thewriterofmanythings

[thewriterofmanythings]

Abiding at the Fields

The Field siblings hosting a Christmas celebration with some visitors. Written for ladylakebees on Tumblr for the 2023 ZE Secret Santa. Read also on A03 here.

“Clover, don’t you think that’s enough tinsel?”

Clover’s bright pink hair popped up from the box of Christmas decorations she had buried herself in.

“Ugh, you’re such a Scrooge, Light. Tinsel is the best Christmas decoration. I want this tree to sparkle and shimmer!”

“To the contrary,” Light said. “I’m sure that’s an admirable goal to have but I can’t help but wonder if you might have been more successful in that endeavor had you not started decorating the tree with only an hour to go before the party.”

Clover let out a huff before silently sticking her tongue out at her brother.

“Keep that up and a bird is going to make a nest on it,” Light said, not even bothering to turn his head in her direction.

“Don’t you have a quiche or something to check on?!?” Clover asked, brushing glitter off of her sweater.

“Indeed. I suppose I shall leave you too it.” Light carefully excused himself from the rocking chair he had been sitting in and made his way to the kitchen of the little townhouse the Field siblings shared.

Even having been around him for years, Clover was amazed at how self-sufficient her brother was. She regularly burned herself on pots and pans and had the scars to prove it, yet he was a perfect natural.

Shaking her head, she turned back to the large Christmas tree in front of her. It was her first time decorating for the holiday as their parents didn’t really celebrate, but she was determined to make it a good time for all involved. She and Light had gone to a specialty store a week ago and bought two large boxes of tinsel, ornaments, lights, and customized stockings. This resulted in the apartment looking as if Santa himself had barfed all over it, but it didn’t matter to Clover.

As she continued to place tinsel and ribbon around the tree, Clover got lost in thought making sure everything looked good-so much so that when a knock sounded at the door she nearly jumped a foot off the ground.

“I’ll get it!” she yelled to her brother who was still tinkering around in the kitchen. She raced to the door and took a peak through the peephole. On the other side was the strange woman she and her companions had picked up on the side of the road in Nevada. Instead of the Egyptian costume she had once worn, here she appeared to be in a cozy grey keyhole sweater and a black skirt.

Clover flung the door open. “Alice! You made it!”

The dark-haired woman let out a soft giggle. “Why of course, I couldn’t miss the party of the year now, could I?”

“Come in, come in!” Clover stepped to the side so Alice could enter. After closing the door behind her, she wrapped her in a big hug.

“I hope I’m not too early,” Alice said. She set down what looked like a wax-sealed wine bottle down then hung her purse on the hook next to the door.

“Not at all!” Light called from the kitchen.

Alice picked up the wine bottle and moved in his direction.

“Bonjour ma chérie! Comment vas-tu?” Light was particularly fond of Alice, not only because he felt she might be a good influence on his little sister but also because it gave him a chance to practice his French.

“Je vais bien, et vous?” she responded, pressing her cheek to his and making a kiss sound.

“Je vais très bien,” Light said, reciprocating the gesture.

“This is a lovely place you two have. Seems you’ve done quite well for yourself,” Alice commented, making her way to the living room.

“Anything’s better than being followed around by those lame bodyguards. Such a nuisance. Pretty sure that one bald guy was a pervert too,” Clover huffed.

“Well I’m glad things have worked out well for the both of you.” Alice smiled warmly. “Do you need any help with your tree?”

“Yes! Help me decorate Alice!” Clover jumped up and ran over to the open box on the floor. “Take these!” She thrust a small box of pink and blue ornaments towards her friend excitedly.

The two continued to work on the tree and chat while Light busied himself in the kitchen. After about 20 minutes, another knock sounded on the door, this one much deeper and heftier than when Alice had arrived.

“Clover?” Light called.

“Got it!” The girl yelled and ran for the door, nearly tripping over a string of ribbon spiraling down from the tree.

As Clover glanced through the peephole, she saw a small cluster of people-a tall, broad man, a shorter, younger man about Clover’s age, a middle aged woman and two girls also around Clover’s age that looked similar to each other and also the older woman.

“Hey guys! Merry Christmas!” Clover said as she threw the front door open.

“Clover!” One of the young girls squealed and threw her arms around Clover’s neck. Ennea had cut her hair into a short angled bob recently and was wearing a gray beanie, black leggings and a red and gray flannel, seemingly going for comfort over festivity.

“It’s so good to see you guys!” Clover said, moving on to the first girl’s twin and squeezing her tight. Nona had beautiful long black hair that was woven into an intricate braid with little red and green Christmas bells tied in to match her green silky dress and red sweater worn over the top of it, much more festive than her sister.

“My, Clover, life seems to be treating you well,” Lotus, or Hazuki as she was more commonly known, took her turn to give Clover a hug before stepping into the townhome. Hazuki was wearing a teal dress with a white coat and black strappy pumps. It wasn’t terribly cold outside but Clover couldn’t help but wonder if the lady was chilled at all.

“Even better now that you guys are here!”

Clover waved the big hulking man into the room. “Hey get in here ya big lug, you’re letting all the warm air out.”

Once it was free of his large orange blazer, Seven’s big hand landed on Clover’s head and tousled her hair, much to her chagrin. “Good to see ya too, brat.”

Finally all that was left outside was Junpei. He looked much more haggard than the last time Clover had seen him, with unkempt hair and dark circles under his eyes. It had taken a lot to get him to agree to come to the party, but seeing the dead look in his eyes she was more grateful than ever that Seven had basically threatened to kidnap him if he didn’t come on his own.

“Hey Junpei.”

“Hey Clover.”

After a moment of hesitation, she pulled him into a hug. It was a careful, delicate embrace. She was afraid if she squeezed too hard he would break into pieces in her hands. The smell of alcohol on his warm breath told her that he was doing even worse than she had thought. But then again, she couldn’t blame him. She knew exactly what losing someone that mattered so much to you felt like, and frankly drinking away your sorrows was a lot tamer than what she could imagine herself doing if things went too far.

“I’m really glad you could make it,” she said softly, receiving a faint squeeze from his arm in response.

As she led Junpei back into the heart of the house, Light was setting down the enormous fruit platter Hazuki and her daughters had brought. Alice was talking to Ennea and Nona while Seven and Hazuki settled into the couch.

“Junpei! What a delight to have you in our presence this fine Christmas Eve.” Light grinned at the dark haired man who had just arrived. If there was anything the Field siblings shared, it was their fondness for Junpei.

“Hey Sn-Light,” Junpei said.

Light’s face broke out into a lopsided grin that anyone who didn’t know him might assume meant he was being a smartass. “Please feel free to call me what feels comfortable to you.”

“Thanks, man,” Junpei nodded at him. He then settled down onto a love seat, wrapping his black leather jacket closer around him.

“Perfect timing everyone! Now that we’re all here, our food is ready. Please come eat your fill and enjoy a variety of cocktails and other drinks,” Light proudly announced to rest of the room.

“Light, could you please change the music??” Clover pleaded with her brother as their guests began to fill their plates in the kitchen.

“Why would that be? Do you not find Tchaikovsky a perfect accompaniment for a Christmas party?” Light asked with a quizzical expression on his face.

“Classical music is so lame for any party. Besides, I think some more classic Christmas spirit vibes would help cheer Junpei up.”

“Ah, I suppose you might be right. Fine, I will play something more cheerful.” Light disappeared into the other room before coming back with a new CD, which he promptly switched out in the player.

As more mainstream Christmas carols began to play in the background, the guests began to settle back into their seats in the living room with full glasses and plates. While they ate, they each recounted where life had taken them in the months since the event that had brought them altogether. Hazuki had scored a great programming job that she was proud of, while Ennea had followed in her mother’s footsteps and was studying computer science in college. Nona announced that she was taking courses in criminal psychology, which perked Alice’s ears up.

The two of them continued a private conversation as Seven informed the rest of the group that he and Junpei had been investigating “some freaky cult” that had ties to Hongou, and therefore the Kurashikis. Seven seemed optimistic about their chances of not only crushing the potentially dangerous group but also finding the perpetrators of the second Nonary Game. Clover could tell though that Junpei was uncomfortable with this line of discussion, his knuckles turning white around the beer he was nursing.

Apparently Light could tell as well without Clover needing to nudge him, because as soon as Seven was finished talking he stepped right in.

“Speaking of Mr. Hongou, I took the liberty of planning an extra activity for the night. I thought it could bring some catharsis to our particular cast of characters. If you’ll follow me.” With that, Light stood up and began making his way to the back door.

“What did you do??” Clover whispered, following close behind him.

“Oh you will see,” Light dismissed her.

As the group made their way into the small backyard that came with the town home, Light made his way over to a strange contraption that was facing the back wall. It was a vertical wooden square supported by two planks, one on each side connecting to another horizontal piece of wood attached to wheels at the ground. Light pulled it away from the wall and turned it to face the guests before opening the top piece of wood to reveal a dart board underneath-except this board was covered by something. As Light stepped out of the way, darts in hand, Clover let out a giggle.

“Oh you didn’t.” Hazuki let out a shocked gasp but the look in her eyes was one of glee.

“How did you even get that?” Nona asked.

“It’s public record, just like all mug shots are,” Light smirked. Plastered on top of the dart board was the mug shot of Gentarou Hongou, taken just hours after the second Nonary Game participants made their way back to civilization and explained their story.

“Now who would like to go first?” Light asked, extending his hand with the darts to the crowd.

“Shit, don’t mind if I do,” Seven said. He grabbed a dart from Light’s hand, squinted his right eye, stuck out his tongue and let the dart fly. It was a decent throw but still only hit the edge of the paper.

“Nice shot,” Alice said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Hey lady, I’m just gettin’ warmed up. Think you could do better?”

Without a word, Alice exchanged her eggnog for a dart and pushed the mountain of a man out of the way as best as she could. Clover watched as she straightened her posture and adjusted her arm. No one let out a breath for a few silent seconds, then Alice let the dart fly. It hit Hongou square in his mouth.

“Lucky shot,” Seven muttered under his breath, walking away and downing the rest of his beer.

“Damn Alice, didn’t know you were a darts champion,” Hazuki said.

“What can I say, my line of work has some unexpected benefits. Never hurts to be a well-rounded person,” Alice smiled.

“Who wants to go next?” Light asked, pulling the darts from the board.

Ennea and Nona both began clamoring for the next dart, but Clover wasn’t paying them any mind. She took a glance at Junpei, who had cracked the first smile she had seen all evening.

“Hey,” Clover said, sidling up to him and taking the available seat on the concrete bench he had perched himself on.

“Hey,” he said, not really looking at her.

“Are you doing okay, Junpei?”

A sigh. “Is that a trick question?”

“You know what I mean, you jerk.”

“Well, I’m not trapped in a sinking boat, or being axe-murdered or something so I guess in the grand scheme of things it could be worse.” Junpei took a swig of his beer as Ennea landed a dart on Hongou’s hair.

“You’re telling me,” Clover forced a chuckle in an attempt to lighten the mood. It landed flat.

“Thanks for the concern though.”

“Hey.” It came out more forceful than intended, but it worked-he turned to face her. “It’s going to be okay. You’ll find her. And in the meantime, you have us. That’s worth something, right?” She could feel tears starting to well up but she forced her face to remain determined.

Junpei’s face softened. “Yeah. That’s worth a lot of somethings.” She felt his hand find hers along the bench and give her a reassuring squeeze.

The two of them spent the rest of the night watching the others play darts, with Junpei eventually drifting off to sleep. He had rested his head on her shoulder, and she was scared to move lest she disturb the peaceful look that had finally found its way to his face. At some point Seven found a blanket and laid it over their shoulders, and Clover began to drift off to sleep too, her heart happy being surrounded by the ones she loved and the Christmas spirit.

#zero escape #clover field #light field #zero escape 999 #junpei tenmyouji #zecret santa #ladlylakebees

[thewriterofmanythings]

I have never fallen victim to substance

My lips have tasted no liquor,

No smoke has clouded my lungs

Nor has a needle ever been granted permission to pierce my skin.

And yet

When I see his face,

When he smiles and his eyes become suns

From an action of my own doing

My veins are filled with a million supernovas

Threatening to tear me into threads

And I finally understand

Why the addict needs his drug to live

"Addiction"-K.M.G.

#poetry #feelings #love #addiction #poets

[thewriterofmanythings]

The Monster Inside of Me

Day 7 of Widojest Week-”Are you secretly in love with me?” or Zone of Truth “Are you secretly in love with me?” she asks, and the weight of that question rests heavy upon him. 

An angsty and abstract short fic for the final day of Widojest Week. You can also find this on AO3. Thanks so much for reading this, and as always so much appreciation to @3fling for the support and feedback through this week and always. Here’s to Jester and Caleb!

“Are you secretly in love with me?” Jester Lavorre asks, and Caleb Widogast is too shocked, too afraid to answer. He’s known for some time deep down that he is in love, but having the words spoken aloud is a different beast entirely. It’s terrifying, the size of his feelings for her. The monster gnashes its teeth even when he isn’t looking, and the claws rake across its own skin in an attempt to destroy itself. But the hide is impenetrable and he knows he will be forced to live in this dark space with the monster until he finds a way to crush it, to rid himself of it for good.

For now, the monster only hurts him, but he knows if the beast gets loose it will hurt others. He’s seen it before; as much as he cares for the Mighty Nein he knows what he is capable of and has vowed to himself never to let that happen again. Jester, and everyone else, is safer if he keeps his distance. Fire burns everything it touches.

“Are you secretly in love with me?” she asks, and instead of saying yes or no, he answers by showing her. He knows he shouldn’t feed the monster, that will only let it grow, but she’s right there, her bright blue eyes looking up at him with admiration and mischief twinkling and he just can’t tell her no. In battles he watches out for her as best he can, though she is often the one rescuing him. At night he makes sure she gets enough rest, sometimes volunteering to take watch so she can sleep the night through. 

She voices her concerns about her mother, how she is worried she won’t be safe or that she’s lonely, and he does his best to comfort her. Reassuring Jester seems like it isn’t hard; she puts on a good face for others and acts like things don’t bother her. But just as Jester can break through his icy exterior and make him laugh, he too can see past her front and tell how much she is hurting inside. So he encourages her best as he can, giving her a shoulder to cry on when she needs it and whispering positive happy thoughts into her ears as she drifts off to sleep.

“You are sweet on him, ya?” he asks her one day, and the monster rears out in full force. He knows she has feelings for Fjord; even when she is unsure of her answers it seems to be a given and he only does it to ask the monster to hurt him, in hopes if it draws blood it might finally be satisfied and go away. She deserves someone like Fjord, a better man, a good leader, someone who hasn’t killed everyone he loves. It’s not jealousy, exactly; the monster bears different names and none of them are flattering.

She confides in him and Beau that maybe she’s just in love with the idea of Fjord, but he watches how the two of them interact and he knows there’s something there, lurking underneath the surface. Sure they save each other, but she’s saved you too, he can’t help but think to himself. Some part of his soul refuses to let the spark in his heart die, holding on to the hope one day they will be in a safe happy place, and he will be healed and be deserving of love again.

“Do you like my painting?” she asks, and how could he not? No matter the medium or the canvas Jester is an artist. She puts her soul into her work and every little piece contains a fragment of her heart. He wants to collect them all, to hold them close to him in hopes of clinging to her light in the dark cell he has made for himself.

He traces the flowers along the wall of the house, reveling in the blue color that matches her eyes. How can something so beautiful and pure exist in this cruel world, the same world that shaped me, he wonders. She giggles at his transfixed expression and the laugh rings through his heart.

“Are you secretly in love with me?” she asks.

“Ah, but what if you are secretly in love with me?” He dares to reflect the question back to her. It’s foolish, he’s just asking for another swipe from the monster, but the words are out of his mouth before he has time to think. They’re sitting there, enjoying the sunrise for the first time since they allied with the Krynn Dynasty, and Caleb has to ruin the moment. He winces, knowing what’s to come.

“Of course I am, silly.” She looks down into her mug of cocoa, refusing to meet his gaze. “I can’t believe you had to ask.”

There’s a chuckle, and she wraps the blanket a little tighter around her. It’s quiet, save for the chirping of birds, and the silence lingers for a moment between them. He’s numb from shock, fear and awe. For the first time in months the monster inside him is stunned; it doesn’t know how to lash out to this, how to use this to hurt him.

His hand, resting on the railing of their inn’s balcony, feels a weight on top of it, and he looks down to see her hand. Her fingers intertwine with his, and the sudden warmth of her compassion overwhelms him. “Jester, you don’t-”

She pulls him around to face her and before he can stop her, she’s planted her lips on his. It’s a soft, simple kiss, but it’s enough to stop his protests. As she pulls away she buries her face in his chest and wraps her arms around him.

It takes him a minute to adjust to her presence, but he settles into her, resting his chin on her head and holding her in his arms. The two of them stay there as the sun rises, quiet and unmoving. The monster inside Caleb has transformed, and whatever its name is now he has plenty of time to figure it out. For this morning though, he allows himself to just enjoy her presence, drinking in her face, her smell, her soul.

#widojestweek #widojest #critical role #jester lavorre #caleb widogast

[thewriterofmanythings]

Fire Escape

Day 6 of Widojest Week-Fire and Ice

Caleb tests his limits as he braves fire to rescue Jester.

Thanks so much for reading! You can read this and my other Widojest works on AO3 as well. This was such a hard prompt to work with but I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Major thanks to @3fling as always for not only being so supportive but again for helping with the plot.

Caleb was transfixed by the sight of fire. It was the source of his pain, but it was also his greatest strength. He had saved his new family dozens of time with fire spells, that was true, yet every person killed was just another body added to his pile of regrets. In the months since he had known the Mighty Nein, his mind had slowly become calloused to the deaths he had caused through fire. Still he found himself sometimes coming to in the midst of battle, surrounded by scorched bodies and flames.

This time it was worse.

“Caleb! Caleb, snap out of it!”

As his mind came back from the brink, he found himself facing a wall of fire. His cheek stung from where his goblin friend had slapped him in an attempt to pull him back to reality. 

