet yours, a giggle bubbling in your tummy as his beard still scratches at you.

When he breaks for air you stroke your fingers over his beard and scrunch your nose. "You need a shave daddy bear.... You're not supposed to look exactly like a bear" you giggle and he smiles at you, his hands running over your tummy and thighs as you relax into his touch.

He presses a kiss to your lips and then rises, to shower and shave his beard. You lay in the bed, exhausted but content. The sun is shining through the curtains and you drift in and out of snoozing. Just as you start to doze off he calls you to join him in the bathroom.

You scramble up quickly and pad into the bathroom. He's standing there with shaving foam neatly painted over his beard and a straight razor in his hand. Your stomach drops a little because you'd seen it before in the early days of your 'relationship'. Your fingers lock together and you fiddle nervously as he smiles at you, and beckons you closer.

"Come here Goldilocks..."

You walk over slowly and he rubs your arms before lifting you to sit in front of him on the bathroom counter. He spreads your thighs and plants himself in-between them, eyes locking with yours, a devilish smile on his face.

"What's going on Daddy Bear?" You say with a shaky voice as he placed the razor in your hand. "Just a little trust exercise sweetheart. I want to see if I can really trust you now..." You stare at him and sputter out a breath. "I don't know how to!" You shake your head but he just smiles.

"It's ok baby, I'll help you. You just have to be careful right?"

After a little bit of cajoling and the threat of a further spanking, you take the razor and place your other hand on his head. Slowly and carefully you pulled the blade softly down his cheek taking foam and beard with it. You exhaled a huge breath when the skin remained unhurt and he smiled at you. "Atta girl, keep going..."

🐻

It felt like it went on for hours. If this was a new form of punishment it was his best one yet. Finally you got to the point on the front of his throat, his head looking up as he was totally exposed and vulnerable to you. You could have killed him then and there and maybe he wouldn't be able to catch you. And you could go home....

Home. The word felt weird in your mind. Because the place you were imagining was empty and lonely. No one had even tried to find you (that you knew of).

Whereas this new home with Bucky.... It was warm and you were loved beyond reason. You had started to get used to being his little housewife, making him nice dinners and keeping the house clean and tidy. Even the occasional visit from Ranger Steve had started to become welcome when he stayed for dinner and the men told stories of their war adventures and even some of their childhood mishaps.

The world outside scared you more than the one inside now. You didn't have to worry about making big decisions because Bucky had already made them for you....

When you came out of your trance Bucky was looking at you intently, trying to read your mind. This was the moment of truth. You used your finger to tilt his chin up and he smiled as he did it. His hands smoothed over your bare thighs and you ran the razor firmly up over the last stretch of skin until the foam was gone.

You instantly dropped the metal with a clang into the sink next to you and leant forward into his chest, breathing deeply and feeling a rush of adrenaline. He kissed your hair and rubbed his hands over your back. "Good job baby.... Knew I could trust you." He pulled you to look at him and smiled, "think I look pretty good now huh?"

You smiled and nodded before he kissed you, his hands hooking under your knees as he pulled them up to rest on the counter top, exposing your pussy to him and making you whimper as his finger stroke through your delicate folds.

"Did so well for me baby, so proud of you" he whispers as his fingers sink into you, your wetness pooling beneath you as he flexes his fingers. Your fingers claw at him as your whimpers and moans echo around the bathroom. "Knew I could trust you hmm? My best girl, gonna make me a daddy ain't ya?" You moaned a yes as his fingers probed your g-spot and his thumb rubbed circles around your clit. "You don't wanna be out there when you can be my best girl in here right?" He flexed even harder as you squealed out and shook your head. "Just want you daddy bear... Please..." You begged and he soothed you, running his free hand over your body, pinching at your nipples and squeezing your breasts making them more sensitive, the obscene noise of your pussy driving you towards your peak.

"You gonna come for me little Goldilocks? Be my pretty little housewife forever?" You screamed as he dragged you over the edge, your body convulsing as you drenched him with your orgasm.

"Atta girl" he chuckled as he lifted you off the counter and took you back to bed, trying to decide whether to let you rest or fill you up right then and there.

Eeeep I'm a whore 🙊

#bucky barnes #bucky x reader #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky imagine #bucky smut #bucky barnes smut #dark!bucky x y/n #dark bucky x reader #dark!bucky barnes #goldilocks au

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pedrito-friskito · 6 months

Text

strawberry wine - joel miller x ofc!liv stone/fem!reader

after - part thirty-one

SERIES MASTERLIST | MAIN MASTERLIST | READ ON AO3

you keep going. you have to keep going.

a/n: so I haven’t been on here in a hot second BUT I’ve been writing this story like a crazy person, lots more to come, thanks for all the love 🤍

word count: 7.2k

warnings: lil smut for your saturday, big emotions, ellie and liv forever 🤍

✨@friskito-library for updates on new parts/works✨

Joel knows that he’s dreaming.

He hasn’t let himself dream for a long time now. Every night, he’s feigned sleep, while you insist on taking watch, Ellie even offering herself up a few hours at a time. It’s partially a conscious decision, partially not. There are nights when he wants sleep, wants to drift off just for a few hours, but his body won’t let him. He lays there with his eyes shut, trying to keep his memories at bay, but it always takes more effort than he expects, and before he knows it, the sun is rising once again.

But right now? Definitely dreaming.

It’s a strange sensation, being conscious of a dream while you’re in it. But it’s the best dream he’s had in years, so he begs his body to stay asleep a while longer, just so he can see how this plays out.

He’s home. Back in Austin, not your shared apartment in Boston, but his old house, his old bedroom. More specifically, sprawled on his bed, mid-morning light filtering through the curtains. The mattress feels so real beneath him, the springs creaking as he moves, but it’s only a backdrop to what’s really happening.

You, wrapped in his arms, back pressed to his chest. He swears he can feel how sweat-slick your skin is, smell the scent of your hair, hear the rapid thunk of your heart beneath his palms. He’s buried in your body, deep as he can go, your back arching with the force of him, whines falling from your lips as you beg him for more.

“Please, Joel,” you murmur, one hand reaching back to fist the hair at the back of his head. “Oh my god, please, I’m—”

Never one to deny you, waking or asleep, he lets one hand drop, skimming the curve of your stomach and finding your clit with ease. You keen as he draws little circles, burying his face in your neck, kissing at your throat.

“C’mon, baby,” he rasps, teeth scraping your jaw. “Lemme feel it, lemme—”

A crashing sound rings through his ears, making his whole body jolt, and the dream vanishes, his eyes shooting open.

“Fuck!” you curse, and Joel turns to see you crouched near the old desk in the corner of the watchtower. One of the drawers has fallen to the floor — obviously the source of the noise — and you’re trying to scoop the contents back in; maps and notebooks and random photographs. Joel groans as he sits up straight, lifting his body off the mattress, and you look at him over your shoulder, brows shooting up to your hairline. “Shit, baby, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—” The drawer literally collapses in your hands and Joel has to stifle his laugh as he gets to his feet. You groan at the mess on the floor, head dropping back on your shoulders.

“S’okay,” he tells you, reaching for your arm and pulling you up to stand. Your stance is sure now, but it’s old habit for him to support you, though your leg has healed. You’ve been in the tower for two and a half weeks now; the first two had you laid up in one of the mattresses, Joel and Ellie both refusing to let you up unless it was absolutely necessary. Your leg is still wrapped in a bandage — fresh ones from the first aid kit you found in the tower — but there’s no blood bloomed through, and it looked almost completely healed when Joel checked it last night. You’re out of the woods, and he knows you need to get going soon. You’re antsy, and he can see it. He’s just as bad.

You sigh into his grip, reaching up to drape your arms around his neck. “But you were sleeping,” you say with emphasis, and he knows you’ve been watching him just as much as he’s been watching you. “I didn’t want to wake you at all.”

Joel shakes his head, leaning forward to tuck his nose into your neck, lips grazing your jaw. “Slept enough, baby,” he murmurs, pulling you close to him. “Just interrupted a dream I was havin’.”

“A dream?” you repeat, and he hums, grabbing your hips and pulling yours flush with his. He’s hard, pressing against the zipper of his jeans, his whole body nearly shaking with need. Your lips part softly, a quiet inhale that makes him even harder. “Was it a good dream?”

“Lemme show you,” he replies, reaching for the button on your jeans. “Where’s the kid?”

“Downstairs,” you tell him, tilting your head to the door. “Told her to stay down there, to let you sleep.”

“Well, I’m done sleepin’, baby,” he grits as he unzips your fly. He brings his hand to his mouth, sucks two fingers past his lips, then slips them down the front of your pants, right past the band of your underwear. “Fuck, when’s the last time I touched you like this, huh?”

He watches your face, the way your bottom lip quivers, and right when he thinks you’re actually going to answer, he pushes his hand lower, curls his fingers up and into you. You squeak, nearly collapsing in his arms, and Joel can’t help the satisfaction that roils through him.

You clench around his fingers as he pushes deeper and your knees waver, your hands clinging to his shoulders. “Fuck,” you curse again, moaning when he wraps his other arm around your waist, pulling you closer, getting a better angle. “We need to be—” You cut yourself off, eyes rolling back when he finds that spot, the tips of his fingers rubbing circles. “Faster, Joel.”

“Faster, huh?” he almost taunts, but gives you what you ask for. “You want it just like this, huh? Y’know, I was dreamin’ we were back home, that I was fucking you in our bed. You were beggin’ me so pretty.”

“Please,” you gasp, your hand fisting the front of his flannel, pulling him close enough to make your noses brush. “Fuck me, please, baby.”

You whine when he drags his fingers from you, but he doesn’t waste any time, turning you around and pushing you against the table in the middle of the room. You plant your hands, bending over the edge as he shoves your pants down, just enough to see the shine of slick against the inside of your thighs, the evidence you need this just as badly as he does. He doesn’t have time to strip you down completely, but one of these days, he’ll—

“Joel.”

He frees himself from his jeans, his cock aching and leaking as he kicks your legs wide and lines himself up. Your whole body stutters as he drags himself along your heat, coating himself with your wetness. His other hand finds your hip, digging his fingers in hard. You call his name again, your voice a rasp in the air, and he pushes into you, breathy exhales filling the space between you as he fills you to the hilt. Just as fucking tight as he remembers, just as hot and perfect and…you.

The need and the desperation get the better of him, kicking his pace into high gear the instant he’s buried to the hilt. He can feel the shift, gripping both your hips, and your hands cover his, keeping him in place. Your head turns slightly, eyes meeting his, big and wide and just as full of lust as he feels.

He gets you impossibly closer, keeping his hips tight to your ass and thrusting so hard your boots nearly lift off the ground. It pulls the most delicious sound from your mouth, your hand shooting back to dig your nails into his ass. “Jesus Christ.”

Joel hauls you up, banding one arm under your chest, his lips at your ear. “Yeah, baby? Tell me how good it feels.”

“So fucking good,” you babble, squeezing his ass, canting your hips back into him, driving him deeper. “Missed you — ah! — touching me like…like this.”

He had more words, more dirty things to murmur in your ear, but you take his mouth for your own, squeaking against his lips when he moves his other hand between your legs, thumbing at your clit. You clench around him, your teeth sinking into his bottom lip so hard he’s sure you’ll draw blood, confirmed when he tastes iron a second later. But he doesn’t care, too engrossed in the way you twitch in his arms, thighs quaking around his hand, the breathy moans that fall out of you.

How is it possible to miss someone who’s been right beside you the entire time?

It hits him like a ton of bricks as he works you through your orgasm, his movements sharper, trying to draw out your pleasure as much as he can. Your body goes lax, your lips still kissing his, both of your mouths smeared with his blood, but Joel doesn’t care.

His own body goes tight, pleasure creeping up his spine, slithering through his aching bones. The pain in his chest hasn’t made an appearance since you found the watchtower, and in this moment, he doesn’t even remember what it felt like, too preoccupied with how good you feel, your body wringing pleasure from his the same way he did to you.

You pull back slightly, just enough to see his face, darting between his bloody lip and his eyes and back again. You kiss him again, sucking his bottom lip between your own, laving your tongue along the curve. His hips snap against your ass, that peak growing closer and closer with every touch you offer. He sees the recognition in your eyes, the spark of knowledge as you tighten your grip on him.

“Baby,” you murmur, your gaze softening, the corner of your lip curling up as his pace stutters. You cover his hands with your own, squeezing your fingers around his wrists, pushing your body back into his. “You fuck me so good, love me so good.” You steal another kiss. “Love you so goddamned much.”

His brow furrows, hands tightening on you, fingers curling against your ribs. He growls into your mouth, nerves set alight, the feeling barrelling up and down and side to side, making his toes numb in his boots. He cums with a shout, one you catch with your own lips as he staggers, nearly losing his grip on you as he spills himself deep. It makes you hum, your grip going tighter, and now it’s you holding him upright, your lips all over his cheek, one hand lifting to brush through his hair.

Once he’s caught his breath, you let out a little breathy giggle, your arms still around each other. “Well, that was unexpected.”

“Sorry,” he mumbles, feeling his cheeks heat as he slips out of you. “I just…needed that.”

You reach up, running your thumb over where you bit his lip. “You definitely don’t need to apologize for that, Joel. I’m sorry for biting you so hard.”

The corner of his mouth twitches. “I liked it.”

As you clean each other up, finding spare rags to clean the mess between your legs, wetting another to dab at the blood on Joel’s lip, he forgets, just for a moment. Forgets about the world outside, the terror and the violence that seem to follow you all around. For a moment, you’re just two people in love, as desperate for each other now as you were when you first met twenty-two years ago. You’re just…you.

You pull your jeans back up, inspecting your bandage after you do. Joel steps close to you. “Okay?”

“Yeah,” you tell him, a relaxed smile on your face. He doesn’t remember the last time he saw you look like that — relaxed.

As you straighten, he pulls you back into the circle of his arms, fitting his arms around your shoulders. Your hands slip under his flannel, palms flat against his skin. He tugs at your hair, lifting your face until his nose brushes yours. Your lips part, words on the tip of your tongue, but he beats you to the punch.

“I love you,” he whispers, well aware that his hands are shaking. You nudge your nose against his, pulling him closer. He drops his jaw, capturing your lips again, but softly this time. He adjusts his grip, hands lifting to cup your face, thumb swiping across your cheek. The cut on your face has also healed, a thin scar left behind. Joel traces it as you deepen the kiss, your tongue touching his.

Ellie clears her throat in the doorway and you both jump apart, you covering your face with your hand while Joel braces his hands on his hips, staring at the floor. She doesn’t say anything at first, stepping into the tower and tossing her gun onto the table in the middle — the table he’d just—

“What happened to your mouth?” she asks suddenly, brow furrowing at Joel. His head snaps up, brows rising.

“Huh?”

“Your lip is bleeding.”

“Oh.” He lifts his hand to his mouth, feeling his cheeks heat. “Uh—”

You stifle a laugh, turning away with a guilty look on your face, finding something in the corner of the room infinitely more interesting.

The kid’s eyes dart between the two of you, and then she makes a face. “Gross.”

One month later, on the outskirts of Cody, Wyoming…

You’re all dragging your heels.

Ellie’s asleep on her feet, and Joel is so overtired that his senses are in overdrive. You can see it in the way his head swivels on his neck, eyes flitting every direction, coasting over where you’re stood on his bad side, bat over your shoulder, gun in hand. He’s still carting the rifle, knife at his hip, and Ellie has her not-so-secret gun. You feel better knowing she’s armed and feel shitty knowing how fucked up that thought process is.

Since you left the tower, winter has caught up with you. The snow came and left, then came and stuck, and it was very quickly apparent that the jackets you’d carried with you from Boston weren’t going to cut it. The chill in your bones had you detouring through neighbourhoods, reminiscent of your smuggling days, picking through houses over the remnants of people’s lives. You make Ellie and Joel keep watch most of the time, wanting to keep them safe from whatever horrors might be lurking behind closed doors.

You get lucky. You find a thick leather coat for Joel, wool-lined and worn in. For Ellie, what you think might have been a boy’s winter jacket, but it’s heavy enough to keep her warm and fits her fine. For you, one of those ridiculously patterned flannel-sherpa monstrosities you’re sure your mother had six of back in the nineties. It’s almost not warm enough, but you manage to find a few more layers to wear underneath and it works.

You find a few hats — one of which you have to all but force onto Ellie’s head — and leather gloves to match Joel’s jacket. It’s easy enough to find boots for you and Ellie, the tall, lace-up kind that hug your calves and keep the snow out. For Joel, every pair you find isn’t the right size, or the soles are worse off than the ones he’s been wearing. What you do find is duct tape, and he wraps his boots in it, waving you off when you try to help.

