#I’ll just put this in the idea bin for later

[fever-project]

Also also Ravio probably has pictures of Hilda that he shouldn’t have but he somehow got copies of em or something and they’re hidden behind a curtain, or in his diary. Kinda like marinette from ml

omg no I hate marinette 🫣<-closest emoji that I could find to describe putting my head in my hands all embarrassed like. But like, I can see him trying to snap pictures of Hilda, trying to be secretive. Hilda’s 100% aware of what’s he’s doing and finds it very amusing. She sometimes purposefully poses when she knows Ravio taking a picture of her “secretively,” but is trying to act natural about it so he doesn’t catch on. They’re both weirdos your honor.

[firegirl888101]

Insatiable Madness (13)

|Sagau Yandere Fatui Harbingers x Reader|

Progress then no progress, progress then no progress... You're beginning to grow sick of this, aren't you?

Reader is Gender Neutral!

You shut the door behind you, taking the last bite of your chocolate bar and scrunching up the plastic to put in the bin later.

“AH! Capitano, you scared me! Don’t just stand there and say nothing, the least you could do is greet us!” You jumped back, flinching forwards in pain when feeling the door handle dig into one of your hip bones.

“I was going to, but didn’t get the chance. Anyway, welcome back. Nothing changed whilst the two of you were out.”

“Thank you, whatever is looking out for me right now.” You silently prayed in gratitude. “I’ll be going back to my room.”

“Don’t cause trouble.” Arlecchino eyed you, walking away to somewhere else in the house. 

“Damn, I wasn’t that bad company, was I?” You questioned yourself, mumbling death threats whilst walking up the stairs towards your room.

What should you do now? Although you should probably be finishing the clean-up of merch, now that you think about it, you’re way too lazy to continue. You’ll probably just pick up where you left off the next time you feel especially disturbed by it. Anyway, today has been alright so far, very positive actually. If you ignored the fact that you were being held hostage, you could even call it good. Apart from failing to ask for help when there was a clear opportunity of course. Sure, you were most likely being followed by another harbinger, but you still could’ve thought of something!

Oh well, you’re back home now. You should stop worrying about things that have already happened, there’s no use doing so when in your situation. Let’s think about what to do next.

You sat down on your desk chair, pushing the keyboard away from the edge of the desk and grabbing your notepad which you effortlessly threw in front of you. After flipping through a few scribbled pages, you found a clean page ready to be written on.

Okay, so, you have some of the Harbinger’s working and supporting the house now. At least this guarantees the house won’t starve. As much as you hate to admit it, Pulcinella was right. Having their wages will definitely help things. But what should you do now? You’ve already tried communicating with the game, and that backfired horribly. Originally, you thought that consistently trying would be a good use of your time, but are you still sure about that? You’ve tried at least two times now, and nothing’s changed! You probably look like an idiot from an outsider’s perspective, screaming at the screen the way you have been recently.

…Maybe you should try one more time. Your mother used to say you were the stubborn type, and it seems she was right. It won’t harm things, since your previous attempts did absolutely nothing. And it’s not like the Harbinger’s will know what you’re up to… Yeah… just one more time! If you put your hope into this, something will definitely change. And if it doesn’t, you’re kind of stuck on ideas. Man, having a friend or two who cares about you would be so handy right now. 

Oh, another thing! You need to get a lock, or find something to bar up the door with whenever you’re in and out of your room. It probably won’t stop them entirely, but their struggle to enter the room will give you enough time to look normal when they force themselves through and not cause suspicion. Childe’s entry was cut way too close this morning. You’re very lucky he wasn’t paying attention to your room due to his own excitement.

You’ll get the lock later. For now, just turn on your computer and leave the game on. Although the idea freaks you out a little bit, perhaps you should also actually play the game whilst waiting instead of just staring at a character staring back at you with soulless eyes. Eh, actually, now that you know the characters are real, they’re probably not that soulless. 

The screen flashed a blinding light, before fading into the familiar scenery of Mondstadt’s city with Aether’s back facing you. You looked up, putting down your pencil and reaching over to the keyboard.

Let’s just start with daily commissions. That should be easy enough, right? Ah, but maybe you should add more people to the party first. Your commissions are all in Mondstadt, luckily, so you should probably include Mondstadt characters only. Albedo would be a good choice, and Venti… Hm, just add Fischl for the fun of it. There’s no synergy here, at all, but it doesn’t matter. Your characters are all strong enough to solo the enemies if you really wanted them to.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... …

Yeah… You’re hooked.

You’ve been playing Genshin for over an hour now, you didn’t even realise your tension easing away as you played the game! It started off as just completing your commissions, then old habits kicking in and completing leylines to get rid of resin. Then you decided to use your condensed resin in artifact domains and–

You’re going crazy.

Time really flies when you’re having fun, huh? Anyway, you should probably stop for now. During the time you were playing, nothing tried to contact you or looked out of the ordinary in the game. It’s safe to assume that nobody is coming to help you from the other side.

…Maybe it was all planned amongst everyone in the whole of Teyvat? The reason nobody’s come to help you is because the character’s are in on making you suffer for controlling them for so long?

No, snap out of it. Think logically, that can’t be the reason no one has come to help you. There must be something blocking them from communicating with you. Something that’s also affecting the Harbinger’s from returning to Teyvat in the first place.

‘This is hopeless’ You buried your head in your hands, the desk’s temperature cooling your forehead. ‘Seems like I’ll have to hold out for as long as possible. Perhaps I could–’

Ding!

‘Huh? What was that noise?’ You raised your head, squinting your eyes at the screen.

Ding! Ding!

That noise… It sounds like the mail notification! You reached for the mouse, your posture straightening and heart rate quickening. You dragged your mouse over to the mail button, clicking on it and reading the notification.

—  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —

We can hear you, can you hear us?

—  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —

That was the first notification… It says it was sent yesterday, during the time of your first plea for help! Why did it only come through now!? Better yet, why is the unknown writer communicating through the mail system? Couldn’t they have just vocally replied?

And the ‘We’... There’s more than one person who heard you! This is good. Does that mean the Traveller and potentially Paimon are the ones writing to you? Quickly, let’s read another one.

—  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —

Why did you walk away? We’re trying to help you.

Could you not hear Paimon shouting?

—  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —

Paimon was… shouting to you? No, you didn’t hear her. Yesterday you left because nothing was happening, you were unsatisfied with the results! Was she really trying to communicate with you? Ugh, this is why you need to be patient!

Anyway, this must be the reason why they’re communicating through mail. Their voices must not be able to come through to the real world! Something feels wrong though… The mention of ‘walking away’ is strange. How did they know you walked away? You’re looking too deeply into this, it was probably just written that way as a generic saying without any meaning behind it. They probably just meant that they couldn’t hear you anymore and assumed you left.

What does the third notification say?

—  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —

You’re back, that’s great!

If you can see this, it appears we can’t communicate vocally for now. We can hear you, however, so feel free to update us on your current situation whenever comfortable and possible.

We’re working on finding a solution to communicate with you further. The Traveller, Paimon and I are working to gather geniuses all across Teyvat to come up with a solution to our current problem: you. As of writing this, we’ve managed to gather all the scholar’s in Sumeru, Liyue and Fontaine to join Mondstadt’s efforts in research to establish a stronger connection. Although this is a theory, we believe you will be the most important part of the process in figuring out how to return Teyvat back to normal. 

Speaking of returning Teyvat back to normal, I should probably tell you more about that other problem too. A problem that has caused almost every nation to join their intelligence together in the first place. Teyvat is currently suffering through imbalances - and nobody knows the reason why. Coming from me, I’m unsure why Celestia hasn’t intervened in the problem. My suspicions lie in Snezhnaya, and from what you’ve told us, I fear I might have been correct. You said the Harbinger’s were with you, beyond Teyvat, right?

Buer informed the rest of us that their existence in Irminsul is becoming more unstable by the day. Normally, I’d have an idea on how to correct the problem and deal with it privately. But this…? This has never happened before in any of the passages of time I’ve witnessed. Nobody can find any of the Harbinger’s anywhere, those who were personally with them claim they saw them just deteriorate from existence!

What’s worse is we can’t even get a direct account from Snezhnaya themselves! They’re violently turning away any messenger from any nation, some returning traumatised. We don’t know what they’ve done, in fact, I personally don’t think they know what they’ve done themselves!

We need your help. And to get your help, we need a more efficient way of communication. I’ll have to end this transmission here, any more words and I fear the machine might overheat completely. Please trust us, and don’t lose hope. We want to help.

-Venti

—  —  —  —  —  —  —  —  —

“I don’t… understand…” You breathed out, leaning back into your chair with shock bubbling over your limbs.

What did you just read? Is this actually happening? Teyvat is in danger… because the Harbingers left? And Celestia refuses to get involved? Well, that’s not too surprising considering the lore. Let’s read the message again, surely there’s something you’re missing!

You scanned the message again, noticing the time it was sent. An hour ago… Why did all the messages suddenly come through now? What about now changed!? Did they change something? The mail claimed they’d gathered geniuses from all over to tamper with ‘the machine’.

Are they even aware they’re in a game!? From the mail, you don’t think so. You’d like it to stay that way. Keep it professional, Y/N! Stay calm and reply, if what Venti’s saying is true, it could be their entire world that’s in danger. You thought it was bad that the Harbinger’s could potentially kill someone here. But their appearance elsewhere might be hurting their original planet? God, you’re all so fucked!

“Thanks for the reply… even if it was a little late. But you know, I’m happy that we’re now on the same page!” You coughed into your hand, laughing awkwardly after.

“Sorry, this isn’t the time to feel regretful. We’re in trouble right now and I’m clearly not helping. If I understand you right, we need to get the Harbingers back to Teyvat before Irminsul corrupts… no, imbalances further. I’m glad the majority of Teyvat is working through this, the reason I approached Mondstadt in the first place was because of Albedo. I hoped he would have an inkling on how to solve the problem, and now knowing lots of others are helping really puts my mind at ease.”

You closed the menu, watching Paimon bounce about with her usual idle animations.

“I’m sorry I didn’t answer you Paimon.” You apologised, smiling softly. “I was really frustrated with my situation. If I heard you shouting to me, I think you would have really cheered me up.”

“Could you… maybe wave? Or do something that I don’t normally see? I could really use a boost of confidence right now. Not like this isn’t already very reassuring! Words can’t express how relieved I feel at the moment!”

You looked at the screen, watching it begin to glitch and show a dark blue which didn’t suit Mondstadt’s colour scheme. Your whole screen turned into a night’s sky, stars swirling into each other in a warped formation. You marvelled at the pretty display, recognising the almost identical appearance to the Abyss.

That’s… strangely coincidental. You won’t question it for now though.

Eventually, it cleared, and showed Paimon waving with a beaming face. Her expression didn’t show any evidence of what happened to you also happening to them, making you sigh in relief. You waved back, laughing at her enthusiasm to keep doing so. So, this is what Teyvat really looks like? You noted the surroundings after the glitchy screen changed slightly, and the graphics more realistic. Maybe that was all the glitch was? Or maybe it was a sign of Irminsul being imbalanced? You’re not an expert.

Ugh it still looks unrealistically beautiful despite the world becoming less smooth and more detailed. Is your PC even gonna cope with this?? These graphics look insane!

“Alright, alright! I’m happy now. I feel a lot better, thank you… Let me know when something changes, or rather when something develops. I have nothing new to report really, other than the Harbingers have been desperate to also return. I mean, occasionally they’ve told me they felt a bit weird and alienated, but that’s probably nothing.” You put your arm down, Paimon doing the same and giving you a thumbs up.

“Listen.” You spoke in a different tone. “We’ll have to be very careful from now on. I don’t want the Harbinger’s to catch wind of what’s currently happening, nor do I want them to find this PC and realise their predicament fully. They think that there’s still a chance they can return to Teyvat by their means, but from what I’m hearing, there’s no chance when Irminsul has no record of their existence anymore.”

Paimon nodded.

“I’ll keep my computer on for now, so you can keep me updated. I’ll be leaving the room to try and strengthen the security of the room itself since my PC is full of passwords already. Stay safe, Teyvat doesn’t sound like the best place to live in at the moment.”

You turned around and walked away from the PC, opening the door and closing it behind you gently with a determined expression.

It’s finally happened, something’s actually gone your way for once, and you didn’t even have to work for it! Well, saying that, you did have to shout in desperation and cry a bit to get your way, but it all ended well so you’re not complaining!

Although… Why did their connection come through so easily? Surely trying to connect with something not only out of their universe, but also BYPASSING FUCKING REALITY should be impossible? Now that you think about this further, shouldn’t your suspicions be leaning towards Hoyoverse?

Whatever, you don’t know how they did it, and it really doesn’t matter right now. You’re curious, but your questions will have to wait for when you’re finally at a comfortable point where you see no risk of being harmed by the Harbingers.

Now, about that lock…

You opened the storage cupboard in the wall, grabbing the ladder and heaving it out of the small cubby with a grunt. Settling down the dirty ladder onto the clean carpet, you pulled out the supports and picked it up again, positioning it underneath the small door above the top of the stairs. Climbing the ladder with shaky legs, you breathed in nervously before pushing the door upwards.

Climbing through the open door and successfully planting your feet on the firm floor, you left the ladder behind you. You froze when officially entering the attic, noises scattering over the walls. Your body relaxed when you saw a familiar person in front of you.

“Sandrone?” You called out in confusion, hearing rummaging and familiar ramblings echo through the room. “That’s not you I can hear, is it?”

She looked behind her shoulder with a flustered expression, as if she’d been caught doing something she shouldn’t have been doing in the first place. Her rummaging paused, a rusty metal pipe in one clenched hand and the other holding a ring with lots of different keys.

“This isn’t what it looks like.”

“I think this is what it looks like. Why are you in the attic? Also, how did you even get up here without a ladder?” You walked up to her and peered into the box she was rummaging around.

“I didn’t feel like playing house.” She looked away from you, continuing her rummaging when realising you weren’t going to stop her.

“Playing house?”

“The girls were trying on clothes, which heavily disturbed me I dare to mention. I decided to do something useful with my time, unlike Dottore, and see if there’s anything useful which can aid our efforts to return to Teyvat.”

“How on Earth did trying on clothes disturb you?”

“Well, I felt there was a better use for my time. The Captain found this hatch suspicious and asked me to investigate for any danger as he wouldn’t be able to get through the hatch himself.” She retorted, raising a pipe to her eyes and staring at it intently, nodding before placing it next to her.

Why can you just imagine Capitano giving Sandrone a piggyback now?

“Well, since you’ve been searching here already, you haven’t found a lock in here by chance, have you?” You asked her.

“No, I haven’t.” She gave a judgemental side eye. “Even if I had, I wouldn’t help you find it as I’m too preoccupied with my own search. Not only this, but your efforts to find a lock is useless. Do you take us Harbingers as a joke?”

“No! It’s for… self comfort. That’s all.”

“Self comfort?” She raised an eyebrow. “Are you an idiot?”

You shrugged, feeling uncomfortable in continuing the conversation. Sandrone sighed when noticing your expression, before pointing to a box she hadn’t opened yet.

“That’s the last box I haven’t gone through yet. There’s a high probability there will be a lock and key in there. Don’t think for one moment this will help you escape.”

“Thank you.” Your eyes widened. “I can’t believe you actually just helped me.”

“Just be quiet and grateful whilst finding it, you’re bothering me enough as it already is.” She scoffed, purposefully not looking at you to hide her rosy cheeks. “I expect you to help me when I ask for it in return. If you’re truly going to become my partner once we return to Teyvat, we must learn from each other dutifully.”

“I’m sorry, did you just say ‘partner’?”

She violently threw a pipe behind her, the sound crashing across the floor, and narrowly missing you. “Don’t worry about that for now. First and foremost, we must deliver you to the Tsaritsa. I will worry about gaining her permission to have whatever’s left of you when you’ve finished your purpose.”

It’s times like these that remind you these Harbinger’s are horrible human beings. Oh, and that Sandrone makes puppets like Katheryne, and she’s most likely referencing she’ll turn you into one for knowledge. Nice, that makes you feel comforted, these goosebumps on your arms are definitely just from the cold.

“I won’t worry.” You gulped in a quiet voice, using the keys she tossed to you on the closed box and opening it. 

Did she really help you without expecting something immediate in return? This can’t be right, there must be something she wants to ask you that she hasn’t revealed yet. She said it herself. She always expects something in return when she helps someone. Oh! Maybe she’ll ask you for a favou–

“Tell me about this world’s technology.”

Ah, there’s the question. There goes your optimism as well.

“What do you mean?”

“A couple days ago you mentioned that the humanity of this planet created new weapons. I’d like you to elaborate.”

“I genuinely have no idea what you’re talking about. When did I mention what and why?”

“A couple days ago. You mentioned. Humans creating new weaponry. With dangerous chemicals. And different minerals. Explain.”

“Uhhh… Where did I mention this a few days ago?” You held back a smile, showing you were teasing her.

“The dinner table.” She was practically sneering, her voice threatening to get louder if you pushed her one sentence further.

“Ohhh, now I remember! Chemical warfare, sheesh, wow.” You whistled. “Yeah, these new weapons are unique because up until that point we’d been using swords and shields. Then we evolved to using shitty guns using pure gunpowder, then suddenly less than a hundred years later we’d evolved to use pure gases instead. And now? Ugh, don’t get me started.”

“Go on.” Sandrone nodded, attention solely focused on your words with her eyes sparkling in anticipation.

“That’s it. That’s the whole elaboration.”

“Excuse me? There’s clearly more reasoning than that!”

“Nah. That’s it.”

“Explain about a few of the specific inventions, don’t be so selective!” She argued. “You led it up to be something much bigger a few days ago, why so stingy now?”

“I can’t really say much, sorry.” You shrugged with a neutral frown. “I don’t know anything about it, truly. You’ll have to ask someone else, like a historian, for help with that question.”

“...You’re lying, I can tell.” She scowled. “I detest liars.”

And you detest your current situation. But beggars can’t be choosers, can they? Even though you definitely think she knows this, Sandrone needs to relearn that life isn’t fair. Here, she can’t threaten those around her using her Harbinger title to get the information she wants. Well, minus you of course.

“I helped you find the lock you were looking for, you’ll answer my question in honesty at once!”

“Pfft, you didn’t help me find the lock. This is my attic, I’ve been in this house longer than you’ve been in this world. Besides, there isn’t a lock in this box.”

“Actually…” She trailed off, physically pushing your body away from the box so she could shove her arms in it. After rummaging for a few seconds, a lock emerged from the pile of metal scraps inside.

“How did you-”

“Inventor's instinct.” She hid her hand behind her back after you tried to swipe the lock from her. She laughed in your face mockingly.

“Now, about that question I asked…” She chided, head tilting sideways.

This bitch! You gritted your teeth. I feel confident enough to tease her once in revenge, when she teases me all the time first, and now she’s hanging the lock against me like a dog!? Who does she think she is, Scaramouche?

“Ugh, fine.” You rolled your eyes, trying to hide your frustration.

You thought to yourself for a while, trying to dig up any information you could remember from secondary school when you learnt about this stuff. Should you just make a weapon up? They think you’re ‘The Decider’, which means y–

Hold on a minute, you forgot to ask Paimon who exactly ‘The Decider’ is in the first place! You knew you were forgetting something earlier! Oh well, that’s something to ask for next time you get a message, if you remember to ask it that is.

Anyway, that’s not what’s happening right now, keep your mind straight in front of you. If you don’t answer Sandrone, you’ll have to find a sturdy lock somewhere else. There’s no way she’ll give it to you if you don’t.

“Well, you wanted something particular, right?” A lightbulb practically lit above your head, remembering a specific piece of evidence from an essay you wrote years ago.

“Indeed.” Her eyes narrowed in warning.

“Let’s see… In World War 1, the janky technology used on the frontlines was very outdated. To combat this, countries began to develop new weapons in an attempt to overrun the trenches at a faster pace with lesser casualties. Of course, talking from the future, this only made the amount of casualties sky rocket. In particular, the Battle of the Som–”

You felt a sudden harsh tug at your hair, causing a yelp to escape from your lips that interrupted your explanation.

“I don’t care about your dumb history.” She seethed, eyes darkening in anger. “This world can rot in the lowest depths of the abyss for all I care. What I care about is the machinery of this decaying world, with its workings and purposes. Stop wasting my time with explanations that lead to nowhere but a readily dug grave for an organic lifeform to claim it as home.”

You trembled in fear, squinting your eyes closed when she pulled on your hair harsher. 

“Who do you think you are, testing my patience in a manner such as yours? You’re a nobody, especially considering the type of person you are. Without me by your side, you’re worth nothing. Your only use to me is your brain, and even then 50% of the time it’s lacking in anything convenient.”

A moment passed after that, silence ringing through the dusty room and a light breeze causing goosebumps to erupt on your arms. You opened one of your eyes cautiously to see Sandrone’s staring into your own, widened with shock.

She flinched her hand away from you, looking at it and back at you with her mouth gaped slightly open.