“Caleb, we have to get out of here! The mine is going to collapse!” Nott’s hand was pulling on his jacket frantically.

Glancing around, the wizard saw his party standing behind him. Beau’s face was bloody and bruised, Fjord was nursing a bloody spot on his torso, and Caduceus’s hair was singed. Nott seemed stressed but no worse for the ware and Jester-

Caleb’s head whipped around, searching for a sea of blue among the orange. “Nott, what has happened to Jester??”

A cough answered him from across the tunnel. “Caleb! I’m over here!” Jester’s voice was small, her lungs filled with smoke. He could barely see her, hunched low to the ground to preserve oxygen.

“Jester, stay right there!” Caleb did his best to keep panic from leaking into his voice. This was all his fault; if he had control of his trauma his powers wouldn’t have run rampant. Now Jester was trapped and she could die, all because of him. He couldn’t allow that to happen.

“What are you doing, Caleb? Be careful!” Nott yelled as he marched headlong into the fire. He could feel the flames lick at his clothes, his skin, his hair, but none of it mattered. Jester was past the flames, Jester was in danger, Jester could die…

As he charged forward he thought about all the times she had made him laugh, broken through his shell of trauma and self-pity. He had always valued her but it dawned on him now that he had never really told her how much he valued her. The determination to see her again, to show her how grateful he was propelled him to jump through the last wall of fire, landing on the side where Jester was trapped.

The tiefling wasn’t just sitting on the ground. Her right leg was trapped underneath a piece of the mineshaft. Her freckles had mixed with soot and dirt. Somewhere in the battle she had been hit on the head; her hair was matted with blood and her left eye was closed. She looked far worse than Caleb had ever seen her and his heart sank knowing he had helped put her in this position.

“Jester, I am so sorry,” he said moving over to her. He quickly evaluated the rock pinning Jester to the ground. I am going to lift this on the count of drei, and you can pull your leg out. Ready?” She nodded, and he steadied himself with his hands firmly planted around the rock. “Eins, zwei, drei!”

Caleb was not known for his strength, but he summoned every ounce of willpower in his body and lifted the rock just enough to allow Jester to remove her leg. He immediately dropped the rock and began to help her up.

“Sehr gut. Can you walk?”

Jester tried to put pressure on her leg and almost collapsed within a second. Caleb caught her, one hand around her waist. He began to reevaluate where they were, trying to find the quickest back to the rest of the Nein waiting for them on the other side.

“Jester, we need to get out of here right now, but I need your help.”

Jester nodded solemnly, trying not to wince.“What do you need me to do?”

“You are an ice tiefling ya? I will take you through but I need you to use your special ability to help shield us, or the two of us will be burned. Do you understand?”

She nodded, leaning further into Caleb. His heart sank at the sight of her so beaten up but he forced himself to swallow the feelings in the spirit of survival. He allowed her to sink into him, pulling her arm around his shoulders and lifting as much of her weight with his arm as he could. Then with a nod he took off running through the fire.

It had been a long time since he had lifted the weight of another humanoid. He remembered faintly the days when he had danced with Astrid, picking her up and spinning her around. Those days were long gone, the muscle only starting to return. It was determination that propelled him now, through the fire with Jester at his side-determination and fear that he would lose the person that he only now dared to admit to himself he cared for most in the world.

As he ran forward, he felt the immense heat rise up around them and glanced at Jester. She was clearly in immense pain, battered and bruised while trying to dodge through fire and the bodies of their enemies. He could see her attempting to concentrate but the flames weren’t making it easy.

Just as Caleb began to think he might need to formulate another plan, Jester yelled out a string of infernal syllables unlike anything Caleb had heard before. Shards of ice began to form around her, immediately melting from the heat of the flame and soaking their clothes. It wasn’t enough to stop the fire, but it was enough of a window to save them.

“Almost there, Blueberry.” Another round of ice shards burst forth and Caleb saw that last wall of flame flicker. With a renewed burst of strength, he picked Jester up and ran the last few feet through the fire, barely dodging a support beam that fell right where they had been standing moments before.

“Come on Caleb, we have to leave!” Nott pointed up at the roof of the mineshaft that was beginning to fall apart around them. Pieces of wood and rock were tumbling to the ground and if they didn’t start running right now the Mighty Nein would be no more.

Beau had moved over to where the two of them were leaning against the wall. “I got Jess, just come on.” She picked the weak Jester up, looping her arms around shoulder and hiking her legs around her waist like a satchel. Her strength and speed allowed her to shoot ahead even while carrying another person. 

With seconds to spare the last of the group made it out of the mine shaft, falling to the grass in relief as the tunnel collapsed right behind them. Beau set Jester down before throwing herself face down in the grass. No one moved, no one spoke; whether it was out of relief, adrenaline or fear Caleb wasn’t sure. He said a prayer of thanks to the Traveler, the Wild Mother, the Storm Lord, the Moon Weaver and every other deity he could think of.

Splayed out on the grass, he felt a hand reach over to his. He tilted his head to see Jester, curled up with her eyes closed from exhaustion. She seemed barely conscious but he heard in the faintest whisper “Thank you, Caleb.”

He softly squeezed her hand, whispering back to her “I would never let anything happen to you Jester.” His voice was so soft, weighted with choked back tears and leftover panic he was worried she didn’t hear him, but after a moment he felt a squeeze back and her hand remained in his as she drifted off to sleep.

#widojestweek #widojest #caleb widogast #jester lavorre #critical role

[thewriterofmanythings]

And They Were Roommates

Day 5 of Widojest Week-There’s only one bed, or Alternate Universe

Nott and Yeza's apartment is undergoing renovations, and the cute foreign grad student Jester has been crushing on needs a place to stay. What could go wrong? Super happy with this fic. You can also read it on AO3. As usual big shoutout to @3fling for all the love and support, especially this time because I wouldn’t even have a plot for this otherwise!

Working at the local coffee shop had a lot of benefits. Free coffee of course, free pastries at the end of the night, listening to whatever music the employees wanted, and the flexible hours that worked with her school schedule.

The cute redhead grad student that came in everyday was definitely a plus too.

Jester had been working at Cool Beans for four years and had seen all manner of people come through the door. As a college town it wasn’t a surprise; people came from all over and stayed a few months to a few years while they studied. Some of those people stayed but most left to go back to wherever they came from or even off to new places. Jester herself dreamed of leaving one day, venturing out into the world and discovering what was out there. But for now she was here, working towards an art degree and making the best of her situation.

The redheaded grad student was a foreigner from Germany. He spoke excellent English though his accent was a bit tough to understand at times, especially if he ever got frustrated. His name was Caleb and he had come all the way from his home country to join one of the world’s best linguistics programs. He came in every day at exactly one p.m., ordered a sandwich and an americano with an extra shot of espresso, and sat down to study for two hours before neatly cleaning his table and heading out.

Jester enjoyed people watching, trying to analyze people from the way they walk, the things they did, how they interacted with other people. Even before she had a full conversation with Caleb she noticed he was quiet, polite, and had a dry sense of humor. His wardrobe was full of earthy tones, lots of boots and plain button up shirts, adding in jackets, scarves and hats when the weather began to turn cold. On the rare occasion he came in when it didn’t seem he was studying he still carried a simple black leather notebook. He often pulled the top part of his shoulder length hair into a sort of bun, exposing the pen he regularly kept behind his right ear. Ink marks and scratches along his hand indicated he did a lot of writing and, Jester would guess, he owned a cat.

Of course, it wasn’t all just staring from a distance. Jester had begun to build a friendship with Caleb thanks to a strange change of relationships. Most often at the shop Jester shared her shift with Clay and Molly; the three of them made a trifecta of hair colors and piercings that gave the warm shop an unexpected punk vibe. Clay was a gardener of sorts and had made friends with Yeza and Nott, the lovely couple whom Caleb was staying with during his time in the States. Molly was in a band with two women named Beau and Yasha and the group usually played in a newer dive bar downtown on Saturday nights. Jester and Clay went every week to support their friend, and one day while picking up a new plant Clay had told Yeza about the shows. Knowing it was unhealthy for Caleb to spend all his time in the house studying, Nott and Yeza had immediately booked a recurring sitter for their young son and dragged Caleb down to the bar to hang out with others. The eight of them had begun to get closer, but Jester still found it difficult at times to put herself out there and really engage with Caleb.

Today however was Jester’s lucky day.

“Caleb!” The small bell chimed through the coffee shop as Nott slipped in, shutting the door quickly to keep the cold wind from freezing the customers out. The woman was on the shorter side but no one ever noticed because her personality more than made up for it. Her sense of humor among the friend group was unrivaled and she could easily drink them all under the table.

“Ya Nott, is everything all right?” Caleb looked up from his laptop where he had been hyper focused on a paper. His brow was furrowed with a mix of worry and confusion.

Jester busied herself with straightening the pastry display, which was conveniently close to Caleb’s table. She could be particularly nosy at times due to her curious nature, but now she mostly wanted to make sure everything was okay with Nott’s family.

“I’m all right Caleb, but I’m afraid I do have some bad news. The renovation plans have been moved up by two whole weeks!”

“Oh, that means…” Caleb’s voice trailed off, his face turning into a frown.

“Yeah exactly! Yeza’s mom said she can take Luke, and we have another friend we can stay with, but she only has one extra room.”

“I see. So I suppose I will need to find a place to stay in the meantime since Clay will not be back until the end of the month.”

“I’m really sorry about that Caleb! I’ll help you look, surely we can find something soon. Maybe you can stay with Beau or something?”

“He can stay with me!”

Jester fought the urge to clasp her hands over her mouth. Wow, smooth move Jester. Inviting your little crush to live with you? There’s no way this is gonna go well, she thought to herself. She hadn’t even stopped to consider the ramifications of what she had volunteered for.

Something glinted behind Nott’s eyes and she nodded her head frantically. “Yes! Yes that would be perfect! You’re just the best Jester.”

“Oh, I… I would hate to impose, Jester, that’s very kind of you…” Caleb stuttered, his hands nervously fidgeting with his scarf.

“I think it sounds like the perfect plan.” Molly emerged from the back room where he had apparently been listening to the whole conversation. “Jessie might bring you out of your shell, Mr. Caleb, and Jester, well…. You could learn some tidiness habits perhaps.”

What a wingman, Jester thought, rolling her eyes at her purple-haired friend. He smirked, twirling around and walking to the register to help another customer who had walked in.

“Don’t you have a dog? I do not know if my cat would like that.”

“Oh that’s okay! Nugget doesn’t mind cats, he won’t bother Frumpkin!” Jester smiled at Caleb, trying her hardest not to blush.

“Well, I suppose it would be the best offer I could get on such sort notice.”

Nott beamed at the two of them. “Sounds like it’s settled then! I’ll help you pack up Caleb and we’ll be right over!”

***

“Soooo, this is my apartment. It’s nothing crazy you know, but it’s nice and has a good view and a lot of spaaace….”

Jester could feel herself beginning to ramble as she opened the door to her studio apartment. It was extremely nice for college student standards; her mother wanted her to be comfortable so she paid for Jester’s rent, but she also wanted her daughter to learn the value of hard work, meaning Jester was responsible for her own tuition and school supplies, as well as any other necessities. All things considered it was a pretty nice arrangement.

The living room was a nice open space with a gorgeous window overlooking downtown. The kitchen and living room were decorating in bright colors with unique art sculptures spaced around. In the center of the open area close to the window sat a large easel displaying a half finished painting. A number of half-dead attempts at plant keeping were littered about the area as well.

“You have a very nice place, Jester.” Caleb was huffing a bit as he carried in a large box of his belongings. Jester herself had Frumpkin’s cat carrier and a bag of cat supplies. There was still a fair amount of stuff to bring in but this was a good start.

“So I don’t have a second room but the couch is a fold out and it’s totally comfy.” Jester sat Frumpkin’s carrier down and unlatched the door. “Here, kitty kitty kitty!”

After a second Frumpkin lazily made his way out, beginning to inspect the strange new space. The two of them watched as he began to sniff the couch, marking the edge with his scent glands.

“You are an artist?” Caleb asked, gesturing toward the easel.

“I do! I’m an art major but I don’t get to do a lot of painting stuff at my level so I like to practice it here.”

“I look forward to seeing you work.”

Jester tried not to let Caleb see her blush as she began to help him unpack. The rest of the day was spent moving boxes to make sure everything was out of Nott and Yeza’s apartment in time for the renovators to begin their work, taking only a small break for Chinese food. The conversation was timid at first, the two of them dancing around each other the way acquaintances interact at a party when their mutual friend goes to visit the bathroom. But by the end of the night the two had sunk into a comfortable rhythm. As Jester went to sleep that night, she played over the day’s event in her head, giggling every time she thought about how she had made Caleb laugh. If she didn’t have a crush before, she was certainly deep in one now.

***

“Jester, look out!”

Caleb’s frantic voice came from inside Jester’s room. It had been a week since Caleb had moved in, and Frumpkin and Nugget hadn’t gotten along as well as Jester had assured him they would. He had spent the last hour trying to coax his cat out from under her bed and it seemed like the persuasion had taken a turn for the worse.

Jester glanced over from her position at the easel. She was enjoying her Saturday morning routine of hot tea and painting, listening to Regina Spektor ring out through the apartment via her wireless speaker. Her trance like state was broken as she saw Frumpkin shoot down the hallway, followed by Nugget’s large body. The cat turned sharply, but the poor dog was caught unaware and his attempt to switch directions was nowhere near as smooth, throwing himself right into Jester’s easel. Thanks to Caleb’s warning however, she was able to stabilize the workspace, only losing a bit of her paint to the tarp underfoot in the process.

Caleb ran out, his red hair a frazzled halo around his head. He frantically darted into the kitchen, trying to corner Frumpkin around the island, but the cat was wise and jumped up onto the counter, knocking over one of Jester’s plants in the process.

Catching wind of what Caleb was trying to do, Jester ran to try to intercept him, but the cat was too fast and she ended up tripping over Nugget instead. She braced herself for a fall onto the hardwood floor, but felt hands attempt to catch her. Unfortunately in his rush to help, Caleb himself was off balance, sending both of them tumbling to the floor.

Jester felt her face redden at being so close to Caleb. She could feel his breath on her face and his eyes were just inches away from her own. Her mind scrambled to think of something to say, an apology or excuse or anything, but her brain was short-circuiting.

“Paint,” Caleb said, pulling her out of her panicked haze.

“Wh-what?”

“Sorry, you uh, you have paint on your cheek.” 

She felt Caleb’s thumb rest on her cheek, gently wiping away a fleck of color. He still lay there though, holding her in his arms, inches from her face. She knew she ought to pull herself away, get up and clear her head, but she had to admit there was no place else she would rather be. “Thank you,” she said, barely daring to whisper.

“Your freckles are quite beautiful.” Caleb spoke breathlessly, his thumb still stroking her cheek softly. His eyes seemed transfixed, glancing over every bit of Jester’s face. She could feel his heart beat underneath her hand.

It’s now or never Jester, said the voice in the back of her head, and before she realized what she was doing she had closed the distance between him. Her lips touched his, quickly and softly before backing away. “I’m sorry Caleb, I don’t know why-”

Her voice was silenced by the sudden presence of Caleb’s lips on hers. He had kissed her back, but his held intent. Something about him was hungry, as if he had been waiting for this for months and he was going to enjoy every moment of it. She moaned into his mouth as her tongue slipped into hers and she moved her hand to the back of his head, intertwining her fingers through his hair.

Caleb suddenly moved away and Jester moved after him, craving more before realizing he had something to say. “I did not know this was a perk,” he said, chuckling lightly before kissing her again.

Jester in turn pulled away, laughing as well. “Only for really special roommates.”

***

“Caleb, the rennovaters are all done! You can move back in whenever you want to!”

Nott’s voice came across loud through the phone speaker, forcing Caleb to turn the volume down. It was seven in the morning and the sun was barely beginning to peek through the window of his apartment. He looked down at the woman next to him, still asleep with her blue hair splayed out across the bedsheets.

“Thank you Nott, but I don’t think that will be necessary for now.”

“Really?”

“Ya. I think things have worked out just fine.”

#widojestweek #widojest #jester lavorre #caleb widogast #critical role

[thewriterofmanythings]

Happy Endings

Day 4 of Widojest Week- Fairytale

Jester wants all her friends to find happy endings but confides in Caleb that she worries it might not be possible.

Probably the shortest of my works, at least for now. You can also read it on AO3. Thanks again to @3fling for the amazing support and friendship!

“Caleb, do you think fairytales are real?”

The camp was quiet, all of the Mighty Nein resting underneath Caleb’s dome. Jester and Caleb had taken the last watch for the night as they made their way through the woods. It had been a quiet couple of hours so far, only the occasionally rustle from the nearby trees as nocturnal animals hunted their prey. Caleb had spent his time practicing some of the somatic components of his spells while Jester had been focused on a book she had picked up in the last town, taking the time to doodle in the margins of the pages here and there.

“I do not know Jester. I think most stories do have a basis in reality, ya. So perhaps what you are reading is at least partially true.”

“No, I mean…” Jester paused here, sticking her tongue out and concentrating on one specific part of the doodle in the corner of the page. “Like all these fairytales are really similar. They have someone who has to face a great evil and then they outwit the person or the monster, and then there’s usually like a kiss or something at the end and everything ends up happily ever after, you know.”

Caleb let the silence linger, mulling over what Jester was trying to ask. The tiefling sat next to him, unmoving except for the corner of the page she was gently rubbing between her thumb and index finger. There was no tension, but the silence felt weighted, like an anchor starting to sink into the undiscovered depths of the ocean.

“I guess what I’m trying to ask Caleb is… do you think things will really turn out okay? Do you think we’ll all get to have a happy ending?”

Jester wasn’t looking at him, but he could tell how seriously she was contemplating the question. Caleb knew if she refused to make eye contact with someone she was trying to hide how much she was feeling, especially when she was in pain. Her head was tilted to strategically allow her hair to shield her eyes.