Part of you wishes you’d stayed in the watchtower. It wasn’t the perfect place — it got drafty as hell once the temperature started to drop — but you had a good vantage point. The supplies you found would have lasted a bit longer, and you could have gone back to Omaha to look for more.

Part of you wanted to stay, but a bigger part wanted to go. Once your leg was healed, you just wanted to keep moving. Whatever this is, you want to see it through. You’ve lost too much since leaving Boston, you refuse to tuck your tail between your legs and just give it up.

Another part, a part that’s small sometimes, and so big sometimes you think it might swallow you whole, that part doesn’t want any of this. It wants to find a place, somewhere safe, somewhere far from FEDRA and the Fireflies and the past you left behind, just for you. For you and for Joel and…

And for Ellie.

You can’t deny the protectiveness you feel for her. Right from that first night, you just had to keep her safe, had to keep her as whole as you possibly could in a world that wants the polar opposite. You look at her, remember what you’ve agreed to do, to just hand her over to the Fireflies. What will they do with her, what will they…?

Never mind your own feelings, but you’ve seen her and Joel lately, since you left Kansas City. Something’s changed, shifted. You know Joel will be the last person to admit it, but there’s a kinship, a kindness between them that didn’t exist before. He’s still your gruff old man, through and through, but his edges that were once soft only for you have smoothed out for her, too. It’s little things — passing a can of soup back and forth, Joel making sure she’s got a good grip on the warm metal before letting go — and the bigger ones too. When you first left the watchtower, shortly after the first snow, Ellie had nearly tumbled down the hill, but Joel had been closer than you, and he’d grabbed her before she could fall, hauling her back and onto steady feet, keeping her pressed to his chest until she caught her breath again.

You saw the flicker in his face when her arms wrapped around his middle, and the twinge in his expression when she let go, giving a shaky laugh and stepping away from him.

They’ve gotten closer, but Joel’s different on his own. He still has those pinched expressions when he thinks you’re not looking, looks of pain that he forces mild when he catches you looking. The closer you get to Cody, potentially to Tommy, the more antsy he gets. You know he’ll never admit it, but you know exactly what’s going on in his head. You’ve come all this way, and what if…

What if you don’t find Tommy?

Or worse, what if you do find him and—

No. You cut the thought short. You can’t let yourself think like that. No good will come of it.

You’ll find the Cody Tower. You’ll find Tommy and he’ll help you find the Fireflies, and this will all—

“Liv!”

You’ve only just reached the outskirts of the city. Wrapped in your own head, your mind going a million miles a minute, you didn’t realize you’d gotten close to the buildings, the flattened cityscape that looks like something out of an old Western. Joel grabs you from behind, clamping a hand over your mouth and wrenching you backwards, your boots scuffing against the pavement as he drags you, stifling your surprised noise when you see the sight before you.

Off in the distance, the control tower is plain as day. Your mind paints a taunting image of Tommy perched on the top platforms, speaking into a radio, talking to you and to Joel, telling you where he’s gone, what he’s doing.

The town below is less taunting, more nightmare.

Clickers, everywhere.

As far as your eye can see, wandering and twitching their way through the streets, tripping over abandoned cars and cracked hunks of pavement. The odd screech reaches your ears, sending chills down your spine. You let Joel drag you back, your body going willingly, pushing yourself back into his arms as you go. Ellie is frozen in place as you pass, her eyes glued to the sight before you, and you grab the hood of her coat as you pass, pulling her along with you.

Joel doesn’t release you until you’re back over the hill you’d just crested, until you’re out of earshot, out of sight. Your heart is racing, thumping against your ribs, and you get your bearings, letting go of Joel enough to grab his hand and Ellie’s, pulling them off the road and into the forest lining the road.

But Joel doesn’t move.

He’s still as a statue in the middle of the road, the hill stretching below, a straight shot through Cody. Even at a further distance now, you can hear them, those awful noises, like some kind of demonic birdsong. Ellie grips your hand tightly and you put yourself between her and the town below. “Joel, we need to move,” you say, tugging on his wrist. Nothing. “Joel—”

“He was in Cody,” he murmurs, his voice nearly carried away on the wind that sweeps through, ruffling your hair and his, making goosebumps rise on your skin. “He was there. D’you think that he…”

He doesn’t finish the sentence. The rifle falls from his grip, hanging against his shoulder, and his hand flies to his throat, boots sliding as his body tilts. He’s white as a fucking ghost. You pull your hand from Ellie’s, reaching for him. He grunts as you move in front of him, bearing his weight, trying to keep him upright.

“Liv—” Ellie starts, but you cut her off.

“Go to the trees,” you tell her, giving her a pointed look. “Go, and don’t move till I say, you hear me?”

She nods, her face nearly solemn, and heads for the tree line.

“Joel,” you call, and he gives you no response, his hands on your shoulders and his breath wheezing out of his chest. It’s coming fast, his entire body shaking with every inhale, every exhale. “Joel, honey, I’m right here.”

“What if he…” He trails off again, his eyes moving past you, back to the town. “Tommy…”

“Tommy’s alive,” you say, making your voice as stern as you can be, ignoring the panic rising in your own chest. “He’s alive and he sure as hell isn’t down there. We need to get someplace safe, okay? We need to figure out where to go next.”

“But he—”

You grab his chin in your hand, force his eyes on yours. “Your brother is a smart man, Joel, much as you hate to admit it. And he left Boston a long time ago. He wouldn’t have stuck around long enough to get caught up in something like that. He’s alive, and we’re going to find him. You hear me?”

His chest is still rising rapidly, his hands shaking as they move down to your biceps, squeezing so tight you feel it through your jacket and sweater. “I don’t know what…” He shakes his head, some of the colour returning to his cheeks. The wind howls and his eyes finally drop, pinched shut as he relaxes slightly into your grip, his breath starting to come a touch slower.

“I know,” you tell him, pressing your chest to his, hoping he’ll feel your even breaths, that his body will respond and try to match them. “I’ve had that thought more times than I care to admit. We have to believe he’s alive, Joel, and that we’ll find him. We will.”

His shoulders sag and he pulls you against him, his temple against your forehead as he exhales slowly. “We will.”

“We’re lost.”

“We’re not fuckin’ lost,” Joel grumbles, swinging his bag from his shoulder. He pulls out the map, shoves it in your direction, and you give Ellie a glare as you unfold it, the lines and dots instantly giving you more of a headache than you already have.

“Really?” she quips, and you let your eyes flutter shut, pushing the map back at Joel. “Then where the fuck are we?”

He gives you a pointed look, brow raised, but you ignore it, scrubbing your gloved hand over your face. It’s fucking cold. You feel like you haven’t slept in three days — realistically, you know that’s not completely true, but the little sleep you have gotten hasn’t been nearly enough, and the thrum in the back of your mind has been near constant. You’re burning out, desperate for some real food, water that hasn’t been hastily boiled over a campfire, and at least eighteen hours of sleep. Hell, even eight would do the trick.

You’ve been walking since sunrise. Almost three days past Cody. You walked through (past? You can’t be sure…) Yellowstone a day and a half in, and you’re all dragging each other along. The roads are hell, covered in snow, the blanket of white a welcome repaint to the landscape, but it helps hide the things that go bump in the night. Infected aren’t the only things you have to worry about in the mountains.

Joel furrows his brow at the map, yanking his gloves off to trace the path he’s after. You’ve been following the map, using whatever landmarks you can to find the next town. Joel mentioned Jackson, you thought maybe Yellowstone would have a camp of some sort — the park was big enough they could have put up some sort of outpost or camp when the outbreak came — but your path proved otherwise. Whatever had been set up in the park’s boundary was long gone.

There’s a marked path Joel’s been trying to follow, but the snow is not helpful. You think you’ve been sticking to it, but with every step, you feel more and more unsure. What if you’re going in the wrong direction? You trust Joel, you know he’s good for this stuff, that he wouldn’t risk it — risk you — if he wasn’t sure, but after his episode outside Cody, your worry for him has only grown stronger.

But you have to keep going.

It’s Ellie, that spots the cabin off in the distance. Small, tucked behind a wooden fence you’d guess is about chest height. Smoke pours out of the chimney. The relief that floods you is tinged with wariness, but it’s the first sign of actual living human life since you left Kansas City, and part of you wants to grab onto it as tight as you can.

The other part knows you can’t be stupid about this. You have to be careful.

By the time you get close enough to scope the place out, night has nearly fallen, and you make camp just inside the trees, out of line of sight from the cabin, but still able to keep an eye out. Joel insists on taking the majority of watch, and you let him, honestly too tired to fight with him otherwise. The little sleep you get is fitful, too many noises in the forest keeping you awake, Ellie’s murmurs in her sleep putting you on high alert, listening closely for any sounds of distress. You huddle close on the sleeping bags, keeping each other warm while Joel paces the small camp you’ve made.

You’re up with the sun, feeling like you barely got back to sleep when you’re being pulled out of it, and Joel has a plan. “It’s an older couple,” he informs you, scratching at his forehead, passing you a cup of coffee. You’ve rationed what you found back in KC best you can, but you’re getting down to the dregs and the grounds are more and more stale. But it’s caffeine, and you’re grateful all the same. “Husband looks like a hunter. I say we wait it out, wait for him to leave, then get in there. Get the wife to point us in the right direction. Figure out where the hell we are, if they’ve ever heard of Tommy, if he passed through here.”

“What if she doesn’t want to help us?” Ellie asks, and the waver in her voice pulls at something in your chest. You stare down into your coffee.

Joel pulls his gun out of his pocket, bare fingers curled around the handle. “We make sure she does.”

“Joel—” you start, but he shakes his head.

“We’ve been walking for days, Liv. I know you’ve been thinkin’ the same as I have. This is the first real thing we’ve found; I won’t walk away until we’ve found all we can.”

You swallow hard, the coffee bitter on your tongue. “Okay,” you nod, “but we ask politely first.”

His jaw ticks. “Yes, dear.”

Florence lets you inside with little issue. She actually laughs at Ellie’s whispered what the fuuuuuuck when you step into the cabin. The warmth that floods your body nearly makes you crumple on the spot, but you keep upright, taking in the log interior, the animal skulls and all manner of tools and equipment hanging from the walls.

Joel pushes ahead of the two of you, gun raised, scanning the space. “Anyone else here?”

“Just me,” the older woman says, almost smiling. “You waited until Marlon left.”

“He looked like a shoot first, ask questions later type,” Joel says, and she laughs again.

“He is.”

Keeping the gun at hand, Joel steps through the cabin, poking around doors, heading up to the loft to make sure it’s empty too. You and Ellie stand there awkwardly, teeth chattering as your bodies get used to the warmth.

“Sit down, girls,” Florence instructs, getting out of her chair with some effort. “I’ll make you some soup.”

“You don’t have t—” you protest, but she waves you off as she heads to the kitchen area.

“It’s cold out there.”

Joel comes back down the stairs, satisfied with his search, and Ellie sinks down on the couch, clearly unable to resist a soft seat. You’re tense, and Joel stands beside you, one hand in the middle of your back, the other still holding his gun aloft.

“Joel,” you start, but he shakes his head again, just like he had.

“Where is she?”

“Making soup,” Ellie answers and his brows shoot up.

It’s a good few minutes of quiet, and you sit down beside Ellie, every bone in your body creaking as you hit the cushion. Joel puts himself between the two of you and Florence, her back to you, the clatter of dishes the only sound.

“We don’t want any trouble,” Joel says, “just need to know where we are.”

The woman nods as she turns back, two bowls of soup in her hands as she walks back toward the couch. You and Ellie accept them with mumbled thanks, and she goes back to get a third bowl for Joel before sinking back into her rocking chair, regarding the three of you.

“You got a map?”

About an hour later, the bowls are empty, you can feel your toes again, and Ellie’s cheeks are not nearly as rosy as they’d been when she woke up this morning. The map sits on the table in front of you, and your eyes are trained on the spot Florence had pointed to. Joel is still rigid, pacing the cabin with the gun in his hand, ignoring you when you tell him to put it away.

Florence is still in her rocking chair, and she pauses mid-rock, head turning toward the door. “He’s back.”

“Ellie, upstairs,” you say, and she shoots you a wide-eyed look, but you press. “Now.”

She sighs as she darts upstairs, like she’s annoyed to not be in the line of fire, and Joel pulls you up off the couch, bringing you with him into the kitchen, out of sight of the front door.

The man you assume to be Marlon steps through the front door a beat later, unzipping his coat and setting a hunting bow down on the nearby table. Florence just watches, rocking back and forth in her chair, but you don’t miss the way her eyes meet his and then flick to the pair of you tucked to the side.

Marlon takes a step forward, and Joel moves at the same time. “And the gun, too.”

Your brow lifts. You hadn’t noticed the holster at Marlon’s belt, but Joel had. “Who the hell are you?”

Joel steps around the room slowly, his own gun lifted and pointed at the older man. “Just someone passin’ through.” You stay where you are, watching the scene unfold before you. Joel stops, gestures to Marlon. “Take the gun out, two fingers only, put it outta reach.”

You have to admit the thread of power in his voice makes a shiver race down your spine. And it’s not from the cold.

Marlon does as asked, pulling the pistol out almost mockingly, shaking it in the air before setting it down — out of reach, like Joel said.

“Why didn’t you shoot ‘em?” Marlon asks, jutting his chin at his wife.

“Gun’s all the way over there,” Florence replies, looking toward the kitchen. You realize she could have — when she went to make you all soup, she easily could have grabbed the gun and started shooting. Three against one wouldn’t be an easy fight for the woman, but it would have been something. “He didn’t hurt me, by the way,” she tacks onto the end, her voice almost sarcastic.

“Yeah, I got eyes,” Marlon grumbles, and steps a little closer, gesturing at the table in front of the couch, your empty bowls of soup and the map. “You made him soup?”

“Yeah,” Florence replies, “I did. It’s cold out.”

Marlon sinks down into one of the empty chairs, and you can see Joel’s patience wearing thin. “I’m lookin’ for my brother.”

The old man scoffs, pulling his hat off. “Well, I ain’t seen him.”

“I haven’t told you what he looks like,” Joel retorts, matching his tone.

“He look anything like you?”

“A bit,” Joel answers, and you can’t stop yourself from stepping forward.

“Not really,” you say, and Marlon’s brows shoot up as you make yourself seen, your own gun dangling from your hand. “Darker hair, a bit shorter, more mustache than beard.”

Another scoff. “I ain’t seen him.”

“They’ve got a girl with them,” Florence says, lifting her chin toward the loft.

“Can I come down?” Ellie’s voice floats down, and Joel bristles.

“No,” he calls, his voice stern, and you both look up to see her lean over the railing.

“Ellie!” you call, trying to strengthen Joel’s command, but it doesn’t work. She comes bounding down the stairs, gun rattling in her hand.

“Ooh-wa,” Marlon grumbles, and both he and Florence start laughing.

“What did I just say?” Joel grits and you sigh, rubbing your hand over your forehead.

“Joel, come on,” Ellie retorts, almost rolling her eyes. “They’re like, a thousand.”

“Who’s this little psycho?” Marlon asks, gesturing to Ellie, looking between you and Joel. “Your daughter?”

“She’s—” you start, but Joel cuts you off.

“Never mind her,” he says, stepping forward and poking at the map on the table. “I need you to tell us where we are.”

“If you got a map, why you lost?”

“Must have missed all the street signs in the enormous fucking forest,” Ellie bites out, and you grab her shoulder, yanking her backward and beside you.

“Ho-ly,” Marlon laughs, and Florence chuckles. The whole scene is making your head hurt. It’s like whiplash.

Joel gives you a pointed look as the older couple laughs. Your jaw goes tight and you shake your head ever so slightly, gripping Ellie’s shoulder as he leans in again, pointing at the map. “We’re somewhere here. Exactly where? And your answer better be the same as your wife’s.”

Marlon stares at Joel for a long moment before his eyes cut to Florence. “You tell him the truth?”

“Yeah,” she says, still rocking back and forth.

“You tellin’ me the truth?”

“Yeah.”

Another glare from the old man before he leans forward in the chair and pokes at the map. Exactly the same spot Florence had pointed out. Middle of fucking nowhere. You can feel Ellie’s eyes on your face, but you can’t bring yourself to look in her direction.

With a sigh, Joel tucks his gun away. “Well, you found a great place to hide, I guess.” He sinks down onto the couch, putting his head in his palm.

“Hide?” Marlon laughs. “Came here before you were born, sonny. Get the hell away from everybody.”

“I didn’t want to,” Florence interjects, and despite it all, you laugh.

Marlon waves her off. “Listen, I didn’t mean to upset you about your brother, but if you’ve come this far, then you know what’s out there. You’ve seen Cody?”

At the mention, you step away from Ellie, to the other side of the couch, hovering near Joel’s shoulder, reaching out and curling your fingers in his coat. Ellie sinks onto the corner of the couch and answers for you. “Yeah, got close enough. It’s crawling with Infected.”