“You…! I can’t believe this, utterly ridiculous! To think that I…, me of all people,” She breathed in and out quickly, stepping back in realisation.

“No. I don’t believe it.”

What on earth is she rambling about now? Is she struggling to come to terms with threatening you directly in your face or something? That doesn’t really fit into her character though… Oh shit, did she realise you're not The Decider or something as stupid as that? 

“Enough of that.” She shook her head violently, grabbing her shaking raised hand which touched your hair moments ago.

“Continue, and if you dare mention something meaningless again, I’ll grab more than your filthy hair next time. Oh, and I’ll make sure it hurts.”

You’d laugh at the potential innuendo if you weren’t shaking from fear right now.

“The Germans made a harmful gas called mustard gas, whilst the British invented a new vehicle suitable for combat called a tank…” You were barely able to reply with a strong voice, watching her lips turn into a satisfied smile.

“Music to my ears! Was that so hard? What a good little assistant you are.” She cooed, tossing you the lock carelessly.

You didn’t catch it, the lock landing on the wooden floor with a harsh thud that startled you despite watching it hit the floor. You bent down without a word, picking it up and clutching the lock to your chest. Looking up, you saw her looking down at you with a threatening glare.

“Test my forgiving patience once more, and you’ll face something far worse than a ‘light’ tug to the scalp. Do you understand?”

You nodded silently, worrying your voice would betray you if you tried to give a vocal answer. Sandrone hummed, satisfied with your compliance and fear, turning around and walking back to her own box.

“Now leave me, you’ve already bothered me enough as is.” She didn’t turn back to look at you, loud sounds of rummaging cutting off any answer you might have replied with.

You should leave quickly before you annoy her again. Lesson learnt: don’t bother Sandrone if you don’t wish to be hurt in the process. In fact, just don’t approach her on your terms in the first place. Her patience is miniscule, she barely lasted two comments before blowing up in your face about giving detail.

You thought she’d prefer detail since that’s what she always asks for, what about now was different!? If you didn’t give detail, she’d get angry and blow up in your face about it. Give detail, and she replies the exact same way! What does she want from you!? You did nothing wrong!

The more you try to figure her thought process out, the more your head hurts. Your scalp is screaming at you right now, and she called that a light tug? She practically ripped out your hair! Forget it, the more you think about it, the more you’ll fall into a panic. Forget, forget, forget.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Walking back in your room with a sigh in an attempt to calm yourself down, you closed your bedroom door behind you and attached the lock to the handle, making sure that it worked.

It did indeed work, much to your relief. If it didn’t work, you’d have been so annoyed that your efforts from earlier would have been worth nothing.

Now… What should you do? Should you ask about The Decider, to try and get more information on them? But, you just communicated with Paimon not that long ago, it would be weird to suddenly strike up a conversation again. Quickly, let’s write down more questions to ask for tomorrow.

Once you finished scribbling on your notepad, you put your pen down and shivered slightly. Rubbing your arms aggressively, you noticed your goosebumps were still across your arms from the attic. Maybe you should get a blanket and have a nap for a while? You don’t feel like actually going to bed yet, it’s far too early.

Trudging over to your wardrobe with the intent of putting on pyjamas and finding your favourite blanket, you lightly put your hand over the indent and gripped it. Slowly opening the door, you revealed something behind it that definitely wasn’t clothes.

“WHAT THE FUCK!?” You screeched, falling backwards in pure shock.

Columbina’s back was facing you, the girl holding one of your t-shirts to her chest, hugging it tightly as if it were trying to leave her embrace.

“What are you doing in my wardrobe!? More importantly, what are you doing in my room!? Get out!” You screeched again, Columbina turning around to face you.

“Your room is really nice, it’s such a shame you kept me out of it for this long.” She giggled at your bewildered expression.

“Although, now that we’re finally alone after days of waiting, I must ask… How long do you plan to keep your act up for?”

Somehow, you immediately knew what she was talking about.

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play coy,” She giggled again, walking out of the wardrobe. “Although I was also tricked in the beginning, don’t treat me like the others.”

How did she… How did she figure it out? When did she figure it out is the real question, what gave away that you weren’t ‘The Decider’!?

“How…?”

“It was easy to figure out.” She shrugged with a lax smile. “For one, you’re extremely weak and fall victim to the other’s very quickly. The extent to you fighting back is arguments, which is not something I’d expect from someone so seemingly strong as The Decider. Which leads me to question your actual purpose in Teyvat.”

“My… purpose?”

“You, The Decider, can see the future. Our future. You take care of and strengthen any vision user you possess in return of using them for combat to aid the traveller’s journey. This is all we’ve known of you for a long time, which is why I was ecstatic to finally have the pleasure of meeting you!” She explained, eyes glistening in excitement.

“However… You were a lot more disappointing to meet face to face than I thought you’d be.” Her eyes narrowed. “Oh, the irony. Did you know that everyone in Teyvat considers you to be one of the strongest? Poor Childe, he was so excited to spar with you.”

Wait… you can save this! She thinks you’re just weak, but still The Decider! This is great, you can indirectly get more information this way if you follow along with her! Just be careful, one ounce of suspicion and she’ll question you more.

“Well, I’m sorry to be a big disappointment.” You rolled your eyes. “Could you leave my room now?”

“I’m not finished.” The tone in her voice changed, sending electric shivers down your spine.

“Now that we’re on the same page, I would like to know the truth to your powers. And also… if you’re a secret fan of us.”

“What.” You deadpanned after hearing her last few words.

“I must say, I’m very disappointed. Never, during our stay here, did I think you’d prefer Tartaglia over me. Rather, over anyone else. Your actions certainly don’t convey that opinion, although, it’s clear your affection lies in harsh truths over sugar coated lies.”

“Okay, now I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Hmm, that whale on your bed. It looks quite familiar. I wonder where I’ve seen it before?…~” She hinted, pointing to the plush toy laid across your pillows from where you threw it this morning.

No way. Does she think you’re a fangirl!? Not anymore you’re not!

“Ahhh, you’re referring to that.” You laughed off her suspicious smile. “That’s just a toy my aunt got me a couple years ago.”

“I see. Then, would this allow you to become a bit more truthful?” She covered her unnaturally wide grin with her dainty hand, pulling a familiar body pillow out from under your bed.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-”

HOW… HOW DID SHE FIND THAT!? FUCK, YOU’RE DEAD! YOU DIDN’T THINK SHE’D CHECK UNDERNEATH YOUR BED! WHAT KIND OF SICKO DOES THAT ANYWAY!? Wait, if she went under your bed… that means… oh shit.

“Why is your first instinct, when trespassing in my room, to look under my bed!?” You covered your flushing face, embarrassed beyond belief.

“Because that’s where everyone keeps all their secrets, silly!” She giggled with a few claps from her hands. “You’re not original you know, and besides, I found a lot worse under there.”

You’re cooked. You’re actually cooked. Goodbye actually okay reputation, goodbye not feeling embarrassed in the Harbinger’s presence, goodbye– yeah, you get the point.

“Anyway!” Her voice pitched higher. “What a nice pillow! Strangely hug shaped, and it’s not new either, I can smell your scent on it. I wonder what could possibly be on the other side, hm?”

“Please no…” You groaned in your hands, feeling your face grow even warmer somehow.

“You put this on yourself when you chose Childe over me!”

“I didn’t even know that you existed before Childe! How can I prefer someone over another when I don’t know the other existed in the first place!?”

“I suppose you have a point.” She put a finger on her bottom lip. “You met Tartaglia in Liyue, right?”

“Yeah, where are you going with this?”

“Oh, nothing!” She waved her arm in dismissal. “I’ve changed my mind about questioning you, I want to do something else.”

…That’s it?

“You’re… not going to tell anyone about this, right?” You hesitantly asked, grabbing her shoulder in a pleading tone.

“Hmm, I don’t know. Should I?”

“No.”

“Then it’s settled, it’ll be our little secret, mhm?~” She clasped her hands around yours on her shoulder, wings behind her head flapping.

“Our little secret. Thank you, Columbina.”

She simply laughed at you before turning around and walking towards your door. She swiped the lock easily with a raise of her hand, the speed so quick you could barely see the movement. You stared incredulously at the metal lock with a clean cut down the middle in pieces on your floor.

“Don’t thank me.” She didn’t turn back around. “I expect to be allowed in your room whenever I want to be in it now!~ You know what they say, don’t you?”

You didn’t reply.

“Huhu, nevermind. It seems you understand what I’m referring to anyway. Bye bye!” She gave a backwards wave before the door closed behind her on its own.

To be honest, you’re not even surprised anymore. You’re just tired at this point. Maybe it’s not too late to go to sleep after all. What a waste of time and effort it was getting that stupid lock.

Still… you should at least do one more thing before you go to bed. Something that would calm you down and not involve going on your PC to play a game. Hmm… ah, you might have one idea. It seems you’ll need your blanket after all.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... …

You walked through the dining room, passing by the Harbingers who didn’t seem to notice you. Opening the sliding door to the garden, a chilled breeze flew through you and past the doorway, the Harbinger’s heads snapping towards the direction it was coming from.

“Close the damned door, it’s cold!” Childe screeched from the sofa, hugging one of the pillows, with his eyes glued to the TV. He seemed to be watching a boxing match of some kind… well, at least he’s taking his new job seriously.

“I was doing that. You shouldn’t be complaining anyway, you grew up in Snezhnaya.” You closed the door behind you, taking a deep breath in to embrace the fresh air. They never said you couldn’t go in the garden, so you should be fine. It’s not like you could escape this way anyway, the fences are way too high to climb over.

Hugging the blanket around your shoulders tighter, you laid down on the dry grass and gazed up at the stars, their twinkling patterns almost hypnotising you.

“What are you doing here?”

You groaned at the familiar voices’ intrusion and didn't bother looking at him to confirm your annoyance.

“You know, there is a reason I came out here on my own.”

“And there is a reason why I came out here to accompany you too.” Scaramouche folded his arms, looking unimpressed with your decision to come outside.

“To make sure I don’t escape, yeah, yeah, yeah.” You replied.

He didn’t say anything after that, groaning in annoyance to himself before laying down next to you with an unusually serene expression. There was a silent agreement amongst the two of you when you turned to him in confusion, eyes talking instead of words. It seems he wants to join you in looking at the stars, is he just shy to admit that out loud or something?

“I can tell exactly what you’re thinking, get that idiotic cloud out of your head.”

You hate this guy. He had to ruin the mood, didn’t he?

“Shh, I’m busy thinking.” You lightly scoffed in a gentle voice, turning back to the stars and tracing their patterns in your head.

“How rare.” He commented, snickering at your sudden turn to him. “What? You’re looking at me as if it’s not true.”

“...Whatever.”

He was the one to look taken aback this time. “No argument in return, really? You really must be out of sorts then.”

“I can’t be bothered to fight right now. I’m so tired, but my eyes won’t let me sleep. Today’s been an emotional day, and a pointless one without meaning. Every single time I feel like I’m finally progressing in something, something else gets rid of all my progress and pisses me off!” You sighed, closing your eyes.

Well… Apart from the successful communication with Teyvat of course, but you can’t mention that to him. Still though, you’re feeling really shitty right now.

“You went outside with The Knave, and even bought some of your favourite chocolate. That’s one good thing, isn’t it? Ungrateful brat…”

“Yeah, I suppose so.” 

Your eyes snapped open, realisation in your eyes. “I was right! There was another Harbinger following us outside! And it was you?”

Good thing you decided not to ask the girls in there for help after all, they might have been killed by Scaramouche once you and Arlecchino left if you had! The more you think about it now, the more your stomach hurts…

“Yes. So what?” He shrugged.

“I just… didn’t think you’d reveal it so quickly. I thought you would’ve kept it a secret or not mentioned it at all, you know, like a normal person.”

“I didn’t care whether you figured it out or not, I didn’t think it was a secret.” He smirked to himself. “I’m also not a person, idiot.”

“...”

“...”

“Was that meant to be funny?”

“Shut your mouth, you knew what I meant.” He elbowed your stomach lightly. “I’m now fortunately in a good mood, you should say what you want to now.”

“That’s good for you.”

He sighed again, shaking his head. “Will you stop moping like a saddened sunflower? It’s annoying and starting to make me uncomfortable. And that’s saying something.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” You rolled your eyes, feeling jealous. “Go somewhere else if it bothers you that much.”

“And here I was, thinking my presence would invigorate you.” He shook his head in disappointment. “Speak. What’s wrong now?”

“Don’t act like you care, I would never confide in you for anything.” You glared at him, the Harbinger gritting his teeth in reply with furrowed eyebrows.

“How dare you…! After trying to be nice, this is what I get in return!?”

“You don’t get it, do you?” You asked him apathetically. “You can’t just expect me to tell you after you order me to, that’s not what being ‘nice’ is. That’s controlling and just making me not want to tell you more.”

“Hmph, you say this, yet you’re not taking my effort into account.”

“If this is what you call putting in effort, shouting when things don’t go your way, you must be tired from putting ‘effort’ in everything all the time.” You watched his expression grow into one of something you didn’t recognise, seemingly letting your words sink into his head.

At the end of the day, Scaramouche during this stage of his life is just an angry traumatised toddler who acts all tough to prevent his gentle nature from leaking out. He doesn’t want to care about anyone again, so he pushes all who talk to him away rudely in hopes they don’t approach him.

To be honest, he alongside Childe are probably the easiest Harbinger’s to deal with. …In terms of getting them on your side at least. Sure, Childe would probably be harder considering his unwavering loyalty to the Tsaritsa and connections with Pulcinella taking care of his family, but you feel as if you could do it.

Scaramouche on the other hand is a temperamental landmine on the opposite side of the spectrum as Sandrone. That’s how you see it anyway, you could be very wrong and offend die-hard fans if you told someone that. Actually, you’d probably offend both Sandrone and Scaramouche as well since they hate each other.

“Stupid. You’re a stupid mortal who doesn’t know their place. Defying one of your kidnappers, as you like to call us, is a dumb idea. Are you asking for death?” He finally answered your small scolding, breaking your previous thought process.

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not.” You said, voice mellow. “Anyway, could you let me stargaze in peace now?”

“Pfft, that’s what you came out here to do? You could have worn warmer clothes than that!”

“A blanket is enough, I don’t plan to fall asleep out here. Besides, you’re not wearing warm clothes either.”

“How many times must I tell you…” He trailed off before dropping the topic. “Besides, I don’t see what’s so great about the stars,” He commented. “They’re not even real anyway, just because they look different from Teyvat doesn’t change the fact that they’re fake.”

You gently laughed at him. “You just said it yourself, these stars look different from the ones in Teyvat. If you’re really that interested, then yes, these are indeed what real stars look like.”

“I thought as much.”

“If you thought as much, why say it?”

“...”

“What is the focus of constellations in this world?” He ignored your question, asking his own instead.

“Well…” You thought to yourself. “It depends on who you ask, as everyone believes in different things. Some believe them to be the souls of others who have passed on and watch over their families, some believe them to be heroes from legends, some believe them to exist for interpreting a God's will. Some even believe them to interpret human’s behaviour. - Those are called horoscopes.” You listed to him.

“What are the Gods like in this world?”

“It depends on who you ask. Once again, there are many different religions here. Some religions don’t believe in Gods, and focus on morals and ethics instead.”

“...If only it were like that in Teyvat.” Scaramouche grumbled. “Maybe then worshipping the current Archons wouldn’t be as common.”

“Maybe so.” You shrugged, choosing to ignore his clear jealousy. “Not everyone has a religion, you know. Kind of like Teyvat, actually…” You decided not to continue in courtesy of Khaenri’ah.

“So, people can freely choose to worship? Interesting…” He mumbled to himself.

“...What do the stars mean to you?”

“Me?” You thought out loud.

“Yes, stupid.” He deadpanned. “Who else would I be asking, the grass?”

“Ha-ha, very funny. For me, I don’t really know. I’ve never thought about it in detail before, I believe they mean nothing but something at the same time.”

“Are you talking gibberish? You contradicted yourself.”

“I know.” You sighed. “To be honest, I don’t know what I meant myself. I just replied with the first answer that came to mind.”

“Speaking of saying what first comes to mind, this is the first time we’ve talked alone since…” You stopped yourself, not wanting to think about it further.

“Ah.”

“Yes, I think ‘ah’ is an appropriate response.”

“Hmph, I’ll let it slide. What are horoscopes in the first place? I find it hard to believe they can control humans. At the end of the day, nothing can control those greedy insects.” Of course he wouldn’t know what they are!

“They’re a group of constellations that many believe impact a person’s personality and lifestyle. You get one when you’re born, depending on when your birthday is.” You explained.

“Do you have one?”

“Yeah, it’s ‘.....’.”

“And how does that impact your lifestyle? I’m guessing being stupid is a part of it.” He snickered in his hand.

“No!” You argued back. “I don’t know how it impacts me, I don’t follow horoscopes as seriously as others do.”

“Well, aren’t you useful?” He sarcastically replied.

“Your birthday is January 3rd, right?”

“...What the fuck is ‘January’?”

“Oh riiiiight, you wouldn’t call it that in Teyvat since Janus is a Roman god. Think of it as what your birthday would be considered here, I did the calculations.” You sweated, a chuckle escaping your lips.

“Sure, whatever you say.”

“Don’t mock me! Anyway, from your birthday, you’d be a Capricorn… Or would you be a Libra? I can’t remember, I’m more confident in you being a Capricorn.”

“And you gather that from my personality?”

“Nah, I’m talking about remembering when a friend and I geeked about it once for a project years ago.”

“Funny.” He bit his tongue.

“Hey, I…”

?

“I...” 

“The great and powerful Scaramouche hesitating to say something? What an honour to witness such a sight!”

“You’re clearly feeling better.” He narrowed his eyes, not appreciating your comment in the slightest. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry, okay?”

Huh?

“Sorry about what?”

“I’m not repeating myself.” He scoffed, leaving you confused.

Wait… Is he genuinely apologising to you? This version of Scaramouche, the Balladeer, is apologising TO YOU?? And it’s him confessing a mistake!? You didn’t think this version of him could even say the word ‘sorry’, and yet here you are hearing it first hand! Has he hit his head? Or maybe this world is affecting his machinery?

“Do you really mean that?”

“I guess.” He shrugged, hiding his face from your view. “What’s done is done, I can’t take it back. I only said it to shut you up, you should feel grateful that I said it out loud.”

And grateful, you indeed are. Whilst you’re definitely not accepting his apology inside, you won’t deny this heartwarming act did make you feel better, did make you feel like you’re actually a person in at least one of the Harbinger’s perspectives.

It’s also very clear that he’s hiding his face in embarrassment. If you weren’t shaken up from earlier, you probably would have teased him about this already.

“Don’t tell anyone I said this, I’d never hear the end of it from those imbeciles.”

“Your secret is safe with me.” A smile appeared on your face, feeling a lot better. “Oh, and Scaramouche?”

“...What is it now?”

“Thank you.”

He turned over to look at you again, ready to reply but stopped himself when he noticed you were stiller than usual. He panicked for a moment, placing fingers on your neck before sighing in relief to find you were simply asleep.

“‘I don’t plan to fall asleep’, huh?” He mocked you in a whispered tone, looking up at the stars above him.

The stars… to him, it seemed like a personal audience to the two of you’s conversation, waiting eagerly to see what he’d do next. He didn’t know how to explain it, but these real stars made his porcelain feel strange. Shivers coursed through his body when thinking about it further. Perhaps this is the reason the stars were covered in Teyvat?

Enough gaping at the scenery, he should probably carry you to bed before you turn ill and become more argumentative than you already are. As much as he loves to see you more docile than usual, seeing you give up makes him feel like shit. He doesn’t know why, either, which is the annoying part. If you need him to cheer you up at your lowest, he supposes he could spare his time for you to pick you back up into a stable zone.

And it better just be him next time. He doesn’t know what he’d do if he saw you finding comfort in someone like the Knave’s presence again.

Picking up your body with care, he walked back into the house with your sleeping body draped over his back, your chin resting on his right shoulder. He shut the door behind him and walked through the living room with all the Harbingers staring at him.

“Want your eyes gouged out?” He warned them, clutching your legs tighter to not only control himself but steady you on his back.

“Pfuhu~, Balladder, I can take them back to your room. It must be tiring to hold them up.” Columbina smiled politely at him, doing a grabbing motion with both hands like a toddler wanting to be picked up.

“No thank you,” He also gave her a polite smile, the smile stretching across his face occasionally twitching. “They’re as light as a feather. I don’t blame you for being wrong, and neither would they, you’ve never given them a piggyback after all.”

“Now, now,” Pierro gave a warning glance. “I see exactly where this is leading. Control yourselves, both of you.”

“The Decider is asleep, don’t make too much noise.” Pulcinella coughed. “It’s been a long day for them, going outside must have tuckered them out.”

“They’re not a child.” Scaramouche recoiled in disgust.

“They sure do act like one!” Dottore laughed from the sofa. “No wonder they get along with Childe so well.”