“Well Jester, that is a complicated question to be sure. I do not know if I have an answer…” He stared at her, trying to come up with an answer that wouldn’t break her heart. Despite how she sometimes presented herself to the world, deep down Jester was inexperienced. He hated the word naive; Jester knew about a lot of things naive people didn’t, but she hadn’t actually experienced so much of life due to her mother’s agoraphobia and desire to protect her daughter. Every day on her journey with the Mighty Nein Jester learned a little bit more, lost a bit more of her cheeriness. But she tried so hard to never lose her smile, to not let what was happening around them dampen her spirit, and Caleb adored that about her.

“Molly didn’t get a happy ending.”

The words cut like a knife across Caleb’s heart. He knew how hard Mollymauk’s death had hit Jester; if only she had been there, if only she had had a diamond, maybe he would still be here with them. Their brother in arms, her fellow tiefling, killed while trying to save Jester and the others and she never even got to say goodbye. Time had begun to heal Caleb’s wounds, but the scars on Jester’s heart were still fresh.

“Ya, Mollymauk did not get his happy ending…” Caleb paused, choosing the next words carefully. “But he died a hero. He was trying to save you, and Fjord and Yasha. Sometimes in fairytales heroes have tooooo, uh, sacrifice things for what they believe in.”

“But he died because of me. What if that makes me the bad guy?”

Caleb’s mind reeled from the words coming out of Jester’s mouth. The thought that this woman, the heart and soul of the entire Mighty Nein, could even consider herself a villain in someone’s story was outlandish.

“Jester, what are you even talking about?”

The tiefling sighed, setting the book down in her lap but still looking straight ahead. “I just want everyone to get a happy ending Caleb. I don’t want to get in the way of anyone’s fairytale.”

“Jester, I…” Caleb could feel tears welling up in his eyes and a raging fire began to burn in his chest. He wanted to burn the world that had made her feel this way, force it to be sorry for breaking her spirit and give back all the hope it had taken from her. But he knew Jester would never want that, would never be okay with it, so he took a deep breath and waited before finishing his answer.

“Jester, you will never get in the way of anyone’s fairytale. I know you blame yourself for Mollymauk’s death but he would never have wanted you to think that way. None of us could ever think of you that way either.” He paused again, contemplating the possible gestures of physical comfort he could express before settling on a hand resting gently on her wrist. “I cannot promise you that we will all find our fairytale ending, but I can assure you that none of us will ever blame you for it. It is up to each of us to be the hero of our own story, ya?”

“Thank you Caleb,” Jester said. She was silent for a moment, and Caleb thought he had made things worse, but then she dropped her book into her lap and rested her head on his shoulder.

“I hope you find your happy ending, Caleb.”

Caleb gently tilted his head to the side until it was gently resting against Jester. He wanted to tell her so badly what he had imagined a million times-his happy ending was with her, the two of them together, eating pastries and reading books on a rainy day. But he knew he could never tell her that. Instead he would enjoy this precious moment here in their little corner of the world, just existing with her so close to him, a little glimpse of his fairytale.

#widojestweek #widojest #critical role #caleb widogast #jester lavorre

[thewriterofmanythings]

Undercover

Day 3 of Widojest Week-Kissing as a Distraction or Mischief

The Mighty Nein are under hire to retrieve an item from a merchant. Jester and Caleb must go undercover to try to extract it, but the nature of the mission forces them to confront how they see each other.

Once again I kind of went a little wild with this prompt. It’s loosely based on the season 2 finale of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Also this is the longest non-multi-chapter thing I’ve ever written which is kind of wild. You can also read this on AO3. Once again the ever-lovely @3fling deserves all the love for the help and support. Please enjoy!

“Caleb, you should stop bouncing your leg. Everything is going to be fine, okay?”

In the history of the Mighty Nein’s plans, this was definitely low on the list for “Most Likely to Succeed”.  Caleb would be the first to admit though that he didn’t have a better one, so undercover date night it was.

When they had been assigned the mission of retrieving a special magic item from a merchant, it had seemed fairly simple. After two weeks of reconnaissance however, it quickly became clear that if they wanted to nab the item they were going to have to get personal fast, since the merchant would be leaving the Empire any day now.

Thanks to some clever strategy and a few dramatics, Nott and Yeza had managed to figure out that the merchant was planning on celebrating his last day in the city by dining at the fanciest restaurant this side of the border. Although the Mighty Nein hadn’t been able to pin down the exact drop off point, they knew he hadn’t yet gotten the item to its buyer meaning this would be their last chance to retrieve it without being forced to leave the Empire.

Thus the idea was born that they would sneak into the restaurant, try to get some information from the merchant, and attempt to follow him as he moved to the drop off point. There they could sneak away with the item before the other person arrived.

What it came down to next was the execution. The restaurant was known for catering mostly to couples, so it needed to be two of them, no more and no less. Beau had originally volunteered, but was quickly shot down after the group reminded her that looking human was not a benefit in this case. Shifting appearances would once again be helpful, but that left four contenders. After nearly an hour of arguing, the group voted in favor of Jester and Caleb. The two of them could shapeshift if needed and had the widest range of spells between the two of them on top of that. The others would be waiting in a rented carriage outside the restaurant, allowing Caleb and Nott to communicate if needed.

With all things settled, nothing was left but to do it. Jester hadn’t changed much of her appearance; as a tiefling she was already well off but she did lengthen her horns and change her hair to a long black elegant hairdo, making her a little less conspicuous. Caleb on the other hand needed to change quite a bit. He had modeled his new look after their Kryn friends, turning his skin dark and his eyes and hair a silvery-white. His normal brown clothes became freshly pressed black robes with silver trim to match the dress Jester had chosen. They were as ready as they were going to be for this mission.

“Ya, sorry Jester,” he said. He forced himself to stay still for a moment, letting the soft lamplights of the city streets wash over him as they made their way to the restaurant. “This will go well.”

“It better!” Nott’s muffled voice came from underneath the blanket in the floor of the carriage. Fjord had disguised himself to look appropriate as the carriage driver and Beau, Caduceus, and Yasha and secreted themselves at different points near the restaurant to make sure they could jump out at a moment’s notice, but Nott was on carriage duty. To avoid anyone peeking in and seeing her, she had brought a dark blanket to cover herself with, though she was prepared to use her invisibility if necessary.

“Nott, you worry too much. Caleb is like an honorary detective so we’ll crack the case in no time.” Jester smiled at Caleb, scrunching up her nose in a display of utter optimism.

Caleb felt his heart flutter and had to force himself not to begin his leg jittering again. To tell the truth, he was less nervous about the prospects of the job rather than he was spending the evening virtually alone with Jester. Even if it was all a ploy, they were technically going on a date. And the way her long hair framed her face, the silver of her dress complimented her soft blue freckled skin…. It was all too much for Caleb. He turned his head to stare out the window, to look at anything but Jester. “We are approaching the restaurant.”

“Remember the plan!” came from under the blanket. Jester tapped her foot gently on the floor to indicate she heard Nott as the carriage slowed down.

A half-orc gentleman walked up to the carriage window, dressed in elegant gold and purple robes. “Reservation?” he asked, with a smug smile.

Carefully, Caleb handed over the piece of paper that would give them access to the building. It felt much heavier to him then it actually was; the Mighty Nein had been forced to promise more than one favor in order to get not only a reservation at all but specifically a reservation for the table next to the merchant.

The host gave the document a heavy glance over, taking his time verifying its authenticity. With every passing second Caleb felt his body wanting to tense up more and more; as far as all of the Mighty Nein knew the paper was legitimate but there was always a possibility the party had been double crossed.

Finally the host returned the paper to Caleb’s hand. “We are pleased to welcome you to The Lagoon, Sir Phillip and Lady Fiona.” He opened the door of the carriage and stepped to the side to allow them to exit. “Enjoy your evening and do let us know if there is anything we can do for you during your time with us.”

Caleb stepped down from the carriage and turned around to offer Jester his hand. For a moment as she grasped his arm, Caleb’s mind drifted off to another world, one where this wasn’t a cover scheme, where he was able to take Jester out on a fancy dinner and enjoy her company, listening to her observations of the world and enjoying how she made him laugh. It was a dream world in every possible way but it was for a fleeting moment real to him and he savored the fleeting taste of it on his tongue, tucking away the reverie for another more appropriate time. Wallowing in self-pity and loneliness wasn’t going to help anyone on this mission.

As the host closed the door Caleb saw Nott’s tiny hand peek out from the blanket and tap the floor of the carriage three times to indicate they were proceeding with their indicated part of the plan. He sent a silent prayer out to the Traveler, the Wildmother and the Stormlord to protect the rest of the group as he and Jester walked up the steps to the entrance of the lavish restaurant.

Jester and Caleb had been told that the restaurant was incredibly expensive and therefore decorated to reflect this, but it surpassed both of their wildest expectations. Jester let a small gasp escape her as they stepped through the gilded doors into the enormous room before them. Directly in the center of the room was a tiered marble fountain, pouring water from the jar of an operatic elven figure perched on top. Gorgeous chandeliers made with glass, gold and gems hung from the ceiling, casting colored candle light across the expanse of the room. Tables were spaced evenly enough to allow each party their own comfortable area, and set upon each were crystalline wine glasses, napkins folded into the shape of swans and far too many gilded utensils than one person could reasonably use within a meal. Each step they took as they approached the second host echoed slightly, the heeled shoes clacking against the exquisite marbled floor.

“Good evening Master Phillip, Mistress Fiona.” A tall grey-skinned tiefling with golden eyes and long spiraling horns adorned with jewelry greeted them, her slender fingers beckoning them inside. “Your table is directly this way.”

The hostess brought them into the center of the room and indicated they should sit at a small table with two plush velvet chairs. Caleb pulled out Jester’s chair for her, tapping her lightly on her left side to make sure she had seen the table next to them. Their target for the evening, Augustine himself, was right here in their grasp.

“Are we celebrating anything tonight?” the hostess asked, circling the table to block their view of the merchant. Caleb immediately tensed up-they hadn’t gotten as far as thinking of an excuse for why they had come.

“Ya, we are… um, we are certainly celebrating a thing. It’s….”

Jester reached across the table and put her hand on Caleb’s, stopping his flustered muttering. “We’re engaged!” Jester gave an enormous smile to the hostess. “It was so beautiful, you really should have been there. We were on a hill and there were so many stars and I was in this beautiful red dress with all these bows that matched my hair and-”

“Sounds like a lovely night. I’ll make sure your server knows,” the host said, stepping away from the table. The look on her face barely disguised how uninterested she was in the engagement story.

As she shifted, Caleb could see Augustine and his date. The woman seemed to be whispering to Augustine, with her eyes glancing back and forth from Jester and Caleb to her partner. It made Caleb feel uneasy to have eyes on him like this; even though it was their mission to catch the dealer in the act, knowing he had his eyes on them escalated everything.

“Sorry to spring that on you, Caleb.” Jester began mixing up the utensil arrangement in front of her as she talked. “I know that’s kind of weird and all but you know it’s kind of cute and maybe we’ll get some free food out of it!”

Ya, you did good Jester.” Caleb found himself fidgeting with the edge of the tablecloth. He couldn’t allow himself to be distracted by fanciful thoughts of his friend, not tonight. A swallow managed to push down the lump in his throat and he felt increasingly grateful for the spell disguising his face.

A green-skinned humanoid dressed in black robes had made his way to Augustine’s table and was discussing in detail with the merchant. Caleb and Jester tried to keep an eye on the conversation without making it obvious, talking to each other and looking over the menu.

“What do you think they are talking about?”

“I do not know. Perhaps he has business with, uh, one of the chefs or something.”

“Oh no Caleb!” Jester’s menu flew up to her face to hide her expression but her wide eyes were clearly visible. “He pointed at our table! Did he recognize us?”

“Stay calm Jester, he might have been pointing at something just past us. If we do anything now we will give ourselves away without a doubt.” Caleb managed to keep his voice calm in an effort to reassure Jester but his stomach felt as if he had just swallowed an anchor. The tension eased for a moment as the server moved away from Augustine’s table and left their field of vision.

“Oh that wasn’t too bad… Maybe he just wanted to chat about how fantastic we look?”

“Ya, I am sure he was getting tailor recommendations from the server.” Caleb began muttering spell components under his breath in an effort to keep himself calm.

“Good evening, esteemed guests,” came a voice from the other side of the table. Both Jester and Caleb jumped in their seats as their heads whipped away from Augustine’s table to take stock of who had managed to sneak up on them. Somehow the waiter from the other table had gone from the door to their table in a matter of seconds.

“I hope the two of you are having a wonderful time, my name is Xandor and I will be your host for the evening.” As he spoke he set down a plate of gorgeously dressed oysters and began to open an expensive-looking bottle of wine.

“Ah, we have not ordered yet, perhaps you have mistaken us for another table ya?”

A dignified laugh came from Xandor’s throat. “Oh of course not. These are compliments of your friends across the way.” As he spoke he gestured to Augustine’s table. Augustine himself gave an acknowledging wave while his partner giggled and winked. Jester enthusiastically waved back at the two before catching herself. “They heard about your engagement and wanted to congratulate you.”

“Well, that is certainly a pleasant surprise. Please thank the couple for us and we will greatly enjoy.”

“My pleasure. Do you need more time to look over the menu?”

“Yes pleeaaasssee!” Jester gave Xandor a wide smile and pulled her menu up to her face. The host nodded at the two of them and walked off.

“Well this certainly got more complicated than we bargained for,” Caleb found himself pulling at a loose thread on the edge of the tablecloth. “Perhaps we won’t have to worry about them now that they have given us a gift.”

“I seriously doubt that’s the case Caleb,” Jester said, her eyes pointing to her left. As she said this Caleb felt a strong hand rest on his shoulder. He watched as panic briefly flickered across Jester’s eyes before her face settled into fake politeness.

“Congratulations on the engagement,” said a deep voice coming from behind Caleb. Turning his head slightly, Caleb saw Augustine towering above him. The orc was strikingly tall, especially in comparison to his guest.

“You two are just so cute!” The air genasi woman moved around Augustine to get close to Jester. “Sooo, where’s the ring?”

“Ooohh, uhh we actually had to get it resized so I don’t have it on me right now…” Jester gave the woman a big grin. “But it’s really pretty and it has a big sapphire surrounded by diamonds, trust me you would really love it!”

“Thank you for the wine, it was very generous of you to do that,” Caleb said, extending his hand to the merchant. Augustine’s grip was extremely firm and Caleb had to steel himself so as not to show how much it hurt his hand.

“It was my pleasure. You kids enjoy the rest of the evening and have a good honeymoon.”

“Ah yes, we will be going to Hupperdook.” Caleb winced internally as he said it, noticing the strange look that glanced across the genasi’s face. Regardless the couple made their way back to their table seemingly without a suspicion.

“Really, Caleb? Hupperdook?” Jester said, arching her brow at the man across from her.

“Sorry, I was just talking about it with Nott so it was on my mind…”

“Ooh he’s going to the kitchen!” Jester interrupted. Caleb carefully turned his head to see Augustine heading back into the kitchen with a leather bag in tow while his partner made her way towards the front door.

“He is going to be making the drop, we should follow him.” Caleb immediately stood up and began to walk towards the kitchen door, feeling Jester follow. The distance to the kitchen was small and the door was open, allowing them to watch as Augustine approached one of the cooks. The orc embraced the tall red tiefling and began talking animatedly about the dish in front of them.

“Maybe he really is just saying hello to cook?” Jester asked, her voice a whisper. The two of them weren’t exactly trying to hide but had naturally pressed themselves into the corner. Caleb was incredibly aware of how close Jester was to him, her hair tickling his chin. He was forcing himself to breath, to stay calm amidst the stakes of the mission and his proximity to the woman he-

“Oh no, he’s coming this way!” Jester whispered frantically. Augustine was indeed making his way out of the kitchen, towards right where the two of them were standing. Caleb couldn’t tell if he had seen them yet but there’s wasn’t enough time to move away from the door without him noticing.

Adrenaline pumping through his veins, Caleb knew he had to do something to get them out of this situation. His hands grabbed Jester’s waist and spun her around to face him before bringing her face up to his. He felt her body tense at first, but as their lips met he felt her pause before beginning to kiss him back. As Jester’s arms wrapped around his shoulders, Caleb felt his hands wandering up to her back, pulling her even closer to him. Her lips tasted sweet, the remnants of an earlier pastry lingering and he found himself kissing her harder, deeper….

The sound of Augustine clearing his throat pulled Caleb back to the present, wrenching him away from Jester with a deep breath. “Oh, hello, sorry to be in your way, we were just, uh, looking for a place, to uh…”

“Boink!” Jester yelled excitedly, fondly resting her hand on Caleb’s chest. Caleb was grateful to Jester for stopping his rambling but even more glad the disguise spell covered up what was sure to be a bright red face at his companion’s choice of words.

“Don’t worry, I understand. Young lovers. You two have a good night.” With nothing more than a smile, Augustine slipped past the two of them and made his way through the restaurant. He was still holding the leather bag which appeared to be full.

As soon as the merchant was a good distance from the kitchen Caleb abruptly pulled away from Jester. “Good job Jester.” He began to fidget with the wire he used to send messages back and forth to Nott.

“Good job Caleb,” Jester responded, straightening her dress. He could tell something about her demeanor had changed but through the disguise it was hard to tell exactly how she was feeling about the situation.

“It seems the cook was not the buyer then. But now we are back at square one.”

“Come on, let’s get back to the carriage.”

                                                    ***

Jester had transported the two of them back into the carriage, with Caleb messaging Nott to warn her of their sudden appearance. Fjord had eyes on Augustine from the minute he exited the restaurant and once Caleb and Jester were securely inside he had begun to follow the merchant from a safe distance.

Nott had emerged from the blanket on the floor and was now sitting directly across from Jester and Caleb, who had made sure to leave a healthy amount of room in the middle of the bench. “So, how did it go?”

“Fine,” Jester said at the same time Caleb said “Good.” The silence that followed was incredibly tense and Nott’s eyes darted back and forth between the two people in front of her, sensing that something was different.

“All right! Spit it out!! What happened in there?” Nott unleashed her best mom glare and crossed her arms, waiting for an answer.