“Yeah, Laramie and Wind River Reservation,” Marlon tells you, his eyes flitting from Ellie to Joel to you and back again. “Anywhere people used to be, you can’t go there no more.”

You can feel Joel tensing under your hand like a drawn bowstring. “So you haven’t heard the name Tommy? Tommy Miller?”

“Nope.”

“What about the Fireflies?” you ask, finding your voice.

“We get those in the summer,” Florence answers innocently.

“Not the bugs,” Ellie bites out, “the people.”

“There are firefly people?” the old woman asks and the pair starts laughing again.

Ellie has more to say, but you call her name, your voice as stern as Joel’s had been, and this time she listens, shrinking down onto the couch.

“You got any advice on the best way West?” Joel asks, and you can feel his shoulders going tighter and tighter.

“Yeah,” Marlon answers, “go East. But you never go past the river here.” He points at the map, not far from where he’d pointed before. “Ever.”

“What’s past the river?” you ask, stepping around and sitting on the arm of the couch, your hand still squeezing Joel’s shoulder.

“Death,” Florence says, and an icy chill shoots through you. “We never see who’s out there, but we see the bodies they leave behind. Some Infected, some not. If your brother’s West of the river, he’s gone.”

Joel deflates. You feel it beneath your hand, the slump to his shoulder, the defeat that starts to roil through him. You know him too well not to see it for what it is. He’s giving up.

And Ellie is staring at you. You let yourself meet her gaze, and see your own fear mirrored in her eyes. But despite it all, what comes out of your mouth is, “You aren’t gonna scare us.”

“Scared him,” Florence says, chin lifted toward Joel.

Marlon laughs again and Joel snatches the map up off the table, moving out from under your grip and getting to his feet. “We need to leave.” You move to follow, grabbing Ellie by the shoulder again. You grab your bags from where you stashed them near the stairs. Joel swings the rifle over his shoulder and as he steps past you to get to the door, you hear the wheeze in his breath. Without another word, he steps out of the door, Ellie following.

You turn back to the older couple. “Thank you for the…hospitality.”

Marlon gives you a strange look. “Don’t get yourself killed out there, girl.”

You give a curt nod before turning on your heel, following Joel and Ellie. Ellie is nearly running to keep up with him, a dead rabbit hanging from her grip — where the hell did she get a dead rabbit?

“They don’t know anything,” she’s saying, like she’s trying to reason with him. “Never heard of the Fireflies.”

They’re at the fence by the time you catch up, your boots nearly slipping through the snow. Joel’s stock-still, one hand reached out, gripping the wooden fence for support.

“Joel, are you okay?” Ellie calls, and you hear him grumble at her to shut up. “Holy shit, are you dying?” She whirls, panic in her eyes as she stares at you. “Liv, is he dying? This is the second time.”

Joel shakes his head, the movement almost frantic, eyes squeezed shut. “I’m okay,” he wheezes, and you step past Ellie, moving beside him. “Okay, okay, I’m fine.”

“Joel,” you call, your voice soft, reaching for his free hand, threading your fingers through his. “I’m right here.”

“No, no, but are you okay?” Ellie continues, her voice climbing. “Because just a reminder, that if you’re dead, we’re fucked.”

“Ellie, stop it,” you snap, squeezing Joel’s fingers as your head whips in her direction. The anger that spikes through you is there and gone in a flash, but you see it flicker across her face all the same.

“I’m fine,” Joel repeats, lifting your joined hands to his chest, rubbing your knuckles against his sternum. “Just the…cold air, all of a sudden.” He’s still panting, his breaths still wheezing, and he bends slightly, still gripping the fence for support.

Ellie’s still staring at you. The guilt is immediate as she ducks under the fence, putting distance between the pair of you. “Alright, uh, so let’s go and find Tommy and the Fireflies.”

Joel straightens, taking a deep, even breath, and you relax slightly, turning your attention to him fully. His lips form the words I’m okay and you wish to God you could believe him, but his eyes tell a different story. One you don’t have time to hash out here and now.

“It’s gonna be easy,” Ellie is still carrying on, nearly crawling up the hill that leads away from the cabin. “All we have to do is cross the River of Death.”

PREV | NEXT

#my fics #strawberry wine #joel miller #joel miller fic #joel miller x you #joel miller x reader #joel miller smut #joel miller fluff #joel miller angst #the last of us #the last of us fic #the last of us spoilers #joel miller x oc #joel miller x liv stone

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genshin-impact-updates · 8 months

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"As Light Rain Falls Without Reason" Version 4.0 Update Details

Dear Travelers,

Below are the details of the Version 4.0 update "As Light Rain Falls Without Reason" and the update compensation.

〓Compensation Details〓

Maintenance Compensation: Primogems ×300 (60 Primogems per hour the servers are down)

Issue Fix Compensation: Primogems ×300 (please refer to the relevant compensation mail for more details)

〓Scope of Compensation〓

Maintenance Compensation: Travelers who have reached Adventure Rank 5 or above by 2023/08/16 06:00 (UTC+8).

Compensation must be claimed before the end of Version 4.0.

Issue Fix Compensation: Travelers who reach Adventure Rank 5 or above by 2023/08/16 06:00 (UTC+8).

Please log in and claim your compensation before 2023/08/19 06:00 (UTC+8).

Our developers will distribute compensation to Travelers via in-game mail within 5 hours after the update maintenance is finished. The mail will expire after 30 days, so don't forget to claim the attached compensation in time.

〓Update Schedule〓

Update maintenance begins 2023/08/16 06:00 (UTC+8) and is estimated to take 5 hours.

〓How to Update Game Client〓

PC: Close the game, open the Genshin Impact Launcher, and click Update.

iOS: Open the App Store and tap Update.

Android: Open the game and follow the directions on-screen.

PS5™ and PS4™: Highlight Genshin Impact from the Home Screen, press the OPTIONS button and select "Check for Update."

Please do not hesitate to contact Customer Service if you encounter any issues installing the new version. We will do our very best to resolve the issue.

〓Update Details〓

I. New Area

New Area - Fontaine

A story that has never been heard, a legend that has been forgotten, like a lost kingdom sunken beneath the waves, yearning for a bard to sing its drowned songs. Following the direction of pure currents, crossing wilderness, the depths of the forests and vastness of the sea of sand, arriving at the origin of all the waters of the continent.

At the top of the waterfall, in the depths of the capital atop the terrestrial sea, the curtain softly rises on the start of the adventure's next chapter.

In Version 4.0, the following areas in Fontaine will become available: Court of Fontaine Region, Beryl Region, and Belleau Region.

※ Completing the Archon Quest Prologue: Act III "Song of the Dragon and Freedom" will automatically unlock a Teleport Waypoint in the Realm of Farakhkert in Sumeru (If you have already completed this Archon Quest, the Teleport Waypoint will be unlocked after the update). Travelers can use this Teleport Waypoint to head over to Fontaine. You'll also receive the Primogem reward for this Teleport Waypoint when it unlocks automatically.

▌New Fontaine Mechanic

Fontaine's Blessing

A mysterious power that flows out from a statue to imbue you with the blessing of the Transoceanic Sourcewater.

Your progress will remain unhindered so long as you are moving through the lakes of Fontaine.

※ Currently, some gadgets equipped by characters cannot be used underwater. There is also an issue whereby after characters enter the underwater areas, the icons of the gadgets will not be displayed, which further prevents Travelers from switching to other gadgets through Quickswap. If you need to switch between gadgets, you can do it in the Inventory for now, or Quickswap to the gadgets usable underwater before you dive. This issue will be fixed in future versions.

▌New System in Fontaine

Fountain of Lucine

You can throw the Hydro Sigils you obtain across Fontaine into the Fountain of Lucine outside the Opera Epiclese to raise its level and obtain valuable rewards.

Satisfy any one of the criteria below to unlock the Fountain of Lucine:

• Reach the vicinity of the Fountain of Lucine

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act I "Prelude of Blancheur and Noirceur"

Fontaine Reputation System

◇ Fontaine Reputation Unlock Criteria:

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act II "As Light Rain Falls Without Reason"

• Complete the quest "Steambird Interview"

By interacting with certain NPCs in Fontaine, you will be able to accept requests to complete and increase your Reputation. As your Reputation Level increases, you will unlock various Reputation Rewards!

Expeditions, Daily Commissions, and other new content will also be added in Fontaine.

◇ Fontaine Daily Commissions Unlock Criteria:

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act II "As Light Rain Falls Without Reason"

• Complete World Quest "Another Horizon of Adventure"

Adds the Fontaine Fishing Association, where Travelers can exchange for new items here.

In addition, there will be new Fishing Points and "Radiant Spincrystals" in Fontaine.

II. New Characters

"Spectacle of Phantasmagoria" Lyney (Pyro) (5-Star)

◇ Vision: Pyro

◇ Weapon: Bow

◇ A famed Fontainian magician who possesses great stage presence as well as gift of the gab. Audiences are enthralled by his exquisite skills, and they hang on to his every clever word.

◆ Lyney can enter a special Charge Level 2 when he aims his shot, which, upon hitting a target, can summon a Grin-Malkin Hat that taunts nearby opponents. If Lyney's HP is above a certain level, his Charge Level 2 will consume some of his HP, and add one stack of Prop Surplus. When the Grin-Malkin Hat is destroyed, it can fire off a Pyrotechnic Strike at a nearby opponent, dealing Pyro DMG.

◆ Elemental Skill "Bewildering Lights"

◆ Clear all current Prop Surplus stacks, deal AoE Pyro DMG, and cause the Grin-Malkin Hat created by Lyney to explode, dealing AoE Pyro DMG. The DMG will be increased according to the stacks cleared, and this will also regenerate Lyney's HP.

◆ Elemental Burst "Wondrous Trick: Miracle Parade"

◆ Lyney turns himself into a Grin-Malkin Cat that can move around quickly, dealing Pyro DMG to opponents along the path. When the Grin-Malkin Cat's duration ends or is actively canceled, Lyney will ignite fireworks, deal AoE Pyro DMG, summon a Grin-Malkin Hat, and grant himself one Prop Surplus stack.

"Elegance in the Shadows" Lynette (Anemo) (4-Star)

◇ Vision: Anemo

◇ Weapon: Sword

◇ A magic assistant of few words, her emotions are as inscrutable as any cat's.

Elemental Skill "Enigmatic Feint"

◆ Lynette flicks her mantle and executes an Enigma Thrust, dealing Anemo DMG. When Holding this skill, Lynette will enter a high-speed Pilfering Shadow state and apply Shadowsign to a nearby opponent. When this high-speed state ends, Lynette will approach the opponent with Shadowsign applied and deal Anemo DMG.

◆ Elemental Burst "Magic Trick: Astonishing Shift"

◆ Deals AoE Anemo DMG and makes a giant Bogglecat Box appear. The Bogglecat Box taunts nearby opponents and deals Anemo DMG to nearby opponents as well. When it comes into contact with Hydro/Pyro/Cryo/Electro, it will gain the corresponding element and additionally fire Vivid Shots that will deal DMG from that element at intervals.

"Yearning for Unseen Depths" Freminet (Cryo) (4-Star)

◇ Vision: Cryo

◇ Weapon: Claymore

◇ A reserved young man who is well-versed in diving. Beneath his distant, icy demeanor lies a pure heart bereft of all flaws.

◆ Elemental Skill "Pressurized Floe"

◆ Causes Freminet to enter Pers Timer state. While Pers Timer is active, when Freminet uses Normal Attacks, he will also unleash waves of frost that deal Cryo DMG and increase Pers's Pressure Level. When Freminet uses his Elemental Skill again, he will execute different sorts of attacks that deals Cryo DMG and Physical DMG of different strengths based on the Pressure Level of Pers.

◆ Elemental Burst "Shadowhunter's Ambush"

◆ Deals AoE Cryo DMG, resets the CD of Pressurized Floe, and enters the Subnautical Hunter mode. In the Subnautical Hunter mode, Pressurized Floe will receive a CD decrease and Freminet's resistance to interruption will increase. Additionally, in this mode, the frost DMG of Freminet's Normal Attacks will be increased.

Traveler (Hydro) (5-Star)

◇ Interact with a Statue of The Seven - Hydro to resonate with the Hydro element, and use a new Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst.

◆ Elemental Skill "Aquacrest Saber"

◆ Unleashes a torrent that can cleanse the world. Pressing the skill sends a Torrent Surge forward that will deal Hydro DMG to opponents it comes into contact with. Hold this skill to enter Aiming Mode and constantly fire off Dewdrops in the direction in which you are aiming, dealing Hydro DMG to opponents they hit.

◆ Elemental Burst "Rising Waters"

◆ Unleashes a slow-moving floating bubble that deals continuous Hydro DMG to nearby opponents.

III. New Domains

Domain of Forgery: Echoes of the Deep Tides

◇ Legend speaks of a time in the distant past, when the Sovereign of the Waters had not yet returned from confinement, there was another God King who dreamed of building a prosperous empire out of harmonious music atop the waves. But the great ambition of building a utopia failed to come to fruition, and the arrogance of humanity sunk into their depths along with their pride. The golden melodies long silent, only the cold music of the tides still echoes upon the remains of their grand altars.

◇ Unlock Criteria (satisfy any one of the criteria below to unlock):

• Reach Adventure Rank 16 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Prologue: Act II "For a Tomorrow Without Tears"

◆ Challenge the Domain to obtain Weapon Ascension Materials.

Domain of Mastery: Pale Forgotten Glory

◇ In the past, the great white armada that traversed the seas was Fontaine's supreme pride and glory, for the Mistress of Rivers and Oceans blessed her people with the authority and wish to conquer all the waters of the world. However, this lofty ambition was insufficient to overcome the laws of fate. To this day, on the brass masts are inscribed the words: "I have conquered the waves of the four seas."

◇ Unlock Criteria (satisfy any one of the criteria below to unlock):

• Reach Adventure Rank 27 or above

Complete Archon Quest Chapter I: Act I "Of the Land Amidst Monoliths"

◆ Challenge the Domain to obtain Character Talent Materials.

Domain of Blessing: Denouement of Sin

◇ Legends say that the first Lochknight concealed themselves in the remote wilderness with the Lochfolk, intending to use self-exile and rigorous training in an attempt to repay a sin fated to be beyond redemption. Now the land has long returned to deathly silence, with the long, chill winds still blowing through the deserted valley.

◇ Unlock Criteria (satisfy any one of the criteria below to unlock):

• Reach Adventure Rank 22 or above

• Complete the Archon Quest "Prologue: Act III - Song of the Dragon and Freedom"

◆ Challenge the Domain to obtain artifacts in the "Marechaussee Hunter" and "Golden Troupe" sets.

IV. New Equipment

1. New Weapons (Examples based on Refinement Rank 1)

The First Great Magic (5-Star Bow)

DMG dealt by Charged Attacks increased by 16%. For every party member with the same Elemental Type as the wielder (including the wielder themselves), gain 1 Gimmick stack. For every party member with a different Elemental Type from the wielder, gain 1 Theatrics stack. When the wielder has 1/2/3 or more Gimmick stacks, ATK will be increased by 16%/32%/48%. When the wielder has 1/2/3 or more Theatrics stacks, Movement SPD will be increased by 4%/7%/10%.

◆ During the event wish "Epitome Invocation," the event-exclusive 5-star weapon The First Great Magic (Bow) will receive a huge drop-rate boost!

Fleuve Cendre Ferryman (4-Star Sword)

Increases Elemental Skill CRIT Rate by 8%. Additionally, increases Energy Recharge by 16% for 5s after using an Elemental Skill.

◆ You can exchange for Fleuve Cendre Ferryman (Sword) and its Refinement Material at the Fontaine Fishing Association.

▌Forgeable Weapons

Finale of the Deep (4-Star Sword)

When using an Elemental Skill, ATK will be increased by 12% for 15s, and a Bond of Life worth 25% of Max HP will be granted. This effect can be triggered once every 10s. When the Bond of Life is cleared, a maximum of 150 ATK will be gained based on 2.4% of the total amount of the Life Bond cleared, lasting for 15s.

※ Bond of Life: Absorbs healing for the character based on its base value, and clears after healing equal to this value is obtained.

Tidal Shadow (4-Star Claymore)

After the wielder is healed, ATK will be increased by 24% for 8s. This can be triggered even when the character is not on the field.

Rightful Reward (4-Star Polearm)

When the wielder is healed, restore 8 Energy. This effect can be triggered once every 10s, and can occur even when the character is not on the field.

Flowing Purity (4-Star Catalyst)

When using an Elemental Skill, All Elemental DMG Bonus will be increased by 8% for 15s, and a Bond of Life worth 24% of Max HP will be granted. This effect can be triggered once every 10s. When the Bond of Life is cleared, every 1,000 HP cleared in the process will provide 2% All Elemental DMG Bonus, up to a maximum of 12%. This effect lasts 15s.

