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do-it-for-kicks · 2 months ago

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My Shampoo Fairy

My Shampoo Fairy

Masterlist

synopsis: after being brutally rejected by James Potter, the last thing you expected was for him to show up in your common room—grinning, holding a bouquet, and calling you his girlfriend.

warning: cursing and kinda yearner james

i accidentally made him a yearner because i couldn’t stop picturing that one scene of ATJ in kickass LOL

“Sorry, I just don’t see myself liking fairies,” James tells you, right after you’ve finished confessing your long-standing, deeply rooted crush on him—one that’s been quietly blooming since second year.

The two of you are alone just outside the Quidditch pitch. He had just been practicing with the entire Gryffindor team when you suddenly asked if you could talk to him for a moment. A few Gryffindors had gone, “Ooooh,” or exchanged glances with smug, knowing smirks.

It’s no secret that James Potter—Quidditch Captain and Gryffindor’s Golden Boy—has a long list of admirers at Hogwarts. With his easy-going nature, magnetic charm, and that infuriatingly boyish smile, you’d be lying if you said you hadn’t found him attractive at least once. It doesn’t help that he’s genuinely good-looking. The only real flaw, perhaps, is that he’s arrogant, a bully, and a bit of a troublemaker. Still, even that doesn’t stop some girls from loving the thrill of “fixing” the bad boy.

You never really expected him to accept or say that he saw something between the two of you. But still, you didn’t expect this to be his response to your confession.

“Fairies?” you ask, confused. “What do you mean?”

Fairies?

What does that even mean?

He visibly looks awkward before scratching the back of his neck and saying, “You know… really beautiful people, but that’s it.”

You stare at him, confused—and now slightly offended. “Pardon?”

Did he just say you had no personality?

He just sighs and mutters, “This is what I mean…” He continues, “You already know what I mean. Don’t make me hurt your feelings more—then you’ll go telling people I gave you some confusing reply.”

He says it, and all you can do is stare at him with the most offended, confused expression you’ve probably ever made.

You couldn’t believe this was real. Sure, you admit it—you knew he wasn’t going to accept your confession. He was most likely going to reject you. But not like this. He was always known as that really nice, one-year-above-you senior. You didn’t expect that this was how he actually talked.

Can someone really be this full of themselves?

To think that if someone got rejected by them, they’d automatically go around badmouthing him?

That was exactly what you remembered happened last year—when you confessed to James Fleamont Potter about your childhood crush on him.

It was short, bittersweet, and you were ruthlessly rejected.

So why, exactly, had one of your housemates just barged into your room saying that James Potter was waiting for you downstairs… with flowers?

You look at her, confused. “What the bloody hell are you talking about?”

“I’m serious! He’s been standing there for a couple of minutes now—some students are already starting to form a crowd!” she says, her hand still gripping the doorknob.

The two of you just stare at each other for a moment—your eyes narrowing with suspicion, hers wide with urgency, silently begging you to believe her.

Then, you throw on your student robes and rush out of the room together, heading straight for the common room.

When you finally reach the common room, the first thing you notice is the crowd of students gathered near the door, all looking and whispering about something.

“E-Excuse me,” you say. “Please let me through…” you continue as you try to push past the sea of people.

Did no one have classes today? Seriously.

As you finally make it through, your eyes land on the man of the hour—leaning casually against the wall, one hand tucked into the pocket of his robes while the other holds a bouquet of flowers.

He’s staring down at them, looking at each petal as if counting them. But then, as if sensing your gaze, he lifts his head, turns in your direction, and locks eyes with you. His eyes widen—then he grins and immediately jogs over.

“Fairy! I’ve been looking for you!” he calls, picking up his pace before stopping right in front of you—and wrapping you in a hug, right there in front of everyone.

Shit.

He pulls away, and you just stand there, frozen. You don’t even return the hug—you’re still too stunned to move.

He pouts. “Why didn’t you visit me? I missed you,” he says, then offers you the flowers. “Here. Flowers for my beautiful fairy.”

You take them slowly, glance at them for a moment, then look back up at him—still stunned.

Then, without warning, he cups your face—both hands gently resting just below your cheeks—leans in, and presses a kiss to your forehead.

Your eyes go wide.

And it’s not just yours. All around you, you can hear it—the gasps, the stunned whispers. Some girls are even tearing at the sight, as if their world had just ended.

James Potter isn’t in some temporary fling, this isn’t a will-they-won’t-they with Lily Evans again.

No.

He has just publicly declared, to the entire student body of Hogwarts, that Gryffindor’s Golden Boy is officially off the market.

He then looks at you, still grinning. “So, what time are your classes again? Want to sit in the courtyard while we wait?”

You look at him, now slightly confused. “Uh…”

Before you can respond, someone running towards you cuts off your thoughts.

“Prongs!” the person yells again, sprinting over—two other boys close behind him. You squint to get a better look, and sure enough—it’s Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew.

James turns towards the voice and, upon seeing Sirius, waves brightly. “Padfoot!”

Sirius finally reaches you, parting through the crowd as he pushes forward. Once he and the others are close enough, all three immediately fix their eyes on James.

“We’ve been looking all over for you,” Sirius says, slightly out of breath. “You’re not even supposed to be out of bed yet, remember?”

Remus and Peter stand on either side of him, also panting, clearly having run all around the school.

James just laughs. “Poppy said I could go early. Said I heal fast,” he says with a grin, flexing his right bicep for emphasis. Then, he casually throws an arm around you. “Also, I wanted to visit my fairy.” He turns to you, smiling as he gently tightens his grip on your shoulder.

His response makes all three of them look at you—each with a different reaction, but confusion is the most obvious. They glance at one another, then at the lingering crowd still watching everything unfold.

“Hey, Prongs…” Remus is the first to speak. “Can we borrow, uh… Fairy? Just for a quick talk. Won’t take long.”

He steps closer as he says it, and James looks at him, puzzled.

“Why? I’ll just come with you guys. It’s not a big deal.”

“No! Uh… Wormtail… has something to talk to you about,” Sirius says quickly, throwing a pointed look at Peter.

Peter stares back, blinking. “I do?” he asks, which earns him a sharper look from Sirius.

