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just-someone-who-likes-to-write · 3 years ago

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Darling Pet

(Requested by @majoraslion : How about a One-shot with Count Vladislaus Dracula and his brides that find a injured gyspy werewolf reader who's trying to hide from the villagers that are after her, she lives in a cottage far out from the village near Dracula's castle but only comes out when she can. At first she's weary of the brides who find her but she slowly warms up to them and Dracula when she finds out their not going to hurt her.)

(A/N): First I want to say thank you so much for your patience with me, I truly thought I was going to be able to finish this sooner but live happened. This maybe the longest story i ever wrote and it's with "Dracula" from "Van Helsing" no less. I hope you and everyone else enjoy it.

Taglist (For everyone who was excited for this one): @billywig-on-baker-street @1800shootmeplease @m0ss-prince @faro-en-la-distancia @somebodystolemypepperoni @nickibunny23 @aisling1985 @majoraslion @queenfairyfangirl @seraferna @vivi-ships @monada43

Warnings: I feel the count is a warning itself, Gore, fluff, mention of death/murder, manipulation, Grammatic Errors, (IDK what else to put)

Word Count: 12,495

"Ignorant barbarians!"

Those words were repeated in her head as she continued to run away as fast as she could. In the distance, she could hear the angry shouting of the village and the flaring light of their torches, which were unnervingly close. She needed to move fast but the moment she pressed her right leg to run she cried in pain as she fell to the ground.

"I heard the beast's cries!" a villager yelled out as he directed the rest in her direction.

The gypsy looked down at her foot and realized that the gash that was caused by one of their swords was still bleeding if not opened further, her eyes widened in shock because she believed that she would be healed by now. Thanks to her sharp hearing and quick movement she dodged an arrow that impaled the same spot she was laying in, she pulled the arrow from the ground and looked at the head and her concerns were confirmed. The arrowhead was silver, which means the swords they cut her with were also probably made of it too. Wasting no more time and with a great struggle, she took her waistband and wrapped it around her leg to stand the bleeding before standing back up again and started running away.

Looking up at the sky she saw that it was almost nightfall, which means that they have been chasing her almost the entire day. The gypsy was minding herself in her home, a simple cottage in the middle of the forest, that she rarely leaves, only at full moons when her nature gets the best of her, even during that she would hunt animals only and avoid the Village completely but even that didn't seem to be enough as one of them probably saw her during one of her transformations. And now here she was running for her life after they ambushed her home and burned it down after attacking her with weapons made out of silver. She kept running until she reached the cliff edge of a river, looking around her she could hear the villagers around her growing closer, she couldn't dive into the water because her injuries have not fully healed and she could drown. Looking up at the setting sun she laughed bitterly because even if the night came, she won't be able to transform because the moon will not be full. Taking a deep breath, she turned around to face the angry mob, she knew she would die but she refused to die without taking a few of them with her. The sky got darker as the sun started to set, it would soon be too difficult to see for a human, but thanks to her heightened eyesight she could see the angry mob as clear as day.

"THERE SHE IS!!"

Screamed one of them as he charged at her, she noticed him as the same person who sliced her leg with the silver sword, which fueled her determination to kill him first. However, before the blade could even fall on her, a strong gust of wind blew around them that caused a few torches to turn off, the tree leaves flying everywhere, and villagers struggled to stay in their spot and not fall down, except for The gypsy who lost her balance due to her injury and fell backward over the edge. She couldn't process what to do as the only thought that plagued her mind was how this was it, that this was how she would die, but those thoughts were quickly gone when a figure merged from beneath the edge and snatched her up in the air. The gypsy's eyes were shut tight, it wasn't until she stilled that she opened them again and saw who was carrying her. Her eyes widened in horror when she met a very pale winged creature with long black hair, who smiled at her showing its razor-sharp teeth. By instinct, the gypsy struggled to free herself from the creature's clutches, for she can sense that it was too dangerous, but the creature's hold was too strong.

"Be careful little puppy or you will fall again." The creature, who turned out to be a 'She' from their voice, said in such a sweet tone, making the Gypsy look at her confused yet still alerted.

A Series of cries echoed in the air catching her attention, even though she was far in the sky she could see three other winged creatures kill a few of the villagers and send the rest screaming away. Two of the creatures looked like the one carrying her, but one of them was bigger with black fur and not a lot of humanoid features, and that is when the realization of who they were hit her.

"Vampires?!"

The biggest of the three turned and looked at her straight in the eyes, making her wonder if he heard her thoughts, his toothy grin confirmed her thoughts. She broke from her train of thoughts when the one carrying her started to descend to where the others are, causing her to panic and struggle but the creature only laughed amused at her attempt and held her tighter.

"Let me go!" the gypsy screamed as she tried to dig her nails in her arms but to no use, as she was in her human form and couldn't even break the skin.

"I'm afraid I can't do that little puppy, not when we finally have you." She replied purring her last words.

"What?"

Her confusion was ignored as they landed near the other three when the gypsy looked back at them, she expected that the monster would tower over her but she was shocked when in front of her stood one man and behind him were two women who were still feeding one the dead bodies on the ground, looking back to the one carrying her she saw that she as well looked normal. But that didn't ease her, vampires who have the power to change like that are more dangerous than the rest of their kind. The gypsy again struggled away from the vampiress's hold and this time she was able to escape but only because she let her go, which caused her to fall with a grunt to the ground.

"Now, now Verona, don't be so harsh on our new pet."

"Pet!?" The gypsy exclaimed as she glared at the man's words.

"I'm sorry, my lord." Verona said with a pout. "But she wouldn't stay still."

The gypsy tried to crawl away from them and attempted to stand but she howled in pain the moment she put a little weight on her leg, causing her to fall again. She didn't notice when the vampire knelt beside her, flinching when he placed his hand on her cheek and force her to look at him. He grinned when he was met with her radiant wolf eyes that threatened to rip his throat, she sneered at him but he didn't show any hint of intimidation only amusement.

"Sleep."

That was all he said before sleep overcome her and the last thing, she remembered was feeling big arms carry her and wings against her ears.

---

She woke up with a start, looking around her hurriedly to make sure she was safe. She was in a cottage, but not her old one, making her realize that the dream was a memory. It happened almost a decade ago, and now she was living in a new cottage, which was not only built and gifted by the man from that night, the count.

After saving her from the human mob, and putting her to sleep, she woke up in a vas luxurious room, which startled her thinking that she must have died or something, but her thoughts were quickly interrupted when she heard him, He greeted her with a smile, asked how she felt and if she was well enough to eat.

"What's your name, young one?" He asked as he sat on the other side of the room watching her eat the meal prepared for her.

"(Y/n)." She answered after a moment of hesitation, looking him in the eyes. "And you are?"

"I am Count Vladislaus Dracula." He replied with a bow of his head.

After that meeting (Y/n) asked to be let go but the count refused, insisting that she was too weak to leave just yet, and when she said that she can take care of herself, he asked her where would she go since her home was already burned to the ground. She stayed silent, and that's who she spent the next few months under the same roof as the count and his brides. The young gypsy did not meet the brides immediately, during her first few weeks, it was only her and Vlad who with every visit he'd had an item for her. First, he brought her new clothes, since the old ones were long gone, she tried to refuse them saying how they look too expensive and priceless to be given to her, a werewolf, who'd probably end up tearing them or ruining them somehow.

"If that happens, then I shall simply bring more." That was his response.

Second, the jewelry, which she immediately refused and even pressed on giving back. his excuse was that she was a dear guest and it was only right to gift them to her, it took a while until she finally accepted them but only because the count gave her a warning glare for refusing his gift. It was also the first time he silently threatened her, reminding her that she wasn't completely safe. After that, his brides started to show themselves one after the other.

The first to visit her was Verona. She was calm and elegant, which made (Y/n) trust her a bit when she joined her for tea, even if it was one-sided since Verona brought her own drink, which the little gypsy only acknowledged as very red wine. But despite it, she really enjoyed the raven-haired woman's company, of course, there were moments when (Y/n) felt intimidated a bit because of how obvious that she is of noble blood, keeping saying sorry every time she did something or said something, unladylike. But Verona only chuckled in amusement.

"Don't worry my dear, I find your manners quite charming, if not adorable even." She said in a flirtatious manner causing (Y/n) to blush a little.

"S...so what did you say the count was doing?" the gypsy asked trying to take away the attention from herself.

"I can't tell you." Verona replied. "But what I can say is that it is unknown when he will be finished, and I thought it was too mean for you to be alone like that."

"Wait… didn't the count ask you to join me?" (Y/n) asked confused, Verona just smiled.

"No, he didn’t." was the only response she gave.

At that moment (Y/n) realized the count didn't keep his wives away from her, and they could come to "visit" her anytime they want. The gypsy was born and raised among other werewolves before walking out and deciding to be on her own, which would explain how she doesn't know a lot about vampires or humans, but one thing she knew is that it doesn't matter if you were a vampire, werewolf, human or any other creature who might be walking on this earth, all females are jealous when it comes to their mate, and for the count having 3 of them, didn't settle well with her. Verona was … nice. She talked to her normally and treated her like a true guest in her home, the others weren't the same, and she found that out when she met Marishka.

Now, it was when she was alone in her room, the count has always forbidden (Y/n) from leaving her room, even going as far as locking the doors, and his excuse was that it was "too dangerous", she argued many times about giving her freedom to roam the castle but her either ignored her or order her to stay silent with a single glare. One night, however, the door to her room was unlocked and slightly opened, at that moment (Y/n) knew she should have been more careful, but when she didn't smell anyone's scent in the air or on the handles she truly believed that it was probably just the count forgetting to lock the door afterward so she took the chance to walk out, even thinking about finally being able to run away, ignoring the hint of guilt she felt for possibly hurting the count and Verona's feelings after the great hospitality they showed but she knew it was for the best. However, her relief was short-lived when she felt something stalking her in the dark, her eyes were not of a human's so she was confused when in the dark she saw nothing, that didn't ease her one bit, because her instincts screamed at her to either be ready to fight or run. Before she could make a decision, her body froze when she realized that someone was standing behind her, and when she turned, she came face to face with a woman with long blonde hair, whose fangs grew longer as she grinned in her direction.

"Let's play." She purred as her body started to change to the familiar humanoid winger form that she saw the first time she met them.

And so (Y/n) decided to run.

She ran through the halls, her body being that not of a human gave her some advantage in escaping the monster's clutches but when she came so close that she was able to slash her cheek slightly (Y/n) realized that she was toying with her, she was able to catch her any moment she wanted, and that made her determination to get out of the castle even greater. Reaching for the closest door within her, the gypsy quickly entered it and slammed the door shut but her eyes widened in horror when she noticed that the room, she entered was a library, but that wasn't was scared her but the fact that it had a large window that gave a full view of the full moon that began to show behind the clouds.

(Y/n) didn't remember what happened next, all she knew is that when she gained consciousness again, she found herself in a dungeon and when she attempted moving she couldn't because of the soreness of her body and the chains that kept her from moving further.

"You are finally awake little pet." Said a familiar voice and when she turned around to face it, she saw it was the count. "You caused quite the scene, but thankfully no major consequences followed it."

Then he started to explain to her what happened. Turns out that last night was a full moon and (Y/n) has been exposed to it causing her to turn and lose control, she thought it was an accident and almost apologized but she was surprised when it was the count, he bowed his head to her in apology. It was no accident, Marishka had wanted to "Play" with her, but she thought her human form was too boring that's why she choose a night with a full moon to have a chance to play with (Y/n), but it backfired as Marishka almost died by her claws. Looking down at her now normal hands she imagined them being covered in blood. The count continued apologizing and saying how he had made it clear to keep her "safe and secured" in her room but his second bride's desire to "Meet and play" with her was too great.

No matter how apologetic the count sounded, no matter how many promises he made to make it up to her by showering her with gifts, (Y/n) refused to hear anything more of him, she just tugged on her chains lightly and didn't meet his eyes spoke.

"Please, let me go."

There was a long silence between them but was broken by the sounds of chains unlocking from her legs, hands, and neck, causing her to let out a small gasp. To her surprise when she looked around the cellar, the count was no longer there, and the door was wide open. Slowly and carefully (Y/n) stood up and made her way outside, this time she took her sweet time walking through the halls and up the stairs, making sure to look around her and assure that there was no crazy vampire who'd want to play a game of "hide and seek" with her. To her relief, when she finally made it out of the underground cellars, she immediately noticed that all the windows were open allowing the bright sunlight to seep through, and at that moment she ran. The little gypsy ran as fast as she could through the halls and out of the castle.

Although even though she made her way out and into the forest (Y/n) could somehow still feel eyes on her as if she was being watched thoroughly, but she shook the thought away, saying it was only paranoia after what she has been through, as well as, the desire to just leave it all behind. As she ran further into the forest she stopped in her tracks when she noticed a big cottage, he first thoughts were to maybe steal food from the owners to sustain herself for a while until she is able to find or build a new home before the next full moon, but as she came closer to the house, she sensed no life inside or even a sign that someone even lived there. She dared to open the door and as she suspected the house looked new, there were types of furniture and other items that held no scent, it lacked any personal touches as if it was begging to be owned. (Y/n) was happy for a moment, relieved that she didn't have to look far but she stopped at that realization.

She didn’t have to look far.

That's when she looked outside the cottage and noticed how it was still too close to Dracula's castle. Then she remembered…

"I won't force you to stay in my home, although you are more than welcome to stay, and as a sign of my sincerity I will build you a new home to make up for what those brainless humans had done to yours."

That is what he said the first time they met. And he kept his promise. This was supposed to be her new home, her new territory, away from both humans and vampires, a place where she can finally spend her times in peace. But refusing to allow the vampire king any satisfaction with her submission, (Y/n) turned on her heels and continued running in the other direction doing her best to stay away far as possible from the castle of vampires.

Only for her to return by the next month because she couldn't find anywhere secure for her to hide in without risking herself turning or being hunted down by humans. So, there she was laying in the basement of the cottage, linked to the walls by the chains that you found down there, probably provided by the count, and they were surprisingly strong enough to hold her back in case she turned. Before going in (Y/n) made sure to secure every spot that the moonlight might access, so you could imagine her surprise when she found standing in front of her was none other than Vlad Dracula himself. She growled lowly at him expecting him to mock her for using the cottage that she had refused but to her surprise, he said nothing as he placed in front of her a platter with a heavy meal that contains mostly meat, driven by instinct and hunger (Y/n) did think twice as she dug in not carrying for the expensive plates, she smashed nor did the count, who kept her company for three continuous nights until the full moon has passed. During those times, he'd have a one-way conversation, not failing to apologize for his bride's actions against her, and proceeded to explain how things would be if she agreed to move in with them permanently. How he'll give her own room and fill it with everything she wanted, that she can still keep the cottage since he noticed how she still liked nature and the feeling of freedom, and although she struggled a bit, she managed to ask him what was running on her mind for a long while now.

"Why me?"

"Why not you?" He replied with a sly grin that only filed her annoyance and if she wasn't chained to the walls she would have probably gone for his neck.

As the fourth night came, she was in the middle of the kitchen area preparing a meal for herself when she was met with the surprised look of the count upon seeing her still there and making herself home, but that look was gone as fast as she noticed it.

“Good evening.” He greeted in a purr.

“Evening.” (Y/n) replied nonchalantly.

“I see you had made yourself at home.” he noted as he made his way around the chairs and tables to be closer to her. She gave him one glance before returning to steering the pot of stew.

“It would be a shame to waste such a spacious and private home.” She said with a shrug. “Well, somewhat private considering you entered uninvited.”

“My apologies.” He bowed lightly not hiding his pleased smile. “I didn’t think anyone was here since the full moon cycle has ended.”

The gypsy wasn’t an idiot, she knew what he was hinting about, he was making sure to see if she left or not, maybe find something to track her down with. She also knew that their first meeting might have been mild interests, wanting a pet to keep himself and his wives entertained, but those past three nights told her enough about how that feeling changed, and how gently he is treating her now confirmed it.

“It was tempting to leave.” she said still not looking at him as she turned and continued preparing for her meal. “After all, this cottage may be more comfortable than my old one, but you still have to look outside once in a while to make sure no vampire bride is bored and wants to hunt you down for sport.”

The count said nothing, and he didn’t have to, he probably had one of two expressions. One of regret because it happened on his watch and the second of irritation and anger, because it was his bride who ruined whatever relationship he was planning to have and how despite him apologizing many times (Y/n) didn’t budge. When she turned around to go for her table she flinched and let out a small shriek when she saw that he was standing right in front of her, it caused her to drop her plate, which he caught with ease before it could even come near the ground. He had a nonchalant expression before smiling down at her as she recovered from her shock.

“Draga Mea” He purred in her ear causing (Y/n) to blush heavily and move away from him, making him chuckle. “Have my gifts for you not a proof enough of my sincerity towards you?”

He asked as he gestured around himself.

“This home, the furniture, the dresses, and the many more fineries I provided for you...” He locked his eyes on hers making a chill go down her back. “Are they not enough of evidence of my...pure intensions... for you.”

“As you said they were gifts, you shouldn’t expect anything in return for them.” With that said the young gypsy turned her back to him in favor of finishing her dinner preparations.

Deep down she did feel guilty for not being able to give him something in return for the many things he got her and the home he provided to her, but she always reminded herself that she never asked for those things, he was the one who gave them to her and even if she had to return the gesture it doesn’t mean she has to give him her body, it didn’t take a genius to notice his lustful eyes. She would be lying if she said she didn’t feel any kind of attraction towards the count, even before the incident she was contemplating staying in the castle with him, but after was had happened, she didn’t want to come back to his castle where his brides would probably wait for nay chance to tear her a new one, literally, they couldn’t handle her even when she was just a guest god knows how would they react if their master wanted to take “another woman”. to be fair, Verona was really nice to her, but she probably did that thinking she was a temporary guest, but one tried to kill her and she didn’t want to come back and find out what would the third one does to her. (Y/n) paused when she realized the silence and then turned around the count was not there.

“When did he leave?” She asked herself but then shrugged and continued her preparations, believing that he has finally given up.

---

“Good evening.” a familiar greeted sweetly.

But (Y/n) only jumped from her seat with a small screech as she held the closest thing she could find as a weapon and took a stand, her eyes widened slightly when she saw who it was.

“Verona?”

“Sorry for the intrusion.” The vampiress said calmly with a sweet smile as she held her hands up slightly showing that she meant no harm, which made (Y/n) lower her guard a bit.

“What are you doing here?” the gypsy asked confused before being alerted again and looking around frantically, making her surprise guest giggle.

“If you are worried about my Master don’t be, he is not here.” She assured. “May I join you this evening?”

“Considering you already inside, sure.”

The evening went smoothly, (Y/n) was wary at first, thinking that the noblewoman would try something, but after a while she let her guard down for, she truly enjoyed and missed Verona’s company. But that joy was short-lived when Verona brought up a certain count...

“My master visited you last night, didn’t he?” It was more of a statement than a question, that made (Y/n) freeze at the mention of the vampire king even though she expected it but hoped against it.

“Yes, he did.” she replied calmly the smile she had slowly flattened.

