deerthecarheadlights - Tumblr blog

deerthecarheadlights · 27 days ago

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wish you'd ask me

clarisse la rue x fem!demigod!reader

summary: you're not good at reading subtle hints, clarisse realises that maybe she should've been more upfront with her feelings for you.

warnings: fluff, oblivious!reader, clarisse is down bad, reader is very neurodivergent coded, kissing, flirting, title n fic inspired by 'Wish You'd Ask Me' by Matt Maltese.

A/N: thank you for 1.9k followers!! I love you all dearly, my ask box and dms r always open, im glad that my writing is being enjoyed by so many people<3

wc: 4.5k

You have been in camp half blood for more than 4 years. You have made yourself at home for the last several years.

It was easy to view yourself as lesser or inadequate in comparison to other mortals during your days in the real world before you were sent to camp. The world has never failed to remind you of how different you were. Always too much or not good enough, always special and never normal

And it wasn't like you were dying for some sort of diagnosis to justify why you are the way you are, but upon discovering that you were actually a demigod, it felt like all the questions you've been harboring to yourself was finally answering themselves.

Everything clicked. Everything made sense, though at the same time, it felt impossible. You were a very confused little girl when you first arrived at camp. A girl who just wanted someone to tell them that it'll all be alright in the end.

And you still remembered the first person to hold you by your shoulders and made you look into their eyes as they told you that it was all going to be okay.

The girl with beautiful long curls and dark piercing eyes. The girl that everyone else, apparently, was afraid of.

But you could never be afraid of Clarisse La Rue.

Not with the way she smiles when every time she sees you, the way she never fails to make you feel included even in activities you're not capable of participating in. Not with the way your whole body electrifies every time your skin touches, when your hands brush against each other.

It didn't matter what anyone think, because no one could change the perception you've built of her. Clarisse La Rue is good. Or at least she is to you.

When you first heard of the rumours surrounding her, you did think better than to force a friendship on her. You strayed away from her and stuck to your cabin siblings and your books, but you noticed daily how she'd still go out of her way to talk to you at least once a day.

It didn't need to be a long conversation, just a passing acknowledgement. An easygoing 'hey, how've you been doing.' Sometimes she'd even go as far as cracking a joke with you.

With how serious her face is whenever she make the jokes, you'd have to think twice as hard and thrice as faster than another person to try and guess if she was being genuine or not so you could fit in a necessary laugh when you needed to.

Even as her anger became more apparent because of the new kid's accidental climb to fame and embarrassing the Ares' cabin, she still found time to make a conversation with you.

It had been long since you tried to ignore or avoid her. You learned that her attention towards you is harmless, and that she seemed much more comfortable telling you certain things compared to others. If she has been viewing you as some sort of safe box, then you don't really mind it. You liked listening to her talk and keeping her heart's intent as your secret.

You too, talking to her. To some people, you are reserved,

and to others, talkative. Either way, people find it easy to discard you at any moment they decide you are irritating.

But Clarisse listens. And she asks questions, she's patient- much patient that anyone could anticipate or guess.

It may be hard for others to believe, but Clarisse is more complex than she seems. She had the capacity to be gentle, and she had the capacity to respect boundaries. The more time you spent with her, the more that side becomes easy for you to access.

Today, however, marks a new record for your friendship with her. A few weeks ago, she had informed you of her newfound interest in the history of folklore monsters. What a coincidence that you were currently self-studying on that specific topic.

She insisted that you hook her in on whatever it is you're learning. She had even gotten you a doughnut to eat together outside the library as you told her of your insights of dragons and their theorized blindness and incapability to differentiate a variety of prey.

The conversation went well, she seemed immensely in awe of your knowledge and had no problem telling you how she felt.

You even gave her some book recommendations, though you knew she wasn't much of a reader.

You felt a shift in your relationship that night and had spent the next three days studying more and more about the topic. And today, you had asked her to spend the evening with you.

You shouldn't feel so nervous asking her to hang out. That is what friends do, after all.

She found you in the library, sitting on the floor in between two large bookshelves. She had been right on time and enthusiastically so. The two of you sat together, hidden by the shelves as some semblance of privacy.

Clarisse looked confused when you had explained that you indeed wanted to spend the rest of the day in the library, but she accompanied you anyways.

You could never get sick of the smell of the books. Old and new, they all have some nostalgic past tied in between the pages, begging to be discovered.

You had your back on the walls with tinted windows above your head as she's seated opposite of you in a criss-crossed position.

Today, the library isn't as packed as usual. There were still people walking in and out and checking out the books on the counter, but not too many that it became obnoxiously loud and annoying.