“When will I be free?” The ginger prayed to the skies, muttering soft words.

“We’re moving off-track. Take The Decider to bed, I’m sure they’d rather you go in their room to tuck them in rather than leaving them to freeze outside. Come downstairs when you’re finished, we have a lot to discuss.”

“Indeed we do.” Dottore interrupted him. “Now that we’ve seen they can somewhat be trusted in going outside, I plan to go to the library with them.”

“Might I remind you we can’t read this world’s alphabet?” Sandrone hissed.

“A minor obstacle.” He replied to her comment before continuing. “The Decider will be my translator, I will pick up the rest easily.”

“Enough, The Decider could stir awake and hear something they shouldn’t. Off with you now.” Pierro waved him away, Scaramouche gritting his teeth before walking slowly up the stairs with your added weight.

“Balladeer.” Columbina called out sweetly from the bottom of the stairs. She didn’t wait for the puppet to acknowledge her so she could reply. “You’ll come to regret this, I swear to you, this won’t be the last of our bickering.”

“Hmph! ‘Bickering’, you say? I look forward to the challenge.” He cackled before disappearing at the top of the stairs.

This chapter really came full circle lol

Don't mind the fact that this View is 4 days over the newly proposed schedule. I'm getting used to it though!

I finally got to implement two rivalries, so exciting!!! I'm sorry if some people don't like the parallel situation I made with Sandrone and Scaramouche, I just see them as very similar to each other! Both see each other as what they want to be, and any conversation always ends in jealousy.

...Does anyone actually read these?

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[hees-mine]

L. Heeseung - Wrong One

Pairing: heeseung X fem reader!

Warnings: mentions of smut, cursing, reader slaps heeseung, friends with benefits, alcohol, angst.

Genre: friends with benefits.

WC: 4,582k

-

“Are you staying the night?” You asked heeseung, the guy you’ve been friends with benefits with for four months, as he rolled over on the opposite side of the bed, breathing heavily.

You two had just finished your weekly routine. By routine, you meant the both of you fucking every last ounce of energy out of each other.

He wipes his palm over his face, wiping away the sweat that gathered at his hairline. “Nah,” he says and sighs shortly after. “I never stay, you know that.” he sits up on the bed once he’s regained enough stamina.

“Yeah…. I do know that” you reply disappointedly and pulled the blankets up to your chest while he stands up, searching for all his discarded clothes.

“So….” He starts out rolling the used condom down his shaft and tying it off before tossing it in your trash bin. “I was thinking we could do it at my place next week. My parents are out of town on vacation.” he pulls his boxers around his waist and then grabs his shirt that was thrown off in a corner, slipping it over his head. “That way, we can go for as long as we want and be as loud as we want to.” he turns to you and gives you a flirty wink, to which you only respond with an airy laugh and a forced half smile. “So, what do you think? Will you be coming over?” He questions once he’s fully dressed.

“Y-yeah, I will be.” You try your best to sound convincing like the idea of meeting him just for sex the next week was just as exciting as it was four months ago when this whole friends-with-benefits thing started.

“Okay, I’ll see you next week, don’t be late.” he heads to the door to your bedroom, slipping on his shoes.

“I won’t” you smile half heartedly and without so much as a bye he opens the door leaving you to clean up all by yourself.

“I know,” he smirks. “You can’t resist me.”

-

You on your way? It’s fifteen past ten.

You barely even noticed the alert tone go off on your phone if it wasn’t for the music in the club changing tracks you wouldn’t have.

Rolling your eyes at the screen, you dryly reply.

That was tonight? I totally forgot

You send to him.

How could you forget about me? We’ve been doing this for the past four months without fail.

He sits up on his bed, squinting slightly at his phone screen.

Must’ve slipped my mind once I had a few drinks.

It didn’t, but you couldn’t see him, not because of how you were feeling tonight. You needed some drinks to get your mind off of him, and you’re so glad your friend decided to accompany you as well.

Drinks? How many did you have? And where did you get them from?

He chews on his index fingernail softly while waiting for a reply.

I’m too drunk to answer all that, but I’m out with some friends.

You reply and down another shot, not caring about your missed date with heeseung.

I can come pick you up, give you some water, and we can finish where we left off if you want

That’s okay. I got a ride.

Oh

From who?

His name is Jake, but I really have to go now. I’ll talk to you sometime later.

Text me when you get home.

Heeseung sighed putting his phone aside and sighing. “Just great now what am I gonna do?” He looked down at the tent in his lap and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t disappointed you couldn’t make it he literally changed his sheets and took a shower and got his room ready for the occasion only for you to cancel on him.

Oh well, his parents would still be on vacation for another six days, and you and him could make up for lost time, but for now, he was gonna go to bed and try to forget about the bulge in his underwear.

-

Next week arrived, and you still hadn’t gotten together with heeseung at his place nor at school. Even though he texted you every day, you still hadn’t found time to fit him into your schedule at school. You’d always be running “late” or “not feeling well,” and you left all his text on seen, leaving him to believe you were avoiding him.

Especially after it had been two weeks since you hadn’t bothered to get in touch with him, could you really be that busy for two whole weeks?

Luckily he was able to flag you down today before you left school. “Y/n wait up!” He calls and you immediately stop in your tracks and turn around to face him for the first time in weeks you couldn’t avoid him forever.

“Hey,” you smile softly at him.

“Hey,” he says, sorta out of breath from running to catch up to you. “Just wanted to catch up. We haven’t seen each other in quite a while.”

“Yeah, about that, sorry.” You lowered your head, unable to make eye contact with him. “I’ve just been busy.”

“I see” he starts to walk beside you. “How about now? Do you got any free time for me?” He turns his head to the side to look at you.

“Sure,” you say, feeling unsure you wanted to be with him. You really did, but you wanted more than just sex, and he couldn’t give that to you. Sadly, he made it obvious, so distancing yourself from him felt like the best decision.

“Good, it’s only been two weeks, but I feel like I’m going crazy without feeling you.” he goes behind your back, hugging you as you both waddle down the street to his home. “Hmm, come to my place,” he whispers in your ear, kissing down your neck as he holds you by your torso. “Please?”

“Okay, hee.” You could feel his lips curling into a smile against your skin.

“Hmm, thank goodness I need to feel you so fucking bad” he nibbles your ear rubbing his cheek against yours as he walks you to his house.

Once you enter his house you trudge upstairs after him the sinking feeling making it’s way to your stomach as much as you wanted him the feeling of knowing you would never be with him fully was making you feel down and you barely even wanted to have this friends with benefits relationship with him anymore.

He kicked off his shoes and tossed his backpack to the side. “Come here baby” he sat down on the bed and patted his lap calling you over to him.

Read full story HERE!

-

[skellseerwriting]

The Stories that Scars Tell

Balor x Gn!Reader

Word Count: 1.5k

Content & Warnings: vague descriptions of Balor’s chest and getting to feel his scar (nothing overtly sexual though), heavy descriptions of his scar, Balor’s a bit of a flirt, mostly soft with some pining

Summary: You’re at the beach and happen to see Balor’s scar fully for the first time, but what happens when he catches you staring?

I really really hope (and believe) that we’ll get scar lore in a future heart event

You didn’t mean to stare like a creep.

Honestly, it was curiosity that tied your eyes to Balor’s chest with an invisible string. No matter where he moved, your sight followed. It wasn’t because of his beach outfit (however nice he may have looked in it) but rather the scar that curved along his chest.

You’d seen peeks of it when he wore his usual clothes. Sometimes the deep collar would shift when he moved his arms or leaned forward. In those moments your eyes would be drawn down towards the tiny flash of scarred skin before returning back to his face. One time he caught you with a “my eyes are up here you know” and almost made you spontaneously combust. Your reaction led him to laugh in all un-seriousness, and with a wink he told you that you were “free to stare anytime”. It took a week to recover from that and you still get nervous just thinking about it. Yet here you were at the beach again; your previous anxieties forgotten.

The gentle waves of the ocean caressed the sand. Each soft sound was an inhale as it pulled away, and each each push forward was an exhale. The rhythm of breath lulled you as you went about your task.

You were gathering coconuts from the trees. Simple enough really. All was well until you stumbled upon him on the sand. Almost immediately, you clocked the outfit change, but didn’t notice how vastly different it was until he turned around and revealed to you his fully-unbuttoned shirt. Now, you couldn’t look away. The scarred tissue was noticeable enough when only a tiny piece was visible, but you had had no idea how expansive it was. It started above his left armpit and traveled across his chest before stopping near the bottom of his right pectoral. It took up the attention of the whole space and framed Balor’s body with uncharacteristic roguishness.

It mesmerized you. It made you ask yourself all sorts of questions about its nature. But most importantly, it made you wonder how Balor felt about it. Did it carry painful memories? Getting it must have certainly been painful. Did he get insecure about other people seeing it?

Just like you were seeing it right now.

“Farmer!” A cheery voice greeted you. Oh no. You nearly dropped a coconut. The past few minutes had been spent by you just standing in front of the tree.

You scrambled to put the edible brown spheres into your satchel. He had caught you. You were staring and he had caught you. Feelings of embarrassment filled you at the thought of him -once again- catching you staring at his chest.

“Balor.” You said with the last of your breath. It took all your effort to look him in the eyes. The corners of his own crinkled.

“I don’t suppose I’ll be seeing any of those in a certain bin later, hmm?” He referenced what you just put in your bag.

Ducking your head, you prayed your complexion didn’t give away how flustered you were. “No, actually. I’m going to make coconut milk with them.”

“That sounds delectably delicious. I’d be delighted to have some if given the chance.” The compliment made you raise your face to see his. Balor winked at you. “But not without paying of course.”

You needed to look away from that wink before you made an expression you couldn’t hide. Unfortunately, your sights landed on the nearest thing they could; his chest. Panic filled you, but it froze you all the same, preventing you from prying your eyes away. Finally blinking multiple times, you managed to tear your eyes away to meet his. Where your face felt like it was in fire, his was charmingly cool; smile plastered on as always.

“Want to feel it?” He asked.

“What?” Your mind blanked at the question, raising your hands in a silent ‘no’. Without missing a beat, Balor grabbed them by the wrists.

“It’s quite alright, I don’t mind.” He said, bringing your palms to his chest and introducing them to hot skin that slowly rose with the expansion of his lungs.

Your head filled with steam that poured out your ears.

“Wh… ar… hfm…” a jumbled mess of syllables loosened out of your tongue while you went braindead at the warm, yet surprisingly supple, skin. Meanwhile, Balor looked down and hummed thoughtfully.

“I got it a few years ago.” He said in a rather quiet manner. It caught your attention and pulled you out of your current stupor. He was usually so charismatic. “Quite a tale behind it.” He murmured, reminiscing the past. Absentmindedly, you rubbed the scar he was inferencing with your thumb. It dipped inward and was slightly pink in colour. You had assumed it would be rough, but were pleasantly surprised by the smoothness it bore. The tale it echoed was a curious one, and you couldn’t help but whisper a soft “how did you get it?” as you brought two fingers up near his shoulder and slowwwly traced along the line on his chest. He shuddered and closed his eyes.

“By being a reckless fool.” He said through his teeth, tightly guiding your hand back up to trace it again. Loosening his grip, he watched as you finished dipping your fingers underneath his right pec and swirled around the the delicate, jagged point there. Still shivering slightly, he became mesmerized by the sight of the pad of your thumb as it continued to brush the trail that marked his journey past; committing it to memory. For a moment, you tipped your nail inward and grazed the pink flesh, only for Balor’s breath to hitch and clutch your wrist to stop the sensation. Letting out a heady sigh, his hands went languid once again. A moment later, however, he reinforced their strength to move your own as he pleased, once again placing your palms flatly against his chest. A fast thud could be felt beneath.

“At least it missed your heart.” You mused, looking at it thoughtfully.

“Yeah…” he drew you in closer to him. “What a terrible thing it would be, to not have a heart.” You felt it beat faster as he said that. Balor leaned in further, seemingly trying to close the distance. Spellbound, you bore into each other’s eyes, trying to catch the other’s soul. The realization of the pain this had caused him overtook you, and you curled your fingers between your hands and the heat of his skin.

“Balor-“

The trance was broken as quickly as it began. He snapped backward. An expensive shade of pink blossomed on his cheeks, and you forced yourself to look away as you pried your hands off of him. While you stood there awkwardly, he desperately attempted to pull himself together. Blushing, he kept trying to find where to configure his hands.

“You have wonderful stories.” You said softly to comfort him. It seemed to work, because he calmed down and settled his eyes on you. “I’d love to hear more of them sometime.”

“I-“ he coughed. “The one I just told you doesn’t really count as a story…”

You gave him an easy-going smile. “I know, but some stories are harder to tell than others. Some carry joy and happy times… but some carry pain. You don’t have to tell me until you’re ready.”

A reemerging grin of confidence slowly grew on his face, but it didn’t quite overpower the current softness of his aura.

“Of course.” He told you. Then, closed his left eye like usual. “I have many great tales to share, so feel free to request one whenever.”

You giggled. “Will do.”

Balor turned shy again; looking down to the side. “And uh, if you ever want to touch my scar again, that’s alright too.”

That familiar heat flushed over you. You pushed past it to place a palm on the middle of his chest and leaned into his ear. “I will.” You lilted. “Thanks, Balor.”

Pulling back, you allowed yourself the pleasure of looking at him in this rare state once more before holding your satchel right by the strap and heading to the last two coconut trees. It took all your will-power not to look back, but while you were busy finishing your foraging, he left the beach unnoticed.

Heading home that evening with a bag full of coconuts, you found yourself smiling at them as you recalled your interaction. Balor being so willing to share those personal details grew a warmth in your chest. It also made you question how often he told other people. Something about the intimate moment made you think he wasn’t wont to share with others, but that was in-part due to wishful thinking. In that moment at least, he was yours. He was full of mysteries and secrets, but he was still yours. Maybe one day he would show you the wonderful things he had hidden under that cloak of mystique. This certainly seemed like the first step towards that. It was an insight into that alluring ambiguity you always saw.

You couldn’t wait to find out more.

Taglist: Balor FoM

@smoochi-march

[blue-jisungs]

HELLO~ MOTHER REPORTING ON BULLYING DUITY JKJK

could i please ask for lino/bin/min/jeongin (surprise me) picking you up from uni and comforting you at home after a sleepless night and a shitty day :)))

you know why :)))

could be super short but mother is craving fluff :3

thank you and ily *muah*

sleepy kisses

author's note. bullying lmao ily 😭😭😭 but here you go mother, i hope it meets ur expectations!! it’s a lil short but i hope at least it’s content yk!!!

word count. 712

your fingers were drumming on the strip of your tote bag as you chatted with your friends.

“oh, my bus will be there in five minutes… see you tomorrow, y/n! have a nice weekend!” your friend smiled and waved.

“you too!” you replied and watched them leave. the cold wind gusting made your pc holder move and you wrapped your scarf even more tightly (however that was possible).

briefly after, there was a honk ripping through the street. you turned around and grinned upon seeing your boyfriend’s car. hopping in, you were glad that it’s so warm inside of it. quickly putting your seatbelt on, off he went.

“hi baby, how are you?” changbin chirped, his hand instantly flying to your thigh. you nodded your head, putting your bag on your lap. changbin smiled upon noticing your – quoting – mental support changbin pc “bad day?”

another nod.

“a shitty one even” you grunted, a pout forming on your lips.

“i’m sorry to hear that. wanna talk about it?” your boyfriend asked.

“maybe later…” you sighed

“did you sleep well? hannie told me you sent him reels at like, 3am” changbin scoffed, taking a glance at you. you noticed he was wearing the sweater you gifted him some time ago.

“well… i was studying. and i slept… maybe two? two and a half hours? sorry binnie” you mumbled. he squeezed your leg.

“don’t apologize. you know how i feel about it but if you had to study… can’t say i relate but i remember how our innie pulled some sleepless nights too” the man shook his head, suddenly an idea popping into his head “let’s go home and eat something delicious. is there anything you’re craving?”

“no, i’m not really hungry” you sighed, playing with the pc holder.

“naaah, come on. there must be something, just tell me pretty” he hummed, massaging your thigh.

you frowned, thinking. when you looked at changbin, who just stopped at the red lights, he already know by the look in your eye that you figured what you want to eat.

“cute” he cooed; happy to see that even though you’re tired, a spark in your eye lit up.

once back home with your cravings, you ate them with changbin. he made sure to sneak some jokes, cheering you up. even though you didn’t want to talk about your bad day, he knew the tension in your body went down at least a little bit.

“i’ll do the dishes” he offered and before you could protest, off he went.

“binnie?” you asked, voice quiet. he immediately halted his movements.

“yeah?”

“can you do the dishes later? i kinda wanna… cuddle” you mumbled shyly. he nodded energetically.

“of course, cutie! whatever you want” changbin yelped, causing you to giggle. you went to your bedroom, noticing the mess you left in the morning.

quickly trying to organize it and clean it up, changbin tsked. grabbing you by your sleeve and closing his arms around you, he plopped on the bed. you squeaked, bouncing on it.

“no cleaning. you sleep. i happy” he singsung and pecked your temple, grabbing the blanket.

“binnie, have i ever told you i love you?” you snickered, already relaxing in his hold. or maybe it was the lack of sleep?

“you did, silly. and i love you too” changbin’s big hand squished your cheeks and he placed another kiss on your nose. you pouted in an exaggerated manner “what is it?”

“kisses” you mumbled. chanbin placed a peck on the corner of your lips with a smirk

“but i’m kissing you, baby” he grinned.

“you’re a meanie” you huffed and closed your eyes “goodbye”

“no, wait…” he laughed, the buzzing of his chest pressed against your back making you smile a bit “here you go, a sleepy kiss for my sleepyhead”

he shifted you a bit, his lips finally meeting yours. it was lazy and tender, nothing but loving. you could feel your boyfriend smiling into it, too.

he leaned away and manoeuvred your head so it rested in his chest. then, he pulled a blanket almost over to your nose.

“rest well. see you in you dreams” your boyfriend’s silky voice was all you registered before beginning to finally fall asleep.

masterlist <3

taglist. @primoppang ,, @l3visbby ,, @laylasbunbunny ,, @slytherinshua ,, @jiwuu ,, @nicholasluvbot ,, @ameliesaysshoo ,, @weird-bookworm ,, @dazzlingligth ,, @litepowee ,, @ocean-minho ,, @lessthanpast ,, @s-e-s-a-I-e-n-e ,, @fire-08

[jkoo-njoo]

college crush - 5

summary: college au I when the frontier between a crush and an obsession blurs, how can you draw the line?

pairing: shy n clingy bf! jk × black fem! reader

genre: fluff, soft yandere | headcanons

word count: 4,300. on going story

warnings: physical violence ideation (Jungkook wants to slit someone’s throat), light mention of homophobia, description of comp-het, description of sexual violence because of acephobia (y/n is spiraling)

author's note: hi lovelies, it’s been a year since the last update, can you believe it ? I keep saying that there is only one last chapter left, but then I keep having more ideas and the story keeps expending ; so I’ll just stop saying that. ૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ ა This chapter is a bit spicier than all the other ones, Jungkook is getting closer to his goal ! But is it really going to be as easy as he thinks it’ll be ? I truly hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it my loves. As always, I love reading your comments and I hope you know that it really hypes me up to beat writer’s block and finish this story ૮꒰ྀི∩´ ᵕ `∩꒱ྀིა

previous | next / masterlist

5/ Wanting to fly the nest as far as he could, the bird aims for the sun, like Icarus, daring to rise to its death

— The bird, that just learned how to fly, soars with all his might

Its been two weeks now since you both started texting each other

At the beginning he was so nervous just thinking about directly speaking with you

He would overthink every single text he sent you for 20 minutes straight minimum

But the conversation started to flow very easily and chemistry began to develop between the two of you

It grew so much that you’ve been exchanging messages every single day with no fail, talking about any and every thing

On top of that, jungkook continued to send you gifts and come to your place while you’re not there

It added a special taste to know that whenever he would send you anything or clean your place or fill up your fridge

You would text him a few hours later to express gratitude and contentment

It filled his heart with pure joy and love for you even more now that he had your approval in real time

He didn’t need to constantly check your bins anymore

Jungkook felt his heartbeat rush and adrenaline spike up every single time you’d send him a message

It was truly heaven on earth

Now, for you… things were a bit different.

Sure, there was a cool situationship in the making

But it just wasn’t enough. you knew you needed more

You couldn’t just fall in love with a concept

You needed to put a face to it.

You decided to get bold today and proposed to arrange a date with your secret admirer

Yes this was a careless and rushed decision, whatever

But you were tired of playing it safe and decided to take matters into your own hands

Since your secret admirer wasn’t gonna be the one to do so

When jungkook received your advance he couldn’t believe his eyes and literally fell to his knees in the middle of the library

His ultimate crush was asking him out.

Asking him, out.