“What did he say?” Verona continued to ask.

“Verona, I like you a lot and you know that I say this with the utmost respect when I say don’t act stupid it’s insulting for you and me.” (Y/n) thought her bluntness would anger or upset her guest but she got nothing.

Silence filled the room, the only sound that could be heard was the cracking of the firewood and the distant owl screeching, which was very clear to them, thanks to their super-hearing. It was terrifying how calm the vampire looked as she stared at the young gypsy with a nonchalant expression, but thankfully the intimidating demeanor was gone as she sighed in defeat.

"He is… how do I say it… smitten with you." She said trying to find the proper words, and (Y/n) tried her best to ignore the warm feeling she felt in her stomach.

"6 years ago, we heard of a werewolf entering our territory we were defensive and thought that it was a threat that needed to be eliminated immediately." She started to explain. "That same night our master left to "take care" of the problem, he did not return until a few minutes before sunrise, which made us worry sick, but his attitude replaced worry with confusion."

"His Attitude?"

"Excited." Verona clarified. "He was acting dare I say, like a child who found a new toy."

That comment didn't sit well with (Y/n) and she made it clear on her face making the vampire giggle.

"I am no one's toy, and will not ever be." The gypsy said in a threatening tone, but the woman was not phased by her action, it seems that she was a bit excited herself.

"Don't worry my dear, you won't be." She assures in a sweet voice. "in fact, I believe you are more than that."

---

After that night Verona continued to visit (Y/n), who despite the vampire's hints, if you can truly call them that, of her wanting the werewolf to return to the castle with her, the gypsy kept refusing but still welcomed the visits as she liked the company, not that she would say it. It wasn't long until one night Verona came with another vampire, not the count as (Y/n) first thought, but rather another of his brides. She took a quick stand thinking she would have to fight this one as well but Verona quickly shielded her and assured her that unlike Marishka this one was more tamed.

The bride in question was pale as Verona, her violet eyes were wide yet sharp, she had long red hair and wore a pink dress, unlike Verona who always wore white, however, both of them were still very revealing. Verona introduced her, her name was Aleera and she is the third bride very young one, who was turned almost a year ago. (Y/n) was skeptical when she first met her, because the vampire refused to take her eyes away from her, and every time their eyes met she would smile showing her fangs. The gypsy really wanted to be warier of the young vampire, as they are known to lose control quickly, but seeing her being lectured by Verona to act more ladylike almost made her want to laugh.

When she served them drinks, Verona reminded Aleera how to hold a cup properly and sip only a little, how if she spread her legs even by little Verona would smack her lightly to remind her to set straight, and Aleera wasn't annoyed by it, she actually did her best to follow the rules and (Y/n) did catch her a few times glancing at her elder to mirror her movements. She found it dare she say adorable.

"She was a simple village girl, the same one that chased after you." Explained Verona. "She was living an ordinary life but our master saw great potential in her, he saw how she deserved more than the life she had."

Said Verona saw she cupped Aleera's cheek lovingly and Aleera seemed to melt by the gesture as she moaned slightly, the intimate action made (Y/n) blush and look away when the two got closer. it wasn't long until they separated, probably noticing how uncomfortable their hostess was becoming, making the two giggle, a sound that echoed in the cottage and made a chill go down the gypsy's back.

"So, he took her?" (Y/n) asked trying to shake the odd feeling away, her question seemed to offend the redhead vampire as she frowned for the first time towards her, Verona held up her hand to stop the vampire from saying anything stupid.

"He offered to her the gift of eternal life." Corrected Verona. "He never forced her to take his offer but he promised her an eternal life of beauty and passion, to break the shackles that have been limited by her human self."

"And he fulfilled his promised." Spoke Aleera with a look of admiration as she remembered her sire. "Our master always keeps his word, like how he promised to protect you-"

"Aleera!" Verona quickly spoke in a warning tone that made the other vampire shrink in her seat and she let out a small pitiful moan of fear.

"Protect me?" (Y/n) asked in confusion. But none of the brides answered her, in fact, Verona quickly yet elegantly tried to defuse the situation.

"Pay no mind to her words." She said with a smile as if the gypsy's mind wasn't filled with many questions at the moment. "The sun will be rising soon and it's better to leave now, come on Aleera."

They both stood to leave but (Y/n) stood in front of the eldest vampire stopping her from going any further.

"I may have been raised in the woods, but at least I know it's quite rude to keep someone oblivious about something." (Y/n) started. "Especially if that something had to do with the person you are hiding it from."

The two of them had a staring contest, trying to intimidate the other to break first, from the corner of her eyes (Y/n) could see Aleera fidgeting in her place anxiously, probably blaming herself for the little situation. Verona's stare held more wisdom and power that made the little gypsy want to look away as she cleared the way for her but the beast in her told her to hold her ground and never show any sign of fear or wavering. She didn't know if it was because of intimidation or boredom but in the end, Verona was the first to look away as she sighed in defeat, before looking back at her.

"After your incident with Marishka, after knowing the truth of how you were hunted down and forced to turn, the count was very… displeased…" Verona explained. "Our master scolded Marishka harshly, and even punished her by being banished to somewhere else until he deemed it right to bring her back."

"He banished her?" (Y/n) asked in disbelief.

"Yes." She answered. "And as he waited for the three nights to pass he swore to protect you and keep you safe from any harm that might come your way."

"I…I didn't know."

"Of course, you didn’t, he wanted to tell you himself at the right time."

She said the last words harshly as she looked after her shoulder to Aleera who yelped as she shrunk in her place. Verona looked back at (Y/n) and smiled.

"I actually was afraid you will realize it sooner, seeing how no human or any other creature dared to come near your new home." Verona said in a joking manner, wanting to make light of the new revelation.

But (Y/n) didn't laugh or even show a small smile at her words, because as she remembered her last encounter with the count as well as the days she lived here until now made a lot of sense to her now.

"Did he say anything else?" the gypsy asked, wondering if there are any other secrets that the two brides were hiding.

"Unfortunately, my dear, if I know of any I cannot tell you." She answered apologetically.

With that said (Y/n) moved out of their way and in a small voice she thanked them for the visit, Verona simply nodded, and although her back was to them the young gypsy could feel the strong gust of wind that seeped from the door cracks, meaning they transformed into their other form and took a flight to their home. As (Y/n) lay in her bed that same night she found it difficult to sleep and she tried to assure herself that she did not care for the count…

… She refused to acknowledge the lie.

---

Aleera kept coming with Verona on her nightly visit to (Y/n), and it didn't take long for her to open up more around her. the young vampire kept talking about all the things that the two could do together as "Sisters", which sounded so strange to the gypsy but she didn't have the heart to correct her, so she let her continue saying what she was looking forward to the most. When Aleera spoke of her deep love for dresses and how dressing up in beautiful different dresses made her feel, (Y/n) let it slip that she, as well, has many dresses that were a gift from the count but didn't understand the appeal of them, and the young vampire made it her mission to let no dress go to waste.

Almost every night after sharing pleasantries and a drink Aleera would drag (Y/n), followed by Verona who seemed to enjoy the scene in front of her, to the room where she stored the dresses and other gifts that she didn't have the heart to throw away and the count refused to take back. Aside from lecturing the gypsy over and over again about the poor condition, she has been keeping the dresses and jewelry, and by not dusting them or washing them everyone once in a while, Aleera was truly happy as she combed (Y/n)'s hair and started styling it, Verona just sat back with a drink in her hair as she watched them, only speaking when she needed to comment on something or give a suggestion. It was excruciating to set in a chair for what felt like hours as the vampire moved fast around her, but when she finally looked at the final results in the mirror all the anxiety and pain that (Y/n) felt during those beauty sessions would go away as her eyes widen in awe at the reflection not believing that she was the one staring back at herself, even Verona would show sincere amazement when she saw how she turned up.

One night, Aleera was fixing (Y/n) hair as she and Verona conversed, every time before the vampire went to prepare the dress she'd ask the young gypsy if she liked the hairstyle.

"What do you think?" Aleera asked as she made way for (Y/n) to look at herself in the mirror when hearing the smallest of gasps a smile spread on the vampire's face.

"I know I said this before, but you have such great talent Aleera." (Y/n) said as she examined her new hairstyle.

"And I never get tired of hearing it." Aleera replied as she made her way to the different dress in the back. "Which dress would you like to try tonight?"

"I don't know, there are so many and if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have noticed some of them." (Y/n) said with a chuckle. “And besides I'm not really a fan of fancy dresses, sometimes I can’t tell which one is for what?”

“You really need to learn those things, especially since there is a big ball happening soon.”

“Aleera!” Verona almost shrieked at the younger vampire making her yelp and place a hand over her mouth with a small ‘sorry’.

“...You are throwing a ball?” (Y/n) asked confused by the elder vampire’s reaction.

“Yes.” Answered Verona with a sigh. “It will be next week.”

“Then why are you so upset?” (Y/n) questioned. “If you were worried that I'd be upset of you leaving for a night or two I won’t-”

“No, it’s not that.” Said Verona as she tried to find the right words. “We were planning on inviting you to this event at a more appropriate timing.”

She said the last words as she glanced sharply at Aleera who was hiding behind the wall of hanging dresses. (Y/n) looked at the vampire as if she had grown another head out of nowhere.

“Me going to a ball?” She asked.

“And what is wrong with that?” Verona asked back. “Just because you were born and raised in a wild does not mean that you can’t attend such an event among nobles.”

“Alright, let me rephrase my question.” (Y/n) ignoring the vampire’s words. “Me a werewolf, going to a ball FULL of vampires who despise my kind?”

It is known that vampires and werewolves never got along since she was a child, (Y/n) was taught from a young age to never trust a vampire, to kill them the moment her eyes fall on one, the reason why she didn’t attack the count and his brides is that they saved her and provided shelter, she owns them her life.

"Don't worry, little pup, no one would dare come near you." Verona said in a sweet voice as she stood and walked to where (Y/n) was standing.

The vampires wrapped her arms around her and started whispering comforting words into her ear, which was working making the little gypsy realize how tense she was before allowing herself to wallow more in Verona's embrace. As (Y/n) started to calm down, she thought about how it will be fine, that as long as she wasn't alone she would be fine…. Right?

---

Her head was low, she refused to look up from the ceramic tiles that showed her reflection staring back at her making it clear that it was recently polished, which didn't ease her one bit because the reflection didn't show Verona who has her arm hocked to her own, but it also didn't show the other vampires who filled the room around her. When the double doors opened to allow both of them to walk in there was a moment of silence before conversations and laughter came back again, but she could feel heavy stares at her, there were even a few times that she could distant hissing thrown towards her, which triggers (Y/n)'s instinct to be defensive and ready to fight, but Verona's firm hold on her arm assured her that she is protected.

Vampires around them started to spread and make a path for them as they walked into the ballroom, Verona did try to convince (Y/n) to lift her head high and enjoy the party, but only got a head shake as an answer, seeing that the crowd was giving her a hard time Verona decided to lead the little gypsy to an indoor balcony fo her to calm a bit.

"How are we feeling dear?" Verona asked as she rubbed (Y/n) back gently.

"I…I... don't know, everyone in here is in to get me." (Y/n) replied as she started to calm her nerves.

"No one is here to get you, we-" Verona tried to assure but she was cut off.

"I know!" The gypsy replied, looking apologetic. "I know you and the others will keep me safe… But I still don't feel safe with them around, they may not be able to get an inch from me but their stares don’t make me feel any safe."

Verona said nothing and just looked at the young werewolf as she kept glancing down at the other vampires who laughed and danced, she guessed that the smell of blood in the air didn’t make her feel any better. With a defeated sigh, Verona assured (Y/n) that she is safe and can stay on the private balcony as long as she wants, and that she will bring her food and drinks that she can actually consume.

After making sure that (Y/n) was comfortable and had all the food and drinks she would need, Verona left with the promise of coming back to keep her company for the rest of the night. For a while the gypsy sat alone, staring down at other vampires who were enjoying the party, she quickly backed away further on the balcony after a couple of them looked up to her and hissed baring their fangs as their skin turned pale. Suppressing a shiver, (Y/n) let out a shaky sigh as she fought the urge to give in to her instinct and just jump from her place down to them and tear them to shreds, after all, it is a bad idea to threaten a person who literally has a wild beast within.

“I apologies for their behavior...”

A familiar voice said making (Y/n) tense to defend herself but calmed down when she saw that it was the count. The count was wearing a long golden cape, beneath it the black dress shirt and trousers, both having a gold pattern. He looked very handsome if he wasn’t already, but his face didn’t hold the signature grin that he always wore around her. A dark look crossed his eyes as he made his way to the edge of the balcony and looked down at his people, his eyes glowing red.

“I will make sure they learn their place.”

(Y/n)’s eyes widened at his words, her heart hammered against her chest for a moment, and from how the count turned to look at her, his eyes no longer glowing red, she could assume that he could hear it too.

“What is the matter, my dear?” He asked as he slowly made his way towards her, his smooth voice making a shiver go down her spine but she did her best to not look intimidated in any way by him. “Are you scared?”

“Of you? HA! In your dreams.” she answered with confidence, which seemed to amuse him.

“Then why did your diligent heart almost leap out of your chest?”

The smile dropped from her face at his question. Why was she scared for that one moment? Is it because of him? After everything she went through with the count, she could never feel fear towards him, was it fear for the ones below who treated her badly? No, it isn’t that.

“You... will get in trouble.” She finally managed to say, earning a confused look from the count.

“Get in trouble?”

“Yes, I mean, you are going to what? Scold some of your people for a werewolf that has no business being here in the first place, I don’t know why Verona and Aleera invited me in the first place." She said with an eye roll.

The count laughed which startled (Y/n). It wasn't a manic laugh, but a genuine one, which confused her, when he calmed down he started explaining still grinning.

"I don't know which is funnier." He said. "The fact that it was actually me who wanted you in this ball and still don't know it, or the idea of you believe that they have any type of power on me."

On that last statement, a shiver went down her spine at how cold the area became so suddenly, and (Y/n) knew it was because of the count. When he turned to her he had a gentle smile as if he didn't make the room grow dark and cold for a moment, and she could have sworn she saw a quick flash of red in his eyes but it was gone just as fast, that's when she realized the room was not as cold as it was a few seconds ago. The count took a few steps forward before stopping and offering his hand to her. The little gypsy's eyes went from his hand to his face then his hand again, hesitant about what to do next.

"Would you give me the honor of becoming my partner in this lovely evening?"

He asked with a purr, but she still didn't reply, in fact, she was fidgeting more in her seat. She finally muttered something that made the count's eyes widen for a moment before a warm look crossed his face but he hide it well.

"What was that, my dear?" He asked tilting his head a bit to the side as if he couldn't hear what she said. "I don't think I quite heard that."

That made the little gypsy glare at him and he just continued smiling down at her as if he doesn't have super hearing. (Y/n) took a breath to calm her nerves.

"I…I don't know… how to… dance." She muttered loud enough this time and she averted her eyes to hide her blush.

(Y/n) was ready to hear a burst of mocking laughter but contrary to what she thought, a cold hand held her own, making her look back to him and saw how he gently kissed the back of her hand and smiled sweetly, his eyes held nothing but genuine kindness as he said the next words.

"Do not worry pet, for I will teach you."

For the next few moments (Y/n) wasn't sure if she got hypnotized or if she got distracted by his blue eyes, but what she knew is that she found herself being led to the center of the room where the other vampires backed away to give them space. The count gracefully placed her hand on his shoulder before sneaking his around her waist bringing her body pressing closer to his own, causing her to let out a small gasp of surprise as her face became so close to his that their noses brushed for a moment. The moment was broken when she suddenly snapped his head to the side and sneered at someone in the crowd who might have said something to anger the vampire king, but (Y/n) did not hear or care for them because she was too focused on this special moment that they are sharing. The count turned back to her, mumbling a small apology to her before flashing her a grin, and shortly enough the music started playing and they started moving to it.

(Y/n)'s previous question of if she was under hypnosis or not was answered as she repeatedly stepped on Vlad's feet, she apologized over and over again as she hid her face in his shoulder because he refused to stop moving, even laughing a little at her action making her lift her head up and glare at him annoyingly.

"You find my embarrassment amusing?" she whispered.

"I actually find it more adorable than amusing." He purred to her making her look away bashfully at his teasing.

"I'm going to crush your feet you know, remember I am not a delicate human."

"Of course, you aren't a human..." She let out a gasp as the count suddenly dipped her causing her to look up to him and he smiled. "You are my little strong pup who'd stomp on all feet and crush their bones to dust."

With that (Y/n)'s turned yellow as she let out a growl towards him, she noticed how the crowd around them let out small gasps and backed away from her, but not the count who's only responded by turning his eyes red before leaning down that his nose is brushing against her own as he let out a small growl that unlike her own that was to threaten him, the count's was of seduction. (Y/n) just rolled her eyes as she allowed the count to continue leading her through the dance and shortly enough, along with his comforting and supporting whispers, the young gypsy would be lying if she said she wasn't enjoying herself for the first time in this evening, which made her a bit disappointed when the dance has come to an end and both of them bowed to one another before he offered his arm to her and she accepted without hesitation this time.

"You were very beautiful, dear."

(Y/n) turned and saw that it was Verona followed by Aleera who had a big mischievous smile on her face.

"Yes, if you overlooked the foot stomping." Said Aleera while cackling.

That comment made (Y/n) want to crawl back into the balcony where she would hide again. She glanced around for a moment and with her sharp eyes and hearing, she could see the other vampires look at her in mocking pity as they held back laughter. Her grip on the count's arm loosened, wanting to part away from him so he won't be part of her embarrassment.

"Aleera." It was a low threatening growl from the count that made the youngest bride's smile fall immediately from her face as she backed away and hid behind Verona for protection from her master's wrath.

"N..No!.. hmm… she is right, I just need more training to not embarrass you again is all."

(Y/n) quickly said trying to save Aleera from any future punishment the count may have planned for her. she already put one of his brides in trouble and she didn't want to do it again, because she knows how close they are to one another. The count turned to look at her with a grin as he leaned slightly towards her, closing a bit of the gap that she put between them making the gypsy tense slightly at this closeness.

"Again?" He questioned. "You never embarrassed me my dear, but did I hear right when you said again?"

"I… W..Well…"

"If it's the fear of not being a good dancer, then I'll be more than happy to be your tutor."

It wasn't until she felt his hand tighten slightly on her own did (Y/n) realize that her hand was once again wrapped around his arm again, her embarrassed face dropped to one an amused as she looked up at him.

"If I agreed to your lessons will you stop your hypnosis tricks?"

"Me?" He said in a fake hurtful tone, but his face didn't show it at all, the only response he got was a raised brow, making his grin widening slightly. "If it means I could get as close to you as possible after this, then I give you my word."

