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mouse-of-dimitrescu · 5 months

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𝟷𝟸 𝙳𝙰𝚈𝚂 𝙾𝙵 𝚂𝙼𝚄𝚃𝚃𝙸𝙽𝙴𝚂𝚂 🎄 #𝟿 𝙻𝚊𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚊 𝚆𝚎𝚎𝚖𝚜 𝚇 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚎𝚛

Sway ( fluff, NSFW )

WARNINGS: shapeshifting d!ck, cute Larissa, restlessness. (I think that's it, tell me if I need to add more warnings )

:･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧

Christmas was Larissa's favourite time of the year. The beautiful lights and glorious decorations made her golden heart warm. She was one of those people who put Christmas decorations up as soon as the clock striked December, and stocked up on hot chocolate as soon as it turned a degree colder. You and Larissa had been married for three years and for every year end, you decorated your house together, putting up the tree and the shimmering lights. Afterwards, you would always treat yourselves to hit chocolate with extra marshmallows and your homemade chocolate chip cookies that Larissa adored.

Nevermore closed for the Christmas holidays, allowing Larissa to stay at home with you during that period. One thing about Larissa: she would always get restless during the holidays. She wasn't used to having so little to do and naturally, she tried to keep herself as busy as possible.

You returned home from grocery shopping one afternoon to find Larissa reorganising the kitchen. You placed the bags down and cleared your throat.

" Rissy, what are you doing?" You asked, making the poor woman jump slightly, not expecting your presence.

" Organising the kitchen...for the new year." Larissa stood up and placed her hand on her hip, trying to act as casual as possible. You sighed and looked to your wife.

" Bored?" You tried to hide your smile.

Larissa let out a groan. " I love being at home with you, don't get me wrong. But I just don't know what to do with myself. I try watch a movie on Netflix and then I zone out because I feel like I'm wasting my time. Then I try to do something creative, like making a necklace with the bead set, but I never finish it because I know I'll never wear that stupid necklace anyway." Larissa squeezed the bridge of her nose. " Sorry I'm rambling."

You walked up to Larissa and hugged her with understanding. " It must be difficult for you to change your schedule in favour of the holidays. And we have to stay indoors, it's cold out. Have you tried reading?"

Larissa nods. " Yes, dear. But I get distracted by the thought of what I could be doing." Larissa gave you a little squeeze and kissed your cheek. " Don't worry about me, darling. I'm sure I'll manage."

" Maybe we can pack these groceries away for a start and then see what we can do." You suggested. Larissa nodded and you both began packing the cupboards with the groceries you bought. You worked silently and peacefully, Larissa occasionally letting out a hum of approval when she liked something you bought. She obviously smiled when sje saw the bag of hot chocolate and she put it away neatly.

" Maybe this evening you can teach me how to make those chocolate chip cookies?" Larissa asked, seeing that you had bought more ingredients to do so.

" Sounds like a plan." You smiled. You felt Larissa wrap her arms around you from behind and place a light kiss on the back of your neck. She turned your body slightly and leant down to kiss your lips gently. You smiled and hugged her, eventually beginning to sway together.

" You are aware that there's no music playing?" She chuckled.

" Oh hush. I just want to be close to you." You laughed and looked up to Larissa. You planted a small kiss on her jawline and eventually rested your head on her shoulder as you swayed. She smiled at your actions and kissed the top of your head, leaning her chin gently upon it. She began humming a soft tune, shutting her eyes and finding comfort in home. With your arms wrapped snugly around her waist, your body pressed against hers and you both sought out the warmth in one another.

" Dear, you don't look warm enough. You should go and put on another jumper." Larissa said softly, rubbing your arms up and down with her hands.

" I'm fine—" You tried to shrug it off but by looking at Larissa, she pulled a stern expression. You rolled your eyes playfully. " Fine, fine." You put your hands up in a surrendering motion and went to your shared bedroom to shuffle through the wardrobe. You put on Larissa's grey fluffy jumper and hugged yourself. It smelt of her.

" That looks adorable on you, dear." Larissa walked into the bedroom and sat down on the edge of the bed, pulling you onto her lap.

" Why thank you. I love wearing your clothes." You smiled.

" They're not even your style." Larissa shook her head and looked at you with an amused grin.

" No, they're not. But I still like them. They're cozy. When you shop for clothes, you always know exactly what to buy." You kissed Larissa's cheek, adjusting yourself on her lap so you could wrap an arm around her neck.

" You're such a minx, you know that?" Larissa smiled and kissed your cheek, eventually smiling against it, beginning to laugh slightly.

You giggled at her laughter and tilted your head. " Why are you laughing?"

" You're just so sweet. I love you. I'm so glad I married you?" Larissa peppered kissed over your cheeks, causing you to giggle more.

" Aww, Rissy. I love you too." You hugged Larissa, straddling her lap to do so.

In an instant, Larissa had flipped you over and began tickling you, making you squeel and laugh. She knew how ticklish you were and she loved teasing you about it. You felt her cold fingertips inch under your jumper, your breath hitched and you carried on laughing. Larissa laughed too, coming down to kiss you. She caressed your body and you shivered slightly, feeling Larissa's hands beginning to warm under your skin.

" Cold, love?" Larissa smiled, lying next door to you and keeping her one hand under your jumper while the other hand played with your hair.

" Your hands are cold." You smiled.

" I can...warm you up?" Larissa hinted, smiling slightly down at you. You said nothing but grinned, pulling Larissa in for a kiss. " And I'll take that as a yes?" She laughed.

" Yes please." You giggled snd kissed Larissa's neck, feeling the soft, sensitive skin under your touch. Larissa's breath hitched at your actions, making you smile.

" Can I shift?" She asked, causing you to grow even more aroused. You nodded quickly, kissing Larissa again. As she shifted, she groaned into our mouth and you looked down to see the bulge in her pants. You bit your lip and looked at your wife — you were both breathing heavily from the kiss and she nodded in your direction.

At that nod, you quickly slipped your hand under the waistband of her pants, feeling her cock straining in her knickers. You experimentally ran a finger over it, causing Larissa to gasp.

" Please ride me, darling." Larissa whispered.

You smiled, slipping both her pants and her knickers off, throwing them to the side. Larissa couldn't wait — her hand had already found her cock as she gently stroked it, causing her breathing to become heavier and precum to leak off the tip. You looked over at her and leant down to kiss the tip of her cock, licking the precum off and tasting her.

" Darling, please. Please." Larissa reached over to you and began tugging at your clothes, attempting to assist you in getting them off. You happily stripped for your wife, planting a small kiss on her cheek before straddling her.

You felt Larissa reach down and gently rub the tip of her cock through your folds, occasionally grazing against your sensitive clit, causing your hips to move slightly. You eventually sunk down, feeling Larissa's warm cock enter you and stretch apart your walls.

" Oh....Larissa..." You shut your eyes and moaned as she entered you fully. You stayed still for a few moments, breathing heavily before looking at Larissa. She reached over and caressed your waist, trailing her hands up to your boobs as she fingered your nipples. That only made you wetter and you bit your lip.

" I'm going to move." You breathed out, holding onto Larissa's arms to steady yourself as you ricned your hips slowly back and forth. Larissa's cock throbbed inside you at your actions, tapping and moving against your walls.

" Oh, fuck..." Larissa shut her eyes and laid her head back. You moaned and clasped onto Larissa's arms. Larissa moved her hands to your hips as you began to bounce on her cock. She helped steady you as you did so.

" You're so...tight." Larissa moaned loudly, digging her nails into your sides as you moved on top of her.

Your wife began to thrust her hips up, aiding your movements. You moaned as she hit your g-spot, making your walls tighten around her momentarily, making Larissa moan too. Both of your movements began to get more urgent as you felt Larissa thrust deeper into you.

" Rissy! Oh!" You moaned when you felt Larissa's hips rise again, slamming into you as you both increased your paces, syncing with each other. A small amount of sweat covered your bodies as you both tried to reach your climax.

With each thrust and bounced Larissa's cock pulsated against that sweet spot inside of you, you felt your walls tighten around her again and your breathing became even more rapid and uneven. Moans filled the room along with the musky scent of sex and the fusion of your perfumes.

" Are you going to cum for me?" Larissa asked, letting out a groan as she entered you again.

" Yes! Fuck!" You cried out.

" Can I come inside you?" Larissa asked, trying to conceal the desperation in her tone.

" Yes! Please... Rissy!" You begged as you felt yourself nearing your orgasm.

As you climaxed against Larissa's cock, she came too, filling you up with her white seed. Both of your bodies shuddered as you moaned each others' names. The sensation of Larissa cumming inside of you sent waves of pleasure coursing through your shaking body. Larissa and you helped each other ride out your orgasms as you slowed down your paces, breathing heavily and grasping onto each other.

Larissa gently lifted your body up, slowly pulling out if you. The mixture of you cum and hers trailed down your thighs and she chuckled. Your wife lifted you up, shifting her cock back into her pussy as she took you to the bathroom. She cleaned both you and herself up and you smiled.

" We need to do that again sometime." You laughed, grabbing two face cloths, running them under the two and handing one to Larissa. You both wiped the sweat off your faces and she smiled back.

" I agree ." She pecked your cheek and pulled you in for a kiss. " I love you, my dear." She whispered against your lips.

" I love you too, Rissy." You whispered back. " Let's shower quickly and get started on those chocolate chip cookies." You winked, making Larissa chuckle.

You and Larissa stood in the shower, the water poured over you as you spoke and laughed together. It was the little things. Those little moments that made you whole. You weren't alone cut into obscure fragments — you belonged and so did Larissa. Larissa was there. And she was beautiful. And you loved her so fucking much it seemed almost impossible not to smile in her presence. In this limited segment of eternity, you felt sempiternal.

You and Larissa changed quickly into your pajamas. Your wife urged you to use the hair dryer that evening because it was cold and she didn't want you to get sick. Your heart melted at her concern but you hated the hair dryer. It was loud.

" Rissy, I won't get sick." You scoffed and eventually gave in, grabbing the hair dryer.

" You might. And no one wants to blow their nose on Christmas. Especially not in this house." Larissa kissed your cheek and began to run a brush through your hair. You blushed and smiled, feeling her soft fingertips run through it too.

" Thank you." You whispered, Larissa smiled at you, making eye contact with you in the looking glass.

She kissed your cheek and you turned to her, giving her a soft kiss on her lips and a little peck on the tip of her nose, making her scrunch her nose and smile. Larissa dried her hair too and you both eventually went downstairs, checking the pantry. You got the ingredients out to make the chocolate chip cookies and Larissa out on some music. The Fleet Foxes began playing in the backround as you baked together.

" Where are the instructions?" Larissa asked, rummaging through recipe books and papers on the kitchen counter.

" In my head." You smiled.

Larissa raised her eyebrow. " How can you cope? Oh dear, well, tell me what to do." Larissa packed the books away. You laughed at her concern for not having a set recipe and instructions to abide by. Larissa gave you a faux annoyed glance before cracking up too.

" I'm the principal for a reason, darling." She said through laughter, kissing your cheek.

You lead Larissa through the process and you baked the cookies. Once the cookies were finally in the oven, you and your wife took a step back. You began making hot chocolate for the both of you as you waited for the cookies.

" We can't have cookies for dinner, dear." Larissa said, leaning against the counter.

" Says who?" You smiled and added extra marshmallows to Larissa's hot chocolate. She happily took her cup and sipped from it.

" I do. Now, are we going to make dinner or are we just going to order something?" She asked.

You thought for a moment. " Pizza sounds lovely. What do you say?"

Larissa chuckled. " Of course, you know which toppings I want."

You got out your phone and placed an order for two large pizzas.

The pizzas soon arrived just as you and Larissa finished off your second cups of hot chocolate. You brought the pizza inside and placed it on the counter.

" Two large pizzas?" Larissa walked over to you and took a box.

" I'm hungry, I don't know about you. But if you can't finish it, you can save it for later." You smiled and opened your pizza box.

" No, I'm eating it." Larissa chuckled and took out a slice of pizza, beginning to eat it.

You ate your pizzas at the kitchen table, almost forgetting to check on the cookies which were baking well in the oven. After a few monents of checking on them, you smiled.

" I think they're ready." You got oven mits, removing the tray from the oven and placing the cookies on a plate to cool down. Larissa immediately got up and stood right next to you, savouring the smell of them.

" Maybe I should make another load of them. These will probably be finished in three days by the looks of things." You chuckled. Larissa playfully slapped your arm and you both giggled.

" Most likely." Larissa kissed your head.

:･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧:･ﾟ✧

𝙸 𝚌𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚍 𝚠𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜.

@littledollll @winterfireblond @blood-red-ocean @ness029 @aemilia19

#gwendoline christie #larissa weems #gwendolineuniverse #larissa weems smut #larissa weems x reader #larissa weems fluff #principal weems #principal weems fluff

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m-jelly · 1 year

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Levi x reader canon verse where he is in the dining hall when reader walks in on a friends shoulder it can be like Jean or something and she is smashed. Like drunk and Levi is obviously like wtf happened and they explain that she had some drinks and we are just giggling and smiling and saying how pretty he is. He is obviously blushing and a flustered ness so he says he will take us to his or our room and as we’re walking we just start saying the most outta pocket things to him. Basically confessing our undying love for him and he is shocked and says we have to be lying so he waits till morning and we says it’s all true. So kinda like that aphrodisiac one you did reversed but with alcohol

@kenkopanda-art <3

Drunken confessions

Pairing: Levi x Fem!Reader

Genre and tags: Canon AU, romance, fluff, confessions, becoming a couple, kissing, flustered Levi, fem Hange.

Concept: Hange and you have been out drinking for the night. You come back stumbling around and go to the main hall for food. You come across Levi. Hange explains between giggles what you'd been doing together. In your drunk state, you confess your feelings to Levi and fuss over him and compliment him. Levi takes you to bed and watches over you. The next morning Levi confronts you and you confess again.

Taglist: @levisbrat25 @ladycheesington @skittlelover69 @li-anne @youre-ackermine @nyxiieluna @nbinairyn @notgoodforlife @galactict3a @strawberrybunny123 @demonsimp6

You stumbled down the scout halls with Hange at your side. You laughed as Hange tripped over her own feet. She stopped and hushed her feet. You snorted a laugh and grabbed her hand before you pulled her along down the hall.

You did a lot of research for Hange. You were basically her admin and helped her stay organised. Erwin brought you in because Hange would get lost in her work and Moblit was one step away from a heart attack. So, you worked hard and never went out to fight titans. You enjoyed your job and you enjoyed the company around you. You liked Levi a lot.

You shoved the main hall door open and watched Hange fall inside. You laughed at her as she stumbled to catch herself. She stood up and struck a pose. You clapped your hands and giggled as she kept posing.

"Tch, what in the fuck is going on?"

Hange turned to see Levi in a dark corner nursing a cup of tea. "Oh! It's shorty!"

Levi growled. "Shut up." He glanced at you and blushed. "Damn four eyes."

You gasped and stumbled into the room so you and Levi say each other fully. "Levi!"

Levi admired you in your cute dress. He mumbled your name and looked away. "You look nice." He cleared his throat. "You get drunk with this idiot?"

You skipped over and leaned on the table to show off your cleavage to him. "You are sooooo handsome!"

He cleared his throat. "M-Me?"

You nodded and giggled. "Yes." You let out a long sigh. "You're so cute too. I just want to hug you and kiss you!"

"K-Kiss?"

You leaned closer to him. "You have the most beautiful blue eyes. I want to look into them for the rest of my life."

He whined a little. "Y-You're drunk."

"Tipsy! And still aware of my desire for you." You climbed onto the table and sat in front of Levi. "You're just so wonderful."

Levi went bright red as you sat with your dress pulled up to mid-thigh right in front of his face. "I uh...thank you."

You slipped off the table and plopped yourself onto Levi's lap. "I just like you so much."

Levi felt his heart race in his chest as you sat on his lap and played with his hair. "Th-thank you."

You wrapped your arms around his neck and nuzzled his cheek. "I just want to take care of you, love you, adore you and give you all the kisses.

"That sounds perfect." He gazed at you to see you were falling asleep. "Hey, you're falling asleep on me."

You curled up a little and hummed. "Cause you're so soft, warm and cuddly."

Levi hesitated for a moment before hugging you back. "Do you really like me?"

You nodded. "I love you."

He smiled softly knowing his feelings for you were mutual. "Mm, cute brat." He looked over at Hange passed out on the table. "I'll leave her." He scooped you up and stood. "Come on you, let's get you into bed."

You whined. "I want to spend time with you! I want to give you kisses and cuddles and attention and love. Please don't put me to bed."

He walked down the hall in the candle-lit halls. He gazed down at you as you fought sleep. "You should sleep."

"No." You pouted a little. "I want to be with you."

"Tch, cute." He sighed. "Come on brat, you're tired. You'll make me worry."

"Don't worry. I worry about you. You push yourself too hard. I want you to take better care of yourself. I wish I could provide you with love and comfort, but you don't see me that way."

Levi smiled a little. "How about I tell you how I feel in the morning when you are sober."

"Okaaaaay."

Levi pushed his door open and carried you inside his office and into the back room where his bed was. He lay you down and pulled your shoes off. He tucked you under the covers. He changed into his bed things and decided he would join you. He lay next to you and sighed. He looked over at you and felt tiredness take over. He closed his eyes and soon drifted off into a sleep filled with nice dreams about you instead of nightmares.

Levi woke up before you to see you were clinging to him and he was holding you. He smiled softly and kissed your forehead making you hum in your sleep. He smiled at you as you slowly woke up. "Hungover?"

You moaned and rubbed your eyes. "No hangover, just pure embarrassment. I can't believe I was all over you last night. I'm so sorry."

Levi played with your hair. "Well, I'm sure how we are right now will hint to you how I feel about the things you said."

You frowned a little then started to realise what you were doing and where you were. "Are...are we in your bed?"

"Yes."

You whined and lowered your head. "Wow."

"So, did you mean what you said? Do you really feel that way?"

You looked Levi in the eyes and sighed. "I do. I've liked you for so long and then I fell in love with you. I meant everything I said last night." You sat up and ruffled your hair. "I understand if you don't feel the same way."

Levi sat up. "I feel the same."

"You do?"

He cupped your face and kissed you. "I do. I'm not very good with my words and I never told you because I don't think it's possible for someone to love me or like me, but I feel so deeply for you." He tapped his forehead against yours. "Can I keep you as mine? I promise to take care of you and love you for all our lives and beyond."

"Yes." You smiled softly and kissed him. You both softly laughed as you kept kissing each other. You lay in bed together and spent the day together.

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ritsus-pillow · 1 year

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Croissants with a Side of Feelings {Shu Itsuki x Reader}

Relationships: Shu Itsuki x Female Reader Word Count: 11367 CW: Reader has a medical condition, fluff, slight hurt/comfort (like a cinnamon sprinkling of hurt I swear) Set during ! era, specifically around the time of the Tanabata Festival.

“Really! It’s a miracle that you’re still up and standing, foolish girl.”

Shu shook his head at me, frowning as I stumbled to a halt in the middle of the practice room.

“Shu-senpai! You’re earlier than usual.” I rushed to the speakers, stopping the recording of Sacred Youth Games that had been playing.

“Hmph and if this is what you’ve been doing before our practices perhaps I shall make a habit of it…” His frown deepened. “I have no use for broken dolls, girl.”

I scratched the back of my neck.

“I know. But it really wasn’t much, just a quick warmup!”

Shu “hmph”-ed again, moving to connect his own phone to the speakers.

“Shu-kun just doesn’t want you to overwork yourself, Y/n-chan,” Mademoiselle’s high-pitched voice peeped from her spot in Shu’s arms. “He worries about you.”

“Hush Mademoiselle!” Shu snapped.

“I know Mado-chan, but I’ll be careful,” I said. “I know my limits.”

A soft giggle answered me before it was silenced with a glare.

“Ngahh, sorry I’m late Oshi-san, Y/n-chan!” With his usual amount of grace, Mika stumbled into the room.

“Hmph, typical.”

“Don’t be fooled by his attitude Mika-kun, Shu-kun is happy you made it.”

“Ngah, thanks Mado-nee!”