“I mean… yeah, I do! It’s kind of a thing only you can help me with, so…” Peter adds, hoping he doesn’t sound suspicious.

James raises an eyebrow at them but eventually shrugs. “Okay,” he says, then turns back to you. “I’ll talk to you later, yeah? We have a lot of catching up to do.” He caresses your cheek gently before winking.

You, still slightly frozen, can only respond with, “Y-Yeah. I’ll see you… later?”

He grins, then walks away with Peter. You’re still watching him when Sirius and Remus come closer—Sirius lightly taking your arm.

“Haha, yeah. Just talk to her later,” Sirius says, waving back at James, who waves one last time before disappearing down the corridor with Peter.

Once they’re out of sight, both boys turn back to you. “Can we talk somewhere more private?” one of them asks, casting a glance at the students still lingering nearby, though the crowd has thinned.

You just nod. “S-Sure. We can go to the covered bridge. No one’s usually there at this hour.”

They nod, and you lead the way—both of them walking silently just a few steps behind. The air between the three of you is tense and awkward, thick enough to cut with a knife.

You still can’t believe what’s happening.

What was up with Potter? Why did Black and Lupin want to talk to you? Why did he call you Fairy when that’s not even your name??

A hundred questions circle in your head as you finally near the covered bridge—and just like you said, there’s hardly anyone around this early. When you all get there, the three of you just stand in silence for a few seconds before Sirius finally speaks up.

“So… you’re Fairy?” he says, arms crossed, staring straight at you.

You stare at him before replying, “If you mean my name is fairy, then no.”

He squints, narrowing his eyes at you. “I meant—you’re Prongs’ girlfriend. The one he’s apparently had for a couple of weeks that none of us knew about.”

His words make your eyes go wide, and instinctively, you throw your arms up near your chest, as if that could shield you from the absurdity.

“Whoa! I am not his—or anybody’s—girlfriend. I barely even know the guy!”

“You’re not his girlfriend? Then why did he say you were?” Remus jumps in quickly, eyes narrowing slightly.

You all stare at one another for a tense beat, glancing between faces. And then, all your heads click into the same thought.

“I did not give him a love potion!”

“You love potion-ed my best friend!”

“You gave James a love potion, then?”

All three lines fly out at once.

Sirius pointing accusingly at you, you flailing your hands wildly in protest, and Remus standing there with arms crossed and one brow raised.

“Then…” Sirius stands up straighter. “Who are you to Prongs?” he finishes.

“I…” you start, trying to find the right words. “He rejected me last year, if that counts as being something to him.”

They both stare at you, visibly confused by your answer. You got rejected by James and now you’re his… girlfriend?

“Wait…” Remus says, brows furrowing as something clicks in his head.

“Didn’t Madam Pomfrey say something about possible distorted memories? Since he got hit in the head really hard by that quaffle?” he continues, turning to Sirius—whose eyes widen in realization.

“I’m sorry, but who was hit in the head?” you ask, completely lost.

“Prongs was—last week, during the match with Slytherin…” Sirius says, his tone shifting into confusion. “How do you not know that? It’s been a pretty big deal all week.”

You just shrug. “I’m not a Quidditch fan.”

They exchange glances before diving right back into the earlier conversation, discussing everything Madam Pomfrey had told them—the possible outcomes of James forgetting or misremembering things, how there was even a chance he’d forget his name or his friends entirely. Thankfully, that didn’t happen. Only the first part though.

You suddenly cut in, realization hitting you like a train.

“Wait. Are you saying Potter thinks I’m his girlfriend?”

Your voice snaps them both out of the conversation, pulling their full attention back to you.

“Yes—but it’s fine! It’ll just be for a few weeks—” Sirius starts, trying to reassure you that the situation is temporary.

“No way,” you interrupt sharply, immediately turning on your heel to walk away from the madness.

There was no bloody way you were going to pretend to be the girlfriend of the same guy who rejected you. Especially not now, when you’ve finally moved on from him.

They chase after you instantly. “Wait!” they both shout, jogging to catch up to you.

Once they do, Sirius starts again. “It’ll just be until he gets his memories back on his own. We promise.”

“I don’t care. I’m not doing it,” you say, still stubborn, still walking. You turn a corner without slowing down.

Sirius sighs and turns to Remus.

“I just realized this must be why he couldn’t name who ‘Fairy’ was—because he didn’t even know her name at all.”

Remus gives him a look, then replies, “Realize things later. Right now, we’re convincing her.”

And with that, they break into a jog again—just in time to see you turning another corner. You’re speed walking now. You have free period and your classes are done, so you’re heading back to your common room.

“Please reconsider,” Remus calls out. “Madam Pomfrey said it’s not advisable for us to interfere with how he regains his memory.”

You glance at him, before sighing and suddenly stopping—making them nearly crash into each other trying not to bump into you.

“And what is advisable?” you ask, looking at Remus directly.

“That we don’t tell him anything too stressful. Madam Pomfrey said any added pressure might worsen his condition.” he answers calmly.

“And the news that his girlfriend isn’t actually his girlfriend is… kind of stressful. I’d be going insane if I were him,” Sirius adds with a shrug, which earns him a glare from you.

He shuts his mouth, then offers a sheepish smile.

You look at the both of them, arms crossed—still unconvinced, but clearly thinking it over.

“We’re pleading with you here,” Remus says. “We know it’s a little weird, but honestly—what isn’t weird at Hogwarts?”

“It’ll just be a few weeks. Or days, even! Prongsie does heal fast—according to him, at least!” Sirius chimes in.

You’re still staring at them, and just as you’re about to speak—

“Also, being Prongs’ girlfriend is a title every girl in Hogwarts would die for,” Sirius mutters under his breath, and you immediately glare at him then start to turn around again.

“No, no, no! Come back! I was just joking!” Sirius says quickly, reaching out a hand.

Remus simply watches him, sighs, and rolls his eyes.

This tosser.

You turn back around, staring them both down.

“Fine. But only because Madam Pomfrey specifically said those things,” you say. Then, you continue. “Not because of… that.”

You finish with another pointed glare in Sirius’ direction. He just flashes you a sheepish grin again.

“Fairy!”

All three of you are suddenly interrupted by someone calling you. You glance over Sirius’ and Remus’ shoulders—and there he is.