After that (Y/n) spent most of the night with the count and his brides, there are a few occasions when some brave vampires approached them and tried to shower the count and his brides with compliments and praise about the ball and their looks, but they would always be ignored them, those who were brave or stupid enough to try and stay and make a one-sided conversation would be chased away by threatening stares until everyone got the hint and left them to enjoy each others company. It was eventful, to say the least, Aleera dragged (Y/n) back to the dance floor as a silent apology for what she said and the dance was anything but a simple waltz, they turned, spun, and even jumped, which made the little gypsy insecure for a moment but eventually, she ignored everyone and gave in and she laughed with the young bride, then Verona must have felt left out, because right after she finished her dance with Aleera Verona swooped in and pulled (Y/n) to her so their bodies would be pressed against each other as they waltz.

Like with the count Verona was very graceful unlike (Y/n) who did her best to follow Verona's lead without stepping on her feet, and even though she remembered some tips from dancing with the count first it was very distracting to have their bodies pressed against each other so close, you'd think the werewolf would have felt less embarrassed since she was just dancing with another woman, but it was difficult considering the other woman was very beautiful and her whispering sweet complements to her during their dance didn't help at all.

As the ball was coming to an end, the count asked (Y/n) to join him for a walk under the half-full moon.

"It's not long before the moon becomes full." She said suddenly making the count follow her trail to the sky. "I'll have to start making preparations, I feel that those cuffs are starting to grow weak."

The count didn't respond as he seemed lost in thought for a moment before turning his attention to her still not saying anything, which unnerved (Y/n) for a moment.

"Is something the matter?" she asked.

"Yes." He answered without saying anything more. (Y/n) waited for a second but when he didn't answer she pressured.

"Well, What is it?"

"You see my dear, I have been thinking about something for a while, that I hope you take no offense to."

"If you are trying to convince me to go back again, then I hate to disappoint you because my answer is still "No"."

The count shook his head as he gave a light chuckle.

"No, my dear, it's not about moving back to the castle, but it will happen one night or another."

"You are welcome to try." (Y/n) said playfully with a wink. "If it's not that, then what is it?"

"My dear, have you ever considered giving in to your beast?"

His sudden question made her halt on her steps as she gave him a shocked look, she didn't expect that but the count still had a serious expression, meaning that the question was genuine. (Y/n) look up to the moon and then to her hand, which was decorated with beautiful jewelry provided by the count, she could remember the large paw replacing her hand for a few nights a month, which made her scared. The count stood patiently as he let her collect her thoughts.

"I… I did…once…" seeing the confused look on his face she started explaining.

"When I was younger I met with one werewolf who was able to control his beast so easily, even summon him in days and nights without the bright moon, and I got inspired to try and be like him… But it was foolish of me because the next thing I know I woke up one morning in a village covered in blood and surrounded by corpses… old and young…." She turned to look at the count. "That werewolf was an elder, so I guess is part of the reason why he was able to do it so easily, but me?.... I am too young and rash to do it…"

"You are afraid." It was a statement rather than a question.

"… Controlling the beast isn't easy, and I will probably end up hurting innocent people, or in my new state people who I care about."

Those words made the count look at her with such kindness, that if she wasn't sure that he was indeed the vampire king, she would have thought him someone else for how foreigner the expression was on his face. (Y/n) knew how difficult it was for the count to show emotions, even to his dear brides he has to act strict and heartless most times, but that doesn’t mean he didn't care for them.

"May I?" He asked as he opened his arms for her.

(Y/n) hesitated for a moment but she slowly made her way to him allowing his long arms to wrap around her body, even though his hands were cold she didn't complain as she allowed herself to dwell in the comfort that he provided. They stayed there for a long while before he finally broke the silence.

"You were alone during your early days, but if you are willing to try again, I will be there to help you through it."

"But what if I ended up hurting you, or one of the girls… I already hurt Marishka, and the girls are so sad about it."

"Marishak deserved what had come to her for disobeying orders, both Verona and Aleera are aware of that."

"But if she died this would be an entirely different conversation."

There was silence again between the two and because of the embrace (Y/n) was not able to tell what he was thinking by the look on his face, making her afraid that she offended him in any way.

"But it didn't happen." He finally said pulling away enough to allow her to look up to him but not far enough to pull his hands from around her.

"I don't want you to be afraid of yourself just because some humans deemed you a monster. Like myself you are a creature of the night, you should accept yourself and not run away from who you truly are, and I wish to be there and help you through it if you would allow me to."

There was a long pause as (Y/n) considered it. She was scared that is true, after all, when she is in her wolf form her instinct takes over, and she won't able to recognize anyone during that that state of mind. On the other hand, the count is the strongest vampire on earth, she can remember his "bat form" clearly, he was bigger and stronger, surely he'll be able to hold her down if she tried to attack him or anyone else. Then she laughed, earning a confused look from the vampire king.

"What's so funny?"

"Just the idea of a werewolf being tamed by a vampire, it feels so wrong and weird with the history between our two races and all…"

The count didn't respond as he waited for her to calm down, and when she did she stayed quiet for a moment before turning to look at him.

"Don't make me regret this."

A grin finally showed on the count's face as he moved forward, held her hand, and raised it to his lips, a silent promise that he will help her through it until the end.

---

The count landed softly on the green grass, a good distance from (Y/n)'s cottage late at night, behind him followed his brides, all three of them, Marishka was hiding behind Verona and Aleera. He brought the rebel bride back after making the deal with the little gypsy, which none of the women knew of, so when two of his brides asked for long months where she was and if they could go and visit her, he refused and promised heavy punishment if they asked again or went to her behind his back.

Verona and Aleera spent almost every night talking about (Y/n) to Marishka, filling her in on everything they did with her when she was banished away, however, no matter how many praises they sang of her the blond was not swayed, she was still traumatized by the wolf that almost tore her throat out if her master wasn't there to push the beast away and pin it down until she got the chance to escape she would have been dead.

So you can imagine her great terror when their master came to them and said that they will go and visit (Y/n). While Aleera was excited, Verona was confused, because it was the full moon meaning that their little pet is unhinged for a couple of nights, but he ignored her concern and told them to follow. Marishka begged to stay back, too afraid to face the beats again at such a time, but her pleas fell on deaf ears, and only earned a warning of great punishment if she didn't follow them. so she did.

When they were close enough to the cottage the count stopped, which caused his brides to stop as well.

"I will be going inside, do not follow me, and do not move from your place." He said the last part as he turned his back slightly to look directly at Marishka, who if her heart wasn't dead already she would have sworn it stopped again from pure fear.

And so the count went inside the cottage, which was dark on the inside meaning that (Y/n) wasn't roaming around above but rather… locked away in the basement where she was almost every full moon. A loud howl made the brides tense and gasp in fear, Marishka was about to step backward but Verona was the one who stopped her and forced her to stand again where she was.

"Our master can see if we moved even a step, so stay still." She lectured lightly but firmly.

"Did you not hear that terrifying howl!" She hissed at the elder vampires. "It's her!... he is going to bring her I just know it, he will let her kill me."

"Why would you think such silly thought?!" Questioned Aleera.

"Isn't it obvious!" she replied. "She still has blood lust towards me because I tried to hunt her for fun."

Before any of the other two brides could reply to her the double doors of the basement flew open, causing Marishka to let out a small cry of fear, and from the basement emerged none other than the count followed by a great (F/c) werewolf that had a metal collar that was linked to chains held by the vampire king. They could see the fog of the beast's breaths as it started sniffing the air and then turning its head sharply toward them, which means… she is aware of their presence.

The three brides were frozen with fear but two of them had faith in their master in whatever he was planning, unlike Marishka who was shaking in her place, wanting nothing more than to fly back to the castle where she can hide away from whatever is coming towards her, but she couldn't for if she did something worst will be waiting for her and she was sure of that because their master was making his way towards them he kept his eyes on her and so did hers.

It felt like an eternity but eventually, they reached them.

"Evening my lovely brides." The count greeted almost sounding excited. "I'm sure you know our beloved (Y/n)."

The vampires looked up at her and only got a deep hum in return. Aleera was the first to act.

"Hey (Y/n) … " she said timidly earning a purr in return which encouraged her to move forward not noticing when Marishka almost reached out for her to pull her away. "You look so different but so pretty, and your fur is so shiny!... May I?"

There was a pause but (Y/n) bent down for her to be able to reach out and touch the side of her head, which she did excitedly earning a soft purr meaning the little gypsy likes it. Verona smiles and also moves closer ignoring Marishak when she softly pleaded with her to come back.

"It's so good to see you again little pet." She said with a gentle smile, causing (Y/n)'s attention to turn to her.

(Y/n) pulled from Aleera's hold, much to her great disappointment, and got closer to Verona to sniff around her and be familiar with her scent, when she saw how the elder vampiress open her hand for her she rested her head there, a sign of trust.

As the two vampires fawned over the Werewolf, Marishka was still in the back, hoping that as long as she is staying still she would be invisible. But the count had other ideas.

"What is wrong Marishka, are you not going to greet our dear (Y/n)?" He asked wondering, with his question everyone turned to her.

When her eyes met the wolf's, the once wide pupils of it became sharp slit and threatening as if she was daring her to approach. And Marishka truly didn't want to take the challenge.

"I think I better stay-" she didn't get the chance to excuse herself before the count interrupted her.

"Say Hello to (Y/n)." He ordered.

His stern tone along with the eyes that were adding pressure to the situation is forcing her to take a shaky step forward, and adding to her dismay Aleera and Verona stepped away clearing her path to come near. The blonde was doing her best to be as slow as possible anything to make her inevitable fate come later, however, it seemed that it came sooner than expected because over her panic she didn't notice how she was directly in front of the gypsy turned werewolf until she felt her breathing over her head. She really didn't want to leave her head, she titled her head to the side to look at her master, silently pleading with him, tears were threatening to escape her eyes, but he stood his ground and motioned for her to do as he ordered. When she finally dared to look up she let out a gasp of fear for (Y/n) razor-sharp teeth were slightly bared at her with a small growl, showing great disdain towards her. Marishka wanted this to be over with, so she took a deep breath that she did not need, showed a weary smile, and opened her mouth.

"Hel-"

She didn't get the chance to finish before (Y/n) let out a loud roar right to her face making Marishka let out a high-pitched scream of fear before running to hide behind her master, but despite her vampire speed, she was caught by her foot, causing her to fall to the ground and be pinned by the angry Werewolf, her left paw pinned her by the waist while the right paw pinned her by her neck, so that no matter how many times she flailed her arms or legs, she could never escape.

"NO!... PLEASE LET ME GO!" Marshak screamed to an avail, she looked up to her master and sisters desperately. "MASTER PLEASE HELP ME!... WHATEVER I DID TO UPSET YOU I'M SORRY!"

The count held a nonchalant look, while the other brides were scared for their sister, afraid that (Y/n) lost control, and they would have acted if their master wasn't calm, but they still trusted him so they did nothing. He finally acted, by kneeling down beside her so he can be close enough.

"It doesn't feel good to be pinned like that, does it?" He asked calmly.

"NO!... it doesn't" She quickly answered, hoping by giving him what he wants to hear that he will help her free, but he still didn't make a move.

"It doesn't feel good to be hunted down as a helpless prey, does it?"

"No…" She said with a pathetic sob.

"And now tell me why did you feel the right to hunt down our dear (Y/n) for fun and games, while she was under our protection no less, knowing full well of her true self." He lectured and that's when it all clicked to her, this was her true punishment for that night.

"I'M SORRY!"She quickly said, trying to look up to him. "I'm sorry!... I'm so sorry for disobeying your orders!"

"It is not me who you should apologize for." He said before standing up again and pulling away from her.

She was confused for a moment but the feeling of claws slightly digging at her side woke her up, and from the corner of her eyes she could see the tip of the wolf's nose appear so close as if she didn't know that already from the heavy breathing in the back of her neck, (Y/n) could so easily bite her neck and leave her to die. Marishka was shaking badly with fear as her eyes glanced back to the ground, green grass tickling her skin, the wind blowing around them, her mind raced to all of those small details but refused to think of a solution, which was already presented to her, she just needed to do it. After collecting herself, the once wild vampiress closed her eyes and calmed so she can speak withing shaking her voice.

"I… I'm sorry for tricking you… sorry for luring you out of the room and chasing you… I'm sorry for scaring you." She paused for a moment before opening her eyes to try and look up to (Y/n), which was difficult from her angle but she still tried. "I was excited when I first saw you and brought you home with us, I thought … I thought that I would have a playmate to pass time with… I…I know it was stupid of me to act in such a way… I just grew impatient to finally meet you… but I went about it the wrong way… I'm truly sorry for my actions, and I promise that it will not happen again."

There was silence in the air and before Marishka could question anything she felt the pressure on her body being pulled away but a moment of relief was short-lived for she found herself being again but this time upward, (Y/n) held her side causing her arms to be restrained as she was forced to come face to face with her. The vampiress was ready to plead for her life again but got quiet when instead of feeling the sharp teeth piercing her neck, she felt a sloppy tongue lick her entire face, which left her dumbfounded at what just happened, not realizing that she was back to the ground and let go until her fellow sisters came and hugged her.

"Seemed out darling pet forgave you."

Her master says as he pets her head to comfort her before making his way to (Y/n) and started scratching her neck, causing her to let out a loud purr and for her ears to drop as she wallowed further into his touch, showing complete submissiveness, making the count let out a hum of content as well, being pleased with how everything is going.

He knows that (Y/n) is still not in complete control, after all her werewolf would still be in its strongest form during a full moon but she can direct it now, they still need to test if she can transform without a full moon later on but now he is enjoying this moment.

He remembers the first time he saw her from afar, seeing such an amazing creature as herself hiding her true ability and self in fear of "Upsetting" the humans and living among them as if she was on the same level as them, but she was never the same as them, she was far above them, so he wanted her to recognize her true potentials. So, he decided to give her some might call it… a little push...

So one full moon night, Vlad used his powers to break the chains around her wolf, making it seem as if it was her own strength that broke it, and he left the rest for her. it was a great delight for him to see her break free and go on a killing spree, He knew that in a few nights the humans who survived will chase after her so he made sure that he and his brides would be to save her and swoop her off her feet.

He was disappointed when he heard of her first killing spree, only for the fact he was not there to witness it, but it doesn't matter for now they have eternity to make up for it. he knows werewolves are not immortals they just live for a very long time and the thought of losing (Y/n) at anytime period almost drove him mad, but he always forced himself to calm down, when that bridge comes he will cross but for now, he will focus on pampering his newest addition to his unusual family.

"What do you say we go and feast?" he asked her, and at the mention of food, her tail wiggled in excitement, and drool started to fall from her mouth as her wide pupils become sharp slits, showing that she more than agrees with him.

Yes, this was going to be a fun journey to start, and what better way to start it than visit the village folk who chased after her in the first place.

---

I hope you guys enjoyed this, please leave a feedback if you did it's much appreciated and again thank you for reading.

#vladislaus dracula #Vladislaus Dracula x reader

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buckybarnesowl · 4 years ago

Text

The Stars that Shine

Pairing: Bucky x reader

Summary: You and Bucky are meant for each other, and the entire universe knows it.

Warnings: none, just pure unadulterated fluff

Word count: 980

A/n: Somehow I hit 200 followers! That might not seem like much to a lot of you, but I literally can't EVEN right now. What began as me lurking to process/manage my mental health via obsessively consuming INCREDIBLE Marvel fanfiction turned into me writing my own. And I was immediately welcomed by this amazing community. Y’all have done more for me than you could ever know. So here is an insanely fluffy 1-shot (I finally kept something under 1K!!!) to show my appreciation for each and every person who follows me, read my fics, liked my fics, commented on my fics, reblogged my fics, tagged me in anything, or just generally welcomed me into this weird and wonderful world. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I love you all 3000.

July had left without a word and August quietly took its place. The days were still warm but the nights hinted at autumn’s pending arrival. It was a new moon and the stars shone so bright you could see the Milky Way stretching over the expanse of the compound from where you and Bucky lay.

Bucky began bringing you to this hidden spot on the edge of the grounds when you first started dating. You’re the only one he showed his secret garden as you liked to refer to it. “It’s our secret garden now, doll,” he’d correct you. He would hold your hand, tugging you gently for the nearly hour long walk it took to get there, all the while grinning like the love drunk fool he was. That you had turned him into the instant you both met. Your voice, your laugh, the way you looked at him only with awe and admiration instead of fear or pity—that’s when Bucky knew you were it for him.

It hadn’t taken long for you two to come together. It was as if the forces of nature brought you both to the compound, the universe accepting there was no way it could keep you apart. That you were made for him and he for you. The first time your lips touched under the willow tree that grew in your hideaway, every star, moon, and planet aligned in their respective systems. Bucky had finally found the peace he had been searching for.

You quieted his mind, calmed his deepest fears. You held him while you both slept, keeping his night terrors at bay. You gave his prosthetic new purpose by asking him to hold, carry, or fix things that were beyond your strength. You knew he was no longer a killing machine forced to torture and destroy, and you tried to prove that to him every chance you got.

And Bucky never stopped trying to prove his love for you every chance he got.

Tonight felt different somehow. The stars twinkled a bit brighter against the cobalt canvas above you. Though Bucky’s sapphire eyes refracted the starlight with a hint more longing than usual. He was holding you a tad tighter as you both lay on your blanket, your head against Bucky’s shoulder, his arms wrapped around you to keep you warm. He kept pressing his lips into your hair, then sighing before tucking your head back under his chin.

After racking your brain for the reason behind his clingier-than-usual demeanor, you pushed yourself up and out of his hold. Then placing a warm hand on his stubble covered cheek, you scanned his face for any furrow in his brow or storm in the seas of his eyes. But you couldn’t find one.

“Is everything okay, love?” you pressed, needing verbal confirmation.

“Of course,” Bucky responded softly, bringing his flesh palm up to his cheek to cover yours. “Why d'you ask, doll?” he questioned, suddenly filled with concern. You both dropped your hands allowing him to sit up and face you.

“It’s just… you seem distant or lost tonight. You know you can tell me anything, right? It’s okay to not be okay sometimes.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” he cooed, “I know. But I'm okay, promise. Got caught up in the moment I guess. Just being here with you.” Then he grabbed both of your hands and brought them to his chest. “D’you feel that? That beat? It’s for you.”

“Buck, c’mon, you have more to live for than me,” you encouraged with a chuckle. Though your heart ached a little knowing everything he had lost, everything HYDRA had stolen from him.

“Sorry, doll, I didn’t mean it like that. To put that pressure on you. I know I have so much to live for. Not as the Winter Soldier but as James Buchanan Barnes. I can help people now instead of hurting them. I can save lives instead of taking them. And I know that ‘cause you showed me how. Showed me who I could be, who I want to be. I finally get to decide who I am and what my purpose is. I choose that—”

He brought your hands up and kissed each knuckle, then placed his lips tenderly to the backs of your hands, then your palms, before inching closer to you. Your breath hitched as the warmth burning your cheeks flooded into every inch of your body.

“—And I choose you, y/n.”

The way he said your name, barely above a whisper, sent a chill down your spine and kept the fire he’d just lit from swallowing you whole.

“I could never be lost with you in my world. You’re my sun, lighting up my days. You’re my moon, keeping the dark from my nights. You’re the stars that shine, so no matter where I am I know you’re with me.”