Shu shot another glare at Mademoiselle.

“You’re particularly cheeky today.”

“Fufu, and who’s fault is that Shu-kun?”

Shu clicked his tongue, a scowl on his face. Despite his frustration, he gently placed Mademoiselle on the table next to the speaker.

“Regardless, now that we’re all here, perhaps we can begin rehearsals?”

I rolled my eyes, nodding, as Mika chirped an excited “Yes, Oshi-san!”. It wasn’t as if any of us had been late, in fact, it was a good 10 minutes earlier than we usually started rehearsal. But I knew better than to protest—the lead-up to lives always made Shu testier than usual and the Tanabata Festival was worse than usual.

I shook my head, moving out of the centre of the room as Mika and Shu took their positions for their warmup routine. The workload for the Tanabata Festival hadn’t exactly been light on my end—as Anzu’s fellow producer, she had asked me for help with some of the less major work so she didn’t have to shove it all on Eichi and the rest of the student council. Something about proving her capabilities as a producer without their backing? Not that it mattered to me, I would rather not ask Tenshouin for help.

Sighing, I pulled a pile of paperwork out of my bag. If Shu had bothered to tell me about this before he submitted the paperwork, maybe I wouldn’t be so irritated. But nooooo, he just had to accept Tenshouin’s challenge. I pursed my lips, reading over the proposal for the stage lighting. Well, there were worse things than a bit of extra paperwork. And school-hosted events were far less work organisation-wise than most of the places Valkyrie had been performing at recently.

I glanced up as the warm-up routine finished. Shu looked pleased and Mika looked significantly less flustered than he had been earlier. Shu fished his phone out of his pocket, stopping the piece of classical music that they had been warming up to.

“Hmph, better than yesterday, I suppose.”

“Ngahh thanks Oshi-san!” Mika grinned at the back-handed compliment.

“It wasn’t a compliment, you failure!” Shu pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing. I resisted the urge to snicker as the two assumed their starting positions.

As the starting notes for Enthralling Theatre filled the room, I smiled down at my paperwork. Maybe this live would be the push Shu needed to return to the Yumenosaki stage.

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

“Non! This simply won’t do!”

I watched as Shu tossed yet another bolt of fabric to the side. Shaking my head, I pointedly turned back to the stack of papers Anzu had asked me to look over. Staging…Lighting…Airspace permissions for Hibiki-senpai’s blimp…I resisted the urge to sigh. Only at Yumenosaki.

Anzu had asked me to proofread the proposals before she handed them to the student council. I’d eventually agreed, but I still didn’t think my involvement would make Tenshouin more likely to approve the plans. But she’d insisted, saying that the Student Council couldn’t very well refute her proposal just because she’d asked a fellow producer for help! (Tenshouin was petty enough to do just that, but Anzu hadn’t lived through the War and didn’t know any better.) I scribble a note on the lighting plan—as much as Ryusetai (read: Morisawa-senpai) wanted flame machines and no matter how “cool” (this was true) or “heroic” (less true) they’d look, they were most definitely a fire hazard at an event that centred around highly flammable bamboo and paper.

Another bolt of fabric was violently discarded, rolling from the towering pile of rejects. I eyed the ever-growing pile and raised my eyebrow at Shu’s back. Across the room, Kiryu-senpai just shook his head before continuing to sew the outfit in front of him.

“Um, Shu-senpai…” I started nervously. “Do I need to make a trip to the fabric store?”

Shu turned to face me so suddenly, I jumped a little, almost dropping my pen to the floor.

“I know I’m not the best at picking fabrics, but if you tell me what type you’re looking for I could send you pictures of the colours? Or I could take some headphones and video call you?” I tapped my pen against the pile of paperwork, breaking eye contact. “You and Kiryu-senpai have got a lot of work to do here right? You can’t afford to waste time searching for fabrics for any unit’s outfits.” Even if it is for Valkyrie.

Shu pursed his lips, his gaze flicking to the nearly empty fabric rack in front of him and then to the pile of completed outfits Kiryu-senpai had finished. As he watched, another was added to the pile.

He sighed.

“Very well. I shall write down what I need and you can fetch it for me. However,” he raised a finger. “You must take someone with you to carry the bolts of fabric. Let me think…Rei should be in his club room…” He stood and wandered over to the cup phone that hung by the window, unhooking it and tugging three times on the string before pulling it taut.

“Rei? Yes, sorry to disturb you. I don’t suppose you could give me a hand? Of course.” He hung the cup phone back on its hook. “Rei will be here in a moment.”

“Senpai, I’m fine to bring the bolts back by myself,” I protested. “You don’t have to bother Rei-senpai.”

Shu raised a hand to forestall any more protests.

“Non! What if you were to drop them on the way back? I can’t have your clumsy hands soiling the fabric before it reaches this room.”

“Fufu, what Shu-kun means, Y/n-chan,” Mademoiselle spoke up from her seat on one of the shelves in the clubroom. “Is that he doesn’t want you to wear yourself out. You’ve been working so hard lately, we can’t have you passing out from overexertion again.”

I flushed slightly.

“Mado-chan that was one time!” I pouted. “I haven’t even had difficulty in getting up and down off the floor lately, I can carry a couple of bolts of fabric!”

“That is not up for debate. Rei will accompany you to the fabric store.” Shu shook his head at me and began replacing the bolts of fabric he’d gotten out on the shelves.

I sighed, turning back to my paperwork. Who knew how long a moment was to Rei Sakuma. All of the Eccentrics that I had met operated on their own timetable. Speaking of, I turned to the airspace permission forms for Wataru’s blimp. Eccentric indeed…

“Shu? You said you needed my help?”

Apparently, Rei-senpai’s definition of a moment was eerily similar to a regular human’s.

“Ah, my friend, you were faster than I expected.” Shu dusted his hands and went to the entrance to the clubroom. “I need some more fabric but neither Kiryu nor I can go. I’d just send the girl but I can’t trust her to carry the fabric back on her own. Would you accompany her?”

Rei-senpai glanced over at me, his lip twitching at the way I pretended that I most definitely was not listening to their conversation, thank you very much.

“Of course. It’s no problem at all.” He smiled at me. “Well then, shall we take our leave?”

I nodded, pushing my chair out from the table, leaving my paperwork where it lay. I’d be back before long—the fabric store that Shu preferred was luckily only a few blocks away.

I nodded goodbye to Kiryu-senpai, who nodded back, his focus on the intricate embroidery on the collar he was stitching.

“Here.” Shu shoved a piece of paper into my hands. “The list. Make sure you bring the fabric back in one piece!”

I nodded, glancing at the paper before shoving it into my skirt pocket next to my phone.

“Anything else, senpai?”

Shu shook his head.

“Be safe y/n-chan!” Mademoiselle called. I smiled, waving briefly in her direction as Rei-senpai and I stepped out the door.

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

“So, Valkyrie is finally returning to the stage, hmm?” Rei questioned, hands in his pockets as we walked through the courtyard.

I nodded, glancing at him from the corner of my eye.

“Senpai seems pretty worked up about this live,” I explained. “Something about Tenshouin personally challenging them after the live the other night?”

Rei cocked his head.

“The performance at the live-house Kaoru-kun manages?”

I nodded and he hummed thoughtfully.

“I wasn’t with them, so I don’t know the details and Shu-senpai just,” I gestured vaguely.

Rei nodded sympathetically.

“Shu was Shu about the whole thing.”

I nodded, leading the way out of the school gates.

“Yep. And then Kiryu-senpai asked him for help with the unit costumes, so between the outfits and before and after school rehearsals, he’s been stretched thin.”

“I’ve noticed,” Rei said. “As have the other Eccentrics. And,” he turned his head to look me in the eyes. “We’re thankful to you for taking care of him for us.”

I waved my hands frantically.

“It's fine really! It’s just…he’s done so much for me and Mika-kun…I can’t let him starve himself to death because he’s so busy making Valkyrie look good! It’s my job as a producer to look after him!”

Rei chuckled softly.

“Of course, of course.”

I shook my head, opening the door to the fabric store.

“Alright, let’s see what he wants,” I muttered to myself, pulling the list out of my pocket. Rei peeked at the list over my shoulder, eyes scanning the immaculately written kana.

“...why is wine red satin on here twice?” Rei questioned, pointing at two items written directly underneath each other.

“It’s not. One’s wine-red satin and the other is wine-red sateen,” I explained, pointing at the kanji. “And wine red is our shorthand for Valkyrie red.”

I headed to the satin and sateen section, Rei trailing behind me. Carefully, I inspected the bolts of fabric, eventually pointing to two bolts I deemed Shu would approve of. Rei easily hefted them, slotting them under his arm. I felt my eyebrows rise slightly. A bolt of fabric usually had about 92 metres of fabric on it—lifting two so easily and with one hand, was no easy feat.

At least…I was hard-pressed to lift even one with my full strength. This trip was definitely going to be easier with Rei’s help. Once again, Shu had been correct to send me with help.

Didn’t mean I had to like it.

Though Rei was definitely an improvement over the time Wataru had insisted on accompanying me. Thank goodness the fabric had been slightly glittery already, though the face Shu had made upon seeing his slightly sparkly black fabric doused in red glitter had been hilarious. Wataru had still been banned from the clubroom and from accompanying me on any future fabric store runs. I had been punished with weeks of extra meaningless paperwork—which was not an experience I was eager to repeat.

It didn’t take Rei and I long to find the rest of the fabric on the list. Thankfully, all of the colours Shu had specified had been in stock, so there was no need for photographs or video calls. I paid quickly, apologising to the lady who ran the store for not being able to stay and chat this time. She smiled and laughed it off, promising to come and watch the performances at the Tanabata Festival.

With at least 5 bolts of fabric under Rei’s arm and a bag full of smaller amounts of fabric and other trimmings on mine, we exited the store.

“She seemed glad to see you,” Rei commented as we began the short walk back to school.

I hummed an affirmative.

“It's been a while since any Valkyrie members stopped in,” I explained. “We used to be regulars and the store’s close enough to the school that she probably heard about our fall. She’s a nice lady, she was probably worried about us.”

Rei chuckled.

“You seem to have friends everywhere, Y/n-chan.”

I rolled my eyes.

“I’m not Anzu-chan, Sakuma-senpai.”

He smirked at me. Smirked. The audacity. Why do I hang around the Eccentrics again?

“Oh? But you seem to have just as many friends, though maybe not in such high places as hers. I certainly can’t see you socialising with Tenshouin-kun or Hasumi-kun.”

I felt my face twist in disgust instinctively and Rei’s chuckles turned to full laughter as we entered the school grounds. The. Audacity.

I sighed, shaking my head at him.

“You are the worst, Senpai.”

His laughter echoed down the hall as we made our way to the Handicraft Club room.

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

“Hmph, this fabric is acceptable.”

Shu frowned down at the bolts of fabric Rei had laid out on the table before he returned to his own club room.

“Shu-kun thinks that you chose excellent fabrics, Y/n-chan!” Mademoiselle cheerfully explained.

“Aww, thanks Mado-chan,” I smiled.

“Mademoiselle!!” Shu exclaimed. “Please keep your opinions to yourself!”

“Fufu, we both know whose opinions they really are Shu-kun.”

Shu sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. Carefully, he rolled the bolts of fabric back up and began sorting through the bag of trimmings, ignoring Mademoiselle’s comment.

“Kiryu-senpai finished for the day?” I asked, pointing my question at Mademoiselle.

“Kuro-kun had a rehearsal with the rest of Akatsuki,” she informed me cheerfully. “He said he’d be back in…hmm…let’s see about 30 minutes now? Tsumugi-chan also dropped in for a bit while you were gone—he said to say ‘hi’. He was just picking up some trimmings for Switch’s outfits, so he wasn’t here long.”

We both pointedly ignored Shu’s snort of “good riddance”.

“It’s a shame I missed him, I haven’t spoken to Tsumugi-senpai in a while…” I mused, tapping my pen against my pile of paperwork. “Though it would be easier if someone didn’t insult him the second he walked through the clubroom door.”

Shu sniffed pointedly and continued inspecting the blue cord I had bought. I shook my head, turning back to my paperwork.

The club was filled with the sound of sewing machines whirring, overlockers clacking, and paperwork being filled in. Kiryu came and left. The sun was almost completely set before I finally completed the paperwork.

“Senpai, it's getting late. Senpai?”

Shu blinked, looking blearily up at me.

“It’s past 6. Don’t you need to get home to Mika-kun?”

“Hm? Kagehira?” He blinked again, before realisation dawned. “Kagehira! Ah, where is my phone…?” He patted his pockets realising it was on the table.

“Ah, he hasn’t returned yet…he and that Narukami girl were going on a shopping trip today. It appears I still have some time…” He placed his foot on the pedal, but nothing happened. He frowned, tried again, then looked over at me.

I sighed, the sewing machine’s cord swinging in my hand.

“Senpai…We’ve had this discussion. You’re not allowed to stay late anymore.”

He huffed.

“Fine then. I shall simply take these costumes home then.”

“Nope. You promised. No working on costumes at home either.” I narrowed my eyes at him, dropping the cord to the ground. “Unless…you want me to message the group chat? I’m sure Natsume-kun or Rei-senpai are still around. In fact,” I turned, tapping my phone against my chin. “Hidaka-kun mentioned that the Theatre Club had rehearsals until late tonight too.” I stopped, staring right at him. “So. What is it?”

Shu had been getting paler and paler throughout my little monologue and now he was almost as white as the costume in front of him.

“I- I assure you that's not necessary!” He hurriedly stood up, grabbing his things from around the room.

I stood watching him, phone at the ready in case he decided to slip some pieces of fabric into his school bag. Before long, we were both heading our separate ways outside the school gates. Watching Shu head towards his house, I pulled out my phone to send a quick text.

|Shu’s Slave|6:27pm| Mission “get-shu-home-at-a-reasonable-time” accomplished

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

Shu’s Mental Support Squad

|Magic Man|6:27pm| AMAZING!!!

|Magic Man|6:27pm| a new record~~

|Magic boi|6:28pm| did he take anything home with him??

|Shu’s Slave|6:28pm| he didnt put anything in his bag…

|Shu’s Slave|6:28pm| he probably has stuff at home tho…

|FISH|6:29pm| unfortunatrly there isnt anythign we can do abiut that…

|FISH|6:29pm| sorry wet hands

|Magic boi|6:29pm| niisan if ur going to swim in the fountain at least have something to dry urself off with…

|FISH|6:30pm| hehe ill remember natsume-kun~~

I slipped my phone back into my pocket as the chat devolved into the usual discussions. Rei’s icon had just joined the cluster of ‘online’ icons and there wasn’t much point getting dragged into the group’s antics before I got home for the night. Luckily, I’d gotten all of my school-related work done while I was in the clubroom. The only things left on tonight’s schedule were dinner and bed.

It didn’t take long before I was snugly under my blankets, scrolling through my Instagram. It was a pretty bland feed—I mainly followed the idol groups from Yumenosaki and any notable competitors from Shuuetsu and its sister schools. Nothing caught my attention (except for a sneak peek on Ra*bits page of their new costumes, which I had seen Shu pouring over the day before), so I placed my phone on my bedside table and went to sleep.

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

“One of these days,” I muttered to myself as I fumbled with my alarm. “I’m going to force him to make practice start at a reasonable time.”

I pulled my phone closer to my face, groaning as I looked at the time. 5:45 am. I groaned again. The clock flicked to 5:46. Still groaning, I slid out of my bed onto the floor. After almost two years as Valkyrie’s producer, you’d think that I would have been able to get out of bed for morning practice easily. But no. My body still hadn’t adjusted.

Well…I mused as I fixed my hair in the mirror, it is our first week back at weekly practice in almost a year.

It took me longer than I would have liked to arrive at Valkyrie’s usual practice room. Looks like I won’t have time to run through any dances before Shu and Mika arrive. Though…I rubbed my chest as my heart twinged painfully…dancing probably wasn’t the best idea today. Had I remembered to take my medicine before I left today? I mentally ran through my morning routine, before shaking my head and moving to connect my phone to the speaker. It didn’t matter anyway. I’d live.

Or not, apparently.

I blinked, looking at the room around me. The infirmary? I mentally ran through the day, trying to figure out how I got here. Morning practice had been fine—better than fine really. Classes had run as smoothly as 2-B’s classes ever ran. We’d had P.E. and I’d ended up wearing myself out more than I had expected. I’d planned to head to the rehearsal room and do paperwork until practice finished, then move to the handicraft clubroom to supervise Shu. However, Anzu caught me almost immediately after classes had finished and dragged me around the school to inspect the area of the stage. The last thing I remembered was her excitedly showing me the layout she had in mind, before passing out.

I groaned. Forget the medicine, it’ll be fine, I said. I really ought to know better…I sighed, pushing myself up into a sitting position, cradling my head.

“Hmph, so you’re finally awake.”

I looked over at Shu, standing in the doorway, Mademoiselle in one hand and the other on his hip.

“Are you alright, Y/n-chan?” Mademoiselle asked softly.

“Ugh, I think so?” I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache building. “‘M gonna need some panadol though…”

A packet of painkillers landed on the bed. I took one silently, reaching for the glass of water I knew would be at my bedside. I swallowed it down, then drank the rest of the glass of water. Shu’s eyes followed my movements and the second I placed down the glass, the rant he was obviously preparing started.

“What were you thinking, fooling girl? Not only did you run to school, but you also forgot to take your medicine. And this morning, you probably did a warm-up dance routine before Kagehira and I arrived, didn’t you?” I opened my mouth to object—I’d done some vocal warmups instead of my usual dance routine—but Shu barreled onwards.

“And of all days to forget your medication, a day you had P.E.?!?! You have had the same class schedule for over a year, how could you forget something so vital? Then, running all over the school with that Anzu girl! You’re lucky that Kiryu happened to be passing by and carried you to the infirmary! You could have been seriously injured!” He paused, face slightly flushed from his rant.

“Aww, so you do care,” I teased.

“I-!” His face flushed even redder, his mouth opening and closing silently. I laughed at his expression.

“It wasn’t intentional, Senpai. I’ll do my best to make sure it doesn’t happen again.” I looked back down at the blankets. “I’m sorry for interrupting practice and distracting you from the upcoming live.”

I heard a light scoff and a muttered “foolish girl” before Shu loudly turned around.

“Well, if you are truly sorry, make sure you take your medication regularly from now on. Come, now that you are awake, you can return with me to the clubroom and finish whatever work you have to do.”

That night was the first night since Valkyrie had decided to participate in the Tanabata Festival that at precisely 6 o’clock, Shu stopped sewing and we walked to the front gates together.

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

The days passed quickly in the lead-up to the Tanabata live. Between morning and afternoon rehearsals, production meetings, and classes, my days were filled to bursting. I arrived at school at just past six in the morning and left at around 6:30—depending on how easy it was to pull Shu away from his work on the many costumes that had been commissioned for the upcoming live. Thankfully, I’d only needed to put a call out to the other Eccentrics once. Both Wataru and Kanata had swiftly appeared and carried Shu out of the Handicraft Club and out the school gate, Mika trailing behind them. Clearly anxious not to repeat that particular experience—“Wet hand, wet hands, can you believe it?!?”—Shu was usually packed up and gone before 6:30.

Despite my busy schedule, I always managed to take time out of my day to practise. Valkyrie practice actually began at 7, an hour and a half before school started. My personal practice started at 6.

I had always dreamt of being an idol. But, my fragile body prevented me from being able to complete the strenuous activities being an idol required. I wasn’t sickly like Tenshouin, just weak. My medicine helped, but even missing it once resulted in disasters like the previous week.

But it didn’t stop me from trying.

I applied for both the idol and production courses at Yumenosaki. I studiously copied dance moves in the mirror after practice, I broke down live performances, I practised singing on the terrace during lunch.

It was never enough. I could never be on the same level as the idols I dreamed to work with. Even Tenshouin, who spent half of the freaking year in a hospital bed, had greater stamina and performance ability than I ever could.

But that didn’t stop me from trying.

After Valkyrie’s fall, I had worked harder than ever, laying the groundwork for when Shu would eventually return. When Nazuna-nii asked me for help setting up Ra*bits, I dedicated myself to the work, doing my best to carve these adorable, fresh-faced first-years who knew nothing of the horrors of the year before a place as idols.