“We kissed,” Caleb said, pointedly not looking at Jester. He could feel the tension and his mind began to race with the possibility he had ruined their friendship at the cost of a small move. No matter how much he might have wanted to kiss Jester, he would never have done it if he had known it would ruin how Jester viewed him. Even now the silence was crushing his chest, the weight of every breath making it hard to concentrate.

“You KISSED?” Nott screeched. Caleb could feel the carriage lurch as Fjord reacted to the sudden exclamation coming from behind him. Nott’s yellow eyes grew wide as she jumped off of the bench and into a standing position. “That’s amazing! How was it?” She latched on to Jester’s arm and glanced excitedly between the two of them.

“It was just a cover, Nott.”

Jester gave a half-hearted smile as she looked at the little goblin girl. “Yeah you know just a friendly kiss between two party members to keep from blowing our cover, it’s not a big deal Nott.”

“Hmm, all right well if you want to believe that then go ahead but IIII know better.” She hopped back onto the bench and narrowed her eyes at the two of them, barely hiding a smirk.

“Nott, we should focus on the mission first. You should come with us Nott in case we need help” Caleb poked his head just out through the window to see the carriage they were following slow down before pulling off to a set of shops on the right. Taking out his wire, he muttered to Fjord “Go down the street a little while longer and you can drop us off.”

“Yessir,” came the reply from outside the carriage. Caleb made sure to adjust the curtains and crouch down as they passed the merchant’s chariot.

“Caleb, we should change our disguises in case Augustine catches a glimpse of us.” Before Jester was even done speaking, she had transformed herself into a drow women wearing plain red robes. Following her lead, Caleb adjusted the look of his drow persona, shortening the hair, softening the cheekbones and changing the clothes to a more pedestrian style than what he wore to the restaurant.

The carriage finally slowed to a stop and Fjord knocked twice to indicate they should get out. “You two got this!” Nott gave Caleb and Jester a thumbs up as they stepped down into the quiet streets of the city. It was late and many of the shops had closed, but a number of people were roaming around still. The majority of people were singular, shady, trying to get in and out without being noticed, and Caleb and Jester made their best effort to blend in as they walked down to the spice shop they had seen Augustine walk into.

Nott had waited a few minutes before exiting the carriage and crossing the street. She was matching their pace along the shops opposite the road, wire in hand in case she needed to message one of them. Caleb kept an eye on her, checking occasionally across the street.

“Hey Caleb?”

“Ya, Jester?” He didn’t like how soft and nervous Jester’s voice sounded but now wasn’t the time to discuss it.

“We’re cool right? After the thing in the restaurant.”

“Oh. Ya, we are cool.” Caleb forced himself to swallow the lump that was building in his throat. They were getting close to the spice shop now and while Augustine wasn’t in sight the drop off would probably be happening sometime soon.

Jester stopped at the shop next to where their target was and mimed pointing at the carvings in the window. Caleb mimed along, using his peripheral vision to monitor the door.

A good five minutes passed, at which point Caleb was beginning to run out of ways to be excited about the same wooden carving of a duck. He was about to suggest to Jester that they move to keep from arousing suspicion when Augustine finally emerged from the store, bag in hand. The merchant glanced around and gently placed the bag on small bench next to the shop before walking back east towards town.

Caleb pretended to stroke his chin so he could message Nott. “He has left the bag on the bench, can you retrieve it?”

“I don’t think I can get to it without alerting that tiefling,” Nott responded. Even as she spoke, a red tiefling in black robes seemed to be slowly making her way over to the bench, attempting to be as inconspicuous as possible.

“If we cause a distraction, do you think you could grab it?”

“It’s worth a shot at least.”

“Jester, we need a distraction as we pass this woman.” Caleb grabbed Jester’s hand and began to pull her towards the bench.

“What? What do you mean?” Jester’s voice was a panicked whisper.

“Nott’s going to grab the bag but we need to think of something to distract her.” Her hand tensed up inside his and he was hoping, praying to Jester and to the Traveler that she could save them, like she always did, because she was competent and wonderful and-

“Well, this is happening,” he heard from beside him, and before he knew it she had grabbed his robes and pulled his face down to hers. She captured his lips with her, and for the second time in one night Caleb felt his mind go numb from pure adrenaline he received from kissing the woman he was so desperately in love with. Without a second of hesitation he began to kiss her back, his hands latching onto her waist, pulling her closer…

“Excuse you,” a stern voice came from behind Caleb as his back slammed into the tiefling. She was clearly upset, her solid black eyes shooting icy daggers at the two of them. “Watch where you are going.”

“Oh I’m so sorry!” Jester giggled and smiled at the tall woman. Caleb glanced over and saw that Nott had grabbed the bag and was already halfway across the street with it, so he gently elbowed Jester. “We’ll get right of your way. Also you’re very beautiful! Goodbye!”

With that the two of them began to walk at a brisk pace back down to where their carriage was parked. Once they got a decent distance between the spice shop, they broke into a run. Nott threw the carriage door open for them, and as soon as Caleb had climbed in the horses took off.

“Good job, Detective Caleb,” Jester said breathlessly, not looking at him as she collapsed into her seat. Nott was across from them, peeking into the bag she had managed to get away with.

“Good job, Detective Jester.”

                                               ***

Caleb entered the kitchen of the Xorhouse as quietly as possible. Frumpkin let out a “mrrp” as he hopped off of Caleb’s shoulder and onto the counter. He absentmindedly pet the familiar, exhausted from the ordeal of the day and overthinking every little encounter with Jester. Immediately after the Mighty Nein had dropped off the magic item, Jester and Caleb had immediately gone into their rooms. Nott had tried to get inside and talk to him but he refused to open the door, choosing instead to wallow in silence. After a few hours, Nott had left and Caleb heard the last few voices quit echoing inside the house, meaning it was safe to come out.

Caduceus liked to keep the kitchen well-stocked with food so he would have plenty of items on hand to cook with, but with the last few missions it had been a while since Caduceus and Nott could make it to the market. After some searching through cabinets, he managed to find a small jar of honey and a biscuit that didn’t appear to be too stale. He broke off a small piece of bread for Frumpkin and had begun to slather honey on the biscuit when he heard the soft sound of footsteps behind him.

“Oh, sorry Caleb. I thought everyone was asleep,” Jester said, standing in the doorway to the kitchen.

“Nein, it is okay Jester. You are not disturbing me.” He moved away from the icebox, knowing she would be getting a glass of milk before bed. She hesitantly tiptoed up next to him and pulled the jar of milk out before reaching into the cabinet below and pulling out one of the tankards the group kept on hand.

“Are you doing okay Caleb?” she asked, replacing the milk inside the icebox. He could hear the concern in her voice but felt a pang in his chest as he noticed she was refusing to meet his eyes.

“I am as well as I can be. And you?” 

“Of course I’m all right. We just pulled off a really cool heist mission!”

Caleb liked (he still refused to even allow himself to think about the word love, how could he when the last people he truly loved met such a fate) Jester for so many reasons, and one of them was the constant positive attitude that she kept, especially when the rest of the Nein were around. But with the familiarity also came the realization that so often the positivity was a front, a cover for issues lurking deeper. The party counted on her so much as an emotional crutch and she had taken that role on diligently, but that made her feel at times like she had to hide her true feelings from the group. Caleb wanted so desperately to sit her down and let her talk, let her cry all her emotions out and comfort her, but he was hardly the master of opening up about his trauma himself.

“Ya, we did a very good job tonight. You should be proud of yourself.” Caleb shoved the last of his biscuit inside of his mouth. As he chewed, he watched Jester stand still, holding her glass of milk, staring contemplatively into the liquid. It was quiet in the kitchen save for the soft sound of Frumpkin cleaning himself.

“Hey Caleb?” 

“Ya?”

“Are we okay? You know, after the whole, thing, in the restaurant, and in front of the shop?” She sat her glass down on the counter and leaned against the ice box. Finally, her eyes lifted up to meet Caleb’s and he could see the depths of worry that were just below the surface.

“Of course, Jester. We are okay.”

“Okay good because I didn’t want things to be weird between us since we kissed, I mean I know I joke about you being secretly in love with me but I really do like you Caleb and I don’t want to lose you and if anything happened I would be really really sad and….” Here Jester stopped and looked at the ground, shielding her eyes from Caleb.

“What is the matter, Jester?” He instinctively moved closer to Jester, resting a hand cautiously on her arm. She shook her head, her right hand moving up to her mouth to cover a sob. A tear fell from under the curtain of her hair and Caleb felt sorrow, anger and fear well up in his chest. “It is all right Jester, everything is okay…” Slowly, carefully he began to pull her in towards him.

After a tense moment when he wasn’t sure if she would accept or pull away, Jester threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and burying her tear-soaked face into his neck. Her sobbing was audible now and Caleb rested one hand on the back of her head in an attempt to comfort her.

“I’m so sorry, Caleb….”

“What is there to be sorry about, Blueberry?” Seeing Jester in so much distress was tearing at him, but he forced himself to swallow the lump in his throat. “You have done nothing wrong.”

“Caleb, I… I love you…” 

The words were like a slap in Caleb’s face. This confession, whispered into his neck softly, by the woman he… loved in return was so much to take in. It shocked him to his core, leaving him silent and unmoving.

“I’m sorry Caleb, I know you don’t love me back and I don’t want this to ruin our friendship, but I just couldn’t hold it in anymore. Please don’t be mad at me Caleb, I-”

Pulling away from her, Caleb removed his hand from her head, lifting her chin upwards. For the first time in years he was incredibly, inevitably sure of what he was doing. He felt her soft breath on his face, tickling the small beard hairs that were beginning to show themselves once again. Slowly but firmly he captured her lips with his, using his thumb to stroke her jaw. Hot tears landed on his hand and for a moment Jester hesitated, but after a second she had a vice like grip on his coat. Caleb was no longer in control; she was pulling him into her orbit like a comet into a star and he was ready and willing to burn up in her atmosphere if she wanted him this close.

He felt his lips being parted and her tongue made its way inside, playing with his own. Her hand had found its way into his hair, locking the ginger curls tight to make sure he wasn’t going anywhere. Caleb felt her other hand tighten its grip on his clothes and let out a moan at the thought of how needy Jester seemed to be.

The kisses before had seemed so enormous before, but compared to what they were doing now, telling each other how much they loved and needed the other with their hands and lips, the earlier kisses were nothing.

A soft meow from the counter finally pulled them apart, each of them gasping for air. Caleb, eyes closed, pressed his forehead against Jester’s and took her hands in his own. He let the moment exist, enjoying her presence and reveling in the knowledge that she loved him just as much as he loved her.

“I love you too Jester Lavorre.”

#widojestweek #widojest #caleb widogast #jester lavorre #critical role

[thewriterofmanythings]

Diamonds for a Soul

Day 2 of Widojest Week-Healing

The Mighty Nein have fallen into Astrid's trap, and their foolishness will cost them.

I took the “healing” prompt and ran with it in a different direction. You can also read on AO3. Once again thanks to @3fling for being so amazing!

Time had slowed down for Jester exactly three times since she had met the Mighty Nein.

The first was when they had stolen the Squall Eater and set sail from Nicodranas. Her heart had nearly stopped beating as she realized they might not ever be able to come back, that she might not be able to see her mama again. She managed to shake herself of the feeling quickly and put on the cheery face the rest of the Nein knew her to be, but those few moments felt excruciating.

The second time, Jester had nearly drowned as the temple Fjord and Avantika had sought out flooded. As panic set into her mind and her lungs began to burn, it felt like she was moving through gelatin instead of water. So this is what dying feels like, she remembered thinking. Time suddenly snapped into fast motion when Fjord had rescued her by… well, technically kissing her. But she had been saved nonetheless.

Which led her to now.

Part of her was glad Fjord had saved her, so she could give the group some hope.

But the rest of her thought dying in the temple might have been better than the agony she was in right now.

It had been so obviously a trap, looking back on it. There was no way the information the Bright Queen had been needing to get ahead in the war was that easily available.

And like the fools they were, the Mighty Nein had played into the hands of Trent Ikithon’s minions.

Ikithon hadn’t shown up himself of course. No, this wasn’t a big enough job for that. Instead he had let his trainees take care of the mess, certain they would be enough to take care of them.

Oh, at the leadership of Astrid, nonetheless.

The panic Jester had been feeling after seeing they had been ambushed only intensified when she heard Caleb whisper Astrid’s name under his breath.

“Caleb, no!” she had screamed as he began to walk towards the woman, but she was caught off guard as another spellcaster had sent a round of fire bolts her way. The scream was useless; Caleb had eyes for Astrid and Astrid alone.

“Nott!” Jester screamed as she used her shield to deflect the flames. “Nott, we have to get to Caleb!”

The goblin woman was managing to dodge between stalagmites and shoot her crossbow without taking too many hits. As she took out the knee of one of the younger looking mages, she lifted her wire-wrapped finger up to her mouth and whispered “Where is Caleb? What is he doing? Youcanreplytothismessage.”

“That woman at the back, it’s Astrid! Caleb recognized her. She’s going to kill him, Nott, we have to help him!” A swarm of unicorn hamsters converged on another of the young mages. Even as he fell Jester couldn’t help but feel bad for him. With everything she knew about what Ikithon had done to Caleb and Astrid, the poor boy was probably just as brainwashed.

“Shit!” Jester heard Nott’s voice in her head. “This is bad, this is really bad.”

Getting a second to breathe, Jester took stock of the cavern which they had been ambushed in. Fjord was engaged with two magicians, while Beau was busy dodging the attacks of three others.

Yasha had managed to take out a few with the Magician’s Judge, but more piled on. Caduceus shook off a few attackers thanks to his beetles, but a flash of light from above indicated there were at least a few mages hidden in the crevices present towards the top of the cavern. They might not be outmatched, but they were certainly outnumbered, and that was bad news for the Might Nein.

“Nott, this is a really bad idea but I’m going to run for him. Can you cover me?” Jester’s voice trembled as she asked her friend for help. It was going to be a risk for her to make it to Caleb before he could get to Astrid, but she had to try it. She glanced back at Nott, who nodded her head despite the worried look she clearly had on her face.

As Jester began to charge forward, Nott let out a volley of arrows unlike any of the Nein had seen before and causing a chain reaction which appeared to turn the tide of the battle in their favor. One struck right through the throat of Beau’s opponent, giving her enough time to paralyze the second combatant and leaving her in a much better position to deal with the remaining mage. Beau turned around and ran at the wall, launching herself off with a flurry of kicks which knocked the remaining mage prone. In trying to get away from the barbarian, one of Yasha’s opponents tripped over their companion and accidentally threw herself into Fjord’s falchion as it was on the backswing. The sudden impact startled Fjord, who nearly missed being impaled himself by another of Nott’s arrows. That projectile found itself embedded in the forehead of one of Caduceus’s attackers instead. The cleric took the opportunity to revert the rest of the beetles on his remaining opponent. Just like that, the path to Caleb- and Astrid- was clear.

Caleb had already reached Astrid, whose face went from bored disgust to incredulity to smug pity in the space of seconds. Damn it Caleb, Jester thought. He’s already told her who she is, she knows, she’s going to kill him, or bring him back to Trent Ikithon.

Panicking, Jester focused on Astrid, raising her hands to cast a spell. She knew it wouldn’t work, there was no way she could manage to dominate the mind of someone as powerful as Astrid, but maybe if she could just take enough of her attention away from Caleb….

As soon as the Traveler’s powers began to emanate from Jester’s hand however, they were gone. She saw an arcane symbol flash out of existence above her head, and realized these mages knew the same magic Caleb had used to counter other spells in the past. Shit shit shit, this is really bad…

Jester tried to summon another bout of energy, aiming to deafen Astrid with Toll the Dead but as her hand began the somatic element of the spell she felt her entire body freeze. Even mid-run her body paused, pain coursing through her body. She could feel her cells screaming for air as she tried to force herself through it, but it was no use.

One by one she could hear the sound of weapons clattering to the ground, and for one happy second Jester was convinced her companions had triumphant. But as her frozen gaze remained transfixed on Astrid, she saw the smug expression on the mage’s face and her heart sank. Ikkithon and Astrid had played them and they, like fools, had fallen into their trap and lost.

“So, this is the Mighty Nein, then?” Jester was finding it hard to concentrate on Astrid with the holding spell keeping her in place. Every inch of her body was in agony, but she forced herself to pay attention to what the mage was saying. “I expected more of you.”

Astrid walked up to Caleb, who was still standing in front of her…. Or rather, he was levitating from what Jester could see. Astrid seemed to be holding her left hand out towards Caleb, but clenched in a fist. He had his own hands around his throat, grasping as if to pull an invisible hand away from him. Jester wasn’t entirely sure what Astrid had done to Caleb but she began to pour all of her mental energy into trying to break the hold on her body.

“This was certainly a surprise though.” Astrid moved up to Caleb and gently caressed his cheek with her free hand. “You’re all grown up Bren. Master would be so proud.”

Caleb’s breathing had turned heavy and he managed to let out a sort of grunt in response to Astrid’s taunting.

“It’s such a shame you’re wasting your talents on these pathetic ants. You could have had so much more, Bren. Eodwulf and I were patient. Even when Master wrote you off, the two of us thought you might return eventually, your sanity restored and we could take over together.” With every step, Astrid took a step around Caleb, circling him with a hunger in her eyes. “But he was right all along it turns out. Unless you’ve suddenly had a change of heart?” She had returned to her previous position, facing the rest of the Mighty Nein, inches from Caleb’s face.

“Astrid…” Caleb whispered through whatever hold she had placed around his throat.

Jester had seen people with a lust for power before but this-whatever was dancing across Astrid’s face right now was like a glimpse into the plane of madness. “Yes?” Astrid said, shifting even closer.

“Fuck…. Off….” Caleb managed to spit out.

Something glinted across Astrid’s eyes as her face shifted. “So be it then.” She brought her closed fist up and without flinching, twisted it violently to the side.

Jester felt the sickening crack that followed inside her heart. Time slowed down to a crawl as she watched the next few seconds unfold. She couldn’t move as Astrid unballed her fist, couldn’t run to Caleb as his body crumpled to the floor. All she could do was stand here, frozen, screaming in silence as she watched him die.