“I’ll always be with you, James,” you affirmed with affection, pressing your lips to his with a delicate intensity, hoping to impart every emotion coursing through your veins for this beautiful man who offered his heart to you daily without question or fear or hesitation.

“Always,” he breathed into your lips, then pressed into more, returning every ounce of feeling you had sent him through your kiss.

There was no need for you to say those three words to each other—not that you hadn’t said them before. It was that in this moment no spoken language could possibly encompass the depth of devotion you held for each other.

The creek babbled in the distance. The leaves of the willow rustled gently. The hum of crickets serenaded you. Your lips remained entwined and the stars winked at each other, knowing there would never be a force strong enough to separate you two. He was fully yours and you fully his. Bucky and you, until the end of time.

la fin

#bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #james bucky barnes #james buchanan barnes #bucky x you #bucky x y/n #bucky fluff #soft bucky #tooth rotting fluff #like so much fluff #200 followers #i don't deserve you #but i love each and every one of you

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apixrl · 4 years ago

Text

YOUR EREN.

eren jeager x fem!reader

WARNING(S): angst. slight manipulation. s4 spoilers. brief mentions of (but not actually) throwing up at the end.

word count: 5.9k

song: a soulmate who wasn't meant to be // jess benko

note(s): oh, that sound? it's just the sound of my tears whilst writing this oneshot. no biggie

The prison cells underneath headquarters were as dark and dreary as ever as you stood opposite them. Whilst the windows were generously large, the night sky was not so giving. Clouds were gloomy and blocked out the moon and stars, replacing it with a heavy downpour of rain. If you listened closely, you could pick up on the faint 'pitter patter' as droplets met the pebbled ground outside, the sound comforting compared to the echoing silence within the walls. Mattresses were placed in the corners of each cell, old and tattered after years of use by many different faces. You could only imagine their discomfort as you'd never been required to sleep on them, your record in the Scout Regiment practically a clean slate after your years of service. You were someone who took your position as a soldier seriously; respected your superiors and did as told when told.

As for Eren Jeager? It seemed in recent events he was past the point of caring.

Such a fact was blatant as you stared at him through the prison bars, your back pressed against the wall, body stiff and fearful of what would happen if you tried to step closer. Eren's gaze was terrifying to witness even from the odd angle you stared at him. His eyes locked on the ceiling as he lay flat on his back on the bed of his cell. His hair had been pulled back into a messy bun, some strands not long enough to reach so far back were fated to live a life of their own. They glued to his temples and forehead and even entwined with the strands pulled back. You couldn't decide if the look was flattering or not.

"I...," You blurted out without thought of what you planned to actually say, your pathetic attempt at making conversation followed up with a nervous whimper. Eren barely inched a muscle when you broke the quiet, from his eyes to his hands that lay lifeless at his side. He remained laid down as if you weren't even there. That made your heart weep in the worst of ways and your mind qualm - to think the last time you were together he was holding you in his arms as you gazed under the stars. And now he could barely spare you a second glance.

"It's been a while since you were last cooped up in one of these cells," You eventually tried again, calming yourself down as best you could by trying to be light-hearted. "Remember when we would play cards through the bars when I could visit? Those were fun times," You smiled sadly at the memories, eyes drifting away from Eren and towards nothing in particular. The smile then faded, the yearn to experience easier days once more hitting you as hard as stone. "If only we could experience them again,"

Your tone lowered, left unhinged since you knew mourning for what was no more was a waste of time. But you couldn't help yourself. All you wanted was to live in the past, where the titans were slane and the Scouts had reached the sea. All you wanted was to live out your days with your friends, talk and laugh with no need to worry about the rest of the world. All you wanted was to fall into Eren's embrace, to love him with all your might as he did you. There was a short period where that was your life, one filled with simplicity and peace after years of blood and death and gore that haunted your every nightmare. It had been pleasant, and you missed it. More than you were willing to admit.

If only Eren hadn't pushed things too far.

Eren's eyes shifted after a prolonged silence, travelling from the ceiling to you across the way. He was quick to take note of your vacancy, your conflict as you stared at him. How you created your own form of a jail cell by restricting yourself to the opposite side of the room. Maintaining a safe distance like you sensed you would get hurt stepping too far. Eren sighed loudly at that fact. Which caught your attention, E/C eyes flicking back to him at the sound. Eren pushed himself upright, eyes leaving you to stare at the floor before he hoisted himself off of the bed. Then, he turned to face you, searching for you through the wisps of his unkempt fringe.

You held your breath when he did, unable to fathom just how uncomfortable his gaze made you feel. Typically, Eren looking your way would send butterflies to your stomach. Your heart would perform somersaults and beat soundly with joy. Your cheeks would heat up, to which he would smile and tease and call it cute - merely deepening your flustered state like it was some fun game.

But this time, upon him meeting your gaze, nausea swiftly followed after. Rising concern over unconditional love based on his expression alone. It was empty. Unreadable. Nothing you had ever seen him display before. You had witnessed most if not all his worst moments up front but none of them - none of them, came close to just how desolately devoid he looked in that moment.

His lips didn't twitch, firmly held together as they added to his glaring aura. His brows arched sterner than Captain Levi's when you failed to clean a room up to standards, you didn't think it was possible for them to be so closely knit. But the worst part that made you truly sick to the stomach at the unfamiliarity of it all, were his eyes. Their usual bright and gleaming jade green blend that had entranced you from the instant you met Eren were now bleaker and more stationary than ever. They no longer held a zest and determination that motivated you to fight another day, no notable twinkle against the dimly lit room. Only a barren vacancy the most broken are succumbed to display.

You felt the need to comment on it, communicate to Eren just how worried you were. That you wanted to help him because you cared about him more than anyone else in the entire world. You were willing to lay your life down for him, and had even nearly become an anonymous number in the ranks because of that sheer will alone. However, before you had the chance to open your mouth, Eren beat you to it.

"Did Hange send you down here to try and sway me?" Eren asked half-rhetorically, taking a couple of steps forwards until the bars of his cell stopped him. "You of all people should know you can't stop me, so why even bother?"

You were taken back by his bluntness, even more so by his disregard for your previous words. Like you had never said them in the first place and he was the one initiating conversation. Perhaps it was so Eren felt he had the control, asserting dominance in a relationship where he already held more than half of it. His aim was unclear, but you persisted nonetheless.

"No, they didn't," You said. "I came here on my own accord, Eren," You shrugged your shoulders aimlessly. "I wanted to see you. I-I've missed you," Eren's eyes narrowed in suspicion, studying your frame for any sign indicating you were lying. He came out with no clear answer as from the instant you had set foot in the room you'd been shaking like a lamb bleating after its mother. Afraid. His arms crossed over his broad chest still in doubt, the action reminding you just how much he'd changed over the last few years. He was taller, looming over you even whilst feet apart. He was no doubt stronger, evident with or without the fact he held the power of three titans within him. Eren was no longer the vigorous and unruly boy he once was, who devoted his strength to rid the world of all the titans. He was now an indestructible force that vouched for freedom, his will to fight unshaken by no one.

"If you missed me so much," He started, looking down at you with what only felt like shame. "What took you so long to visit?" Raising a brow, you realised he held a point with his inquiry. If you proposed you missed him why hadn't you visited? The truth was you were scared of who you would find on the other side when you did. Levi and Hange had given you the option since the first day Eren was placed in his cell. But no matter the undying need to have Eren in your line of sights again, you failed to find the courage to make that final step.

"I wanted to, I-I really did," You said in a panic. "I was just scared! I didn't know what to say or how to speak to you after... after...,"

"After what?" Eren reprimanded, glowering at you as his hands wrapped around the iron bars. Your eyes widened and you whimpered, shaking your head frantically as a means to apologise.

"N-No Eren. I didn't mean it like that I just -," You swallowed thickly, your breathing quickening as Eren's pressing stare intimidated you more and more by the second. You hated how much you were falling apart. Where had your Eren gone?! Your Eren who always fretted over you during and after battles. Your Eren who grew antsy at Jean or Connie if they got a little too comfortable in your company. Your Eren who snuck into your room past curfew to share stories of his life late into the night. Your Eren who crammed his lips on yours when he couldn't hide his feelings any longer, confirming your relationship would turn from friendship to deepened love. You missed your Eren. You wanted your Eren back. Was that so much to ask?!

"You just what?" He spoke harshly, impatience riddled within every letter and syllable. You were quick to notice his grip on the bars tighten to the point you thought he'd snap them clean in two.

"I...," You trailed off, finishing your cut sentence with a defeated sigh. Your hands lowered to your sides as your head hung forwards. Perhaps being upfront with him was the only way you could go. "You killed people, Eren. Innocent people that hadn't done anything wrong! You ate somebody. Women, men and children crushed under debris like they were nothing. Y-You... you made Armin destroy that port and your decision making got Sasha killed!" You brought a hand to your forehead, not realising how distressed you sounded as you recalled that night. Tears started forming in your eyes, lip trembling. "Shit! I nearly... if Jean hadn't shot that Marley soldier first then I would've...,"

You had experienced a rocky start during the raid on Marley. One of your biggest flaws as a soldier was your will to take another life. Life as in... a human life. You despised the concept and did everything in your power to avoid it all costs, even if your fellow soldiers disagreed (especially Levi's, who persisted humans could be just as bad as titans when it came to killing). That exact flaw came forth when you first encountered a Marleyan soldier, and your hesitation almost ended with a bullet between your eyes. Had Jean not been behind you just in time... your grave would have been undoubtedly determined. There was a time where Eren was the same as you, never wanting to act and inflict harm on other humans. But times had changed since then. Oh, how you hated how much it had changed since then. None of it was fair.

A silence ensued, your stifled sobs the only thing willing to break it. Eren watched you motionlessly, the glare still apparent on his face as your emotions got the better of you. You hadn't realised just how shaken up you were from what happened. Sure, you had faced death many times, but always at the hand of titans. Where you had to evade giant swooshing limbs and teeth that could churn your flesh as cows do cud. Never had you looked another human in the eye and watched them contemplate killing you. To aim a gun directly your way and prep the shot as you realised what their intentions were. Then a feeble attempt to escape approaching death, all too distracted with your life flashing before your eyes for you to see the way out. That was one of the scariest moments of your life. You never wanted to endure it again. Never.

"Come here,"

You stiffened up, looking at Eren amidst dishevelled strands of H/C hair falling over your face. His glare had left and his face had returned to its neutral state, his eyes boring into you with his demand lingering in the air. You wiped your nose on your sleeve as well as your eyes, confused by the abrupt change in atmosphere. A truly weird circumstance and turn of events you weren't expecting indeed. At first, you weren't sure doing as Eren said was a smart idea, having heard Hange's experience with him during a debrief. You didn't believe Eren would treat you with the same sort of disrespect, but you also didn't want to take that risk just in case.

"B-But...,"

"Just do it," He roughly snapped, suspense in his tone kicking you up the hind to move. With a yelp, you pushed yourself off of the wall - back sighing out in bliss after starting to ache because of the uneven rocky surface. You gingerly stepped towards Eren, biting down on your lip to stop it trembling in fright. You came to a stop once close enough to the iron bars, hands going to wrap themselves around them, around the same ones as Eren. Whether you intended for that or it was just subconscious instinct you didn't know. Finally, your eyes dropped to the floor, lost on where to focus. Eren hummed a complacent sigh at your actions, head tilting to the side as he looked you up and down. You couldn't find an answer to what was running through his mind, blank gaze concealing all form of emotion and clarity. Then, just as you thought the silence couldn't grow any more powerful, Eren lifted his hand and reached out for you.

You gasped at the sudden contact, the feeling of Eren's hand cupping your face sending all sorts of sensations through you. His palm was warm despite the cool air of the prison cell. It was as though his hand was constructed to cradle your cheek, moulded into the perfect structure to which you filled in the empty spaces. His hand felt soft even after years of wear and tear of fighting and training, fingers long but not at all discomforting. You had forgotten just how pleasant the feel of Eren's thumb across your cheekbone was until he initiated the motion, almost a way to lure you in. And with your deprivation of his touch - of him. That was enough to have you wrapped around his finger.

"I forgot how nice it was to hold you like this," Eren declared monotonously, though his expression betrayed his lack of care. Something about it had calmed, but he didn't allow it to stay for long, gone so fast that if you blinked you would have missed it. You inhaled deeply, head tilting to the side as you nuzzled into his hand. Seeming satisfied with that, Eren proceeded. "That and just how easily you melt under my touch,"

"Eren," You uttered no louder than a whisper, eyes closing tight as you welcomed his touch. You despised how much he was correct, that you became putty without him even needing to try. That was the impact of love, after all, it makes people act in crazy ways and do some incredibly crazy things. But you couldn't ignore the odd funny feeling still pitting your gut, begging you to stop falling to Eren's will before it was too late. You couldn't get carried away, he had committed obscene criminal acts without jurisdiction. That was more than enough to get him locked up for life, regardless of the war you were fighting. You should be disgusted by his actions, his corrupted thinking and the way he went behind the Military's backs to further his own idea of freedom. You were disgusted.

But you also loved him. Way, way more than you were disgusted.

A frown merged onto your face, blending awkwardly with the once peaceful content that Eren noticed as fast as it appeared. He managed to figure out the thoughts running through your mind also, the young adult lamenting a sigh and he opened his mouth to speak. Not before his hand drifted down to your chin, tilting your head up to make you look at him. His thumb planted on your bottom lip as he grazed over it.

"I'm trying to build a future for Eldia, Y/N," Eren spoke firmly, your heart having a brief elation to the way he said your name. It had been far too long since you had heard him say it. "A future for us, where we can be free and live our lives the way we want to,"

"I know," You began, eyes opening to meet Eren's. "But there are other ways, Eren. More humane ways. We don't have to kill anymore if we just-,"

"There isn't another way," Eren interrupted, his ministrations of stroking your chin coming to an abrupt halt. "We've tried other ways and they haven't worked," Eren evaded your disheartened stare. "I'm sick of it not working,"

"We all are, Eren. Stop making out that you're the only victim here," You paid no mind to Eren's reaction. "We're all victims of this shitshow that's our reality, and we're all just as much the culprits of it as well! All w-we do is fight fire with fire and add more ashes to the pile with each person we slaughter," You felt your grip tighten on the bars, gritting your teeth harshly together. "I'm sick of all the violence and suffering! I just want to go back to the days when we could be at peace. Where we could laugh and joke because the main problem - the titans, were dealt with! I became a soldier to fight titans, not to embark on an endless war where both sides are human and neither is willing to cooperate with the other,"

"Those days are gone," Eren spoke sternly, though it softened up when he noticed you look away. "But they can return," He pressed his forehead against the iron bars, staring at you through deadened eyes. "We can live a life of freedom together once I finish what I started, all I need you to do is stay by my side and to have faith,"

Your eyes widened, gawking at Eren with complete and utter disbelief at his words. His persistence came off like the cruellest of sicknesses, corrupting Eren's mind to the point of insanity. His moral compass was in shambles as was his sense of humanity. The way his eyes were numbed right down to their pupils, blinded by his visions of a future for Eldia that came with the cost of the rest of the world's suffering. It pained you to witness such a change, to witness Eren's descent into madness as war took over his every thought and breath. Suddenly that foreign feeling in your stomach became clear as day, and you abhorred it with a deadly passion.

"I don't want to be free in a world built on other people's suffering," Your hands fell down to your sides, heartbeat racing as you avoided Eren's gaze. He quirked a brow, eyes piercing into you once he realised what you meant, and his chosen tone suggested he didn't like that one bit.

"What are you trying to say?"

You faltered, both as a mental brace and a state of refusal to your next actions. A second or so passed before you took a step back, creating a distance that did more damage than healing. With a shaky breath, you answered his question.

"I love you Eren, with everything I am. B-but I can't stand by your side if this is the path you're going to take," The tears were already brewing, doing everything you could to blink them away. "I won't sit by and watch the rest of the world crumble because of your selfish desires,"

You hated the words you were saying, how you said them and who you were saying them to. That it had all come to this, where Eren became the threat to humanity rather than its saviour. He only had so much time left and had you known that his way of spending it was to spiral the world into chaos - perhaps you wouldn't have grown so attached.

"I can't - I...," Since he hadn't said anything, you felt the urgency to speak. "Eren you have no idea how much I want to but this isn't how I saw our future -,"

"What future?" Eren persisted, not giving you a chance to reply. "Eldia has no future within the walls, these cages! It's time we give the world a taste of its own medicine, so what if a couple of lives are taken out on the way? It's not like they give a damn about ours," Eren scoffed when you shook your head, tears pricking at your eyes and the stinging sensation that came with it was painful to deal with.

"Please, Eren. Think about what you're saying," You pleaded and begged. But you knew it was no use, Eren too fixated on his 'destiny' to see logical reason. Merely the look in his eyes was proof enough to tell you that. "What happened to you? When did you become so heartless? Where's the Eren I knew all those years ago gone? Don't you miss it back then? When we weren't cheating death and we could simply be us? Be two dumb teens in love and the only thing that mattered was that love we shared? Do you even think about that anymore? About me? What about -,"

"Stop it," Eren stopped you, voice acting as a silencer to your blubbering drabble. Flinching at the interruption your mouth clamped shut, and your eyes darted for Eren in surprise. Despite locked behind bars, you were still terrified, and it felt more like you were the prisoner of the pair. With a low growl, Eren raised a clenched fist and thrashed it harshly against the bars. It made a low but loud 'thunk!' sound that hit your ears like impending doom, deafening all around you excluding that of Eren and the words he uttered next. "I'm sick of listening to you whine about shit that's not even important,"

"W-what?" You stammered in question, voice unsteady. "What do you mean it's not important?"

"Do you really think that amidst all of this I have time to be playing boyfriend?" Eren half-mocked. "I've got bigger priorities than you right now," He didn't look you in the eye, nostrils flared as his gaze lingered on the floor. Your legs nearly gave way at what you were hearing, each word a fatal stab to the stomach. Each stab even more malicious than the last. So that was it? You didn't matter anymore? Were you just some pawn in Eren's plan until he didn't feel he needed you anymore? Had his love ever been real or was it all a hoax to manipulate your every waking thought?

A minute passed of still silence, one of the many that evening. Your eyes never left Eren, searching for something to indicate he was joking. As well as contemplating pinching yourself in hopes you woke up from this horrible nightmare. Maybe you'd wake up in your Eren's arms, safe and secure as you lay beside him - his gentle breaths from deep sleep tickling the back of your neck and helping you forget the entire reason you woke up. But sadly, no such thing happened. You never woke up from anything but were instead left to face an Eren you barely knew anymore. Endure the pain as he pounded words into your head that gashed crueller than the worst of war wounds.

Realising this, you felt an urge to laugh, unsure what else there was you really could do. Crying was ineffective, and there was no way you could let Eren get the better of you. That's probably what he wanted anyway, for you to turn around and beg on your hands and knees. So as your hand met your face, you released the smallest of chuckles, lacking in humour but overwhelmed with an unforeseen emptiness. It definitely caught Eren by surprise, but he was fast to not hide it as he pressured that vacant stare onto you yet again.