※ Bond of Life: Absorbs healing for the character based on its base value, and clears after healing equal to this value is obtained.

Song of Stillness (4-Star Bow)

After the wielder is healed, they will deal 16% more DMG for 8s. This can be triggered even when the character is not on the field.

◆ You can exchange for Weapon Forging Blueprints from Estelle in the Court of Fontaine by consuming certain amounts and types of materials.

▌Battle Pass Weapons

Wolf-Fang (4-Star Sword)

DMG dealt by Elemental Skill and Elemental Burst will be increased by 16%. When an Elemental Skill hits an opponent, its CRIT Rate will be increased by 2%. When an Elemental Burst hits an opponent, its CRIT Rate will be increased by 2%. Both of these effects last 10s separately, have 4 max stacks, and can be triggered once every 0.1s.

Talking Stick (4-Star Claymore)

ATK will be increased by 16% for 15s after being affected by Pyro. This effect can be triggered once every 12s. All Elemental DMG Bonus will be increased by 12% for 15s after being affected by Hydro, Cryo, Electro, or Dendro. This effect can be triggered once every 12s.

Ballad of the Fjords (4-Star Polearm)

When there are at least 3 different Elemental Types in your party, Elemental Mastery will be increased by 120.

Sacrificial Jade (4-Star Catalyst)

When not on the field for more than 5s, Max HP will be increased by 32% and Elemental Mastery will be increased by 40. These effects will be canceled after the wielder has been on the field for 10s.

Scion of the Blazing Sun (4-Star Bow)

After a Charged Attack hits an opponent, a Sunfire Arrow will descend upon the opponent hit, dealing 60% ATK as DMG, and applying the Heartsearer effect to the opponent damaged by said Arrow for 10s. Opponents affected by Heartsearer take 28% more Charged Attack DMG from the wielder. A Sunfire Arrow can be triggered once every 10s.

◆ The abovementioned Battle Pass weapons will be included in the BP Bounty in Version 4.0. Weapons in the current BP Bounty — The Black Sword (Sword), Serpent Spine (Claymore), Deathmatch (Polearm), Solar Pearl (Catalyst), and The Viridescent Hunt (Bow) — will still be available in the BP Bounty after the Version 4.0 update.

2. New Artifacts

Marechaussee Hunter (4-Star and 5-Star)

◇ 2-Piece Set: Normal and Charged Attack DMG +15%.

◇ 4-Piece Set: When current HP increases or decreases, CRIT Rate will be increased by 12% for 5s. Max 3 stacks.

Golden Troupe (4-Star and 5-Star)

◇ 2-Piece Set: Increases Elemental Skill DMG by 20%.

◇ 4-Piece Set: Increases Elemental Skill DMG by 25%. Additionally, when not on the field, Elemental Skill DMG will be further increased by 25%. This effect will be cleared 2s after taking the field.

V. New Main Story

1. New Archon Quest

Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act I "Prelude of Blancheur and Noirceur"

◆ Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 40 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter III: Act VI "Caribert"

Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act II "As Light Rain Falls Without Reason"

◆ Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 40 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act I "Prelude of Blancheur and Noirceur"

◇ After the Version 4.0 update, Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act I "Prelude of Blancheur and Noirceur" and Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act II "As Light Rain Falls Without Reason" will be permanently available

2. New Story Quest

Lyney's Story Quest - Felis Fuscus Chapter: Act I "The Forgotten Thief"

Permanently available after the Version 4.0 update

◆ Quest Unlock Criteria:

• Reach Adventure Rank 40 or above

• Complete Archon Quest Chapter IV: Act II "As Light Rain Falls Without Reason"

3. New World Quests

◆ New World Quests: "Ann of the Narzissenkreuz" Quest Chain, "Ancient Colors" Quest Chain, "Aqueous Tidemarks," "Book of Esoteric Revelations," "Hey, This Isn't Pumpkin Soup...," "Another Horizon of Adventure," "Danger Lurks Everywhere in Fontaine," "In Expert Company? (I)," "In Expert Company? (II)," "A Certain Notice," "A Certain Trifle," "A Certain Stamp," "The Fountain Flows Again," etc.

VI. New Enemies

Icewind Suite

◇ A gift from the Fontaine Research Institute, it is composed of two pieces, Dirge of Coppelia and Nemesis of Coppelius.

At the climax of the performance, Coppelia will halt at the center of the dance floor and expose her spare clockwork component charged with ousia or pneuma, thereby drastically increasing the efficiency of her exertions. During this phase, extinguishing this energy by attacking with the opposing source will overload her, thus progressing the performance.

Located in the Court of Fontaine Region

Emperor of Fire and Iron

◇ An Armored Crablord that has survived for countless eons and surpassed almost all other Fontemer Aberrants.

The twin molten horns located high up on its body are Pyro-aligned organs that can unleash more vicious elemental attacks and grant it even stronger defensive capabilities. When the Armored Crablord unleashes certain attacks, its twin molten horns are closer to the ground. This provides for a great opportunity to use Elemental Reactions to remove the Pyro element within.

Located in the Belleau Region

Shatterstone Breacher Primus, Large Shatterstone Breacher Primus, Overgrown Breacher Primus, and Large Overgrown Breacher Primus

◇ Strange life forms that share nothing in common with any other land-dwelling creature.

In battle, they will enter a stressed state and unleash fierce attacks while under the protection of a Geo or Dendro shield. If the shield is broken during this period, it will cause the life forms to fall into a paralyzed state. Aside from the usual methods of using Elemental Reactions, attacks imbued with ousia and pneuma can also efficiently pierce the defenses of the Breacher Primuses.

Recon Log Mek, Arithmetic Enhancer Mek, Underwater Survey Mek, Underwater Patrol Mek, Geological Survey Mek, Nimble Harvester Mek, Area Alert Mek, Assault Specialist Mek, Suppression Specialist Mek, Annihilation Specialist Mek, Construction Specialist Mek.

◇ Machines created from the union between Fontaine's intricate device and special energy technologies.

Based on whether they are exhibiting ousia or pneuma energy signatures, they will operate differently in battle. When these energies are extinguished upon being attacked by its opposing energy source, it will induce an Overloaded state and cause them to lose energy, weakening their combat capabilities.

Blubberbeast, Hunter's Ray, Armored Crab, Hat Jellyfish, Bubbly Seahorse, Ball Octopus, Angelic Sea Hare, Sternshield Crab, Bubbler Seahorse, Cherubic Sea Hare

◇ Aquatic life forms that have embarked on a unique evolutionary track due to Fontaine's environmental factors.

Some of them are more aggressive and can unleash fiercer elemental attacks and possess even stronger defensive capabilities. If you use Elemental Reactions to remove their Elemental Shields, things should be easier to handle.

Tainted Water-Splitting Phantasm, Tainted Water-Spouting Phantasm

◇ Today, with the Oceanids extirpated from Fontaine, strange elemental life forms have appeared in the waters.

Enter stress state in combat and retaliate violently.

VII. Other Update Details

New Recipes:

○ Hotel Debord, Fontaine: Duck Confit, Cream of Mushroom Soup, Fontaine Aspic, Lasagna, Poisson Seafood Soup, and Fontainian Foie Gras.

○ Louis (NPC): Garlic Baguette, Fontainian Onion Soup, Fish and Chips, and Pate de Fruit.

○ Arouet (NPC): Ile flottante and Conch Madeleine.

○ World Quest Rewards: Tasses Ragout and Poissonchant Pie.

○ Fontaine Reputation System Reward: Steak Tartare, Fruity Trio, and Vessie Chicken.

○ Event Rewards: Fruity Smoothie and Fruity Duet.

New Character Specialty Dishes:

○ Lyney's specialty: Cubic Tricks

○ Lynette's specialty: A Leisurely Sip

○ Freminet's specialty: Seabird's Sojourn

New Achievement categories such as "Mortal Travails: Series IV," "Meetings in Outrealm: Series IV," "Fontaine: Dance of the Dew-White Springs (I)," and new Achievements added to the "Wonders of the World" category.

Adds some prompts for loading screens.

New Namecards:

"Lyney: Pretense": Reward for reaching Friendship Lv. 10 with Lyney

"Lynette: Earnestness": Reward for reaching Friendship Lv. 10 with Lynette

"Freminet: Progress": Reward for reaching Friendship Lv. 10 with Freminet

"Fontaine: Judgment": Reward for completing all achievements under "Fontaine: Dance of the Dew-White Springs (I)"

"Achievement: Orbits": Reward for completing all achievements under "Meetings in Outrealm: Series IV"

"Achievement: Mariner": Reward for completing all achievements under "Mortal Travails: Series IV"

"Fontaine: Wondrous Machine": Reward for reaching Reputation Lv. 4 (Fontaine)

"Fontaine: Big News": Reward for reaching Reputation Lv. 8 (Fontaine)

"Travel Notes: Primordial Waters": Reward obtained via the BP system

New Fontaine Reputation Reward Gadgets: Hydroculus Resonance Stone, Hydro Treasure Compass, Wind-Powered Wind Generator, and Crystalfly Trap.

Wind-Powered Wind Generator: Creates a temporary Wind Current in flight.

Crystalfly Trap: Consume a certain amount of Forging Ore to deploy. It will automatically capture Crystalflies when deployed in the open world. You can collect Crystal Core from it 7 days after deployment.

Adds some of the Harvestable seeds from Fontaine to the Seed Dispensary.

Inventory - Destroy Interface: 4-Star Artifacts can now be auto-added.

Increases Inventory limit for Artifacts from 1,500 to 1,800.

Adds Fontaine-related text into Midlander Billet origin descriptions.

Another 8 sets of Artifacts are available to exchange in the Mystic Offering system: Artifact Strongbox: Tenacity of the Millelith, Artifact Strongbox: Pale Flame, Artifact Strongbox: Shimenawa's Reminiscence, Artifact Strongbox: Emblem of Severed Fate, Artifact Strongbox: Husk of Opulent Dreams, Artifact Strongbox: Ocean-Hued Clam, Artifact Strongbox: Vermillion Hereafter, and Artifact Strongbox: Echoes of an Offering.

New Animals: Snow-Winged Goose, Darkwing Goose, Flatcrest Fulmar, Violetgold Angler Gull, Slate Umbrellafinch, Burgundy Umbrellafinch, Magenta Fantail Pigeon, Viridian Fantail Pigeon, Redcrown Finch, Bluecrown Finch, Chestnut Hunting Hound, Glittergray Hunting Hound, Amber Hunting Hound, Hydro Crystalfly, Leisurely Otter, Lady Poodle, Guard Poodle, and Gentleman Poodle.

New Fish: Streaming Axe Marlin, Rippling Heartfeather Bass, Blazing Heartfeather Bass, Maintenance Mek: Initial Configuration, Maintenance Mek: Water Body Cleaner, Maintenance Mek: Situation Controller, Maintenance Mek: Platinum Collection.

The Maintenance Mek can be converted to specific kinds of Character and Weapon Enhancement Materials at the Crafting Bench.

Adds Set 25 of "Paimon's Paintings" chat emojis.

New Function: Multi-Layered Map in the map interface.

New functions in the Party Setup Screen:

(1) Characters' entrance and idle animations

(2) In Settings > Other, you may decide whether "the background of the Party Setup Screen will change based on your current region." If this option is enabled, the Party Setup Screen will change based on your current region.

Gyroscope is now supported on the platforms below:

PC：DualSense™ Wireless Controller, DUALSHOCK®4 Wireless Controller

PS4™：DUALSHOCK®4 Wireless Controller

PS5™：DualSense™ Wireless Controller, DualSense Edge™ Wireless Controller

※ Travelers can find the Gyroscope settings in Settings > Controls while using a Controller to play.

Adds Global Illumination on PlayStation® and will automatically be in effect after the Version update.

Adds Global Illumination on PC devices with a Discrete Graphics Card with a VRAM of 4 GB or more. Travelers may enable it via Settings > Graphics.

It is recommended for Travelers on PC devices to enable this option when your PC specifications are above the minimum specifications below:

● Minimum Specifications for Global Illumination:

Operating System: Windows 10 64-bit

Processor: 9th Generation Intel® Core i5™-9400F or equivalent

Discrete Graphics Card: NVIDIA® GeForce® GT 1050 Ti or equivalent

VRAM: 4 GB or more

RAM: 16 GB or more

"Genius Invokation TCG" Gameplay Update:

New Character Cards: Qiqi, Lisa, and Albedo, and their corresponding Talent cards

New invitation duels and guest challenges added to the Player List.

New Action Cards: King's Squire, Golden House, Setaria, Where Is the Unseen Razor?, Joyous Celebration.

Adds the "Observe Duel" function:

(1) When a friend is in a Genius Invokation TCG duel in Single-Player Mode, you can see this on the Friends interface and observe their game in progress (if this friend is in Co-Op mode, you must first enter their world).

(2) In Co-Op Mode, if your teammate is in a Genius Invokation TCG duel, you can see this on the Co-Op mode interface and observe their game in progress.

(3) In Co-Op Mode, if two of your teammates are in a Genius Invokation Duel through team invitation, you can observe the duel in progress and see both parties' cards and Elemental Dice.

(4) You can respectively allow your friends or teammates in Co-Op Mode to observe your duels or forbid them to do so via Settings in the Genius Invokation TCG duels.

(5) When you are in a Genius Invokation TCG duel, you can select specific observers and remove them from the observers list.

Spiral Abyss

The "Nymph's Dream" and "Vourukasha's Glow" Artifact set rewards in "Domain Reliquary: Tier I," and "Domain Reliquary: Tier II" for Spiral Abyss Floors 9–12 will be replaced with the "Marechaussee Hunter" and the "Golden Troupe" sets.

Floor 9 Ley Line Disorder changed to:

• After a character triggers a Vaporize reaction, the Vaporize reaction DMG for that character is increased by 50% for 5s.

Floor 10 Ley Line Disorder changed to:

• Character deals 50% increased DMG to opponents affected by Hydro.

Floor 11 Ley Line Disorders changed to:

• All characters in the party gain a 60% Pyro DMG Bonus.

• All characters in the party gain a 60% Hydro DMG Bonus.

Updated the monster lineup on Floors 9 – 12 of the Spiral Abyss.

Starting from the first time that the Lunar Phase refreshes after updating to Version 4.0, the two Lunar Phases will be as follows:

Phase I:

Keen Moon

When a character recovers HP, that character gains 10% increased ATK for 10s. Max 3 stacks. Each stack will be counted independently. When a character loses HP, that character gains 40 Elemental Mastery for 10s. Max 3 stacks. Each stack will be counted independently. The effects from recovering and losing HP are independent from each other, and stacks are counted independently.

Phase II:

Gyrating Moon

When a character recovers or loses HP, that character gains 40% increased All Elemental and Physical DMG Bonus for 3s.

※ The above Spiral Abyss update will take effect from September 1 at 04:00 (Server Time).

〓Adjustments & Optimizations〓

● System

Adds the function to view artworks of "Enemies of Note" in Archive > Living Beings > Enemies and Monsters.

Adjusts the mission objectives of the different phases of the "Stellar Reunion" event and reduces the difficulty of missions. The total score obtainable during the event remains unchanged (this adjustment applies to Travelers who activate "Stellar Reunion" after the Version 4.0 update).

Optimizes selection logic in the Artifacts and Weapons interface: after selecting an Artifact or Weapon to view or enhance, when returning to the previous interface, the Artifact or Weapon you initially viewed or enhanced will automatically be selected.

Adjusts the number of Teleport Waypoints required to unlock the achievement "Descending Into the Depths of Desolation." The original total number of Teleport Waypoints required to be unlocked is 16, and is now adjusted to 18 (if the achievement has been completed, the completion status of the achievement remains unchanged).

● Genius Invokation TCG

Adjusts the reward rules and reward display for Genius Invokation TCG: Heated Battle Mode. For each of the first 3 games you complete, you can receive 1,000 Lucky Coins (a maximum of 3,000 Lucky Coins can be obtained ).

● Audio

Optimizes certain interface sound effects in "Genius Invokation TCG" matches.

Optimizes the Korean and English voice lines for some quests.

Optimizes the character sprinting sound effects.

Optimizes certain interface sound effects when using the controller.

●Other

Optimizes the display accuracy of the Wind Glider on mobile devices.

〓Genius Invokation TCG Balance Adjustment〓

Adjusts the cost of Elemental Dice required for Support Card "Jade Chamber": the Elemental Dice cost required will be adjusted from 1 to 0.