“Enjoy what time you have left, Mighty Nein. Master Ikkithon is looking forward to meeting you and I will be more than happy to introduce you.” With that, Astrid muttered an incantation and the mages vanished into thin air.

Oxygen flooded back into Jester’s body and her knees gave way as the holding spell was lifted. Desperately scrambling for breath, she began to crawl towards the broken body that lay feet in front of her.

“Caleb…” she screamed, tears pouring down her face. Hands began to lift her up and she turned to see Beau. The monk lifted the little tiefling into her arms and began to run towards Caleb’s body.

Jester forced herself to take a breath, calling on the Traveler for his strength as Beauregard set her down in front of the wizard. Her hands flitted around his throat, searching for a pulse. Nothing.

By this point the rest of the Mighty Nein had gathered around Caleb. “Caleb! Caleb!!” Nott was yelling in his ear. Fjord was kneeling to Jester’s right while Caduceus had crouched opposite the two of them. Beauregard had turned away, one hand resting on Yasha, who had her head bowed.

Panicking, Jester summoned a healing spell and laid her hands on Caleb, hoping that would be enough. As the warm light washed over the wizard, she prayed for any sign of movement. The magic faded, but once again nothing happened.

“It’s not working!” Jester shrieked, looking at her hands. She quickly clasped them over her mouth, trying to keep her sobs from bursting out. She could hear Beauregard starting to sniffle in the background and panic began to well in her chest.

“Jester, you’ve got to do something! Please Jester, I know you can do it, you did it with Caduceus, bring him back!” Nott was clutching Jester’s sleeves, her bright yellow eyes glancing frantically between Jester and Caleb’s lifeless body. But all Jester could do was shake her head.

“Jester,” Caduceus’s voice pierced through her panic. “If his spirit is willing, you can revive him.”

“I can’t Caduceus. We don’t have enough diamonds, I can’t bring him back.” She reached into her satchel and brought out the diamonds they had collected. The merchant had only been able to give them 250 gold worth; they were at least 50 short of what the Traveler required as sacrifice to bring a spirit back.

“Wait!!” Nott yelled, diving frantically into Caleb’s bag. After a moment of rummaging, she pulled out the diamond he used for his spells, the one that had come in handy so many times. “Use this!”

“Nott, I can’t use his diamond! He would be so mad at me when it’s gone…” Jester felt tears began to stream down her cheeks.

“Jester,” she felt Fjord’s hand rest on her shoulder. “If Caleb is mad at you for usin’ his diamond, then at least that means he’s here to be mad at you in the first place.”

“We’re running out of time,” Caduceus said. “We need to do this now. I’ll be glad to assist.” The firebolg stretched his hand out to Jester across Caleb’s body.

Shaking, Jester took his hand in her left. She used her remaining hand to arrange the diamonds across Caleb’s body, making sure to place his own diamond on top of his heart. As she went to grab Caduceus’s other hand, she saw that Nott had already taken it, with her other hand wrapped around Beau’s. Beau in turn held Yasha, who had joined hands with Fjord.

“You got this, Jessie,” Fjord said, taking Jester’s hand in his own and completing the circle around Caleb. “Bring him home.”

“Traveler…” Jester begin. Her voice was trembling, so she paused to steady herself. She felt Caduceus and Fjord squeeze her hands in reassurance. “Traveler, are you there? Please help us to bring Caleb back. We don’t want him to go yet…” As Jester spoke, she felt a warmth wash over her and two of the diamonds on Caleb began to glow.

“Caduceus, I don’t think that was enough!” she glanced at her fellow cleric with wide eyes.

“You’ve got to offer something else then,” Caduceus said, surprisingly calm. “Mr. Caleb needs a reason to come back.”

She nodded, trying to force back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. “Caleb? I don’t know if you can hear me… but if you can, please come back to us. We need you…. I need you… The truth is I try to be a really happy person and make people happy. But you’re my favourite person to make smile and if I don’t have you here then who am I going to annoy and make silly faces at? And who will let me pet their cat octopus bird thing when I’m feeling sad? Please Caleb, come home. I love you.”

As the words left Jester’s mouth the last diamond, the one located on his heart, began to softly glow-then all three diamonds immediately shattered into tiny diamonds fragments. Jester felt the magic leave the area…. But Caleb didn’t stir.

“Did it work?” Beau asked. Nott frantically threw her ear onto Caleb’s chest, searching for a heartbeat. The group held their breath waiting for Nott to pull herself up, but the goblin woman just shook her head sadly.

“I’m sorry Jester….”

The wail that came out of Jester was unlike anything she had felt before. She couldn’t believe she had let her best friend down so phenomenally… or rather, perhaps, that the ritual had worked, and that Caleb had simply chosen not to come back. All those times she had spent making him laugh, trying to bring a bit of brightness to his day, and he had still not seen it worthwhile to return-that thought was too painful to entertain.

Jester sobbed into Caleb’s lifeless chest, refusing to let go. “Please Caleb, don’t leave us just yet.” Her hands clasped at the wizard’s coat, grasping so tight she began to lose feeling in her hands. “I’m sorry, Caleb, I’m so sorry.”

Jester suddenly found herself flung away from Caleb as an enormous breath rushed into his body. The entire group gasped, startled by the wizard’s late appearance. Jester couldn’t believe what she was seeing as she watched his eyes flutter frantically, the blood in his body beginning to circulate again.

“Ow,” Caleb muttered as he began to sit up before shifting into a state of panic. “Astrid…. Where did she go?”

“Shhhh, Mr. Caleb,” Caduceus knelt down and put a large furry hand on his shoulder. “She’s gone but now’s not the time for that, you need to rest.”

“We do not have time for that, she is going to alert everyone to our presence!” Caleb began to search through his component pouch. “We need to go after her and…. Where is my diamond?”

“About that…” Nott walked up to Caleb, being nearly at eye level with him now that he had sat up. “You died back there Caleb. Astrid killed you. And we had to… well…”

“I used it to bring you back,” Jester said softly. She refused to meet his eyes. Of course he was upset about using his diamond, she just hadn’t expected to deal with it so soon. “Please don’t be mad at me Caleb, we didn’t know what else to do.”

“Jester, I…” Here Caleb paused to groan as he shifted forward. Jester felt a hand gently lift her chin up, forcing her tear-filled eyes to meet his. “I could never be mad at you, Blueberry.”

With that she threw herself onto Caleb, wrapping herself around his torso. He gave a grunt of pain but wrapped his arms tightly around her in response. His scruff tickled the side of her face, but she barely noticed so wrapped up in him, his scent, the fact she could feel his heartbeat where it hadn’t been just seconds ago.

“Thank you for coming back, Caleb,” Jester whispered into his ear.

“I’ll always come home to you, Jester.”

#widojestweek #widojest #caleb widogast #jest #critical role

[thewriterofmanythings]

Dance with Me

Day 1 of Widojest Week-Dance

Caleb gets the chance to dance with Jester again, but this time he's much more sober.

Hello there! This is my first Critical Role fic and I’m so excited it got to be this amazing ship. You can also find me on AO3. Super huge shoutout to @3fling for being my beta reader and overall just an amazing and supportive person. Please enjoy!

“Caleb! That’s your third glass! Slow down!”

Caleb nearly choked on his wine as his goblin friend’s shrill voice tore through his reverie. Nott was looking at him with a stern frown on his face, hands on her hips. Her husband was next to her at the table, examining each piece of the Xorhasian food before shoveling it into his mouth. He wished in this moment that Yeza had been placed between them as he felt Nott’s large yellow eyes burrowing into his skull.

“Ya, sorry Nott. I’m in my head too much tonight. I won’t have any more to drink,” he said, using his napkin to clean up what he had spilled after being startled.

“You’d better! We all promised Jester we wouldn’t get too drunk so we could enjoy the night, and if I can uphold that end of the bargain so can you!”

Nott shoved her little hand into Caleb’s face where the small dick was drawn in Jester’s paint. She had drawn them on each of the Mighty Nein’s non-dominant hands as a sort of “pact” that they would all stay relatively sober through the night.

“This night is going to be so fun you guys!” she had said while painting Beau’s hand. Beau had been first in line, with Fjord the most reluctant. “We’ll get to daaance, and wear pretty ouuuutfits, and maybe fliiirt a little…” Jester had then wiggled her eyebrows as she made eye contact with everyone in the room.

“Ya, ya I remember,” Caleb said, his cheeks showing a little color. “I’ll be fine and I will not drink any more… for Jester.”

“Good,” Nott said, before proceeding to frantically upend a bowl of small Xorhasian fruits into her mouth. Yeza looked on with a mix of wonder and pride, totally oblivious to anything else going on in the room.

Caleb glanced around what could best be described as some sort of grand hall. The architecture was just as beautiful and ethereal as everything else in the Bright Queen’s presence had been so far. The light was dim, reflecting off the crystals in the ceiling and metallic accents on the guests’ clothes. Kryn celebrations were much more subdued than many of the parties the Nein had attended on their journey, particularly from Hupperdook.

He caught a glimpse of Beau and Yasha, both wearing gorgeous robes gifted to them by the Kryn. Caduceus appeared to be engaged in an intense discussion with a drow gentleman in glasses, who seemed quite fascinated by a beetle perched on the firebolg’s shoulder. Jester on the other hand, was spinning wildly around the room with Fjord in tow. Fjord’s complexion felt even greener than normal, and after a few more spins he removed himself from Jester’s grasp and quickly ran out of the room with one hand to his mouth.

Caleb couldn’t help but smirk a little at this display. It didn’t matter how confident, how serene, how pitiful you were or pretended to be-Jester was a cure-all. She knew the quickest way to get to your heart, to break through your façade. No one, least of all the rest of the Mighty Nein, was safe from her charms.

“Ooooh, Cayyleb..” he heard come up from behind him.

“Hullo Jester. Having a good time, ya?”

“I’m having a wonderful time, Caleb, thank you for asking! And youuu??” Jester smiled at him, her head tilted mischeviously.

“It is very enjoyable to be sure.”

“I think I know what would make it beeetterrrr…” Jester said, resting her chin on his shoulder.

Caleb felt heat rise in his cheeks at the sudden closeness of Jester’s face to his. “And what would that be?”

“A dance of course!”

“I- I don’t know about that Jester. I think you could find a better partner than me…”

“Oh my gosh Caleb you’re so silly. You are such a good dancer! Remember when we danced in Hupperdook? And you were toootally drunk then! So you should be a better dance when you’re… well, less drunk anyways.” Jester wrinkled her nose at the hint of alcohol on his breath and pulled away.

Caleb let out a sigh he didn’t realize he had been holding in and shook his head. “Nein, Jester. You should go see if Fjord is done puking his innards out.”

“Oh pleaaaaase Cayleeeb, pleaaase…” Jester pouted her lips and batted her eyes at him, and he felt the wall around his heart crack yet again. He had no idea how she could do it, but this was his weakness-she was his weakness. Jester could get through even the most stubborn moments, the most irritating ones, and while it absolutely terrified him he was also incredibly grateful at the same time.

“Alright, if you insist,” Caleb said, taking one last sip of his wine before standing up. Jester squealed and clapped before grabbing Caleb’s hand and dragging him onto the dance floor.

Before he knew what was happening, Caleb was in the midst of a sea of moving bodies, turning and shifting to the tune of the gentle music playing throughout the room. Jester had grabbed one hand and placed it on her waist while taking the other in her own hand. Time seemed to slow and yet Caleb was so excruciatingly aware of what was happening around him.

When he had danced with Jester in Hupperdook he had been aware of what was happening, but here, with his senses only slightly dulled by the alcohol, everything was hitting him. He felt the soft satin of the silver gown Jester was wearing, the suddenly deafening sound of the violin, the glint of purple in her beautiful blue eyes, the heat of her body close to his…

“Caleb…” Jester asked softly, breaking him out of his sensory trance.

“Ya, Blueberry?”

“Thank you for always being there for me.” He could sense a bit of a tremble in her voice and she refused to meet his eyes. “Sometimes I get so lonely being away from Mama but you always make me feel better.”

“I’m glad to help Jester. You… deserve to feel safe… comfortable…” Caleb could barely get the words out of his throat. Jester was such a large personality that seeing her feel small like this made him feel… upset? Angry? Protective? There was a small fire burning inside of his chest at the thought of Jester feeling upset and he forced himself to swallow, to take a deep breath and ignore the emotions bubbling up to the surface.

“You’re a good man Caleb, I hope you know that,” Jester said. Without warning, she rested her head against his chest.

Caleb took a deep breath, hoping to calm his heart which had suddenly begun to pound furiously. He adjusted his hand around her waist, holding her close so she would feel safe. “And you are a wonderful woman, Jester Lavorre.” Caleb kissed the top of her head and gently swayed with her, determined to hold her until she was ready to let go, even if it was for the rest of her life.

#widojestweek #widojest #jester lavorre #caleb widogast #critical role

[thewriterofmanythings]

An Angel Calls Out My Name-Chapter 1

Genji Shimada grew tired of his family business and has been recruited by the organization known as Overwatch. He forms a connection with a young doctor named Angela Ziegler, and although the two began to fall in love, they must keep quiet about their relationship while battling the omnic crisis.

A/N: This fic is set in an alternate universe where Genji was recruited at a much younger age and became a part of Blackwatch before his brother attempted to kill him. I tried to research the Overwatch timeline to make it as canon compliant as possible but there will undoubtedly be some mistakes. The rating might go up a level in future chapters depending on how I decide to handle the story. Thanks for reading!

“Mister Genji Shimada?”

The gentle voice rang out into the waiting room, shaking Genji from his daydream. He glanced up to see a young blonde woman staring at him from the door, clipboard in hand. A long white lab coat covered a simple button-down shirt and a pencil skirt and her hair was pulled away from her face. Genji couldn’t help but gaze in awe at her beauty, his jaw temporarily going slack from the shock of seeing her face.

Unfortunately she seemed to notice, as she lowered her rectangle glasses to shoot a concerned look at him. “Are you alright Mister Shimada? You’re not going into cardiac arrest now, are you?”

“No, Doctor, I am fine. My apologies.” He shook himself out of his trance and bowed slightly in his seat.

“Well if you are feeling fine then right this way.” The doctor pushed the door open and stepped to the side, indicating to Genji that he should enter. He quickly stood and walked past her, stopping to let her close the door so he could follow her. The two of them walked down a long hallway filled with offices before reaching one nearly at the end of the hall. The nameplate on the door read “Doctor Angela Ziegler, M.D., Ph.D.”.

“Please, have a seat,” the doctor said, indicating two soft-looking chairs that sat in front of her desk. As Genji sat down, Doctor Ziegler moved to the other side of the desk and found a pale yellow file. “Well, Mister Shimada, it looks like your test results came back clear and you passed your physical examination. There’s just a few things that I would like to look at before we send you off to start training.” She began to rifle through the set of papers, pulling out one from the rest of the stack occasionally.

“So, Doctor, uh, Ziegler…. Why would a beautiful woman like you be interested in being a doctor at a place like Overwatch?” Genji said, flashing her the smile he used on all the ladies in his home country.

Without looking up from the papers, Doctor Ziegler said, “Are you trying to imply that I should not be both smart and beautiful, Mister Shimada?”

Genji nearly choked as he inhaled, unprepared for her retort. “No… that is not what I intended to say at. My most sincere apologies. I was merely trying to make conversation.”

At that the doctor finally looked up at him, flashing him a smile that was both soft and menacing. “You must understand, Mister Shimada, I receive that sort of comment all of the time in my field and I make a point to explain how ridiculous it is whenever I have the opportunity.” Here she paused and looked at Genji, glancing over him once before sighing. “Well, I can give you a second chance if you would like. No hard feelings?”

Relaxing a bit, Genji nodded. “Understood. So what brings you to Overwatch?”

As she talked, the doctor stood up and walked towards Genji, a small tool in her hand. “Please look at me and do not blink, Mister Shimada.” He turned towards her as she turned on a light in her tool and began to examine his left eye. “I came here for the same reasons as anyone else would. I want to save lives and help people. Protect people from omnics, and each other.” She switched to his left eye. “Ah but you are not like us, are you? You are a Shimada. You want money, fame, and women, no? This is just an excuse to show off.” She pulled away and began to make a note on her paper.

“Actually, quite the opposite. I was hoping to get away from the family business. My brother Hanzo will take over the company, so there is no reason for me to stay. I enjoyed my training and thought that it might be time to put my skills to use.” Genji shifted uncomfortably in his seat, watching as the woman on the other side of the desk scribbled furiously on the paper.

“So perhaps your motivations are not as selfish as they seem,” she said. Without warning she threw her pen at her patient. Genji caught it with ease, looking at it curiously before returning it to the outstretched hand of Doctor Ziegler who hadn’t looked up. “Reflexes are excellent,” she commented, jotting down another note.

“I would like to help save people, yes.” Genji paused to watch Doctor Ziegler before continuing. “Although I have never really had any friends outside of my brother, so I thought perhaps this might be a place that I could belong.”

“Well, I hope you are not here to make the wrong kind of friends.” She reached into the desk and pulled out a tape measure. “Please stand.”

“What do you mean by ‘the wrong kind of friends’ Doctor Ziegler?” Genji asked, standing up and moving away from his chair.

“You know, the girlfriend kind,” she said as she placed the tape measure across his shoulders. She lightly tapped his arms to indicate that he should raise them. “You should know that Overwatch has a strict policy prohibiting dating between members of the organization Mister Shimada.”

Genji softly chuckled. “Doctor, I have lived all of my life surrounded by people who make a living out of breaking rules. One must simply have enough drive and desire to be willing to bypass the law for what one believes is right.”

“Well then perhaps you will find something here that you are willing to break the rules for,” she said.

Doctor Ziegler moved in front of him and suddenly wrapped her arms around him. Genji tried to hide his surprise but let out a small gasp. She pulled away and placed the center of the tape on the center of his chest, laughing to herself. He could feel the tap around his torso and felt foolish for thinking that she was trying to embrace him. This woman barely knew him, and she wasn’t like any of the girls back home who clamored for him the moment they met because of his name and wealth. Doctor Ziegler had a purpose and appeared to have no intention of chasing after a fling. How could he think that she was using this opportunity at her job to get close to him?