And still, I practised.

Even now, two weeks before the Tanabata Festival, I stood in the centre of Valkyrie’s practice room at 6:30am, Pavilion on the Sand echoing through my ears as I ran through what had been Nazuna’s part.

“Again?” An exasperated sigh filled the room. Shu walked past me, gently placing Mademoiselle on the table, and dropping his bag to the floor.

I didn’t stop dancing.

He raised an eyebrow, tapping his foot impatiently as the dance slowly came to a close.

“Morning, Senpai,” I greeted, belatedly.

He raised both eyebrows.

“Good morning.”

I grabbed my water bottle from where I’d left it on the floor.

“You’re here early…Where’s Mika-kun?”

“Kagehira shouldn’t be long. I happened to rise significantly earlier than usual this morning, so I left as he was beginning his breakfast.”

I nodded, taking the bottle over to my school bag. Shu watched me, lips pursed, foot still tapping.

I sighed.

“Senpai…If you have something to say, just say it already. You’ve been like this for a couple days now, it's starting to get on my nerves.”

“I- I…” He sighed deeply, eyes shifting nervously as he tried to find the words. “I am concerned about this…habit of yours. This…rising early specifically to come here and practice.”

I stiffened.

“I see. Don’t worry, I won’t let it impact my work as Valkyrie’s producer. You have nothing to worry about.”

He frowned.

“That is not-”

“It’s fine, Senpai,” I cut him off. I didn’t want to sit through Shu’s patented “I have no use for broken dolls, if you can’t be useful, I will cast you off” lecture. “Like I said, it won’t affect Valkyrie.”

“I-” Shu shook his head. “Very well then. You are usually well aware of your limitations, if you say that it won’t affect Valkyrie, then I believe you.”

I nodded sharply.

“Thank you, Senpai.”

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

I cut back on my morning practices after that.

Instead of spending the whole hour running through different dance routines from both Valkyrie and other units, I chose one each day and spent half the time focused on the dance and the other half on vocal practice. Aside from a few pointed frowns, Shu didn’t bring it up again. The Tanabata Festival was approaching and he had far bigger things to worry about than my health. The pile of uncompleted costumes was almost done, Kiryu and Shu making quick work of them over the last three weeks. There were only a handful of costumes left to be completed outside of the Valkyrie and Akatsuki costumes, both of them had left their unit’s outfits to last. The beautiful red, grey, and yellow fabrics Rei and I had purchased still sat in the corner of the costume, barely touched.

I shook my head. Costumes—completed or not—were not what I needed to focus on. I scrolled through my playlist, deciding which song to practise this morning. This one…? Too hard with one person. That one…? Too high for me to sing. This? Too low. I clicked my tongue in frustration before my eyes landed on one I hadn’t done in a while.

It was one of Wataru’s, from the days before the war, before the Eccentrics. A solo piece—designed to be danced alone. The moves were tricky and it had been a while since I had rehearsed it, but I was confident that I could remember how it was done. I quickly moved to the centre of the room, tapping play.

Music filled the room, and I lost myself in the dance. It was easier to focus on the movements on the first run-through, left foot there, right foot behind. One arm up, the other outstretched. Turn. The melody was simple, but that didn’t change the vocal complexity. Even thinking about how to sing distracted me, a slight stumble in my step, so I redirected my focus to the dance.

“Oya? I thought I heard a familiar tune~”

I 100% did not jump and I did not scream. I didn’t. I swear.

“Hibiki-senpai!”

“Ah,” He sighed dramatically, laying a hand on his forehead. “So cold! Am I still nothing more than an upperclassman to you, Slave-chan? How often must I beseech you to call me by my given name?”

I sighed, feeling my heart rate begin to return to normal.

“As often as I have to ask you to stop calling me that awful nickname, Senpai.”

It also annoyed him, but that was just an added bonus.

He sighed dramatically again, leaning heavily on the doorframe.

“So cruel~ Ah! But I didn’t come here so early in the morning just to mope about in doorways!” He straightened up, pulling a rose out of thin air. He gestured for me to take it and I gingerly took it from his grasp. In my hands, it transformed into a letter. “A special delivery for you, dear Slave-chan~”

I carefully unfolded the letter, eyes skimming the beautiful calligraphy.

“Senpai…”

“Yes?”

I looked him in the eyes.

“This is in English. I can’t read it.”

He slapped his forehead.

“Of course, my mistake. Here.” He flicked his fingers towards me and the letter wiggled and merged, transforming into equally beautiful Japanese calligraphy.

Wataru Hibiki, in association with Kanata Shinkai, Rei Sakuma, and Natsume Sakasaki, invites you to lunch today, in the secret room.

“This…is a very dramatic way to be asked to sit with you four at lunch,” I said slowly. “I like it. Very aesthetic.” Wataru nodded excitedly. “But, is there a reason that this unusual gathering of the Eccentrics doesn’t include Shu-senpai?”

Wataru’s grin turned mischievous.

“That’s for us to know and you, dear Slave-chan, to find out.”

And with that, he vanished.

I looked down at the invitation in my hands. Shaking my head, I slipped it into my backpack.

Even if I forgot, Natsume-kun would drag me there the second class got out and I knew better than to push for more detail than I had already been given.

I’d find out at lunch I suppose.

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

“Kanata-niiSAN can you NOT drip wateR all ovER my secRET roOM?” Natsume sighed as he dragged me into the secret room.

“Ahh ‘sorry’ nacchan,” Kanata smiled, looking as unapologetic as he always did. Natsume sighed, shaking his head.

“HerE,” he pushed me towards a chair. “siT.”

I rolled my eyes and sat, tucking my legs up in front of me. Natsume plopped himself down on the chair next to me, across the room from Kanata, who pouted slightly.

“Oya? It appears that I’m not the last one here…” Wataru sighed dramatically. “My dramatic entrance has been ruined.”

“Trust me Senpai, you don’t need to try and make your entrances dramatic,” I said, smiling wanly as he sat in the chair next to Natsume. “Are you going to tell me why you called me here? Not that I’m not grateful for the excuse to get out of production meetings for the Tanabata Festival…”

“Someone’s in a hurry,” Rei commented, slipping into the room through one of the side doors. Wataru paused in the slow shuffling of his chair closer to Natsume and Kanata opened his eyes and smiled at Rei as he sat down opposite me, in between Kanata and Wataru.

I shrugged.

“Not really. But I am curious. It’s not every day four of the Five Eccentrics “summon” me to a meeting.”

“You’ve already ‘mentioned’ it,” Kanata hummed. “The ‘tanabata festival’.”

The others nodded.

“I thought so,” I sighed. “You guys worry too much.”

“You can’t really blame us,” Rei rested his face in his hand. “It is Valkyrie’s first performance since the War.”

“We can’t help but be ‘concerned’, y/n-chan,” Kanata chimed in. “Especially after the ‘last’ time. Mademoiselle-chan can only ‘help’ so much.”

“Indeed,” Wataru nodded, his serious side showing. “Even though Eichi~ has relaxed his tyranny and the time of war is over, we cannot exclude the possibility of some ‘over-zealous fan’ repeating the incident.”

“I know. And, Anzu-chan and I are working to make sure nothing like that will happen,” I assured them. “Anzu-chan wasn’t here for the War but she’s been working hard to design a new system that doesn’t disadvantage new units.”

For someone who hadn’t lived through the start of the DreFes system being so quick to overturn it and put something more fair in its place, Anzu really was a kind person, as much as she annoyed me sometimes.

“HmmM, I did catCH a gliMPSE of thE neW plaNS…” Natsume muttered thoughtfully, hand on his chin. “TheY haVE a gOOD chaNCE of succeedING.”

“Hmm Hmm! Anzu-san~ has been working AMAZING-ly hard!” Wataru’s earlier seriousness had been replaced with his usual cheerful mask.

“If y/n-chan is not ‘concerned’, we should ‘leave’ it to her,” Kanata hummed. “I am beginning to ‘dry out’, so I’m going to go puka-puka~”

Kanata pushed himself out of his chair and stretched.

“I suppose this meeting is adjourned then,” Rei said, doing the same as Kanata but with slightly more groaning and cracking bones. “Thank you for joining us, Y/n-chan. Please continue to keep an eye on Shu for us.”

I nodded.

“Of course, he’s my friend too.”

Wataru raised his eyebrow.

“Oho, just a friend, slave-chan?” He teased.

I looked away, blushing, and Wataru disappeared with a laugh.

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

“Stupid Wataru,” I muttered to myself, trying not to stomp on my way back to class. What does he know anyway? Shu is my friend—and that wouldn’t be changing anytime soon.

“Friends, we’re just friends.” Even if I had been crushing on him for a while now…at what point does it go from being a crush to…something else? Not that it mattered, it's not like I could ever tell him.

In the entire time I had known Shu (not that a year and a half is a long time to know someone), he had never confessed romantic feelings for anyone. No prolonged glances at particularly attractive classmates only scoffs and sneers directed in the direction of any mention of romance from his friends or unit-mates. Even his obsession with Nito-nii wasn’t romantic. A little weird and slightly uncomfortable for Mika and I, perhaps, but not romantic.

Besides, even if I confessed, if he rejected me…I could be kicked out of Valkyrie.

I could just see it.

“You harbour romantic feelings for me? Non! This absolutely won’t do. I can’t have your love-sick pining ruining Valkyrie. You are dismissed!”

Then he’d stick his nose up in the air and walk away, leaving me behind.

I sighed.

I was being dramatic. At least after Wataru’s comment, aside from a soft chuckle from Rei, the other Eccentrics hadn’t said anything. Though, if Wataru knew, I wouldn’t be surprised if Tenshouin, fine, the Student Council, and the entire Theatre Club had heard of Wataru bemoan my ‘hopeless, tragic love’.

I shuddered just thinking about it. It was a good thing Shu didn’t pay attention to the school gossip, otherwise, I’d be screwed.

“L/n, what are you doing?”

I nearly jumped out of my skin, turning to see Shu walking around the corner.

“Senpai! What are you doing over this side of the school?”

He crossed his arms—no Mademoiselle?—and frowned.

“Hmph, I could ask the same of you.”

I shuffled awkwardly.

“Uhh, I was in the library?” I offered. “I was heading to the cafeteria now. What were you doing?”

He sniffed, clearly not buying it.

“The library? What could you possibly need from there?” He sighed, shaking his head. “Never mind. Well, I suppose I’ll accompany you to the cafeteria. Perhaps they’ll still have some croissants left…”

I shrugged.

“Okie dokie, I’m just gonna grab whatever.”

A soft ‘tsk’ came from Shu, but he didn’t comment further, so I just ignored it. If Shu had issues with my diet, I’d just remind him of the (multiple) times I had to call Kiryu to carry him to the infirmary when he’d passed out from low blood sugar. At least I had a valid medical reason for passing out, not “I simply didn’t feel like pausing my work to eat”. One cannot subsist on croissants alone. At least since Mika had moved in with him he had been careful to make sure the both of them ate well at home. And Mika had Narukami-chan constantly breathing down his neck about eating well at school (“If you don’t stop eating so many sweets, Mika-chan, your skin will never clear up!”), so it was just Shu who needed reminding.

“Shu-senpai, where’s Mado-chan?” I tilted my head to look at him, surprised to see him already looking at me.

“Hmm? Oh, I left her in the Handicrafts Club. Kiryu’s with her,” he explained when he saw my raised eyebrow. “I can trust him to keep an eye on her while he finishes the costumes for his unit."

I nodded. That made sense. Still, it was a little unusual to see Shu without Mademoiselle on his arm even before Valkyrie’s fall. But, it was probably okay.

“Besides,” Shu muttered so quietly I almost missed it. “She might say something foolish.”

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

“Why’d we hav’ t’ study,” Mika complained, slamming his head against his books. “There’s a live next week.”

I patted his back sympathetically.

“C’mon its the last question, we got this!”

We did not “got this”.

Mika and I both sucked at maths. You’d think between the two of us we’d be able to figure out what the heck the teacher had been explaining in class but nope. I frowned at my notes and Mika groaned, lifting his head from his book.

“Oshiii-sannnnn,” he whined. “Ya gotta help us.”

Shu looked up from the sheets of music he was writing.

“No.”

“Awww,” Mika pouted. “Ya know we’re no good at maths and stuff, ya gotta help us.”

“Yeah Senpai,” I chimed in. “Come on. It's the last question~”

Shu looked at me, unimpressed.

“I have already said that I will no longer help you with your homework,” Shu resumed scribbling notes on paper. “Mathematics is a very important skill.”

“Read through the question again Mika-kun,” Mademoiselle suggested. “You always forget to read them through properly. And Y/n-chan, you always write out your formulas wrong. Check it again.”

“Thanks, Mado-nee,” Mika crowed, rushing to do as she said.

“You’re the best Mado-chan,” I said, giggling at the look on Shu’s face. The embarrassed blush that spread across his face when Mademoiselle spoke his true feelings was kind of adorable.

I shook my head. Now was not the time to be thinking about that. I double-checked my formula and—sure enough—my formula was copied incorrectly.

I smiled at Shu as I corrected my answer.

“Thank you~”

He sniffed.

“Thank Mademoiselle, not me. I did nothing.”

Mika and I laughed.

“Sure thing, Oshi-san.”

Despite claiming that he wasn’t going to assist us anymore, both Shu and Mademoiselle helped us finish our homework for the week. It wasn’t like there was a lot—most of our classes were idol (or producer) related, things like music and dance. Maths, Japanese, English, and History were some of the few academic subjects that Mika and I took. Shu didn’t even take English—he took French. I shuddered every time I saw his homework. Why were there so many unnecessary letters???

Shu caught me frowning at his closed french textbook where it lay on the table and tapped me on the head with his pencil.

“Focus, Y/n, focus,”

I smiled sheepishly.

“Sorry Senpai,” I turned back to my final problem of the night. “There. All done.”

I slid the homework across the table and Shu examined it carefully. Mika noticed and frantically scribbled his final answers on his maths questions and slid the book next to mine.

Shu flicked his gaze between the books, then looked up at us.

We grinned, hopefully.

He sighed.

“The eclairs are in the fridge. You may get them.”

The loud scraping and shuffling of chairs as Mika and I frantically scrambled to the fridge wasn’t loud enough to cover Shu’s sigh. Shu’s eclairs were delicious and he only used them as bribes for homework. He refused to let us have more than two a week claiming that it would ruin all the hard work he put into making sure Mika stayed at ‘an acceptable weight’. But the limits were worth it.

I groaned as I bit into the eclair.

“I would answer a hundred maths problems if it meant I got to eat these afterwards,” I said to Mika, who nodded enthusiastically, a small bit of cream on his nose.

“I’d do anythin’ f’r Oshi-san’s cooking,” he said, wiping the cream off his nose.

“And you get to eat it every day.”

“Mhmm,” Mika nodded, closing his eyes in bliss.

“Are you two quite finished in there?” Shu raised his voice from the kitchen table. “I can hear you, you know.”

Giggling, Mika and I returned to the table to go over the preparations for the Tanabata festival.

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

“Kanzaki-kun!” I shouted. “Stop pointing your sword at Hakaze-senpai.”

Souma lowered the sword slightly, turning his head towards me.

“But Y/n-dono-”

“No. Put it down. Now.”

He still hesitated, but Kanata put his hand on his shoulder.

“Hmmm, now is not the ‘time’, so~u~ma~,” he tilted his head and smiled. “y/n-chan and anzu-san are trying to ‘get’ things done~”

Souma shot another glare at Kaoru, who chuckled nervously, but sheathed his katana.

“Yes, Buchou-dono.”

I sighed, rubbing at my forehead. Tech run-throughs were the worst. Having nearly every unit in the school in the same place at the same time was next to impossible, so Anzu and I had organised it based on the student timetables. Of course, not all students in one unit were in the same grade, but we went with the majority.

Unfortunately, that meant we had Ryuseitai, Akatsuki, Undead, and Valkyrie here at the same time. Anzu had been understanding enough to make sure fine was scheduled later in the day. An early confrontation between Tenshouin and Shu would not have been fun.

“Um, okay everybody, can we just have Undead on stage, please.” Anzu took advantage of the lack of weaponry to start the tech rehearsal. The stage cleared, the other units taking seats in the front row.

As Undead started to sing Gates of the Abyss, I made my way to stand in the tech booth. The members of the Broadcasting Committee gave me a nod before focusing on the lighting and sound.

I leaned against the wall, rubbing at my chest. I wasn’t sure if my meds were less effective lately, or if it was just the stress of the last few weeks catching up to me. I hadn’t said anything but the glares Shu kept sending in my direction told me he’d noticed something was wrong,

“Why are you overworking yourself, girl,” his glares seem to say. “I have no use for broken dolls and neither does Valkyrie.”

I sighed. A Broadcast Committee member shot me a questioning look, but I waved her off. I was fine.

After about half the song, the Broadcast Committee gave me the thumbs up, so I grabbed one of the mics as they cut the sound.

“Alright, thanks everyone, that’s all we need,” I explained. “Give your earpieces to the tech crew and you can head back to classes now.” Undead filed off the stage in an almost orderly fashion.

“Who’s next?” I asked Anzu, who had joined me in the tech booth. She pointed at the next name on the list as she scribbled down a note underneath Undead’s name.

“Okay,” I said into the mic. “Ryuseitai can you please make your way to the stage?”

From the tech booth, I saw both Tetora and Chiaki jump out of their seats, dragging their unit members with them.

“Kanata-senpai, please leave your spray bottle on your chair,” I said quickly, noticing the blue misting bottle in his hand. Kanata pouted but complied, waving his now empty hands at me to show me he’d put it down.

Ryuseitai’s run-through took a couple of songs to perfect their audio levels, but eventually, the tech team was satisfied.

Akatsuki’s rehearsal went quickly, the tech team quickly finding the correct audio levels.

“Alright, thank you Akatsuki,” I said. “Please return your headpieces to the tech crew and return to class. Valkyrie, you’re next.”

Mika jumped a little and Shu shook his head, pulling him out of his chair by his elbow. Mika stumbled a bit and a “Sorry Oshi-san” echoed through the mics.

“Ehe,” Mika’s nervous laugh filtered through the sound system again, but he didn’t say anything else as he and Shu took their positions for Enthralling Theatre.

I had been watching them rehearse this every day for almost four weeks. It never got any less amazing. Shu’s movements led Mika across the stage as if he really was the marionette doll they were singing about. Even the tech crew was stunned. Even though they found the audio balance almost straight away, they let Valkyrie finish their performance.

“Thank you, return your headsets to the tech crew and return to class, please.”

Shu gave a sharp nod and Mika shot me a goofy grin.

I smiled. Tonight was going to be a performance worth seeing.

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

My chest hurt from all the running around, preparing things for the Tanabata. I sighed, shaking my head as Hibiki-senpai’s blimp appeared in the sky and the crowd loudly cheered. At least I had prepared the paperwork in advance, though I’m sure Tenshouin would have paid any fines Wataru incurred.

Rubbing my chest, I moved to the wings of the stage to watch the performances. My work as a producer was mostly done—Anzu was taking the majority of the work onto herself, leaving me to supervise the units backstage. Not that that required much, this late in the year even the units consisting mainly of first-years knew the protocols.

There was nothing I could do except watch as Valkyrie rushed on stage to protect Ra*bits from fine.

Their performance was spectacular. The tech rehearsal early was nothing compared to now, with the staging and lighting fully complete. Mika’s spins were perfectly timed with Shu’s movements—the illusion that Mika was moving as Shu’s puppet was near perfect. I could almost see the strings stretching from Shu’s fingers, connecting to Mika’s arms, the stage lights reflecting off the golden threads.

I could feel fine’s shock. They joined the audience in watching in silent wonder as Shu and Mika sang and danced, Shu’s art—no, Valkyrie’s art—reaching them after so long.

The lyrics of the piece Shu had been composing during our last study session echoed through my head.

Now, the song of their triumphant return shall resonate once again. The tale of the returning sovereign shall be heard once more.

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

My heart was still beating fast from the adrenaline of Valkyrie’s performance as I dragged Kanata out of the fountain.