After finishing another book of Monsters and how to spot them, you're feeling knowledgeable enough to explain the lore of the Giants to Clarisse, she had asked you about this the other day, giants have been long extinct to the point that some might even say they may have never even existed. And so you were interested in sharing with her all of the information you have learned about the majestic species of a beast.

You started with the general information. The basic understanding of what a Giant is the mythhs of Giants and the validity of those sources. Clarisse listened closely in the beginning, never interrupting you unless she had an actual question.

She seemed in awe of the stories you tell her of. You don't blame her, for you yourself have been most interested in the topic of Giants.

You were an hour an a half in when noticed her attention faltering. She leaned against the cases of books, her eyes twitched slightly when you began to explain the different types of giants, and the difference of how they operate.

Her hands are folded together on her lap, and you can feel her listening in on everything you're telling her as she adds in some commentary here and there, but you also felt that she wasn't entirely in on the conversation.

The dim lights of the library made the atmosphere feel warm and secluded, even with its vast space and many other campers hanging around in the other tables and shelves. You made sure to keep your voice low as you spoke in fear of the librarian kicking you out.

You had a good reputation with the library workers, they liked how organized and polite you were.

"A lot of people think their greatest strength is their size, which is valid, they are huge, but their real weapon is their mouth." You told Clarisse, ignoring the litter of books by your left that you had brought over for reference.

"They kiss you to death?" She asks suspiciously. You laughed shortly and shook your head. "No, I mean their breath."

She responds with an 'ohh.'

"They're giants, so their mouth is large too, and you can easily tell what they had for breakfast even from their tall height. Their breaths are also known to be so rancid it could kill you, because they don't exactly eat what we eat."

She raises a brow as she stretches her hands upwards. "Isn't that ogres?"

"It's both." You confirmed.

You were about to continue your explanation but halted by instinct as you notice how her mouth keeps pursing together as if unsatisfied, and she has that look on her face that mimicked a confused expression. You're don't think there's anything to be confused of.

"Are you okay?" You asked her worriedly. Clarisse sits up straighter at the question and waved a hand off to assure you she's fine. "Of course, no yeah- I'm fine."

"You seem bored, you're not really interested in what I'm saying are you?” She opens her mouth to counter your words but hesitates to say anything.

"I- well, I like giants-" She attempts, "-no you don't. "

"No. I don't." She admits with a sigh. "But I thought you said you were interested in these kind of stuff?" You questioned her. "Well, yeah, like the general idea of it. I mean, I don't hate it, and I like hearing you talk about it." She answers with a shrug.

"Then why do you look disappointed? If you didn't want to come, you could've just told me. I wouldn't get mad." You told her honestly. It was conflicting for you to see her so confused on what to say, being so picky with the words she chooses.

You figured she's probably reluctant to hurt your feelings. That is a notion you're used to. You'd rather she tell you the truth to your face than to be catered around like a time ticking bomb that everyone's so afraid might explode at any time.

"When you asked me out yesterday, you told me this would be an 'evening to remember." She tells you with such confidence like it was an explanation to her weird behaviour today.

"You don't think this is an evening to remember?" You sincerely inquire.

"No, I do! I just- well, when you said that I didn't think you'd mean we'd be doing this." Your frown deepens as you try to figure out what she means, eyeing her body language closely. “What do you mean? I told you I wanted to hang out.”

A part of you is offended. She was the one who had said she liked hearing you speak, why would she be disappointed that this was your idea of spending time together?

"I don't know, I thought we'd just be doing...something else?"

It didn't matter what she had really meant with that. You felt completely embarrassed once she finished her sentence. Why was it that everyone else had no problem having long conversations with their friends, but when it came to you, it's all too awkward, unnecessary, and odd?

You liked Clarisse, you considered her your friend. Sometimes you wonder if it could ever be more, but you never entertain those thoughts because you don't want to ruin what the two of you already have.

But moments like these resemble a huge slap in the face by the universe.

You couldn't even be good friends with her, how ridiculous of you to think that there could ever be something more.

"Okay, um, maybe we should just go back to our cabin." You decided whilst standing up and picking up the stack of books you're currently borrowing from the library, ready to leave the place without waiting for her.

"Hey, wait." She called out as you walked past her. You spared her a glance, trying your best not to show how upset you are. “We're friends." She says it so much like a question that you weren't sure if she's even sure of the fact herself until she continued speaking. "I like hanging out with you."

Another thing that you weren't sure if she really meant. "Sure." You replied thinking it's the most suitable response.

Before she could say anything else, you turned around and started picking up your pace until you disappeared out of her sight.

—

You have been consistently ignoring Clarisse. Which proved to be harder than expected.