The blonde woman laughed, tucking a stray hair behind her ear before continuing her measurements. “Please relax Mister Shimada. Otherwise these measurements will be inaccurate.” As she finished talking she looked up, her blue eyes meeting his dark ones.

Genji heard her breath catch in her throat and her hands pause on his chest. Her eyes blinked a few times, a curious expression on her face. The strand of hair had fallen back down again and Genji started to lift his hand to tuck it back behind her ear, but before he could she inhaled sharply and broke eye contact, moving away from him back to the other side of the desk.

“Well, I think that is everything,” she said, sitting down and making a few more notes. Although she tried to angle her face away from him, he could see that a soft pink glow had risen on her face. He couldn’t help but smile to himself, although he placed his hand over his mouth to cover it in case the doctor looked up.

The doctor took one final paper out and made a few notes before signing her name on the bottom and handing it to Genji. “All right Mister Shimada. You are cleared to start training. Take this back down to the office and then report tomorrow to the hangar to begin.”

Genji grabbed the paper and examined it briefly. “Unit A… is that the unit with Commanders Morrison and Reyes?” he asked, unable to hide the surprise in his voice.

“It is indeed. They were both very impressed with your skills during the trial and requested that you be added to their unit. You will have a quite a bit of work to do to be as battle ready as the rest of the unit but we are all confident in your abilities.” She smiled warmly, sending a wash of pride over Genji.”

“I will do my best to make them proud.” Genji stood up from his chair and bowed. He turned around and began to walk to the door, but paused with his fingers on the handle. “And will I be seeing you around as well, Doctor Ziegler?” He tried to keep his voice level, but the nervous and hopeful turmoil he felt swelling in his chest was hard to contain.

“I am the medic assigned to Unit A when they need someone on the field, so I am sure we will be working very closely together during our mutual time at Overwatch,” she answered, pausing her shuffling of papers to smile at him one last time.

“Then I look forward to it,” Genji said, bowing as he exited the room.

“As do I!” he heard her call out as he closed the door behind him. The walk back down the office to drop off his clearance paper was quiet, leaving him ample opportunity to mull over the interaction in his head. Was it just his imagination or was there a spark there between the two of them? Every girl that he had been around he had never bothered to have a conversation with; he had a playboy reputation for a reason and his family name made it all the easier to live that fantasy. But something about Doctor Ziegler made his stomach tie into a knot, made his pulse race. All he could think about was seeing her again, but her warning about Overwatch’s personal relationship policy echoed in his head. As he deposited the paper, he shook the thoughts from his head. If she felt the same way he had plenty of time to figure out how to make things work. For now he had to focus on training, since there was no point in falling for the doctor if instead he fell on the battlefield.

“Mister Genji Shimada?”

The gentle voice rang out into the waiting room, shaking Genji from his daydream. He glanced up to see a young blonde woman staring at him from the door, clipboard in hand. A long white lab coat covered a simple button-down shirt and a pencil skirt and her hair was pulled away from her face. Genji couldn’t help but gaze in awe at her beauty, his jaw temporarily going slack from the shock of seeing her face.

Unfortunately she seemed to notice, as she lowered her rectangle glasses to shoot a concerned look at him. “Are you alright Mister Shimada? You’re not going into cardiac arrest now, are you?”

“No, Doctor, I am fine. My apologies.” He shook himself out of his trance and bowed slightly in his seat.

“Well if you are feeling fine then right this way.” The doctor pushed the door open and stepped to the side, indicating to Genji that he should enter. He quickly stood and walked past her, stopping to let her close the door so he could follow her. The two of them walked down a long hallway filled with offices before reaching one nearly at the end of the hall. The nameplate on the door read “Doctor Angela Ziegler, M.D., Ph.D.”.

“Please, have a seat,” the doctor said, indicating two soft-looking chairs that sat in front of her desk. As Genji sat down, Doctor Ziegler moved to the other side of the desk and found a pale yellow file. “Well, Mister Shimada, it looks like your test results came back clear and you passed your physical examination. There’s just a few things that I would like to look at before we send you off to start training.” She began to rifle through the set of papers, pulling out one from the rest of the stack occasionally.

“So, Doctor, uh, Ziegler…. Why would a beautiful woman like you be interested in being a doctor at a place like Overwatch?” Genji said, flashing her the smile he used on all the ladies in his home country.

Without looking up from the papers, Doctor Ziegler said, “Are you trying to imply that I should not be both smart and beautiful, Mister Shimada?”

Genji nearly choked as he inhaled, unprepared for her retort. “No… that is not what I intended to say at. My most sincere apologies. I was merely trying to make conversation.”

At that the doctor finally looked up at him, flashing him a smile that was both soft and menacing. “You must understand, Mister Shimada, I receive that sort of comment all of the time in my field and I make a point to explain how ridiculous it is whenever I have the opportunity.” Here she paused and looked at Genji, glancing over him once before sighing. “Well, I can give you a second chance if you would like. No hard feelings?”

Relaxing a bit, Genji nodded. “Understood. So what brings you to Overwatch?”

As she talked, the doctor stood up and walked towards Genji, a small tool in her hand. “Please look at me and do not blink, Mister Shimada.” He turned towards her as she turned on a light in her tool and began to examine his left eye. “I came here for the same reasons as anyone else would. I want to save lives and help people. Protect people from omnics, and each other.” She switched to his left eye. “Ah but you are not like us, are you? You are a Shimada. You want money, fame, and women, no? This is just an excuse to show off.” She pulled away and began to make a note on her paper.

“Actually, quite the opposite. I was hoping to get away from the family business. My brother Hanzo will take over the company, so there is no reason for me to stay. I enjoyed my training and thought that it might be time to put my skills to use.” Genji shifted uncomfortably in his seat, watching as the woman on the other side of the desk scribbled furiously on the paper.

“So perhaps your motivations are not as selfish as they seem,” she said. Without warning she threw her pen at her patient. Genji caught it with ease, looking at it curiously before returning it to the outstretched hand of Doctor Ziegler who hadn’t looked up. “Reflexes are excellent,” she commented, jotting down another note.

“I would like to help save people, yes.” Genji paused to watch Doctor Ziegler before continuing. “Although I have never really had any friends outside of my brother, so I thought perhaps this might be a place that I could belong.”

“Well, I hope you are not here to make the wrong kind of friends.” She reached into the desk and pulled out a tape measure. “Please stand.”

“What do you mean by ‘the wrong kind of friends’ Doctor Ziegler?” Genji asked, standing up and moving away from his chair.

“You know, the girlfriend kind,” she said as she placed the tape measure across his shoulders. She lightly tapped his arms to indicate that he should raise them. “You should know that Overwatch has a strict policy prohibiting dating between members of the organization Mister Shimada.”

Genji softly chuckled. “Doctor, I have lived all of my life surrounded by people who make a living out of breaking rules. One must simply have enough drive and desire to be willing to bypass the law for what one believes is right.”

“Well then perhaps you will find something here that you are willing to break the rules for,” she said.

Doctor Ziegler moved in front of him and suddenly wrapped her arms around him. Genji tried to hide his surprise but let out a small gasp. She pulled away and placed the center of the tape on the center of his chest, laughing to herself. He could feel the tap around his torso and felt foolish for thinking that she was trying to embrace him. This woman barely knew him, and she wasn’t like any of the girls back home who clamored for him the moment they met because of his name and wealth. Doctor Ziegler had a purpose and appeared to have no intention of chasing after a fling. How could he think that she was using this opportunity at her job to get close to him?

The blonde woman laughed, tucking a stray hair behind her ear before continuing her measurements. “Please relax Mister Shimada. Otherwise these measurements will be inaccurate.” As she finished talking she looked up, her blue eyes meeting his dark ones.

Genji heard her breath catch in her throat and her hands pause on his chest. Her eyes blinked a few times, a curious expression on her face. The strand of hair had fallen back down again and Genji started to lift his hand to tuck it back behind her ear, but before he could she inhaled sharply and broke eye contact, moving away from him back to the other side of the desk.

“Well, I think that is everything,” she said, sitting down and making a few more notes. Although she tried to angle her face away from him, he could see that a soft pink glow had risen on her face. He couldn’t help but smile to himself, although he placed his hand over his mouth to cover it in case the doctor looked up.

The doctor took one final paper out and made a few notes before signing her name on the bottom and handing it to Genji. “All right Mister Shimada. You are cleared to start training. Take this back down to the office and then report tomorrow to the hangar to begin.”

Genji grabbed the paper and examined it briefly. “Unit A… is that the unit with Commanders Morrison and Reyes?” he asked, unable to hide the surprise in his voice.

“It is indeed. They were both very impressed with your skills during the trial and requested that you be added to their unit. You will have a quite a bit of work to do to be as battle ready as the rest of the unit but we are all confident in your abilities.” She smiled warmly, sending a wash of pride over Genji.”

“I will do my best to make them proud.” Genji stood up from his chair and bowed. He turned around and began to walk to the door, but paused with his fingers on the handle. “And will I be seeing you around as well, Doctor Ziegler?” He tried to keep his voice level, but the nervous and hopeful turmoil he felt swelling in his chest was hard to contain.

“I am the medic assigned to Unit A when they need someone on the field, so I am sure we will be working very closely together during our mutual time at Overwatch,” she answered, pausing her shuffling of papers to smile at him one last time.

“Then I look forward to it,” Genji said, bowing as he exited the room.

“As do I!” he heard her call out as he closed the door behind him. The walk back down the office to drop off his clearance paper was quiet, leaving him ample opportunity to mull over the interaction in his head. Was it just his imagination or was there a spark there between the two of them? Every girl that he had been around he had never bothered to have a conversation with; he had a playboy reputation for a reason and his family name made it all the easier to live that fantasy. But something about Doctor Ziegler made his stomach tie into a knot, made his pulse race. All he could think about was seeing her again, but her warning about Overwatch’s personal relationship policy echoed in his head. As he deposited the paper, he shook the thoughts from his head. If she felt the same way he had plenty of time to figure out how to make things work. For now he had to focus on training, since there was no point in falling for the doctor if instead he fell on the battlefield.

#overwatch #gency #genji shimada #overwatch mercy #angela ziegler #genji x mercy

[thewriterofmanythings]

Goodbye is the Hardest Word: Alternate Ending

A/N: This is the same as the earlier chapter with an angstier ending. It was originally intended for one person only but it was weighing on my mind so I thought I'd publish it. To start where the versions diverge CTRL+F "Alternate End".

Quiet car rides were among your least favorite things in the world. Driving you loved, especially with the windows down and your favorite song blasting on the radio. Having Himchan beside you made it even better, the smiles you received from your boyfriend making your soul feel light and free.

This was not one of those car rides.

A heavy silence hung in the car, the reason for the somber mood lying unspoken between the two of you. The radio was playing softly in the background, but it seemed to be only playing commercials and boring top 40 songs, providing no relief from the tension. Besides, neither of you felt up to singing anyways.

You were so lost in your thoughts as you approached a stoplight that you jumped when Himchan reached over and put his hand on top of yours. “Sorry,” he muttered, wincing at your face. His thumb rubbed the back of your hand before you moved to lace your fingers through his. “I know this is hard for you….” Himchan’s voice trailed off, his gaze not meeting yours.

“No, it’s okay.” You gave his hand a squeeze as the light turned green. His hand held tight to yours as you pulled into the entrance to the airport. You payed the parking toll and pulled into a spot on the bottom floor of the parking garage, taking deep breaths as you shut off the vehicle. Trembling hands rested on the keys for a moment before you pulled them from the ignition. “Let’s go.”

The two of you exited the car silently, Himchan grabbing his suitcase from the backseat. As he met you behind the car, the arm that was not attached to the luggage pulled you in close to him by your shoulders. He kissed the top of your head and you took a moment to breathe in his scent, the deep musk of his cologne mixing with the lush fresh rain scent of the laundry detergent still lingering on his dark flannel overshirt. It took everything you had to keep yourself from dragging him back to the car and driving far, far away from the airport.

Both of you had known going into this relationship that it was going to be difficult. Long distance relationships were unfamiliar to the two of you, but the emotions between your souls was too strong to be kept apart by oceans and continents, so you took the leap. The past two years with Himchan had been the two happiest years of your life, but it didn’t come without its challenges.

The both of you were college students, meaning that it was difficult to be together. Saving money to visit one another was not easy with tuition costs, plus the need to survive by paying for food and rent. Additionally, wifi and cellular usage was necessary to maintain contact when fourteen hours across the world from one another. Skype call dates and late night text sessions were nearly an everyday occurrence for you, whispers of affection and passion traveling miles through a telephone speaker to the person at the other end, never fully reaching their hearts the way the sender wished.

With careful saving and planning, over the past few years the two of you had managed to save up enough for two one-week trips to visit each another a year. Once in the summer and once in the winter, squeezing in a quick trip in between semesters. This summer it had been Himchan’s turn to visit you in America, and the two of you had a wonderful time together. You were too broke to do anything of real consequence as far as vacations went, but the time you two were able to spend together was more than enough. Having him here in your arms for a whole week instead of just a face on a screen, a tangible form, meant more to you than you could ever express.

As Himchan led you into the airport, you rubbed the soft fabric of his shirt in between your fingers. Every cell of your body was screaming to hold on to as much of him as you could for these few precious moments you still had him. Every brain cell was devoted to memorizing his face, his voice, his scent, the way he looked at you like you were the only thing that mattered in the world…

Hand intertwined tightly with yours, Himchan pulled you along to the ticket counter to check his luggage and print out his tickets. His tone was quieter than usual, betraying the sorrow he was trying to hide for your sake. You squeezed his hand to silently encourage him and noticed a smile tug at his lips, though he kept his eyes on the man who was helping him with the ticket.

The airport was in a small, quiet town, so there were very few people in the airport. Security would be a breeze to get through, so the two of you took a seat out in the front lobby to enjoy your last few moments before Himchan would have to leave. You rested your head on your boyfriend’s shoulder and pulled you close with his arm, burying a kiss into the top of your head. You hand continued to play with the slightly frayed end of his flannel shirt; the fibers were the only thing that held anything close to a distraction from Himchan’s imminent departure but it appeared to be to no avail.

“Hey, when you come for Christmas, we should go ice skating this time,” Himchan said, pulling on your hair softly.

A chuckle escaped your lips without warning. “We’ve been over this, I’m a total klutz. Metal blades plus ice plus my gracefulness is a recipe for disaster. We’ll both end up dead!”

Himchan’s mouth morphed into a slight pout. “But _____, I’ll be there to help you. Besides, haven’t I ever told you that that’s a dream date for me? Winter wonderland style. I want to experience it with you.”

Your resolve faded fast, looking into his dark soulful eyes, and with a groan you nodded. “Okay, but if I die, know that it’s all your fault.”

The two of you softly settled back into comfortable silence. A clack of high heels, the rolling of luggage wheels, and the occasional announcement from the speaker were the only sounds that echoed through the airport as the two of you sat in an embrace, each playing with the other’s hair.

Eventually Himchan glanced at his watch and sighed. “I hate to say this, but I probably need to go through security now so I’ll be ready to board when the time comes.” Even though you didn’t look at him, he felt you nod against his chest and stood up, careful to help you stand up without crashing to the floor.

For the first time all day you looked at Himchan, really truly looked at him. Here stood everything you loved, everything you had fought for over the past two years, everything you wanted your future to be. He was what mattered the most to you in this world, and here you were having to let him go once again.

Carefully, afraid he might break if you squeezed too hard, you stood on your tiptoes and wrapped your arms around his shoulders, burying your face in his neck. His own arms found purchase around your waist, pulling your body nearly flush with his. Your heart was pounding, sadness, anxiety, loneliness, and panic all welling up at once. Himchan was whispering things in your ear, but you were two wrapped up to hear more than the occasional “It’s going to be fine” and “I love you so much” scattered around.

You both stood locked in that embrace until he felt your teardrops on his neck. “Hey,” he pulled back to meet your eyes. “It’s okay, there’s no need to cry,” he lied, tears welling in his own eyes as he gazed at you. Foreheads touched and you laced your fingers through his soft hair, trying to hold on to as much of him as you could.

The tears were coming even faster now; Himchan was trying to stop each tear with a little kiss but he couldn’t keep up. You could feel a drop or two on his own face even though he was struggling to keep up a strong front for your sake.

Your noses bumped and with a laugh Himchan leaned forward and pressed his lips to yours. Despite the tears, his touch was tender and careful; he always took care of you and never pushed you in any aspect of the relationship until you were ready. Taking his cue you deepened the kiss, sighing into his mouth as you felt fully intertwined with your boyfriend. Neither of you were ever full of the others presence, always starving for more of everything, from kisses and glances to jokes and “I love you”s. What you loved most about Himchan was his ability to constantly give pieces of himself and stay the same because of the love he received from you.

Suddenly the kiss broke, and surprised you leaned forward to follow Himchan’s lips as he drew away. Your lids fluttered open and you saw Himchan glancing at you lovingly. “What a-” you began to ask.

“Shhh. I want to capture this. You. Here and now, no screen, no technology. Just you.” His thumb softly stroked your cheek as his eyes memorized every inch of your face, before leaning forward and kissing you on the top of your head. “I’m sorry, but it’s time for me to go.”

The look in your eyes must have nearly broken Himchan’s heart as you noticed his lip tremble a bit before he removed his flannel shirt and placed it around your shoulders comfortingly. “I’ll call you as soon as I get home, okay? Get some rest, _____. I love you.”

With one last squeeze of your hand, Himchan turned around and walked towards the escalator leading towards security. Your gaze followed him until he reached the top, when he turned around and gave a soft wave. Somehow your hand responded in kind right before he disappeared further into the airport, once again being taken away to reside so many miles away from you.

You had no idea how long you stood in the middle of the airport, Himchan’s shirt wrapped around your shoulders and tears streaming down your face. Neither did you have any clue how you ended up home safely, car intact but not your heart. Lying in bed wearing your boyfriend’s shirt, you cried yourself to sleep, phone at your side for when the call would come.