“Really, Senpai, you should know better!” I ranted, pulling him towards the stage. “You have a spray bottle for a reason!”

“Sorry, y/n-chan, i ‘forgot’ it,” Kanata smiled at me, letting me pull him along. I shook my head, pulling him in front of me and pushing him up the steps for the stage.

“Just…don’t ruin the earpiece with your wet skin.”

“hehe,” Kanata giggled, patting me on the head. “y/n-chan ‘worries’ too much.”

I playfully slapped his hand away.

“Hurry up! Morisawa-senpai and the others are waiting for you!”

“i ‘know’. shu is ‘waiting’ for you too. hurry and ‘see’ him, okay?” With another closed-eye smile, he skipped onto the stage.

I paused, looking as Kanata joined the rest of Ryuseitai on stage against fine. That’s right…Shu had been lying by the fountain, recovering from the live. Mika was still backstage in case Valkyrie was called back for another performance—the Tanabata system ensured that all of the units would get a chance at first but once everyone had gone, it was randomised. It would be a while before Valkyrie would be called on stage again, but it was best to be prepared.

But it was best to not leave Shu alone by the fountain. He might doze off, or worse—pass out. I had been busy all day and hadn’t been able to make sure Shu actually ate something at lunch instead of slaving over the finishing touches of the Valkyrie outfits.

Maybe I should get him something sugary to drink…Performing with low blood sugar wouldn’t be the best idea Shu had ever had but then again, it wouldn’t be the worst one either. My mind helpfully supplied images of the time that Shu had decided that the only way to get through all of the costumes he needed to sew and his homework was to drink 3 cups of coffee and eat a chocolate croissant and proceeded to go into some sort of caffeine-fueled haze. Which was fine while he was in it…but the crash had been awful.

Needless to say, Shu was banned from coffee now.

Still, I picked up a juice from the nearest vending machine as I hurried back to the fountain. If Kanata had said Shu was waiting for me, there was probably something important he needed to tell me. My chest twinged again as I jogged to the fountain. I was going to have to see the doctor about my meds—clearly, they weren’t working properly anymore.

Shu was still lying by the fountain, in almost the same position he was in when I had forcibly dragged Kanata out of the fountain. I sat down by his head, placing the bottle of juice next to him.

“I didn’t know if you had eaten much today, so I thought I’d pick one up,” I explained, crossing my ankles and looking up at the stars. “If you don’t want it, I’ll just drink it.”

“Thank you.” Shu slowly swung himself into a sitting position, before taking a sip of the juice. “I had gotten so caught up in my preparations for tonight that lunch slipped my mind.”

I hummed in acknowledgement.

“At least you ate dinner, even if it wasn’t much.”

“I- yes. Kagehira was quite insistent.”

I nodded.

“He can be pretty stubborn at times, huh.” I giggled softly and turned to look at Shu.

He was already looking at me, an unreadable expression on his face.

“What? Do I have something on my face?” I asked.

Shu shook his head, but his hand moved forward a bit before he withdrew it and laid it on his lap.

“I suppose Kanata told you that I was waiting for you, didn’t he,” Shu asked, turning his gaze to the sky. I did the same, looking at the faint constellations.

“Yep~. Did you have something you wanted to tell me?”

“I…” He paused and took a deep breath, seemingly bracing himself. I frowned, worried. I didn’t want to speculate on what he was going to say but I was a little on edge.

“Y/n, I…have feelings…for you.” His gaze didn’t move from the stars above us but he shifted slightly closer to me as he spoke.

Wait, what.

“Pardon?” Surely I hadn’t heard correctly. He wasn’t going to say something like “feelings…of disgust” and play it off as a joke, right? Or worse, had the other Eccentrics put him up to this…had he somehow figured out that I liked him? I felt my heart rate start to rise as panic started.

Shu looked over at me, a light blush dusting his face.

“I like you, Y/n. I have tried to hint at it for quite some time but I…I am not the best at expressing it and I just ended up hurting you. I’m sorry…” He reached out a hand to caress my face. “Can you ever forgive me?”

My mouth opened slightly and I stared at him in shock. He…liked me? Shu, Shu Itsuki, former Emperor of Yumenosaki, my crush for the last year and a half, liked me back? I floundered, staring at him in silence, my heart beating in my ears.

Obviously, my silence was taken as something else—disgust, indifference—because Shu’s soft smile dropped and he began to move his hand from my face. Quickly, I snatched it, pushing it back against my face. Shu looked at me in shock, trying to understand what I was doing.

“Shu…I like you too…” I started. “I’ve liked you for so long…I never thought that you would like me back.” Tears began to well in my eyes and I tightened my grip on his hand.

“Y/n…” Shu gently wiped the tears from my eyes, both hands cupping my face. “Y/n…may I kiss you?”

I nodded frantically, closing my eyes and leaning in. My heart rate was so high, I could barely hear Shu’s breathing and he was two centimetres from my face. We were so close, our lips almost touching…

And then, everything went black.

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

When I next opened my eyes, I was in the infirmary. Mid-morning sunlight streamed in through the windows, softly lighting the room. I blinked, pushing myself up into a sitting position. I rubbed at my eyes, clearing the sleep from them. I reached for the glass of water next to my bed, but couldn’t move my right hand.

I frowned, then looked down. Shu was tightly gripping my hand, his head resting on the side of the bed. He was in his practice clothes, his soft pink hair mussed from sleep. I smiled softly, running my left hand through his hair.

Shu liked me back.

He liked me back and he was going to kiss me! And then I had to ruin the moment by passing out.

I groaned out loud, slamming my head back against the wall behind me. Stupid body, causing me to pass out at such an important moment! A tear of frustration trickled down my face and my hand stilled in Shu’s hair.

“Mghm…” A soft groan came from Shu and he slowly sat up. “Y/n!” He jerked upright, his eyes searching my face. “Are you alright? You suddenly passed out and I had to call Kiryu to come and carry you to the infirmary. Sagami-sensei said that you would be alright and I had to go back to the Tanabata with Kagehira.”

His grip tightened around my hand and I smiled tiredly at him.

“I’m fine, sen-...Shu. I’m just,” I leaned my head back against the wall again. “I knew my meds weren’t working properly. I’ve known for at least a week. But did I go get it checked out? Noooo~ I just had to stick it out. And now…I ruined it.”

Tears spilled down my face and I closed my eyes, wishing that I could disappear so that Shu didn’t have to see my tears.

I felt the bed shift underneath me and opened my eyes as Shu pulled me into his arms.

“Oh…mon chère…you didn’t ruin anything.” He gently stroked my hair as I sobbed harder. “Though, it pains me to hear that you knew that your medication wasn’t working and didn’t tell anyone. Though I know that it is a little hypocritical of me to talk about things like that.”

I nodded into his shoulder, my tears slowing as I listened to him talk.

“We have plenty of time, now that we’re both on the same page, yes?” Shu continued stroking my hair. “There is no need to rush, darling.” He softly kissed the top of my head.

We stayed like that for a while, Shu stroking my hair while I tightly squeezed him, my tears eventually stopping. Slowly, I pulled away, sniffling slightly.

“‘M sorry…I think I ruined your practice shirt.”

Shu smiled, handing me a tissue.

“It’ll wash out.”

The door opened with a slam.

“Oshi-san! Is she awake?”

Mika burst into the room with his usual amount of grace.

“Ngah, you are!”

“Even if she hadn’t been, you would have woken her, barging in here like that! What were you thinking, Kagehira?!?”

“Ahh sorry Y/n-chan…”

I laughed softly, blowing my nose.

“It's okay Mika-kun, I would have been overdue for a wake-up call anyway.”

“Mhm mhm! Anyway, its lunch so I brought’cha both something!” Mika smiled proudly, handing each of us a bento. “I promised Naru-chan I’d eat with her so see ya later!” And with a wave, he was gone as quickly as he came.

Sighing, I leaned against the bed frame, shuffling over as Shu moved next to me to wrap his arms around me. We sat there for a while, Mika’s bentos placed on the bedside table.

“Shu?” I asked.

“Yes, my love?”

I looked up at him but I didn’t meet his eyes.

“I know you said there’s no need to rush but…could we…maybe…kiss?” My voice got softer and softer as I went on but Shu’s soft smile encouraged me.

“Of course, mon chère.”

This time when our lips met, I didn’t pass out. The kiss was soft and unsure, but it was a kiss. And that was better than I could have imagined.

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

“Ohoho~ Slave-chan, you’ll never believe what a little birdy just told me.”

I looked up from my paperwork to glare at Wataru. It was a few days after the Tanabata. Both Shu and Sagami-sensei had insisted that I take a few days off to recover and an appointment had been booked with my doctor to work out why my meds had stopped working correctly. But after only a few days, the paperwork had really piled up.

“Hibiki-senpai, I don’t have time for your dramatics right now. Can’t you see I’m busy?”

He chuckled.

“Fufu, I’m sure you are. But this was the most AMAZING~~✩ news,” he placed an elbow on the desk, cupping his face in his hand. “Are you sure you don’t want to hear it?”

I closed my eyes, briefly debating if murdering one of the Eccentrics would truly be a punishable crime. After all, if it was Wataru I would be ridding the world of a great nuisance, right? Maybe I would be free to complete paperwork without any distractions.

“What news did you hear, Senpai?”

Wataru clapped his hands.

“AMAZING~~✩ I knew you’d come around.” He was suddenly sitting on the desk next to me, instead of the seat across from me. He leaned in conspiratorially and I put down my pen to listen to him. “A little bird to me~ that a certain someone finally~ got their act together.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“You’re going to have to be a little more specific, Senpai. I’m not up-to-date with the school gossip.”

“Oya?” He twirled his braid around his finger. “I didn’t think I would need to be more specific when this piece of news involves you.”

I felt my face flush instantly. Shu and I hadn’t told anyone yet, how did Wataru know? Did Shu tell the Eccentrics already and just hadn’t let me know?

“Ah ah ah~ I can hear your thoughts racing! Don’t worry, Shu didn’t tell me. Like I said,” he gave an exaggerated wink. “A little bird told me.”

I groaned, slamming my head onto the pile of paperwork and homework in front of me. Wataru laughed merrily.

“Such a wonderful reaction! But, getting a reaction out of you is not the only reason I came here! I had hoped to find Shu-kun sewing away in here as well, but it appears its just you. Ah well,” he sighed, standing dramatically up from the desk. “I suppose I shall just have to tease him another time.”

“Tease me about what, Wataru?”

Wataru turned to face the doorway, hair nearly whacking me in the face as I lifted my head to see Shu standing in the doorway, a box of croissants in one hand and Mademoiselle resting on his other arm.

“Ah hah! So you have appeared Shu! Such a dramatic entrance rivals one of my own!” Wataru spun around the table, arms outstretched.

Shu sighed, walking into the room, placing Mademoiselle on her usual perch before sliding the box of croissants over to me.

“I got one for you. Feel free to start while I deal with this idiot.”

Wataru gasped.

“Is that any way to treat your friends, Shu?”

“Hmph. It’s certainly the way I treat annoyances.” He crossed his arms, staring Wataru down, which was kind of funny given how much shorter than Wataru Shu was. “Why are you in my clubroom Wataru? Surely you have an actual purpose other than being unnecessarily irritating.”

“But of course!” With a flourish, he pulled an envelope out of his hair. “For you and your dear Slave-chan~”

I looked up from my croissant.

“What is it?”

“An invitation…” Shu mused. “Really…what is the point of having mobile phones if you are just going to deliver these sorts of things in person?” He handed me the piece of paper. I read it over quickly.

“A party…? What for?”

“What for? My dear Slave-chan, it's a congratulatory party! From us Eccentrics to the two of you! Congratulations on saving us from another day of your pointless pining! Congratulations for finally getting your act together! Isn’t the power of love AMAZING~~✩?”

Shu let out a long-suffering sigh, but his face was slightly flushed.

“Fine. In order to spare Y/n and myself from any more of your shenanigans, we’ll agree to attend. Now, get out of my clubroom!”

Wataru smiled widely.

“Ah, I knew you’d come around! AMAZING~~✩” And he skipped out of the room a trail of rose petals falling to the ground behind him.

Shu sighed again, pressing a quick kiss to my cheek before sitting down next to me. I silently slid him the box of croissants.

“Ah, thank you, dear.”

I smiled, brushing the crumbs of my croissant off my paperwork.

“You know,” I said, as I started filling out the post-live paperwork. “I think this is the first time in nearly a year you went and got lunch all by yourself. Normally Mika-kun or I bring it to you.”

Shu hummed, carefully taking bites of his croissant.

“I guess…I wanted to do something for you instead.”

I stopped my paperwork to gape at him.

“What? Do you not believe me?” He asked as I stared at him.

“No, it's not that, I just can’t believe you said it out loud. Normally you’d be like ‘I’m perfectly capable of getting my own lunch!’ and then Mado-chan would pipe in, telling us something like ‘Shu-kun just wanted to make your life a little easier, Y/n-chan!’ y’know?”

There was a slight smile on Shu’s face from my attempts at mimicking his and Mademoiselle’s voices, but he glanced away from me.

“Well, if you prefer I can go back to that. It's just…” he paused, searching for the words. “I am trying to be clearer at communicating my feelings without Mademoiselle’s help.” ‘For you’ was left unspoken, hanging in the air around us.

He…was really serious about us, wasn’t he? Not that I had doubted him but we had only been dating for a few days and even though we’d spoken over the phone, today was the first day we had properly seen each other since the Tanabata.

I smiled at him.

“Thank you. I appreciate it.”

He smiled back and we kissed again, illuminated by the afternoon light streaming in through the clubroom window.

✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩ - - - ✩

“ReaLLY…do we haVE to uSE my secRET roOM for this…?” Natsume sighed as we watched as Wataru produced a disco ball and used his hair to attach it to the roof. Kanata laughed and clapped happily, while Rei and Shu were engaged in a rather heated discussion about the pros and cons of electric guitars and their proper place in music.

I laughed a little at Natsume’s forlorn expression, pouring him another glass of the punch he’d made earlier.

“Well, would you rather do this at someone’s house?” I asked. “The only person who lives close enough and has lax enough parental supervision is Shu and I believe this was supposed to be for him, so wouldn’t that defeat the purpose.”

Natsume took the glass from my hand and downed half of it in one gulp. I laughed harder.

“It’S noT juST foR yoU anD Shu-niiSAN,” he huffed. “It’S foR thE faCT we no lonGER haVE to watCH yoU pinE aftER eaCH otHER.”

“Hey~ I can’t disagree with you on my end but Shu pining? I can’t imagine that.”

Natsume looked at me with an expression of pure disappointment.

“No wonDER it toOK you twO so loNG to geT togetHER…” he muttered.

“Hey!”

He looked me dead in the eyes.

“LeT me recreATE a sceNE frOM the laST EccenTRICS meetING.” He cleared his throat and an imitation of Shu’s voice came out. “Ah, but I don’t deserve her. I’ve done nothing but cause her pain, just like the rest of Valkyrie…How could she ever look at me with love in her ey-”

“NATSUME!” Shu shrieked from the other side of the room. “Just what do you think you are doing?!?”

The rest of the Eccentrics burst out laughing. I looked at Shu’s embarrassed expression—his face redder than Valkyrie's stage costume, his eyes wide with fear—and I couldn’t help it. I started laughing too. Soon the room was filled with the wheezes of five people so far gone into laughter that the slightest thing set them off again. In the midst of it all, Shu stood arms crossed, pouting.

By the time we all managed to calm down, we were lying on the floor in the centre of the secret room, absolutely exhausted from our laughter.

Shu frowned down at me, hands on his hips.

“If you are quite finished, can we head home?”

I pouted up at him.

“Come on, we can stay a little longer right?”

All four of the Eccentrics on the floor turned to Shu with pleading eyes. He sighed.

“Fine…fine…we can stay.”

We all cheered and Shu rolled his eyes as he lay down on the floor next to me. I turned so I was on my side, facing him.

“Hey.”

He smiled softly.

“Hello.”

Before either of us knew it we were kissing again, ignoring our surroundings even as Wataru cheered, Rei wolf-whistled, Natsume groaned, and Kanata giggled.

A perfect ending to a perfect day.

119 notes · View notes

yumejo · 5 months

Note

madara and yuna at the carnival and madara is trying so hard to win a biggg prize toy for her

an opportunity to be a little self-indulgent, thank you////

Golden lanterns coalesced with the illumination of colourful string lights to irradiate the riotous festival, groups of lively people traversing down the copious stalls from behind Madara and Yuna—their hands laced together, warm skin beguiling the other.

Madara swept his eyes on the stand before them, paper tags fastidiously hung along boards and strings with their prices etched on the parchment; and of course, the corresponding prize was organised onto the shelves next to the attraction.

It was your typical shateki stall.

“Heeey, let’s try this one! See anything you want?” Madara asked Yuna with an affectionate squeeze of their intertwined hands, regarding her visage with care as pink hues fixed onto the prizes. “I’ll win it for you!”

“I want that one,” Yuna pointed to a king-sized teddy bear—a heart stitched cutely onto its chest as its paws were an adorable shade of pale yellow. It appeared cheaply made, yet it was the top prize.

For a moment, Madara wondered if she only wanted it because of its magnitude above the rest. It certainly stood out with its size, and Yuna had more expensive tastes because of how she was raised.

In order to win it, the tag you needed to hit was dangling overhead of the other ones, sliding to and fro on the thin piece of thread.

Madara’s gaze flitted to the owner, narrowing his focus in observation at how phlegmatic and spiritless he looked. That ambiance melded with the way his hand dipped beneath the counter made Madara surmise that this particular stall was likely rigged to a certain extent.

Still, Yuna wanted that teddy bear and Madara was going to win it for her.

“You got it!☆” Madara cheered as he settled the appropriate coins onto the counter, nodding towards the owner in affirmation, subsequently picking up a toy rifle. “Watch this, Yuna-san—you’ll have it before you know it!”

A hushed ‘mhm’ overflowed from Yuna’s glossy lips as she watched Madara’s husky stature incline forward, ceasing just before the marked line, and positioned the rifle up towards the tag.

Parting her lips, Yuna clenched her fists together in front of her and encouraged, “You can do it, Madara-kun!”

“Yes, yes! Keep cheering just like that!” Madara jubilantly laughed, bursts of delight skating over his insides in rapid spates and setting his soul aglow. He revelled in how Yuna’s cheeks brightened with charmingly rosy tones, her brows furrowed, as she riveted all her attention onto him.

At breakneck speed, a cork shot out from the rifle with an equally swift press of Madara’s slender fingers—and just when they thought it was going to make direct contact, the tag abruptly jerked out of range.

Yep, rigged.

“Oh no⋯!” Yuna whispered under her breath as disappointment coruscated within her eyes, peeking at Madara’s own countenance.

With an unaffected mien, Madara winked, conveying that everything was alright, “Don’t worry, Yuna-san!”

Madara’s encountered stalls polished with deception a myriad of times before, and he was enured to deal with it. But he wasn’t going to let the greedy exploiters fill Yuna’s experiences with unpleasant things; not when she’s had enough of that in her life.

These types of people are just as easy to trick back, though.

Tilting the toy rifle to the left, Madara squinted his eyes and waited—bated breaths emitted, aligning with the direction of the rifle’s tip. And as he shot the rifle in an unexpectedly faster motion, he ever so slightly brought it back to the right in congruence with the owner covertly pulling the string to make him forcibly miss.

And luckily for Yuna, Madara is a capable and proficient person.

“H-Huh?!” Yuna gasped as she watched the cork bullet surge straight through the tag, ensuring Madara’s triumph. “You did it?”

“Haha, of course! You just have to pay attention; although I have a keen eye for this sort of thing,” Madara exultantly rallied as the owner begrudgingly plucked the coveted bear down from the highest shelf and handed it over to Madara. “Here you go, Yuna-san♪”

Gratefully accepting the bear into her arms, Yuna burrowed into its soft, fuzzy stomach. “Thank you, Madara-kun!” she grinned, appreciating his efforts. The bear is tattily crafted, but the reason she wanted this one specially was because it was the only prize she could cuddle with.