"You insist your plan is the only way to get us our future, but I'm not even sure what future you mean anymore," You hesitated, trying to gain control of your lip which began to quiver erratically. "Clearly it's not the one we imagined together when we were younger,"

"If only you weren't so blinded by your emotions," Eren avoided your words, something you noticed and felt more agonised by than relieved. "Stop thinking with your feelings and see the logic, already. It's so annoying,"

Almost choking on the sob you tried to hold down, you bit down harshly on your lip - any harder and you probably would have drawn blood. You did everything you could to ignore Eren's words, but you were so hurt that you were losing the means to do so.

But you couldn't let his words consume you and manifest them into truth. You had to be strong, use whatever power you had left to regain your composure and come out the bigger person. Eren had always been a stubborn brat, Levi's nickname reigning true now more than ever.

"Use your head and think, Y/N," Eren spoke slowly, leaning his weight back onto one foot. He stretched his arm out towards you, held out for you to take. "Maybe if you stop caring for those that'll just kill you off for sport you'll actually comprehend why you're following the wrong cause,"

His words were suffocating and barbaric, not at all inspiring or persuading in the slightest. It didn't make you feel hopeful, it made you feel trapped. All you wanted was for it to stop. It wasn't love no matter how much you adored him. It wasn't healthy no matter the good memories you had shared. You had to stop the past messing with your head. You had to stop Eren messing with your head. You wanted to get out and escape. You needed to and as soon as possible. So, taking a moment to regain your composure, your hands raised to adjust the collar of your jacket and you looked over at Eren. An apologetic expression on your face for deciding to cut the visit short.

"I think I should... should go check on Armin and the others," You started, not sure what Eren would make of that. He appeared to show confusion, blinking once your words processed and frowning based on how sudden they were.

"Why would you need to do that?"

"They've been busy, and they're probably looking for me," You made up on the spot. "I didn't tell them I was coming to see you," Eren was silent, eyeing you up and down before he scoffed.

"You know I can tell you're lying, right?"

"W-Why would I lie?"

"For the same reason all people lie," Eren said. "To avoid what you're too scared to face," The way Eren spoke made everything feel much, much worse. A heavy amount of disrespect originated from this new flesh of conceit that Eren displayed on full. He had always been one to boast, but never in the form he showed in the present.

Listening to his slander any longer was something you simply couldn't handle. Not today, anyway. Fatigue was starting to claim control over your thought process, emotionally drained from talking to Eren. He had selfishly left you in a constant state of confusion and agony, making you ask yourself more questions than answering them. It utterly and totally sucked, being honest, and you had no clue where your relationship stood. Was it over? Were you still even together? Had he even seen you both as a couple this entire time or was it all just a big lie?

"So what were you trying to avoid when you spent all those months lying to us?" You were tempted to leave without another word said, but you knew you'd regret not asking your question. Which had popped into your head at the last moment as you pondered on Eren's words. Using them against you seemed to strike a nerve, as when you expected Eren to talk he did no such thing. Instead, he glared at you for being caught out, prompting your next words to follow. "I'll... I'll see you later, Eren,"

And with that, you started walking away.

You did everything in your power to not look back, focusing your gaze on the exit that was a little way ahead. Eren's stare etched itself into your back on the way out, leaving an even deeper wound than before which would probably scar for sure. Your footsteps dragged across the floor like you hauled twice your body weight behind you. Walking upstairs had never been such a demanding challenge before in your life. To think that you possessed the energy to traverse the walls but absolutely none to conquer thirteen mediocre steps.

You made it around ten steps up, just about to reach out for the door handle - when Eren's voice finally filled the room again. It brought your rushed exit to a halt with ease, much to your dismay, and what he had to say did nothing to help your situation.

"Who's to say I ever lied?"

Your heart both soared and sank at the same time, the conflict in your head skyrocketing as your thoughts drove you mad. What did Eren mean by that? Lie about what exactly? It was the way his words were always so devoid of clarity that hurt the most. The brunette was exceedingly blunt yet always left you inquiring more, prying further until it was too late. A mind game that pulled you in and kept you playing. You admittedly almost swayed.

But so close to the door, your hand wavering in the air just begging to open it - it was enough to prevent such a thing a happening. You knew if you headed back it would be the end, you would somehow get more hurt than you already had. It was a risky move you didn't want to place your bets on, you had come too far to be foolish.

So taking a deep breath you reached out for the handle and gripped it tight. You turned the knob and braced yourself to leave, blocking Eren from your mind as you lifted your foot to the eleventh step. Then the twelfth. Then the thirteenth, and finally onto the floor above the jail cells.

Closing that door behind you felt like the freshest of cleanses, your body sighing out in relief when it clicked shut.

Sadly though, you didn't have time to celebrate. The whole encounter surely caught up with you, as did the tears you had been saving for when you were finally alone. Just like they guaranteed, the hot, salty liquid singed the corners of your eyes and the tears returned. Before you could do anything, a cry broke out and you staggered until your back hit the door. The hinges jolted loudly, most likely attracting the attention of someone nearby. Whether it be a guard around the corner or one of your friends in search of your location. Maybe even Hange or Levi coming to check up on you. Whichever it was, they were in for a shock.

Your heart raced with anxiety, mind and body overwhelmed by inner turmoil that made you sick to your gut. The nausea was so bad you had to hold your stomach with your spare arm, fighting the urge to violently vomit all whilst controlling your reckless sobs that didn't cease their slander. Your vision went blurry from how much you broke down, unable to blink the tears away no matter your efforts.

Fearing the unknown had always been a part of who you were. But had somewhat simmered down as you grew older and developed mentally through being a soldier. However, all that progress reversed in an instant as your mind flashed back to the thought of Eren. How someone who used to possess so much passion now resorted to an empty vessel. The way he admitted to your insignificance with such little struggle, only to proceed to confuse you even more by implying he had never told a single lie. Was he even talking about you when he said that? Or something else completely unrelated?

A little bit of confirmation wouldn't hurt anybody.

It was odd to have Eren be the reason for your tears after so many years of him typically being the one to dry them off your face. Though thinking about it, he had been the leading cause for a lot of things as of late. The number a very concerning amount indeed. You barely even recognised him anymore. The once caring soul you fell in love with was no longer there, replaced with a man who had discovered the bittersweet lust for power based on a corrupted idealogy. Such a ruthless lust that it no longer mattered how that idealogy came to be, just as long as he managed to taste an essence of it.

You hated it. You hated that of all people it was Eren who tumbled down that drain. How did you allow yourself to fall in love with someone so possible of committing such atrocities? To worship him and give him everything you had, only to be told it was all for nothing and you were fighting a losing battle. You knew it was hopeless to hold on and believe that your Eren might return but at this rate that seemed unattainable. Not after witnessing him firsthand. The only thing left now was to move on and pray the world was on your side.

Part of you didn't want to move on though, so familiar with Eren as your crutch that a world without him sounded terrifying. You had grown so used to his presence in your life that all of this still felt so surreal no matter the fact you were very much living in it. Living in an endless hell that never allowed anyone a moment's peace. Not you. Not even Eren. Not a single human being on the planet. Nobody.

Just... where along the line had it all gone so painfully wrong?

#attack on titan #shingeki no kyoujin x reader #aot x reader #snk x reader #eren x reader #eren jeager #eren jeager x reader #x reader #angst #eren yeager angst #eren yaegar #eren aot #eren fic #eren yeager fic

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bwbatta · 5 years ago

Text

four - believable

Abstract: Draco and you are just friends so doing him a favour and pretending to be his girlfriend wouldn’t effect your friendship right?

Pairing: Draco Malfoy x reader

Warnings: this is super fluffy beware

Word count: 3944

A/N: well, I’m back and BOY do I have a good one for you! Christmasy vibes are at 100% as I’m struggling to believe Christmas has actually been and gone, hopefully this will fulfil your Christmas Draco cravings!

Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist | Part 3

If you thought people gossiped too much about the rumour of Draco and you being in a relationship before it was even confirmed, the gossip that was instigated from your kiss in the middle of the Great Hall was on another level.

No one said it to your face but everyone thought the chemistry between the two of you surely couldn’t have been faked.

Little did they know though, right?!

Whispers died down after a couple weeks of seeing the two of you walk around holding hands or with Draco’s arm over your shoulder pulling you close in his grip.

In fact the two of you touching in some way became such a constant that it almost felt odd when his hand wasn’t resting on your leg while you were together.

The one thing that wasn’t so weird to come from the game you two had going on, was how Pansy had dialled down her desperate attempts to seduce the blonde Malfoy heir.

Sure she still tried when you weren’t around, but it was a lot less than before and all her attempts were rebuffed and ignored by Draco.

After about a month, her attempts had dwindled and come to a halt.

Not that the two of you noticed that much.

You both had to admit, you enjoyed how things were with each other right now, not that you’d tell the other.

“Hey Sweetheart”

Broken out of your thoughts you looked up to see the familiar blonde approaching you with a grin on his face.

The two of you saw each other earlier that day for breakfast and then later for Potions, but since you both chose different courses, you didn’t have the time to cross paths again until later that evening.

You had been flicking through an astronomy textbook, attempting to finally finish your essay in the Library. Christmas was fast approaching which meant so were final deadlines for the term. Mostly you were fine with the workload you had, thanks to a specific muggleborn Gryffindor who had kept you on track, yet astronomy was kicking your arse.

As hard as you tried, you couldn’t tell your constellations apart from your galaxies.

“Hi” you sighed in reply causing the boy to frown

“That doesn’t sound very happy”

“That’s because this Astronomy essay is making me want to knock myself out with a telescope” you rested your head on your arms dejectedly. “It would be less painful.”

Draco didn’t stop the snort escaping his lips as he rolled his eyes at your dramatics and grabbed your excuse of an essay. With a snicker he shot you an amused look at the last line you’d written on the parchment, aka when you’d really given up all hope.

“’The Sirius constellation looks like a dog but you can’t really tell which breed’?! You’re honestly going to give this in?!” he laughed

“You can’t tell though!”

“Well first, Sirius is a star not a constellation and second the constellation it’s in is obviously a terrier.”

“How helpful”

His grey eyes shot you an amused look before gathering up your books and papers and put them away in your bag. Grabbing your hand he pulled you up and out of the Library which you groaned at, complaining you needed to finish your essay.

“I know” he just responded, pulling you close to him by your hands before detaching them and dropping his arm around your shoulder, pressing a kiss to your forehead in the process as he saw a gaggle of Ravenclaws pass you on their way to the Library. “Let’s grab some dinner and then I’ll help you with your essay.”

The kitchens weren’t as busy as usual as dinner was already happening, but still busy enough to have three house elves approach the two of you asking what they could get you.

“Two plates of roast beef, one with extra roast potatoes, the other with extra yorkshire puddings.”

Immediately your stomach growled at the thought of the food to your embarrassment. You really hadn’t realised how hungry you’d gotten.

Almost in no time at all, two steaming hot plates of food were given to you and the two of you made your way to the astronomy tower, taking a seat on the floor so you could take in the view of the setting sun.

“Why are we here? I thought we’d go back to the Library or common room to finish the essay?”

“How else am I gonna teach you the constellations if you can’t see them?!”

You were taken aback a little.

“You’re teaching me by pointing them out? How do you know astronomy?”

“The entirety of my family are named after stars and constellations on my mother’s side. It was something I just knew growing up because she taught me from when I was young.”

“So there’s a star called Draco?”

“A constellation actually” he mused, “it’s suppose to look like a dragon.”

“Suppose to?”

“Looks more like a snake if I’m honest”

The subject changed over dinner to other things you’d each thought of or heard throughout the day, when you hadn’t seen each other. Apparently the head boy and head girl had been caught by McGonagall in a broom closet getting frisky.

There had also been a fight which had broken out in the Herbology greenhouses which resulted in a mandrake pot being shattered and everyone fainting because of the screams from the young plant.

The real highlight of the day however, was the rumour of the Ancient Runes professor showing an interest in one of the sixth year Hufflepuffs.

“Contrary to popular belief, those Hufflepuffs aren’t as innocent as everyone might be led to believe” Draco snickered as you slapped his arm jokingly.

“I can’t believe a professor here would do that thought!”

“We’ve had worse teachers, lets be honest” he laughed. “Lets recall our last five years shall we?!”

“First one was killed by Harry after having You-Know-Who on the back of his head, the second was a complete moron and obliviated himself- one was a werewolf! Then lets not forget the disguised death eater and then finally this year we’ve been delighted to have the pink toad as a teacher.”

“I feel like we’ve really lucked out if I’m honest” Draco snorted as you snickered at the humoured sarcasm you shared.

A cold breeze shifted through the open tower when the sun finally set, causing you to shiver involuntarily. Deciding to only wear a thin jumper, forgoing your robes whilst you studied earlier may not have been the smartest idea once the two of you decided to eat at that destination.

Draco noticed and immediately leaned back against the wall, holding his arms out to you.

“Come here”

With a shuffle, you were under his arm, pressed against him as you settled into his side, his body heat being a welcoming factor.

“Merlin, you’re freezing” he frowned pulling you closer before conjuring up an emerald green blanket.

“Winter doesn’t really agree with me,” you joked “now tell me about these bloody constellations.”

“Well you’ve got the northern constellations and the southern ones. The northern include some such as Andromeda, Cassiopeia, Lyra and Pegasus. The southern have ones like Ara, Orion, and Canis’ Major and Minor.”

“Which one is Draco in?”

“Northern” he grinned down at you as you reciprocated his smile. “You then also have the zodiac constellations which are the 12 most commonly known ones.”

“Like Sagittarius, Aquarius and all that?”

“Yep. Within all those constellations, you’ve then got your stars.”

The blonde boy explained the basics of the stars to you almost effortlessly as your gaze flicked back and forth from him to the sky, when he pointed out which section he was talking about.

He talked non stop about the stars and you couldn’t help but admire the Slytherin as he spoke of the subject. Draco wasn’t arrogantly top of the class like Hermione was, but he was in no way lacking in knowledge when it came to subjects he knew about like it was second nature.

Time passed you both by like the cool breeze that surrounded you, and before you knew it, hours had passed just being in each others company as he easily gave you enough clarity to finish off your essay, without even having to resort to drastic measures.

You also learnt so much more than any astronomy professor had taught you in all your years at Hogwarts.

Maybe that was just because they weren’t as captivating as the blonde beside you.

You wouldn’t say it out loud, but you knew exactly what your favourite constellation was after that evening, and it just so happened to look like a dragon.

Christmas drew closer and Draco was adamant on sticking to his side of the deal, so with a sigh he set off to Hogsmeade in search of the extensive list of Christmas gifts he had promised to get you.

He had to appear like the perfect boyfriend after all.

Something was nagging at him though and it was constantly circling his mind as he trudged down in the frost to the village.

It had been that evening when the two of you were in the astronomy tower and he was teaching you about the stars, when it had happened.

In the midst of his talking, he pointed out the Orion constellation before glancing down at you and pausing a second to catch his breath, not because he was chatting too much, but because in the vivid light of the moon, you were ethereal.

He had whole heartedly planned to carry on talking, but the sight of you, curled up against him, with the moonlight highlighting your features, his breath was stolen from him.

Almost in a trance he brushed the back of his fingers against your cheekbone causing you to snap your gaze to him, eyes wide at the delicate gesture.

Your wide eyes shocked him out of his state and immediately he paused awkwardly, racking his brain for some kind of excuse.

“Um... eyelash” he murmured, grey eyes not breaking from your own.

“...thanks.”

His mind was screaming at him to just carry on talking, yet no words came out of his mouth.

Instead, almost like his body had a mind of it’s own, his fingers continued to move to brush away the lock of hair which had fallen out of it’s place.

Finally gaining control of his actions again, he dropped his hand and pulled you closer to him, effectively breaking your line of sight. Draco began to talk about Orion again but his mind wasn’t 100% paying attention to the facts that came out his mouth.

What the hell was that?

Shaking those questions from his head, he pressed his lips to your temple and continued his rambling about stars.

It had been quick, fleeting, but Draco hadn’t missed it and he really hoped you had. The affection which was suppose to be scripted for everyone else’s belief had reared it’s head like it was second nature to the pair.

You hadn’t said anything or brought it up so Draco definitely wasn’t going to.

He agreed with himself it was probably best left unspoken about. It was a slip up, something which felt right to do at the time but it wouldn’t happen again.

Attempting to convince himself, he muttered about how you probably didn’t even notice. It was nothing.

After all, whatever was happening affectionately between the two of you wasn’t real.

In short, you’d noticed.

Draco showing you affection was nothing new, yet Draco showing it when no one else was around, okay, that was new.

The kiss he left on your temple could of course be in a friendly manner, right? The brush against your cheek? The way he looked at you?

Friends are affectionate to each other, it was probably nothing more than a friendly endearment. Like a hug.

So why did it feel like there was so much more unsaid?

With a groan of annoyance, you shut it from your mind. There was no use in overthinking something as small as a simple affection. You were smarter than that.

The truth was, the two of you were so hellbent on making everyone around you believe you were in a relationship, you failed to noticed how neither of you denied how believable it was to each other.

Your stomach grumbled loudly, catching the attention of the witch opposite you who eyed you with annoyance.

“Are you just going to sit there, starve yourself and annoy me, or are you going to get some food and leave so I can work in peace?”

“Merlin, Hermione, it’s almost like you don’t want me around.”

“I don’t when you’re distracting me”

“Charming as ever, I see”

With a huff, the bookworm turned her attention back to her books.

Completely bored with your homework, you fidgeted with your quill between your fingers.

“Hey, Hermione? Are you going home for Christmas?”

“You couldn’t ask me this later?” she sighed as she paused in her writing and shot you an irritated look. At the shake of your head, she rolled her eyes. “Yes, My family and I are planning on going skiing again. Are you heading back?”

“Not this year, my parents are off visiting my cousins in America so I said I’d stay at Hogwarts.”

“You’re staying here for Christmas?”

A new voice entered your conversation from behind you and at the look of Hermione’s scowl, you knew immediately it was your blonde boyfriend.

Turning in your seat, you greeted him with a smile. Pecking a kiss to your lips, more for Hermione’s purpose than your own, he took the seat next to you, placing his own stack of books on the table next to you.

“Yeah, like I said, parents are going to America, it’s just easier if I stay.”

“Not many others are planning on staying though, not even the Weasleys” Draco frowned.

You shrugged at his insinuation, knowing exactly what he was getting at.

“I’ll be fine, might actually get some peace and quiet to be honest.”

He didn’t look convinced.

“I’ll write to my parents and tell them I’m staying for Christmas”

“Draco-”

“Nope, I’m not going to let you spend Christmas alone,” he was adamant, “Can I borrow a piece of parchment, I’ll write to them now.”

“Go ahead, I’m not using it” you replied which earned you an exasperated look from the Gryffindor opposite you, which you ignored.

Hermione took the time to observe the two of you and how effortlessly you interacted around each other. It was like a cleverly choreographed piece.

You looked down at your work, Draco looked up at you. Draco looked down at the letter he was now writing, you looked up at Draco. You rested your hand on his arm when you were talking, he leans into your touch.