*** *Alternate End*

You spent the next day floating in and out of consciousness, tired from the intense emotions, depressed from your boyfriend’s absence, and weakened by your refusal to eat the day before. When you finally managed to become aware enough of your surroundings, you realized that it was the next day and shook yourself awake. Your phone showed no messages from Himchan, which was peculiar, but you knew flights got delayed and traffic near his house was not always the best, so you brushed off any doubts lingering in your mind.

There was still a glass of water on your nightstand, which you quickly gulped down to soothe your parched throat. You began to scroll through your social media, catching up on the events in the day since you had been asleep. It did not take long for you to stumble across the breaking news of the day.

Your heart began to sink as you read the news of an airplane that had crashed while attempting to land outside of Korea. Officials did not appear to know what the cause of the crash was yet, but supposedly no survivors had been found. Thoughts began to race through your head but you pushed them away, trying to remain calm. You found the number of the plane and quietly memorized it, looking to check it against the record. Surely there was no possible way that this was the airplane that Himchan had been on.

Instantly your blood ran cold as you found the text from your boyfriend. The words “flight UA 288” flashed in front of you, confirming your worst fears. Your hands shook as you hit the speed dial on your phone, refusing to believe that any of this was true. As you lifted your phone to your ear you tried to control your ragged breathing, certain that Himchan would pick up any second.

“This is Himchan, apparently I can’t reach my phone right now, leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.” Beep

Liquid began to spill from your eyes as you hung up the phone and redialed. “This is Himchan-” Once again you hung up and redialed, praying to every deity you could think of that this was a bad dream. One ring…. Two rings…. Five….

“This is Himchan, apparently I can’t reach my phone right now, leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.” Beep

Silence filled the room as the phone waited for your message, but fear had paralyzed you. A whisper of “I’m sorry Himchan” fell from your lips before you lost your grip on your phone. Your brain was torn between despair at the reality that faced you and denial over what had really happened. Even as you thought he’s gone your mind ran through every possible scenario that could excuse what had occurred. Still, somewhere deep down you could feel that this was your new reality, and as the tears stained your face you wrapped his shirt around you a little tighter, clinging to the last piece you had left of him. Promises of Christmas and a bright future together faded away in front of your eyes as your consciousness slipped away from you, Himchan’s smile greeting you on the other side of the darkness.

#himchan #kim himchan #himchan scenarios #kim himchan scenarios #BAP #bap scenarios #kpop #kpop scenarios

[thewriterofmanythings]

Just over a day left on this giveaway!

50 follower giveaway

Hey guys!! So I passed 50 followers a little while back and wanted to do a giveaway but I just haven’t had a chance to get it written out. Unfortunately I’m not rolling in the dough, so this giveaway is pretty simple. The winner of this giveaway will get one scenario request of their choice! This is a big thing for me because I don’t take requests, but I will for the winner!! Some specifics- *only one like and one reblog per person, thanks! *I will not write any smut, I’m sorry. Angst, fluff, pretty much anything else. No smut. *You do not have to be following me but I’d love for you to at least read a few of my fics to get an idea of my writing style so you know what you’d like if you win *I’m still new to kpop so there’s not a lot of groups that I’m willing to write for so please don’t enter this if you would not be interested in a scenario from one of the following groups- •SHINee •VIXX •BTS •B.A.P. •Block B (probably only Zico though we could discuss other members, might need some extra time on that though)

*Please respond within 48 hours of selected or I will draw another winner

This giveaway will end on August 15th (2016 of course) so please enter!! Thanks guys for following me and may the odds be ever in your favor!!

[thewriterofmanythings]

Five more days guys!

50 follower giveaway

Hey guys!! So I passed 50 followers a little while back and wanted to do a giveaway but I just haven’t had a chance to get it written out. Unfortunately I’m not rolling in the dough, so this giveaway is pretty simple. The winner of this giveaway will get one scenario request of their choice! This is a big thing for me because I don’t take requests, but I will for the winner!! Some specifics- *only one like and one reblog per person, thanks! *I will not write any smut, I’m sorry. Angst, fluff, pretty much anything else. No smut. *You do not have to be following me but I’d love for you to at least read a few of my fics to get an idea of my writing style so you know what you’d like if you win *I’m still new to kpop so there’s not a lot of groups that I’m willing to write for so please don’t enter this if you would not be interested in a scenario from one of the following groups- •SHINee •VIXX •BTS •B.A.P. •Block B (probably only Zico though we could discuss other members, might need some extra time on that though)

*Please respond within 48 hours of selected or I will draw another winner

This giveaway will end on August 15th (2016 of course) so please enter!! Thanks guys for following me and may the odds be ever in your favor!!

#reblog #giveaway

[thewriterofmanythings]

Peanut Gallery

Jungkook x Reader

2786 words

Fluff

Jungkook's friends team up to surprise him for his birthday! What's the surprise? You!

This is actually based on something that happened to a friend of mine. She was basically in Kookie's position in this fic. I thought it would make an interesting scenario, and who better of a fit than the Golden Maknae himself? Hope you guys enjoy!

It had been a while since you had last seen Jeon Jungkook. Living a few hours away from each other never allowed for much face-to-face interactions, but with the modern advances in technology the two of you had talked nearly every day. The bond that the two of you had formed over the performance conference stayed strong through the hundreds of miles of distance.

You had also made a friend out of Namjoon and several of the other boys that Jungkook had hung out with during the college conference. The rapper and his cohorts were strong supporters of their youngest friend’s flirtationship with you, so naturally when you had mentioned to Namjoon and Jin on a Skype call that you wanted to surprise Kookie for his birthday, the boys set about making the meeting happen. Two weeks later and here you were, parking in the apartment complex of the man that you had more than a vague crush on.

 Before climbing out of your car you took a quick glance in your rearview mirror, checking to ensure that your lipstick remained smudge free and your hair was still in place. Your stomach felt like it was on a Ferris wheel taking small loops up and down, too slow to cause any real concern but just enough to make you uneasy and faintly sick. Deep breaths in and out helped suppress the feeling a bit, but as you stepped out of the vehicle and glanced at the tall building in front of you, the queasy feeling came back at full force.

 One text to Namjoon and an elevator ride later, you were standing outside of apartment 304. This was the apartment that Jungkook shared with Namjoon and Jin, two of his oldest friends. However you knew behind this door were all seven of the boys, gathered together to celebrate the youngest boy’s birthday. Your heart was racing as you reached up to knock on the door, hand trembling faintly.

 The faint noise of laughter that was coming from within ground to a halt, replaced by a low murmur. Namjoon’s deep voice made an appearance behind the door but you could not distinguish any words. You were so involved in trying to listen that when the apartment door suddenly opened it startled you.

 Jungkook’s wide dark eyes echoed the surprise in yours. You however recovered much more quickly than him, throwing your arms around his neck and shouting “Happy birthday Jungkook!!” The poor kid almost lost his balance, still in shock, but managed to regain his footing and wrapped his arms around your waist.

 “_____, what are you doing here?” Kookie asked, pulling back to look at you.

 “I’m here to surprise you!! I’d say it was a success, too,” you said, chuckling. You winked at Namjoon. “The boys helped me to get here for your birthday.”

 Namjoon approached and clapped a hand onto the youngest boy’s shoulder. “We knew that you guys were pretty close, so we all thought we should bring her down here so she could join us for your birthday celebration today.”

 Jungkook looked from you to Namjoon and back again. “Whoa, really?” he asked. As the two of you responded with a nod, he broke out into a grin. “Wow, that’s so awesome! Thank you guys! I’m so glad to have you here, _____.”

 A groan came from the lump of Yoongi that was resting on the apartment couch. “Can we go get the ice cream now?” His grumpy voice was muffled by the beanie that was pulled down over his face, but the full intensity of his question was clear. If they didn’t get Yoongi sugar soon, it wouldn’t be a happy birthday for anyone.

 “Come on, let’s go! The ice cream shop is just a few blocks away!” Jimin grabbed your hand and began to drag you back out into the hallway.

 “Ay! Jimin! What are you doing with my guest?” Kookie called after you.

 “Kidnapping her! If you want her back you better get the rest of the peanut gallery moving!”

 ***

 A short walk later, the eight of you had finally found your way to the local ice cream shop. After some debating, all of you got different flavors. Kookie went with Rocky Road, the same thing he always did according to the rest of the boys. Namjoon chose mint chocolate chip and Yoongi went for a refreshing raspberry sorbet. Taehyung always picked something new whenever he came to this shop, and today bubble gum caught his eye. Hobi landed on double chocolate to the surprise of Jin, who favored classic vanilla. Jimin closed his eyes and pointed to a random flavor, winding up with cookie dough. Finally, you went with your own favorite ice cream, the one that never disappointed you even after all these years.

 Since there were so many of you everyone decided that it would be best to leave the small shop and meander over to the nearby park. It was a Tuesday, so the place was fairly quiet except for a couple jogging on the sidewalk and a middle age man playing Frisbee with his German Shephard. A solitary picnic table resting underneath a pine tree was quickly commandeered by Hobi, who waved the rest of you over.

 There was silence for a few moments as everyone dug into their snack, each relishing in the cool relief that their mouth found in the near summer heat. You and Kookie swapped bites of ice cream, complimenting each other on choice of ice cream before his cheeks flushed and he fell silent.

 “We’re glad you could make it down, _____,” Jin said, attempting to break up the awkward tension. “We’ve missed you.”

 “I’ve missed you guys too!” you exclaimed, smiling brightly at the group of friends.

 “Do you still remember the dance routine our group learned?” Jimin asked eagerly. Seeing you nod, he hopped up onto the picnic table to everyone’s surprise and began dancing. The sharp hip hop moves made the table squeak as if it was going to break at any moment, causing the rest of the party to beg him to get down. Begrudgingly he agreed, sitting down to finish his ice cream with a pout.

 Once the cups had been thrown away neatly in the trashcan, the group was about to head back to the apartment when Taehyung launched himself at Jimin, yelling “Tag you’re iiiiiitttttt!!!!” before immediately dashing off across the park. Jimin froze, watching his friend run off, then turning his attention to slowly glance over at each of his other companions.

 No one moved a muscle as Jimin gave them a once over, the park oddly quiet except Taehyung’s screaming in the distance. Suddenly, Hobi yelled “Scatter!!” and without another word the entire group launched themselves in different directions, hoping to get far enough away from Jimin that he wouldn’t choose them as a target.

 You didn’t have a direction in mind when you took off running, your only goal was to go as far as possible as fast as possible. A sudden expletive not too far away on your right made you realize that Namjoon must have been caught by Jimin, and you immediately diverted your path to the left. A loud whoop from Taehyung encouraged you and you pulled yourself behind a tree to give yourself a moment to catch your breath. A quick peek around allowed you to assess that Namjoon was in hot pursuit of Yoongi, who seemed to be groaning something about how he was “too old for this crap” before being taken down the younger man.

 Using the moment of distraction from the change of attacker you sprinted across to the next tree, but Yoongi saw you out of the corner of his eye and began to pursue. Desperate to lose him you began to run towards Jin, hoping that the presence of another target would make Yoongi change his focus. The distraction seemed to work as you heard Jin give a sudden yelp, but you kept running for fear of gaining the tagger’s attention once again.

 For the next few minutes you kept blindly running, dodging everyone who came anywhere near you. You had lost track of who was “it”, so your main strategy was just to stay as far away from your friends as possible within the perimeter of the park. Various yelps and cuss words flew behind you, but you were a determined to get out of this one unscathed.

 When you finally noticed Jungkook rushing up behind you, it was too late to divert your path, so you stopped dead in your tracks, hoping that he would run past you whether he was “it” or not. However Kookie’s quick reflexes were in full effect today and his long arms reached out to grab you as he passed. The strength of his grasp and his momentum sent the two of you spiraling down to the ground, rolling over a few times on the grass until finally you both came to a standstill, Kookie’s back on the ground and you flush against his chest, his arms still holding tight to you.

 A fit of giggles took hold of you as Kookie asked “Are you all right?” His big brown eyes looked at you with worry until you nodded, when he himself began to laugh. “Um, tag you’re it I guess?” he said. The two of you kept chuckling, lost in each other’s smiling gaze until you heard the approach of the other boys.

 “Well, what do we have here?” Taehyung teased. You quickly rolled off of Kookie, noticing that his suddenly flushed face must match your own.

 “Mmm, I dunno, maybe we should give them some alone time…” Jin said, jokingly turning around as if to walk off.

 “All right, up and at ‘em,” Namjoon said, offering you a hand to get you back on your feet. Hobi did the same to Jungkook, although you could have sworn you saw him wink at the younger man as he helped him up.

 “Can we go back to the apartment now?” Yoongi groaned. “I’m tired.”

 “Good idea! Last one back pays for pizza!” Taehyung shouted, before launching off with inhuman energy once again towards the apartment complex. Hobi gave a half-hearted sprint to follow before giving up.

 “HEY! THAT’S IT. NO MORE RUNNING YOU PUNK. WHEN WE GET HOME I’M GONNA KILL YOU.” Yoongi said before slumping over on Jin’s shoulder, resigning himself to a slow trudge back to the cool air conditioned room.

 ***

 The next three hours were spent chowing down on pizza and playing games on the boys’ Xbox. Just Dance was a popular choice at first, but as everyone was still exhausted from the game in the park earlier, the idea was quickly abandoned in favor of karaoke. You had never before been in a room with so many people who could sing extremely well that were singing so off key on purpose. The antics made you have such a wonderful time that you didn’t even notice that it was getting so late until Jin leaned over and showed you the time on his phone.

 “Oh crap, guys. I’m so sorry but I have to go. It’s still a two hour drive to get back home. Thank you for inviting me to hang out though, I had so much fun.”

 A round of “No problem”s, “Thank YOU”s, and “Anytime”s echoed around the room as you gathered your shoes and keys. You gave each boy a hug before heading to the door.

 “Hey, mind if I walk you down?” Jungkook asked, rubbing the back of his head nervously. “It’s getting kind of late and I want to make sure you get to your car safely.” He looked at you then at his friends, who abruptly stopped winking and giving thumbs up as soon as you turned around.

 “I’d like that very much, Jungkook. Thank you.”

 The walk to the elevator and the ride down to the ground floor was a strange silence, filled with a nervous tension that neither of you were willing or able to voice. Your hands brushed as you both went to push the elevator button, making the two of you blush once again.

 When you finally got outside you decided to take the leap and break the silence. “I hope you had a good birthday Kookie. And I’m really glad that I got to spend it with you.”

 Jungkook’s hands were nervously thrust into his pockets, his broad shoulders hunched a bit. “I did! It’s been the best birthday I’ve had in a while. Thank you for showing up, it… really did surprise me.”

 By this point, you had reached your car and were standing awkwardly beside it, uncertain of what to do. “Good, I’m glad! Maybe for my birthday, you can come visit me!” you said, smiling uncertainly.

 “Oh! Yeah, I’d love that!” Jungkook said, nodding enthusiastically. Silence fell once again, the cool breeze filling the space in between the two of you.

 “Well, I really need to get going… Thanks again, and I’m glad you had a fun time!” You leaned forward to hug him and the tall figure wrapped his arms around you, the warmth from his body making your heart race. His scent matched his personality, soft upon first encounter but strong and welcoming the longer you lingered. You wanted to stay here forever, encircled in his embrace.

 The pit in your stomach that formed when he pulled away was quickly replaced with an electric tingle when Jungkook leaned down and hesitantly placed his lips on yours. You were shocked at first causing you to tense, but your brain suddenly shut down and you melted, relaxing into the kiss. His lips were soft, despite everything else about his body being strong. He pleaded no entrance to your mouth, nor did his hands roam around your body. It was simply a gentle kiss, relaying his affection and desire for the beginning of what could be a beautiful relationship.

 When he pulled back, it took you a moment to open your eyes. Your mind was capturing the moment, recording it forever to be cherished and enjoyed. As you flicked your eyes open you saw Kookie, looking at you with affection and worry, perhaps afraid that you wouldn’t be all right with the events that had transpired just now. Before you could reassure him, you heard the faint sound of yelling in the distance.

 Startled, the two of you looked up to see five shapes pressed up against the third floor window, eagerly watching the events in the parking lot. You could faintly make out Taehyung performing what appeared to be a victory dance, Hobi rapidly fist pumping the air, Jin giving a small thumbs up, and Jimin and Yoongi exchanging high fives.

 “Um, Kookie… Are your friends celebrating… us?” you asked, sure that your face was bright red at this point.

 “Oh my god. I think they are.” Jungkook said, staring horrified at the window to his apartment. “I’m going to kill them. I swear I’m going to kill them.”

 “It’s okay, let them have this victory. They diiiiid kind of set this up anyways. Next time we’ll just have to be more careful.”

 “Next time?” This broke Kookie’s gaze from the window as he turned to look at you with a raised eyebrow.

 “Well, there won’t be a next time if I don’t get home in the first place. Good night Kookie.” You stood on your tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before darting into the car.

 “Text me when you get home, okay?” Kookie said as he closed the car door for you. He stood in the parking lot, waving you goodbye until you were far out of sight.

 ***

Today 10:03 PM

Made it home safely =) Kookie: Glad to hear Kookie: 

Kookie: So Namjoon sent me this picture… Oh my god Is that what I think it is?? Kookie: Yup Wow, they really were invested Kookie: Apparently Kookie: Oh and Jimin wants to know if I’m a good kisser… Kookie: But you don’t have to answer that!! Kookie: Just a warning in case he brings it up Tell him that I have inconclusive evidence I’ll need to perform more tests before I can get enough data to determine the status of your kissing skills Kookie: Oooh Kookie: Wait more data?? -_- You know what I mean Jungkook Kookie: OH Kookie: Right Kookie: More tests it is hehe Anyways I’m going to bed Have a good night Jungkook Thanks for everything =) And Happy Birthday! Kookie: Thank you! Kookie: Goodnight and sweet dreams. <3 Sweet dreams Kookie

#bts scenarios #jungkook scenarios #kookie scenario #jungkook #bts #kpop scenarios

[thewriterofmanythings]

Angel Wings

Onew/reader

1846 words

Heavy angst

Letting go is never easy, especially with four legged friends

I'll be completely honest, this is really just a bit of therapy for me with some stuff I'm going through right now. It didn't really need to be a scenario, and it certainly didn't need to be Jinki, but this was the easiest way to get things out and Onew is my ultimate, so I go to him in times of need. If you decide to read this roller coaster ride, thanks for sticking it out and I hope you didn't get too bummed out.