Your apparent boyfriend.

—

Just a day after that, the news had already traveled all around Hogwarts that James Potter was apparently dating a girl no one even knew existed. And by that, they meant you.

You weren’t known as the smartest, like Evans. You weren’t considered one of the prettiest, like anyone from the Black family. You weren’t even a well-known Hogwarts Quidditch player.

No one knew who you were.

So—who was Fairy?

You weren’t aware of any of this yet. You were just heading out, having just finished getting dressed and about to make your way to the Great Hall for breakfast. You told your friends to go on ahead, saying you’d answer their questions another time because you weren’t quite comfortable yet. Truthfully, you just didn’t think it was your place to explain James’ situation.

“Good morning, my fairy.”

The moment you opened the door, the first thing you heard was his voice—the one you now knew far too well.

“Potter!” you exclaim. “W-What… are you doing here?”

You look at him and see him leaning against the wall, just like yesterday. He’s already in his Gryffindor robes, hair still a mess—like he just rolled out of bed.

Has he been waiting for you?

“I’m walking you to breakfast, obviously,” he says with a slight tilt of his head. Then, more pointedly, “Did you just call me Potter?”

You, now slowly walking towards him, glance up. He waits for you to catch up, and the two of you begin strolling together, side by side. His question still lingers in the air. Oh. Should you be calling him something else? Like… what?

“Sorry, uh…” you cough lightly, “love, I didn’t sleep well last night,” you say, deciding on that nickname—because that’s what people in love call each other… right?

He goes quiet. The two of you continue down the corridor towards the Great Hall. There are barely any students around—most of them are already eating. You’ve always been a bit late anyway, so it feels normal to have a few quiet moments before the noise.

Then suddenly, he turns to you with a smirk. “I’m your love now, huh?”

You look at him, confused. “What?”

He grins wider. “Thought you said you weren’t the nickname type? You used to only ever call me James. What changed?” He leans into you, bumping your shoulder like he’s teasing.

“Am I… making you change your ways, fairy?” he whispers in your ear.

Your eyes widened at the way he said it. And before you know it, you shove him away and start walking faster towards the Great Hall. You don’t notice it—but your ears are now the faintest shade of pink.

He laughs at your reaction, finding it adorable, then jogs to catch up.

“Wait for me, love!”

“Sod off, Potter!”

—

You told yourself that you weren’t going to fall for this again.

For him, again.

“And that’s another ten points to Potter!” screamed the Quidditch commentator as James scored once more, causing the crowd beside you to erupt in cheers. You were sitting in the Gryffindor stands because James had asked (begged) you to come. He insisted that the reason he was hit last time was because his “lucky charm” wasn’t there.

Of course you weren’t there. He hadn’t even known who you were.

And yet… you didn’t tell him that. You’d reluctantly agreed, which meant cramming all your homework the night before just so you could make time for James’ game.

“Potter gets the quaffle again, now zooming past the Ravenclaws—will he score another go—He did! Potter scores another goal for Gryffindor! What a game!” the commentator shouted as James’ name echoed across the pitch once more.

James immediately began scanning the Gryffindor stands, eyes darting as though searching for something—or someone. Then he spots you, locking eyes. He then grins and points right at you.

Your eyes widen, and you instinctively shake your head slightly, mortified. James only laughs at your reaction.

“Oh! Looks like Potter is dedicating that goal to someone—who is… his lucky charm?—wait, no, my partner just told me that it’s Potter’s Fairy! Woo!” the commentator cackles, his partner whispering excitedly beside him to clarify just who you were.

The moment the announcement was made, the Gryffindor crowd exploded again. People beside you began pushing playfully at your shoulders, cheering for you, teasing you, all in good fun. James’ “dedicated” goal had now turned you into a minor celebrity. You smiled at them, laughed along with the teasing, trying desperately not to let the heat rise to your cheeks. You were not going to make this a big deal.

You were here to help him recover. To keep your promise to his friends—that you wouldn’t stress him out. That you’d go along with it until his memories returned. And when that day came, you’d forget this ever happened.

That’s what this was supposed to be.

It’s just…

Maybe you were starting to wish it would all be over sooner, because if this went on any longer…

You weren’t sure you’d be able to stop yourself from falling for him all over again.

—

“How long are you going to write that? It’s been hours,” James complains, watching as you scribble another paragraph for your Potions homework.

“As long as I need to, Jamesy. There’s no time limit when it comes to finishing homework,” you reply, skimming over the last paragraph before adding a transition to connect them smoothly.

He just groans again and lays his head down on the table. The two of you are currently in the library. You’d both just finished classes, and he was about to invite you for a walk around the Black Lake—until you told him you were going to finish assignments that weren’t even due for another three days. He’d grumbled at first, clearly displeased with the idea, but eventually gave in, realizing this was the only way he could spend more time with you.

“I’m surprised you didn’t have practice today. I thought Quidditch was like your number one priority,” you say, glancing at him before returning your attention to your parchment.

He gasps dramatically, placing a hand over his heart.

“How dare you?” he says. “Spending time with you is my number one priority. Quidditch is only a close second.” He grins at you.

You make a face at his words before looking up from your work, you punch him playfully on the shoulder.

“Eugh! You’re so cheesy!” you say, scrunching your nose at him.

He laughs, rubbing the spot where you hit him. “I’m not kidding. You’ll always be my priority.”

“Pfft—stop it!” you say, punching him again. “I doubt you even know me that well to say things like that.”

His right brow arches. “Oh? Are you challenging me?” He shifts into a mock-thinking pose, arms crossed. “Let’s see… First off—you like doing your homework way earlier than anyone else in your year,” he says, gesturing toward your parchment, making you giggle.

“You… like arriving late to the Great Hall because you enjoy the silence in the hallways when you walk. You like putting your hair in braids when it gets too hot. You love talking about your family—especially your four dogs…” he goes on, and now you’re smiling, looking right at him.

“Now let’s get into what you hate... hmm,” he muses, tapping his chin. “You hate people telling your stories for you—that’s why you never do that to others either. You hate anything too sweet, especially sweet coffee, because in your words—‘that’s not the purpose of coffee!’ he mimics in a high-pitched tone, trying to sound like you, which makes you laugh.