He knows that he’s been making a lot of efforts by talking directly to you everyday

(Even repeating that sentence in his head was making him feel dizzy)

But he couldn’t bring himself to actually reveal his whole identity to you just yet

So, he declines your offer by honestly revealing that he does not feel ready to face you at the moment

He wanted to pretend to be very sick and not wanting to contaminate you

But he absolutely loathed himself for even thinking about lying to you and betraying your trust in him

He still feels like shit because of his cowardliness

But he knows this is for the greater good of your relationship

Now, don’t get him wrong : he’s not near giving up.

The rest of his plan is waiting for the photography class partner project to unfold

But the thing is, their refusal disheartened you a bit

You thought everything was going so well between you ?

Why do they chicken out all of a sudden when it’s time to make things concrete between you ?

Are they very shy ?

Are they very ugly ?

Or are they an actual creepy serial killer that is not supposed to be on this campus ?

You tried to reassure them by stating that you’re sure that they’re a total hottie

And that there’s no reason for them to be shy with you anymore

However, your excitement started to wear off a bit, unbeknownst to Jungkook.

— The bird, finally resting for the first time in a while, inopportunely falls from a breaking branch

The following week on a tuesday, it finally arrives

The group project in photography class. the most crucial event for the rest of The Plan ™️

He tried hard to make a good first impression with his outfit

He wore a hoodie in your favorite color, slim jeans to reveal his thighs (because he overheard you talking about liking strong legs in guys) and black boots to appear more “hard” & “cool” (that’s also your type it seems)

You were wearing a very pretty light dress with some oversized pants and an oversized jacket to top it all

You were so outstandingly beautiful and cool, he just couldn’t compete with you even if he tried

The professor came in at the same time as you (you made it in time today he notes) and started the class directly by talking about the group project

But instead of a duo, like he imagined, the project will be in a quatuor with 2 boys and 2 girls

AND he already made the groups so no one could choose

The room audibly moaned and complained while he remained silent but his blood was boiling

He could not be more confused, angry and disappointed.

While the professor was calling the members of every groups out loud, he prayed to all the Gods and angels listening to please let him be with you

Even if there will be others he absolutely needed to be by your side.

He couldn’t bear leaving you all alone with two random men and no one to protect you

It seems one of the holy spirits heard his desperate pleading and answered immediately

Because the professor called his name right after yours

He doesn’t have the time to digest what just happened because the professor is already rushing everyone to gather in groups and introduce themselves

While everyone rearrange the tables and sit again, he succeeds in sitting in front of you

But he can hardly handle to look into your eyes from this close without fainting

This is the nearest he has ever been to you in real life and it truly feels like a dream come true

He can actually admire you from up close… he can smell you… he can almost touch your hand if he tries… and he wasn’t hiding from you anymore

It felt so right and natural to be in your space and bask in your presence

He was fully floating on a cloud focusing on nothing else but you and your voice

The rest of the class goes pretty smoothly with everyone introducing themselves and giving their inquiry about the project

Though he sat there in silence the entire time

While the only thing he mustered up enough courage to say was :

“Hi, my name is Jungkook. Nice to meet you all”

He was way too shy at the idea of talking to you viva voce in this context

He could try talking with you one-on-one if the project was a duo, like he planned.

But with two other strangers nearby watching and judging ?

Hell no, that was just too much all at once

Nevertheless, he does not regret witnessing you being the absolute brightest star right in front of him, even in silence

You were so full of life, energy and motivation for this project that it was actually hyping him up

Even though he really didn’t give a fuck about it in the first place

But it seems he wasn’t the only person entranced by you

Because why was this other guy clearly trying to flirt with you right in front of everyone ?

Thankfully it seems like you’ve got no clue and you’re not playing into his games at all

But Jungkook has to deal with him.

He wanted to just slit his throat so bad right then and there, without any hesitation.

But he knows he cannot show this side of himself to you just yet, and definitely not in the middle of this class

He’s gonna get rid of him definitely without scaring you off

No other boy has the right to have access to you other than him

You were his soulmate and his only.

He promised to himself to make this punk get it as soon as possible

At the end of the hour, this fucker has the audacity to ask for your number, and only yours

“it’s to talk about the project more in depth, you know !”

The holy spirits truly were by his sides today, because you suggested to have a group chat instead

“it’s to make the conversation about the project more efficient, you know !”

Everyone gives you their number and you create the groupchat right away before you all part ways

The walk home from this session at the photography class was the worst one he’s had in a while

He couldn’t even bask in the feelings of pure joy, love and excitement he has felt by being this close to you

He even gave you his real number for you to text the real him !

That was supposed to be one of the best moments of his life, right before :

your first kiss,

your marriage,

and your first child together.

But instead, he simply felt like absolute shit for witnessing a man blatantly flirting with his promised partner right in front of his face

And not doing anything to stop it and protect you.

He knows he can always count on you to preserve yourself for him and him only

But it certainly won’t last long if he doesn’t do anything

He feels really powerless and he does not like it one bit

He has to reverse the situation to promptly get rid of this parasite and secure his place in your heart

— The heavily weakened bird serendipitously finds some food on the ground

The thing is, he was so focused on his feelings for you and that other douchebag that he did not even notice everything else that happened outside of that

Like the fact that the other girl of the group was clearly trying to hit on him too

but he was so oblivious he only responded to her with vague hmms indicating yes or no

Or the fact that his charm and his silence intrigued you the most and you definitely wanted to spend more time with him to break his shell

Like, he was seriously one of the most beautiful boy you’ve ever seen.

The way his long hair and square glasses perfectly framed his angelic face

The way he was not able to say a single word during the entire hour

And the way he blushed + looked away shyly any time anyone glanced for a little too long at him……

His cuteness already caught your eye before but this meeting solidified your crush for him even more

He was effortlessly checking every box of your ideal type one by one, it was not even funny

So much so that you started to wonder if it was worth entertaining a situationship with a potentially dangerous secret admirer

That is not even bold enough to show their face despite claiming to be deeply in love with you

Rather than shooting your shot with the cute nerdy guy from photography class

That is a very real person within reach, even if there is no certitude that he’s interested in you in the slightest

It was starting to hurt your head to think this much about all this

so you decided to open up to your secret admirer

Hoping to wake them up, for good.

After closing the door to his room, Jungkook received a very lengthy message from you where you disclosed all your doubts about him and your relationship

That’s when he truly lost it and started to sob uncontrollably

He realized that he was seriously on the verge of actually losing you for good

After all the hard work he has done to get to this point

He was inconsolable and cried in a ball on the ground for a good ten minutes

After calming down a bit, he realized that you were giving him the opportunity to officially deepen the connection between you

This was his last chance to truly secure his way to your heart, and you were the one giving it to him

He simply did not deserve the pure kindness of your soul and you still gave it to him

He made the very important decision on the spot to bend The Plan™️

You wanted to know more of his identity ? so be it.

He answered :

“My sweetest love. Thank you for trusting me and pushing for me to still be in your life after I’ve been such a coward. I do not deserve your grace, but I will prove to you by all means that my love for you is infaillible. From now on, you will receive pictures from me about myself and my daily life, and even audios of me directly reading my poems to you, if you feel comfortable with that. I will do my best to get you to know me on a more personal level, so you can realize that I am the perfect pretender to be your lifelong partner and that we are meant to be together forever. But know that at the moment, I still can’t reveal my whole identity to you, whether it be my face or my name, because of personal reasons you will soon understand. Please tell me if this satisfies your needs for now, and I will begin immediately.”

He knew he would have to push through a lot of boundaries within himself to uphold these promises

But he was willing to do absolutely anything for you, your love and your happiness

And to be by your sides

When you received their answer, you got reminded why you loved talking to your secret admirer so much

They were so dramatic sometimes, it was really funny and relieved your stress more often than not

You couldn’t do anything but accept their request without a second thought when it was presented in such a classy and solemn way

It was not exactly what you asked for, but you respected their decision and noted their efforts to try and meet your request still

You did not really pay more attention to it and move on with your life

Until you almost choked to death on your tea 10 minutes later

Since they said that they will not be showing their face, you thought they would exclusively send you innocent pictures of their daily life and stuff

How naive of you to think that.

After opening your phone notification you couldn’t help but stare at your screen, eyes wide open, with your eyebrows touching the ceiling

Instead of a candid still of some food on a plate like you expected

You were met with the mirror picture of a literal greek god with a full sleeve of tattoos, right out of the shower, wearing nothing but a towel on their head and another one hanging low on their waist

They followed up on the pic with the wittiest text you’ve ever read from them

“You’re such a lucky princess because I just started my night routine. I’ve been itching to send you pictures like these for so long but I had to make sure the timing was right. I cannot wait to include you in my daily life. Do you want me to do a tour of all the skin care products I use to take care of the body you’re looking at ?”

“Oh, and my pronouns are he/him by the way ;)”

There is no way he’s not fucking with you right now. Absolutely no way.

You’ve been gawking at your phone with your mouth agape for so long, you did not notice the trail of saliva connecting your lips to your thighs.

He even has the time to send you another message apologizing if he made you uncomfortable with his naked body and promising to never cross your boundaries ever again

And that from now on he’ll only send you pictures of him fully clothed, even if it might compromise his anonymity

You collect yourself just enough to send :

“Please send me a real picture of yourself. I cannot believe you’re trying to catfish me after we’ve been talking together for so long.”

It was a bit harsh you admit, but you had to make sure that this wasn’t just some enormous prank

And that you’ve been made fun of this entire time

At first, he got hurt that you actually thought that he was a catfish and that he couldn’t possibly be this good looking

But he remembered that he was still an anonymous stalker in your eyes and that you were a very intelligent woman

It was totally understandable that you’d still be on your guard

Jungkook simply answers back :

“I would absolutely never play in your face and break your trust like that my love. You can make a reverse search on this picture. I took it right now and you’re the only person besides me that has ever laid eyes on it on this earth. All of this is reserved just for you.”

You do as he told and… you simply can’t believe it.

He is right : the picture is nowhere to be found on the internet

That’s when it really kicked in

You actually bagged the literal finest man in campus without doing anything

And he is the one that’s absolutely obsessed with you ??

He is the one who spoils you and showers you with love at any occasion without any inquiry on you part ??

You must have saved the entire human civilization in another life, because there was simply no way in hell this was real

You had to apologize. You were truly not familiar with his game.

You answer back :

“Look, I’m sorry to have doubted you but you’ve always been anonymous this entire time and we haven’t really gotten to know each other on a deeper level just yet. You know what ? You can send me all the pictures you’d like, but no dick pic please, I’m truly not into that.”

“Thank you again for accepting to reveal more of yourself to me, I’m really enjoying this ! You look very good…”

When he finished reading your message he was smiling from ear to ear

Oh, he knew he won.

— Against all odds, the bird perks up and flaps his wings again

Following this event, you started sending pictures of each other on the regular

You were sending him selfies mostly, not comfortable enough to reveal your body like he does

Jungkook did not mind one bit

He worshipped every single picture you sent to him regardless, going as far as printing and framing them all

His room was starting to fill up with all the pictures of you that you sent him, along side the stolen cliches he took of you

He was literally living his dream life.

He couldn’t believe how far he’d gone in the pursuit of his love, and how far it led him

On the flip side, you were absolutely flabbergasted.

He was sending you very cute pictures of his daily life like him cooking, gaming, painting and all that

But when it came to the pictures of himself…

He was always half naked or wearing very tight fitting clothes like a tank top and a sport crewneck

He explained that he couldn’t send you pictures of him wearing his daily clothes because he didn’t want you to recognize him in the street

That was only half of the truth tho

He also wanted to impress you with the work he’s been putting in the gym during all this time, just for you

But he truly hoped that you didn’t see him as some sort of fuckboy only interested in having sex with you

Showing you his body was just another way to draw you in. Like the final nail in the coffin

In his opinion, he made enough efforts these past few months to give you a glimpse of the overflowing feelings he had for you

He is absolutely head over heels for you but not in a carnal way if that made sense

And he knows very well that you’re not into that either

He has had crushes and stuff but he used to be a complete loser so no one would give him even a crumb of attention

Of course he very occasionally had some peaks of libido and he always took care of his needs by himself

But he quickly realized that he has honestly never felt sexual attention to anyone

When he compared his experience to the way other boys around him where going crazy about sex in his teenage years…

It was alienating to say the least.

He clearly remembers an instance when he tried talking about it to one of his friends at the time

And they bluntly answered :

“You don’t feel attracted to girls ? Are you gay or something ?”

Yes, he later discovered that he was indeed bi, but that was besides the point

The only thing he wanted more than anything was to develop the deepest and closest platonic & romantic relationship he could with anyone

And have them by his side as a friend and a lover, forever

He could not bring himself to perform as a person he was not just to uphold the expectations about what it meant to be a man

It felt like deep betrayal toward himself and the perfect recipe to be miserable forever in order to have company and be accepted by society

He always thought he was weird and doomed to be alone

Until you came into his life and outwardly expressed your need to have someone exactly like him into your life

You were literally the bright and warm light guiding him out of the dark and cold tunnel of loneliness

A dream of his that was once too good to be true

Was now a reality within reach

He could finally let hope fill his heart to the brim, like he always wanted to.

— the bird keeps gliding, with hope being the sole compass of his unpredictable voyage

The thing is, his plan was working on you

You really enjoyed the glimpses into his life and the occasional thirst traps

It kind of felt like texting a very sweet OF model

So you didn’t know why you still felt somewhat… empty

Like, he did answer your request to see more of him.

Of course it’s reassuring and rewarding to know that your secret admirer (and obsessive stalker) is literally eye candy

But you started to get scared about his true intentions

You knew he loved you for you

At least that’s what the countless love letters, acts of services and gifts he was constantly showering you with lead you to believe

And he has never been sexually suggestive in any way

But you still held back in your feelings in some way

You’ve always craved a special type of romantic connection to someone that was rooted in nothing but pure feelings of love and trust, not lust

And he was clearly giving that to you, at the moment

But.. he’s a drop dead gorgeous college boy in his early twenties

He statistically could not possibly be on the same page as you.

What will happen when he’ll start wanting more from you and you’re not gonna be able to give it to him ?

What will happen when on your first night together he’ll try to make a move on you and you’ll have to reject him ?

What will happen when you’ll be forced to open up about your lack of sexual attraction ?

Will he abandon you on the spot, like all these other guys ?

Or is he too far gone in his obsession with you, that he won’t be able to accept your rejection and his knee jerk reaction will be to be outright violent with you ?

Or worse : what if he’ll pretend to understand that “you need time” to get comfortable with him

Only to try to coerce his way into making you do something you simply don’t want to do ?

You want to enjoy this with him as much as possible, you really do

But these thoughts have always plagued your mind

And you had to share them with him to make sure that he stops getting attached to you before it’s too late.

You just couldn’t let hope fill your heart to the brim, even if you wanted to.

[xx-alice-in-wonderland-xx]

Abby, Lev & Yara incorrect quotes 🖤

Abby, to Lev: Look at you! All cute and small! I could just eat you up! Lev: *proceeds to kick her in the shin and run away*  Yara, walking past: Rule number 1, don't call Lev cute or small.

Lev: Why is everyone so obsessed with top or bottom? Honestly, I’d just be excited to have a bunk bed.  Abby: Abby: I'm gonna tell him.  Owen: Don't you dare.

Abby: Today, Lev said a swear word, so Yara said that she was going to wash Lev’s mouth out with soap. Lev replied, “It’s okay, I like the taste of soap”. Turns out, they’ve both been putting soap on their lips to blow bubbles for the past hour.

Lev, gardening: Hey, can you bring me the hoe?  Abby: Yeah, sure.  *A few minutes later*  Abby: Here you go.  Lev:  Abby:  Owen: Why am I here?

Yara: Breathe, just breathe.  Lev: I’ve done nothing with my life! I’m a failure!  Their mom in Lev’s mind: Awww, that never bothered you before.

Lev on his 18th birthday: Adulting is hard.  Lev: How do I quit?  Yara: Time travel.  Abby: Die.

Lev: When Yara was born, the gods said, "She’s too perfect for this world."  Abby: Please. When I was born, the devil said, "Oh, competition."

Yara: You get turned back into a baby but you retain all your skills and memory, what do you do?  Abby: Eat a nickel.  Yara: A reminder: You have retained all your skills and memories.  Lev: Eat a nickel.  Yara: Ok.

Lev: Why does everyone want to kill Abby?  Ellie: Because, goddamnit, have you seen her? her neck looks so snappable.

*the Squad cleaning up*  Abby: Pick up the nearest piece of trash and throw it away.  Lev, to Yara: Aight, which bin do you wanna go in—

Lev: *sneaking in through their window*  Yara: *turning in their chair and flicking the light one* You want to tell me where you've been all night?  Lev: I was with Abby?  Abby: *turning in their chair* Wanna try again?

Yara: Do you support gay rights?  Lev: I’m literally trans.  Abby: He’s avoiding the question!

Yara: What did Abby do this time?  Lev: More like WHO did Abby do this time?

Lev: Self care is stuff like taking a bubble bath or putting on a lot of make up if you like that, or taking a nice warm nap and stuff like that basically.  Abby: Self care is the burning heat when rage washes over you. self care is when you feel the bones crack under your powerful fists. self care is the fear in your enemies eyes.  Yara: Self care is stealing someones birthday cake just to eat the frosting.  Lev: If you touch my birthday cake I’ll make you eat your hands.

⬆️ (Lev’s never had a birthday cake 🥲)

Lev: If I die, my funeral will be the biggest party ever and you're all invited.  Yara: "If"  Abby: Great, the only party I'm ever invited to and they might not even die.

Abby: Uh, I think I got your lunch. *Holds up a note that reads: ‘I am very proud of you. Love, Yara’*  Lev: Oh yeah. I didn’t think this was for me. *Holds up a note that reads: ‘Be good. For the love of God, Please be good.’*

Yara: Nice rock.  Lev: Thanks, Abby gave it to me.  Abby: I threw it at you!  Lev: Isn’t she the sweetest?

Yara: Lev! Abby got that thing on the control panel working!  Lev: Wow! That looks pretty impressive.  Yara: Yeah!  Abby: Any idea what it does?  Lev: Not a clue.

Yara: What are you two arguing about this time?  Abby: They’re always using common phrases incorrectly!  Lev: Cry me a table, Abby.

Yara: Lev isn’t answering my messages.  Abby: Allow me.  Yara: I tried 6 times, what makes you thi-  Lev: *replying to message* Hello.

Lev, not understanding the concept of holidays since I headcannon Seraphites didn’t celebrate stuff like Christmas: Christmas is cancelled.  Abby: You can't cancel a holiday.  Lev: Keep it up, Abby, and you'll lose New Year's too.  Abby: What does that mean?  Lev: Yara, take New Year's away from Abby.

Yara, to Abby You know, Lev can be really aggressive, so it's important to take all the necessary precautions when approaching.  Lev: *blows airhorn at a seraphite* GET FUCKED!

this was so funny to make lmao 😭

[newtonsheffield]

No but I need to see Anthony getting his brothers to help him carry the sofa into their house and them eventually finding out what they helped carry

Oh my god. Imagine, Anthony was too embarrassed to have it delivered so he hired a van and let the workers load it in for him. He kept it wrapped in the cardboard and plastic and asked Ben to carry it upstairs with him.

“Aha.” Benedict laughed when Anthony asked him, “I am not the manual labor brother. You would be better off asking… Kate honestly, than me.”

Anthony rolled his eyes, “This is a surprise for Kate. It was her idea, and I laughed it off so I could surprise her with one.”

Ben raised his eyebrows, “One what?”

Anthony flushed, “It’s just… an armchair for the bedroom. She ah… likes to read in the sun.”

“You… laughed at your girlfriend wanting an armchair to read in the bedroom?”

“I’m not explaining my relationship to you.” Anthony said quickly, “I’ll buy you dinner, Benny. As many spring rolls and dumplings as you can eat.”

Ben narrowed his eyes, “It better not be heavy.”

Ben grunted under the weight of the chair, fumbling on the steps, “Jesus Anthony! What the fuck is this made of?!”

“It needs to be heavy so it doesn’t move around I assume.”

“Is Kate a particularly vigorous reader?!” Ben snapped as he set it down, “Christ I’ve got sweat in my eyes!”

Anthony rolled his eyes, slapping his brother on the shoulder. “Right, thanks mate. Let’s get dinner and we’ll drop off the van.”

Ben frowned, “Aren’t you going to unwrap it? We can get rid of all the rubbish so you don’t have to put it in the bins.”

Anthony froze, “Ah, no. I’ll do it later. You’ve sweated enough. Can’t ruin that handsome face, right?!”

Ben thought it was odd but he let it go, until months later when Edwina nudged him at the pub. Kate and Anthony sat across from them whispering in each other’s ears.

“Guess what I found out this week.”

“Edwina.” Kate warned, shaking her head as she took a drink, “Don’t be a twat.”

“If I have to know this so does Ben.” She jerked her thumb at Kate and Anthony, “These two have a sex sofa.”

Ben’s mouth dropped open as the pieces fell in to place. “Anthony! I carried your sex sofa?!”