When you pass by her camp or the training ground, you make a mental note to always look down or to your front as to never accidentally cross eyes with her.

And everytime you hear her call out your name, you keep walking like you didn't even hear her, knowing that she wouldn't be bold enough to call for you again. After all, she still had a reputation to uphold.

If ignoring her wasn't hard enough, having to deal with how you felt for her is worse.

You've been avoiding confrontation with yourself for weeks even before you decided to go no contact with her.

And so far, you thought you've been handling it pretty well. Except for days where you don't see her where she's expected to be. You tell yourself that you don't care as you make your way to training in the day and reading in the evening, and yet you still go back on your own words when you asked a passerby Ares kid on where his cabin leader was.

"She's dunking some kid's head into a toilet bowl." Of course she was.

You thanked the dude and went back on your way to your cabin. It's close to dusk, the sky is turning orange and the sun is dipping itself below the earth. You take your time returning to your cabin as you enjoy the way the sun slowly removes itself from anyone's viewing.

You wondered to yourself if things like these are what makes you weird or off-putting to some people.

Was enjoying nature and having niche interests only cute when it's done by girls pretty enough to be cool or if it's only in romance movies or books.

You don't find yourself weird, in fact you think all of your hobbies are pretty common and usual, and yet the way Clarisse had spoken to you at the library last week had made you feel unnatural.

You had wanted to do normal people things with her, but maybe your perception of normal is different to her.

Either way, you are pretty hurt with how she reacted. You loved her still, of course. It's kind of hard to unlike the girl you've been obsessed with since you were 15.

Once you finally reach your cabin, you quickly put down all of your books and your tiny sling back by the side before making it to the shower to refresh yourself before dinner.

You thought it hilarious of how hard you're trying not to care about Clarisse, and yet as you're cleaning yourself up, changing your clothes and attempting to read at least 15 pages of your World's Most Dangerous Beasts book, you could only think of her.

What would it take for her to think that you're cool, what kind of things did she want to do instead of listening to you yap around for 2 hours on what is an equivalent of a boring dinosaur facts, not that you really think dinosaurs are boring.

During dinner, you kept to siblings and had to make yourself finish your plate as your anxiety wrecking thoughts have a way of deriving you of an appetite. You also had to convince yourself to not search for her at the other tables which took more strength than one would expect.

But you succeeded, and you were now sure that the only obstacle left for the day was to try and fall asleep without the thoughts of her keeping you up.

Clarisse is a force, a fierce daughter of Ares, and a cabin leader who had much better things to do then hole up at quiet small places with you.

And just because she was nice enough to mantain a good relationship with you for 4 years, does not mean that you're worth her time. Or at least that's what you tell yourself.

That night, you managed to fall asleep after an hour of recalling Harpy facts in repetition. Counting sheeps had never worked on you, so you had to find something much more active to tire out your brain.

You dreamed of Clarisse with her hair down, holding your hand and pulling you closer so she could slip a flower on your ear.

And just as she's looking down at you, moving closer to do what it seemed like to kiss you, you awoke with a jolt, swearing under your breath as if you'd just gotten jumpscared by a ghost.

Someone's palms moved to shut your lips as you're met with a girl, hovering over you in the dark. Clarisse's dark eyes were recognizable, but it sent a shot of adrenaline through your body still.

"Shh." She whispered to your face, hand still keeping your mouth shut. "I'm going to remove my hands now." She whispered again. You nod in understanding and waited for her to pry her hand away from your face.

"What are you doing here?!" You exclaimed as quiet as possible as she helped you sit up.

"I'm sneaking you out." She answers with a wink. "It's 2 in the morning." You waved your hand around at the darkness and sleeping children. "3 in the morning, and yeah, I know. That's why it's called sneaking around." She corrects you with a grin so devilish that if you hadn't known her for a long time, you'd assume she's about to turn you into a new toilet bowl or dumpster boxing victim.

You sighed loudly and glared at her despite your fast beating heart. Her hand remained on top of yours until the minute becomes more awkward and she removes it as if she just remembered that she's been holding your hand.

Without explanation, she climbed out of your bed and tiptoes to the open cabin door. You're still sitting up and looking at her with conflicted feelings.

Only after she turns back to you, cocking her head towards the entrance, do you give into her request and softly leave the comfort of your bed and trail after her.

"Where are we going?" You asked after her as she kept walking. Instead of responding, she asks you another question back, "Can you swim?"

"We're going swimming?" You watch her shrug in return from behind her and became even more distressed.

"So, is this your idea of having fun and hanging out then?" She laughs drily and slowed down so you could catch up. You walked fast enough until you're beside her and waited for her to talk. "You sound surprised, I would've thought that after 4 years of friendship, you'd know by now that I love doing things that includes active movements."