He carries on, “You hate it when someone uses something and doesn’t put it back where it belongs. You hate running out of ink—so you buy ten bottles every month, just in case. And…”

He leans in closer, the space between you two vanishing, and suddenly it’s just you and him, smiling at each other.

“…You hate knowing that I’m right about everything I’ve said so far,” he finishes, grinning at you.

Then, without another word, he leans in—and kisses you on the lips.

You’re the one who pulls back first, both of you staring into each other’s eyes. His hand gently caresses your left cheek.

“I should’ve never rejected you.”

Your thoughts are suddenly interrupted by what James just said.

“What did you just say?” you ask, now slowly leaning back.

His eyes widened. “I mean—”

Before you can hear another word, you gather your things in a hurry and speed-walk towards the library doors.

“Fairy, wait!” you hear him call out behind you as you rush through the halls toward your common room. Tears are building at the corners of your eyes. Luckily, no one’s around to see it—because if anyone did, you just know this would be all over Hogwarts by tomorrow.

Someone suddenly grabs your shoulder, spinning you around—of course, it’s James Bloody Potter.

He stares at you, eyes pleading. “Please, let me expla—”

“Explain what?” you snap, your voice raising in frustration.

“What I said earlier, it’s not what it sounded like.”

You just stare at him, giving him the chance to explain himself.

“I really, really, really do like you. It’s why I never brought up that… I’ve already remembered what reality is. What you and I actually are,” he says, voice soft, almost desperate. “I know it’s selfish. I know I’m in the wrong…” he trails off.

“But I didn’t want to lose you…” he finishes, his hands now resting gently on either side of your arms.

You just look at him, tears in your eyes as he gazes back at you with those soft, pleading eyes of his. The hallway you’re currently in is quiet—only the two of you, and your voices, would be heard if anyone happened to walk through right now.

You take a breath first before asking, “How long… have you had your memories back?”

He just looks at you, silently begging you not to make him say it. But you shake your head and ask again.

“How. Long. Potter.” You say each word with heavy emphasis.

“…I got them back the night before our game with Ravenclaw,” he admits, still holding onto you.

“Argh!” you push his hands off your arms, clutching your things tightly to your chest as you storm off again—this time faster, heading toward your common room.

“No! Please, just give me another chance—” he calls, catching up to you easily and wrapping his arms tightly around you from behind as you struggle to get free.

“Let go of me, Potter.”

“No. Not until you hear what I have to say,” he insists, still holding you in his arms.

“I’ve already heard what you had to say—and I don’t want to hear anything else,” you say, still struggling.

You can hear his ragged breathing near your ear as you swipe at your tears. “Y-you rejected me… y-you said I-I had no substan—”

“I was wrong. I was so wrong,” he interrupts. “You’re vibrant, sweet, funny, and kind.” His head drops near your shoulder.

“So, so kind… please…”

You try to breathe properly as his words trail off. His warmth surrounds you as he continues to hold you from behind, your tears silently soaking into your hair and robes as you struggle to steady your breath.

“I’ll…” You slowly pull his arms off of you, taking a deep inhale as you try to calm yourself. You turn around to face him, and see that his eyes are red now too, his breathing heavy. You swallow hard before speaking, “I can’t. Not right now… I just… I want some distance between us.”

As soon as you say it, he looks like he wants to object—but then he sees your state. He takes a few more deep breaths, trying to ground himself.

He reluctantly nods. “Okay. Take all the time you need.”

—

It had been a few weeks since that day.

As you predicted, rumors had indeed started swirling around Hogwarts about your supposed breakup with James Potter. The theories varied, most suggesting that James simply wasn’t enamored enough to stay—though you were convinced those were mostly crafted by his more obsessive fangirls.

Just like James had promised, he gave you all the time and space you needed to clear your head before speaking to him again. Still, every now and then, he’d send you a letter just to remind you that he was still waiting. Sometimes, you could feel his eyes on you from across the Great Hall, the Courtyard, the Library... even while walking the hallways. And yet, every time you glanced in the direction of his gaze, he was already looking elsewhere.

You were now walking towards the Quidditch pitch, remembering that James once told you they held practice every Friday after classes. When you finally reached the changing rooms, you approached a player whose name you didn’t know and asked if he could call James for you. He looked confused at first, then his eyes widened slightly as he seemed to recognize who you were, nodding quickly before rushing off.

As you waited outside, you heard a chorus of playful “Ooooh!” followed by James yelling, “Buzzer off, you wankers!”—which was followed by a round of muffled laughter and teasing.

He appeared moments later, scanning the area before spotting you tucked in a corner.

“Hey…” he greeted you with a smile.

“Hey,” you replied, smiling softly back at him.

There was a pause, just a few seconds of quietness before—

“So…” you both began at once.

“Oh no, you go first,” you said quickly.

“No, you go. I’ll just listen,” he insisted, nodding for you to continue.

You smiled again before glancing at the ground, your hands slightly clammy from nerves.

“I’ve thought about it and…” you started, “I think we should move on from everything that happened.”

You raised your head to meet his gaze. James was watching you closely, giving you his full attention.

You continued, “It’s not fair for either of us to stay hung up on a ‘relationship’ that started from something as absurd as memory loss. We both deserve to go through all the cute little things—the awkward first dates, the late-night talks, the butterflies—before being in a real relationship. I don’t want either of us to miss out on that. I’m really sorry.”

You finished your piece and waited. You were bracing yourself for disappointment, maybe even denial—but instead, James just smiled.

He nodded. “I respect that,” he said. “And I hope the person you confess to—or the one who confesses to you—makes you just as happy as I was when I was with you.”

You smiled at that, and almost instinctively, you stepped forward to hug him.

He hugged you back.

A few seconds passed before you both pulled away, exchanging goodbyes. You wished him luck with practice, and he cheekily wished you luck on your walks, which made you laugh.

As you walked away, your heart felt light and a little heavy all at once—happy but sad, calm but kinda conflicted. That was, until you heard that familiar nickname again.

“Hey! Fairy!”

You turned around, surprised to still see James standing in the exact spot you left him. His hands were cupped around his mouth as he called out across the pitch. You tilted your head, confused.