“In my defense,” Anthony said a little unembarrassed, “It was unused then. And they’re very easy to clean.”

“I am-! I want another free dinner!”

“A small price to pay actually.”

[fitrahgolden]

To React: Chapter One

This was actually my first attempt at a multi chapter story. I posted it in December of ‘22 and deleted that chapter last summer. I'm giving it another go. Huge shout out to @lookingfts for helping me flesh out this story and for continuing to give me feedback on my ideas.

To React

—

Kathani Kaveri Sharma, 26

Member of Smythe-Smith Dramatic Society - props and set design

Manager of Palette Arts and Crafts Supply

Watercolour artist by commission

Anthony Bridgerton, 29

Solicitor at Bridgerton, Danbury, and Frederick Solicitors law firm

Benedict Bridgerton, 27

Member of Smythe-Smith Dramatic Society - writing, directing, acting

Published writer - poems, plays

Oil and watercolour artist by commission

Siena Rosso, 25

Member of Smythe-Smith Dramatic Society - acting and singing

Social media influencer

—

CHAPTER ONE

“I can’t keep doing this. I deserve more. So do you, though I know you won’t let yourself believe that. You need to figure out what you want. We both know it isn’t whatever the fuck this is. Anthony, you need to let me go.”

They were standing in the tiny foyer of Siena’s flat. She hadn’t even let him get all the way inside before she told him they needed to talk. They had gone back and forth for about fifteen minutes before Anthony realised he didn’t know what he was fighting for. Everything she’d been saying was true.

Maybe it was just because he was the one that was usually doing the breaking up. And that’s what this was. A real breakup. Not some lover’s quarrel that would inevitably end with them making up, fucking in some ridiculous place like his mum's garden during a dinner party or her dressing room at Smythe-Smith Dramatic Society.

“Right.” He looked down, around, anywhere but at her, feeling like a twat, holding the roses he’d brought to her place, the bouquet she ignored as she wasted no time getting into what had obviously been weighing on her for some time. “Um, so, I’ll go.”

Her eyes were wet with unshed tears. His eyes weren’t, which probably said something. Siena put a hand up to his cheek, which was thick with stubble that one could almost call a proper beard.

“I really wish you all the best, Anthony.” She sounded… tired. So damn tired.

“Thanks, um…” He took half a step back away from her touch, telling himself he didn’t need any comfort. “You, as well.” He turned to leave, but stopped. “Would it–You’ll probably still see me at shows. You know, for Ben.”

Siena nodded. “Of course.”

“I’ll keep my distance, though. At wrap parties and things like that.”

“I’m not worried about it, Anthony.”

“Right.” He stepped out over the threshold. “OK. Bye. Um–Yeah, bye.”

“Bye.”

Anthony had made it halfway down the hallway before realising he was still holding the damned roses. He tossed them in the bin at the top of the stairs without a backwards glance on his way out to the street.

—

The next morning, Siena sat up in bed and turned to her bedside table, where she kept her "I Woke Up Like This" kit: A brush, floss, bottle of water, mascara, and lip stain. Once she was armed for the internet, she posted a quick video to her feed.

"Good morning, guys! I'm gonna level with you. I'm going through some personal stuff right now but I just wanted to hop on here to let anyone who needs to hear this know: You are worth it. No matter how hard it may seem, stand up for yourself. You are your biggest advocate. Love you guys! I'm off to SSDS for rehearsals. Make sure to buy tickets for our upcoming show! It's a revue of Shakespearean comedies! It's gonna be so much fun. Link in my bio! Check in with you later today. Mwuah!"

—

"OK, guys, I think we can call it a day! Thanks for everyone's hard work! Now, let's go drink!"

Benedict's dismissal was met with cheers and applause by the cast and crew, scattered onstage, in the audience, and backstage at the Smythe-Smith Dramatic Society. As everyone gathered their things, most preparing to walk down the street to the pub, Benedict caught up with Siena, who was moving slowly, putting her bag strap over her shoulder.

"Hey."

"Oh, hey, Ben."

"You were great today, as usual, but I just wanted to check in because you seem a bit down. I don't know, low energy? Anything I can help with? Are you unhappy with the show or–"

Siena scoffed and shook her head. "You haven't spoken with your brother?"

Anthony. Of course. Benedict rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah, no. What did he do this time?"

Siena paused thoughtfully. "Nothing, really. It was just time to finally… I don't know, free ourselves, you know?"

Benedict didn't know. He narrowed his eyes. "So… You guys broke up."

It wasn't a question. It was a statement, an indication that this didn't seem like news. They fell out all the time. But Benedict knew better than to point that out.

Siena sighed. "Yes, we broke up. But this time is different.”

Benedict smiled a little at the cliche.

“No, Ben, really. I sort of had an epiphany a few weeks ago. How can I claim to be all about self love and respect while being in a relationship with a guy who has made self-loathing his entire personality? If he doesn't think he deserves anything good, what does our relationship say about how he feels about me?"

Benedict's face sobered. He opened his mouth to respond but nothing seemed right.

"Sorry, I know he's your brother–" Siena waved a hand and made to turn away but Benedict stopped her.

"No, no, it's fine. I do understand what you're saying. I just… I’m sorry he made you feel that way."

Siena shrugged, “I appreciate it.” A small smile formed on her face. “It’s weird. When I woke up this morning, in some ways, I already felt better than I have in a year and a half. I hope it's the same for him. I think it will be. I'll always care about him, you know?”

Benedict nodded slowly. “Come here, babe.” He pulled Siena into a bear hug that made her chuckle. She backed up and put her hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently.

“But, really, we don’t have to talk about your brother. We're meant to be drinking, right?”

Benedict relaxed and took Siena’s bag off her shoulders to carry for her.

“Right. And yours are on me tonight.”

—

Three weeks later, on a Sunday evening, the members of SSDS were celebrating a successful run of “The Comedy of Errors, and Then Some” backstage at the theatre. As always, Benedict made sure the wrap party was catered well and had an open bar. Such was one of the benefits of having a trust fund baby as the most active member of your drama club.

Once Siena had changed, she cautiously entered the gathering, scanning the room for who else may be here in addition to the players and crew.

“He’s not here,” came a voice from behind her.

“Jesus, Ben! Do you need to start wearing a bell?”

“Sorry, honestly didn’t mean to startle you. You just looked… worried?” Benedict raised his eyebrows

Siena nodded reluctantly. “Thanks.. I… Yeah, I was wondering if he was here,” she admitted. How has he been? I haven’t really seen much from him online or anything.”

“To quote the man himself,” Benedict dramatically pulled out his phone, took a deep breath, and uttered, “‘I’m fine.’” 

“Ugh, fuck off.” Siena gently pushed his shoulder as they shared a laugh. “He’s always fucking fine,” she lamented, rolling her eyes.

Benedict shrugged. “Yep. Haven’t seen him much. He came to a show, of course. Left a donation. Same as ever. Mum was complaining that he hasn’t been at the house, citing work every time any of us even hints at a family get-together.”

“Same old shit.” Siena ruefully shook her head.

“Same old shit, indeed. Anyway, we don’t have to talk about him, remember? Can I get you a drink? Some food? You have to eat something. This place I ordered from is fucking excellent.”

Benedict offered Siena his arm, and after she took it, he led her to the buffet table.

“Every place you pick is always excellent, Ben.”

—

Kathani sat on one of the folding chairs at the edge of the party, thinking it was probably time to say her goodbyes and head out. She was opening the art supply shop she managed in the morning, and had already had too much to drink, if she was being honest. She needed to pack for Bridgwater so she could catch the train right after work. Mary and Edwina always insisted she didn’t have to visit every week, yet every time she made the trip, there was a laundry list of things with which they needed help. And lately there was the ongoing conversation of where Edwina wanted to go to university. Ultimately, Kathani wanted her sister to pick anywhere she wanted. But if Edwina stayed in Somerset, she could live at home with Mum, which would be great not only for Mary but also for their family finances. Edwina had spoken excitedly about the aspect of coming to London. Kathani had been careful not to discourage her–not yet, at least. However she always found herself in a spiral about everything that would need to change to make that happen–without contacting Mary’s parents. Mary can’t stay three hours away from her daughters by herself. How would they pay for Edwina’s tuition? If Edwina lived with her, that would help, but her flat is tiny. Could she afford a bigger place? She could leave SSDS and have time for a proper second job. Maybe put more effort into marketing her paintings?

“Hey, mind if I sit here?”

Kathani’s thoughts were interrupted by Siena Rosso, gesturing towards the empty chair next to her.

“Not at all. Brilliant job tonight. The whole run, actually, as always.”

Siena settled into the chair and smiled as she took a sip of her drink. “Thanks. It’s Kate, right? Beautiful work on the sets. Likewise, no surprise there.”

“It’s Kathani, actually, and thank you.”

“Oh. Sorry, I could have sworn–”

Kathani waved her off. “It’s fine, I went by Kate for a while. Decided to go back to my given name. I realised I actually couldn't be arsed to care too much about making white people more comfortable with me.”

“Ah. Sorry.”

“On behalf of all white people?” Kathani teased.

Siena held up her hands. “Just me, I’m afraid.”

“Well, apology accepted.” The two women shook hands in mock seriousness, laughing. “I’ll just have to collect my reparations one at a time, then.”

They sat in comfortable silence for a few moments before Kathani spoke again.

“Isn’t Benedict’s brother usually following you around at these things?” Kathani’s voice was a little tight as she asked the question, falling short of her goal to sound only mildly interested.

“Ah.” Siena shook her head, resigned. “Nope. Not anymore.”

Kathani's eyebrows shot up, something like longing awakening within her and making her heart stutter. She schooled her features before tentatively offering, “Sorry?”

“No, it’s good. I mean, thanks, but… I ended it. It was the right thing to do. Um–” Siena suddenly looked away, sheepish.

Kathani narrowed her mirthful eyes. “But…?”

“What?” she responded innocently.

Kathani held her hands up. “Hey, you don’t have to tell me, I can just tell there was more you were going to say. And I’m a neutral-ish party.”

“Ish?”

“Well, Anthony isn’t here to defend himself, is he? So, I’ll gladly ‘yes and’ any shit you want to say about him.” Hearing how terrible a partner Anthony is sounded like exactly what Kathani needed.

Siena laughed, “Ha, no. Actually, it’s nothing to do with him. Not directly, anyway.”

Oh, well. “No?”

“Yeah, I’m just… I don’t know…” Siena struggled to articulate her thoughts, gesturing vaguely at her own body.

Kathani smiled as realisation hit her. “Lonely? Missing a warm body in your bed? Getting tired of your vibrator?”

“Jeez, yeah. Yes, OK?” Siena looked around as if anyone might be paying attention to them. No one was, of course.

“Hey, no judgement coming from this direction,” Kathani said. “Actually… I think I may be able to help with that.”

Siena raised an eyebrow, amused, but perhaps also intrigued. “You think so, eh?”

Kathani shrugged, biting her lip. “I, um… I was actually about to head out.” She looked over at the exit before meeting Siena’s gaze, holding it.

“OK,” Siena said softly before swallowing.

Slowly, giving Siena time to stop her, Kathani raised her hand and pushed a lock of Siena’s hair behind her ear and smiled at her, her eyes dropping to Siena’s mouth.

“Smooth,” Siena whispered, her eyes similarly trained on Kathani's lips.

“Thank you,” Kathani replied under her breath before leaning in and kissing her.

Siena was still for a few moments, but right before Kathani took the hint and pulled away, she felt Siena’s lips move against hers. Kathani cupped the back of Siena’s head and deepened the kiss once Siena opened her mouth to allow Kathani’s tongue to mingle with hers. Once they pulled back for breath, Kathani stood and held out her hand. After Siena took it and stood as well, she said, “Let me get this out of the way now. I actually do have work in the morning, and I’m going to visit my family afterwards.”

“Two tried and true excuses? Impressive.” Siena's eyes twinkled.

“I know. But if tonight goes well, maybe we can catch up next week?” She ran a thumb over Siena's knuckles

They shared a grin before Siena nodded. “Yeah, take me home and let’s see how we fare.”

—

The following week, SSDS met up to discuss their next show. Benedict noted that Kathani and Siena were sitting together and tried to remember if he’d ever seen them looking so friendly. Of course, all the members knew each other to some degree. But it was a pretty big group, and Kathani tended to stick with her fellow props and set design crew. But the twosome were certainly friendly tonight, smiling and whispering throughout the meeting and then finally, once everyone was dismissed, leaving together, hand-in-hand.

—

Anthony was leaving a date’s townhouse when he received a video call from Benedict.

“What?” he huffed as he jogged down the front steps.

Benedict looked to be trying to make out Anthony's surroundings. “Well, well, well. It’s only 9 o’clock. Couldn’t even stay for tea?”

“Right. Hanging up.”

“Wait, wait! I have news,” Benedict announced in a singsong voice.

"Sure, you do. Go on, then."

"Seriously, though. I'm only telling you this because I work with them and if something comes up on Siena's Instagram or something, I know you're gonna feel betrayed or some shit."

"Siena can do whatever she wants," Anthony said, defensive.

"I know that. But does that mean you don't want to know if she's hooking up with someone I know?"

Anthony slowed his steps. After rolling his eyes and running a hand over his face, he relented.

"Fine. Who is it?"

"You remember Kathani Sharma, right? She does the sets."

Kathani Sharma. Kate. Of course Anthony remembered Kate. Last year, Benedict dragged him to SSDS bowling. Well, more like his brother casually mentioned he was going bowling, and Anthony grabbed his bowling bag and declared, "Fuck, yeah, I'll come show you theatre kids how it's done!"

A couple of hours later and he was as frustrated as he was mesmerised by the woman he ended up on the same lane with. Anthony would never say she was better than him. Never. But facts are facts, and she blew him out of the water on that particular night. And with such unabashed glee, as well. "That's not even my highest score!" she had crowed, a grin gracing her striking face. As far as Anthony was concerned, he was playing against Kate and Kate alone. And she seemed to be on the same wavelength. That night had been shaping up to be the most fun he'd had in a long time before it was suddenly cut short when Siena, who had been playing several lanes away, sauntered up to him and started whispering in his ear about how much she missed him. Before he knew it, he was in the back of a car with Siena, a thought circling in the back of his mind about not giving Kate a proper goodbye–and a quieter yet more persistent thought that he shouldn't have left at all.

"Ant?"

Benedict's smug smile greeted Anthony as he was pulled back to the present, a stranger jostling passed him where he'd stopped on the sidewalk.

"Yes, I remember her. Like I said, Siena can do whatever she wants. No need to keep me updated. I've gotta go."

"I'm sure you do. The night is young and all that."

—

Back at his penthouse, Anthony felt like the worst cliche, and a bit of a creep, if he was being honest. What bothered him most was that he didn’t know why he was behaving this way. In the history of his on and off relationship with Siena, he’d never been particularly interested in who Siena spent her time with when they were “off.” Sure, he got a little jealous when he happened to see a social media post featuring her and someone else looking cosy, but it passed quickly. He had his own company to keep him plenty occupied. And, anyway, he always took comfort in the assumption that they would eventually resume the exclusive fuckery that they called a relationship. But that door was finally firmly closed, and here he was, googling “Kathani Sharma London” and sorting through the results.

[hyylia]

A DRINK WITH DESTINY ──

botw/totk modern au | rated T major characters: zelda, link summary: for galentine's, zelda and her friends decide to check out hyrule's newest bar, the lost woods. word count: 1695 warnings: alcohol mentions/use

a/n: happy (late) loftwing letters @angelicgarnet! you said you like botw/totk zelink and modern au's so have this modern meet-cute story :) i hope you like it!

read it below the cut or on ao3 → here

It’s five o’clock. The Lost Woods has just opened, and it’s only a matter of time before a crowd makes its appearance. Link’s spent the last hour preparing for it: stocking the bar with an array of cheap liquor and top-shelf alike, cutting garnishes, filling the bin with ice. The Galentine’s event tonight had been his clever idea—a way of bringing in and establishing patrons for Hyrule’s newest bar. 

“Go ahead,” he calls out to the band in the corner, tucked away on a small wooden stage. The head of the band, a tall woman with a dark brown bob, nods her head and readies her violin. Light, traditional Hyrulean folk music fills the silence hanging in the bar, just as the crowd begins to slowly trickle inside. 

“I’ll have a Champion.” A Gerudo woman with long, red hair sits at the bar mere moments later, handing him her card between two fingers. “And a Zora’s Scale for my friend.” Her head tilts in the direction of the shorter redhead who takes up the barstool beside her. Link nods, mindlessly pulling the Champion into a tall glass, slowly falling into the motion of making drinks. “And another friend will be joining us soon. Put her on my tab when she comes in.”

“Sure,” he says easily. “What does this friend look like?”

“You can’t miss her,” the Gerudo says with a knowing smile and a wink. She takes a sip of her Champion, then nudges the Zora beside her to do the same. Link shrugs, turning away to take the order of another woman. 

Eventually, a steady stream of patrons occupy the bar, groups of young women eager to celebrate their friendships and drink on a good deal. The music becomes a background to the loud chatter taking place, and at some point, the Gerudo and Zora leave their barstools with their drinks in hand, mingling with a few others they must know. He turns his attention to his work, focusing solely on getting his drinks just right.

Some time later a voice cuts through the bar. It’s soft and sweet, clear as day to him despite the noise. His attention is shattered at the sound of it. He looks up, distracted.

“Sorry I’m late!” The voice says hurriedly to the Gerudo from earlier, holding a soft blue purse close to her body. She pulls the gold chainlink strap up onto her shoulder with one hand, then runs the same hand through her blonde hair in an attempt to smooth it down into place. From far away, Link can’t hear the rest of the exchange, but he sees the Gerudo wave the apology away. She says something to the woman, then points her towards the bar. Towards him. 

The Gerudo was right; he couldn’t miss this woman.

Link has bartended for years—mostly on the side, only recently full-time. He’s flirted, exchanged phone numbers, the whole nine yards. But she… She is like something out of a fairytale. Her golden hair lays in silky straight strands, bangs clipped out of her face with blue butterfly clips. Her eyes are big and beautiful, green like emeralds and accentuated by dark brown cat-eye liner. The pink gloss on her lips seems to glow, reflecting the dim light around them. She is the first woman to make him feel truly nervous.

“Hi,” her soft voice says. She stands on her tiptoes, leaning over the dark mahogany bar to speak to him. It’s unnecessary. Even with all the noise, his attention is focused solely on her. Listening.

“What can I get for you?” He says, trying to look casual as he pours another cocktail through a strainer. He sits the glass on the bar in one quick, fluid motion towards its recipient.

“Oh. Um.” Her green eyes trail from the drink and over to settle on the framed specials sheet sitting atop the bar. They scan the sheet slowly, taking in every detail. Finally, she frowns. “I’m sorry. I don’t really drink…”

“That’s okay,” he says quickly, sounding maybe a bit overenthusiastic. “Do you want something sweet or dry?”

She chews her lip. “Maybe somewhere in the middle? Probably more sweet I think. But not too sweet.”

He nods. Normally when women don’t know what to order, he makes them a classic. A Castletonian, or a simple Zoran’s with cranberry. It’s hard to go wrong with either of those, and if they don’t like it, well… then he has a better idea of what to make for them next time. Yet, for her—for this goddess standing before him—something else comes to mind entirely. 

He takes a step away from the bar, conjuring the supplies up quickly from the shelf behind him. Her eyes follow intently all the while, taking in each and every motion he makes. For good measure (and maybe because he likes the feel of her eyes on him), he shoves the sleeves to his blue shirt up over his elbows before he continues. The Master Sword tattoo on his right forearm is fully visible now. She seems to smile at the sight of it.

“How long have you guys been open?” she asks. He’s grateful for her attempt to fill the heavy silence hanging between them.

“Just a couple of weeks.”

“Cool…” Her eyes fall away from him now, taking in the scenery around them. They focus on the plants filling every corner, fake vines crawling up the few faux stone ruins around the room. Finally, they land on the band playing in the corner. “I like it. The theme is really cool.”

“Thanks,” he says, sincerely. Then he shrugs. “I’ve been interested in Ancient Hyrulean stuff for a while. I thought it’d make a cool bar concept.”

Her eyes light up, snapping back to him. “Me too! Well, not the bar thing.” She rushes to explain. “That sounded negative. I don’t mean it like that—it’s a cool concept. I just… I’m actually an archeaology major at the university.”

“Really? I thought about going to school for history.”

She leans forward. “Why didn’t you?” 

“I’ve always been bad in school. Trouble focusing, sleeping during class, that kind of thing. I’ve never been super disciplined, I guess.”

“I get it,” she says, but he can tell from the tone of her voice that she doesn’t. No–this woman strikes him as intelligent. She’s probably never made below an A-plus in any of her courses.

He nods without thinking and, with one final motion, garnishes her drink with a simple Silent Princess. It floats lightly on top of the light blue liquid, edible gold glitter shining with every swirl of the martini glass.

“What’s it called?” She wonders aloud as she takes the glass from his hands, peering inside.