You did know that, it's a bit hard to not notice how much working out, training and running fuels her even more.

"And why are we doing it in the middle of the night?" The walk towards the lake by the back of the forest was short, considering that your cabin is the closest to the location.

You almost tripped and fell over a stick, but Clarisse was quick to scoop you back up by the back of your shirt. "Thanks." You mumbled to her. "And you haven't answered my question."

Clarisse pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it on the ground without caring of your presence. You, having more moral obligations than her, twisted your face to your left when she began to pull her trousers off. "Too many people in broad daylight." She tells you.

That is a valid reason, this lake is mostly known as a hook up spot, and true to it's cause, many dating campers have been caught together here during dawn or late evenings.

You braved yourself to turn towards her again slowly and realised that she had already hopped into the water. She had a sports bra on and a boxer.

And though you yourself had a tank top and shorts on, you contemplate the idea of suicide as a better choice than having to strip in front of her.

"Are you gonna get in, or are you just gonna gawk at me from there?" You were grateful for the dark being able to hide your flushed face from her, but deep down, you knew that she probably saw it anyways because of the shining bright moonlight.

"I can't swim." You told her.

"That's fine, the water's not very deep." You ransacked your brain for reasons to decline her offer, but at the same time, a small part of you yearned to take this risk that you've been so afraid of for gods knows whatever reason.

Clarisse is there, in the water and under the moonlight. You are only a few steps away from her. And like she said, the water isn't deep, only waist length. She stares back at you with a raised brow like she's challenging you to join her.

"Turn around first." You tell her. She smirked slightly before slowly spinning to the opposite direction. "You know I've seen you naked before right?"

"What?" You choked out, aghast. "Who do you think changed your clothes for you when you first got to camp." Oh, that.

Your shoulder relaxes as you realize she's talking about the first time you met. "That's was a long time ago." You noted. She hummed im agreement. "Yeah, we've both grown since."

You told her she could turn around once you're inside the water. Forgetting about the heighy difference between you two, the water was high enough to reach your chest, trying your best not to trip underwater the way you always do on dry ground, your hand instinctively reached outnfor her shoulder.

Clarisse held your forearm tightly and drew your closer to her until you're inches away from eachother.

You breathed in sharply and felt the need to fill in the awkward silence. "So, you...like swimming, huh?"

"Yes, evidently so." She answered. "Right right, can't sit still and all that." She actually chuckled at your sarcasm, making you proud of yourself.

"You know, even before I came to camp Half Blood, I use to be a pretty active person, running track, volleyball, sometimes swimming." Your eyes widened in curiosity. "Really?" She nodded.

"The counselor told my mom that I just had so many untapped energy, which I guess is a code for anger issues." Her grip on your forearm moves higher until her palm is over your shoulder. "She told her that it'd be best for me to find a...healthy way, to channel that energy, and for my strong competitiveness. So I joined what I could, and that's how I spent most of my free time there. Besides, I never was that good academically. So, I ought to at least be good at something, right?"

"You are good." You blurted out. Your embarrassment faded away when you saw her smile. "You think so?"

"Yeah." You assured her. Her other hand had snaked around your waist without you noticing. Only when you moved slightly do you notice her holding you softly.

"The moon is really nice tonight, isn't it?" You said, trying to diffuse the tension. You pointed your finger up to the sky at the singular white orb.

She glanced up and let out a 'huh.'

"I like it when it's bright and whole like this, the moon in all of its glory. You don't even notice the starts around it when it's glowing like that." You could stare at the moom forever, even longer than the way you've been staring at the sun.

You believed in it the way children do with their birthday candle. To you, the moon has always been a symbol of hope or comfort for your future. Your fascination for it existed from when you were a child, the way it'd follow you from behind as you gazed upon it from the back of the car seat whilst your parent drove down the road.

The way it moved above you as you walked home from school, like one of the gods themselves watching over you.

"Nothing compares to the moon." You announced aloud, watching as the clouds around it began to gather over it. "Yeah, It's beautiful." You hear Clarisse speak.

As your head snapped back to her, you found that she had already been facing you.

"I like the moon...but not as much as I like you." She whispered loud enough for your ears only. Her face leans closer to yours, your noses brushing together. "Not as much as I like to hear your voice, when you tell me about your little harpy facts-"

"Oh, I haven't told you about the harpies yet." You cut her off. "I just finished that chapter this morning actually and-"

"-and, you can tell me about it after I'm done talking." You blushed and became silent, letting her speak.

Clarisse exhaled breathily, fanning your face with the subtle warm air. "I like doing things that friends do with you, but I don't want to be your friend anymore."