Adjusts the cost of Elemental Dice required for Equipment Cards "Broken Rime's Echo," "Wine-Stained Tricorne," "Witch's Scorching Hat," "Thunder Summoner's Crown," "Viridescent Venerer's Diadem," "Mask of Solitude Basalt," "Laurel Coronet," "Capricious Visage," and "Thundering Poise": the Elemental Dice cost required will be adjusted from 2 Dice of the same element to 2 Dice of any element.

Adjusts the cost of Elemental Dice required for Equipment Cards "Blizzard Strayer," "Heart of Depth," "Crimson Witch of Flames," "Thundering Fury," "Viridescent Venerer," "Archaic Petra," and "Deepwood Memories": the Elemental Dice cost required will be adjusted from 3 Dice of any element to 2 Dice of the same element.

Adjusts the cost of Elemental Dice required for Equipment Cards "Vermillion Hereafter" and "Shimenawa's Reminiscence": the Elemental Dice cost required will be adjusted from 3 Dice of the same element to 3 Dice of any element.

Adjusts the cost of Elemental Dice required for Equipment Card "Ornate Kabuto": the Elemental Dice cost required will be adjusted from 2 Dice of any element to 1 Elemental Dice.

Adjusts the cost of Elemental Dice required for Equipment Card "Emblem of Severed Fate": the Elemental Dice cost required will be adjusted from 3 Dice of any element to 2 Dice of the same element.

Adjusts the effect of the Event Card "Thunder and Eternity": this Event Card can now convert all of your Elemental Dice into the Omni Element.

Adjusts the effect of the Event Card "I Haven't Lost Yet!": this Event Card can only be used once per Round.

〓Version Update Known Issue〓

There is an issue in Genius Invokation TCG whereby when you have 0 Elemental Dice before the Action Phase begins, you would still be able to abnormally play the Event Card "Covenant of Rock" due to the Omni Element generated by the Equipment Card "Gambler's Earrings" after the Action Phase begins. (Under normal conditions, "Covenant of Rock" will not be playable as you have more than 0 Elemental Dice at this time.) This issue is scheduled to be fixed in Version 4.1.

There is an issue whereby some enemies in the water and some characters in swimming mode are unable to take DMG from Electro-Charged Reactions in certain water bodies. This issue is scheduled to be fixed in Version 4.1.

〓Bug Fixes〓

● Quests

Fixes an issue with the Story Quest "Where Lies the Path Home" whereby Nahida's location was abnormal.

Fixes an issue whereby there was the possibility of encountering repeated options or objectives when carrying out the Commission Quests "The Gourmet Supremos: Foodie Quiz," "Good Sign," or "Akademiya Q&A."

Fixes an issue with the World Quest "Garcia's Paean: A Gift of Compatibility" whereby there was a small probability of abnormally triggering character teleports and the NPC Kaia may erroneously disappear.

Fixes an issue whereby the objective "Follow Kaeya" in Kaeya's Hangout Event is unable to be completed under certain circumstances.

● Enemies

Fixes an issue whereby the Boss "Guardian of Apep's Oasis's" aftershocks of the apocalypse attack could not deal DMG to some characters under certain conditions.

Fixes an issue whereby some special effects of the Boss "Stormterror" would abnormally disappear under certain conditions.

Fixes an issue whereby the opponent "Abyss Herald: Frost Fall" had a small probability of not regenerating HP normally when leaving combat.

Fixes an issue that prevented the enemy "Iniquitous Baptist" from generating a shield after unleashing the Elemental Ring ability under certain circumstances.

Fixes an issue that caused the enemy "Cryo Samachurl" to not fall off properly after his ice pillar was destroyed.

● Characters

Fixes an issue that prevented Lumine from quickly performing the 1st hit of her Normal Attack and Charged Attack after performing the 5th hit of her Normal Attack.

Fixes an issue whereby there was a chance that Icewhirl Brand generated by holding Eula's Elemental Skill would fail to deal DMG to target enemies.

Fixes an issue whereby after adding Nahida to the party for the first time, holding the Elemental Skill could cause the character and camera to be positioned abnormally.

Fixes an issue whereby when the Frostflake Seki no To released by Kamisato Ayaka's Elemental Burst was blocked, it had a small probability of not dealing DMG even if it hit enemies.

Fixes an issue on mobile whereby when some characters sit on a high-legged stool, the character model would display abnormally.

Fixes an issue whereby Fischl would stand on water abnormally after casting an Elemental Burst under certain conditions.

Fixes an issue whereby under certain circumstances, some characters may trigger the special effects of water ripples while walking on land.

● System

Fixes an issue that caused a white line to appear abnormally on Yaoyao's Constellations interface.

Fixes an issue whereby in the Character interface, when switching from Ganyu's interface to multiple secondary interfaces (such as Talents, Artifacts, or Weapons), there was a chance that the character movements could be incorrect.

Fixes an issue whereby the pre-selected Conversion material selection state would be reset when using a controller to carry out conversion with the Crafting Bench.

Fixes an issue that caused the maximum number of Weapons or Artifacts that can be selected (by dragging them) in the Inventory to be displayed incorrectly under certain circumstances.

● Genius Invokation TCG

Fixes an issue in Genius Invokation TCG whereby when the Character Card "Eula" gains Grimheart, the DMG value indicated in the Elemental Skill description will be abnormally stated as "Deals 4 Cryo DMG" (the actual DMG dealt is as intended, and is 5 Cryo DMG).

● Audio

Fixes an issue whereby the audio effects of some quests were not controlled by the voice-over settings in the game.

● Other

Fixes an issue whereby Sorush could switch to other characters abnormally when flying under certain conditions.

Fixes an issue whereby the grass in the landscape was not displayed correctly under certain conditions.

Fixes an issue that caused flying birds to abnormally fall under certain conditions.

Fixes some text errors in certain languages and optimizes text. (Note: Related in-game functions have not changed. Travelers can view the changes in different languages by going to the Paimon Menu > Settings > Language and changing the Game Language.)

Text-related fixes and optimizations in English include:

◆ Unified the term "Hilichurl Shooters."

◆ Optimized some inconsistencies between certain voice-over lines and what is displayed in Archon Quests, Story Quests, and World Quests.

◆ Optimized certain UI of the Serenitea Pot.

◆ Optimized the text in certain Namecards.

*This is a work of fiction and is not related to any actual people, events, groups, or organizations.

"PlayStation", "PS5", "PS4", "DualSense", "DUALSHOCK" are registered trademarks or trademarks of Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.

#genshin impact #genshin impact updates #genshin impact news #official #genshin impact 4.0 #damn this took forever. that's enough catching up for tonight i think

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j0kers-light · 1 year

Text

His Lighthouse: The Morning After (LedgerJoker x f!reader)

The Morning After

Image credit

series summary:

Y/n is an aspiring writer living in Gotham City and struggling to find her next muse. Her recent novel is getting all the buzz, earning her far more attention than she signed up for. But when a chance encounter results in her nursing The Joker back to health, will she find the time to write another best seller or will her own story become front page of the Gotham Gazette?

chapter summary:

The elusive 'morning after' a romantic night with a lover, whatever will Joker and Y/n get into? Now that they are set on dating and getting to know one another will anything separate them from that goal.

authors note:

Hello! Hello! I’m back with another update and I must say, I'm a humble girl at heart but I sob cry knowing that there's really that many people that enjoy my story! I intended this to only reach a few people, if any at all, yet here we are... It only makes me wanna write more! Did I mention this story is farrrrrr from over?

Taglist!

@blackreaderatrisk @twinkledinkle @clemdango04 @l3ejm @tears-of-amber @what-an-angell

Let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!

Last Chapter | Next Chapter

You were absolutely stunning.

A natural beauty amplified in the morning light. Joker was so lucky he woke up at odd hours of the night. He would have hated himself for all of eternity for missing this. You, fast asleep and looking drop dead gorgeous.

Sometime during the night you wiggled your way out of his hold and rolled over onto your back. Joker still kept you close, it seemed that he craved physical contact even asleep, and he threw a possessive arm over your waist.

You had created some space between the two of you but your face was the first thing he got to see when he opened his eyes.

Joker wanted to wake up to the sight of you everyday.

Your beautiful lips slightly parted to allow for soft puffs of air to escape. Your dark lashes fluttering every so often in a deep R.E.M., (he wished you were dreaming of him) and your soft skin was highlighted by a ray of sunshine flooding in from the window. You didn't like that and it almost roused you awake.

You grumbled and turned into Joker's chest resuming your slumber. Suddenly he became the teddy bear. My, how the tables turned in just a few short hours.

You sought him out for protection and clung to him in your most vulnerable state. That subconscious choice had Joker speechless. No one had ever relied on him before yet you did just that. Seeking out his comfort while vastly unaware of the reaction that tiny decision would forever have on him.

He took extra care not to wake you up as he located the room remote on the nightstand and programmed the automatic curtains to move and shield you from the rising sun.

You earned your rest and then some. Joker would make sure that nothing bothered you.

On top of being kidnapped, (and quickly rescued) you let Joker finally have sex with you. And the clown definitely made up for lost time. Freaking overachiever. He might've gone overboard yet he heard no complaints. You were exhausted both mentally and physically.

Joker didn't consider himself much of a savior but he would do everything in his power to keep you safe. Not much could disturb you in the penthouse but he wouldn't take any chances.

You entrusted Joker with your heart until he had to leave and shatter it into a million pieces.

But that was negative thinking. Who knows? Maybe he could find a way to lessen the pain before then.

Joker chose to focus on the positive. Live in the moment. That's all you have. He pulled you closer in his arms and fell back asleep, holding you tighter than ever.

You woke up disoriented, sore, and clutching a pillow for dear life.

You wiped your mouth knowing there was probably drool present with how well rested you felt. That was the best night of sleep you had in weeks.

Not much was said after Joker tucked the both of you into bed last night. You tried your best to say something heartfelt; you epically failed.

"You're stuck with me for five more months."

He said it with such confidence you wanted to believe it was true. That you finally had a chance with Joker.

Things were still unclear but hopefully you and Joker were on the same page going forward. Things seemed to be off to a good start. Joker physically slid right back into your life as if nothing had happened. It was the emotional aspect of things that you were worried about. You hoped you weren't moving too fast but then again there was a deadline here underlined in red twice.

Five months felt so short and the clock was already ticking..

There was so much you wanted to ask, experience, and talk about with Joker but right now his side of the bed was empty. You rose from your sleeping position, looking around the room for his presence and came up short. The room was quiet.

It was then you noticed the curtains were drawn but the sunlight still peeked out from the bottom. Dawn truly dawned on you.

It was the morning after and you were alone.

Greaaat, real classy. An empty bed totally screams positive relationship goals. You two were totally on the same page! You had the urge to toss a pillow in anger. How could you be so stupid to believe that Joker would take this seriously?!

"Don't overthink things Y/n. Maybe he went to the bathroom or some other lame excuse. Yeah, that would explain why he didn't wake up next to you after such a wonderful night together."

That's the lie you told yourself as you flung the covers back and stepped on the cold hardwood floors.

Fitting. It matched your current feelings towards a certain fugitive. You blinked back tears for even allowing Joker a chance with your heart. It really was just sex to him, no strings attached, and oh no...

You clutched your head trying to stop the bad thoughts from taking over but they kept appearing even as you struggled to breathe.

You needed privacy before this panic attack got too intense. You nodded to yourself and almost made it to your sanctuary but the aroma coming from your kitchen caught your attention.

It quite literally made you stop in your tracks to investigate.

You made your way through the archway that separated the common area of your penthouse from the private rooms. The sight that greeted you snatched every bad thought from your mind and tossed them straight in the trash.

"What are you doing?" You mumbled to your roommate.

Joker turned around so you could see the gaudy Kiss the Cook apron that Dick left a few BBQ parties ago hanging from around his neck. Joker opted out on wearing a shirt and his dark grey sleeping pants were hanging dangerously low on his hips, showing off muscle and V lines that you failed to notice before.

He brought the whole scene together by waving with a plastic spatula in greeting. "Hmm. Good morning Bunny."

Joker watched you sink into the barstool at the island counter wide eyed and speechless.

His green eyes scanned you from head to toe like he didn't see you every time he woke up this morning— which happened to be a lot.

He couldn't get over the fact that you and him were actually together. It was such a far fetched concept that it didn't seem real so Joker kept waking up in a cold sweat throughout the night thinking you weren't there. What if he didn't rescue you from the warehouse or worse? What if you died at that dumb charity event and his sick, twisted mind was making all of this up?

It wouldn't be the first time that his mind became his own worst enemy.

Joker woke up each time gasping for air hoping that his nightmare wasn't a reality, only to sigh in relief when he felt you in his arms.

He would squeeze you tighter (despite grumbling your displeasure of it in your sleep) and fell back asleep with his living teddy bear safe and sound. But the same nightmare would awake him again an hour later thus, repeating the cycle anew.

Broken sleep wasn't healthy but Joker was used to getting the bare minimum in order to survive.

He didn't want you to worry or worse, wake you. Joker had his demons and as much as he wanted to stay by your side and ignore them, solitude was the best remedy to clear his head. Well that and shock therapy, but he wasn't at Arkham Asylum anymore.

So he regretfully left you tucked in bed to roam the penthouse when he had the thought to treat you to breakfast. His thoughts always revolved around you. Funny how you caused his inner turmoil and was also the solution to rid them.

Joker couldn't get you out of his head though he feared the day he would no longer think of you.

A deafening silence in perpetual darkness. A different type of loneliness that Joker didn't want to return to. How could he return to his old ways after experiencing your blinding light? He would never be the same but that was something to worry about in the distant future.

He focused back on you, seated before him at the kitchen counter, trying to figure out what was going on. Joker cleared his throat and set about clearing the air.

"I had plans to bring you uh break fast in bed but it seems you're really too noisy for your own good." He eyed you briefly before turning around and flipping whatever he was cooking in the skillet over.

You blinked in shock as he set the utensil down and leaned on the counter, crossing his arms.

"How did you sleep?" He popped the letter p and waited for a response. You decided to answer his question with one of your own.

"You can cook?" You waved at the mess he made of your kitchen. "Like... actually.. cook?"

"Duh whatcha think I'm doing, Y/n? I got nothing on you but at least I can feed myself without burning the apartment down." Joker didn't break eye contact with you as he dragged the skillet off the burner and killed the heat.

A shiver ran up your spine. A man that could cook was a secret weakness of yours. It was hard to believe that Joker knew his way around the kitchen. Your mind was on tilt. "Uh I.. um.."

"Use your words Y/n." By the time you looked up, he was reaching to take something out of the cabinet. This domestic version of Joker had you weak in the knees. He didn't seem to notice.

"Do you like syrup on your pancakes?" Joker shook the bottle to gain your attention. You forgot to verbally say yes along with your nod, causing Joker to arch an eyebrow.

He slammed the cabinet shut and set the syrup down next to the plate of pancakes already cooked and ready to eat. You just now noticed them.

Fluffy golden brown cakes stacked high and glistening with melted butter like some fancy flapjack commercial. They looked too good to be true. Either this was a dream or Joker was trying to impress you. So of course you had to be dreaming.

You thought as much until Joker grabbed your chin from over the counter.

"What's floating in that pretty little head of yours hmm?" He loved that lost doey eyed look during sex but right now, not so much.

He slowly nodded his own head trying to urge you to speak with no success. You just stared at him so he let your face go with a sigh.

"AlrighTyyy then. Since you're incapable of speech, I'll talk. I found your pancake mix in the pantry and since you weren't, uh, waking up any time soon to make us anything. Tada." He gestured to his hard work. "It's.. it's magic. Now eat something so that brain of yours can start workin.' Here."

He scooped out the last pancake he made from the skillet onto your plate and dragged the larger serving plate closer for himself.

You were still speechless but glanced down at the fine china before you. It was your plum blossom set and it brought a smile to your face thinking back to the first time you served it to Joker all those weeks ago.

Funny how things changed but everything remained the same.

His pancakes didn't look poisonous and none of them were burnt either. (His first of many attempts were sitting at the bottom of the trash mocking him.) The ones before you looked perfectly normal and smelled yummy if your growling stomach had any say on the matter. Joker slid into the barstool next to you and loaded his own plate with food but kept an eye on you lost in thought. Did you hit your head or something? This silent treatment was unusual behavior even for you.

Right as he was preparing to force you out of your daze, you grabbed a fork and dug in. Joker would be lying if he said he didn't hold his breath waiting for your review.

You were chewing too slowly for his liking and he thought the worst when you suddenly glanced his way.

"These are delicious." You beamed.

"Well yeah. You did all the work, I just cooked the d__n things." So it wasn't as easy as he led you on to believe. Interesting..

You hid your mirth by hitting his arm. He bristled at the playful contact. "You know the rules, Joker."

It took him a minute to get what you were talking about but he rolled his eyes knowing all too well. "Sweetheart. I said a lot of bad words last night. Don't ya remember?"