The Granger witch couldn’t help but almost admire the chemistry between the two of you and how easy it seemed it was to be with the other. Sure, she had doubts at the very start when you’d just begun dating, yet getting a front row seat to seeing the two of you bounce off each other, Hermione Granger believed wholeheartedly the two of you loved each other.

Even if you didn’t know it yourselves yet.

Draco had followed through with his promise and as it seemed every other student had journeyed down to the train a couple days ago. The two of you were sat happily in the Astronomy tower, basking in the silence of the castle and embracing how relaxing it was.

Since the first time the two of you had sat around the tower before, it seemed like this was the place you both chose to come every time when it was just the two of you.

Neither of you had brought up the small affection from the previous time, but acting like it didn’t happen seemed like it was working for the two of you.

“What’s the best Christmas gift you’ve ever gotten?” Draco asked you after a few moments of silence.

You had to think for a moment before a grin rapidly grew across your face at the exact present you knew you loved.

“Snitch socks,” you chuckled “I was given a pair by my grandma when I was like 10 or something and they were the fluffiest, comfiest pair of socks I ever owned where there was a little charm with made the snitches fly around the design. They must’ve cost a knut or something as they fell apart after I only wore them for a few days! Young me was so heartbroken about her socks, she cried for three days!”

“You cried over socks?!”

“The best socks! I don’t think I’ve even known real joy since”

Draco snorted out a laugh into your hair as he wrapped an arm round your shoulders.

“That’s so stupid”

“Don’t be such a jerk, I was 10” you scowled at him playfully “besides, my grandma passed away a couple years later and I have no idea where she got them, so I’ve made my peace with it.”

“Would you still wear them now if you got another pair?”

“Oh 100%, but either way, like I said, I’ve made my peace with it.” You shrugged nonchalantly before turning to the boy next to you, “go on then, what’s been your favourite Christmas present ever?!”

“A pocket watch” he grinned reaching into his pocket and pulling one out, passing it over to you to look at. “It’s a Black family heirloom - my Mother’s side of the family, and it’s suppose to keep you on time for everything. It used to belong to one of my great uncles or someone but I’ve never been late to anything when I have this on me.”

“Really?” you asked sceptically

“Really”

“What about that time you were late to potions?!”

“Left it in my dorm accidentally. Actually that whole day was kind of a disaster. Bloody Pansy and her love potion.”

You snorted as you admired the watch and flipped it over in your palm to examine the back. Cursive words were engraved in the back in another language- probably latin, which had something to do with keeping the owner on time, all the time.

It was silver and about the size of a large golf ball in diameter, yet surprisingly light as you played with it between your fingers.

“It’s pretty”

Draco hummed in agreement as he watched you trace the intricate details with your fingers before smiling and handing it back to him. With a fond look at the watch, then you, he slipped it back into his pocket.

“I just pray I don’t lose it, wouldn’t hear the end of it from my Mother”

“For good reason probably” you snorted, “if it’s a family heirloom it probably means a lot to her.”

Draco hummed once again and pinned his warm gaze on you. He wouldn’t say it out loud but he rarely let the things that meant a lot to him out of his sight.

“God rest ye merry hippogriffs-”

“I’m begging you to stop”

“-ye are A BIRD OF PREY!”

“Y/N-”

“We come in all our splendour, to lead ye ast--”

A hand covered your mouth as you laughed heavily at Draco’s attempt to quieten your singing. You had purposefully tried to make it the worst edition of the Christmas carol possible to annoy the blonde that Christmas morning, yet you hadn’t planned on being tackled into the Slytherin sofa as an attempt to be shut up.

“Did you just lick my hand?!”

You shook your head innocently, not fooling Draco for a second.

The two of you had gathered in the Slytherin common room, as most of the house had gone back for the holiday.

Only a couple of students remained, but after the wizard had glared at the couple of second years, they scattered somewhere else for the time being.

“Okay, presents!”

You almost dived under the tree as you caught sight of a carefully wrapped gift with your name on it. However, finding the label attached to a rather large bundle of Honeydukes chocolates, the smile you shot Draco was almost blinding.

“You did get me the chocolates!!”

“I promised, didn’t it?!”

Draco watched you with a fond grin as you rifled through the basket picking out a couple of chocolate frogs and chucked one to him. He caught the small packet quickly, thanking his seeker reflexes as he did, and looked at you questioningly.

“What, you didn’t think I’d be able to get through all these myself?! Plus I know chocolate frogs are your favourite.”

Draco felt his smile grow wider.

“I got something for you too” you matched his smile

“You did?”

“Of course!”

Pulling out a long rectangular box from under the tree, he kneeled down next to you as he pushed it along the floor so it wasn’t obstructed by anything.With a wary look towards you, he paused slightly.

“It’s not anything that will bite, right?”

“Oh shut up, of course not, now open it!”

With a roll of his eyes, the Malfoy ripped off the wrapping paper and pried open the cardboard box to see the broom he had been envying Harry Potter over for the last year.

“You got me a Firebolt?!”

“Couldn’t have you whining about Harry’s broom any longer, could I?!”

“Merlin, Y/N! This is fantastic, thank you!” He grinned at you before his eyes snapped to the tree and back. “There’s some other things for you still under the tree.”

It was your turn to pin him with a questioning look, eyebrows pulled together in a frown.

Turning back to the tree, you pulled up a few branches and spotted another large box at the back. With great effort, to which the Malfoy just found great entertainment in, you managed to retrieve the box. Pulling open the top flap, the boots and jacket he had also promised you, sat inside.

With a laugh you pulled the boots out first and then the jacket, before spotting a smaller bundle at the bottom. Reaching in, your fingers came in contact with something soft which you pulled out, only to gasp at what it was.

A pair of fluffy green socks sat in your hand as golden snitches whizzed round the design. Not being able to find your words, you looked up at Draco with the softest look you were sure you’d ever looked at him with.

“Draco... you got me snitch socks?!”

“I may have mentioned about the socks to my Mother and she just so happened to know where they were sold. I picked the green ones because I couldn’t have you wearing red ones now, could I?”

“Merlin, they’re perfect! Thank you, thank you, thank you!”

Pretty much launching yourself at him, you pulled Draco into a warm hug, arms around his neck, as he instinctively wrapped his own arms around your waist in return.

“You are the best boyfriend ever, oh Merlin!”

“If I knew it was this easy to please you, I would’ve bought you them ages ago” he snickered.

You pulled away, only to move to put the socks on as you chatted non stop about how great they were, and in turn, how great he was. Seeing your entire face light up because of a pair of socks made Draco smile even more.

Again, he wouldn’t admit it out loud, but seeing that smile on your face, which he had 100% been responsible for, made his entire Christmas so much better.

#Draco Malfoy #dating Draco Malfoy #draco malfoy series #draco x reader #draco malfoy x reader #Draco Malfoy Headcanon #draco malfoy imagine #draco imagine #Harry Potter #harry potter series #harry potter headcanon #harry potter imagine #harry potter x reader

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tyongxnct · 4 years ago

Text

𝑛𝑜𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 - 𝑁𝑎 𝐽𝑎𝑒𝑚𝑖𝑛

𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 - 𝐍𝐚 𝐉𝐚𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧

pairing: Jaemin x reader

special guest: Jeno

summary: Letting random guys use your body wouldn’t bring him back, you knew it, but you still let them use you. Jaemin, the love of your life, promised you to come back. When Jaemin left to fulfill his dream of becoming an idol, he told you that he’d come back to get you. You fed yourself with lies and you were still waiting for him, even after years. You didn’t want to let someone else love you, only Jaemin could love you.

song: nobody - Selena Gomez

genre: breakup!au, idol!au, angst, a dash of fluff

warnings: mentions of sex, swearing, not a happy ending

word count: 1,7k

A/N: This one’s really short but i still love it so much. I hope you like it as much as I do. Have fun reading 𝑛𝑜𝑏𝑜𝑑𝑦 !!!

No heart, no hands, no skin, no touch Can get me there, nowhere enough To love me like you do, to love me like you do No kiss, no lips, no feel, no rush Can you keep me high, I swear no one Can love me like you do, can love me like you do, no

“We should do that again.”

You felt bad. You felt so bad for trying to replace him, replace his touches on your body and the taste on your lips.

“Yo, can I use your bathroom?” Jeno asked you. You just nodded. You hid yourself under your blanket, you didn’t want to look at your naked body, painted with a stranger’s touches.

It was always like this, you trying to get over him with someone else, but nothing and no one helped. Whenever you closed your eyes, it was him. Only his face, his hands on your body and the way he told you that he loved you as he made you cum.

You’ve been dreaming about him, thinking about him, and missing him. It was hard not to, everything reminded you of him. Your apartment, work, even your friends and family.

You felt empty, lost, worthless.

You let them fuck you and use your body, but you still felt useless.

Your soul was wandering around as they thrusted into you, deep, but you never felt like how you felt with him.

Nobody is going to love you like Na Jaemin.

Nobody's gonna love me like you Nobody, uh

three years ago

“Why are you staring at me?” you asked Jaemin after a while.

“You’re pretty.”

It was a night like any other night with him, you had dinner with Jaemin and then you watched a movie, well you watched the movie, he was staring at you the entire time.

“Watch the movie, not me.” You said shyly. “I’d rather watch you.”

You turned your face to him and pecked his lips, the little kiss was too short for Jaemin, so he took your face in his hands and pulled you closer to kiss you fully on the lips. His right hand pulled you on his lap, your legs one each side of his hips and his arms around the small of your back. You wrapped your arms around his neck, pulling him closer, if that was even possible.

He slowly pulled away after your heavy make out session, both of you breathing heavily. “You know, you are the love of my life.” He breathed out as he put his forehead against yours. “You are my soulmate, my better half. My everything.”

“I love you so much, I never thought I’d be capable to feel so much for someone. Well, not just someone. You are Y/n and you are perfect. I don’t know what I did in my past lives to deserve you. I wish we could get married now, I can’t wait any longer, but I promise you, I’ll marry you one day.”

You felt the tears roll down your face. The words that left Jaemin’s lips made you feel so special, so loved and just over the moon.

“J-jaemin-“ you whimpered.

“Baby, are you crying? Fuck, I didn’t mean to make you cry.” He panicked and wiped away your tears with his thumbs.

“J-Jaemin I love you so, so much, I don’t think that I could live a day without you. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.” And then, he kissed you again.

His hands caressed your skin under your shirt as your hands wandered to his hair. “I love you.” He whispered against your lips.

No oxygen, can barely breathe My darkest sin, you've raised release And it's all because of you, all because of you And I don't know what it is, but you've pulled me in No one compares, could ever begin To love me like you do And I wouldn't want them to 'Cause

“We should go on a date, like, a real date. Not just fucking. I’m mean I love to fuck you, but yeah, I like you-“

Going on a date with someone who wasn’t Jaemin? You would never do that. You would never even think of doing romantic stuff with someone who wasn’t Jaemin.

They could fuck you and that’s it. No strings attached.

“Not gonna happen.” You put your bra and panties back on and ignored Jeno’s gaze on your body.

“Why? You can give me a chance. A simple dinner. Come on, Y/n. It won’t kill you.” Jeno still insisted.

It won’t kill you because you were already dead.

You couldn’t do that, you couldn’t let him manipulate you. You promised yourself that you’d only love Na Jaemin and you promised him. You would never dare to break that promise, because you only loved Jaemin and that would never change. Nobody could change that.

“I said no. If you want more than what we have, fine, go to someone else. I don’t need that, and I don’t need you.” You said coldly.

“He won’t come back. You know that right? You can push me away as much as you want, you’ll never get him back. He’s gone, Y/n. And he will never come back. Not for you. He left you, he left you because he didn’t love you as much as you love him. He left you because you weren’t enough for him. Jaemin left you behind, he left you all alone and broken and you will never get him back because he simply loves his idol life more than he has ever loved you. He’s in a fucking relationship and here you are still crying over him after years! Jaemin is not worth your love! Get that through your thick skull Y/n!” Jeno yelled at you.

You looked at him without any emotion on your face. “He loves me. He promised me he’ll come back to me. Jaemin promised me. He promised me that we’ll marry each other and that we’ll be happy together forever. Jaemin promised and he never breaks his promises.”

You were breathing heavily without noticing it, your voice broke and tears streamed down your face. Your hands were formed into fists and your nails dug into your palms. “He promised…” you whispered before you broke down completely. You were on your knees, crying your heart out because deep down you knew. You knew that he left you forever.

You were screaming hysterically and punching the floor with the little strength you had left.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, please stop crying. I shouldn’t have said that.” He caged you in his arms to stop you from hurting yourself. You let him. For the first time in forever you let someone who wasn’t Jaemin hug you.

“It’s okay, let it all out, it’s okay.” He whispered. You hugged him back, “It hurts so bad.” You sobbed into his chest. “I know, it’ll get better, I promise you.”

You cried in his arms until you fell asleep. Your body was exhausted and so was your soul.

Nobody's gonna love me like you Nobody, uh

Two years ago

“I love you, baby. But this is a huge opportunity for me. I can finally live my dream. I can finally become an artist.” He hugged you and you didn’t say a word.

“You know how much this means to me, right? Babe. Look at me.” He cupped your face and you looked at him with bloodshot eyes.

“You know I love you right?” he asked.

“I-I love you too a-and I’m so, so proud of you. I’m c-crying because I’m so happy for you.” You forced a smile on your face.

You weren’t lying. You were proud and happy for him, but the thought of being apart hurts you so much.

“So, you understand that I have to go?” he pecked your lips.

You nodded, “Y-Yes, and everyone is going to see my talented boyfriend. Everyone’s going to love you- Na Jaemin. You’re perfect and you deserve this so much.”

“You’re the best supportive girlfriend someone could ask for. Don’t worry baby, I’ll come back, and I’ll take you with me. Remember? I promised to marry you and I always keep my promises.”

“I love you, Jaemin. So much, I don’t know enough words to describe it.”

“I love you too baby. I’ll love you forever.” He pressed his lips on yours. Jaemin kissed you with so much passion and longing and you kissed him back and you knew that would be your last kiss.

That night, Jaemin showed you how much he loved you with his hands and lips all over your body. It was not your first-time having sex with Jaemin, but it was your last time.

I don't want nothing else Not when I've had the best I don't want nothing else 'Cause you showed me the best

One year ago

Na Jaemin and Shin Seolhyun reported to be dating!

You looked at that article for hours. Dispatch also added pictures of their secret dates, it was definitely Jaemin and a really pretty girl was on his side. It was hard to see his face. He was wearing a cap and sunglasses, he looked like a celebrity- well, he is a celebrity.

You cried yourself to sleep that night and when you woke up the next day, you wished you would never have woken up.

NCT ENTERTAINMENT CONFIRMES NA JAEMIN AND SHIN SEOLHYUN’S RELATIONSHIP

That was the big headline, once you started reading, you couldn’t stop the tears.

Na Jaemin and Shin Seolhyun are currently meeting each other and have mutual feelings for each other. They have been dating for 4 months already!

Congratulations to the couple!

He broke his promise. Na Jaemin broke his promise to love you forever.

You tried to erase that day, that day you decided to let men to use your body to forget about Jaemin. You and Jaemin were dating for four years and it’s been two years since he left you without contacting you ever again. Jaemin broke his promise but you were still completely in love with him. It hurt so much, so much to see him happy with someone else. Did he promise her to marry her too? Did he love her like he loved you? Did he forget about you?

No matter how often you let someone fuck and use you. No matter how much you tried to distract yourself. No matter how much you tried to hate him, you couldn’t. You couldn’t hate him, and you couldn’t let someone else love you, because nobody, nobody could love you like Na Jaemin.

SEQUEL: 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 - 𝐍𝐚 𝐉𝐚𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧

#jaemin angst #na jaemin angst #jaemin #na jaemin #nct angst #nct jaemin #jeno #nct jeno #nct dream angst #jaemin x you #jaemin x reader #nct scenarios #nct songfic #nct dream

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danidrabbles · 4 years ago

Text

Cowboy Like Me - Part One

Story Summary: HERE.

Chapter Summary: Three months after your arrival at Statesman’s Kentucky department, Jack and yourself are sent out on your first assignment together. You find out you didn’t know your partner as well as you thought you did, while Jack is forced to confront the decisions he made one year prior.

Rating: M ......for now.

Word Count: 11.2k (I know...) (also, the irony of this blog being named danidrabbles vs. this word count is not lost on me, trust me)

Warnings: Language, canon-typical violence (mentions and use of weapons, mentions of death and murder), alcohol, innuendo but no smut, feeeelings, way too many creative liberties with / assumptions about the art world - I think that’s it, but please let me know if I missed anything!

Notes: Absolutely terrifying to share my child in fanfic form with the world, but here we are... This story (even this first chapter) has known many versions, but this final one would not have been here if it hadn’t been for Astrid @javier-pena, who quite literally dragged me through this with her constant encouragement and unlimited enthusiasm. Please read her wonderful Mandalorian fic ‘The Hunt’. Astrid, I’m tipping my imaginary cowboy hat down to say that I can’t thank you enough, darlin’. I also want to mention @frannyzooey and @jura-moon who, with their stories, have inspired me endlessly and relit the writing flame within me that had gone out. Thank you!

PART ONE: LONDON.

“No, wait,” you whisper, and you hold two fingers up to emphasise your words.

“Wasn’t gonna do anything,” Jack hisses back.

The two of you are taking cover behind a broad column, face to face to fit the space together. The footsteps to your side stop, and then there’s the sound of hushed voices, too soft to make out what they’re saying. There are five of them, that much you know, all equipped with a gun.

You nod down at the hand resting on the holster under his arm, raising an eyebrow. “Sure.”

“Not yet,” he clarifies with a sigh. “But hiding here ain’t it… Eventually, it’s only gonna expose us more.”

“We’ve got to wait,” you say. “Listen, they’re eager, right? They’ll come to us, and if we wait for them to come to us, we can take them out in close quarters instead of at long range.” Your head perks up at the soft sounds coming from the other side of the room.

“That’d be a perfect idea if you had your little knives and I had my whip, but we gotta take ‘em out with these,” he reminds you, holding his gun up for you to see. “Remember?”

You sigh, palming the gun still sheathed in the holster on your hip. He’s right, you acknowledge with a nod, it is different without your weapons of choice. “What about visibility?”

Above you, there’s a light flickering on and off, colouring your surroundings in bright red at steady intervals, forcing your eyes to refocus every time colour bleeds back into the room.

“Think it’s a disadvantage for all of us,” he provides.

The sound of footsteps is back, this time almost rhythmical, on your left and right. “They’re probably splitting up,” you whisper, listening again before you add, “Three on the left, two on the right? Maybe?”

He listens, too. “Sounds about right.” Then, he grins. “How ‘bout a little competition, hmm? First one to take out three wins.”

Your face falls and you manage a sharp, “Jack, no,” but shit— He’s already rounding the corner. You have no choice but to come out of hiding to cover him, following only a second after he emerges from behind the column. The sight of the both of you, guns raised, fills the room with silence, until Jack fires a warning shot, which makes the footsteps turn frantic. There’s a sound to your left, and you turn, quickly firing at one of your assailants who has their gun pointed at Jack’s back, hitting them right in the chest.