“The Princess.” 

Her eyes widen. Her mouth opens, then closes. A dark red flush crawls up her skin.

“Oh,” she says quietly. Then, as if realizing what he’s done, her eyes narrow. She eyes the glass suspiciously. “And do you make The Princess for every fair lady who enters your establishment, sir?” Her faux-royalty accent makes him smile.

“Only for you. It seems fitting.”

Despite the dim lighting, her cheeks burn fiercer. She smiles. 

“Oh. Then thank you.” 

“What’s your name?” he asks finally. It’s his turn to lean against the bar, resting his chin lazily on a hand.

“Zelda,” she says with a soft smile. He widens his eyes. 

Zelda, like the ancient princesses from thousands and thousands of years ago. Either it’s a coincidence or—

“Are you teasing me?”

“No,” she laughs, “that’s really my name. What’s yours?”

“Link.” Her mouth falls open. She laughs harder. It’s a lovely sound and makes his heartbeat quicken. 

“Like the hero?” 

“The very same, actually. My dad was really into military history. Wars and stuff.”

“Well it’s a pleasure to meet you, Hero,” she teases, holding a hand out for him to take.

“Same for you, Princess.” Feeling bold, he pulls her hand closer. His mouth lightly brushes the back of her hand. It hovers. At the very last second, before he pulls away, his blue eyes flick up to meet hers. She dares to hold his gaze. 

They break away only for her to take a sip. 

“Mmm! It’s perfect!” 

“Good.” He gives a lopsided grin, releasing her hand. “I’ll make as many as you wish, Princess. On one condition.”

“And what might that be?”

He points his finger up in the air, towards the rickety wooden sign hanging above the bar. Drink Responsibly. Don’t Get Lost, it says, scrawled in someone’s poor attempt at mimicking Ancient Hyrulean script.

She laughs. “Clever.”

“Thanks.”

“Zelda!” The Gerudo’s voice cuts through the bar. “Come here!” 

“Sorry,” she apologizes, wincing. She hesitates to move away from him. “Thanks again.”

And like that, she’s gone.

—

He’s closing up the bar when something catches his attention. A specials sheet, removed from its frame and torn in half, sits between half-full glasses on the bar. When he peers closer, there’s text.

Thanks for everything. You were really nice tonight. I’d love to get to know you more.  -Zelda

Below the text, a set of numbers is scrawled in pretty handwriting. Her phone number. Link grabs the paper quickly and wastes no time in sending her a text.

—

Her phone buzzes, just as she enters the shared apartment with Urbosa and Mipha. Warm and fuzzy, stumbling slightly from the alcohol, Zelda struggles only momentarily to pull her Slate from the pocket of her jacket. It lights up when she finally does, the notification quickly expanding on her screen.

Hey, it’s Link, the bartender. Thanks for giving me your number, I’d love to hang out some time. :)

Zelda blinks once. Twice. 

“How’d he get my number?” She asks no one in particular. Had she given it to him? Did she forget? It’s possible, she muses. The Princess had been stronger than it’d tasted.

“Sorry, Zel.” Mipha is the first to crack, her voice soft and nervous. “But you should have seen the way you two looked at each other.”

“And, Princess,” Urbosa gently mocks, a wide, mischievous smile spreading across her face. “He’s handsome.”

Zelda can’t say she’s angry.

[sjsmith56]

Chance Encounter - Part 3 + Drabble

Summary: Bucky goes the extra mile in helping Katrina during her detox. Almost a year later they celebrate multiple events.

Length: 5.2 K

Warnings: Angst, Bucky feeling guilt, cold turkey detoxification (sped up for dramatic purposes), fluff at the end and in the Drabble.

Author’s notes: This story took such a different route than my original plan. It was supposed to be a meet cute story then the idea of making the OFC Bucky’s adult daughter, with her own daughter, just kind of appeared in my head and grew from there. Plus the idea of Bucky as sexy dad and granddad was definitely appealing. I hope it resonates.

<<Part 2

🩺 🎉

Bucky didn’t go to the cafeteria for supper, staying in his quarters instead, brooding. Ignoring the sound of someone knocking on his door until Friday advised him it was Sam, led to the latter entering with a cheeseburger, fries and a couple of bottles of beer. Placing the food down in front of Bucky he opened the one beer, handing it to him, then opened the other for himself.

“She didn’t take it well,” he stated, drawing a grimace from Bucky.

“She took it better than I thought but then I told her about the kill squad and that when she comes off the suppressant, she might be uncontrollable. That’s when she closed down.” Bucky took a drink of his beer and picked up the cheeseburger, nodding at Sam before he bit into it. “Thanks.”

“Well, at least she knows the truth.” Sam reached for a fry. “You know, even if she doesn’t speak to you again, you did the right thing. She’s free of that husband, free of HYDRA and she can live the life she wants.”

“Yeah, as long as she doesn’t turn into a killer,” replied Bucky sarcastically. “She’ll have to hide her abilities to stay anonymous. SHIELD will likely have to put her into witness protection so that the CIA don’t get any ideas of using her in black ops. Life will be great for her.”

“Whoa, that turned dark,” commented Sam, taking a swig of his beer. “Give her space. She already knew you killed her parents and still went with you when you showed up at her door. She’s just dealing with all of this new information all at once.”

A grunt was Bucky’s response. As unrealistic as the idea had been, Bucky had hoped for Katrina to be more receptive to the thought of him as her father. He had even briefly thought of buying a house for all three of them, of being there for her and Anna, and doing things together as a family. Now, he was blaming himself for even having that hope, knowing it was an unrealistic fantasy. A hand waved in front of him, and he jerked back.

“What?” He glared at Sam.

“You were somewhere else,” said his partner.

“Yeah,” he sighed. “I was. Sorry. I kind of got my hopes up. You know, imagining how things could be.”

“Nothing wrong with that.” Sam stood up, finishing his beer. “You going to be okay?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine. At least, Katrina and Anna are safe now, and the docs will figure out a way to deal with the issue.”

“It will work out,” replied Sam. “Try to get some sleep.”

With a wave, he left, and Bucky finished his meal. He picked up the bottles and put them in the recycle bin in his quarters, putting the takeaway box into the garbage. Stretching, he called out to Friday to turn out the lights but was interrupted by a knock on his door. Figuring Sam forgot something he opened it and was startled to see Katrina and Anna. As soon as she saw him, she began to cry and he opened his arms to her, holding her close, as he drew her inside.

“It’s okay,” he murmured. “You’re alright.”

“I’m sorry,” she sobbed. “It was so much to take in and I thought I should try to figure it out by myself, but I haven’t been able to think for myself for my whole life. I’m so confused.”

“Come sit down,” he said, taking Anna from her. “Have you eaten?” She nodded. “What has you so confused?”

“Stupid things, like if you’re telling me the truth. I’ve been lied to my whole life, and I just don’t know if I can tell anymore what the truth is. I went to see Shuri and she said you’re the most honest man she knows.”

He smiled slightly. “She’s biased but she knows me very well. She’s the scientist who neutralized the trigger words that brought out the Winter Soldier and she designed my arm. What else did she tell you?”

“I couldn’t understand why you didn’t remember me, because I thought I was important to you. But in the supermarket, there was no recognition. Yet, you remembered other things that happened to you. She said HYDRA really did a lot of damage to your brain and that there were many things that you would likely never remember. Were the memories of me the ones that you’ll never get back?”

“Listen to me,” he said gently, placing Anna on his lap. “When I first saw you in the supermarket, I saw a woman who looked out of place. You seemed overwhelmed at the size of the place, the selection, the whole atmosphere. What you wanted was on the top shelf and you couldn’t reach it, but you were too afraid to ask for help. It reminded me of myself after I got away from HYDRA. So, I offered to help you as one person to another. Then when you looked at me, I could tell you recognized me, but I thought it was just like when any member of the public suddenly realizes it’s me. It wasn’t until you went to the end of the aisle and looked back at me that I had a flash of a memory that I had seen you before, but I didn’t know where. When I went to my car and saw you sitting there, it just reinforced that you were familiar. I recognized Sergei as well but couldn’t place where I had seen him, except the feeling I got from him wasn’t good. So, I got his licence plate number and Sam looked up Sergei’s information. I had his name and address but still couldn’t put the pieces together. I thought he may have been HYDRA but there were so many people that I encountered over the years I couldn’t narrow it down in my mind. But I was worried about you, because you were obviously afraid of him, even in that parking lot. So, I came to that house, and I watched through the window. When he hit you, I was ready to beat him down just on that alone. After he left, I knocked on the door and you called me Soldier, so you did know who I used to be, except when you said it, there was no fear. That didn’t make sense, even when you told me who you were and how you knew me, because I still didn’t remember. It didn’t matter because I wasn’t leaving there without you and Anna. I’m not the type of man to turn my back on anyone who needs help, and you needed it.”

“Do you remember me now?”

“Bits and pieces only,” he admitted. “Feelings, a couple of memories of me holding a child as she cried, which may have been you or it may have been my sister. After they forced me to kill your parents, my memory was wiped repeatedly, to make me forget you, then I was frozen. After I was awakened, I was wiped again and sent out on a kill mission, according to the files Sam found. They reprogrammed me to go after Steve Rogers because he was getting in the way of their plans. Until then, the public didn’t know who I was. But during a fight, my mask came off, and Steve recognized me, called me by name and that made other memories of him start pushing out. They wiped me again to go after him and I almost killed him, but a specific memory came back of us as friends and that was it, I wasn’t going back. If I had remembered you then, I would have come back for you. I would have never left you there. But they did too good of a job on my memories of you. I’m sorry.”

“So, you don’t care about me as your daughter,” she said hesitantly. “You only care for me as some woman who was in an abusive relationship.”

“No, that’s not true,” smiled Bucky, as he looked at her, then at Anna. “I lost everything because of HYDRA. My parents died without them ever knowing the truth that I survived. My sister was alive, and I did manage to meet with her before she died but all those years without her were gone forever. Steve went back to the past and he was the last person I had history with. When Sam told me that you were my daughter, it was like a part of me that I had closed up had opened again. You’re family, Katrina. You and Anna are my family. I don’t know if the old memories will come back but we can make new ones. We can get a house and live together, with a swing set in the back yard and a pet. You can go to college. Anna can go to school.”

“What about the transition? What if I turn into one of those killers? They must have thought that’s what would happen if they put me on those suppressants.”

“You’re also my daughter,” said Bucky. “I killed for them for a long time, but I haven’t killed anyone since the moment I remembered Steve for good. Shuri said it was because the good person I really am wouldn’t have done those things willingly. It’s something I struggle with but there must be some truth in it. Those killers were never good people. They were trained from a young age to have no mercy, no joy, and no love to give or receive. You’re not them. Your foster parents did love you, even though they were part of HYDRA. They tried to protect you and failed. You love Anna and you’ve protected her from the moment she was born, and you haven’t failed with her.”

“I love you, too,” she whispered, looking at her hands. Bucky felt a swell of emotion at her words. “Everyone said you were dangerous, but you never were to me. Growing up on that base was hard because only three people treated me kindly, you and my parents. Even though Pierce was polite I always knew he saw me as something to use.” She sniffed and Bucky reached into his pocket for another handkerchief, handing it to her, bringing a slight smile from her. “I’d like for us to live together. If anyone understands how hard it is to go from living as a prisoner to suddenly being free, it’s you.” She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself then looked at him again. “Can I call you Dad?”

“You can call me anything you want, sweetheart,” smiled Bucky, suddenly feeling like crying himself.

This time the hug wasn’t for comfort but for grasping at a chance for happiness. A part of Bucky that had been missing in his life was finally filled. For Katrina, she felt safe, especially knowing that this man who had looked out for her when she was a child was more. He was her father, and nothing would ever change that.

“I better get Anna to bed,” she said, as she finally pulled out of the hug. “Tomorrow, when they outline the plan to take us off the suppressants I want you there, as my dad and my friend. Then we can do what you said, make new memories, permanent ones.”

“I’ll be there,” said Bucky. “I promise.”

He stood up, kissing them both on the forehead in turn before handing her daughter back. Then he pulled them both in for another quick hug before walking them to the door. He watched them walk down the hallway towards their quarters before he went back inside. That night, Bucky Barnes slept straight through for over seven hours, a new record.

When he showed up with Katrina and Anna at the Avengers lab on the following day and listened to the plan, he still had doubts that things would work out. The analysis of the pills proved that they were no longer as effective as they had been as the active ingredients in them were losing their potency. They were also addictive in nature. Katrina was on the cusp of having a physical breakdown. They could either wean her off or put her through a cold turkey withdrawal from the suppressants. Each process had its pros and cons.

“What do you think I should do?” she asked Bucky, who held Anna in his lap.

“If it was me, I would want to get that stuff out of me as soon as possible,” he said. “But it’s going to be hard on you, really hard.”

He didn’t tell her about his own withdrawal from what HYDRA gave him, a process he underwent alone because he was on the run, without any help or trust in anyone.

“You’ll help me?” Her plaintive look as she asked almost broke his heart, but he assured her he would. She turned to the two doctors and Shuri. “I’ll go through the withdrawal as long as my dad can stay and help. I don’t want Anna to see.”

“She can stay with my sister and nephews in Delacroix,” said Sam. “She’ll be safe there and get lots of fresh air. We can arrange for a sorcerer to open a portal directly there.”

Looking at Bucky for guidance on Sam’s offer, he nodded his approval, and she accepted it. After a tearful goodbye with Anna, they decided to start the process the next day. With Sam along, the three of them spent the day together, with Bucky telling her about his family and growing up in Brooklyn before the war. He showed her an album he had of pictures that his sister had of him when he was young. It was bittersweet for Katrina, seeing the pictures of his parents and his sister, family she would never know. That evening, after dinner, Bucky took her up to the roof, where a lounge area was, and they watched the sunset together, before he walked her back to her room and assured her that she would get through this.

Bucky stayed with her throughout the detoxification process, as there were things in the pills that couldn’t even be identified as other than toxic. While her emotions went all over the place, at the same time as her strength and senses exploded, he held and rocked her like a baby, cleaned up her vomit and worse. When she begged for the pills to take the edge off of what her body was going through, he listened, then refused her requests, taking the physical and verbal abuse that she threw at him in response. Not once did he lose his temper or raise a hand to her. The few times he took a break, when a strong sedative was given to Katrina so that both of them could rest, he would shower, crying in that sanctuary, for what HYDRA had done to his daughter. Then he checked in on Anna, having a live video call with her, assuring her that Mama would get better. After some food to replenish him, he returned to that barren room with only a mattress on the floor, since Katrina had destroyed all the furniture in the first of her many rages as her body shed the drugs she had been fed since she was two years old. Every time he returned; it was with a nod to Bruce to lock the door. Then he sat next to her on the floor and waited for her to wake up, ready to go through the process all over again.

For those who were watching on closed circuit TV, Sam, Bruce, Helen and Shuri, it was both heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time, at witnessing the love he expressed to his daughter to stay with her throughout the ordeal. Sam thought it was one of the most heroic things Bucky would ever do. On the fourth day, he was dozing as he sat against the wall, the strain of all of it finally catching up to his super soldier stamina. Katrina woke up and rolled over to see her father sitting on the floor, his back against the wall with his eyes closed, his face unshaven, his hair a mess; and thought she had never seen anyone that she loved more at that moment than him.

“Dad?”

He opened his eyes immediately and looked at her intently.

“Yeah, sweetheart?” he answered, tiredly.

“Are you okay? You look like shit.”

He smiled. “I’ve been better. How are you?”

“Hungry,” she said. “But better.” She sniffed. “Is that me that smells?” He nodded. “Can I have a shower and get out of these clothes?”

Sam, who was watching at that moment on the closed-circuit TV with Bruce, turned to him.

“That’s good, right? She’s through the worst of it?”

“Yeah,” agreed Bruce. “She might have a relapse but if she’s hungry and her sense of smell is working then her body is finally readjusting. I think we can let her out to get cleaned up and have something to eat but I still want her to stay here for the week just for observation.”

Allowed to shower and wash her hair, Katrina took a long time before she came out of the bathroom, going right to Bucky and wrapping her arms around his middle.

“I have your eyes,” she said, as the side of her head rested against his chest and he enclosed her with his arms. “I hope Anna has your eyes as well.”

“You already have my heart,” he whispered, “both of you.”

It was further proof of their blood kinship to confirm she inherited the blue eyes of his family. After two days with no relapse, Katrina asked for Anna’s return, and the decision was made to wean the little girl off the pills slowly. She hadn’t been on them as long, only for a year and it took just over a month at the compound to wean her off of them completely. Her blue eyes matched those of her mother and grandfather. Although she was still adjusting to her growing abilities, her natural joyful nature sprouted during that time, endearing her to many of the staff. The time they spent together at the compound, proved to be time well spent, as they learned how to be a family.

With Nick Fury’s help, a house in Brooklyn was found, ready for them to move in; just needing furniture, linens, and all the other things necessary for living. Bucky moved all of his possessions from his flat over but so much more was needed and the three of them went on a bit of a spending spree, finding furnishings for their small family. Many hands came forward to help them move in when they finally took possession. For the first time since he left for war in 1943, Bucky Barnes had a real home to come back to.

They also received word from SHIELD that the search of Sergei’s house had revealed a list of people who had been in HYDRA but were never identified or located when it fell. When the authorities showed up on their doorsteps to take them into custody, many of them took the same way out that Sergei did. A few tried to claim they were forced to be part of that organization but were still taken in to be given their day in court.

Eleven months later

The doorbell rang again, and Bucky called out that he would answer it. Peeking through the window he saw it was Sam, Sarah and the boys, and he opened the door with a big smile, noticing the big present that Sam was carrying.

“You didn’t have to bring anything,” he said to his second family. “Just yourselves.”

“Like I’m going to come to a four-year old’s birthday party without an offering,” replied Sam. “It’s really something for the house. It was the boys’ idea.”

Bucky looked at AJ and Cass, standing there with grins on their faces. “It better not be a video game console. My granddaughter is way too young to be addicted to them like you two are.”

The sound of running footsteps had everyone turn around as Anna came barrelling down the hallway.

“Uncle Sam, Auntie Sarah!” She hugged them around the knees, almost knocking them into the wall.

“Gently, Anna,” warned Bucky. “Remember, you have to be gentle with everyone.”

He picked her up, kissing her on the cheek. “Why don’t you take the boys out to the backyard and show them your climbing gym?”

“Okay, Grandpa,” she answered, then wriggled to get out of his arms.

Grabbing the boys’ hands, she pulled them with her out to the backyard.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to hearing you be called Grandpa,” smiled Sarah, kissing him on the cheek. “I think you like it a lot.”

“I do like it; I can’t lie,” smiled Bucky, then he put his hands out. “Give me that and I’ll add it to the pile of presents that other people brought even though I specifically asked them not to.”

“Stop complaining, Dad,” said Katrina, coming out of the kitchen. “You got her four presents and already let her open two of them. Hi, Sam. Hi, Sarah. Thanks for coming. There’s one person left, and he’ll be here soon.”

“A certain wingman?” teased Sam, as Bucky grimaced at him. “Aw, you like him. You just don’t want to admit it. Have you had the shovel talk with him yet?”

Bucky kept walking into the living room, giving Sam the finger as he did. That made him chuckle and he hugged Katrina, then signed to her.

“Does he know how serious you two are?”

She glared at him and signed back. “No, not yet.”

“Are you two signing to each other?” Bucky called out from the living room. “I can hear your hands move.”

They both stopped, then grinned as Bucky came back out to the hallway. With a knowing look at Sam, Katrina led them through the kitchen and out to the backyard which was done up with balloons and streamers. Music was playing and there was definitely a party atmosphere going on. Sarah looked at her brother as they went down the steps, surprised at the level of activity in the back yard. This was a bit much for Bucky’s usual tastes, but he seemed to be right in there, laughing and joking with people. He kept his eye on Anna, especially if she was too exuberant in her dealings with others, as she often forgot that most people weren’t like Grandpa, Mama, Uncle Thor, Uncle Peter, or Auntie Carol. Today, they were celebrating a couple of things, including Anna’s fourth birthday, or her first really, since her birth father Sergei, didn’t believe in celebrating sentimental milestones. In his mind, life was hard and you either took what you wanted to survive, or you died.

When the doorbell rang again bringing Joaquin Torres into the party, Sam was surprised to see a nod of acknowledgement from Bucky at the Avenger’s arrival. Maybe the major change in adjustment that the stoic super soldier underwent in the past year was an understatement. Remembering the first day he saw Bucky Barnes, that day on the freeway when the man literally destroyed Sam’s car with his hands, he smiled as he watched him pick Anna up, smothering her with kisses before he put her on his shoulders.

“Alright, let’s get this party started,” said Bucky, as he looked over the people assembled in his back yard. “Officially, this is just a get-together to celebrate a few things. First, I want to congratulate my daughter, Katrina, for getting her GED, scoring high enough to earn college credits in math, science, and language arts. She worked very hard to get that done, and I’m very proud of her. I’ll let her make the second announcement.”