He bit into his forkful of pancakes and smirked at your flushed face avoiding his eye. He dialed back his signature laugh into condescending chuckles, aimed at you.

"Don't go shy on me now, Y/n... you weren't last night when you kept begging me for more."

All the sinful things Joker whispered, groaned, and panted in your ear last night played in your head like a sports recap. You hated when he was right. You were practically begging for it but he didn't have to rub it in.

Joker turned out to be quite the sexual deviant and you just so happened to be his personal plaything until further notice.

You didn't mind. Joker took his job as a lover very seriously despite his apparent rough treatment of you. Another fact you discovered, Joker was verbal in bed. and he talked you through the most intense moments of the night with that silver tongue of his. Good Lord the things his tongue could do..

You cleared your throat, "I ah remember. But to answer your question, I slept very well and t-thank you for cooking."

Joker grunted in that weird way of his, this time it held a positive, don't mention it tone, as the two of you ate in silence.

You thought he would bring up what really made him ditch you in bed this morning but nope. Crickets. You honestly weren't surprised. Joker could avoid any topic when it benefited him. He wasn't the only one that ran away instead of facing his emotions. His 'I decided to cook breakfast' excuse didn't sit well with you.

You wisely kept that thought to yourself.

Thankfully Joker didn't seem to notice your lackluster mood (or so you thought) although he was rather quiet as the two of you finished up breakfast and he moved to collect the various plates and other tools he used.

As a peace offering, you volunteered to wash dishes and Joker immediately took you up on it.

He was dreading cleaning all of this crap. Why didn't you own a dishwasher? Probably another weird quirk of yours since you actually looked excited to manually wash dishes. He could tell by that ghost of a smile on your face. Yet your mood hadn't fully recovered.

Joker knew something was bothering you when you kept quiet as the sink filled with suds and hot water. He chose not to comment in case he was wrong with his assumption but when was he ever wrong? Uh never.

After you blindly handed him a knife to towel dry off, enough was enough. He felt insulted. You knew his track record with knives. Why hand him one? Before you could blink, Joker had you caged in between him and the kitchen sink with no way out.

Your soapy hands grabbed his arms on instinct. "J-Joker, what are you doing?"

Your eyes met his trying to understand what had gotten into him. His knowing gaze made you uneasy so you purposefully looked away.

"Oh. I see." Joker eyed you up and down, "Go ahead and get it off your chest Y/n."

You froze. How did he..?

"How'd I know you wanted to talk? C'mon sweetheart, that look on your face screams; I'm holding something back."

Joker watched you swallow and he glanced down at the marks he left on your neck. They were noticeable but still faint against your skin tone. He wished Wayne could see you all marked up and claimed. That annoying rich boy needed to know his place. Sometimes being a secret really sucked. Joker wanted all of Gotham to know that the two of you were together.

Would you be upset if he made an anonymous tv broadcast about it or leaked it to the Gotham Gazette? Joker knew saying anything would put you in danger but a man could dream.

There had to be a way. You stole Joker's attention away before he could think on it further. "I mean yeah I have questions but I doubt you'll answer them."

Joker visibly sighed. You didn't trust him in the way he wanted you to. Just what would it take?!

"Won't know if you don't ask, doll. Up you go!" Joker picked you up and plopped you down on the kitchen counter, ignoring your startled yelp.

He left you there shell shocked and mildly turned on to go drain the water in the sink. Dishes could wait, you were more important.

He dried his hands and yours before removing the apron he was wearing. Then Joker gave you his full undivided attention. Such a shame you were too busy ogling his abs to start asking him questions.

"Eyes up here princess." Joker said.

The endearment was new and it hit your core like an atomic bomb.

"Ohh Y/n! Did you just moan? I think you diddd." He walked up and settled in between your legs, smiling wide. Of course he noticed your reaction. Lovely.

Joker licked his lips in that distinctive way of his. He subconsciously missed his clown makeup.

You liked his natural bare face more. "N-No! I did not! Can you be serious for once?"

Rule number one: be careful what you ask for around Joker. His eyes clouded over and the temperature in the kitchen dropped a good ten degrees instantly. A serious Joker was scary. You were trapped on the counter with this unstable degenerate blocking your path.

And the danger excited you. His sharp eyes forced you to elaborate.

"I can't seem to understand how quickly you responded to rescue me. Don't get me wrong, I'm forever grateful, but Mac and Neo painted a clear picture that you never wanted to see me again. I mean, I went two weeks with absolute radio silence and that hurt Joker. I know I was the one who ran away.. but you let me go. Y-You encouraged me to! I know we sorta kinda settled things between us and I am willing to try this- try us out but..."

You stopped to take a deep breath. Your next words came out in a heavy sigh.

"How do I know for sure that your feelings are genuine? You said it yourself you suffered while I was away, that you still have voices and doubts in your head about me. It sounds like you're confused on how to proceed. You're still struggling with your emotions and I don't want to force you into something that you might not be ready for. If we need to slow things down or take another break I—"

"You are noT pushing me away just because you're the one too scared to jump all in." Joker cut you off.

His eyes were venomous green staring you down from his towering height. Even situated on the counter, Joker could make you feel so small. Deep down you actually feared him just a tad.

His palms squeezed your upper thighs as he came nose to nose with you. This is not how he wanted to tell you about his inner demons.

"None of that matters Y/n! I saw you get taken with my own eyes. What was I supposed to do? Sit back and watch as they killed you?"

He hissed the accusation in the combined space and you could smell the maple syrup enlaced with his words.

"Sounds like a normal Joker reaction to me." You commented.

Your response hurt more than it should. A few months ago that would have been true. But now? Now he had to feign indifference to save face.

"Sorry. Uh next time? when you get kidnapped, I'll sit back and take notes mkay? Whether you like it or noT, you're stuck with me, so no. I will not slow down ooor take a break. I have you all to myself and I refuse to let you go. Even if I don't know what I'm doin' you're not going anywhere."

By the end of Joker's speech his lips were hovering over yours. You could feel the truth and uncertainty in his words but you didn't have much to say as a rebuttal. He was willing to try something new despite the odds stacked against him.

Those expressive eyes of his held you hostage and you were unable to look away. They were begging for you to understand what he failed to say— what both of you were too scared to admit this early on.

So for now it was best left unsaid. Joker was leaning down to seal your lips with his when someone started banging on your front door.

Joker growled at the moment being ruined and was making his way to neutralize the noise when you ran after him.

"Joker, wait!"

You caught up to him near the dining room table. With a gentle hand on his chest you pushed him back. "You're a wanted fugitive, remember? Let me answer it."

He scoffed and pushed you aside. "Uh huh. A defenseless author with a target on her head wants to answer the door? You're asking for it now. Move."

He did have a point, however. "Joker I know that knock from anywhere it's not—"

"You got ten seconds to open this door or we're coming in!" A feminine voice hollered from the other side.

Joker eyed the door in newfound intrigue as the person began counting down. He returned your gaze when you answered his question. "It's Florence. Please. Go. Hide!"

Oh. A friend. Normal guests, not psychotic criminals trying to kidnap you. Joker was kinda disappointed.

Florence kept banging on the door in between her exaggerated countdown.

Your e/c eyes pleaded with Joker halfway between seven and five to leave. He almost put up a fight but retreated to his bedroom— out of sight, for the time being. You heard the bedroom door slam close and knew Joker wasn't in the best of moods after being interrupted.

He was finally opening up and giving insight to his inner thoughts and feelings until Florence came out of nowhere and forced him back into his shell. This tiny world you created with Joker in your apartment was just a façade. The world was still revolving and balancing Joker's existence and Gotham's would prove to be a difficult task.

Dealing with a grumpy Joker would be an even bigger one. That would have to be a problem to deal with later though. Right now Florence was on number three and louder than ever.

"Open the f___ing door Y/n! I know you're in there girl! We just wanna talk!"

Classic Florence to threaten you passive aggressively.

You took a deep breath and unlocked the door right as Florence got to one. To her left, Barbara was holding the only set of spare keys you had, save for the front desk copy downstairs and surprisingly Joker's set. How he came in possession of your keys was a topic to be revisited at a later date.

You greeted your friends. "Hey hi. What brings you—"

The Haitian woman shoulder checked you as she walked into your apartment. Barbara wheeled herself in, giving you a telepathic, 'she's pissed' warning glare in passing.

The redhead shook her head as you closed the door. You didn't have to read the room to know Florence was mad. You rubbed your aching shoulder. The message was well received.

Florence had her hands on her hips bringing attention to the body chain hanging snug around her waist. You saw the intricate beads, healing crystals, and evil eye charms attached to the gold chain, most likely made from a native from her home country.

Despite Gotham City's unpredictable weather, Florence wore a crop top and wrap skirt complete with impressive lace up heels. A vision as always and she knew it.

"Not you acting all cordial at the door. You almost died and I had to hear about it off the news! No phone calls, no text, f__k a letter would have sufficed! If Barbara here didn't fill me in, I would've thought the worst!" Florence listed off each offense she had against you with her long acrylics.

Each click of her coffin nails made you cringe. It was literal sorcery how she could braid hair with them.

You walked further into the room to confront Florence, more like de-escalate her ire.

"That was two weeks ago Flo." You mentioned. They didn't know about you getting kidnapped just yesterday. The less they know the better.

Barbara made a face before weighing in.

"It doesn't matter how long ago it was Y/n, we were so worried about you! It was terrifying to watch the news without knowing your whereabouts! No one heard from you until I got a call from Bruce saying you were laying low at his estate. You should have called us. We're your friends!"

She failed to mention that Bruce was first on the scene as Batman with his tech analyst Oracle on standby that fateful Friday night. Both were clueless as to where you disappeared to until you mysteriously appeared back at your apartment, otherwise unharmed the next day.

Your whereabouts after the gala attack were unaccounted for. Where did you go for the night? Better yet, how did you escape the carnage?

Things weren't adding up, hence Barbara here with Florence (blissfully unaware of course) trying to get more intel.

The billionaire mentioned that something was on your mind in the two weeks you stayed with him. Even worse, things fell flat literally out of nowhere and you were too eager to leave Wayne Manor. You refused to talk about it to him, maybe you would confide in Barbara.

Bruce said he dropped you off at your place yesterday afternoon and Barbara was determined to get to the bottom of things today. Florence was playing her part in the secret mission and rounded on you, agreeing with her redheaded friend.

"Exactly! Friends communicate but wait a minute, new information being presented. You stayed with the DILF?!" She looked at you both with a petty smile slowly forming on her face.

"Bruce is not a daddy." You crossed your arms with a dramatic eye roll.

"Girl you crazy!" Florence cackled but stopped when she noticed something peculiar. "Hold on... Oh my god." She gasped.

Barbara jumped in her chair and looked around. "What? What is it? What's wrong?"

If she looked further into the kitchen she would've seen the mess Joker made of it. You clearly didn't have any time to clean or hide the evidence of him being here before their unexpected arrival. The fact the mess was there made you panic and try to keep their attention isolated in the living room.

"You f__ked him!" Florence screamed.

Your face turned deadpan the exact moment Barbara spoke out. "Wait who??"

Florence rolled her exotic eyes. "Y/n had sex with Bruce Wayne! It's written all over her face."

"I d-did not!"

She scoffed, "Tuh the devil is a lie. You had sex with somebody and ya boy Wayne seems to be a biter." She poked your collarbone that was riddled with marks. Your pjs put them on full display and you slapped a hand over them.

"I-I uh.." You turned to Barbara for help but she seemed to be processing this new information poorly.

"I I I. You're stuttering Y/n. Was the sex that good you can't form sentences? Is he still here?" Florence followed your gaze and looked over her shoulder.

You made a panic induced noise that diverted her attention back to you and away from the archway leading to the bedrooms.

"Bruce isn't here because I didn't have sex with him! I was still in bed when you banged on my door like the freaking GCPD." Your state of clothing sold the story but Florence wasn't buying it judging by her pursed lips.

"Mmhm. You took a shower and didn't wrap your hair beforehand. Any woman with some common sense would protect her textured hair before showering unless she's too preoccupied by getting dicked down. I can see the water damage Y/n. You ain't slick." Florence tapped your nappy hair that was sticking out from under your silk wrap.

Busted and Florence looked smug as you struggled to make a witty response.

Barbara broke the silence, sounding a bit hurt. "Y/n.. did you really have sex with Bruce?"

You turned towards the redhead and sighed. It was easy to forget Barbara had this weird, complex relationship with the billionaire. If she wasn't so flirtatious and coy with Dick you would've been convinced she had a thing for Bruce.

Either way, you heard the betrayal in her voice and felt obligated to set the record straight.

"No, I did not Barbara." You glanced at Florence when she snorted. "Look. I said what I said. Believe me or not that's up to you but I have no reason to lie."

Barbara slowly nodded her head but both of you eyed Florence when she burst out laughing.

"That dick must've been grade A to have you this twisted. You look like you barely survived a one night stand with a sadist." Florence snickered and fell on the couch in stitches.

She was having way too much fun roasting you. She was right about the sadist bit. Joker did get carried away...

"She has a point Y/n. They look painful but regardless— I'm so happy for you!" Barbara squealed.

"Our girl is finally getting dick. Took her long enough!" Florence added in between wheezes.

"Oh my god." You groaned at your friends ganging up on you. You made your way to the couch and sat down next to Flo.

After a while their laughter simmered down until Florence could speak without giggling.

"Okay nah forreal. I can squeeze you in for an appointment. Your hair looking a lil rough baby." Florence patted your natural hair professionally. "Did he pull the braids out or something? What happen?"

You swatted her hand away. "See you ain't right. If you two are done hounding me, I'd like to relax for the rest of the day."

Joker was bound to be pissed with how long they were hanging around. He was not a person to keep waiting but you couldn't kick them out without raising suspicions.

"Oh? He wore you out these past two weeks and now you're trying to kick us out. Rude. We came over to invite you out for a girl's night." Florence propped her heels on the coffee table and Barbara nodded her head, situated in her favorite spot next to the accent chair.

Behind her you spotted Joker's ridiculous panda suit he left on the floor when the two of you arrived late last night.

It was riddled with scratches from the spray of bullets Two Face's goons made in retaliation to your rescue. A cold sweat ran down your spine hoping they didn't see it. How could Joker be so careless?! Oh right, he thought it would be just the two of you in the penthouse for the next five months. You weren't a recluse for crying out loud!

Although few in number, you had visitors and many deliveries that stopped by. You mentally shook your head and diverted your attention back to Barbara who clapped her hands in glee.

"You can rest later Y/n! C'mon, we haven't hung out in ages!"

Flo admired her acrylic set and added her two cents in. "Red is right. Plus you deserve some fun after your brush with death."

If only she knew just how true her statement was and how recent. You wanted to agree but..

You glanced towards your guest bedroom where you knew Joker was bound to be eavesdropping. Florence's stunning beauty blocked your field of vision.

"Unless you really do have a dick appointment with a tall handsome billionaire you not telling us about." She sang.

You spat the denial out through your teeth. "No, I don't."

Barbara snickered behind her hands and the motion caused her many bracelets to clink together. "Perfect! We'll make it a true girl's night and invite Morgana!" She whipped her phone out and began typing away. "Wait, what time does she get off work?"

"Three." You and Florence said at the same time but you added more to your sentence. "So this is a thing. Like we're actually going out tonight?"

"Yes but there's a catch. I was invited to a club by one of my clients." Florence said with a grimace.

Barbara looked up from her phone not understanding the issue. "Okay? Wow! That's amazing Flo. Which one?"

"Euphoria."

You and Barbara shared a look. "I've never heard of it, is it a new club or something?" You asked.

Florence turned her head and mumbled something off to the side. Her odd behavior was irking Barb who had enough and raised her voice. "Spit it out Flo!"

"It's in Atlanta aight! The club is in Atlanta." She huffed out.

"Like.. Georgia?"

"As in, almost nine hundred miles away, in a different state than us Georgia?"

Florence rolled her eyes at the two of you pestering her. "Y'all so childish. Yes, that Georgia. I flew down to braid his hair a few times and he always invited me to his club for bottle service as secondary payment. Wasn't interested before, but we could use a little bit of fun on his dime. Plus I'm tryna get drunkity drunk tonight."

You snickered seeing Barbara process this new information. She was the brains of the group. This would be interesting.

"How are we going to get there, Florence? Traveling with me and a wheelchair isn't the best thing in the world, I'd tell you that."

Florence quickly replied. "It's just a suggestion d__n. He has a jet so it'll be personal care for you and your equipment, I promise. It beats staying here in Gotham. Just about all of the warehouses and strips are closed due to that explosion last night."

You stopped laughing.

"Oh good point. Dad's been so busy handling the situation on top of the National Guard I didn't get to talk to him this morning." Barbara mentioned.

Were they talking about the bomb Joker caused to save you last night? It sure sounded like it. You tensed up in your seat and remained quiet.