The sight of Yuna’s heartfelt, ravishing beam was enough to make Madara’s chest tighten—almost painfully so. He instinctively reached forward and cupped her cheek, the warmth emanating from her skin melting him, before drifting back into her hair; sweeping through the blonde locks in a fluid, tender motion.

She looked so innocent, so pure. She looked like she was truly having fun from the bottom of her heart. Even if it’s for this moment alone, Madara wished that the emptiness inside her could be filled with happy, happy memories.

#madayu #yume fics

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stargazing15 · 2 years

Text

Rainy days part 2

Hangman x you drabble

Warnings: very fluffy

A/N: this takes place some time after the first rainy days. Yes it is raining here again, that means thoughts running off to a domestic Jake.

***

“Jake, I know you wanted to organise date day all by yourself, but did you check the weather babe?”

“I thought it would be the same like yesterday, I didn’t check, I’m sorry I messed up honey.” Jake looked at with big apologetic eyes, almost puppy eyes. God he could be cute. As you were standing against the countertop you heard the first raindrops fall against the window behind you. You tapped with your hands on the place next to you so Jake could join you instead of pacing around like an idiot.

“Calm down Jakey, it’s alright.” You tried hushing him putting your hand on his thigh.

“No it's not, I know you, and me too, were looking forward to it.”

“Remember our getaway to the cabin?” When you looked at him you could see him smiling to the memory. “We can make it cozy here too, date day at home. Stop the sulking, let's have fun”

“Come here. You’re the best, you know that.” Jake said while turning you in front of him so he could kiss the top of your head.

“Shall I fill the bathtub?”

“Later, can we bake cookies first?” You tried to display your cutest face so Jake would agree.

“Can I ever say no to you like this? Okay, I’ll take the ingredients.” Baking with Jake was actually always fun, it mostly ended in a flour-fight, just like now. As the cookies were almost ready, Jake started to prep the bath for the two of you. After you put the cookies on the rack to cool them down, which were smelling so good, "best idea ever" you thought, you made your way over to the bathroom. Something was different than usual. You could hear soft music playing, and as you were almost there, you smelled lavender, your favourite. “Did he-” before you could end your sentence you were awed with the sight of your bathroom. Small fake candles everywhere, you were the biggest klutz, so Jake forbid you to have real ones, even some rose petals on the ground, the bathtub filled with lavender-scented foam and a relaxed looking Jake in it.

“Join me cupcake.” You loved it when he occasionally called you by this recent nickname. Obeying to his ask, you quickly removed your clothes and joined him. You gave him a little peck on his lips before seating yourself with your back resting on his chest.

“You’re so romantic Jake. When I met you I wasn’t expecting you had this in you, you’re even better than ever I hoped.” You confessed.

“Only for you cupcake” Jake said as he hugged you tightly. “I’m sorry that today is not what I prepared for you. I wanted a picnic on the beach and go to the zoo, I know you love that.”

“We can do that an other time Jakey, but I’ve got to admit, it would’ve been pretty amazing.”

“I love it when you call me Jakey, I was planning some other things too, but yeah, rain. Let’s wash you first, you’ve still got flour in your hair and behind your ears.”

“And who’s fault would that be?” You said playfully while turning around to face your incredibly sweet boyfriend. After he carefully helped you clean up and you returned the favour, okay, you couldn’t help yourself and made a punker Jake out of his shampoo hair.

“Let’s get us in our bathrobes.” Jake said as he offered you a hand to get out of the tub. Jake still dripping wet already put on his bathrobe on and sat on the edge of the tub as he took your hand once you had put something on not to get cold. During the whole process Jake kept looking at you, taking every single feature of you in, even after 2 years of dating he was still madly in love with you.

“So Jakey, why are you looking like that, like what you see?” You were a bit unsure how to read him correctly.

“Yeah, I’m the luckiest man in this universe and I really love looking at you, you’re the cutest, sometimes clumsiest, sweetest, loveliest girl with the best ideas ever. And I really really love you, I love the way you are able to make me feel safe and secure after a deployment, how you make me feel loved and most of all how you make me love being domestic. I might have mentioned it, but I really love you and I, I wanted to do this at the beach, I can’t wait anymore. Do you-” at the same moment Jake grabbed something out of the pocket of his bathrobe and got on his knees. “Do you want to become miss Seresin? Do you want to marry me?”

“Oh my God Jake, YES, of course!” You screamed while jumping in his arms, kissing him like the world depended on it. Jake was the first one to break the kiss as he was almost out of air

“I was so scared you were going to say no, because yeah, the scenery I had not planned.”

“Are you crazy, even here you made it so romantic, it doesn’t matter where you would’ve asked it, I would have said yes anyways. I love you Jakey.”

“I love you so much future miss Seresin, I love the sound of that name on you.”

Can this man become any cuter than this?

#jake hangman seresin #jake seresin #fluffy hangman #jake seresin x reader #hangman x reader #hangman x you #jake seresin x you #top gun: maverick #hangman drabble #jake seresin drabble #hangman #hangman fluff #jake seresin fluff

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inkyquince · 1 year

Text

WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN

learning to code mainly

So a few weeks back i got back in my choice of games kick and started slowly relearning how to code, yes i took computer science in school, shoot me. But ive started making actual progress today but yes so umhhhhh

i've been quietly planning out my own choice of script game, just because i love the fallen hero, wayhaven and the creme de la creme books from choice of script. the huge kick off was really when the third book came out, but i was writing the story pre amazing book drop

SO YEAH, IM REALLY SORRY. I HAVE BEEN FOCUSING ON THE GAME, THE DOL UPDATE, COMMISSIONS, PATREON, and like... I've been a bastard

I've not been spending enough time writing for the very reason Im back to doing ALL OF THE ABOVE. You guys. On my inky blog.

I legit adore all of you, the stupid silly asks i get, to the questions to just... the fun shit. The omega hunt collab was so fun to organise, and it gave me courage to reach out to some of my favourite writers, several of which im sharing servers with and playing dnd week to week and on holidays with.

So i am... So damn sorry ive been doing all of this other shit. Im gonna try and find space, because THERE'S THINGS I WANNA FINISH.

the omega hunt with the prison guards, the shared by three au, everything. recently the gay and homophobic bully whitney, which ive got some delicious snippets of.

lEGIT, deepest apologies from me. i mainly got really excited that i could make a game, alongside a project undead fishman and i are having fun planning, which is yes, porn game, hush.

I promised to be more active after the winter depression era, and i feel bad that im not around, especially when i do upload and i see all my regulars scuttling in to have a nibble.

SO, i really want to come through for all of you. I need to finish my commissions, currently working on a nasty arthur morgan one, which im nearly done with. im also planning the choice of script game, along with dedicated two days with patreon and also having some ideas for a future dol update i have yet to chat about in the server but its on my mind.

REMEMBER. Inky might be busy but they are also never that far away from thinking about all you lovely people!

mwah!

#quinceyeasyspeaky #update #am so sorry my loves

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beth-march · 2 years

Note

hi!!! I’m placing an order for fluff #7 🧾

I’ll wait 🧍🏼‍♀️🕰

Hi Karsyn, my love! I'm coming out of retirement to write this for you. It's a good thing you were willing to wait because this took me several days. Also, as usual, your emojis sent me. ILY 🥰

For Fexi

7. Write a ~300 word love scene for them.

“Why do you love me?”

The question slips out as though by accident. In a haze that preludes sleep, the world is hushed enough that boldness comes with ease. Lexi lives up to the title Fez has bestowed upon her; she threads fearlessness between her teeth and allows vulnerability to dribble.

Doubt comes, just as quickly. A gap of silence, Fez’s slightest pause, and she stiffens. He jostles her, murmurs, “Shit, baby. The hell kinda question is that?”

“I dunno,” she backtracks. “It’s stupid. I’m sorry.”

“It ain’t stupid. It just… It ain’t somethin’ I can answer on the fly, like that. You feel? I ain’t articulate like you. Even if I was… I don’t think no words could ever catch it all.”

Outside the window, a car passes by. Orange lights seep from beneath the curtain and flood over the room, setting a faint glow through the red of Fez’s beard. In the brief stint of illuminance, Lexi sees that his eyes are downturned, his eyelashes fanning his freckles. She sees his pensive expression, his abundance of beauty, and she is overwhelmed.

She stutters, as she prompts, “C-catch it all?”

“Mm,” Fez affirms, nuzzling close, brushing his nose against hers. “It’s like… It’s like you’re more than I got words for. Does that make any sense?”

Lexi realises that it does. When she wonders what she might say in response to such a question, a thousand thoughts come to mind, and then she can’t seem to organise them into coherence. Her love for Fez eludes language, transcends it. It is innate, baseless. Part of her.

Soul deep.

“Perfect sense,” Lexi says.

Acceptance seems to have stirred the opposite of relief, for Fez. His eyes have opened again, and even in the darkness, Lexi can see the brightness of blue. The worry of them.

“I’ll make a list in the morning, aight? When I ain’t just about asleep.”

“That’s not necessary - ”

A sleepy kiss silences her protest.

“Yes, it is,” he murmurs. “’Night, Lex. Love you.”

Once again, she echoes the words. As she will every day for the rest of her life.

#ask game #this is really not very good 🤪 sorry karsyn #vague prompt word limit you know how it is #fexi

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the-darkness-does-not-bargain · 1 year

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(sorry so sorry but have to yell at you a bit about the dragon age au. this is just me spitballing so feel free to ignore lol.)

Ava as the Herald of Andraste. galaxy brain take. i mean, i love the idea that Ava is a rebel mage and not impressed by the idea of being used as a political pawn by an organisation sharing the name of the OG templars. she would make such a good Anders-like character - where she could be YES either a knight-enchanter or a spirit healer (the spirit healer vibes are sublime. bonded to a spirit? visit them in the fade? is it a spirit of freedom or compassion or ???). & she tried to escape the circle a bunch of times in the past. & then yeah is murdered by Frances (a Templar?) so she comes back enraged at the templars and therefore just deeply distrustful of loyalist mage Beatrice and Seeker Lilith (who has powers specifically designed (like Cas does) to set the lyrium in her blood aflame).

but yeah with Ava being part spirit/part human maybe she did an Anders and become lowkey an abomination, but not as personality-altering bc her spirit isn’t justice it was freedom or compassion and imo they would NOT want to alter personality in any way. & then she could still learn the Knight-Enchanter discipline and YUP bea teaches her -

bea: ‘today we’ll be forging your hilt’

ava: *passes out from the effort of not making THAT joke*

Mama S for sure sounds like she’d be somewhere in the middle of Cas and Leliana (maybe more Lil because ruthless?). she should definitely have loads of ravens & be maybe an ex-Bard or something. (ex-spy MS all the way!)

YES YES a million times yes for Lil being a Seeker. it fits like a glass slipper. the seekers being scary even to templars, being given over as children to the Order? gorgeous. & when the seekers fall all that weight dropping onto lilith, who has to decide where/how to lead them.

Beatrice as a lighning mage (perhaps possibly with knight-enchanter spec? i mean blood mage is out and shapeshifting is NOT a circle-approved spec either) I love the idea of ava and beatrice bickering endlessly over mage rights. Ava trying to get her to read Anders’ manifesto

Bea: “you know this is a banned text, don’t you?”

Ava: “that’s what makes it good bea”

and she does totally read it & Thinks About Things in a very Bea way. has kind of a Viv outlook, but maybe comes to see like Viv (should) that she’s speaking as one of the lucky ones. and Ava is one of the unlucky ones, abused by the Templars who were supposed to ‘protect’ her. so Bea gains perspective and realises that the Circles are deeply flawed. but is also in the camp of "magic is dangerous like fire is dangerous; anyone who forgets this fact gets burned."

Cam with Sera’s abilities? sign me up so fast. she would totally pen a very serious recommendation to the inquisition quartermaster about the need to source jars and jar and jars of bees. Mary using a crossbow like varric’s is amazing - i like the idea of her being Varric-like, but I also think Mary would be less centrist than him, and def. not pro-Chantry specifically, but with a more Isabella kind of attitude where it’s like ‘not my business. i want a big hat etc etc.’ i’m making eye contact with Mary as Hawke and walking away so fast. ALSO!! Shannon as the HoF - i am in love with this idea.

oh god did she die to defeat the archdemon? is that why mary is sort of adrift? or is it similar to if lil and the warden are in love but the HoF is ‘off doing stuff’ and they both have their separate missions? Jillian as leader of the rebels fits amazing, especially with In Hushed Whispers (& yeah if Ava sides with the mages (lol prolly) that is just the BEST mission for character development. meeting alternate future bea and lilith and mary and cam. devastating to me personally.) yep Vincent basically Samson. bleh.

oh man. can you imagine how annoying Solas would find Ava? she would TOTALLY do the ‘jumping from the top of the rookery down onto his desk’ thing three times a day. but he would still paint her mosaics and be frankly fascinated by the spirit/human girl who walks in the Fade and in Thedas. would try to talk to her and end up smashing his head against his desk. every time ava opens her mouth small text shows up like 'Solas Greatly Disapproves'. oh yes we should have Viv. bea would look up to her for sure. and iron bull and ava??? in the same room??? chaos. glorious chaos.

oh yeah, ava being ressurrected would have very post-Haven reactions from people. like, our hero cannot die etc. and ava would hate being venerated by the people who vilified her for her magic, and tossed her in the Circle (god could she have been in Aeonar? that would be such a parallel for the orphanage aka. The Bad Place.)(mage!Andraste all the way) & hearing herself being named not only their saviour but named after their martyr. very “i already died for them once. i won’t do it again.” & yeah she picks all the ‘yuck’ dialogue options when people try to call her Herald/ Andraste’s chosen. & there’s huge tension with Bea who earnestly believes that Ava is what they say, and Ava just wants this girl to touch her without it feeling like she’s touching something holy (in a bad sense of the world ‘holy’). but yeah Bea teaching ava cool magic and ava being kinda casual about the idea of blood magic & also REALLY wants to learn shapeshifting when she meets morrigan. lmao i’m already laughing at Ava in the Winter Palace. Bea with all her titles getting redder and redder in the face and ava laughing until the crier calls her “Herald of Andraste”.

anyway sorry for going insane over this but it is a very very cool au and your ideas are all brilliant! : D

Please do continue to yell at me, I loved every second of this!

Ava absolutely could have been stuck in Aeonar, or honestly maybe even the Circle Tower if, perhaps, Shannon chose to side with the templars (😬😬😬) and the Circle later reformed under much harsher control. Francis could be an old Templar who always hated mages and took any excuse at all to treat them badly. And if Ava was still disabled in some way and less able to defend herself? Even worse.

The more I think about it, the more think Ava connected with a Spirit of Hope. Hope is one of Ava's most consistent traits, and I 100% believe a Hope Spirit would be drawn to her as she passes through the Fade. Maybe it's this spirit that leads her to where the Breach is about to be created, or maybe she gets there on her own and the Spirit just happens to be there, who can say? Plus, the case can be made that Hope translates best to Ava's abilities. Hope can keep you going through tough obstacles (phasing, levitating), help you withstand hardship (healing), and repel doubt (blasts, force fields, which would be like Barrier spells but better). That's my thought at least.

But regardless, yes, Ava wants jack shit to do with Templars or Templar-adjacent parties and she low-key thinks that mages like Bea are traitors to their own kind (she gets over this eventually when she and Bea learn to meet in the middle). In Hushed Whispers is absolutely peak Character Development time for Ava. That's probably when she really starts to feel committed to stopping the Breach and leading the Inquisition. Up until that point, she's probably just going along so she isn't killed by the Anchor.

I didn't consider her becoming a shapeshifter but omg she would learn if she ever got the opportunity. Cue her first successful attempt and she turns into a Mabari, and word spreads so fast that it becomes the running joke of the Inquisition that the Herald is literally a human puppy. Mary coins a dozen new nicknames like Houndraste etc.

Mama S was absolutely a Bard before she joined the Chantry. Maybe she even filled Lel's role in Shannon's party and met Divine Justinia in a similar way too. She will almost certainly become the new Divine once everything is settled, aligning closest with Cassandra's approach. Cam definitely has Sera's mischievous spirit even though she is very devoted to the Chantry, and she and Ava cause a terror of pranks in Skyhold.

Mary as Hawke?? Or Champion of Kirkwall in general??? You may be onto something! I don't know if Shannon is still alive or not, but they're definitely separated right now, and Mary is Not HappyTM about it. If she is Hawke, then she would have known Anders, and maybe she recognizes some of him in Ava, but notes that Ava and Hope are much different together than Anders and Justice. She still offers advice and also tempers some of Ava's ideas about Anders, who I imagine has been lionized by the rebel mages.

Solas would have no idea what to do with Ava. He feels like she's the person who should most understand his motives and his point of view (at least for a human), given how familiar she is with oppression and suffering and how caught she is between reality and the Fade. But she consistently denies and defies his ideas and insists through her words and actions that the world has value and deserves to continue. Maybe he even develops a level of respect and admiration for her, but of course not enough to dissuade him from his plan.

Vivienne and Bea have definitely met before, be it in court or in the Circle, and yes Bea looks up to her a lot. Viv sees Bea's potential and encourages her to foster her political skills. Like Solas, she doesn't really know what to do with Ava. They clash hard over mage rights and are probably never fully comfortable with each other, but Ava definitely helps her during her personal quest and doesn't give a fake heart because she's not an asshole. They're not friends but by the end they ARE allies.

And listen, that conversation where Iron Bull tries to convince Sera to let him throw her at enemies?? Totally happens with Bull and Ava, and Ava AGREES with him. They do it once while fighting Venatori and Bea has full-on heart palpitations!

In fact, party composition time: Bea is a constant, of course, but the others switch out with a decent amount of regularity. Mary is commonly included, as is Bull. Lilith shows up less frequently but she does join in, particularly for any missions that involve fighting the Red Templars. Is Blackwall here? Or is one of the other male characters here? Maybe by some stroke of luck or previous action by Jillian, Michael is still strong enough to fight the taint and join the Inquisition. That would be fun, he doesn't have to be jam just yet.

Jillian and Mama S start having some, ahem, Tension between them probably shortly after settling in Skyhold. No one wants to say anything, and Mary punches Ava every time she starts to say something, but the entire Inquisition can feel it.

Who are the advisors? Mama S, obviously, but who else? You could keep Cullen and Josie but idk... We don’t have a spot for Dora yet do maybe she's Cullen in this scenario.

Ava would think Morrigan is so cool and Bea would be jealous! But then Morrigan would just scoff and say something to the effect of "I spent long enough having one drooling mutt follow me around, you can keep yours."

The entire Inquisition can also feel the impending gay disaster that is Avatrice, and there are several poorly concealed betting pools in Skyhold for when they'll finally get their shit together. Cue members of the party and also some randos giving unsolicited relationship advice to both parties, ranging from "buy her flowers and chocolates from Val Royeaux" to "show up naked to her room with a mug of beer and a strap-on". Neither end of the spectrum is appreciated.

#warrior nun #dragon age #da:i #da: inquisition #ava silva #sister beatrice #avatrice

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popitdontdropitwrites · 2 years

Text

"Stockholm" Medic/Sniper - Chapter 4

Chapter: 1, 2, 3,

Mundy could only sit and endure the hot, wet sensation against his skin, in complete and utter disbelief of it. The invasive, unnatural thoughts within his mind writhed and squirmed happily, feasting on this attention like maggots, fattening and engorging until they were unavoidable eyesores. A part of him – the part of him under the control of the Medic – relished in every second of this, wishing he would lavish him with his touch more often, but the rest of him shuddered, disgusted as if the devil had gotten a taste of his soul.

Ludwig parted from him only slightly, placing a hand over his mouth, his lashes fluttering in bliss, as if savouring the taste of his tears. From so close, the heat of his body swarmed him, tingling like a thousand tiny stingers puncturing his flesh. Ludwig remained hauntingly silent, his mottled blue irises boring into him, just as intense as the eye of a peacock’s feather.

“Excuse me,” He muttered so quietly that Mundy almost missed it. He stepped out of the room without acknowledging anything at all that had just happened, leaving Mundy to question if any of this had been real at all.