Jack’s head whips around in surprise. “Thank you, darlin’,” he says, an appreciative smile apparent in-between the flickers of light. “But that one was on my side, so that makes the score one to zero in my favor.”

“All I heard was, ‘First one to take out three wins’, nothing about sides,” you counter. “Which would make it one to zero in my favor.”

“Hmm,” is all he says, and it sounds far too amused.

“What’s that?”

“S’nothing, I just… knew you’d play along if I made you.”

You roll your eyes at his remark, then refocus, scanning your surroundings. There’s crates, columns, some furniture; plenty of places to obscure you from view. You can’t see a thing during the little intervals where the lights aren’t on and it makes you feel dazed, like you’re moving in slow-motion. There’s also no footsteps, so you decide that forcing everyone to the back of the room by checking the hiding places is probably the best course of action, as it will eventually leave them cornered, easier targets. Turning to convey your plans to your partner, you find him gone from your side.

Then there’s a grunt, and a thud, and then Jack’s voice echoes through the room, “One-one.”

Before you can even think of replying, a shot flies over your shoulder, and you dive behind a large crate. You look over the top with narrow eyes, spotting someone hanging from the ceiling. It’s a smart move in theory, but only if you don’t miss; it draws attention, reveals your position. You wait, and when no shot follows, you look over the crate again, seeing the person who just shot at you struggle with their weapon.

You raise your gun, take your aim and hit them in the chest at the exact same moment as the room lights up. Another shot rings out behind you, followed by a groan, and you immediately turn towards the sound. You find Jack standing there, looking far too proud and with a body slung over one of the chairs behind you.

“Thought I’d return the favor and make things exciting,” he says. “That’s two-to-two.”

You offer him a short, fake smile, then move through the room with him. It’s nearly impossible, with Jack wedging himself into your path to be the first to check your corners on account of the current score, and after some frantic shuffling from your target, and some missed shots from you and Jack, there’s only one spot left. You will yourself to focus on the far corner of the room, cross stepping closer and closer with Jack hot on your heels.

“You’re paying attention, right?” Jack says, picking up his step again until he’s slightly ahead of you. You can see the grin on his face form between the flickers of the lights overhead. “’‘Cause I would just hate for you to lose, doll.”

God, you hadn’t even agreed to participate in this pointless bet, but you can’t help but think about how satisfying it would be to wipe that grin right off his face when you win…

Suddenly there’s a shuffle from behind the couch in front of you, followed by a click, and it makes you both duck just before two shots come your way in quick succession. Jack’s hand closes over your upper arm, dragging you behind the fallen table he’s found cover behind, and you’re both silent for a second to listen to more shuffling from your target’s hiding place, followed by two more shots.

“Looks like we’ve successfully trapped our rat in the corner,” Jack says, voice low.

You nod. “Okay, I’ll go, you c—”

“Oh, hell no.” Jack chuckles softly. “Nice try, but I ain’t handin’ you the victory on a silver platter like that.”

Your shoulders drop with a sigh, “You know I don’t actually care about this bet, right? Just need you to cover me.”

He makes a face, then pulls another 10-bullet magazine from the clip around his waist as he thinks. After sliding it into place and pulling his hand back overtop the weapon, a tick confirms the reloading of his gun, and he gives you a quick nod.

“I’m going to need verbal confir—”

“Just fuckin’ go. I’ll cover you.”

Before he can change his mind, or do something decidedly Jack-ish, you step over his body, staying low, as you sneak out of hiding on the opposite side of the table during a moment where the room is covered in darkness. Behind you, you hear Jack mutter a soft curse before he begins shooting in the general direction of where the shots had originated earlier.

You approach carefully, operating out of sight. When you’re close enough, you press your back up against the nearest column. Quickly checking your gun between the flickering lights, you nod to yourself, then hold it close to you as you start to count when your distracted opponent fires back at Jack.

One, two, three…

four, five…

six.

Bingo.

You approach the couch, pointing your gun over it. The man behind it immediately raises his own weapon at you, aims for your chest and fires, but all that follows is a soft click, accompanied by a look of horror on his face at the realization he’s emptied his magazine.

In the split-second you contemplate your options, the bet entering your thoughts again, Jack comes up to stand beside you. You take him in from the corner of your eye. He’s not looking at you but has his gun still firmly held in both hands. When you turn slightly to look up at him, your eyes meet, and you’re sure that in that moment, the exact same thought crosses your minds at the exact same time. You both point your gun down and pull the trigger.

It’s impossible to tell who lands the kill shot in the end.

Jack scoffs, hands dropping to his sides with a shake of his head. “Christ, you liar.”

You’re about to retort when you hear it: a click behind you.

The realization makes your eyes widen, but it’s too late. You hear the shot before you feel it, and it lands right in the middle of your back, making you wobble. Next to you, Jack huffs, hand landing on the back of the couch at the pressure that he’s no doubt also feeling at his back.

It’s silent for what feels like the longest time, save for the heavy breathing behind the two of you. Until…

“You’re out, agents.” Ginger’s voice crackles over the intercom.

The lights flicker on in the room, bright and almost yellow, and the loud buzzer that rings through the practice space indicates the end of training. Around you, everyone rises up from their fake-deaths. They gather around, shrugging out of their protective clothes and celebrating their win, congratulating the last woman standing as they make their way to the exit.

“What the hell, Ginger!” You shout. “You said there were five!”

There’s a soft noise coming through the intercom, before Ginger’s voice is back, “Here’s a refresher: Always verify the information you get, don’t just blindly follow it.”

“Oh, come on…”

Next to you, Jack pulls the magazine of practice bullets from his gun before he holsters it. “It’s not like it really matters,” he says.

“We were just taken out by the recruits,” you scoff. “It matters.”

Meanwhile, your mind is already racing, going over the details of the training, thinking on where you went wrong, but it’s a short contemplation because Ginger is right: You should have confirmed your targets before running out in the open and exposing yourself, have a better plan... Which reminds you—

“Hey,” you say, drawing Jack’s attention again. “Next time I would appreciate a little heads up if you’re going to disappear on me like that,” you say, jabbing your thumb over your shoulder. “I mean, if I can’t even trust you during training, how am I supposed to trust you when we get back out there?”

His eyes narrow and it’s like he’s about to say something, then thinks better of it and turns away from you. “We ain’t going anywhere anytime soon anyway.” His voice is stained with spite and immediately after he says it, he starts making his way towards the exit.

You huff as you pull at the velcro straps to get the vest off your body and drop it into the container with the rest of the protective clothes next to the door, before following after him.

He isn’t wrong, per se. You don’t know about the details because it seems to be a sensitive topic judging from the one time you brought it up, but Jack had been put on non-active months ago after a mission in Cambodia and hasn’t been sent out by Statesman since. After a bit of an unconventional first meeting between the two of you, Champ, the head of Statesman, had decided that partnering you two up would be a good idea. Truthfully, it made sense; Jack’s a senior agent who needs to be eased back into things, you’re a junior agent who could learn from him while you could keep him reined in.

But it’s been three months since and you still haven’t been sent out on a mission, and it isn’t how you envisioned your transfer to this division of Statesman to be.

You imagined high-stakes missions, traveling the world, learning from the best—

Okay, maybe that last part had worked out.

Truth be told, Jack had proven himself a very capable agent from the very moment you met, but it didn’t really sink in until one of your first training sessions, when you discovered Jack insisted on carrying around a lasso and whip on top of this Statesman issued gun. You laughed it off at first, thinking it was just part of his cowboy-like fashion sense. Then he opted to practice his lasso skills on you, betting he could catch you with it in under a minute. Figuring it would take him more than a minute to even find you in the large training space, you agreed. In hindsight, the smirk on his face when he asked should have been enough for you to realize your mistake right away. He found you, got the rope looped around your body, and, rather indignantly, forced you to the ground; all in under 36 seconds.

It wasn’t until after, when the rope was looped around a rubber target dummy, that he showed you the lasso could turn electric…

You continued your sessions together, learning to anticipate each other’s moves, play off of them to use it against your opponent; getting a routine down and using the training time to prepare for your missions. But there’s only so much preparing you can do, especially with someone who is as much of a wildcard as Jack, someone who often makes his own plan. But the missions never came, causing Jack to become somewhat of a ticking time bomb, closer to exploding with each passing day that you weren’t sent out. You’re sure Champ has noticed by now, but still, he insists on having you train together more. And, on occasion, that means playing target practice for the new Statesman recruits.

“Being taken out by the recruits isn’t going to improve our chances, you know.” You jog after him until you’re walking next to him.

“That mean we should just take it?” Jack asks, manoeuvring through the corridors back to the main building, bumping your shoulder occasionally.

“Whatever happened to, ‘You know me darlin’, I’m always jumpin’ at the chance to pencil in a little extra training time with you’?” you manage in your best impression of his voice to echo the words he said before the two of you entered the training space earlier.

“I changed my mind and thought of something better, that’s what happened,” he says, looking at you before gesturing between the two of you. “Us two, puttin’ all our hard work to good use out there in the field. And I don’t mean any funny business.”

“Hmm, yeah, no, exactly, ‘cause we don’t practice that kind of stuff.”

You set it up for him, and you have a feeling he knows but can’t help himself. One corner of his mouth turns up, and you consider the slight change in his demeanour a small victory.

“But we could.”

You chuckle, open your mouth to reply—

“I know, I know.” He grins, before you can say anything. “Just puttin’ it out there, lest you forget.”

He stops walking, so you do as well, standing next to him and leaning against the wall as to not obstruct the hallway. He turns towards you and for a moment you just look at him as he sighs and combs his fingers through his hair while the furrow returns to his brow. “But… Christ, don’t you wanna get back out there?”

“Of course I do,” you say with a sigh. “At this rate that recruit dangling from the ceiling is going to get a mission before we do.”

“See! That’s what I’m talking about, partner.” He leans in, lowers his voice like he’s about to tell you a secret, “I say we—”

“Hey, Whiskey!” The exclamation echoes through the hall, followed by your own code name. Both your heads perk up at the sound, finding one of the recruits at the end of the hall. “Ginger’s asking for you two!”

Ginger Ale’s promotion to handler meant that she was able to enjoy a lot more of Statesman’s luxuries, including her own office. As you walk in, you can’t help but notice how nice it is: It is spacious, but modest with the way she has decorated it, has a gorgeous view and is full of the latest tech; it is exactly what she deserves.

You’ve gotten to know her well during the past few months. She is intelligent and resourceful, warm and encouraging. Her work is thorough and precise; she cares a great deal about the details of a mission, and you have no doubt that you could always trust her if she were to ever guide you through one.

But training is another story, apparently…

“I’m not accepting any repercussions for that training,” you say the moment you spot her by the window.

Ginger chuckles at that, and it sounds unlike her, like she’s nervous. It’s almost as intriguing as the next words she speaks, “Then I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t call you in here for that. Why don’t you have a seat?”

You shoot a quick glance at Jack, who looks equally responsive despite his silence; lips pursed, an eyebrow cocked. He strides towards her desk to take her up on her invitation, and sits down in one of the two chairs opposite her workspace. You follow quickly, taking a seat in the empty chair beside him, looking up at Ginger as she makes her way to the see-through screen on her desk.

Ginger taps the screen twice, and it lights up. It’s full of pictures of the same man, all taken on different occasions. He’s slender, mid-40s, you’d guess, with a pair of round glasses perched on his nose and has blond, wild hair, some of it missing on the top of his head.

“Nathaniel Jones,” Jack says, leaning in to take a closer look at the pictures. “Nathan resurfaced?”

“Yes,” Ginger says.

“I’m sorry, um, who is Nathan?” you ask, looking from Jack to Ginger and back.

“He’s an art thief,” Ginger answers.

“Not just an art thief, he’s one of the best, even wanted by the good folks at Interpol,” Jack corrects, turning to you. “Steals pieces all over the world and replaces ‘em with fakes, good fakes, then sells ‘em. They even suspect him of stealin’ an ancient Chinese gu from an exhibition in Nanjing, which he kept for his own personal collection. Think he might be capable of puttin’ the Gardner Museum theft to shame someday…” He trails off.

You nod, not entirely sure what that means, but you’re sure it would be an impressive feat. And Jack would know. While he’s been on non-active, Jack has taken up a new hobby: art history. You didn’t think he’d be the man for it, but apparently when Jack sets his sights on something, he goes a little hard, and if the many times he’s threatened to ‘leave the agency and live off that sweet, sweet art appraiser salary’ are anything to go by, he is quite good.

“However, no one has been able to catch him. He leaves no physical evidence, but he always allows himself to be photographed, as you can see,” Ginger says, gesturing towards the screen.

“Show off,” Jack scoffs. “Where did they spot him?”

“London,” Ginger replies, tapping the screen again to reveal an aerial map of the city centre, two red dots corresponding with some of the pictures she’s shown you earlier. “There’s a big auction coming up and he’s expected to strike.”

Suddenly, her words are kicking in. Nathan is like.. he is kind of like a target, isn’t he? And he was spotted in London… Expected to attend an event where he could get caught...

“Ginger, are you—are you saying what I think you’re saying? You’re sending us on a mission?”

“Yes and no. It’s…” Ginger hesitates, eyes flickering to Jack quickly, then continues, “It’s a mission, but it’s not our mission. It’s… It’s at the request of Kingsman.”

But it’s a mission. A real mission, in London. And it's perfect. With Jack's art expertise and both your skills as agents, you’re sure you’d be an excellent addition to the Kingsman team for this mission. A mission. Finally—

“We ain’t goin’.”

—and then Jack says that. His voice is low and dead serious, lacking any hint of sarcasm. “You know I’m not fucking doing that.”

It takes you completely by surprise, and you whip your head around to him so quickly that the muscles in your neck protest. "What?"

He ignores the question, stares straight at Ginger. Something is seriously wrong. He’s tense, maybe even more than you’ve ever seen him. It’s in the way his jaw twitches, and how he’s gripping the arms of the chair, but most of all in his eyes; it’s something you can’t place.

“They just need someone who can look at the pieces they have at the auction house, to authenticate and appraise them before the auction,” Ginger says, “and an extra couple eyes to do surveillance during the auction.”

"You should send someone else, ‘cause I ain't doin’ it."

Ginger sighs. “You think I would ask this of you if there was someone else who could do it?”

“Come on, Ginger,” Jack laughs bitterly, a thumb coming up to swipe at his bottom lip. “No art appraisers available in London?”

“You know they can't just get a civilian in on this.” Ginger sounds frustrated now.

"Well, it’s what Kingsman is gonna have to do."

You raise a brow at the way he snarls at the word ‘Kingsman’. So that’s what this is about. “Okay,” you begin, speaking in the kindest, most understanding tone you can manage as you turn towards your incredibly stubborn partner. “Okay, clearly there’s something going on here, with - with the Kingsman, right? But maybe by going there you can…,” you gesture with your hands to find the right words, “work it out?”

He seems to consider this, lips pursing further, not looking at either you or Ginger, and after some moments of quiet contemplation, he begins to sit up. “Hypothetically — and by that I do mean hypothetically — if I were to agree… Do they even know I’m the one comin’ to consult?”

“Jack—”

“It’s a simple question,” Jack interrupts, voice slightly raised. “Yes or no?”

You give Ginger a hopeful look, but her silence says enough.

Jack lifts himself out of the chair, drawing the same conclusion. “Then there’s no chance in hell.”

"Well, do I get a say in this at all?" Your voice comes out angrier than you intended, but it’s fitting. You are angry. Angry that he’s making decisions without you again, angry that he would blow this chance for the both of you after he hasn’t shut up about how he wants to get sent out on a mission.

"Not in this one,” Jack all but barks at you.

You rise up from your chair. “Excuse me?”

“Sorry, doll, but I’m not going all the way to London to help Kingsman as some sort of… last hurray before we're back to bein’ fucking… practice bait for the recruits!" Rounding the chair, Jack makes his way to the doors to Ginger’s office.

You're about to go after him, demand he tell you what the fuck the big deal with Kingsman even is, when Ginger speaks,

"What if it isn't one last hurray?"

Jack keeps walking. “Don’t bother.”

“If you go, I can talk to Champ about sending you out on more assignments.”

Now that makes Jack stop in his tracks. He doesn’t quite turn around yet, his back is still to Ginger and yourself, but he does angle his head to the side to indicate he heard her. It’s something. You can feel your anger simmering down and your heartbeat picking up; hopeful at Jack’s hesitance, giddy at the prospect of more missions. “And all I have to do is look at the pieces?” His voice is barely any louder than a whisper.

“Look at the pieces, authenticate and appraise them, surveillance,” Ginger summarises. “That’s it.”

His hands find his hips with a sigh, and he tips his head down. He stays like that, oh so still… “Tell them I’ll do it,” he says, “but not because I want to.” Then he pushes the door open and walks away.

“So…” You draw the word out before clicking your tongue.

You’re sitting across from Jack on the jet, still a long way from London. Ginger has arranged for one pretty much right away. Once you’ve gotten over your initial, dazzling impression of the jet – it is enormous, far too much for just two people, with a literal pool table in the middle and a fucking bar with two doors next to it that lead to the sleeping compartments – you begin quietly observing him.

He hasn’t spoken a word since you left Kentucky and, if anything, he seems to get more miserable the closer you get to your destination. The longer you see him like this, the more your enthusiasm for the mission cools, and the more you actually start to get worried this is a bad idea after all.

You have waited as long as your curiosity, and the tension, allow for it, but given the explosive start of this whole thing, you’re certain you have to know the apparent history between him and Kingsman. You’ve tried asking Ginger, as she certainly knows more about it, but she insisted it wasn’t her place to tell you. So, really, you have no choice but to bring it up now.

“When are you going to tell me what the deal is with you and Kingsman?”

“Nothin’ for you to worry about,” comes his instant reply, clearly having anticipated your question. He’s got one hand cupped along his jaw to support his head so he can stare out the small circular window, while his shoulders, judging from his posture and the expression on his face, are currently supporting the weight of the world. “It’s all gonna be just fine.”

You scoff. “Please. I’ve known you for some time now, I’ve seen you in a lot of moods, but I’ve never seen you sulk, and…,” you gesture towards him, slumped back in his seat as he is, “…you’re sulking, Jack. Clearly there’s a good reason for that.”

He sits up at your remark, adjusts his hat, then pinches the bridge of his nose, giving you a clear sign that he doesn’t want to have this conversation – at all, but especially right now. You give him a few more seconds, but when it’s clear he isn’t going to speak, you try another direction.

“Is it um, is it about Cambodia?” you gently pry.

“Woman, can’t you take a hint?” he grunts. “Or do you just like getting a rise outta me?”

“I’m not asking just because I’m curious what can get such a rise out of you,” you say. “This is an assignment, technically it’s our first official one - the bank doesn’t count,” you add quickly. “And I would just like to be a little more prepared than last time.”

“The bank counts.”

“We didn’t even know—”

“The bank counts,” he repeats, and he probably thinks he’s being oh so funny and clever right now, focussing in on your mention of your first meeting like he isn’t doing it just to try to change the subject.