"See? It makes sense to travel elsewhere since Gotham City nightlife is temporarily shut down. This is what happens when an idiot blows up a perfectly good liquor factory. We have to party outside the state!"

They were definitely talking about the warehouse Joker demolished. Barbara and Florence spoke in the background about tonight's travel details but you were stuck in your own world.

It was insane to recall but you were kidnapped less than twenty four hours ago and Joker's 'heroic actions' had citywide consequences. Most of the nightclubs in Gotham were housed in warehouses so it was sound logic to shut down the rest to protect the public from any other repeat hits or copycats.

Would it be too suspicious to turn on the tv to watch the news coverage mid conversation? You didn't expect any survivors, but you needed to know what lengths Joker went through to get you back.

Even if they were criminals beyond saving, their deaths somehow felt like your responsibility.

"I can't believe I'm agreeing with this.. Usually I would stress my dad's strict citywide curfew but technically it doesn't apply if we fly out of the state. Morgana's not answering her cell so she must be busy with an order. I'll fill her in later. How about we meet back here around, oh let's say, a quarter to eight then drive to the airport?"

You were still on the fact they were talking about last night's traumatic event to even acknowledge they were making plans without your say.

You reentered the conversation with a stage cough. "Um excuse me? Hi. The owner of the meetup spot wishes to speak. Do I have a say in the matter or...?"

"Nope." They both said.

You were overruled two to one. What was the point in trying to stick your ground?

You finally got to glance at the clock. It read a little after eleven am. For someone who went to bed super late and woke up extremely early, you had a ton of energy. But did you have enough for a girl's night? Would you have enough to face Joker after this and tell him you were leaving? You were way too young for this kind of stress.

You'd have grey hairs by the end of the year. Florence ended your worrisome thoughts when she stood up with a flourish.

"Alright I'll call and tell him that we're a go. Now you!" She rounded on you with a pointy coffin nail. "I want that hair washed and presentable to match your sexy outfit that you'll wear tonight. And if you fail to be ready at eight pm, I will personally cockblock your plans with Wayne. Have I made myself clear?"

Florence stood over you looking every bit the assertive girl boss she was. You nodded your head to appease her. "Yes ma'am. I'll be ready."

Neither her or Barbara looked convinced. You were notorious for rain checks after all.

"I mean it Y/n/n." Flo warned.

Barbara sent you another telepathic message, this one, sucks to be you, before they both made their way towards the door. You held it open, waving goodbye and promising to be ready at eight o'clock.

You closed the door with a soft click that did nothing to muffle your heavy sigh. Somehow you got roped into a jet setting night out. Just what were you going to tell Joker?

You could write a thousand speeches, captivate an audience with your riveting tales, but when it came to finding a way to tell Joker about tonight's plans, you came up short.

He would not take the news well, that much was certain and you really didn't want to put a wedge in the already fragile relationship. You liked Joker a lot but your pre-existing friendship with the girls was important too.

Who took more priority in your life? You rested your head on the front door, at a loss on what to do.

"Going somewhere bunny?"

You screamed at the low timbre caressing in your ear. You doubted if Florence and Barbara were out of earshot yet but you honestly did not care. Your roommate was a sneaky devil that loved to scare people, i.e. you.

"Joker, you got to stop creeping up on me like that! My heart is racing!" You placed a hand over your chest to try and calm the tempo down.

Joker could care less. He heard every word you said and had a bone to pick with you. He crowded your frightened form to the wall and eyed you down with that mysterious gleam you had yet to decipher. You couldn't tell what he was thinking until he spoke.

"Soooo you're leaving. Again." He growled.

Okay he was Pissed with a capital p.

You had two choices here. One, play the victim card or own up to the plans and hold your ground. You chose the higher ground.

"Oh that. Well you already heard but Flo, Barb, and I are doing girl's night. I can't back out or they'll get suspicious. I mean.. they already think—"

Joker cut you off. "That you're screwing Gotham's most favorite upstanding citizen, Bruce Wayne? Yeah I hearD. I'll let that slide solely on the fact that the Commissioner's daughter was sooo worried about your sex life she failed to notice incriminating evidence right in her face."

He stepped back to pick up his bulletproof panda suit off the floor and shook it playfully. "It's comforting to know everyone associated with the GCPD is dumber than a bag of rocks."

You didn't find his comment funny.

"Don't insult my friend right to my face, Joker. That's what you not finna do."

He enjoyed hearing your Blüdhaven dialect come out whenever you were upset. It was a different side of you that very few got to see.

You noted his aloof demeanor and decided to agitate the bear since he wasn't mad like you thought he'd be. "Meanwhile I'm surprised you're not more upset about their 'accusations'. A lot can happen in two weeks."

You quoted Joker's own words right back at him, much to his displeasure.

Joker's grin fell and so did the panda suit from his grasp. It sank to the floor with an audible thud as he approached you once more. "Watch it Bunny."

You pursed your lips. "Or what? You'll spank me?"

"Do you want me to?"

You could tell Joker was serious. He didn't stutter nor did he crack a smile. If your eyes weren't glued to his, you would've seen his hands balled up into fists and shaking by his side. This version of Joker was unknown to you and it was wise to tread carefully. He was unpredictable and visibly on edge.

You let out a shaky breath. "N-No! Look. I'm not running away.."

"Then why did you agree to go out clubbing in Atlanta? That's the very definition of leaving!"

Joker was trying to ebb his emotions but it was proving to be difficult when you stood there acting like you were innocent.

Didn't you see your hypocritical actions front and center? How dare you paint him out to be the villain here?! He shouldn't be punished just because you were scared to take a leap of faith. You talked up a good game about giving this relationship a shot but you ran away at the mere drop of a hat. It was not fair.

You should be the one questioning your feelings toward him, not the other way around. He stood firm on his feelings, (even if he was relearning them day by day) you were the one uncertain. You were the one who was afraid.

Joker couldn't help you overcome that fear, at least not in a healthy manner. However tough love was a tried and true approach to these situations...

"Why?" Joker growled again as he invaded your space.

He didn't care if you were claustrophobic. He couldn't even think straight let alone notice how his actions were affecting you. You backpedaled further into the kitchen and was creating some distance until your back hit the pantry door next to the stove.

Then you were caged in, standing before a raging lion.

Arms you previously admired and clung to throughout the night were walls of steel, blocking your escape. Joker's tall frame blocked out the light, plunging you into a dark void where you were an innocent mouse and he the Cheshire Cat licking his fangs in anticipation.

The shadows made his facial scars harsher somehow. More sinister than you'd care to admit.

Joker repeated his question yet your brain failed at forming the right words to answer. Your silence was not what he wanted to hear. Joker asked you again only this time, he shouted it.

You cowered away and he preened at the fear rolling off of you. Almost a month ago, he would have killed to see fear overwhelm your features, yet seeing it today, it was all wrong. Just wrong, wrong, wrong. He never wanted you to fear him but that dark, ugly side he tried so hard to tame, wanted— no needed to force you to see their way of thinking.

Fear was the only way. It was the only emotion Joker knew and perfected and so he used it well.

You whimpered when Joker's fist careened into the pantry door mere inches from your face. It almost drowned out his demand for answers. Almost.

You didn't know how to respond when he was like this.

Granted you were still emotionally drained from last night, (and from this morning when you woke up alone) you easily lost the battle against your emotions and let a tear slip out.

His world stopped spinning.

It was as if Killer Croc ripped Joker's heart out and shredded it into confetti paper. Joker feared nothing but the moment he reached out and tried holding your face in his hands- when you flinched away- he felt hollow inside.

He was scum, lower than dirt for invoking your tears.

Joker's hands hovered in front of your face, trembling from the thought of touching you, of invoking your fear of him more, he couldn't stomach the sight anymore. He did this. No. That horrid- evil side of him that he tried his best to hide whenever he was around you, did this.

It wanted your blood, your terror, your very life if you were foolish enough to give it. Joker knew he was a monster; it was common knowledge and he wondered daily why you allowed him to dwell amongst your beauty and kindness. All he ever did was cause you pain.

Perhaps he should leave. He couldn't hurt something out of his reach, so he nodded to himself and began to turn when your weak, watery cry stopped him.

"Wait! Please."

Joker's world began spinning again, one hesitant inch at a time.

He was the one that cornered, frightened, and made you cry so why was he the one acting afraid? Joker was scared to see your face, to find disgust there directed at him. Maybe today would be the day you came to your senses and kicked him out of your life for good.

But no. His Bunny was too merciful. Your hands mirrored his previous intentions and held his cheek like glass. Your hands were so warm on his scars it made him dizzy.

"P-Please.. I'm sorry. I promise I'm not running away! Don't ever think that I'm running from you or from u-us. It's just.. um my friends and I rarely have the same schedules and if I don't go tonight it'll be months before we get to hang out as a full group again. And with you in my apartment for the next five months I want— No, I need to spend time with them before I give you all of my attention. You deserve it! I'm so sorry Joker, I have to go, please don't be mad at me!"

You burst into tears and clung to his chest. He blinked in awe that his fear tactic worked. Finally you explained your actions! Although he hated the method he used, it all worked out in the end.

You feared Joker just a smidgen more than you previously did and in the future he would use that to his advantage. Joker sighed to himself. He was ashamed for even manipulating you like this, but as he wrapped his arms around you and shushed your hiccups like a baby– he knew.

The seed was sown; You knew better not to anger him again.

Joker was used to making people cry and he hardly cared if they never stopped. It was part of the job description as Joker monopolized people's fear of him for his grip on power.

That is until he made you cry. Then, it was a problem. One that he couldn't seem to fix.

You two had slid to the kitchen floor where Joker sat with his back to the counter and you in his arms. He looked every bit a grumpy cat.

No matter how many times he patted your back or mumbled out at "There, there Bunny." or rolled his eyes each time you apologized he groaned, "Stop saying sorry and stop cryin.." you didn't.

You would simply tear up more and cling to him tighter.

This was Joker's atonement. His legs had since fallen asleep from your weight on them and he watched the time tick by on the stove's interface. Sooner or later you would tucker yourself out, right? Joker was by no means religious but he considered praying to something if it finally dried up your tears.

He was seconds away from shoving you aside and doing something more useful with his time- but once he raised a hand to caress the back of your head, it all stopped.

Just like that, you stopped. He was mad at himself for not thinking of it sooner. You secretly loved your hair being played with despite your strict 'no touching rule.'

You whimpered differently and shuddered in his hold as your gentle sobs came to a stop.

All was quiet until you looked up into muddled green orbs. Joker appeared to be absolutely bored but his eyes softened when he saw your puffy face staring up at him. Even with tear stained cheeks, you were beautiful. He didn't know if he was allowed to kiss you but nothing could stop Joker when he wanted something.

Right now, he wanted to kiss those pretty lips of yours. He wiped your lash line with the pad of his thumb and angled your head better to see him.

"You feelin better doll?"

You bashfully nodded your head. Your emotional outburst was so embarrassing now that it was over. To think you cried in front of Joker of all people! Ugh, you felt so pathetic.

Yet the way Joker's eyes regarded you like you were the most interesting thing in his world, it gave you a bit of hope. Who cares if your writer's mind over romanticized the moment?

Joker arched an eyebrow at your spaced out gaze and huffed gently. "Still not using your big girl words. I wanna hear you use 'em." He tapped your temple once, then twice to taunt your brain.

"I-I ahem.. I feel better. T-Thanks for letting me cry all over you." You wiped his chest that did little to absorb your tears. His muscles looked good wet. You cleared your throat after thinking that wild thought.

"Something else still on your mind?" Joker asked while tipping your head back with a lone finger. He had a sixth sense in reading your mind.

This relationship would be so much easier if he actually could, but alas. He was still pretty accurate at times.

"No. I just feel stupid for crying in your lap like some spoiled brat." You grumbled.

"Hmm, you do acT like one so no harm done." He laughed after seeing your annoyed scowl. "Now that your uh.. tantrum is over. You wanna relocate this chat somewhere else? Like.. not on the floor?" Joker shifted his knee and you both heard the pop it made after being in the same position for too long.

"Oh my gosh! Your leg! I'm so–"

Joker took that time to shut you up with a kiss. You tensed up for a millisecond but melted like wax soon after on his velvet lips. Unfortunately he broke the connection off prematurely and you failed to stop the whine that escaped your throat.

Joker chuckled once and pecked your lips, unable to deny you of anything. "If you apologize one more time, I'll give ya something to really be sorry for."

You barely had time to digest that warning before Joker abruptly stood up with you still in his arms. The sudden change of motion threw you off. He held you steady as you adapted to standing on your own two feet once again. You thanked him once the room stopped spinning.

Then you saw the state of your kitchen. Dishes were still lying around that weren't cleaned the first go around and it was slowly creeping towards midday. You had too much to handle before eight pm.

But one task at a time you told yourself. "I should finish cleaning and make us lunch before I start getting ready."

Joker's arms tightened around you after hearing your intentions. All that crying and you were still leaving? It didn't make any sense to him. You knew exactly what he was thinking and backed out of his arms with a sigh.

"I'm still going, Joker. You can go one night without me. I can cook you dinner before I go and I'll be back before breakfast. But I do need to go grocery shopping beforehand. I doubt there's anything in the fridge."

"There isn't." Joker confirmed.

You nodded and rocked on your heels in awkward silence. Your statement hung in the electrically charged room. Joker didn't help the situation by staring at you unblinking. Two pools of emerald bore into your soul and you crumbled like a cookie. Staring at Joker was like playing with fire. You had to look away to save yourself.

"Alrighty then. I guess I'll g-go get ready–" You made it around the island counter, headed towards your bedroom when Joker grabbed ahold of your arm.

"Uh where are you going?" He asked.

Did the man have separation anxiety or something? Regardless, your eyes traced from Joker's grip on your skin, up along his muscular arm to his eyes. Surely he wasn't hard of hearing.

"I just said I need to go grocery shopping. Geez Joker. It won't take me long and I promise I'll be back before you know it. I do have to change though." You glanced down at his firm grip, willing him to let go.

"You're not going anywhere without me."

Unfreaking believable. Who was acting like a spoiled brat now? Did all logic fly out the window this morning? You were literally speechless, gaping up at Joker until he explained himself.

"Both of us are going to the store." He sounded so sure of himself you wanted to believe it was possible. But this new level of insanity Joker cooked up was maddening.

How did he survive this long making these rash decisions?

You made a face and waved your hands wildly in a state of confusion. "Joker, you can't be serious. You're a wanted fugitive! There's an active manhunt for your recapture! Not to mention the explosion you created last night to rescue me has the entire GCPD force on go mode. The last thing you need to do is go outside."

Joker crossed his arms and stared you down. His facial expression was proof he didn't care about the authorities or their frivolous manhunt. His dramatic eye roll was a big, 'I don't give a f__k.'

You looked Joker dead in the eye and made an iconic hand gesture, "One does not simply walk into a supermarket with a reputation like yours."

Joker didn't get the pop culture reference. "Uh.. I'm not wearing any makeup." He pointed to his bare face. "So yeah, yeah I can."

He brought up a good argument. Joker did in fact look like a completely different person without his signature clown makeup. He could probably avoid detection if not for his scars. You were biased towards them but any other person would openly stare if they saw Joker's face. His hair alone would instantly raise alarm.

"That doesn't change the fact you're still.... well you." Joker arched an eyebrow at your choice of words so you quickly retracted your statement.

"I DIDN'T MEAN IT LIKE THAT! I meant.. um green hair, drop dead gorgeous guy, oozing dangerous vibes, plus your uh.."

You gestured vaguely at your mouth. Joker just blinked.

This field trip must mean a lot to him if he truly forgot that his appearance was a major problem with attempting to blend in with society.

Self acceptance was always celebrated here, but not everyone has an elongated smile carved onto their face. You struggled saying that in a positive tone but you couldn't beat around the bush.

"Good Lawd this is pointless. Since you won't take no for an answer, you're putting a beanie on to cover your hair and I have a face mask around here somewhere to cover your scars. If I could, I'd put a brown paper bag over your head." You sighed wistfully.

His pointed glare dared you to try.

"Joker, this is still too risky." You trailed off and scratched the back of your neck, overthinking this idea since he wouldn't. Was his separation anxiety worth him potentially getting arrested?

You glanced up when Joker scoffed flippantly. Apparently so.

"Risky is my middle name, Y/n! I go under-cove-rrr more times than I'd care to admit with no issues. Gotham Citizens are annoyingly ignorant when it comes to being observant." The dark gleam in his eye had you believing him for a second.

Yet it wasn't enough. "I don't know.."

He hated hearing the hesitation in your voice. Joker was running out of excuses so he took you in his arms and held fast to your shoulders shaking them none too gently.