"Oh."

"I want to be more than friends." She elaborated.

"Oh." Oh.

You feel a sudden tightness in your chest, from anxiety or from butterflies is undecided. "You want to be best friends?" You joked, laughing nervously.

Clarisse snorted at your joke, but she was still grinning widely. "Best friends, If that's what you want to call it."

There was a moment of understanding shared between a second of shared gazes before her lips attached themselves to yours. An urgency, approval, meaning that can't be described by words.

Whatever gentleness there was inside of her before had vanished. Clarisse kissed you like a starved woman. Her lips craved yours like it'd be the last time she'll ever know how you taste like.

Your hands clasped on her shoulder and neck for support as she embraced you tighter to her body. You let her tongue slip into your mouth, meeting your own.

And as they danced together, inhaling all there is in your lips, every secret and every confession that have died on the tip ofnyour tongues, you are sure that no heaven nor hell could tear you open to see you back together like this.

You push her back abruptly, letting fresh air fill your empty lungs. "What's wrong?" Clarisse inquired worriedly.

"Last week." You sighed out, chest still heaving as your thoughts clicked together. "You thought I had asked you on a date, that's why you were disappointed."

She winced at the reminder, and for the first time in your life, you had been lucky enough to witness a flustered Clarisse.

"I'm right." Her silence confirmed. "Oh Clarisse, why didn't you just ask me?"

Huffing loudly, she rolls her eyes in irritation. "I thought I was obvious enough. "

Thinking back on it all, it did seem pretty obvious, but gods were you oblivious. The way you intepreted it all so wrongly.

"I've liked you for so long too." You admitted to her. Her scowl was gone at that, replaced by a teasing smile. "And what are you gonna do about it?" Her mouth returned to yours, letting go of all your fears and holding on to Clarisse like she's your anchor, you close the gap between your lips, welcoming the kind of pleasure that you've never tasted before.

#clarisse la rue x reader #Im sobbing I love this sm

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deerthecarheadlights · 4 months ago

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BEDTIME STORIES

Frieren x fem reader

one-shot of two immortal beings vs a normal family

3,635 words 19,726 characters

please enjoy <3

Even after centuries of being married, nothing has changed.

Opening your bedroom door, you saw a lump of bed sheets and pillows in the centre of your mattress, white strands of hair led sporadically like seaweed made of silk.

You pulled back the curtains as your feet dragged along the cold stone floors, the light flooding in on the large lump of cloth, it began to stir and groan with mumbles attached.

walking over to the lump, you sat down on the bed next to it, pulling the cover off of its face, to reveal your wonderful spouse who'd slept in until 12 o'clock. Her face scrunched at the light, and she flipped herself over, hiding her face into your leg.

your brow twitched as annoyance flickered in your mind. 'Haven't you had enough sleep, dear?' you thought to yourself before you squeezed her nose, stopping her breathing. She eventually opened her mouth and snores leaving her body, resorting to you rubbing your temples, trying not to giggle.

sitting up from the bed, you leant against a wall, making the light shine directly on her face, which was once again scrunching up at the brightness.

"Rise and shine. you've got half of the day left." you said quietly with a sing-song voice.

she slowly sat up with her eyes still shut and threw her legs over the side of the bed, pulling her blanket to wrap around her shoulder, the sleep obviously still tempting her to lie back down.

you let a few quiet huffed laughs and walked over to her, gently picking up her hands and pulling her to stand up, the blanket following.

"Reminds me of when we got married, of course, if you showed up at twelve in the afternoon with your blanket as your wedding dress, I wouldn't expect any less." You chuckled as she grumbled sleepily.

She sniffled before cracking open her eyes and craning her neck up to you. Her voice came out grumbly and quiet, her eyes still droopy as she looked at you,

"Well then, you may kiss the bride." she said before she leaned into you for a hug. This brought you into another fit of chuckles as you remembered she barely knew what she was doing when you two got married all those centuries ago.

"Aaalllright. lets get you ready for the day, dear." wrapping an arm around her shoulder, you sit her down on a stool in front of a mirror, leaving her there and shuffling through her wardrobe, picking out her normal outfit, you chucked it at her, she didn't even try to catch it, she just let it flop on her head.

you sighed, walking to the hopeless cause and pulling the clothes off of her head, seeing her hair even messier than before, you snorted. Grabbing a hair brush, you slowly and softly brushed out the tangles.

"When I'm done with this, I'll go get you a snack and you get changed, okay?" you hummed out, raking your fingers through her hair just to check for any final knots.