“What is it now, Potter?”

He grinned. “I like you! And I want to get to know you more—over butterbeers in Hogsmeade!!”

Your smile faded, your eyes widening.

What?

He kept going, calling out again with a grin that didn’t falter. “What do you say?!”

You stared at him, frozen—your expression stunned, lips parted slightly. He stood there, just smiling.

A few seconds passed before a grin slowly crept across your face. You laughed, the joy bubbling up inside of you as the words finally registered. He kept grinning, watching your reaction. You cupped your hands around your mouth, your voice carrying back to him.

“Absolutely! I’d love to go on a date with you!”

#fairies deserve better #james potter x reader #marauders fanfiction

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do-it-for-kicks · 2 months ago

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Ares's POV:

His thoughts on everything and falling in love with Perse.

He's in love with Aphrodite. Ares came to terms with that a while ago, and he's realised the way he feels about Hephestus is not platonic. He knows the only thing allowed for their station is a threesome when his mother is not looking. But marrying him off to Perselena is an injury added to insult.

You can't have Love, but here have Loyalty, you can't have the Smith that makes your weapons, but you can have a war god to share them with. That's what his mother is saying with this marriage but she doesn't even know. To Hera, this is the best match her brute of a son can make: the daughter of two Olympians, who is a powerful goddess sharing his domain and the most sought-after bride among the gods since Hera was married.

Aphrodite doesn't count as a sought after bride, most people didn't want to marry her, just have sex with her. Hephestus wanted a marriage and a shared house and one meal eaten together daily and 2.5 children in a few centuries, once they were ready for them. Also to make jewellery for the most beautiful goddess in existence, he'd ended his speech by telling that she needed to commission jewellery from him whether or not she married. Aphrodite had chosen him for the stability he wanted to give her. Some of the others had so crude about her that they'd been rejected outhand. Ares had not participated, sure she was pretty but what about that made people think they would like to tie themselves to her? When the mortals worshipped her as Areia and Nikêphoros and she participated in wars, he saw what they had seen: she was beautiful and powerful. He loved her because she was love and she was his family and it was easy. He fell in love because she was viscous and brutal, just as he was, but she was also kind and gentle and she was the woman back home, the one soliders said they needed to keep war from.

Hephestus was his Smith, he'd loved him from the first time his brother had made him a sword, after he'd returned to Olympus with Ares. Hephestus was probably his first crush (first love). But he'd not known what he was feeling, and then Athena was born, older and she was Warfare and Hephestus liked her. She was allowed in the forge because she could help. Ares wasn't allowed in, after the first time he'd started cleaning up/ rearranging things out of order. So he'd withdrawn from his brother. Hephestus got over Athena, and he moved on to Aglaia, goddess of splendor and adornment. They broke up after a decade and 4 daughters. Ares was the one who had to comfort his brother, which brought back their prior brotherhood, this time without a crush to mess things up. Hephestus got over her and they shared custody. Hephestus went on to date mortals and nymphs, all of whom just broke up with him after a few years of dating. Ares threatened them, after that mortal princess who called his brother a cripple, but when Hephestus caught on he was disappointed in Ares. If Ares was a little disappointed that Hephestus didn't have male lovers that was his business. Then Aphrodite arrived, and she was nice to Hephestus during the introduction meetings Hera had set up and he decided to marry her.

Ares had needed support when he fell in love with Aphrodite and knew he couldn’t have her because the other person he was in love with was happy with her. The only support he got was Athena yelling at him to stop staring wars. Then the flood happened so there weren't any wars to start.

But he had something now. Aphrodite loved him back, Hephestus was okay with that and he could take her on dates and kiss her and cuddle, as long as no one else noticed. Hephestus was even happy sharing Chrysea because Ares loved her and made her happy. Ares had been constantly happy since they'd talked their relationship out and Aphrodite had kissed him. Sometimes he could have Hephestus too, when he got into bed while they were sleeping and stayed till morning. Ares wasn't greedy enough to wish Hephestus wanted him, when he'd never wanted a man, but Hephestus knew how he felt and was willing to indulge him. He was happy, Mother, and now you are destroying it.

Ares had seen how Father's cheating hurt Mother, it was like a stab in her domain she had said. What if Perselena was like that too? He didn't want to hurt her by being disloyal.

Perse was his favorite cousin, mostly because his other cousins didn't care for a brute's company. Perse was a war goddess, and unlike Athena and Enyo, she neither saw war as a hated nessicity nor was she incapable of understanding mortals. She was genuinely good and she enjoyed war. She was his favorite coworker at this point.

He doesn't say no. Father and Mother agree on this, both of them want loyalty as their own daughter, they had wished for it since she was born. Ares was only a tool to get her.

When Ares was five, he saw mother throw Hephestus out of the window. She doesn't know he'd seen but afterwards he had nightmares of her doing the same thing to him. Everyday he was grateful Enyo wasn't his sister, because Nyx's daughter may be pure violence and incapable of more than animal intelligence, but she didn't deserve to die for it. But he'd believed his brother had died for not being perfect and sometimes he would pray to him without a name to pray to and apologise for mother, apologise for not stopping her, apologise because he was being kept and brother wasn't. Ever since, he'd followed mother's commands, and father's over her because he was the king and Ares had heard of Metis, how Zeus had swallowed her as Kronos had Mother and what if he got rid of Ares?

Hephestus had heard his prayers, that was why he'd agreed to come back when Ares asked.

Even now, fully grown into an adult separate from his parents, he was afraid they would stop loving him. He would marry because they commanded it, he would marry Perselena and he would hurt her, because not even for his closest cousin, would he give up Aphrodite and Hephestus. She knew this and was coming to the altar anyway.

They get married and he tittles her resilience because she will need it if her domain works like marriage does.

they talk through their wedding night.

It is more liberating than he expected, knowing as long as he doesn't promise loyalty he won't harm her. He might be more attached to being her friend than he knew.

The enforced vacation becomes boring two weeks in. He just wants more things to do, but enjoying nature or playing at mortal might be nice in smaller doses. Watching his mother bend to Apollo, attending his wedding as Mother grits and blesses his halfbrother is honestly the highlight of his year. One day he'll make mother bend like and anull his and Perse's marriage, leave him to his loves and Perse to find someone who loves her.