"Hey. Y/n. Look. Look at meee." You gazed up at Joker with doubt still clouding your e/c hued eyes. He took a moment to admire your beauty before he jumped back to the matter at hand.

"Nothing bad will happen. Can you- oh I don't know, trust me for once?" He cupped your face and stared straight into your soul.

Time slowed down whenever you stared at Joker. There was something about those electric green eyes of his that simply drew you in. His lips loomed closer and closer until they met yours with a rare gentleness that you never expected Joker to possess. Joker's kiss felt lighter than the pancakes he made for breakfast.

His tongue clashed with yours fighting for dominance- swirling like the butter and syrup on your plate- until you gave Joker full control. He licked the root of your mouth in victory and ever since you were a goner.

Joker pressed up against you- all hard edges and a festering heat. The combination made you weak in the knees yet Joker couldn't erase the narrative from your mind. This trip to the store was definitely risky and it went against your logic as an author.

Every character you read about or created never exposed themselves in such a way. They were smart to avoid detection at all costs until the coast was clear.

They weren't arrogant, thinking themselves untouchable and they never taunted the authorities. Joker was doing that and more. In Joker's case, his recapture was inevitable because Batman always tracked the clown down.. but not this time.

This time, Joker was under your protection and you dared the caped crusader to steal him away from you. You made a silent vow to keep Joker hidden the day you half-dragged, half-carried him into your apartment, unconscious and bleeding.

If Joker was going down, so were you. And so you elected yourself to be the brains of this duo.

You seriously wanted to boycott this dumb idea of his. There were so many what ifs floating around in your head. If you spent the same amount of time thinking about the cons you would have known they were moot points since Joker was already determined to go.

He said it himself Gotham citizens were ignorant to their surroundings.

Barbara and Florence were living proof of that. If they were more observant they would've blown the whistle on your 'hide a fugitive in my apartment' quest a long time ago. Barbara saw right through your little white lie about adopting a cat but didn't press the matter any further.

You proudly wore a necklace of love bites and bruises that Florence pointed out although she didn't grow concerned when you denied it wasn't Bruce's doing. Who else did it then Florence? You mentally rolled your eyes. It was kinda sad just how little your two best friends cared. You might need this girl's night more than you thought.

And to get there you had to appease Joker. Your thoughts were abuzz as he pulled away from your lips for air. He swiped at the string of spit connecting your mouths with his tongue and rested his forehead against yours.

You didn't need more persuasion after that doozy of a kiss. You trusted Joker to some degree and it was high time to give him more credit where it was due. All you had was his word and a pinch of hope that this trip wouldn't backfire.

You played with the strands of hair on the nape of Joker's neck to gain his attention. He already knew you would cave in but your following words just solidified his theory.

"I hope I don't regret this. Get dressed loser, we're going shopping."

And that's how you ended up grocery shopping with Joker.

The mere thought was insane but sure enough, you glanced to your right and the notorious criminal stood next to you reading the nutritional facts on a bag of chips in fake interest. You had to smack his hand when he tried to open the bag in the middle of the store.

He threw death glares at you for hitting him but eventually tossed the half opened bag into the cart.

"I totally regret this." You grumbled and pushed the cart away from Joker.

He said nothing but followed behind you, secretly keeping an eye out on the various shoppers and all available entry and exit points. Just because he told you he went undercover with ease didn't mean he was lax with surveillance. Joker was vigilant while maintaining a level of calmness. A shame you weren't in the same boat.

Your nerves were one thousand percent since the moment you two left the apartment and it was noticeable from how your heels tapped on the epoxy floors to your shifty eyes. Every sound made you jump. You still couldn't believe you agreed to this.

After explaining to Joker that you were quoting Mean Girls and not deliberately calling him a loser, (you knew better) you both went your separate ways to get dressed.

You spent half of your thirty minutes taming your hot mess of hair into a pineapple bun and tied it strategically with a scarf. It paired well with your designer halter top and black skinny jeans that made your backside look phenomenal. You chose to wear printed Louboutin heels to polish off the look and eyed yourself in the mirror celebrating a job well done. Until you saw the bruises on your neck.

Joker's 'handiwork' was on full display but nothing a little concealer couldn't fix.

Adorning bracelets and a pair of hoop earrings as finishing touches, you considered yourself ready to go. Joker didn't know what to say when he opened his bedroom door and saw you in the hallway applying another coat of clear lip gloss to those plump lips of yours.

Your smoldering gaze rooted him to the spot.

"I uh thought we were going to the uhh... store?" He managed to say.

You looked ready for a date not for running errands. Joker looked down at his scruffy jeans and grey long sleeve shirt feeling vastly underdressed.

You on the other hand were practically drooling at Joker's choice in clothes. All he needed was a jean jacket and he would be any woman's bad boy dream. Since when did ripped jeans look so hot? You fiddled with your hair scarf hoping you weren't visibly sweating.

"You weren't kidding when you said you went clothes shopping. I ah... you look.. wow." You stuttered in Joker's direction. Your heels clicked loudly on the hardwood floors as you sauntered over to him.

Just a change of clothes and Joker had completely transformed himself. He let a few strands of his hair peek out from underneath the dark beanie you gave him. The pop of green was the only color in his monochromatic attire. Maybe this disguise would actually work.

He had you fooled. Joker looked like a lead guitarist of a metal band and an incredibly hot one at that. He let you run your hands over his clothed chest, while holding back an amused grin. "Answer my question Bunny." He reminded you.

"What question?"

Joker shook his head. "If we go together it'll draw more attention, 'specially if you keep that on..." He cooed. He didn't have to crane his head to see that booty from the front. You could make anything look sexy but this fit of yours was killing him.

"Right.. yeah perhaps I can meet you there? It's the EverFresh on Yale St."

That would explain your dressy outfit. Only nannies of prominent families and the upper elite shopped at EverFresh. Their prices were inflated but the quality of food lived up to the company's name. Joker knew you would blend in with your outfit. Everything made sense.

Not much else was said when the two of you left your apartment and rode the elevator down to the main floor. You were sweating bullets thinking someone would identify Joker but alas, no one batted an eyelash. Other than a fleeting glance at him for wearing a face mask, Joker roamed freely amongst the public.

This was actually working. The realization was terrifying.

He could've been anywhere all these years. It made his reputation that much terrifying. Joker whispered in your ear to relax right before he disappeared into the foot traffic outside of your apartment complex. Then you were alone.

Despite his reassuring words you felt like everyone was watching you. One guy stared longer than you liked on the subway (it didn't dawn on you that you looked hot) and it raised your hackles until you heard someone subtly clear their throat a few distance away.

The subway car was packed but out of the corner of your eye, you could see the dark handsome figure of Joker holding onto the ceiling handle. His grip on it highlighted his bicep in the tight grey shirt he wore and the lady standing next to him was definitely enjoying the view. If only she knew those arms could snap her neck and the nearby populace in the blink of an eye.

Joker's green eyes glowed in the overhead lights before the subway went through a blacked out passageway. The staring contest pursued even in the dark. Keeping an eye on Joker helped calm your nerves and you let out a shaky exhale until a robotic feminine voice announced the station's arrival.

It wasn't far of a walk out the subway terminal into the blinding organic and healthy food market, EverFresh.

The place reeked of superiority. It made you want to gag but you mentally prepared yourself and rented a cart to begin your shopping. This wouldn't take long and you reminded yourself you were nothing like these people.

EverFresh was the only store you knew of where a pre-screening background check was mandatory before obtaining a membership and also where sweats were banned. You wished you wore your Saint Laurent YSL logo heels instead.

Sticking out like a sore thumb wasn't ideal right now. Yet none of that mattered when Joker entered the store five minutes after you.

Somehow he bypassed earning a stink eye from the greeter when he failed to rent a cart or handheld basket, however, Joker did gain the eye of every housewife, nanny, private chef, and female employee present.

There was an air about him that commanded attention while warning people not to stare for too long. It was apparent he didn't belong here but no one questioned Joker's authority. He naturally found you on the bread aisle and strode up to you with confidence.

Unfortunately you didn't see him toss a loaf of whole grain wheat into the cart but you heard his dramatic greeting, "I see you started without me, Princess."

A middle aged woman, (a politician's wife by the looks of it) sent jealous daggers into your back.

You thought bringing Joker along to the store would put him at risk with the cops but, oh no. His sexy, mysterious aura was gonna get you in trouble with the jealous shoppers. Joker was better off coming as the wanted man he was instead of this wickedly good disguise.

Joker chuckled at your dilemma and only made matters worse by following behind you like a dark shadow. From an outsider's perspective, he appeared to be your personal bodyguard but he was anything but. You grabbed a few more things before turning down the breakfast aisle when Joker decided to act a plum fool.

Your heels echoed on the spotless floor as you combed through the vast selection for the various items on your list. Since Joker was with you, he could help carry the majority of the load so you could buy in bulk. You were scratching an item off the list when you heard your name across the way.

"Oh Y/n can I please have it? I promise I've been a very good boy."

You slowly turned around to find Joker holding up a box of Cocoa Nuts and Frosted Flakes, shaking them aggressively. You were surprised that Colomy's brand of cereal was even in stock here but stared at Joker in disbelief. Whatever happened to keeping a low profile?

He swore your left eye twitched. You were just about to scold him when another shopper walked by getting an eyeful of Joker. She giggled out a hello, he paid her no mind.

"Please Bunny?"

Her scoff was louder than the gossip she'd start about you. Your membership would take a few points for sure.

Steam was coming out of your ears you were so embarrassed.

"You are acting like a child. Yes, you can get them! Anything to shut you up." You scanned the area making sure no one was getting too suspicious. If anyone were listening in, it sounded like a nanny discipling her charge. If only Joker was an adolescent and not a full grown man with a twisted sense of humor.

This was the first trip to the store that no one had asked if you needed help or huffed at you to move out of their way. Usually a store associate would have bothered you by now. The lack of customer service put you on edge.

Joker invading your personal space and practically purring in your ear didn't help relieve your paranoia either. "Thank you Mommy." He said while tossing both boxes into the cart.

You never felt more embarrassed in your entire life. You wished the floor could swallow you whole. And so everything came back full circle.

"I totally regret this." You grumbled and pushed the cart away from Joker.

Yet he never left your line of sight. He stayed glued to your side even while you struggled to reach things on the top shelves and made sexual innuendos as you chose between two pieces of meat.

"Hmmm. Why not get that one Y/n? We both know you like thick pieces of meat." His words made the tips of your ears tingle and it flushed beet red when a blonde standing next to you gasped in shock.

She looked Joker up and down, no doubt about to shoot her shot but you tossed both packets of meat into the cart and hissed at Joker to follow you.

He did, but not before winking at the blonde. No matter how many times you told him to behave he would say or do something attention grabbing and shoot your stress levels sky high. He was doing it on purpose now. You were about to reach the floral section when you rounded on Joker.

"Stay right here and watch the cart. Do not walk off, do not flirt with another shopper.. again.. and please don't eat anything I haven't paid for yet."

He rolled his eyes and gave you a lazy army salute, which was his way of saying, 'I will make no such promises.' He was already looking for something to get into by the time you turned around.

Your attention focused on the florist center which took up a decent size of the market. It alone contributed to the sweet, inviting smell that wafted throughout the store.

Arrange me Not owned leasing rights within the supermarket but their primary location was a blooming success in Otisburg. And with good reason. Their work was amazing with each bouquet arranged with a personal touch for the expected recipient. They made common flowers works of art and you were lucky enough to know the owner.

Morgana planned on expanding to a third location in New Gotham by the end of the year. She could put old Pamela Isley out of business if the botanist turned super criminal ever returned to an honest living.

Regardless, you knew your friend was here in person today based on the more elaborate, premade bouquets on display. You walked up to the counter and decided against ringing the bell placed there.

It was too noisy, the florist mentioned time and time again.

"Morgana you busy?"

You didn't have to wait long before curious brown eyes shot out from the back followed by a dazzling smile when she recognized her current customer. Morgana had her long silky hair done up in a high ponytail today with a wreath of wildflowers acting as a makeshift hair tie.

If her hands weren't caked in dirt she would have hugged you. "Never for you Y/n! What will it be today? Lilies? Garden roses? Ooh! Peonies are in right now and I have a full crate that I can ship over from Otisburg to—" You stopped her rambling with a gentle wave.

"I'd love any arrangement you make Morgana but that's not why I'm here."

"Oh." She scratched her face, leaving a streak of soil there. "Did something happen again? I haven't checked my phone today."

Out of all of your friends Morgana was the most level headed when it came to your life drama. She didn't panic like Florence or Barbara would and it was one of the reasons why Morgana was the only person you texted after you woke up underground in Joker's bunker.

You hated having favorites but you could tell Morgana anything simply because she wouldn't overreact or care about the information. She was truly a free spirited individual. Which meant you could be as blunt as you wanted— no harm done.

"No, nothing bad happened. Flo, Barb, and I are doing girl's night. Barbara texted you the full details but I wanted to make sure you knew before your shift ended. We're meeting back up at my place at a quarter till eight. Florence got this client of hers that's flying us out to Atlanta."

Halfway through your explanation Morgana wiped her hands and face clean with a cloth and rounded the counter to stand by your side. It was acting as a barrier from giving you a hug. She pulled away with a laugh after hearing the end of your sentence.

"Oh she been giving that man pussy!" You joined in with her peals of laughter.

"That's what I said because ain't no way he's offering to fly us all out free of charge! He owns a club so I guess he's paying for everything else tonight. We just gotta come as we are."

"I have yet to turn down a man's money. Consider me in. What's the dress code?" Morgana asked. Unfortunately, you were just as clueless.

"Uh I don't know." You checked the group chat but nothing was mentioned. "I mean it's Atlanta so probably hot girl summer. Florence mentioned she wanted to get drunk so. There's that."

Morgana sighed to herself. "That means someone gotta stay sober to watch her Haitian a_s. We are not getting kicked out of a club again. I nominate you this time." She rolled her eyes when you muttered, well duh, but continued. "But say less I'll be ready. Is Cindy down?"

You totally forgot to include the businesswoman! It was quite last minute and you hadn't talked to her since visiting her office with Bruce two weeks ago.

"I doubt it."

Morgana hummed, "Won't hurt to invite her just in case she can pull a miracle." Out the corner of her eye she saw a client come up with a pickup ticket. "Ooh gotta go girl, but I'll see you tonight!"

She waved you off and greeted her new customer before coming out the back with a massive centerpiece bursting with spring florals. The lady gushed over the piece and struggled holding it with her two arms, it was so huge. It was absolutely beautiful and after seeing it you turned to Morgana—

"I'll bring you a bouquet when I come over tonight." She knew you too well. You walked back to where you left Joker and the cart with a content smile.

You killed two birds with one stone; informing Morgana of tonight's plans while shopping for groceries, all without an incident. Maybe tonight wouldn't be as bad as you thought. That is if Joker let you go.

The man had separation anxiety and boarded a boat down the river of denial. You didn't want to anger him or ruin whatever that was growing between you and him. Everything would work itself out, you thought to yourself and rounded the corner, only to arrive at an vacant spot.

"Where..." So obviously you weren't tripping. You left Joker by the wine and spirits section near the checkout yet he and your cart full of food were gone.

You frantically looked around but other shoppers were milling around minding their business, blissfully unaware. There was literally a madman on the loose and they went about their day as normal. Joker was nowhere in sight so you did the same thing your mom did whenever she lost you in the store.

You went up and down each aisle searching.

You couldn't call out Joker's name— wanted criminal and all— bummer right? Each aisle came up empty. You didn't spot a black beanie anywhere. You didn't hear any screams of terror nor did you see a crowd of women lining up for his number. He simply vanished. Your stress levels were over 9000.

"Excuse me miss? Did you lose something?"

You whirled on the store associate who stopped you on your fourth trip around the store. She took in your dilated eyes and distress, hoping you'd explain.

"Miss?" She put a halt to your panic with a comforting smile. "What seems to be the problem?"

"My cart! I left it right here and... and.." You choked out.

"Miss Y/L is it? Your membership card was authorized for a purchase over twenty minutes ago. I assumed your bodyguard went on ahead with the groceries since he opted in on a home delivery service."

Screw the GCPD capturing Joker. You were going to kill him yourself.

Did he know how much delivery services cost?! Scratch that. What was he thinking leaving without you? The man couldn't follow simple instructions and did he have to take your purse with him? At least you had your phone and apartment key in your back pocket, however your anger for a green haired clown was at an all time high.

You had to save face in this uppity store so you faced the store associate with a tight lipped smile of your own.

"Is that so? Well, I guess he got impatient while I was off browsing in the flower section. Thank you for your help."

She returned your smile and moseyed off to assist another customer, leaving you stewing near the exit. Joker better have a good excuse after pulling a stunt like this. It was gonna be a long subway ride home as you plotted about all the many ways to get even with the Crowned Prince of Crime.

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