"mmm..." her head drooping as she responded to you, barely managing to sit up straight.

after you finished taming the mane she had on her head, you patted her and walked out, getting a snack which ended up being a banana, deciding to get her a glass of water as well, you slowly walked back to her room.

Once you opened the door, you walked in on her, just pulling the skirt over her hips. Your cheeks were slightly pink as you looked away and walked towards her, placing the snack and drink on the mirror stand.

she yawned as she spoke, adjusting the skirt, which was the only thing she had left to do.

"Even after all these years, you still blush like that at just the thought of me changing?"

you stuttered and tried to protest, but the warm look in her eyes stopped you,

"That's a good thing for me, I guess." She let out a small smile, she picked up the banana and chomped down on it, eating it quickly, drinking the glass of water as well.

"Hush. two centuries is barely any time for us. we're technically newlyweds!" you huffed, walking through the door, greeting Fern as she was walking in through the front door, deciding to sit down at the table to organise some herbs.

"You know (y/n), you're too soft on mistress Frieren. She should have been up hours ago," she grumbled as you sat beside her, nail varnish in hand, a colour you liked and that your wife also liked.

"Yeaaah, well, she's my wife, so I might as well treat her like royalty." is all you mumbled out, and in return, Fern gave you a disgusted look, making you pause painting your nails.

"What?" you asked, tilting your head. Fern just huffed and continued organising her herbs that she picked from the neighbouring woods, some you weren't even sure if they were safe for consumption.

Sitting in silence with one another, you were painting your nails while she was reading about the herbs she just picked, you were finishing your design with some little white flowers, when Stark slowly opened the front door.

He dragged his feet like they weighed tons, brushed and battered from rigorous training. He pulled up a chair and sat at the same table, slamming his head face-first into the hardwood that did nothing whatsoever to cushion his abuse. His stomach let out a loud rumble, and his voice followed in suit,

"(y/nnn), when are we having foooood?" Crocodile tears were in his eyes as he groaned and whined like a child.

you flicked your eyes over to fern, leaning to her and asking in a hushed voice,

"Do you want some food as well?" If more than one person is hungry, you'll happily get your hands dirty and make some food for everyone.

just as Fern was about to answer, your Frieren strolled in, staff in hand, scraping the floor as she pulled it through the doorway, still rubbing the sleep from her eyes, cute.

"well, I think we should wai-" Fern continued until Frieren spoke up in a groggy morning voice that was slightly more awake than earlier,

"I'd like some food...want some help in the kitchen?"

you snickered as Fern just sighed, accepting defeat. Meanwhile, Stark looked like he could flop onto the floor out of joy, a bit pathetic, actually.

"I'll be alright, dear. I'll just be making something simple for lunch anyways." you say, standing up from the table and rolling up your sleeves, letting the elven tattoos on your arms be visible, smirking as you walk to the kitchen.

"Alright, suit yourself." Frieren plopped herself down onto a chair, watching over Stark and Fern, sometimes offering advice with the herbs, making sure they were not cross-contaminated. She incinerated the earwig on one of them with a high-pitched screech, very audible to you in the kitchen, making you giggle softly as you made some crackers and cheese, using what little of the smoked salmon you have left just as a treat.

handing out all the plates to the arguing children in your eyes, you gave Frieren her plate last and sat next to her, she decided promptly to use you as a footrest, you rested your plate on her shins as she obviously wasn't moving any time soon.

as she shoved a cracker into her mouth, obviously lacking manners, she mindlessly decided to say,

"At first glance, people could mistake us for a family." As soon as she finished her sentence, she clamped her mouth around another cracker, crumbs going down her shirt, making her attempt to brush them off in a hurry.

All that Fern responded with was a firm glare, making Frieren look off to the side with a pout. stark chimed in, trying to not laugh,

"Certainly not a happy one." You covered your mouth and pretended to cough to mask your smile.

"Mhm. whatever. Stark, you're washing the dishes." She stood and walked towards the sink, half hazardly tossing them in there, as a sort of revenge that he'd have to clean it later.

"wha-?! this is straight up bullying!" she retorted, throwing his plate in the sink as well, following after her, comments being thrown his way only for him to throw it back.

silence fell upon the table.

"They're going to be like us." You broke the silence, taking a sip of tea you poured earlier with magic,

"What makes you say that?" she asked calmly, turning to you.

"Do you remember a few hundred years ago, all we would do was bicker? That dwarf that we travelled with every now and again always used to tell us to shut up and get married, or shout that the love birds were fighting." Taking another sip of your tea, you sighed,

"We both looked up to that kind man... now look at us." You looked at the ring on your left hand, a wedding band with a shape moulded that looks like vines and flowers made of pure silver.