Jinki guessed something was off when he hadn’t heard from you in a few hours. He presumed something was up when he got a hastily typed text from you begging for a ride. When he found you on the floor of your living room sobbing, he knew beyond a doubt something was horribly, horribly wrong.

“Oh my god _____, what happened?” Jinki said, rushing into the room. There he saw you sitting with your little dog in your lap, holding it close. The poor thing was wrapped in a blanket, you held him close to your body. His tail peeked out from the end of the blanket, faintly wagging at Jinki from where he lay.

 “I-it’s Romeo…” you muttered through your tears. “Something happened to h-him. I c-called my m-mom and… and she thinks he had a stroke.” With this verbalization of your worries you completely broke down. Romeo struggled to look up at you, clearly aware that something was troubling his owner but unable to do anything about it.

 Jinki moved over to you, putting his right arm around your shoulders to comfort you and stroking the white dog’s ears with his left hand. Upon moving closer to the animal he could tell that something was wrong; the usual hyper pet was subdued, his long tongue that always stuck out of his mouth remained unmoving, the cloudy gaze of his eyes staring at Jinki with a hollow, confused look.

 “Do you know what happened?” Jinki asked in a soft voice, attempting to calm the both of you.

 Through several sniffles and sobs, you managed to explain to him how Romeo had suddenly started hacking two days ago. You hadn’t been too worried at first, the Maltese had always had problems with his throat due to an incident he had had from his first home. However, as the days passed, things began to spiral and Romeo had suddenly been unable to walk. It seemed as if he had lost all sensation and control over the right side of his body. A quick phone call to your mom had nearly confirmed your worst fears, prompting you to take your baby to the vet. You knew that it would be impossible to drive in this condition, so you had texted your boyfriend to help assist you in this endeavor.

 “Okay, let’s get you guys loaded up,” Jinki said, helping you stand while Romeo was still swaddled in your arms. He carefully guided you out through your front door, locking it behind you, before he helped you climb into his car and click the seatbelt in place around you. Silently he closed the door and got into the driver’s seat, setting off for the vet’s office.

 The entire way there you were whispering to Romeo, and Jinki’s heart broke as he struggled to maintain focus on the road. He knew just how much this dog meant to you; Romeo was the first pet you had completely on your own, having gotten him just two short months after moving out of your parents’ house. The two of you had endured a lot together already, Romeo being your only source of support during your last breakup, before you met Jinki. Although he was older for a Maltese, he still had some years ahead of him, and having to say goodbye to him now would absolutely break you.

 Romeo’s left ear perked up a bit at the sounds of crunching gravel and faint dog bark as Jinki pulled into a parking lot outside of the veterinarian’s office. Your boyfriend assisted you in getting out of the car and into the clinic, careful to keep the little dog safe and comfortable at all times. The receptionist greeted you warmly as Jinki gestured for you to sit down at the nearest chair. You kept whispering softly to your dog, the flow of tears mostly stopped at this point. Occasionally Jinki would ask you a question as he filled out the paperwork, but otherwise an unusual stillness hung over the waiting room.

 Once your boyfriend had turned in the clipboard with the appropriate forms, it was only five minutes before you were directed to the second examination room. You gently set Romeo down on the table, careful to keep the blanket wrapped around him. His tail gave a half-hearted wiggle, making your lip quiver in an attempt to keep the tears at bay. You pulled one of the chairs up to the table so that you could still hold onto him while sitting down. Jinki followed, holding onto our other hand to let you know that he was here for you.

 The ten minute wait that followed was mostly silent save for a hacking fit of Romeo’s that sounded horrible. Thankfully the vet entered the room soon after and began discussing with you the symptoms that your dog was displaying. A few nods, a check with the stethoscope around her neck, and then they were whisking Romeo away for some tests and X-rays.

 As you sat there waiting for the news about your beloved dog, you sank into Jinki, allowing him to comfort you. Part of you wanted to keep crying but you were so exhausted that instead you closed your eyes and laid your head on your boyfriend’s shoulder. A soft kiss was pressed against your hair, his hand rubbing slow soothing circles on your back. You heard his angelic voice saying that everything would be all right, and before you knew it you were dozing off in the examination room.

 The nap was a short one; Jinki nudged you awake as the vet reentered the room without your dog. Her face was fairly composed but you could see that she was grim, making your heart sink. You held your tears back however, determined to hear what she had to say in case there was a glimmer of hope.

 “Well, we performed some tests and did an X-ray, and we were able to determine that it was indeed a stroke. That being said, it appears that Romeo has lost total nerve control over the right side of his body. Paralysis is somewhat common in stroke cases, but this kind of total paralysis of one side is rare, and… unfortunately, irreversible. I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but even though he survived the stroke, his quality of life would be extremely poor for however long he has left, and since he already had one stroke, another one is much more likely. Ultimately it’s your decision, but as your vet, I would recommend euthanizing him so that way he is no longer in any pain.”

 Upon hearing the word “euthanizing”, the dam holding back your tears dissolved and you were uncontrollably sobbing into Jinki’s shoulder. A scream emitted from your throat and you felt his strong arms wrap around you, pulling you close to him. Tear after tear came from your eyes; you cried so much that soon you were retching into a trash can you found in the corner of the room. Jinki held your hair back and calmly repeated your name to soothe you.

 Eventually you collected your thoughts enough to turn to the doctor. “I… I don’t want him t-to be in any p-pain… If y-you think this is b-best, then g-go ahead….”

 The vet nodded at you. “I’m so sorry, Miss _____. Would you like to accompany me so that you can be with him while it happens?”

 You grabbed your boyfriend’s hand for strength before nodding at the vet. “I don’t want him to be alone.”

 Without another word the doctor guided you into a room where the fluffy little dog was, lying on his left side on the blanket. The sight of your poor pet renewed your tears and you rushed over to him, stroking his soft fur gently. The small guy lifted his head at your appearance and began to hack again. You shushed him through your tears and he calmed down, licking your face as best as he could with his half paralyzed body. Soon you were coughing again you were crying so much. Jinki could only stand back and watch the sad goodbye between owner and pet, between partners in crime, between life-sworn companions.

 Before long the vet had the injection ready, turning to you to ask if it was okay to go ahead. Taking Romeo’s paw in your hand, you tried to say yes, but no sound came out, so you nodded once again. Jinki also placed a hand on the dog while the vet slipped the needle into a vein and released the fluid.

 “He’ll go quickly, and he won’t feel a thing, I promise,” the vet stated. “I’ll leave you guys alone.” With that she had vanished, leaving the two of you, Romeo, and the crushing gravity of the situation as the only occupants of the room.

 “I’m so sorry baby, I wish I could have protected you better,” you somehow managed to gasp out. “I never wanted this for you.. I’m sorry, I’m sorry I’m sorry…”

 Tears streamed down the faces of both of you as Jinki said “Thanks for protecting her until I came along, little buddy. I promise I’ll take good care of her, don’t worry about a thing.”

 There was no more hacking, only sobs filled the room as the two of you watched Romeo’s breathing become steady, then slow, then cease entirely, the little dog finally relieved from his suffering.

 ***

 The overcast sky and cool breeze was appropriate for the somber occasion. Jinki patted the small square of overturned earth in your backyard where Romeo’s ashes rested. You had buried him with his collar and his favorite toy, a little green squeaky toy in the shape of a Christmas lightbulb. The house felt empty now, devoid of the small guy’s barks and the jingle of his tags. Jinki had stayed the night in an attempt to ease the transition from having Romeo sleeping in your bed, but you knew it was going to take more than a night to adjust.

 Your boyfriend stood up and pulled you into him by the shoulders, pressing a soft kiss to the temple. “I’m sorry, _____. You did the right thing though. He’s in a better place right now.”

 “You think?” you asked, looking up at him with puffy, bloodshot eyes.

 Jinki caught a teardrop as it fell from your left eye and wiped it away. “Yeah, I know it. You saw the little guy. He did such a good job protecting you, he’s probably walking around with the most beautiful pair of doggy angel wings anyone’s ever seen. I bet all the poodles are jealous.”

 You couldn’t help but laugh a bit at the thought, and you rested your head back on your boyfriend’s shoulder. To whatever power that had sent Romeo your way, which had gifted you with Jinki, you sent a silent prayer. Loss was never easy, change was something you fought against, but you had your boys watching after you-one from the side and one from above.

#shinee scenarios #onew scenario #jinki scenarios #angst #death trigger warning #animal death

[thewriterofmanythings]

50 follower giveaway

Hey guys!! So I passed 50 followers a little while back and wanted to do a giveaway but I just haven’t had a chance to get it written out. Unfortunately I’m not rolling in the dough, so this giveaway is pretty simple. The winner of this giveaway will get one scenario request of their choice! This is a big thing for me because I don’t take requests, but I will for the winner!! Some specifics- *only one like and one reblog per person, thanks! *I will not write any smut, I’m sorry. Angst, fluff, pretty much anything else. No smut. *You do not have to be following me but I’d love for you to at least read a few of my fics to get an idea of my writing style so you know what you’d like if you win *I’m still new to kpop so there��s not a lot of groups that I’m willing to write for so please don’t enter this if you would not be interested in a scenario from one of the following groups- •SHINee •VIXX •BTS •B.A.P. •Block B (probably only Zico though we could discuss other members, might need some extra time on that though)

*Please respond within 48 hours of selected or I will draw another winner

This giveaway will end on August 15th (2016 of course) so please enter!! Thanks guys for following me and may the odds be ever in your favor!!

#reblogging again #10 more days guys

[thewriterofmanythings]

Goodbye is the Hardest Word

Himchan x Reader

1884 words

Angst/goodbyes

Long distance relationships are never easy

 Um I'm honestly not sure what this is. Inspired by things and people but most of all Kim Himchan because I adore him.

 Quiet car rides were among your least favorite things in the world. Driving you loved, especially with the windows down and your favorite song blasting on the radio. Having Himchan beside you made it even better, the smiles you received from your boyfriend making your soul feel light and free.

 This was not one of those car rides.

 A heavy silence hung in the car, the reason for the somber mood lying unspoken between the two of you. The radio was playing softly in the background, but it seemed to be only playing commercials and boring top 40 songs, providing no relief from the tension. Besides, neither of you felt up to singing anyways.

 You were so lost in your thoughts as you approached a stoplight that you jumped when Himchan reached over and put his hand on top of yours. “Sorry,” he muttered, wincing at your face. His thumb rubbed the back of your hand before you moved to lace your fingers through his. “I know this is hard for you….” Himchan’s voice trailed off, his gaze not meeting yours.

 “No, it’s okay.” You gave his hand a squeeze as the light turned green. His hand held tight to yours as you pulled into the entrance to the airport. You payed the parking toll and pulled into a spot on the bottom floor of the parking garage, taking deep breaths as you shut off the vehicle. Trembling hands rested on the keys for a moment before you pulled them from the ignition. “Let’s go.”

 The two of you exited the car silently, Himchan grabbing his suitcase from the backseat. As he met you behind the car, the arm that was not attached to the luggage pulled you in close to him by your shoulders. He kissed the top of your head and you took a moment to breathe in his scent, the deep musk of his cologne mixing with the lush fresh rain scent of the laundry detergent still lingering on his dark flannel overshirt. It took everything you had to keep yourself from dragging him back to the car and driving far, far away from the airport.

 Both of you had known going into this relationship that it was going to be difficult. Long distance relationships were unfamiliar to the two of you, but the emotions between your souls was too strong to be kept apart by oceans and continents, so you took the leap. The past two years with Himchan had been the two happiest years of your life, but it didn’t come without its challenges.

 The both of you were college students, meaning that it was difficult to be together. Saving money to visit one another was not easy with tuition costs, plus the need to survive by paying for food and rent. Additionally, wifi and cellular usage was necessary to maintain contact when fourteen hours across the world from one another. Skype call dates and late night text sessions were nearly an everyday occurrence for you, whispers of affection and passion traveling miles through a telephone speaker to the person at the other end, never fully reaching their hearts the way the sender wished.

 With careful saving and planning, over the past few years the two of you had managed to save up enough for two one-week trips to visit each another a year. Once in the summer and once in the winter, squeezing in a quick trip in between semesters. This summer it had been Himchan’s turn to visit you in America, and the two of you had a wonderful time together. You were too broke to do anything of real consequence as far as vacations went, but the time you two were able to spend together was more than enough. Having him here in your arms for a whole week instead of just a face on a screen, a tangible form, meant more to you than you could ever express.

 As Himchan led you into the airport, you rubbed the soft fabric of his shirt in between your fingers. Every cell of your body was screaming to hold on to as much of him as you could for these few precious moments you still had him. Every brain cell was devoted to memorizing his face, his voice, his scent, the way he looked at you like you were the only thing that mattered in the world…

 Hand intertwined tightly with yours, Himchan pulled you along to the ticket counter to check his luggage and print out his tickets. His tone was quieter than usual, betraying the sorrow he was trying to hide for your sake. You squeezed his hand to silently encourage him and noticed a smile tug at his lips, though he kept his eyes on the man who was helping him with the ticket.

 The airport was in a small, quiet town, so there were very few people in the airport. Security would be a breeze to get through, so the two of you took a seat out in the front lobby to enjoy your last few moments before Himchan would have to leave. You rested your head on your boyfriend’s shoulder and pulled you close with his arm, burying a kiss into the top of your head. You hand continued to play with the slightly frayed end of his flannel shirt; the fibers were the only thing that held anything close to a distraction from Himchan’s imminent departure but it appeared to be to no avail.

 “Hey, when you come for Christmas, we should go ice skating this time,” Himchan said, pulling on your hair softly.

 A chuckle escaped your lips without warning. “We’ve been over this, I’m a total klutz. Metal blades plus ice plus my gracefulness is a recipe for disaster. We’ll both end up dead!”

 Himchan’s mouth morphed into a slight pout. “But _____, I’ll be there to help you. Besides, haven’t I ever told you that that’s a dream date for me? Winter wonderland style. I want to experience it with you.”

 Your resolve faded fast, looking into his dark soulful eyes, and with a groan you nodded. “Okay, but if I die, know that it’s all your fault.”

 The two of you softly settled back into comfortable silence. A clack of high heels, the rolling of luggage wheels, and the occasional announcement from the speaker were the only sounds that echoed through the airport as the two of you sat in an embrace, each playing with the other’s hair.

 Eventually Himchan glanced at his watch and sighed. “I hate to say this, but I probably need to go through security now so I’ll be ready to board when the time comes.” Even though you didn’t look at him, he felt you nod against his chest and stood up, careful to help you stand up without crashing to the floor.

 For the first time all day you looked at Himchan, really truly looked at him. Here stood everything you loved, everything you had fought for over the past two years, everything you wanted your future to be. He was what mattered the most to you in this world, and here you were having to let him go once again.

 Carefully, afraid he might break if you squeezed too hard, you stood on your tiptoes and wrapped your arms around his shoulders, burying your face in his neck. His own arms found purchase around your waist, pulling your body nearly flush with his. Your heart was pounding, sadness, anxiety, loneliness, and panic all welling up at once. Himchan was whispering things in your ear, but you were two wrapped up to hear more than the occasional “It’s going to be fine” and “I love you so much” scattered around.

 You both stood locked in that embrace until he felt your teardrops on his neck. “Hey,” he pulled back to meet your eyes. “It’s okay, there’s no need to cry,” he lied, tears welling in his own eyes as he gazed at you. Foreheads touched and you laced your fingers through his soft hair, trying to hold on to as much of him as you could.

 The tears were coming even faster now; Himchan was trying to stop each tear with a little kiss but he couldn’t keep up. You could feel a drop or two on his own face even though he was struggling to keep up a strong front for your sake.

 Your noses bumped and with a laugh Himchan leaned forward and pressed his lips to yours. Despite the tears, his touch was tender and careful; he always took care of you and never pushed you in any aspect of the relationship until you were ready. Taking his cue you deepened the kiss, sighing into his mouth as you felt fully intertwined with your boyfriend. Neither of you were ever full of the others presence, always starving for more of everything, from kisses and glances to jokes and “I love you”s. What you loved most about Himchan was his ability to constantly give pieces of himself and stay the same because of the love he received from you.

 Suddenly the kiss broke, and surprised you leaned forward to follow Himchan’s lips as he drew away. Your lids fluttered open and you saw Himchan glancing at you lovingly. “What a-” you began to ask.

 “Shhh. I want to capture this. You. Here and now, no screen, no technology. Just you.” His thumb softly stroked your cheek as his eyes memorized every inch of your face, before leaning forward and kissing you on the top of your head. “I’m sorry, but it’s time for me to go.”

 The look in your eyes must have nearly broken Himchan’s heart as you noticed his lip tremble a bit before he removed his flannel shirt and placed it around your shoulders comfortingly. “I’ll call you as soon as I get home, okay? Get some rest, _____. I love you.”

 With one last squeeze of your hand, Himchan turned around and walked towards the escalator leading towards security. Your gaze followed him until he reached the top, when he turned around and gave a soft wave. Somehow your hand responded in kind right before he disappeared further into the airport, once again being taken away to reside so many miles away from you.

 You had no idea how long you stood in the middle of the airport, Himchan’s shirt wrapped around your shoulders and tears streaming down your face. Neither did you have any clue how you ended up home safely, car intact but not your heart. Lying in bed wearing your boyfriend’s shirt, you cried yourself to sleep, phone at your side for when the call would come.

 ***

 The alarm for the Skype call came, jolting you out of your sleep. Despite your hazy eyes and the headache that pounded through your skull, you managed to answer the call. There was Himchan, once again a world apart, smiling at you from the other side of the screen. You grinned back at him as a little piece of your heart crumbled away, resigned to the fact that this was the life you would lead. Would you trade it though? As your boyfriend’s voice came through the speaker, you honestly weren’t sure you ever could.

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