The thump of a nearby door and the trickling of water was so distant compared to the noise of the swelling current of thought. He couldn’t work out what that had been about, nor did he wish to know. He did his best to store the lingering feeling of Ludwig’s tongue on his skin, but it wouldn’t fit into any neat little box, for its slender, damp limbs would crawl out every time, growing larger and disturbingly detailed. Cool air rushed to the saliva on his skin, and his traitorous fingers touched his face, longing for the unusual, yet comforting embrace of the Medic.

The sound of Ludwig’s voice from the other room caught his attention, and he listened closely, straining to hear him over the running water. He caught a handful of hushed words and frowned, disappointed that he was speaking entirely in German. He did the next best thing and listened for his tone and his eyes widened at the explicit, provocative purrs and soft moans. Realising exactly what he was hearing, he told his ears to stop listening, but he couldn’t, far too intrigued to stop. The quiet, sultry words slowly died down in favour of laboured breaths and rapidly heightening moans, steadily increasing in volume and slowly crescendoing until they hit their peak, indicating that it was all over.

After, only the gush of running water prevailed and again, the bushman found himself wondering if it had all been a dream.

He waited in the silence, unsure of what to do with himself. He looked to his stuff on the ground and decided to organise it, pretending to be busy. He crouched down onto the floorboards and sorted his belongings out, making small piles for his shirts, pants and folded his blanket before placing his pillow on top.

Just as he finished, Ludwig returned, not saying a single word. He picked through his wardrobe; a towel wrapped snugly around his waist. Mundy averted his eyes, continuing to neaten his pile of things as Ludwig dressed himself. He only dared to sneak a look when he was slipping into his typical, eccentric boots that would without fail, outshine everything else. Ludwig had dressed himself in a creaseless dress shirt and pants, a nice vest, and a respectable tie.

“Looks good on ya, doc.” He commented, despising how a twinge of fear bled into his voice.

“Yes, yes, I know.” The Medic mumbled, ignoring his praise. He looked to his watch, grumbling to himself in his mother tongue, seemingly in a hurry. “You can flatter me endlessly later. I have a meeting I must attend.” He explained, hastily combing his hair.

“A meetin’?” He couldn’t think of any reason why Ludwig would need to have one. “With who?”

“Someone who has a keen interest in this experiment of ours.” He clarified, straightening his tie. “Be productive while I am out.”

“What’s that s’posed to mean?”

“Wash the stench of urine and blood off from yourself for a start.” He spoke quickly, in a hurry to leave.

Mundy lifted his shirt to his nose, giving it a quick sniff. “Right… yeah.” He scratched at his prickly stubble uncomfortably.

Ludwig stopped halfway out of the door, remembering something important. “While I am gone, do not, under any circumstances, leave this building or talk to anyone, even if they knock on the door. You are aware of the repercussions if you do.” He stressed this point, making it painfully clear. “I should not be long.” He said as he closed the door behind him, locking it with his key.

And just like that, he was alone.

He did as he was asked, in part because he feared what would happen if he didn’t but also because he wanted to have a good wash. He practically tore his dirty clothes from his body, discarding them in the wash basket on his way to the bathroom. He was taken aback by just how big it was compared to the communal showers, not to mention, how beautiful it was with shining white tiles, a functional shower head and all the products a bloke could need. He figured it had to be big and useful, seeing as Ludwig spent most of his time shoving his hands into the innards of his team… either that or he had a lot of money to throw around.

Mundy turned the hot water on and stepped inside the cubicle, shivering as the water slowly warmed up. In time, it hit just right, relaxing him into a state he would personally call heaven. Time ceased to exist and so did the Medic. It was just him and the warmth, in a gentle hug that would last as long as he liked. He scrubbed the grime and sticky remnants of saliva from his face before moving on to his hair. He lost himself in the feeling of hot water against his back and the intoxicating sensation of cleanliness, no longer feeling like a caged animal.

He scratched at his neck and found an uncomfortable patch of rough, itchy stubble, far too overgrown to be presentable, even for his low standards. He needed a shave. Badly. Reluctantly, he stepped out of the warmth, wandering to the nearby sink, where a little cupboard was attached underneath. His eyes darted around noticing nail clippers, a comb, chapstick, boot polish, rags, and Mundy smiled when he saw it – an expensive, heavenly razor.

He was just about to close the cupboard, but he paused when he saw a little wooden box. It had a small padlock around it, complete with a tiny keyhole. He wondered what was inside and soon enough, his search for the key began. He looked around the compartment and lifted several bottles. One of them was incredibly light, completely empty. It was then when he heard the clink of a key inside. He unscrewed the cap and shook it until the little key fell out. The anticipation bubbled in his stomach as he slotted the key in and opened the little chest.

A collection of photographs lied in an uncharacteristically messy stack. His curiosity only grew as he picked up the one on the top of the pile. He looked into its shining, smooth face, unsure of what he was looking at exactly, other than a pink, red and purple mess of guts, glistening with wetness. He moved on to the next, unsure of how to feel. A picture of an open chest cavity. There was no love in the photograph, just a striking, professional coldness. The next, an amputated leg, presented in a pool of its own blood. He flipped through them all, photo by photo. He figured he had just about seen the entirety of the human body – inside and out – by the time he had reached the bottom of the stack. The strictly clinical style of photography, completely lacking in artfulness or personality made him think that it was a part of Ludwig’s records, or necessary documentation or something.

A crack in the paint on the bottom of the box caught his eye. He tilted it, getting a closer look. A fissure ran along it, damage from wear and overuse, a bleeding wound, a slow death for this pretty box. Just beside it was a small hatch. He unclipped it, causing the bottom to swing open and its contents fell to the floor, scattering like leaves in the wind.

There was no mistaking it. This collection was personal, plucked like only the ripest, sweetest fruit from the pile of otherwise unexceptional photographs.

With only the slightest bit of hesitation, he scooped just a single picture from the floor, an exhale leaving his lips, knowing he was not supposed to see this. It was different from the rest, slightly blurry around the edges from shaking, unsteady hands and taken from up close, intended to preserve the finest details.

Mundy had shot enough heads to recognise the human brain, wrinkled and soft, but seeing his own made his heart stammer. His skull had been neatly opened like a shell, a mechanical chip embedded into the pink flesh, reddening the surrounding tissue as if it were sucking it dry like a leech.

With a foul taste in his mouth, he collected another at random, his heart lurching with disgust. Another of the same, this time, taken from further back – the perspective of the surgeon, only embellished with a flattering angle of his nude unconscious form. This angle revealed his open eyes, parted lips, the fluids sticking to his skin, the gloves discarded on the ground nearby and just the slightest smear of blood on the lens.

He picked up another, and yet another, his movements becoming frantic. They all reflected the same picture back to him, only at different angles, exposures, and apertures. He scrambled through them, trying desperately to make sense of it.

He fortuitously picked up one utterly unlike the rest and even more graphic than the pinkness of his brain, the depths of his skull and his entire body in the midst of an operation.

A close up of Mundy’s eyes, pink and glistening with an overflowing flood of tears. The pinprick-like pupils were unfocused, his irises shining like a field of dew laden clovers under a blindingly bright light that forced him to weep until his eyes turned a harsh red with nothing more to give. A blueish, spectral fingerprint far too large to be his own remained on the corner of the glassy surface of the image, dirtying it.

Mundy touched his cheek, all of the pieces slotting together in a horrifying cacophony of screams.

He dropped the photo, inescapable filthiness slithering all over his skin, as cold as the scales of snakes. Mundy hastily collected the pictures, forming a small stack and shoving them back inside of the hidden compartment. The rest went right back to where he found them, the disgusting hell in which they belonged. He closed the box, locked it again and shoved it back into place, breathing hard. He returned to the shower, frantically scrubbing at himself, as if to wash away the lingering images but no matter how much he tried, they wouldn’t leave.

~***~

Ludwig’s boots pounded against the ground, each step booming like the powerful beat of calamity’s heart. The sound rippled out for miles in the quiet dusk, announcing his arrival to the men cowering in their cramped, soulless dens. The lights went out in each of the mercenaries’ rooms as he passed by; wordless pleas to be spared from him. He stopped at the last room, checking his watch. From within, he overheard the frantic clunks and clatters of a man cleaning up for a guest. He could only imagine the state of that room of his prior to his arrival. Needless to say, his associate was likely relieved by the fact that he was late. He brought a swift end to it by opening the door, not bothering to knock.

Dell just about dropped the box he was carrying, halting completely in place like a total fool. He hastily put it aside, kicking it somewhere out of the way with his boot, putting on his best smile. “Just the man I wanted to see.” He said warmly, hurrying over to usher him inside. “I’m real sorry about the mess… just mind where you’re walkin’.”

He stepped inside, condemning himself to the fragrant nest of metal, spare parts and unidentifiable components. Dim, scarlet lights illuminated the room, casting enlarged shadows of gaunt, twisted monsters on the walls. A silhouetted monstrous caricature of himself, distorted like a funhouse mirror, followed his every movement. He eased himself onto the Engineer’s couch, folding one leg over the other and his grotesque shadow mimicked him perfectly.

Dell – though he was naturally polite – never forgot his manners around him. In fact, he played them up, making sure that Ludwig knew that he was grovelling as he should. “Should I fix anythin’ up for ya, doc? I’ve got anythin’ a fella could want in here.”

He took a breath, catching the faint stench of ash, narrowly hidden within the overpowering aromas of varnish, oil and filth. He thought for a moment, his eyes trailing the hulking skeletons of machines in the corner, ignoring his question. “Have you been smoking?” He returned his eyes to the smaller man, his tone casual but with just a hint of authoritativeness that would otherwise go unnoticed if the words were not coming from his lips.

“I…” He played with the collar of his shirt. “I only had one.”

Ludwig said nothing but maintained eye contact with him.

“Alright, I might’ve had a couple.” He admitted, looking down at the floor, unable to take his gaze any longer. “I…I was just nervous, is all. It won’t happen again, I promise ya.”

“Are you nervous now?”

“To be brutally honest with you doc…” He said quickly, unable to stop himself from fidgeting. “I’ve just about made myself sick with worry and it’s not on you or nothin’ but you’ve gotta understand, havin’ a fella like you swingin’ around my place… I—”

“—Then light another.” He interrupted, reclining in his chair, knowing full well that this bout of anxiousness was on him. He did not think to correct the Engineer.

His lips parted to speak but no words would come out. “But… but I thought ya wanted me to quit.”

“You will eventually.” He said. “But for now, I would prefer that you are relaxed. I assume you would like that as well.”

Dell fumbled through his pockets, retrieving both his pack of smokes and a lighter. The cigarette trembled between his fingers, threatening to slip out altogether. “You don’t mind if I…?” He asked again, his thumb hesitating over the lighter.

“Do as you are told and light it.” He growled just enough to get his point across, but not enough to drive the poor man to burn up the entire packet.

That was all he needed to click the lighter’s flame to life, igniting the cigarette Dell was unable to resist. He brought it to his lips, taking a long, desperate drag, finally getting his fix. The vile odour of tobacco, ash and countless chemicals filled the air. Already, Dell had settled down for the most part, with the tremor in his hands lessening and the fearful look in his eyes fading. He could almost be called calm if it was not for the discomfort in his posture.

“Are you ready to talk with me now?” He asked, resetting to a polite, albeit impatient tone.

“Mhm.” He nodded quickly, placated now that he had something to calm his nerves.

“Good.” He patted the empty space on the sofa beside him. “You must be dying to know why I wanted to meet with you today.”

“Dyin’ is a good word for it. My heart’s feelin’ like it’s about to give out.”

Dell sat next to him, swallowing hard enough to make his adam’s apple bob. His shadow, elongated and demented, fused with his own, forming a two headed beast. He took another drag, causing the nose of his cigarette to glow, blending with the red hue of the room. Smoke billowed out, swirling, and curling in the air, appearing almost white against the velvet. It was almost suffocating to breathe, but also enlivening in the same way being choked was. Ludwig did not mind, though he could feel his cells die, one by one – genocide on a microscopic level, an atrocity he had allowed to occur.

“It’s excruciatingly simple, actually.” He placed a hand on the Engineer’s thigh, leaning down to whisper in his ear. “Your technology is disappointing, Dell.”

He shuddered, as if he had been touched by death itself. “Wh—What do ya mean?”

“Mundy and I have made far less progress than I was initially anticipating. So little, in fact, that I am disgusted.” He hissed in his ears like a serpent with its fangs bared. “This is very unlike the immediate results I was promised, hm?”

The smaller man instinctively shifted away from him, just a little, as if he was afraid that he would bite. “I can modify the chip if you’re lookin’ for more extreme results.”

“Extreme…” He scoffed. “I am looking for any results at all, dummkopf!” He raised his voice, and just like that, the calm was ripped out from Dell. He looked like a frightened little lamb, just perfect to be slaughtered. “I had to tear Mundy’s fingernails off to get him to obey me even once and I do not accredit your Gott verdammt device to that.”

“That can’t be right.” He stammered out, blinking rapidly. “It must be faulty or somethin’.”

He gripped the Engineer’s throat, making him flinch. “If you want me to uphold my end of our bargain, you will have your chip in complete working order by the end of tonight.” He snarled, watching the colour drain from his face.

“I can do that, doc.” He said apologetically, appearing absolutely pathetic before him. “I’ll make sure it’s all up to your standards.”

Ludwig’s eyes met Dell’s, and he outstretched his free hand, making one last demand. “Give that to me.”

Dell could only muster his question through a small, timid gesture towards his lips. Ludwig said nothing at all, and a meagre five seconds of silence was enough for him to give up his cigarette – his only comfort. It had been an eternity since Ludwig had held one, but muscle memory kicked in and he allowed himself a single drag, savouring the taste of forbidden pleasure. A lone puff of smoke, and it was done, tossed in the ashtray to burn out.

Ludwig knew for certain now that Dell would never light another.

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aezyrraeshh · 2 years

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so the cosmic horror original story explained

the setting, the world, the aliens are made up entirely by me, because yes, i do hate myself that much.

nova is sort of the main character, and their story starts with them working for the yet-unnamed-organisation as a mercenary, doing jobs that government tries to keep all hush-hush. they are a spy, a hitman, a delivery person— everything and everyone, but people like them are known to be deadly. especially, considering what the organisation has been up to.

the artificial intelligence was implemented into all of their mercenaries to make them faster, stronger and most importantly more efficient. they've recently came up with a new version, the ADA— the evolving type of AI, the true Intelligence if you will, and they needed an operative who's psyche is best suited, which ended up being nova.

so, now that they have ADA connected to them, their partner, alix, that was acting weird even before that, starts to act outright antagonistic and later on disappears entirely. nova later learns that xe escaped with some of the organisation property, they weren't told what it was, but ADA and them were ordered to find xem and bring xem, either dead or alive, but with the technology xe stole. nova also learns that alix was under organisation suspicion for a long time, which also places them in the tough spot, so they are basically threatened with "either you find xem or you are an accomplice".

nova is hurt, because alix and them were friends before they finished training, then they became rivals and their friendship got strained and now xe ran away after acting like xe hated them more than anything and nova might loose their life because of xem? they are confused and hurt and angry, and they are dead set on finding xem because they themself need answers to what the fuck xe has been up to all these years.

alix at this time is on the run, and xe finds a crew that is willing to give xem a ride to hopefully another system or at least another planet, and that crew is Rha, Soniya and Kyllan. they agree because they desperately need money, and xe is willing to pay.

eventually, however, nova ends up on the same ship, because they figured that xe is probably either left the planet or is planning to. they end up on the same ship, and because they had to take off fast, they only met when they were already in the air. it wasn't a pretty meeting, but what made it even worse is that the technology alix has is basically the on/off switch for the AI controls in the mercenaries and xe uses it on them, almost overriding their entire brain, wiping everything down, but since ADA is.. a special kind of AI it doesn't work as xe hoped, and they end up surviving, but ADAs restrictions are off now, and they start to experience consciousness. WHICH WOULD ADD A WHOLE STORYLINE TO NOVA STORY, because ADA wants to live now, and it cannot exist outside nova so would it try to take over the body? ohoho, it would but how will it end? who knows 👀

long story short, they are stuck together either way now, and after the restrictions of ADA fell, organisation immediately declared nova as a criminal, and now they want to find them to take back their prised AI :) and they would want to wipe the crew out too :)

so, aha, enemy of my enemy? forced team work? yeah.

story goes off from there, because that's the prologue basically, but the arch of nova and alix is a complicated one, and while xe is an asshole, xe has xyr reasons. but like friends to rivals to enemies to forced working together to lovers? screaming and crying, and xyr whole thing is like xe thinks that nova isn't even there anymore, and it's just an empty husk with ADA inside so xe lashes out BUT IT IS THEM AND IT'S XEM THAT MADE IT WORSE AND A MILLION OTHER PLOTLINES COME TOGETHER, AND THE HURT NOVA FEELS, THE ANGER AND THEM SEEING HOW XE CHANGED AND I AM GDHDJSKHXJSOAOA

anyways, Xsa'Ra plotline is insane, because they are a somewhat of a cosmic god, and like.. who is Yelloana? and what is it about the pining between her and Soniya? 👀

and it's really a story about overcoming personal horror and grief, while fighting the real time horror and coming to terms with change and death and constant.

#i have many thoughts and i would talk about every character and plot more #but i don't want to annoy people even more lmao #nico.txt

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meanderful · 2 years

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Arrival, Acclimatisation, and Amed

Hello dearest friends and family! Thursday marked our first full week since touching down in Bali, so we figured it’s about high time we updated you all.

Arriving in Amed

Our flights to Bali both flew by (oh yes, pun intended) without a hitch. Sam had organised an airport transfer from Bali’s capital, Denpasar, to Amed, a fishing village on the north-eastern curve of the island. It was evening and pitch black by the time we emerged from the airport so our first impressions on that three-hour journey were of the heavy, tropical air; the jampacked, scooter-buzzing traffic of Denpasar easing off as we moved into snaking mountain roads; and the glorious smell of earth and flowers after rain. Twenty-eight hours after we’d set off in the UK, we arrived in Amed and checked into a beautiful wooden bungalow right by the beach.

The next day, we awoke to an incredible view from our porch: the wooden bungalows arranged around a turquoise swimming pool surrounded by frangipani trees laden with the white and yellow flowers that Bali is famous for, all looking out across the blue of the ocean. A beautiful sight for jetlagged eyes. And turning to look the other way, I spotted Mount Agung, one of Bali’s volcanoes, rising up behind Amed, covered with lush forest that disappeared into the clouds shrouding its peak.

For the first couple of days in Amed we took things slow as we got over jetlag and found our bearings. I read more than I’ve been able to do in months, we swam a lot, both in the pool and ocean in front of our accommodation, and we began learning what the various Indonesian dishes were, sampling a lot of amazing food—so far being vegan has proved to be both easy and utterly delicious.

Return to Diving

After we’d had a chance to catch up on sleep and get acclimatised, we booked in for a couple of days of diving. It’d been a long time since we were last in the water—since Mexico in February 2020, right before the pandemic—so we figured it would be good to get back into the swing of things. Turned out that despite the intervening time away, it was much like getting back on a bike—it took us each less than one dive to feel at ease underwater again. And it only took a few minutes for me to feel utter delight at the underwater portal we had stepped through and the sheer joy of the weightlessness and freedom that diving gives. It helped that the sightseeing was so beautiful—we spent our time gliding over vibrant, healthy coral, surrounded by so much fish life and peering at amazing macro creatures living on the reef. We even met a couple of turtles along the way when exploring the reef-covered wreck of an American ship sunk by the Japanese during WWII.

Explorations

Back on land, we also attended a local ceremony as part of the village’s Hindu celebrations for the full moon. One afternoon, we walked along the beach to join several hundred locals on the sand. They were all dressed in white shirts with colourful sarongs wrapped around their legs, white headdresses for the men and offerings for the temple balanced on the heads of the women. Everyone sat on the beach chatting amongst themselves as a group in the centre led the chanting and gong-playing. We settled down on the sand too and soon made friends with two local three-year-old twins. We may not have spoken the same languages as each other but turns out a lot of fun can be had with sticks and empty plastic water bottles, so we merrily played away for a good two hours. Suddenly a hush fell, and for a few minutes everyone sat facing the sea, palms together at their forehead in worship and eyes shut. There should have been complete silence but instead the air rang with the sound of two giggling children and I opened one eye to find the little boy twin gently poking Sam in the eye as both him and his sister dissolved in fits of giggles about it.