"he was right. we really are like two doves that kept flying into each other." You were about to add another comment before your wife cut you off,

"And now the roles have been reversed, we're Cupid's helpers in this situation." She takes your teacup and sips gently, only to place it down and stick her tongue out.

"Bleh. too sweet. I never understood why you like more sugar in your drink than the actual leaves themselves." She ate her last cracker to rid the taste from her mouth.

"It's simple love, you never steal it." You took another sip as she grumbled and threw her legs off your lap. Good thing your plate was empty because you forgot to take it off her. it clashed to the ground, needing you to bend over and get it.

when you stood straight again, you turned around to scold her, but you noticed her eyes shot upwards, like she was caught looking at something. apparently, even this innocent elf wants to look at your ass when you bend over.

placing a hand on your hip and having a smug smirk dance across your face, she looks back at the herbs Fern left on the table, trying to play it off,

"What?" she asks,

"Want me to drop the plate again?" your smirk never leaving your face.

"No, don't damage it." Her face was trying to fight the pink battling to show on her face,

"It's a shame you don't know photography magic, see how it could be useful?" you giggle, sitting back down on your seat, just in time because Fern and Sark walk back in, still both grumbling, mostly Fern.

"hush.." Frieren mumbled to you, kicking you softly on your leg.

Stark sits back down, while Fern picks up her forgotten herbs from the table,

"I bet she's going to poison me with one of those." Stark said, but Fern didn't even acknowledge him, seemingly ignoring him. "Oh come on! you can't be ignoring me, Fern!"

she walked out without even a glance in his direction, "she's so mean!"

he rests his head on the table once more as you turn to Frieren,

"You wouldn't give me the cold shoulder, would you?" you asked with nervousness. She smirked, then her smile vanished as if it were never there. she stood from her seat, picking up her plate and your own, not responding or looking at you, and tossing the plates in the sink.

you pouted and looked down, only for her to walk around your chair and wrap an arm around your shoulders, giving your cheek a gentle kiss, your face feeling warm before she let out a happy 'hmph!' and walked away, following Fern.

you wonder if you need to do a check to see if you're related to Stark because the way you slammed your head into the hardwood table was identical to how he did earlier. scaring Stark almost out of his seat to see you with a bruised forehead, leaving him confused.

"She always does this when no one is looking...." you mumbled into the table.

a few short hours later, stark had finished washing up and you now had nothing to do, your nails were painted, your hair was done up, you've already prepped a meal that can be made in about ten minutes, you're wife is gone, fern's off exploring-

wait.

your wife is gone?

the thought made you stand up, not really frantically but more like 'I miss my wife, where is sheeeeee!' your inner voice cried as you started to look around your makeshift home, checking the bedroom first only to see her absence, checking the bathroom by knocking the door to get no response.

off to find Fern you go. Seeing her in the bar less than a minute away from the hotel you're all residing at, you walk in and sit next to her, noticing her accompanying Stark as he drank to his heart's content.

"Hey Fern, have you seen Frieren anywhere?" you asked, trying to seem bored but failing.

"Please don't forget to use your brain every now and again. Where would she normally be?" she stated rather than questioned, trying to demonstrate that you don't actually need to think that hard when it comes to your wife.

"Right.... to get another grimoire..." Standing from the sticky table that was probably drenched in booze that had now dried, you walked to where the mage's shop would be. seeing the spell books and ingredients in the window.

'oh yeah, she's here.' you thought to yourself, your own voice drowning you in sarcasm.

walking through the doors, hearing the bell jingle as it notified the owner a new customer just entered, you walked up to the front desk.

you were greeted by an old woman in a hood, shrouding her face in darkness, as she had an eerie smile on her face, her nose long and pointy, enough to encapsulate how witches look in fairy tales.

"Hello ma'am, I'm looking for an elf about this tall, white hair in ponytails?" you asked softly to the woman who clearly has a dated view on mages, specifically female ones.

"what's it to ya?" she grumbled, her smile turning into a snarl, a sharp thrust of her head made her eyes visible, one eye looked damaged and the other just looked...crazy.

Sighing to yourself, you calmly spoke to the woman with the same kind calm tone,

"She's my wife. I need to know when she's coming home for dinner because the children are going to be annoying when they get hungry." shaking your head, exasperated. hearing nothing but silence and a weird look from the fake witch at the checkout area, you look around the shop.

"Ah. there she is. Never mind, madam." Walking away, she gave you a huff as you walked away.

walking over to Frieren, who was looking in detail at this chest, you quickly cast an assessment spell. As the spell worked its magic, you now stood next to Frieren, wrapping an arm around her waist and pecking the side of her head.

she looked towards you with a disgusted look, only for it to change to a neutral one when she recognised you. A small smile graced her face as she leaned into you.

your result from your spell took longer than expected,

"Huh. A 50% chance of a legendary grimoire and a 50% chance of a mimic vampire crossbreed." you muttered, now you understand why she was looking at it so intensely.