That year the two of them join a war and pick sides, compete over whose chosen will win. He has more fun than he ever did when his chosens were just bulldozing over enemies. When Athena came back from Lake Tritonis, when he was an adolescent still far from maturity, he'd asked her to do this with him. She'd yelled at him for turning war into a game. Perse ,when he asks if she would like to pick a side in the current interstate war and maybe participate, just picks a side and enjoys the competition. She has fun just like he does.

Hephestus asks if they can try dating, one day. Having both Aphrodite and Hephestus is a dream come true for him, he is just so happy. Perse is happy for him, he is so lucky in his wife and best friend and his loves, that he wants to ask tyche what he'd done for her. Perse helps him pick out clothes for the first 100 dates he and Hephestus go on until he stops worrying Hephestus won't want him anymore. Hephestus loves him, he says so,and Ares believes him. Ares is allowed into the smithy now as long as he doesn't try to organize. Hephestus has a schedule for normal days, he likes following it, and Ares can tell when he isn't because he's always more anxious and sneering on those days. Ares learns to differentiate when Hephestus is complaining about organic life forms because he's confused by social customs and when he's playing it up to avoid interactions. Ares gets a hundred thousand new things to play with because Hephestus says I love you with each and every thing he crafts with Ares and Aphrodite in mind. Ares makes food for them on days they're not ordering out, tests out new inventions, participates in the glorious destruction of off warranty items. Hephestus likes calling him big brother when Ares fusses, likes calling him brother in the bedroom too, and Ares actually is into that because somedays he feels like the five year old just learnt to walk toddler who lived with his nurse and came home to see his mother throw his brother out of the window and tell his father there was never a baby, she was just testing him after the last time he cheated. Having Hephestus call him brother whenever he has that nightmare makes him feel more real.

Phobos and Deimos are his first godly children. He doesn't love them more than Eros, which eases that fear he had, but he does love them differently because he can parent then privately. They grow like mortals thankfully so he gets to hold them as babies and guide their steps as toddlers, and teach them whatever weapons they want as adolescents.

The first and last time his mother suggests sending them away, they're 10 and just coming into their domains. How dare she? They're babies, and fear and panic they may be but they have parents who want to raise them, unlike him. Hephestus tells her no and never before Ares can start yelling, and this is the first time he has a panic attack with someone there to coax him out. The three of them, his best friend and his lovers, hold him while he calms down and then they give him the twins, his twins , to cuddle. It helps.

The twins grow up and get a shared home on Olympus, within visible distance of Ares and Perselena's mansion and Hephestus and Aphrodite's small castle. The mansion was built after his marriage because he lived in the palace before then. If the twins are more than twins, they don't want anyone to know, and Aphrodite doesn't want to know about her children's love lives as long as they are good and healthy. She outsources the investigation of her demigods' love lives onto Elena.

Their affair gets revealed because they get complacent about hiding it, because no one has caught on yet and they forget to plan for the worst. Hephestus likes watching them, likes drapping them in his craft, likes it when they are restrained and he can do whatever he wants to them, and he likes it when he can leave them tied up and wanting until he comes back. So they combined it, and Hephestus made a new soft metallic net for the explicit purpose of wrapping them in it while they were in the middle of sex. It made made look them like an art piece, he could sit and admire and tease them until they begged him for release or he could just leave them in bed like that, go and make a new piece and come back to use it on them or have them wear it once he joined them in bed. And one day Hermes catches them in the act when he comes in to deliver a message, and screams. Gods flood in, to see him and Aphrodite naked and caught in a net. There are a bunch of minor gods and a few Olympians in the room when Hephestus comes back in. Just after him, Hermes comes back with Perselena. Hephestus gets them out of the net while Perse shoos all the gods away.

The two of them have a pretty bad recovery period after that. A lot of panic attacks, avoidance of sex, or being fully naked, and even once they recover they can never go back to the carefree playful sex they used to have. Hephestus hates making nets now, he gets rid of the alloy he used for it. Olympus rumors reach the mortal realm, and half of them think Aphrodite cheated and the golden net was their punishment. The other half has Perse's heroes ruling and they know about the threesome and the adventurous sex,that the three of them were just caught in the act and humiliated by the gods for it.

Hephestus is one of the best things to ever happen to him. He adapts. He turns finding a way around Ares's new trauma into a fun game. Aphrodite is less effected by the public sex debacle because she and Hephestus like having sex in public places where they could be caught but weren't. They find private areas when he's in the mood and Hephestus boobytraps both their houses.

If mother has heard the rumors she never talks to him about it and father's congratulations for getting Aphrodite, one of the loves of his life, make him feel weird. Like the times when he was 150 and father told how beautiful this or that princess was and told him go and seduce her, let father live voraciously through Ares.

After a few years Ares goes back to being deliriously happy with a girlfriend, a boyfriend and a best friend who were all awesome. Thus that is when it comes crashing down again.

When Perse storms into their date and yells at Hephestus for trying to rape her mother, the first thought Ares has is 'of course I'm not enough for him, of course he still wants Athena.'. Thankfully for his perception of being a good man, his secomd thought, the one he voices, is "Is Athena okay?" .

The entire time the son of Athena and Hephestus lives he avoids the god. He feels betrayed by Hephestus for the child and his interest in Athena. For 60 years he doesn't speak to Hephestus, which probably popularises the cheating narrative people were giving him and Aphrodite. The first time some random god told he did good stealing Aphrodite from the cripple, Ares punched him so hard his jaw broke. No one called Hephestus a cripple again near him.

70 years into their break, Hephestus and him have a conversation about their relationship. And about Ares's jealousy over Athena. They decide to move forward.

Reunion sex is really good. The cuddling to sleep was even better. The waking up with a baby between was panic inducing.

Harmonia isn't traumatised by her parents being naked when she was born, atleast. Olympus gets the real truth when the two of them walk out of Ares's house with only clamyses on and a baby.

When they give the baby to Aphrodite the baby cries until Aphrodite nurses her. Then they call Perse, who names the baby Harmonia because she's the one who can tell what her domain is.