On our final day in Amed, we walked along to the next bay and I spent a couple of hours snorkelling (easily the most amazing snorkelling I’ve seen with so much life only a few metres from the surface) and then we climbed a short road above the village to Blue Earth Village, a community project of hatched platforms on stilts spanning a hotel, restaurant, freediving school, and yoga space. We did a Deep Flow Yoga session in the most beautiful yoga location I’ve ever seen—a wooden platform covered in a high thatched roof but open on all sides looking out over the village and ocean. As we did our practice, we heard chanting from the nearby temple, the croak of frogs, and the heavy evening rain, and as the sun set, a thunderstorm could be seen far away across the ocean as lightning lit up the clouds and water in purple and yellow streaks.

Our First Day Sightseeing on Land

The next day, we hired a private taxi to drive us back to Denpasar so that we could stop off at a few sites along the way. First up, we paused at the foothills of Mount Lempuyang and took a shuttle bus up to Pura Penataran Agung Lempuyang, a Hindu temple located on its slopes, one of the oldest and most sacred sites in Bali. It was breathtaking, with several parallel staircases and green terraces rolling up the slope of the mountain into the temple itself (which could only be entered if you were praying). The Gate of Heaven was particularly stunning—a set of stone gates parted to exactly frame Mount Agung (the same volcano that overlooks Amed). The queue to take a photo alone at the Gate was horrendously long so instead we spent our time wandering around the site and enjoying the spectacular views. It was easy to understand why it’s so sacred.

Next on our tour, we stopped by a plantation where coffee, cocoa, and various teas were grown. We were shown the original trees and plants, then the process for drying and/or grinding them into produce. We were even presented with a wonderful tray of tasters, spanning fifteen samples including coconut, avocado, and vanilla coffees, and rosella and mangosteen tea (all absolutely delicious). The area is most famous for Luwak coffee. I wasn’t sold on it though—the process involves grinding beans that an Asian palm civet (a small nocturnal mammal) has ingested and defecated (because they can discern which beans are perfectly ripe and which aren’t), so the coffee is highly prized and very expensive, but I didn’t love the miniscule wire cages the civets were kept in.

Finally, we stopped by Tirta Gangga, a royal palace named after the sacred Ganges river in India. Given its namesake, it was a homage to water, a series of pools, channels, and fountains, connected by bridges, stone pathways, and stepping stones, and adorned with ornately carved statues. The pools were filled with the largest koi carp I’ve seen in my life, so with the fish swimming, the water flowing and moving, and the lush tropical foliage and flowers, the place felt vividly alive.

With our sightseeing done for the day, we drove south back to Denpasar. We had booked a hostel in advance because shortly two of Sam’s schoolfriends will arrive—amazingly they are completely coincidentally visiting Bali at the same time as us, one for work here as a guide, one on his way from the UK back to his work in Australia.

And with that, our first week in Bali zoomed by. More coming soon, so for now, over and out!

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mandoalorian · 2 years

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Happier Than Ever - Chapter 1

Pairing: Dieter Bravo x F!Reader

Summary: Dieter Bravo is the face of Hollywood, a nepotist baby who hails from fortune and glory. When his latest movie, Cliff Beasts 6 flops at the box office, his management decide they need to take on a new approach – and organise a PR stunt, arranging a marriage between you, an aspiring actress and Dieter, in an attempt to heal his spiralling career.

Rating/Warnings: E for eventual smut. But in this chapter, mentions of drug and alcohol use.

Word count: 2000

Note: The Devil works hard but Rach works harder ;) I'm so excited to be introducing a brand new Pedro fic! Reblogs appreciated to spread this around as my works typically don't show up in tags. Hope you enjoy reading! <3

Masterlist

Dieter Bravo was insufferable.

He was a nepotist baby, born to Marlene and Angelo Bravo, who some would argue to be the most iconic faces of Hollywood in the 50s and 60s. They were superstars who bathed in glitz and glam, and Dieter was no different, hailing from his ivory tower and having everything placed in front of him like it was his birthright. Money, fortune, power and success.

He’d been acting since he was a little kid, attending champagne and coke parties when he was only thirteen years old, and wanted to or not, this was his life.

He bought his first mansion just last year, after the success of his hit movie ‘Hunger Strike’ which shot straight to number one at the box office. But with victory, comes affluence and riches, and Dieter never knew what exactly to do with all of his lucre.

Scandal after scandal, Dieter found himself in a bit of a predicament. Now, he felt as though the world was against him and he had to do some serious damage control.

On a grizzly grey morning after barely winning a lawsuit, Dieter sat in a corporate looking office, under artificial amber lights, and rubbed his tired eyes. He’d been forced by his management to attend an emergency meeting.

“You mess up one more time, and it’s over for you,” Gianna, his manager, threatened. But her tone was hushed and she rubbed her temples, and Dieter could tell that she was just as stressed as he was. “One more lawsuit… one more DUI or assault allegation and it’s over.”

When you’re born into Hollywood, it was easy to spiral, and that was the lame excuse Dieter always used to justify his questionable morals and actions.

“No production company wants to hire you anymore Dieter, you’re a liability,” Gianna continued, pacing back and forth. Dieter couldn’t even bring himself to maintain eye contact with her. He hated that he’d let her, and his entire management down. Hell, he felt like he’d let the world down. “And honestly, I’m at a loss.”

“I’m sorry.” Dieter said quietly, feeling his cheeks burn red with shame.

“But you’re not though, are you Dieter? Because we’ve had this conversation a thousand times before. You’re losing money, your career, your fans, your friends… you’re losing everything. Something needs to change.”

Dieter idly swirled the glass of water he nursed in his hands, wishing it was vodka or something to take away the edge of this conversation.

“When I was younger my dad would talk about how lucky he was to find someone like my mom, and how she changed him for the better. He called her his ‘guardian angel’,” Dieter smiled fondly at the memories, but his twinkle quickly faded and his brown eyes became glazed over with unshed tears. “She saved him, in a sense.”

The silence was deafening until Gianna let out a small gasp of realisation. Her dark blonde eyebrows furrowed together and her painted red lips twisted into a grin.

“Oh my God, I’ve got it,” she beamed, walking over to Dieter and pulling him out of his seat. “You need to settle down.”

“Settle down?” Dieter asked in confusion. “I am settled. I’m pretty calm, all things considered.”

Gianna rolled her eyes, but she was still grinning with delight. “No,” she laughed. “You need to settle down in a relationship. Find something like what Angelo and Marlene had. Yes… yes! That will fix everything!”

Dieter blinked. “I don’t understand how that will fix anything at all, actually.”

Gianna squealed and hopped excitedly. “A marriage. You announce a marriage and it will make international news. I can see the headlines already: ‘Dieter Bravo and mystery woman ENGAGED’,” Gianna made a gesture with her hands and Dieter took a step back, still perplexed at her wild enthusiasm. “Everyone will forget about the troubles and the scandals and the lawsuits… people will just be shocked that someone has actually considered getting wed to you. I mean, who would’ve thought that Dieter Bravo could actually be loved? That’s the real headline.”

Dieter’s heart sank in his chest and Gianna rolled her eyes, again.

“Oh please Di, don’t give me that puppy-dog look. You’ve literally never had a relationship that’s lasted longer than a few weeks.”

Ignoring the string of insults Gianna had just addressed Dieter with, he sighed. “There is literally nobody who would want me.”

“It’s a PR stunt. All for publicity. We hook you up with someone, have you both sign a three month contract and BAM. This could actually work.”

“So, I’d actually be getting married to a stranger?” Dieter quizzed.

“You know Di, arranged marriages happen all the time in different parts of the world. I’m sure it’s nothing you can’t handle,” Gianna said dismissively. “Besides, it’s not like you’ve got a choice, is it? This is potentially the only thing that can save your career.”

“How would I even find someone?” Dieter shrugged in exasperation.

“Leave that to me.” Gianna smirked.

_____________________________

Tonight was supposed to be the best night of your life. It was your very first appearance on live television, as a guest on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. You remembered when you were younger, dreaming about the days you would be considered ‘big enough’ to be a guest on a talk show. Tonight was a pivotal point in not only your career, but your life, as you’d later discover.

You sat cross legged on the grey sofa next to Jimmy, in a gold sequined dress and glittering heels. You smiled at every opportunity and remained poised and professional, answering every question like your life depended on it.

The ten minutes passed fleetingly and you were happy with how your debut interview on live TV had gone, until the very end.

“We actually have someone here tonight,” Jimmy entertained. “A surprise guest.”

Before you had the chance to react, Jimmy stood up and pointed to the stage entrance. “Give it up for Dieter Bravo!”

The crowd roared and greeted the A-Lister with a standing ovation. Taken aback, you didn’t move, but instead, hesitantly applauded the actor as he jogged on stage, waving and bowing along to the adoration that followed in his every footstep.

“We love you Dieter!” A lady in the back of the audience screamed.

“I love you too!” Dieter called back, creating even more commotion and cheering.

You stood up and extended your arm to shake Dieter’s hand, but instead, he pulled you into a hug, enveloping you into a warm embrace. You stiffened in his arms and before he pulled away he whispered in your ear.

“I am so sorry.”

For a second, you briefly wondered what exactly he was apologising for. That was until your thoughts were cut short and Dieter placed a polite kiss on your cheek before taking your hand and pulling you down to bow alongside him.

“Thank you so much everyone!” Dieter exclaimed, a pearly-white grin plastered on his face. His dark curly hair was swept back and he donned a casual cashmere sweatshirt and pair of dark washed denim jeans. “I was just in the neighbourhood and I decided to pop by and see my good friend Jimmy! It is such an honour to be here tonight with such a beautiful crowd…” Dieter swung an arm around your waist. “And of course, to share the stage with such a beautiful young woman.”

You retracted from him almost immediately, seeing straight through his smarmy charm. This was supposed to be your big night and none other than Dieter Bravo had come and ruined it. He’d completely stolen your thunder.

“Well we are so glad you stopped by Dieter,” Jimmy grinned. “But unfortunately that is all we have time for tonight, but join us tomorrow where we talk to amazing musical guests and Oscar winning director–”

With your head ducked down, you filed off stage before the cameras even cut and met with your agent, Lola. She was waiting for you backstage, like usual, with a beady grin on her face. “That went terrible.” you frowned, rubbing your temples.

“Are you kidding?” Lola asked. “You were amazing! They loved you.”

“No, they loved Dieter Bravo.” you replied sadly, your gaze getting lost and following two shadows that were approaching a table filled with cheese and wine, that stood neatly in the corner. You could definitely do with a drink right about now. You peered over and took a closer look.

Speak of the Devil.

Already sipping on a glass of Merlot wine was Dieter, who was laughing alongside Jimmy after the show.

“I really am glad you came by,” Jimmy revealed, nudging Dieter playfully. “Nobody even knows who she is… our ratings would’ve flopped without you.”

You felt your heart plummet in your chest and you turned away from the table, mustering up all your strength to not start crying in front of these elitists. This was supposed to be something huge for you, and it had turned into an enormous farce. You just wanted to go home, lay in bed, and never be seen in daylight again.

Maybe acting wasn’t for you. Maybe this life, the life you had been chasing for many years, simply wasn’t your calling. Your memories flashback to when you were a teenager stuck in a dead-end waitressing job, desperately trying to make ends meet so you could save and watch your dreams come true.

A dream that was slowly turning into a nightmare.

At the mention of you, Dieter glanced past Jimmy and watched as you slumped away back into your dressing room.

“She’s not all bad.” Dieter replied sincerely, but before Jimmy could reply, Gianna pulled Dieter away, into a dark corner by the stage curtains.

“Have you spoken to her yet?” she questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“Uh no– I haven’t had the chance.” Dieter answered sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck. He’d been asked to charm you in hope it would make the imminent discussion easier.

“I can’t trust you to do anything,” Gianna sighed. Dieter frowned and Gianna grabbed his arm. “Well c’mon Di, it’s now or never.”

You sat in your chair in the dressing room sobbing and sniffling as Lola consoled you, when you heard a knock on your door.

“Who is it?” Lola called as you grabbed a box of tissues and began to furiously wipe away your tear stained makeup.

“Gianna Ricci, representative of Dieter Bravo and head of United Talent Agency. Can I come in? It’s urgent.”

You narrowed your eyes and shot a confused glance at Lola. “What the hell does she want? Give me two minutes!” you called back.

Of course. Of course the most sought after agent in Hollywood was suddenly knocking at your dressing room door, requesting to see you after you’d been sitting crying for the past five minutes. Just as you thought your entire world was ending.

Your feet were blistered from your heels, your hair was knotted and your lipgloss was smudged across your cheek. A true sight for sore eyes.

But after waiting for only a second, the door swung open and Gianna entered, followed by an awkward looking Dieter.

The agent was dressed in Chanel from head to toe, and her blonde hair was curled perfectly, bouncing off her shoulders.

“Oh sweetheart,” she frowned, inspecting you closely. “You’re a mess.”

She certainly had a way with words, but that was something Dieter had been used to for a long time.

You inhaled deeply, standing up and brushing yourself down in an attempt to look more refined. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms Ricci.”

“I suppose you’re wondering why I’m here,” Gianna smiled, the villainous twinkle in her eyes not going unnoticed by you. “Or even, why is Dieter here?”

“Yeah, I s’pose I am.” you revealed.

“Well, Cinderella, just think of me as your fairy godmother. Dieter and I have a proposal that will change your life.”

------ Chapter 2 coming soon! -------

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genshingarbage · 3 years

Note

Could I request any boys of your choice where they’ve had an exhausting day and their s/o says they should take a nap on their lap? Thank you!

Cute boi hours again? Yes <3 Sleepy time awe! I am gonna pick a very select few that i think this works well with, so i hope you're okay with the hand picked few ;) - Mod Diluc

Rest My Love.

|| Head Cannons ||

Kazuha/Diluc/Xiao/Kaeya

Kazuha

He was beat, exhausted and aching, every muscle in his body ached like something fierce. But, who ever said the life of a lone wandering samurai was gonna be a breeze? Yea, that's right- no one. Because it sure as hell wasn't. He was use to feeling this way yet somehow it still made him just as grouchy as the first time.

He walked into the small building that was titled as your homestead and yawned; stretching his arms out he heard a few odd bones pop from the pressure, it relieved some of his tension but not nearly enough for it to be actually satisfying. With a huff he removed some of his more heavy going clothing, including his shoes, till he was more loose and relaxed.

He shuffled slowly into the house, trying not to wake you. You were his lover and so him coming to your home was somewhat normal now, but he often was away for large periods of time, and he never liked to disturb you. Specially when you're busy. Which you were, you had your nose deep between the pages of a gripping story written so entrancing like from a book. So much for his first theory that you'd be asleep at this time, huh?

He tried to creep past you as you read, but you wasn't born yesterday. So with a roll of your eyes and a soft exhale from your nose you spoke out. "Kazuha. Welcome home hun." You didn't even bother to turn your head around to him, you knew fully well he was frozen in his steps now, eyes wide like a doe caught in headlights. He blinked a few times before sorting himself back to his normal standing position and chuckling awkwardly, a breif rub to the back of his neck ensued.

"Ah, yea, I'm uh- yea. I'm home, thanks Y/N. I really didn't wanna disturb you there." He spoke softly and with great regret; like he'd just committed an awful crime. You simply closed the book after having bent the tip of the page you were on, as to know where to start off when you return to it, and placed the item down on the small table infront of your sofa. "Kazuha, it's fine... I was only reading a book." You chuckled gently.

"I know, but... it felt wrong to interupt you so abruptly specially when you seemed so into it-" you'd twisted your torso ever so slightly so your eyes could lay on his now, your heart almost broke, he looked absolutely shattered- like all life was drained from him. Just what had this crazy man gotten up to in his absence? "Kazuha- oh my goodness. Look at you! You're about to pass out."

He smiled politely and waved his hand side to side as if dusting your worry back into the wind. "Nah, I'm a lil tired that's all. I'm gonna have a lie down, I'll be right as rain after." He went to go back to making his way to the exit of your living room, that is until you called out ever so gently. "Or well, I wouldn't mind if you rested your head on my lap." A faint blush flushed your cheeks. He turned to face you yet again. Blinking several times over again.

"Really?" He tilted his head almost like a curious puppy, he has no idea how cute he is sometimes. "I mean, sure why not? You've not been home for over a month. I do get lonely ya know, the company would feel nice, and your presence is always warm and welcoming." You smiled sweetly at him and he returned the expression with full earnest. Nodding softly he made his way to the sofa, where you rested, and now reshuffled and organised yourself to get into a more comfy position.

It wasn't long before he was laying on his side with his head nestled into your lap, breathing softly as your hand gently rested adorn his head of hair. "Mmh. You're right, this beats sleeping alone any day." He hummed sleepily to you, by the way his voice was giving out you could tell he was close to succumbing to his slumber already. With a gentle smile still planted across your lips you hushed him softly.

"Shh, rest now. My Kazuha." You began to hum a quaint little lullaby that had him snoring in under three minutes. This man, he works himself so hard, but still, it's one of the reasons you love him so much, the fact he's hard working and never gives in. And you have the comfort in your mind of knowing whenever he gets this tired again, he'll have you here to be by his peaceful sleeping side everytime. Now and forever.

Diluc

The sky was a beautiful orange and red tone, the colours mixed so beautifully, with the white fluffy clouds scattered around too, it looked like a stunning evening. You were sat alone at the dinner table again, your chin resting on your opened palm, your eyelids half shut to block the rays of the last bit of presence from the sun.

The candles had long since burned out and the beautiful sweet honeyed roast you'd prepare with such delicacy and tender care was going cold. Diluc was suppose to be home over thirty-five minutes ago, he promised he'd make it in time for whatever dinner the maids threw together tonight, he wasn't aware you'd taken it upon yourself to lovingly prepare tonight's meal for him.

You couldn't be mad at the man; or hold a grudge for that matter, you knew what type of person he was, you knew he wasn't one for sticking to plans and promises, he simply couldn't be with the work he has, not to mention his little sun down hobby that you became privy too after several years with the crimson haired gentleman. If there was one thing you were grateful for, it was the fact you knew without doubt he truly did love you. And in a way that was enough for you.

It was sundown now and your dinner had long been since tidied up by the maids, with a somewhat solemn look to your face you'd decided to go to bed early that night. Knowing Diluc, he wouldn't be home for hours to come anyway. Your eyes were just starting ache and your eyelids were starting to feel heavy for you now. Breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth softly you let your body sink further into the warm embracing sheets.

Click.

Your eyes slowly opened back up when you heard the all too familiar noise of your bedroom door opening, narrowing your eyes slightly to help adjust to the dim glow of the room, the small aid of illumination being provided solely by your nightstand candle. It wasn't hard to make out who it was however, since his deep red hair practically danced from the slight glow of the flicking flame.

"Diluc." It came out more like a whisper which you never intended for it too, but you were so gripped by tiredness now it was hard to sound more awake at the given circumstances. "Sorry for waking you my dear, wasn't my intention." You hummed softly in response and then watched as best as you could as he removed his attire and shoes, stripping down to just his boxers.

Gripping the band that kept his hair up was the last part, with a tug his hair flew down and waved apart, you kept a watchful eye on him. As it was when his hair was down that he was always at his most tired and vulnerable mental state now. "The maids told me Y/N." He still sounded strict, or at least he was trying his best too. But his voice wavered in every sense of the word.

The bed dipped beside you as his weight was added to the mattress now, a small groan escaping his lips. You knew what he meant, it wasn't a surprise the maids told him you'd prepared the dinner today, you'd just wish they'd not sometimes, to avoid adding more stress to the man's poor ordeals. "It's fine, it was just a small attempt. I'm not exactly the best cook to begin wit-"

The poorly sounding wince from him cut you off, the failed attempt to stifle it and keep it under wraps didn't go unnoticed. You narrowed your eyes at the man beside you in bed now, and then you saw. He was littered with cuts and bruises, they surely must hurt, why didn't he say anything? Scratch that. He never tells you anyway, thinking its better that way. Silly man.