'Actually, I don't want to think about how a mimic and a vampire breed to make this abomination....ew...' you thought to yourself.

"ill either get a grimoire or make this thing stronger by letting it drink my blood...." she muttered.

"I'm glad you know how drastic this is, come on Frieren, lets go ho-

you were cut off by the sound of her checking out the lock that held the chest shut. She was crouched on the floor with her knees up to her chest. She looked up at you like this was the obvious answer.

"Frieren. back away from it. leave it."

she pouted and stood up, walking away from it,

"Further..." you chided.

she moved further as you asked, only a few steps, but the sparkle in her eyes never left as she kept staring at the chest.

"Further..." you grumbled out.

once again following your demand, she kept walking backwards until she hit the desk where the fake witch was sitting.

sighing to yourself, you turned around to look at the chest again, only to be startled by the sound of coins slamming on a desk. Turning to face it, Frieren had thrown two silver coins on the table to pay for the chest, shocking the fake witch and you.

without missing a beat, you heard the lock jiggle before melting off because of heat magic Frieren used, the smile on her face more excited and evil that that of a adrenaline junkie.

"NO!-" you shouted, however as you lunged to push her away from it, she opened it and it was actually a grimoire, the realisation hit you while you were still airborne so you landed of Frieren anyways, both of you sitting up excitedly to look at the book of spells, she picked it up and ran out of the shop.

you looked around confused, then followed her, running down the street. Some people thought she stole something of yours; however, when you got home, you both rushed to your shared bedroom, jumping on the mattress.

you pulled back the blankets, meanwhile kicking off your boots. Frieren was hopping around on one leg, getting one boot off her foot while holding the book in her other hand.

you led down in the middle of the bed, resting your back against the headboard while the blankets were waiting for Frieren to join.

she plopped herself on the bed, getting between your legs and lying her back against your chest, book raised over her head as you wrapped the blankets around both of you, getting comfortable before you read the entire thing. our version of bedtime stories.

your chin rested on her shoulder as you read silently together in contempt.

a hour or two later, you were both a quarter ways through the book before Fern knocked on your door, nervous to peek her head through,

"Are you both decent?" she asked with a sigh, making you both a little flustered, Frieren less so.

"Yes, fern. you can come in." she said casually, letting Fern slowly open the door before walking in on you both cuddling and reading.

"You know, we're a lot more careful now since... You know... Then." You blushed a bit and turned away.

"Well, that traumatised me, and I bet it still would. I don't need a sequel to my PTSD." she sarcastically returned your comment.

a huffing fern walked towards the bed, sitting down next to you two. you pulled back the blankets as Frieren closed the book before nudging herself over to make room.

if Fern was blowing up a balloon, it would have popped by now because of the sigh she let out for the umpteenth time, kicking off her shoes and taking off her cloak before joining Frieren in the family cuddle between your arms and legs.

pulling the blanket back over all of you, Frieren opened the book again, returning to the page t the one you both were on. another half an hour flew by as you and Frieren were invested before Fern's head finally fell on Frieren's shoulder, completely asleep.

you chuckled softly as you heard another knock at the door, you whispered a quiet 'come in' and in walked Stark who was slightly tipsy from being in the pub earlier, he walked on over, taking his own shoes off and sitting next to you, on top of the blanket and falling fast asleep on your shoulder in record time.

you and Frieren looked at each other and giggled.

"whaddya know. we are like a family." she muttered, closing the book and leaning her head back onto your chest with closed eyes.

"I suppose we are." You turned your head at an angle in placed a soft kiss to her lips as she smiled and let out a pleased hum.

You waved your free hand to summon your staff, giving a few flicks before casting a photography spell. dispelling your staff, you whispered in Frieren's ear,

"20 minutes. then I'm making food."

"Okay."

A peaceful silence fell upon all of you, two asleep and the other two embracing. once the twenty minutes were up, you gently woke up Stark, while Frieren woke up Fern, who was the first to notice Stark's hand around her waist, causing a screaming fit and a cat and dog chase outside of your bedroom.

"I don't just get grimoires for the spells, you know... I also get them because I love doing this with you. and let's be honest," she stood up and fixed her hair, letting you get out of the bed, allowing you both to slowly make your way to the kitchen.

"Those storybooks are nowhere near as interesting as you." You leaned up and pecked your cheek, leaving you to do the cooking as your family now awaits their food.

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