“Thanks, Dad,” she replied, making several people grin at each other, as they still weren’t used to Bucky being called that. “I wanted to announce that I was accepted into NYU, and I’ll be starting there for the fall semester taking Applied General Studies, since I really don’t know what I want to be when I grow up.”

“Not following your father as an Avenger?” Thor looked confused. “You are a super soldier, aren’t you?”

“Yes, I am but I’m also a mom, and I don’t think I inherited the ass-kicking gene from him,” she grinned. “Actually, he kind of suggested it. Said I should find my own path and he would light the way.” She looked lovingly at Bucky, who returned the look right at her. “Anyways, it’s been almost a year since Dad found me, and helped me start this new life. You’ve all been important to me as well, so thank you for being there for me and Anna.”

After the polite applause, Bucky lifted Anna off his shoulders and held her in his arms. He whispered into her ear, smiling as her face shone brightly.

“Really? Now?”

“Now,” he said. “What do you want to say to everyone?”

She looked sweetly at the people who were gathered then crowed out her greeting. “It’s my birthday! I’m four years old. Let’s have fun!”

It was an incredible party, as much fun for her mother and grandfather as it was for the four-year-old girl. Every gift she opened brought joy to her, even the video game console that Sam Wilson brought, ignoring the fake glares from her grandfather. When Bucky brought the cake out, with its four candles lit up Anna clapped her hands.

“Close your eyes, make a wish and blow out the candles,” said Katrina.

Scrunching her eyes up tight, Anna thought for a moment then she leaned forward and blew the candles out, to applause from everyone. As Katrina cut into the cake and shared pieces with everyone, Sam stood next to his partner, who gazed at his daughter and granddaughter with so much love.

“You’re a lucky man, Buck,” he said. “A good deed in the supermarket led you to find a real treasure.”

“I am lucky,” agreed the super soldier. “I have everything I want in life; a good job, a home, friends, and a family that I never knew I had. Thanks for doing the leg work and finding out the truth.”

“Any time, partner, any time.”

He patted Bucky on the shoulder, then both men accepted their piece of cake, enjoying every bite. Sometimes the darkest of discoveries leads to the brightest of celebrations, and this birthday party of Anna Barnes was proof of it. From now on she would grow up knowing that she was loved and cherished by her mother and her grandfather, the man formerly known as the Winter Soldier. This was one chance encounter that changed three lives for the better.

Bonus Drabble - I tried to include this in part 3 but it didn’t fit so I made it into a little Drabble instead.

The sight of Joaquin Torres holding hands and occasionally hugging or kissing Katrina Barnes at her daughter’s birthday party still surprised most people. Those that were at the compound when he arrived during the time of Katrina’s observation period, witnessed how he seemed taken by her immediately. Those that weren’t there heard the story and still didn’t believe it almost a year later. Torres didn’t even know she was Bucky’s daughter as she was listed at the security station as Katrina Ivanova. She was in the cafeteria waiting for Bucky when Joaquin saw her and Anna. Seeing Sam, he gestured to him to come over.

“Who is she? New staff?”

Sam had grinned, wondering if he should mess around with the flyer. Then Bucky joined his family, and Anna wanted to sit on his lap, drawing a smile out of the stoic super soldier. That just intrigued Joaquin even more and he pestered Sam for more information.

“The older one is Bucky’s daughter,” Sam finally said. “Just found out about her. They’re going to try to make a go of it as a family.”

“The little one is his granddaughter? He’s okay with that?”

“He’s great with it,” said Sam. “You want to meet her? She’s 26. Just a little younger than you.”

“He won’t hurt me, will he?” Joaquin looked a little worried.

“No promises. Come on, we’ll go sit with them.”

They picked up their trays and came over. Bucky narrowed his eyes a little bit as he noticed how Joaquin was looking at Katrina but said nothing, although he moved to the same side of the table with her.

“Katrina, this is Joaquin Torres, also known as The Falcon,” said Sam. “He works with your dad a lot. Joaquin, Katrina Barnes.”

“I will be, as soon as I get my name legally changed,” she replied, extending her hand to him. “This little one is my daughter, Anna.”

Joaquin looked from her to Bucky, who was keeping a civil face, at least for now.

“So, you were born while he was still the Winter Soldier?”

“Yeah, it’s a long story but because of a chance encounter at a supermarket, I found my dad, and he found me and Anna.” She anticipated his next question. “I inherited his abilities, if you’re wondering.”

He smiled at her, then at Bucky. “I think you’ll be a good dad and grandfather. You already seem a lot happier.”

“I’m working on it,” murmured Bucky. “Don’t you have some work to do on your suit?”

“Already finished the systems upgrade,” said Joaquin. “I’m pretty free until we get another mission. Oh, I heard that Fury was looking for you and Cap. Sorry Sarge.”

“Sarge?” asked Katrina. “They call you Sarge?”

“Hmmm,” answered Bucky, then he looked at Sam, who was trying to keep a straight face. His own face and voice were definitely not amused. “I need to talk to you, in private.”

As they walked away, he could hear Katrina ask Torres why her dad was called Sarge. They didn’t see Katrina, Anna or Torres for the rest of the afternoon, as he showed her the amenities outside, including a playground that Bucky didn’t know about. That was the day Bucky finally experienced what all the fathers of his dates in the 1930s and 1940s went through when he led their daughters out the door. The thought of karma finally catching up with him on his ladies’ man days, was a bitter pill to swallow. But at least he knew where Torres lived, and he definitely had the shovel talk with him a few days later, while sharpening one of his favourite knives.

Since then, Torres hadn’t disappointed Sarge. Whenever he showed up to take Katrina out he was pleasant with her father and he always brought her back on time, while showing her the greatest respect. He did have plans to visit Sarge soon, to ask him something very important, but he could wait. Today was Anna’s day and the ring was patiently waiting for its moment to be offered to her mother.

Part 4>>

Series Masterlist

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[impishjesters]

Under the Weather

Rhett (tadc OC) x Sick Reader

warning(s): none, just sweet cute shit A/N: I forget how we got on the topic, but my friend and I were chatting about a sick reader and Rhett feeding them soup and this... was just so fucking funny to me I had to write it. His first debut and I'm already bullying him, I'm sorry my dear. (Also hehe, the reader got a lil virus, you poor baby)

“A-a-achoo!”

A dribble of snot ran down your face and was quickly wiped up with a tissue. “I know you caught a little bug, but I’m starting to think it might be a bigger bug than Caine anticipated.”

“Nuh-uh..” You sniffled, gently batting his hand away to take the tissue. After blowing the gunk away and bundling the tissue up, Rhett extended his hand. Your face scrunched up in disgust at the idea of putting your snot-filled tissue into his hand. “I’ll be fine.”

Rhett looked you up and down, taking in your disheveled appearance. “Clearly.” You gave a weak swat to him and he easily caught your hand, stealing the icky tissue and tossing it in the bin. “How about you lay here and rest, and I make you a nice bowl of hot soup, yes? It’ll help soothe your throat, give you something light in your tummy, and help get all that icky snot out.”

Some soup did sound pretty good right now. You aren’t sure about how well it would help. The bug part was quite literal after all, so unless that soup had some magical bug-be-gone data in it, it wouldn’t do any good. But your boyfriend was being such a gentleman and it was clear as day that he wanted to take care of you—like he always did.

Maybe you’d humor him this one time and let him pamper you.

“Okay,” his center eye widened in surprise, you usually put up a fight.

“Okay?” he repeated.

“You can make me some soup and I’ll lay back and rest.”

The pupils in two of Rhett’s eyes turned into hearts, doing a silly little side-to-side dance before returning to normal. It was weird when you first saw it, his eyes acting so independently from one another—as if they had a mind of their own. Until it happened again, and it only took a bit of piecing together that it was a happy reaction.

With a lack of face to show his emotions, his eyes would quite literally be the windows to his soul—and emotions.

You still aren’t very proficient at reading him very well though.

He moved the tissue box closer and pulled the blankets up and under your chin, tucking you in. “I’ll be back before you know it.” The lower eye closed as he leaned down, giving you his version of a pseudo kiss.

Rhett left, leaving you alone in bed with the lights dimmed.

You drifted on and off until the sound of the door woke you up, your boyfriend’s body creating an unsettling headless shadow that nearly startled you. Still getting used to that.

“Ah, I’m sorry did I wake you, dear?” One hand held a bowl of soup while the other closed the door behind him before making his way toward your bed. “I tried to be quick, but you know Bubble trying to help only to further prove a nuisance.”

A hoarse little giggle left you before making you cough. “Yeah, that sounds like him.”

He set the soup aside and sat on the bed, fluffing pillows up behind you before helping you settle into them. Once you sunk back into the pillows he simply sat there for a moment, taking in how cute you looked before snapping out of it. Right, soup first, admire later.

Rhett grabbed the soup, stirring it before lifting the spoon full of broth. A classic chicken noodle soup, if your nose can be relied enough on to go based on smell alone. He held the spoon up ready to blow on it and froze, was something wrong? You whisper his name, throat too sore.

The spoon was placed back into the bowl and brought back up, he froze again and all several eyes stared intently at the spoon in hand. Each eye was wide, staring at the spoon as if it threatened to kill his dog.

“Rhett…?” He was starting to worry you now. “You don’t have to feed me I can—”

“N-nonsense..! It’s still hot after all.” he cleared his throat, central eye focused on you while the other continued to stare intently at the spoon. “I-I’m sorry my love, I.. I seem to have made a slight miscalculation.”

“Miscalculation?” You sat up slowly, using the pillows as a crutch, and glanced at the seemingly normal bowl of soup. “What’s wrong with it? Did Bubble do something?”

“N-no..” Rhett shifted uncomfortably when your gaze moved from the soup to him. Lowering the bowl to his lap he looked away in a way that could only be conveyed as nervously. “I wished to feed you the soup but.. it’s hot..”

“Well yeah,” you grumble, clearing your throat. “It’s soup, fresh soup… it’s gonna be hot. I don’t—”

Hot soup. Feeding you. His words repeat in your head again and again, he wanted to feed you but it was too hot—oh. That poor baby couldn’t blow on the soup.

“I-I can feed myself, it’s okay!” You push forward and reach for the bowl just for Rhett to pull it just out of reach. “Sweetie, it’s okay. Really.”

Rhett doesn’t look at you, in fact, none of his eyes are looking remotely in your direction. He didn’t think this out—he of all people didn’t have the foresight to realize the error in his romantic gesture. He failed to take into consideration that with no mouth it meant he couldn’t simply blow on the hot soup before feeding you every spoonful.

While Rhett was having his moment, you cautiously took the bowl from his hands and set it on the side table. One eye flicked to you before immediately looking away, okay so he was slightly aware despite having his little realization.

He moved before you could, turning his back to you and face-planting directly into the bed sheets. You expect his groans to be muffled but they aren’t, he’s just groaning and muttering to himself along the lines of ‘how stupid’ he is.

It’s a little dramatic but he is a romantic. So he puts his heart into everything when it pertains to you or the ones he cares about. But you can’t help but find a bit of joy in his torment, the usual big-hearted gentleman reduced to whines and groans all because he couldn’t blow on your soup.

What a fuckin goober, god you love him.

“Rhett… Look at me.” He groaned, refusing to move from his little self-pity moment. “At least give me one eye?” Another groan but this time one of his eyes looked your way. It was creepy watching the eye completely rotate around like that, at least he did what you asked.

“You know I don’t think less of you for this right? Not being able to blow on my soup, it’s not the end of the world.”

“I know dear, I just—it was such a perfect plan. Spoon feeding you soup until you were full, then watching you get sleepy with a full tummy.” Was he describing a kitten or a person? “Then I’d just climb in bed with you and hold you close and keep watch while you rested. It was supposed to be perfect,” he whined.

You rolled your eyes, fully aware of the singular squinting eye judging your eye-roll. “So one little thing went wrong, I can still eat the soup on my own—” he whined, “fine you can feed me, I’ll blow on my soup and we can cuddle afterward. It’s not completely ruined.”

Rhett lifted his head slightly. “It’s only ruined if you let it be ruined.” You added.

“Fine… I suppose that’s an acceptable agreement.”

A convenient tickle hits your throat causing you to cough, Rhett leaps up nearly knocking you back in the process only to steady you. “I’m sorry, your throat must feel awful. Here.” The soup is back in his hands in no time, by this point the soup should’ve cooled down enough to render blowing on it pointless.

The first few spoonfuls are consumed messily, Rhett wiping up every dribble with a napkin before carefully feeding you more. By the bottom of the bowl, you felt stuffed, the soup was light, more focused on the broth than the noodles and you were grateful for it.

He gave your mouth another gentle pat of a napkin before setting the bowl aside. You lied down with his help, getting snuggled under the blankets before patting the spot beside you. Rhett hesitated before removing his shoes, slipping under the blankets with you.

You let him get comfortable before practically draping yourself over him, laying half on him with your leg thrown over his. He made your bed look tiny with his taller body, but managed to easily lift you and scoot himself further into your bed. If you were going to use him as your mattress he wanted to ensure that neither he nor you would risk falling off.

Not that he’d let you of course. You were going to rest and he was going to keep a vigilant eye—eyes, out while you rested.

Rhett let a hand idly rub at your back, his central eye gazing down at you. “Rest easy my dear. You’ll feel better in no time.”

[hannahssimblr]

Chapter Six (Part 2)

Later on, I arrive home to a house that smells like butter and sugar. My dad mutters a gruff “howya” through the ajar living room door as I hang up my coat and bag on the stairs. He’s watching snooker. I pause at the door. “How’s it going?”

“Grand yeah. Good match?”

I shrug. “It was alright. Not sure I’m converted into a football lover yet.”

“Tullamore win?”

“Yep.”

“Good stuff.” 

I go through to the kitchen where my mam is cleaning, as usual, and even though it’s turned cold while autumn has blown in, she’s in a sweat, wiping her brow with her sleeve as she works the mop into the floor with a vigour. 

“Hi.” I say. “Were you baking?”

“I was. A bit of tea brack.”

“Aw, yuck.”

“Yuck yourself. It’s always the sweeties with you, chocolate this, jellies that, there’s nothing wrong with a bit of good old fashioned brack.”

“Well I don’t like sultanas. Still.” I remind her. “Do you have anything for me?”

She stops cleaning and rests her elbow on the end of the mop. “What kind of ‘thing’?”

“I dunno, something quick, I just want to grab something before I get the bus back.”

She makes an outraged sound, shaking her head as she swipes the mop across the floorboards. “Sure you’re only just home and you’re gone again!”

“Yeah I know, there’s just not much to do here, I was going to go back and sort myself out for work on Monday, like, I dunno, maybe go to the stationary shop and get new pens.”

“New pens.” She repeats, like the thought of me wanting to get them is completely ridiculous. “If you want something to do I’ll find something for you to do.”

“Well, I don’t particularly-” I begin, but she’s already had an idea, so protest is futile. 

“You’ll clean your room.” She announces, and I groan. “Mam, no, I don’t have the energy for that.”

“It’s a tip! I’m sick of going up there and having to look at the mess on the floor, you’d think that you being long moved out would mean the place’d be spotless, but no-”

“Just shut the door then and you won’t have to look.” 

“-it’s still a state, every day. The amount of stuff you have in there that’s old and doesn’t fit you, or is no use to you whatsoever. The last time I was in there I saw the shoes I got you when you were going into your junior cert year, they’ve the soles hanging off them and all. What use are five year old shoes to you now?”

I roll my eyes. “Mam…” she props the mop against the counter and starts rifling through the bottom drawer in the kitchen. She seizes a roll of bin bags and tosses them at me. I miss, and they unroll ridiculously across the tiles. As I’m bending down to pick up and re-roll it she announces. “You’re going to go up there now and get rid of everything that you don’t want anymore. Put your clothes in a bag for the charity shop. And then you’re going to dust and hoover every inch of it, and it’s going to be sparkling clean when you’re done.”

“Yeah. Alright. Fine.”

“Good woman.” She says, wielding the mop once again. “I’ll bring you up a sandwich in a while. Off you go.” 

I’d never admit it to her, but my mother is right about my room. It’s bad. It’s always been bad, and while I’ve never explicitly cared that much about how bad it is, I can’t truthfully deny that it’s unacceptable. I don’t even know where to begin. I know that under the bed is crammed with stuff, old school books, birthday cards I can never bring myself to throw away, photographs, art supplies, sketchbooks. 

The wardrobes are bursting with clothes, none of which I wear, seeing as my entire adult wardrobe lives with me in Dublin. The drawer where I pulled the Tullamore jersey from earlier has collapsed off its roller slides and lies crookedly, half of it on the floor with piles of t-shirts and mismatched pyjamas spilling out of it. A cheaply constructed wall shelf my dad put up when I was ten is bowed in the middle from the weight of the old teen magazines I used to collect and props up the broken CD player I got from uncle Sean on my first holy communion. Looking at all of it makes heat rise to my neck and my chest heave slightly in panic. I don’t even know where to begin. 

I leave the bin bags on the floor and drop to my knees amongst piles of clothes and shoes, bits of useless papers and old bags. The breath that exits me is shuddering. What’s wrong with me? Why do I let things get like this? I pick up the first thing that my hand touches; A knee length white sock that was part of my school uniform. I haven’t worn these socks in over two years. I don’t even have faith that I’ll locate the other one, and I don’t care enough about it to try. This is the first thing that goes into a bin bag. 

After this it gets increasingly easier. Gone are the mickey mouse pyjama bottoms with an unravelling seam, the stack of coloured paper, scribbled with sketches I never liked, the lid of a vanilla body spray that I used up years ago, expired mascara, a tea stained leather coaster, broken earphones, the padlock from my old locker without its corresponding key. Before too long I have cleared the floor, exposing the carpet to the light for the first time in years, probably. I’d half forgotten what colour it was. I tackle the wardrobe next. 

There’s not much that interests me in it, out of style clothes, clothes that were potentially never in style in the first place. A heaping mass of hoodies, leggings, jersey shorts with drawstring waists and t-shirts, the clothes of a girl who desired only to blend in, dreading terribly the day that somebody might comment on her outfit. All of it goes into the charity shop bag. I am ruthless. Not a single item is spared. 

Once the clothes have been cleared, I turn my attention to the suitcase and the gear bags piled at the bottom. I recall that the suitcase is broken, those wheels got me nowhere on our school tour to Paris in fourth year, and I remember how a rock from the pavement got trapped in the wheel, preventing it from spinning, but instead of fixing it and holding up the tour, I decided just to drag the bag behind me, the bottom corner of it scraping horrendously against the paths until the wheel was worn completely flat on one side. I have few good memories from that tour anyway, as for most of it Kelly was in a strop over something that happened on the ferry, and went off with girls from her new maths class instead, leaving me alone to forge an emergency friendship with a group of Polish girls who refused to speak English to me even though they were fluent. I toss the suitcase into the discard pile by the door, then grab a gear bag.

There are things still inside one of them. I’m surprised to find it heavy, so I curiously lay it at my knees and undo the zip. More clothes. Yellow swimming togs. A few pairs of ankle socks, a denim skirt. I chuckle to myself as I uncover a pair of knickers. I remember these, mint green with a decal of Ariel from The Little Mermaid on them, the most embarrassing pair of underwear I ever had, and kept until I was far too old for them. I put them straight into the bin.

The bottom of the bag is grainy with sand, and when my fingers brush over it I’m transported back to the sunshine and the smell of salty air. This is the bag I brought to the mobile home that summer three years ago. I don’t realise I’m holding my breath as I look through it until my chest starts to hurt and I force it out of me. Memories from those scorching months spring up with every old piece of clothing I draw out of it. It’s so vivid that I can practically feel the sunshine on my face. It’s like a time capsule. I’m surprised I never unpacked this bag. Was it too painful to? Was I too distracted?  

At the end is a rolled up t-shirt, soft, grey, worn. I unroll it and hold it out, letting it drape over my thighs. It isn’t mine. The label reads a mens large, and I take a sharp inhale when I realise what it is. Hadn’t I ever given this back to him? I was always sure that I had. I lay it onto the carpet in front of me and snap a picture of it on my phone. 

Opening up my messenger I attach the photo, typing a quick message. 

By any chance is this your T-Shirt?

Jude is typing…

Hole in the armpit?

I check. 

Yes. 

I was wondering what happened to that. I assumed my mom had tossed it out after doing laundry. 

Well apparently I’ve had it for 3 years. Sorry! Hope it’s not your favourite.

Omfg definitely not.

Does this mean you still have my bikini?

Your bikini?

From when we went swimming. You said you’d wash my bikini and t-shirt. It was orange with a tie in the front.

Oh. THAT bikini. I’m wearing it right now, sorry, I thought it was mine. 

I’m taking that as a no.

No, I don’t have it. Are you sure I never gave your stuff back?

Pretty sure. 

It might be at the beach house? I’ll probably go back again next summer, so I’ll look for it. 