With a gentle huff you shook your head, shuffling your weight and sitting up ever so slightly, your back pressing against the several puffed pillows under you. "Enough of that. Come here darling." It was your turn to sound strict however, and for once he didn't fight back. Your heart tugged at you slightly as you felt the weight shifting around beside you and then were suddenly graced with the feeling of his head nuzzling into your lap.

You took it upon yourself to softly begin to caress his head, letting your hand stroke and massage the man's hair and scalp. The groans and sighs that left him were evidence enough he was in a blissful state right now, your sweet Diluc. Always putting his life on the line to protect those less fortunate than him, when will he learn? That his life matters just as much. Sigh.

You heard a soft mutter from him, something along the lines of 'sorry' and 'dinner'. But he was already taken by the nights calming embrace to be formulating anything coherent now, so you closed your eyes with another soft shake of your head and continued to massage his head. Till both you and your hand laid still, silent, asleep. Whatever he'd done tonight, whatever reason he'd missed dinner, it didn't matter. As long as he loved you it was enough. It always has been, it always will be.

Xiao

The stars twinkled softly an slowly, looking so entrancing from down below, the dark blue sky washing above you with the dazzling twinkles looking like small fire flies dancing around. You stood there, your knee bent slightly as your weight was supported by the banister of the top balcony to Wangshu Inn. Any minute now, you thought to yourself calmly.

And is if on que a sudden and harsh breeze blew past you, followed up with a loud thud. You turned your head ever so slightly, seeing the young looking yaksha lifting back up from his crouch landing position. "Welcome home honey." you said somewhat stone like, to which you got a simple sounding 'Tsk' as response, as he chucked his spear lazily behind him, to which it dissolved away instantly.

You rolled your eyes to the quiet scoff that greeted you back, shaking your head slowly, your eyes went back to focus on the landscape below you from the viewpoint of the balcony. It was so peaceful and beautiful. "How has your day been?" You decided to question him further, all while remaining your focus elsewhere.

"Fine." he responded in short. This type of reply was normal to you now, he wasn't the talkative type, despite having been the first to say to you he loved you. "Well, that's good then." you said back in your normal sweet tone now. You could tell from that tone in his voice he was exhausted, he didn't have to say or do anything, you could just tell.

Thinking it was best to leave now and give him his privacy you turned away from the balcony and began to walk to the exit. "I will let you rest my love, see you soo-"

"Wait."

His voice was louder than its ever been round you, the faint flush on his cheeks was evidence enough he never intended for it to come out so loudly from his own mouth. "Xiao?" you turned back round, seeing him stood there looking like a somewhat lost lamb, it was damn cute.

"S...stay with me, ... please."

His voice, so soft, so sweet, so gentle. You felt your heart crack slightly, your poor adeptus, he must've been rushed off his feet tonight. The dark bags forming under his eyes said all you needed to hear.

Chewing your bottom lip softly you breathed in and then walked over to him slowly. "Xiao..." you whispered his name lovingly, his eyes met with yours and for a brief moment the air left your lungs, the sight of his exhausted face so close to you, actively seeking comfort within you, it was enough to melt the coldest of icebergs.

Letting your hand slip into his with a gentle squeeze, a small smile on your lips you led him down the stairs of the Inn, into your bedroom, a tidy and quaint little sleeping quarter. He needed to rest, he is pushing himself too much, and if you do not take action, he never will.

Climbing onto the bed once you'd abandoned your shoes on the carpet you looked up at him, laying in a relaxing position. The red on his cheeks only flushed deeper and darker, and you couldn't help but laugh softly. Such a lewd mind, oh my, you never expected him to get the wrong idea over a situation like this.

"Xiao- no... not that." you chuckled at his confused expression, he was so alien to the concept of just touch in general now, that to him he sees it so black and white, being close means being intimate, otherwise why get close? So it was up to you to show him the ways of being human again.

You let your hand softly pet and stroke your lap and he raised his brow, but seeing the sudden light in his eyes spark showed you he caught on to what you really were aiming for. So he hesitantly dipped onto the bed next to you, he was tense and his movements were awkward, but he eventually shuffled his head and body to lay down with his head nestled softly into your lap.

"Is this... okay?" he muttered it nervously, like he was scared the slightest movement would shatter everything around him. You looked down at him and gently kissed your fingers, pressing them against his lips in response. "Shh, rest my love, you need it." Just to further add to what you were saying you let your hand gently rub the outer ridge of his ear.

The blush eventually left his cheeks, the tensed muscles finally went lax and his breathing grew heavier and more unguarded, with a pleased hum from your lips you closed your eyes too and began to succumb to the sweet calling of slumber too.

As long as he has you, you will always be there to help[ him, he may be an adeptus, a yaksha, but you? He is just as human as you or anyone else. Wrath filled or not. He is and always will be your sweet little adeptus. Your perfect lover. Your Xiao.

Kaeya

Another late night and you sat cuddled up on the sofa scanning through several paintings, more specifically paintings that you had done over the course of several months. It was a hobby of yours, but with the aid of Albedo giving you tips and throwing you pointers here and there you'd become surprisingly good at it; who would've guessed you'd secretly be an artist in hiding? Not you that's for sure.

It was fun enough to help tide over the unsettling impatience that always started to bubble under your skin at least, specially on nights like this, where Kaeya, your boyfriend, who also happened to be the Calvary Captain for the Knights of Favonius was out at an ungodly late time, dealing with a suspicion of criminal activities, within the borders of Mondstadt.

He never broke his promises to you thus far, of which were he will always return safely home to you, but it never did fully destroy the raging thunder of worry that often seized your mind on a daily, who could blame you? The man was always in such dangerous predicaments. Who knew if this morning, or any morning for that matter, where you kissed him goodbye, would be the last time you ever would see his face when you waved him off?

It isn't his fault you know this, but you do wish that sometimes he would be cut slack, just a little, so you could for once not have to distract yourself with idle glances of your paintings while waiting for his return. If only every now and then Jean, The Acting Grand Master would just let him have a day off-

Click.

You jumped slightly upon hearing the noise of your front door not open, but actually close. Turning your head you saw Kaeya stood there, arms covering his chest in a crossed way, a raised brow prominent as he glared down at you. "How long have you been worrying?" His voice sounded so flat and monotone, almost a hint of exhaustion. Was he growing tired of your over worried nature?

"I... uh. uhm..." You were at a loss for words, how long had you been worrying exactly? Two, three hours now? You were unsure of the answer yourself. He shook his head and sighed out slowly, it was long and drawn out; he must be so tired from his work today, seeing you up at this hour acting like a child probably doesn't help his situation in the least.

You looked down sadly, feeling ashamed and guilty of yourself because you do this oh so often to him, he always prays your in bed, safely tucked up and lost in your own dreams before he gets home, but you never are, you're always awake and worried, your face far from the peaceful look he often daydreams you having.

"It doesn't matter anymore my little petal." He hums softly as he walks around the sofa to get within arms reach, crouching onto his own weight to scoop you up, your mind in shock you let the paintings slip from your grip and pool around the seat you were just in and the floor underneath you. "Whe- Kaeya?"

"Shh, it is time to head to the bedroom." He spoke so matter factually, which left you eyes wide and beet red, to which he glanced down and a smug chuckle slipped from him. "For sleep Y/N." You relaxed instantly, a sigh escaping you. "Unless of course, you want the other thing?" You squirmed, embarrassed beyond belief, he loved to teased you. "Quit it Kaeya!" You pouted at him, to which he just chuckled at lightly, planting a soft kiss on your head.

Once in the bedroom he drops you so you fall and sink into the softness of your mattress and covers, to which he joins you quickly after. Now both in bed he simply huffs as he turns and crawls around before you feel his head find its preferred resting place; your lap. You smile and gently chuckle. "May i?" He asks just a tad bit too late for permission.

"You're already laying there Kaeya, bit late for the formalities now." You roll your eyes and turn to blow the candle out, leaving you both in darkness and silence, just your soft and gentle breathing in unison as you stroke and massage his head, to which he groans gently in delight too. He is so sweet when he sleeps on your lap like this, you feel closer to him now than you ever normally do, unless you involve the factor of intimacy sexually.

Its calming and sweet, and it helps you remember that he will always keep his promise to you,

He will always come home safely.

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emilia3546 · 3 years

Text

The Rest of Our Lives - Nessian

Happy #nessianmonth guys! Thanks @illyrianet for organising!

Here we go with the first one: nessian’s mating ceremony, finally filling the gap that Sarah left us with at the end of ACOSF.

*****

The temple was absolutely beautiful, Rhys really had come through on this one, this was sure to be the most extravagant party Nesta had ever been to, and that was saying something. She glanced around, checking that everything was ready, nothing could go wrong, everything was perfect, all she needed now was to calm her nerves and get on with it.

"Nesta?" Nesta whirled at the sound of Feyre's voice behind her, "Do you want a hand getting dressed?" Right, because she was supposed to already be dressed, had told Emerie that she was, even while she'd just been staring at the dress, nerves racing through her. She nodded,

"Thank you,"

"Come on," Feyre squeezed her hand gently, "Let the guys finish off here, everything's perfect, okay?"

"Okay," Nesta squeezed her eyes shut when Feyre winnowed them back to the River House, to the room she'd slept in last night, "I don't get the tradition of not being allowed to see him before the ceremony," she muttered,

"Honestly, me neither, but we don't want one of you to chicken out and you guys to end up mating beforehand, then to go to the ceremony with you both riled up with a new mating bond," Feyre chuckled, "Rhys was bad enough, but I dread to think what you two will be like,"

"Oh hush," Nesta muttered, "We're not that violent,"

"Not usually, but you never know," Feyre teased, "Dress, c'mon," Nesta nodded, turning her gaze back to the dress waiting for her, she gingerly took it from its stand, stepping behind the curtain to slip it on, but stepped back out to let Feyre help her with the clasps and ties at the back. She almost didn't want to look at the mirror, if she did, her nerves would catch up to her again, but Feyre offered a little encouraging smile,

"I think I'm gonna be sick," Nesta laughed, "I don't even know why,"

"You look stunning," Feyre breathed, "And that feeling's normal, I think," her sister was right, no matter what anyone could say, Nesta was beautiful, with the fitted bodice rising just above her breasts, cinched in the back to accentuate her figure, whorls of silver thread forming Illyrian runes across the bodice. Runes for luck, prosperity, love, Cassian might not be much of an artist, but she knew full well that he'd helped Feyre designing the dress, especially with the occasional rune for witchcraft, or more violent things having slipped past her sister's notice,

"You can't read Illyrian, can you?"

"No, Rhys has tried to teach me, but his particular style of teaching doesn't work so well with the runes, I know some, but not many, did I get one wrong?"

"No," Nesta laughed, "I'd just be surprised that you'd let Cass call me a witch on my wedding dress," Feyre flushed bright red,

"He what?"

"This one, it means witch,"

"It does not, he said that it meant loyalty," Nesta stifled another laugh,

"He lied, aww you believed him, he definitely lied to you about a few of these runes then, you should know better than to take his word at face value,"

"I did check with Azriel,"

"Oh he was probably in on it, knowing them, the idiots," she chuckled again, spinning around in front of the mirror, "I love it, and I would never have suggested he help if I didn't want something a bit less formal, it's not like anyone will be able to read the runes, it's just for us,"

"Right, sit," Nesta just about managed to lift the skirts of her gown before Feyre tugged her across to the chair waiting for her, mountains of cosmetics beside it, "I asked Elain what she thought would work, then Mor, and they're both wrong,"

"Is that so?"

"Mhhm," Feyre was hardly listening as she dusted something along Nesta's cheekbones, the tang of magic filling the air, "I'm just setting it in place, not even Cass can fuck this up later," Nesta snorted at that, but Feyre held her head still, "Stop it, you're going to make me mess up," she hissed just as the door opened,

"You told me you were already dressed!"

"I lied,"

"Shush, I can't do this if you keep moving," Nesta did fall silent, but held Emerie's disapproving gaze while Feyre finished, twisting her hair up onto her head in a knot of intricate braids, setting gemstones through it, Nesta had no words when Feyre span the chair around for Nesta to see her handiwork, those jewels caught the light, making her hair shine and glimmer as she moved. She almost couldn't believe the person who was staring back at her, she'd changed so much over the last year, the person staring back at her was beautiful, confident, tears formed in her eyes, "Nesta,"

"I'm okay, I just, it feels like some stupid dream and I'll wake up any minute back in that apartment," Feyre threw an arm around her shoulders,

"It's real, I promise it's real, enjoy it, Nesta, you've earned it," she glanced back at the female in the mirror, the way her eyes sparkled with life, her cheeks glowing with health, especially with the rouge that Feyre had dusted onto them. Feyre had painted her lips red, an almost sinful color, and she blushed at the thought of exactly what Cassian would be thinking when he saw her,

"There we go," Emerie laughed, "Dirty mind, she's fine,"

"Oh shush," Nesta laughed, but didn't deny it, "You're just as bad as I am,"

"While that may be true, I'm not the one about to get married." Married. She was about to get married, shit. She didn't know what she was doing. What if she tripped? What if she forgot her vows? What if she panicked and froze up? What if she embarrassed herself, embarrassed Cassian? "Deep breath," this time it was Emerie, "Still your mind," she did, closing her eyes, deep breath, deep breath, she was the rock against which the surf crashes, she was a Valkyrie, and she could not be broken, not by the Blood Rite, not by marriage. "Drink this," Emerie handed her a foul-smelling tonic of some sort,

"What is it?"

"Just an anti-sickness tonic, for your nerves, but you'll fine once you get there," Nesta wasn't so sure of that and downed it in one, the effect almost instant,

"Are you drugging her, Em?" Nesta almost spat it out at the sound of another voice, "Everything's ready, you look beautiful, Nesta," Azriel smiled as he spoke, "Cass won't know what's hit him,"

"Thank you," Nesta ran through the ceremony again in her mind, automatically finding everything that could go wrong, "Em, I'm gonna fuck up,"

"No you're not,"

"Easy for you to say, you've never done this,"

"I have," Feyre said, squeezing Nesta's shoulder, and Nesta almost winced at the memory that she hadn't bee there when Feyre and Rhys had had a proper ceremony, being too lost to her fears to care or even notice, "You'll be fine, Nesta," It's okay that you weren't there, you're her with us now, Nesta started at Feyre's voice in her mind, and she nodded, still not quite believing her, but if Feyre forgave her, she could start to forgive herself for everything she'd missed this last year. "Just ignore everyone, focus on Cass, okay?"

"Okay,"

"Step-by-step, walk up to him, let him say his vows, say your vows, exchange rings, food, kiss him, and walk back, you can do that,"

"Yeah, yeah I can do that, thank you, I'll be fine," she shot a grateful glance at Azriel as he offered her an arm, but she still squeezed her eyes shut when he winnowed them back to the temple, just outside the door,

"Ready?" Nesta took in one last breath and squeezed Azriel's arm,

"Yeah, and thank you,"

"For what?"

"This. Walking me down the aisle," she refused to allow herself to tear up at the thought that her father should be the one doing that,

"I'm honestly honored that you asked me,"

"There would be no-one else I would want to," she mumbled,

"Oh, so I'm the last resort, I see," Nesta chuckled when he finally stepped forwards, and was still laughing when they crossed into the temple. Everyone was there, everyone was watching her, but she remembered Feyre's words, gripping Azriel's arm tighter as she lifted her gaze to the end of the aisle, to Cassian. The moment she locked eyes with him, Nesta forgot to be scared, forgot that she was nervous, excitement taking over, and she lessened the vice-like grip on Azriel's arm, earning a soft chuckle. Each step took her closer to that dais, to Cassian. Each step took her closer to the first day of the rest of her life. Each step brought her closer to finally stepping out of the shadow of the war. Each step brought her closer to her mate.

At the top of the dais Azriel released her arm, and Nesta almost swayed on her feet, a sort of dizzy feeling washing over her at the prospect of saying the proper words, words that she had been waiting for longer than she'd care to admit to say. She clasped Cassian's hands in her own, holding on tight, reassuring herself that this was all real, that he was real. She hardly noticed the movement beside her until Rhys spoke,

"Nesta, do you come to this place of your own free will, with love in your heart to wed this male?"

"Yes," she breathed, "I do," she was still staring at Cassian and hardly registered the same question being asked of him, until he gently squeezed her fingers and started to speak,

"I, Cassian, swear to love, to cherish, and to protect you, when you actually need it," he added with a smirk, and Nesta had to hold back a fit of giggles, "I swear to love you through the best and worst the world can throw at us." With the official words said, he continued to add his own, "I never knew what was coming that day I first met you, Nes, when we arrived to ask for help, and I didn't find just a human woman, but an Illyrian without her wings, honestly I think I started falling right then, and kept falling with everything since. It didn't take long for me to figure out what you were to me, but long before that, I'd already decided that I wanted you, just you, mate or not, and I cannot thank the Cauldron enough that it saw fit to bless us with that bond." Nesta blinked tears out of her eyes, losing track of the murmurs around them, "You, Nesta, are everything I could have possibly dreamed of, and more besides, your courage, your strength, I don't know what I would have done without you at this point, I knew full well that I loved you when you refused to back down, when you made sure to protect your family from anything you thought was a threat, even me," Nesta let out a little chuckle at that,

"You didn't exactly correct me," she laughed,

"I'm not finished, Nes, it's your turn in a minute," she snorted, but allowed him to finish, "I have loved you through everything, but I never once believed that you could return that love and I promise, Nesta, that I will continue to love you until my last breath and beyond." Nesta couldn't stop the tears now flooding down her face, and thanked the Mother for Feyre's shield to protect her make-up from ruination. When he finished, she took a few breaths before beginning her own vows,

"I, Nesta Archeron, swear to love, to cherish, and protect you, because gods know you do need it." Nesta grinned at the mutterings among the few Illyrians chosen to represent their people at her changed vows, never 'obey', not for them, never for them, protect, yes, but never obey. "I swear to love you though the best and worst the world can throw at us." She grinned again when Cassian laughed, "I knew I loved you when I feared I might lose you, and I was so scared that you wouldn't want my love, that I didn't deserve yours, but thank the Cauldron that you reached me, I really don't know what I would have done this past year without you, and I love you more than I ever thought it was possible to love anyone. I promise to love you until my last breath and beyond, until this world is nothing but a forgotten whisper of dust between the stars, until whatever end, I will love you."

Nesta's vision was still blurred as Emerie stepped to her side, handing her a ring, its partner in Cassian's hand as Azriel stepped back. She let her tears fall as Cassian slipped the ring onto her finger, a beautiful red stone capturing the light, surrounded by seven smaller silver ones, the reverse true of the one she placed on Cassian's finger.

"The red stone is hewn form my siphons," he murmured, "So that I'll always be by your side, I had them made specially," Nesta had no words as she held his gaze,

"Now, Lord and Lady Archeron, I declare you husband and wife now-" Nesta couldn't wait any longer, surging towards Cassian and showing him how she felt in the only way she really knew how. Rhys sighed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, "Do that, I guess,"

"Sorry, Rhys," Cassian chuckled when he stepped back, keeping a hold of Nesta's right hand as they both turned to face Rhys, taking the twin biscuits offered by Feyre and Elain. Nesta had insisted on the biscuits, just for the look on Cassian's face when he realized what she'd made,

"Witch," he muttered,

"Brute," she responded, breaking off a bit of the biscuit to feed him, hoping desperately that it tasted alright, but relaxed when he fed her piece of the other one, it was okay, nothing like Elain's cooking, but it was hers, she'd made it, for him. Cassian held her gaze as Rhys cleared his throat, the black ribbon in his hands the final piece they needed, the last thing before they could be declared officially mated.

Nesta wasn't sure that her heart was beating as he tied it around their joined hands, grinning, even when he met Nesta's eyes. Her brother, that was what he was, even more now, and she smiled at him as Cassian swept her into his arms to carry her back down the aisle,

"I can walk," she laughed,

"I know, I want to carry you," he laughed,

"Oh really, husband,"

"Yes, wife, I wouldn't want you trip, it's bad luck you know," Nesta laughed again as Cassian stepped outside, the first day of the rest of their lives, that's exactly what this was, and she wasn't scared anymore.

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