Harmonia is a joy and fixes his and Hephestus's relationship by being a symbol of their unity. She grows too quickly though. Like Artemis she is fully matured in a week. Harmonia is also like his sister for the devotion to her domain. Its more like having a grown daughter than a baby, but not all his children can be made to indulge him.

Eros gets married. This sparks a whole new level of awfulness in Aphrodite. Ares has to ask her to be reasonable about this because they can't afford Eros leaving his parents over marriage to a girl he clearly loves. He's known her for a long time and did all the necessary steps for the marriage except the part where a god related to marriage blessed it. Aphrodite stops talking to him or Hephestus until the trials of Psyche are done. Ares has had enough by that time and he has her sit down and talk about her issues with her kids growing up. She muddles through an apology to Psyche and making an honest effort to parent the girl.

When Harmonia meets Cadmus, she decides to marry him like this is one of the foreign stories that Hermes told her when he babysat, with love at first sight and true love's kiss, amd becoming mortal for a man who wants his own kingdom to rule. Ares just cries through her wedding. Hephestus tries so hard to be happy for her, which is why he asks Perse for that necklace blessing. Cadmus dies anyway and his daughter remains mortal for him. Mortals think Ares killed him, which he's not denying he would have but also Harmonia had declared she would either reascend with him or go to Elysium with him, and anyone thinking he would kill someone his kid loved or he would pick sides between his children is the second most awful inaccuracy the Hellenic scholars are spewing. It would be most, but people keep giving Apollo and Hyacinthus's children to the muses when Apollo has never slept with any of them and only co-parented due to a son-in-law. Ares is willing to let Apollo keep that particular despair.

There is an Athens-Sparta war and he and Perse duel in the middle of the battlefield. Just spear facing sword and no powers, and when he stabs her right arm and her sword falls, she laughs and tries to wrestle his spear away and when that doesn't work she dives down to pick up her sword with her left hand. They go back to dueling but his mind is caught on that laugh and the way she picked her sword back up. She's so captivating.

After that, he finds a lot of actions more interesting. Her care for the heroes Chiron teaches that are under her patronage has always been appreciated; he has been grateful to her for his kids' happiness since Theritophonte. Now he sees her teach a child to swordfight and stares. He makes her souvlaki or pastitsio whenever she's nice to his children. He has never shared his cooking with anyone outside of Nurse, Aunt Hestia, Hephestus and Aphrodite. Even with them, he only presents perfect, restaurant-level food. But Ellie likes to experiment with sweets, and now that they live together, he's her food tester. So he lets her eat his cooking too. Souvlaki and Pastitsio are her favourites, so he makes them when she makes him feel warm like he's rewarding her.

Some days he wants to just cuddle her while they plot about the next war they start.

She's so beautiful now. It seems weird to him how he can just ignore how beautiful a woman is before he knows her. He wasn't attracted Aphrodite at first either, even though she was lust in human form. When he first actually met Hephestus though, when he came to that solstice party and started talking to him about swords because they were a solider and a smith, he was fascinated by the male. The obsidian eyes, the copper brown hair, the carnelian skin that was spotted with lighter patches of still healing burns and silvery scars, and the brightness when he talking about smithing. The silver, mechanical legs may have also been a source of interest. Anyways, he has noticed the pattern of him only finding women beautiful once he was in love.

So he goes and finds a mortal woman to love, just so he can stop staring at Perselena. Ellie is his best friend who wants a divorce, and he has two more loves besides. Ellie deserves a man who devotes himself to her because loyalty is fidelity in marriage and will only give her heart to one man. He teaches Dionysus how to win with a pinecone on a stick, because Elena asked it of him. Then he leaves.

He finds Ottrera. She is dark-haired and dark-eyed and a warrior. Ares has a pretty recognisable type at this point, he's aware. At first, he helps through her trials in creating a kingdom, and then he has an affair with her. It is not a soft thing. Their softness comes from their three daughters. Hippolyta, Antiope and Penthislea are so young when she dies he doesn't know what to do except take them to camp.

He and Perse raise them together, and it probably says a lot about him that he sometimes forgets who their true mother is. Otrera's black hair, Ares's glowing crimson eyes, and a mix of his and Perselena's expressions and habits have given the girls an almost Perse air to them. Especially when they start calling her mother. He stays in Iroikos with them, rooming with Perse. Or going back to Olympus for visits and nights.

Mother has taken to ignoring all his children since he married. She refuses to acknowledge the truth of his godly kids. She is being blind to him and all he's done, but she's always been like that, ever since he came into his domain. Aunt Hestia was the one to give him non violent hobbies he actually enjoys. Not his parents, the parent gods of their pantheon.

Artemis's scheduled visit to Iroikos brings him some fantasies. The girls seem interested in the hunt, they'd become immortal, and he could maybe fool all Greece into believing them nymphs born of him and his wife, start a few rumours.

But Hippolyta doesn't want to be a maiden forever, and her sisters won't join if she isn't.

Later, the girls tell him about how they want to found a nation of women. Something like the hunt but not just for maidens, and the only men allowed will be family, husbands brought along by their wives, and diplomats. He supports their plans because they want to do this awe-inspiring, record-breaking work to improve the world. They will be heroes, and warriors and make other people warriors too.

When Hippolyta is 20, she takes her sisters and leaves for Delphi, from where they'll go to found the kingdom of the Amazons. Ares gives the three of them a magic trunk that converts raw materials fed to it into weapons, armour, clothes and other things that can be made from metal, jewels, and fiber, for supplying the girls they'll save.

After five generations, the amazons decide that the belt was his gift and the trunk of never-ending supplies was Perse's gift. Mostly because when the materials he put inside run out, she shows up to tell them how to actually use it. His daughters had forgotten to tell their followers.

Three days after the Amazons leave Delphi with a prophecy leading them to Mount Thermoden in Anatolia, Alcippe prays to him. She is 15, the daughter of an Athenian princess that resembles Perse and Aphrodite with her green eyes and her blonde hair. And now there is some man standing over her, tearing at her dress.

Ares perhaps stabs him more than needed, but really, it is necessary for his peace of mind. He doesn't realise until later that the man is his brother-in-law, newly arrived in Iroikos. Perselena finds him, but while she is off somehow, it's not negative. She is happy that he killed a rapist, angry and feeling pity for Alcippe, and planning how to limit the damage.