Oh! No don’t worry, it isn’t important, I just thought it was funny. If you want this T-shirt back you can have it.

Will you personally deliver it to Berlin? 

Hardly.

Come over though. 

You want a t-shirt with a hole in it that badly?

Come with or without the t-shirt. 

My stomach does a flip. 

Is that an official invitation?

A full minute passes before he texts back, and I stare at the screen the whole time. The little typing dots appear and then disappear. 

February?

Wow, that’s far in advance. It’s October.

Yeah but there’ll be a huge birthday party for someone, it’ll be fun if you’re there. 

One of your extravagant dress up parties?

Haha. Yeah. At my friend’s. He lives in a nice apartment. Plus, flights are cheap in February.

Cheap flights? I’m sold. 

Nice. 

It feels like the conversation has come to its natural conclusion, and yet I find myself wanting more. 

How’s Berlin right now? 

Alright. 

Nothing weird or wonderful?

Nah. 

Ah, great. Good talk.

Ha. How’s Dublin?

The same.

Nice. 

Yeah, nice.

Another minute passes. I leave my phone down and go about clearing out the rest of the gear bag, more old socks, a mostly empty bottle of suncream, cheap flip flops, a coin purse with two cent in it. The phone buzzes again and I reach for it. 

Hey, could you do me a favour?

I frown. 

Yeah…? 

Will you ask Michelle for her number for me?

Your ex?

Yeah, she got a new phone ages ago and I don’t have her number anymore. I know she’s going out with that guy you work with, so if it’s no hassle would you mind? 

Yeah okay. I just don’t know her that well. 

You can tell her that I’m the one asking. She’ll know what it’s about, but if you don’t want to, I completely get it. I can find another way to get it. 

I think I’m seeing her next week, actually. We’re going to the same party, so. 

Ah, Shane’s Halloween thing?

That’s the one.

I’m sorry if it’s weird to ask.

It’s not really, it’s fine. I’ll ask her for you.

I almost type “Jen doesn’t have it?” Before quickly curling my fingers into a fist. There’s so many things I want to know but I can’t ask him anything. Even if I did, I know that he wouldn’t tell me. It’s infuriatingly secretive, like the polar opposite of Jen, who tells everyone everything.  

I really appreciate it, Evie. It’s not urgent or anything, it’d just be good to have her details. 

Do you want me to give her yours?

Yeah, that makes sense. 

Alright. 

Thanks. 

I toss my phone onto my bed and head towards the chest of drawers, preparing myself for the ancient horrors that await me there, and it’s bad, like I expected and yet I don’t really mind it anymore. It’s a bit cathartic, honestly, to dump all of this old stuff. It’s like I’m clearing space inside myself too, emptying psychic drawers to make space for something new. It’s two hours before I’m finished, and as I lie exhausted on my bed afterwards, I reach for my phone to discover one last unread message. 

You’ll have to swear you’ll visit me in Berlin, btw. I meant it when I invited you.

I grin. 

Yes, of course. We’ll make it happen. 

Nice.

Nice.

x

Beginning // Prev // Next

[tiger-in-the-flightdeck]

For a trick or treat request, Lucifer/Constantine!!!

Never say I'm not predictable :P

Happy Halloween!! What a great way to start!

Read here, or on AO3

“I’m just saying, with the veils thinned as much as they are, it’s the perfect time for us to have a nice little holiday in Faerie. We could spend a few days, get into some fun trouble, relax a bit, recharge.” 

“And I’m just saying, this is a busy time of year for- There! Another summoning! That makes thirty-two in the last five minutes. I swear, when I find out who put the instructions for a true summoning online, I’m going to hang them from the walls of Dis by their entrails and let a flock of harpies nest in their thoracic cavity. What do you think? The red, or the grey?” 

Lucifer turned from the mirror, holding one then another tie against his chest to get a second opinion. He wore a vibrant three blue suit with silver pinstripes and a crisp white shirt with black stud buttons that gleamed and John was certain if he looked close enough he would see tortured souls swirling around in them. He had been making a point of not looking too close in general while his lover got ready to leave. It was a matter of principle. He was in a sulk, after all. 

“The red,” John huffed and crumpled his empty beer can to toss in the general direction of the bin at the other end of the couch. It went wide and vanished from the air before it could hit the carpet and splash it with the remaining drops still left in it, and reappeared an instant later in the metals bin under the kitchen sink. Lu hated a mess in their flat. And when John had started thinking of it as their flat, he had no idea, but the thought didn’t freak him out as much as he thought it should. “It’ll make you look like a politician. Really scare the kiddies who are calling on you.” 

His lip wasn’t jutted out. It really wasn’t. He was John Constantine, the One Most Hated. The Laughing Magician who had bent the lords of hell to his will. He didn’t pout. 

“Stop pouting, dear.” Lucifer finished knotting the tie in a neat trinity and tucked it behind his waistcoat before leaning over the couch to catch John by the chin. “I’ll make it up to you tomorrow. You know that thinned veil nonsense is just Victorian claptrap that stuck around. If I wanted to take you between realms, it wouldn’t matter the time of year, I could just-” He raised his hands and snapped his fingers. The mirror shimmered and distorted for a moment then showed a stretch of woodland with nymphs running from enthusiastic satyrs and pixies flitting about to call encouragement. Far in the distance the faint sound of a horn could be heard, calling for a hunt. The image twisted again then vanished to show the reflection of their living room once more. 

“I know that, and you know that, but the sense of tradition is still important,” John pointed out, turning his face in Lucifer’s hand to press his cheek into his palm instead. 

“Just admit that you’re going to be bored and lonely.” 

“I am not.” 

“John.” 

“I am going to be…” He huffed again, then bit out “Lonely and bored.” He’d be further damned (Which would make it about twenty-seventh by that point) if he would give in that easily. 

“You really are a pain in the arse, you know that?” Hitching his trousers, Lucifer crouched then knelt on the floor in front of John, forcing him to spread his legs to make room for him. He ran his palms over his thighs and up to his hips where he held him. “I will try to be quick. They’re probably all teenagers; a bit of fire and brimstone is all they’re hoping for. Anyone trying anything serious tonight, I’ll leave to one of the underlings to torment for a while. Once it hits midnight in California, it should quiet down. Then I’m all yours.” 

John closed his legs around Lucifer, pinning him in place. He refused to look down at him, knowing that once he did, he’d be done for. Instead, he reached out and slid his fingers into his silky hair, twirling his fingers through it. It was loose and unstyled, getting long enough to start to curl, but not so long it could be pulled back into a tail yet. A lock always fell across his forehead, turning up just at the bridge of his nose. “Three weeks in Faerie, to make up for it,” he told him firmly. 

“Two,” Lucifer countered and turned his head to nip the inside of John’s lips just hard enough to leave a mark. 

“Three, and I’ll find out who tracked down your summoning.” 

Full lips curved into a wicked smile and Lucifer slipped his hands from John’s hips to between his thighs where the front of his pyjama bottoms had been gradually tenting out since he sank to his knees in front of him. He lowered his head and pressed the flat of his tongue against the thickening head through the worn flannel. It jumped under his tongue and bumped up between his lips. “Two,” he offered again, letting his warm breath puff over the damp spot in the cloth before closing his mouth around John and giving him a long, firm suck. With his thumb, he flicked open the button fly and pulled off just long enough to reach inside to pull John’s cock free so he could focus his bargaining. He kissed the very tip in adoration as he stroked the length in his closed fist. 

“Two ‘n a half,” John continued valiantly, already melting into the couch cushions and spreading his legs wider. His stubbornness was battling it out with his desperate horniness, and he didn’t know what was going to win.

Or at least he didn’t, until Lu did that thing with his tongue stud that made him see the entire cosmos stretched out in front of him, or maybe he was just lightheaded from all the blood in his skull rocketing south so fast it practically went nyoom in his veins and it made his vision go all fuzzy. Either way, his argument died in his mouth and was replaced with pitiful little noises of pleasure and even more pitiful words of love and praise. He sagged back on the couch and pumped his hips as much as the strong hand on his thigh allowed. John buried one hand in his own hair, the other in Lucifer’s tugging both. 

It was over embarrassingly fast, Lucifer knew his body so well. He knew just when to suck and when to twirl his tongue, when to stroke and when to squeeze. When to bob his head and when to pull back. And when to pull off completely to catch a splash of thick come across his lips and cheek. It dripped off the point of his chin to spill onto his tie, and the sight of it left John bucking once more. 

Lucifer took his pocket square from his jacket and dabbed daintily at the mess on his face. 

He left the streak of come on his tie where it was. 

“Two,” he said again, licking the corner of his mouth, letting the pearly white smear cling to the tip of his tongue before pulling it in to swallow. “And I’ll-” His eyes went out of focus for a moment and he snarled in annoyance then shook his head. “Oh, for… I’m coming!” The devil rose gracefully to his feet, leaned over John to press a quick kiss to his lips. “Fine. Three. I’ll need the break, too.” 

There was no puff of smoke or clap of thunder. He was simply there one moment, gone the next. 

And John was sitting there with his dick still hard. 

Already missing him. 

[chellesdump]

Baegopa - Binnie + Twice Gomos and Noonas

"Binnie is being babysat by his Twice gomos, he's supposed to be having a playdate with Tzuyu and Chaeyoung since they are all the same age, but suddenly his tummy starts growling and he has always been told to let an adult know when his tummy does that. "

word count ─ 1.4k

tags ─ little kid! changbin, little kid! tzuyu, little kid! chaeyoung, chan is a forgetful daddy but understand that he gots lots of kids and he's sleep deprived, poor binnie is hungry (he's always hungry), najeong are nice gomos

notes ─ This is for the Hungry prompt. When I read hungry my mind started playing Changbin saying 'I'm hungry. Baegoppa' like I couldn't think of anything else. Please enjoy this piece, it's the first time I write for a male character where he isn't just an NPC 😅

Binnie was sitting in his car seat in Daddy's car, he had told him that he was supposed to stay at Twice gomos and noonas' house to have a playdate with Chaeyoung and Tzuyu since they are all the same age.

All the other boys that he encounters at the park always tell him that he shouldn't like having playdates with girls, since he is a boy and should only like doing rough things and getting dirty. 

Binnie does like those kinds of things like making mud pies, fake wrestling, using nerf guns, but he also likes playing with dolls, dressing up as different things, and the occasional tea party, the Twice house is the perfect place to do all those things so he's excited about going there on this day.

As soon as Daddy parked his car Binnie unbuckled himself and got out running to the door in order to ring the bell but was stopped by Chan, “Hey mate, aren’t you forgetting something?” he said holding Changbin’s backpack and wiggling it a bit, Binnie ran back to grab it and put it on before taking Daddy’s hand and going back to the door.

When the door was opened Binnie was quick to greet the woman on the other side, “Annyeong noona. Can Binnie enter please”, “Annyeong, sure you can" replied Mina indifferently stepping aside to let both boys enter while she put on some shoes on, “Jyo I’ll wait outside” yelled Mina before closing the door behind her.

A few seconds later Jihyo came running past them throwing a quick Annyeong, Mama is in the kitchen before slipping shoes on and going the same way as Mina, chuckling at his fellow 97' liners Chan guided Binnie inside the kitchen to find Nayeon.

“Noona annyeong! We came for the playdate, Bin is super excited… Mina let us come inside(added as an afterthought)” said Chan with so much excitement, “Just in time, the girls have been asking for hours on end when he would arrive” mentioned Nay before turning to Changbin, “Binnie how about you go and join the girls, they are in their room waiting for you” said Nay pointing him in the right direction.

Binnie gave his Daddy a hug before running to where Nayeon had pointed, “Are you sure that it’s okay if he stays here for a couple hours? I don’t want to impose on your kindness" said Chan scratching the back of his neck. "I had already told you that it's more than okay. Binnie is a pleasure to have around, so stop worrying and go, he'll be safe here" comforted Nayeon, escorting him to the door and waving goodbye.

—

On the other side of the house were the 3 99' liners happily deciding what they should play, "We should play charades" proposed Chaeng but was refuted by Tzu, "No, you always win, 's not fair" pouted the younger girl. "Maybe we can play thieves an' we all wanna rob the same thing, so we has nerf guns an' if you get shot you have to lay on the floor for a little bit" proposed Binnie.

ChaeTzu liked the idea so they went to fetch their Nerfs, “Hey Binnie, you gots your own Nerf or need one?” asked Chaeng while Tzuyu grabbed an extra Nerf for the boy, “I need one p’ease… Oh thank you” said Bin thanking Tzu for lending him a Nerf. 

That’s how they started playing, they decided that the item to get was an Elmo doll and to make the game fair would ask someone else to hide it. Dahyun that was chilling on Sana’s room was the chosen one to hide the Elmo doll, joining the fun for a little bit by shooting the kids randomly so it would be harder.

The next game was proposed by Tzuyu, she loved playing restaurant and always being the chef, Chaeng and Binnie were okay with that arrangement taking turns being the waiter and client… or sometimes both were the clients and Tzuyu was running a little food stand where she was both the one cooking and tending to clients.

“I'm hungry!! Baegopa!!” yelled Binnie at the waiter, “You are always hungry! So wait until the food’s ready” yelled back the exasperated waiter going to the chef, “Chef Tzu, food almost ready? Ahjussi making a scene out there, the otha’ clients will go” exclaimed Chaeng rubbing her temple.

Tzuyu was quick to prepare the fake plate of food for Bin, Chaeng took it and ran back to his ‘table’ (it was really a cardboard box) to serve him the plate, there were some plastic fruits with a bit of slime, and a crayon inserted in the middle as a garnish. Seeing the plate Binnie started tearing up, he was really hungry and of course, he didn’t expect real food but he was little so his emotions got the best of him.

The girls got worried at their little friend’s tears, Binnie wasn’t ashamed to cry but now he was crying about the pretend food, that’s something that never happened before, sure they pretend that they are mad clients but never cry about it. 

“You okay Binnie?” asked Tzu getting closer to the boy and patting his head in hopes of consoling him, “Nooo, I’m r-really hung-gry. Nae tummy is m-mad and wan’s foo-ood, Daddy says should t-tell adult but I’m sca-scared” cried out between sobs the poor little boy.

Chaeng being the oldest of the bunch took it upon herself to resolve this problem, “Let’s go, Binnie, will find Mama or Mommy to get you food” said extending her hand for the boy to take, “But gomo will be mad for asking fo’ food” whined Binnie but it fell to deaf ears and they proceeded to find an adult.

The three kids venture into the dinning room to find an adult, and there was Momo at the table eating some chips when she noticed the kids, “Hey guys, what brings you out here with the rest of us?” asked Momo with chips in her mouth, at that sight Binnie’s tummy started growling and he whined at the sensation. 

“Binnie hungry, you seen Mama or Mommy? We needs food fo’ him” said Tzu stealing a chip from Momo’s plate and offering it to Bin, and getting another one for her, “Mommy is in the kitchen making lunch, so how about you sit here with me Bin while we wait for it?” said Momo patting the seat beside her for the boy to take. “And where’s Mama?” asked Chaeng since she knew that Nayeon was there before, “Probably being lovey dovey with Mommy” said Momo with a shrug and wave of her hand.

So the 3 girls and Changbin were sitting there eating chips to mitigate the hunger, that’s how Jeongyeon finds them and decides to tease them a bit, “Hey you little rascals, why are you eating the chips?” said Jeong pretending to be upset at the kids, action that made Binnie start crying again.

“Sorry gomo!! “Didn’t mean to eat chips, p’ease don’ be mad” cried out Bin looking so upset, “Oh Bin she was just joking, we are not mad at you for eating chips. Of course, it would be preferable that you eat healthier food, but it's okay,” said Nay comforting the crying boy. “Really? “You promise you are not mad?” asked Bin with hopeful eyes, We promise said NaJeong calming the boy, “It’s just that nae tummy was really mad an’ needed food.”

“Did you eat breakfast Binnie?” asked Jeong concerned since the boy hadn’t been long in the house, “No… Papa asked but I say no, cause was not hungry. An’ Daddy not like when we eat in da’ car” explained the boy playing with his fingers at the anxiousness, with a big sigh and clearly upset Nayeon sent all the kids to wash their hands and call SaiDa up to come to eat lunch.

Meanwhile, Jeongyeon put food on plates for all the kids and placed them on the table, Bin was afraid that his gomos were upset with him for everything that happened, but they comforted him and told him that all was okay. They gave the 3 kids snacks to munch on while playing and also juice pouches since they remembered that Changbin usually carries snacks in his backpack since his appetite is so active, but turns out that Chan had forgotten to pack that day’s snacks.

The kids spent the rest of their playdate happily playing, and when Chan came to pick him up they berated him for being careless with the poor boy, telling him that he should have made sure that Changbin had eaten breakfast and had snacks on hand since he could get quite shy when he was in their house.

[misfitmin]

I Saw You In The Stars: A Tribute to Moonbin

TRIGGER WARNING: MENTIONS OF DEATH, RELIVING SAD/ TRAGIC EVENTS

A/N: This is so hard for me to write a year later and I still don't think I’ve fully processed him being gone. This is my way of grieving and honoring bin. Remember everyone grieves differently DO NOT invalidate Arohra’s who are still grieving. Also DO NOT speak ill on moonbin it’s very disrespectful to speak ill on the dead. 

POV: April 19, 2023 

HEADLINE: ASTRO MEMBER MOONBIN SUDDENLY PASSES AWAY 

“WHAT NO WAY THIS CAN'T BE TRUE!”  Aroha stares at their phone in distress and disbelief. They had just gotten out of history class completing a fairly easy test. They leave the classroom rushing to the bathroom to fully process. “My eyes are deceiving me there’s no way he’s gone he can’t be”

Aroha stares at their phone in disbelief. Tears flow down your face, frozen in shock. “No no no please God no!.”  It was true that Aroha's beloved Moonbin was gone. In the wake of this nightmare, the rumors started suddenly, the man known for his skills in both dance and vocals now has become a poster boy for idol’s deaths. Many sites post fake news, others speaking ill of his name. It was rough everyone. His family, friends in and outside the industry, bandmates, and fans alike. For some, it was their first time losing someone they admired, and for others, it wasn’t. For Aroha, It felt like a nightmare that would never end. A perpetual cycle of sadness and grief. 

3 months later…….

After a long day at uni, Aroha comes home completely exasperated.  Throwing their body flat on the bed of relief and comfort. Sprawled across it completely drained of energy. Quickly falling a slumber. Sleeping so hard that not even a lion's loud roar could wake them. As they slept they dreamed of an experience they could never forget.

THE DREAM……

Aroha wakes up from a bed of clouds, confused and slightly frightened; they are greeted with a familiar warm face. “Hello Aroha, how are you feeling? Bin said with his glowing smile that could light the Heavens and earth. Aroha stared in shock as tears welled and flowed down their face like a waterfall. Bin pulls Aroha into a hug, tightly and caring, comforting their aching heart.  Aroha is completely unraveling in his arms trying to form words that won’t come out. “Don’t worry about trying to speak Aroha, just let it out. I know this is a shock for you.” Bin says kissing them platonically on their head. 

Once Aroha could gather themself calming down a bit they pulled from Bin’s embraces, tracing his face in utter disbelief still. “You have no idea how much I missed you. '' They managed to get out their voice wavering. Bin wipes their tears, smiling warmly as tears form in his eyes. Looking into Aroha’s eyes thoughtfully. “I’m sorry I left so soon I know it was hard on you. I wasn't ready to let you go so quickly.” Bin let his head fall as he couldn’t stand to see Aroha in so much heartache and pain. He searched for the words to say how he could comfort beautiful Aroha. Barely able to utter even a syllable, Bin speaks softly “You have to be strong okay, don’t mourn me too long. I want you to be happy. Promise me Aroha you’ll be strong, eat well, and take care of the members.’’ with a trembling smile Aroha says with their hand over their heart as if they were pledging  ‘’ I promise Binnie I'll try to smile again and stop weeping. Only thinking happy thoughts and the happy moments we shared. I promise to never stop supporting Astro. I’ll be there to cheer them on. I’ll look into the stars and pray your soul is resting in the hand of God, and thank him for your presence gracing the earth. I’ll never forget you bin bin. I promise!’’ Aroha finishes with a bright smile. Feeling somewhat better, getting it all out was healing in a way Aroha never expected but they were grateful. Bin puts his hand out sticking his pinky finger out and Aroha does the same; they lock their pinkies and touch thumbs, sealing the promise they made. They hugged one more time before Bin had to leave. Aroha saw bin off hugging him tightly saying their last goodbyes and I love yous. As Bin walked away he vanished slowly into thin air.

Aroha wakes from their slumber, slowly raising their head with tears still falling from their eyes. Their pillow was soaked slightly embarrassed by how much they sobbed. There was a sense of relief and ease. The feeling was hard to explain, everything just felt light. It was comforting in a way that made them feel like they were on cloud nine, it was blissful in a sense. Now every time Aroha looks in the stars for Bin they know he's at peace. 

Bin Bin I see you in the stars, I love you so much thank you for everything.

                                                 The End