Through his trial, he doesn't have the capacity to notice what's going on with her, except that she's defending him.

It takes him a few months to realise she keeps blushing whenever they spar or he does something nice for her.

" We should talk about this."

"Do we have to?"

" As best friends, we support each other through crushes. I've ranted to you about Aphrodite and Hephestus, I can return the favour now."

" I think you're mistaken." " You have a crush on me, Lena, I know. Talk to me about it? Get this crisis off your chest."

" Not a crisis, moron."

"Talk to me. I want ot know."

" Ares, did you know Pallas?"

"Not beyond her name, her driendship with Athena and her death. No more changing the topic."

Do you remember our anniversary? The one we celebrated because Dionysus told you mortals did that? You let me sleep in, woke me up in the afternoon and took us to that old lady in Athens with her seafood gyros for lunch. Then we went to watch pirates battle slavers from my chariot, and we jumped on the deck after a few hours of spectating to duel each other. We went back to Olympus and you grilled beef ribs for us because it's my favourite dinner. You'd bought my favourite sauce while we were in Athens without me noticing. I know you hate serving your food when it doesn't look good, Hephestus told me, but you still put it on a platter and convinced me to come to Ithaca with you. We starwatched while we ate, and then you baked mooncakes with me. I knew then I wanted this to be forever. The love and care you were showing me, to be exact. I didn't know was in love with you though, I just knew I wanted our connection to last forever. Just like Mitera wanted Pallas to stay forever."

she'd realised after him. He was so going to be smug about this later.

"And now?"

"I know I'm in love with you. Also I want you."

" I love you too."

They renegotiate their relationship. There's really nothing to renegotiate because he's been telling her about his mortals for decades now and she considers him equally married to Aphrodite and Hephestus. The main thing is Perse wants to shovel talk his new lovers when he gets them. Ares wants that, it means she cares even when he's away from her. Ares can do that to her lovers as well, if she has them.

They take five years to exchange heated kisses. He doesn't mind, it's more than he thought he would get. They take ten years to have sex. Maybe it's just her former eternal maiden status, but he wants it to be romantic and enjoyable. He picks their anniversary as the ideal date. He asks if she would be willing to have sex that day and she agrees. They get rose oil and silk sheets in their bedroom, and spend a whole day just having sex.

A lot of awfulness happens in the years between this and when the apple of discord is thrown.

Theseus is a fucker who deserved to drown. Hippolyta willingly slept with him yes, but he couldn’t pay child support. Then he kidnapped Antiope and Hippolytus once Herakles killed Hippolyta. Saving them was one of the most important tasks Ares has done.

Herakles should be stripped of his name and his immortality and left to rot in the fields of punishment but because he is somehow glorious for the twelve quests he did to cleanse himself of killing his family and a son of zeus, he is a god now and has to stay. He killed Ares's daughter and teied to rape his wife but he's the most famous grrek demigod currently so Father wants his to show off how powerful his sons are. Ares only learned what Herakles had done after Perse had thrown him from Olympus, during her impronto trial for it, but if that bastard ever shows his face around them Ares will make him fade.

Father leaves Perse in Tartarus. Ares hates him with a viciousness that he reserved for Kornos most of the time but his punishments for Ares's family are so horrible that he forgets to be scared. He wishes he hadn't run when Father came in but he can't change that. One day he will avenge all of them, Hephestus who landed in Lemnos and was exiled from Olympus, who was paralysed for years without Apollo or Alkepios healing him, Perse who went through Tartarus on her own when the kronides have nightmares of the place, Aphrodite who was enchanted by Hecate into loving a shepherd and then she, Eros and the erotes were stuck serving to Zeus's whims and himself, who cannot lift a finger to help without it being broken.

Thetis gets married after the punishments are over because Father got a prophecy and needs to make sure it doesn't hurt him.

The apple of Discord is Eris's prank on the goddeses but it divides them even then. Mother, Aphrodite and Athena argue, Perse suggests Thetis get it as wedding gift, and literally leaves the room when he asks if she wants it.

Perse has a Feeling about Thetis's son Achilles so she decides to personally mentor him. By the time the boy is a teenager, Ares thinks he's clearly a greater hero than any before him.

Perse is pregnant when Zeus decides to search out a mortal to pick the fairest goddess.

Alala is lovely. She has his brown hair and Perselena's sea borne eyes. She's thier war cry, and he loves her so much when she's placed in his arms by Artemis.

He thinks everyone is shocked by the proof they have a real marriage. Perse was only pregnant for a month because she knew something was coming.

Paris picks Aphrodite. He doesn't want to know who the man saw in her, with how he was staring at Perse. Ares has never seen Aphrodite in anything except kaleidoscope green eyes and pearl blonde hair, which is how she sees herself in the mirror. And he never wants to.

Alala grows quickly in those two years, though not as quickly as Harmonia. She takes the form of an eight-year-old child. She remains a young teenager forever, never grows beyond it even as demigods fill her temple in Iroikos.

The trojan war is a disaster. Ares picks Troy for Aphrodite, but the insults he hears to Perselena there are awful. She is on the Achean side mostly because she loves her parents snd most of her demigods are there too. Also because they compete against each other in a war.

But the trojans get their ass kicked whenever they imply his wife is some sort of mad woman he dhould bring to heel. He's aware of how much Helen loved Meleneus until Aphrodite wanted it otherwise, Perse is actually the reasonable person here who doesn't like her foster daughter being love arrowed and kidnapped. Just that doesn't matter over Aphrodite being happy.

He loses the war, gets stabbed by his Lena, and then she decides to save the last heir of Troy by turning him into a bird. Because of course the child murder that needs to happen is too much for her.

He learns from her later that she's been doing damage control the entire war. Troy is fallen, but half the people escaped with Aeneas and the other half are now slaves, and the royal family that needed to die in order for it to be a true fall are either dead or birds.

The age of heroes ends when the heroes of this war die. Demigods dwindle, prayers come from further west, where Aeneas settled, and one day, he lies with a woman with brown eyes and blonde hair who shares his grandmother's name and calls him Mars.

#athenide au #would recommend

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