“I want to know what I’m about to walk into, Jack,” you say sharply.

“We all want things, darlin’,” he says with a sigh, getting up from his seat. “I for one would like ya to stop bringin’ this up.” And then he walks off to quite possibly the only place he can escape to right now, announcing, “I’m gonna hit the hay.”

“Sooner or later I will find out about it, you know that, right?” you call after him, your final attempt to make him just tell you what happened.

He hesitates – it's brief, but he does, a slight change in his step, a twitch of his upper arm. But he doesn’t stop, leaving you to watch as he slips through one of the doors next to the bar and disappears out of sight.

You will yourself to keep working and wait for him to return, thumbing through the thick files Ginger sent along. But as more time passes, the letters begin to dance in front of your eyes and your eyelids get heavy with sleep. Had this seat been this comfortable before? Your body sags into the leather and you allow your thoughts to drift away from your partner’s mysterious history with Kingsman. After all, you think, naively, trying to justify letting the sleep overtake you, if Jack has decided to accept the assignment, how bad could it really be?

Okay. So. Turns out it could be really bad.

After touching down in London, you’d been escorted straight to the auction house, where Agents Galahad Sr. and Galahad Jr. would meet up with you. Jack had been fidgety the whole ride, leg bouncing as he resorted back to gazing out the window. You don’t know how long he had locked himself away for on the jet, but when you’d woken up, he was back in his seat across from you, case files in his lap but fast asleep, or doing a pretty good job pretending. After arriving, you entered through the sliding glass doors, and spotted two men, both sharply dressed. One was a bit older than the other, and the older one wore a pair of glasses that left one eye obscured from view. The older man had barely taken your hand in his to introduce himself, when his colleague spotted Jack, and all hell had broken loose.

Currently, you and the man you now know as Harry, if all the frantic yelling from the other agent is anything to go by, are forced to settle what has become a standoff between Jack and Harry’s colleague. They’re standing across from each other, weapons pointed at each other after Harry’s colleague aimed his at Jack, to which Jack pulled his own gun from its holster and pointed it at the other man.

“What the fuck is this, Harry? What is he doing here?”

There’s something about his tone that confirms beyond his actions that he’s more than furious. You feel a flush creep up your neck in response to the situation you find yourself in; you feel embarrassed that you have no idea what’s going on.

“Eggsy,” Harry says. “There’s no need for theatrics.”

“He’s right. Jack, put the gun away,” you say.

“Like hell – I’ll put my gun away when he puts his gun away,” Jack answers, his eyes never leaving Eggsy’s hands.

“I— Me? I should put my gun away?” Eggsy scoffs. “I’m not even puttin’ my gun down around you. Last time you pulled a gun on me, you tried to kill me—” He looks at Harry, “You tried to kill us.”

Jack sighs. “Listen, things are different now—”

He’s saying more after that, but all that you’re hearing is that he isn’t denying it, and it replaces the flush from earlier with goosebumps that break out all over your body. That’s why he didn’t want to come here. Jack, your partner Jack, had attempted to kill two Kingsman agents.

“Why are you so calm about this, Harry?” Eggsy’s voice comes out strained, and it almost sounds like a plea.

“Agent Galahad,” Harry says sharply. “You know we can’t let our personal feelings get in the way. I simply think we should give Agent Whiskey a chance to do the job he came here to do.”

“Yes,” you blurt out. “I swear, that’s all we came here to do; do the appraisal and help with the surveillance later. After that, we’ll be out of your hair.”

Eggsy looks from you to Harry and back, gripping the gun so hard it shakes, then lowers it with a sigh. “You better.” He turns his attention back to Jack. “Or I swear, I’m gonna put so many fuckin’ bullets in you that no amount of Alpha-Gel can fix it. You got that?”

“Loud and clear.”

You heave a sigh of relief when the men holster their weapons, and as if knowing exactly when to appear, the auction house assistant enters the room, blissfully oblivious to what she had just missed out on.

Her accent is posh, especially compared to Eggsy’s, when she says, “I see everyone has arrived. Shall we?”

As she leads you to the room where the paintings are being kept, the auction house assistant informs you about them. They’re all part of a week-long event, an auction to help out up and coming artists. It’s all information you already know from the preliminary work you did for this assignment. What you don’t know is that artists usually make little to nothing from their art being sold at auction houses, but that this auction has a scoop: The artists will receive royalties from works sold on the secondary market. The works up for auction tomorrow are among the most anticipated, and they’re expected to sell at a high price. And even though you’re no art expert, you can certainly see why when the assistant leads you into the room where the works are stored.

The white walls are adorned with paintings of the most beautiful artworks. They’re all landscapes -– cherry blossom by a lake, a cave lit in a way that could be described as enchanting, a waterfall between oddly shaped high rocks, a lavender field at sundown. But they’re painted in a way unlike anything you’ve ever seen on account of the dazzling colours and unusual brush strokes. It instantly makes you want to look closer; it makes you want to touch, flit your fingers over the bumps of dried paint – an instinct you obviously don’t act upon, but you want to. It’s bitter to imagine how such stunning works would not have benefitted the artist if it would be sold at another auction house…

Jack looks equally impressed, whistling as he looks around the room before he gets to work. As he does, you watch curiously, from a distance as not to disturb him – Eggsy’s leaning against the wall next to him, much less subtle about his observant role. While you watch, you take note of the care Jack is putting into his work right now, unusually patient in his methods, evident in the way the gloved tips of his fingers brush along the canvasses, how he uses his pocket magnifying glass to inspect the painting from top to bottom, and the soft tone he uses with the assistant. It’s the kind of stuff you’ve never really been able to see him do, you realize, so different from all the tactical training you went through the past few months.

By the time he’s nearly done, you’re deep in conversation with Harry. He’s polite and to the point, with a rich voice and a kind laugh. And clearly, he’s no fool. You had struck up the conversation in hopes of prying some information out of him about Jack’s history with Kingsman, but Harry changes the subject each time you try, focusing back on the “extraordinary artwork”. It’s like the universe is conspiring against you, waiting to drop the other shoe at the right moment – or maybe these agents are just too well trained…

“That fuckin’…” Lost in thought as you are, you’re startled when you suddenly hear Jack’s voice sail through the room. “We’ve got a problem,” he declares, rounding the corner, coming back into view with Eggsy hot on his heels. He’s striding over with large steps as he plucks the latex gloves off his hands, and the concern on his face is apparent; his lips are pressed together in a thin line and his brows are furrowed. He comes to a halt in front of Harry and yourself, his fingers brushing along his chin before he explains himself, “So, all of ‘em are exactly as I expected ‘em, right? Until I get to the last one, inspect the brushstrokes and… something don’t add up. I think he’s already made the switch.”

Jack’s unexpected discovery at the auction house had led to a small crisis. From Eggsy, who demanded to know how Jack was so sure and if he wasn’t aiding a wanted criminal again. And from the auction house personnel, who started a frantic investigation into how someone could have gotten in and out of the secured room. It was a mystery that was quickly solved when they pulled up the security footage from last night, which showed Nathan, dressed as someone from the cleaning crew, rounding the corner where the switched artwork was located with a cleaning cart, and reappeared with it moments later.

No one expected Nathan to strike before the auction; the thief usually operates in plain sight during the events he targets. It forced Harry, Eggsy, Jack and yourself to rethink your strategy, and you had agreed to meet up early next morning to come up with a new plan. The stiff goodbyes you’d shared with the Kingsman agents served as a cold reminder of how you’d arrived here.

And even now, as you’re lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, it’s an unpleasant feeling you can’t shake, a feeling that’s keeping you from sleeping more than the jetlag. Before you can think any better of it, you’re up, through the door, walking down the hallway, and knocking on Jack’s hotel room door. He opens almost immediately, and that, combined with the way he’s still dressed in yesterday’s clothes and is doing a poor job of hiding the half-empty whiskey bottle on the dresser behind him, leads you to believe he hasn’t slept a wink, either.

“Hi,” you say, brushing past him and into the room.

“You know,” he says as he closes the door, a slight slur in his voice apparent. “This isn’t how I imagined it.”

The comment throws you off. “This isn’t how you imagined what?” you ask with a frown.

He gestures towards you. “You, barging into my hotel room.”

“I—”

“Usually less clothes involved,” he interrupts with a chuckle as he walks toward the dresser and plucks the bottle off of there.

“Yeah, well…” you look down at yourself, at your sweatpants, the soft dark blue T-shirt you’re wearing, “I’m sorry this isn’t doing it for you, Jack.”

He looks up at you, cocks his head with a grin. “Oh, I didn’t say that, darlin’.”

You sigh. You’re used to this endless back and forth, the pet names, it’s what Jack does with everyone, but you’re no longer in the mood to play into his little game. “I’m not here to get you into bed, Jack.”

“Good,” he says, and he doesn’t miss a beat when he adds, “in my dreams we don’t make it to—”

“I’m here to give you one final chance to tell me what happened between you and Kingsman,” you say with a raised voice before he’s even finished.

He makes his way over to a glass table by the window where his tumbler is waiting for him, and he pours it half-full. “And what if I don’t?” he asks.

You take a deep breath. You don’t want to give him the chance to derail the conversation by hiding behind his wit. Or walking away. You’re serious, this is serious, and you want him to know it is. “If you don’t, then that means I can’t trust you.” This time, it’s you who doesn’t miss a beat when you add, “and Jack, if I can’t trust you, I can’t be your partner.” Maybe it’s a weak threat, but it’s the truth. This is your first mission together and he’s already keeping things from you. How could a partnership possibly work like this?

You’re surprised when he doesn’t immediately have a smart retort for you. Instead, your words make him freeze, and if you didn’t know better you swear it makes him sober up. You know that he can tell you’re not kidding around, can practically see the cogs turning in his head in what you assume is him making a quick list of pros and cons. After some time, he reaches for a second glass, pouring two fingers before simply asking, “Drink?”

“Depends.”

He thrusts the glass in your direction. “Take the drink and sit down.” He gestures towards one of the leather chairs next to the table, but you stand your ground, looking at his extended arm but not taking the drink from his hand. “Please,” he says, and with the way his voice slightly goes up at the end, it’s almost a question.

You can’t help but raise an eyebrow at that, and your legs are walking you towards him before you’ve even really accepted his invitation. You take the glass from him and plop down in the chair with a huff. You still can’t really tell if he’s serious, so you wait for him to speak.

Jack brings the glass to his mouth, throwing its contents back with one big gulp before refilling it and taking a seat himself. His hand moves up to his face, two fingers rubbing along his moustache as he looks at you and gnaws at his lip. “I erm— It’s not—” Then he averts his gaze, and after a beat of silence he settles on, “It’s a long story, though.”

You’re taken aback, not used to seeing him like this. You’ve gotten to know Jack as charming, confident, cool, but while he is stuttering out his reply, the flush in his neck creeps up to his face, and his shell seems to be cracking. He is flustered, maybe even anxious, and you have a feeling that he’s not exaggerating when he says that it’s a long story.

You nip at your drink, the oaky taste with hints of vanilla settling pleasantly in your mouth before burning down your throat. “I have plenty of time to listen.”

And so you do. You listen to him explain how Kingman and Statesman worked together to stop Poppy Adams and take down her toxic drug empire. But that, somewhere along the mission, his personal feelings got in the way. After purposefully breaking a vial of the antidote they’d stolen from one of Poppy’s facilities on Mont Blanc, he had been shot in the head by Harry, who suspected him of being a traitor. Luckily, Eggsy had reacted quickly by using Alpha-Gel, effectively saving his life. (“Even got the battle scars to prove it,” he says, pointing at the scar on the side of his face). The next thing he remembered was waking up in Kentucky, where Ginger brought his memory back. He followed the Kingsman agents to Poppy’s hideout in Cambodia, where he nearly kept them from releasing the antidote worldwide, before they overpowered him and brought him back to the States in cuffs. Naturally, he was suspended indefinitely.

Throughout his story, you’re dead silent, hanging onto his every word as you sip your drink.

“Guess I kept this from you for so long ‘cause… I didn’t want this partnership to end before it properly began. But with you comin’ in here at two in the mornin’, demandin’ to know the truth or else, I figured…” He pauses with a sigh, face twisting into a something you can’t quite place. “Damned if I do, damned if I don’t.”

Your brain is failing to process all this information at once, and Jack takes your silence as a prompt to continue,

“And I hate it. ‘Cause for the first time in a long time, I was havin’ some fun again.” He nods at his own statement, then looks up at you, his eyes searching your face. “When we were training together and you picked up on everything I was doin’… You anticipatin’ all my moves made me wanna anticipate all o’your moves, to become attuned to you and your…your stupid little knives.” His smile falters, and there’s that look again. “I mean, we’re a good team, aren't we?”

Jack’s always chatty, but the way he’s talking right now he’s being downright loquacious. It’s probably on account of the whiskey, but it still makes you choose your words carefully, unable to be as blunt or demanding as you were earlier. “All of that training stuff,” you begin, “I think it means nothing if we can’t be honest with each other.” You pause, so your words can really land with him, before asking, “Can I trust you to do that?”

“After all that, can you trust me to do that?” He’s making that face again, and the flush on his cheeks is back and—

Oh.

You completely forget about his question because suddenly you can place the look on his face: He’s ashamed.

He’s ashamed and he thinks you’ll see him differently from this point on and that that’s why— Wait. Do you? The weight of his story is starting to catch up to you. Because holy shit, the Poppy Adams situation last year was intense. You remember the TV broadcastings, the utter chaos across the globe, but nothing about Cambodia that could have made you connect the dots previously. Had Jack succeeded when he went after Harry and Eggsy to stop them from releasing the antidote, millions of people would have died – literally millions. Which— Yeah, that’s a lot to process. Your partner almost played a key part in allowing that to happen…

Almost.

Because here he is, all the tell-tale signs of shame suddenly apparent; the way he’s turned away from you, how his eyes keep darting away from yours, the red splotches on his neck, his quivering Adam’s apple. However, you also know that feeling ashamed isn’t the same as feeling guilty. You can feel ashamed over something that you’ve done, freeze and feel your gut twist at the memory, but still feel like it was a necessary evil. Does he feel any remorse for what he’s done? Just like that, there’s only one thing that really matters, that you need to know.

“Do you regret it?” you ask. He’s silent, and as you watch his finger trace the rim of his glass with a frown, you can tell that wasn’t what he was expecting, so you elaborate, “Cambodia, I mean.”

It makes his frown ease up. “All the time.”

You can feel yourself sag into the leather in relief before taking another swig from your glass. The whiskey seems to make you lose-lipped as well, because before you can really debate if you should push this any further right now, you’re firing another question at him. “Then why did you do it?”

It doesn’t sound accusatory – or you don’t mean it that way, at least. It’s simply curious, but it still makes Jack twitch, the liquid in his glass sloshing around with it. And as flushed as he was before on account of his candour and the alcohol, your question seems to drain all the colour from his cheeks.

“No, don’t—” He cuts himself off and grimaces at his own sharp tone, quickly correcting himself to something softer, “I think that’s enough story time for tonight, alright?”

It’s not enough, not really, but still you find yourself nodding, setting your empty tumbler down on the glass table that separates you. “We should...get some sleep, be prepared for tomorrow,” you say, standing up from the chair, wincing when you take note of the clock.

Jack makes a noise that somehow sounds detached; it’s not agreement, but not disagreement either. He makes no haste to get up, so you simply look down at him from where you stand. “See you in the morning?”

“Sweet dreams, darlin’,” is what he offers with a lopsided smile that doesn’t reach his eyes.

You return the sentiment with some words of your own, but have a feeling it’s in vain, that his bed will stay unkempt as it is, before you let yourself out of his room. And when the door closes behind you with a soft click, you’re left with your thoughts again, and you realize the conversation has done nothing to make you sleep easier either.

“Excellent, there you are.”

You’re fresh out of the car that has escorted you to a tailor shop in London. It was early. So fucking early. You hadn’t slept and can still taste hints of oak and vanilla in your throat every time you swallow. But now, inside, after passing through a secret door behind one of the changing rooms in the tailor shop, Harry’s voice is warm, dare you say pleased, when Jack and yourself report for duty, and something about his optimistic tone makes you forget about the early hour and the hotel whiskey. It makes your shoulders straighten and your head cock with interest.

And you’re clearly not the only one.

“Found anything?” Jack asks.

Harry leads you to a wall full of screens, where a Kingsman agent is frantically typing on the keyboard in front of him. “One of our agents found the stolen piece for sale on the black market.” One of the screens displays some sort of advertisement on what looked like the dark web; it had several marketplaces for illegal stolen goods.

“Son of a bitch is trying to get rid of it before the auction’s even started.” Jack scoffs.

You jerk your chin at the screen. “We need to ambush him, catch him red-handed.”

“Arrange a meeting,” Jack agrees.

“Precisely,” Harry nods.

“I’ll go,” Jack says instantly.

“Fuck no.” You hadn’t even noticed Eggsy until now. He’s leaning against one of the walls, then pushes himself off, making his way over with his arms crossed over his chest. “Absolutely not. I’ll go.”

“‘course you are” Jack scoffs. “Probably couldn’t tell the difference between a watercolour and an acrylic painting to save your life.” The statement is more of a murmur, but it sets Eggsy off all the same.

“What’s that?”

“You couldn’t sell the bit, Galahad!” Jack exclaims. “We ain’t got the time to fight about this while someone else steals the piece from right under our sorry noses. I’m the most competent man for the job and this bastard has been doing this for years now, so we really should be fixin’ to get ourselves this meeting.”

It’s Eggsy’s turn to scoff. “Oh, so you can excuse mass murder, but draw the fuckin’ line at art theft, Whiskey?” He all but spits out Jack’s codename, walking up to him until their toes almost touch.

Jack’s chest rises as he takes a deep breath, no doubt firing up to counter, but before he can even open his mouth, you raise your voice.

“Alright, stop puffing your chests out at each other, Christ.” Neither of them so much as bat an eye. “Obviously we both want this target, correct? You asked for a Statesman agent with art knowledge, and well, this is him. So, let’s just work on this together, be professionals, and then be fucking done with this assignment. We send Jack to the meet—”

“No—” Eggsy immediately interrupts.

“Jack is going to the meet,” you repeat louder, giving Eggsy a look. “He’s the least likely to be made because he actually possesses the art knowledge to make it convincing and…,” you pause for a second to swallow, and the taste of whiskey still prevalent in your mouth immediately takes you back to the night before, “…and I know you don’t trust him, but I do. I can vouch for him, hell, I’ll even go with him if it makes you all feel better, but Jack goes.”

You don’t miss the way Jack’s head whips around to you, but before you can turn to meet his gaze, Eggsy is speaking again. “He’ll make you right away.”

“You have a tech guy here, right?” You ignore his statement to continue explaining your plan. Your hands land on the shoulders of the man behind the keyboard. “Pretty sure he can put together some fake credentials and create the fake online presence of a pristine, wealthy art collector – a website, social media, news articles, the works. We’ll suggest a public place to meet up, like a restaurant, all to give the target some false sense of security… and then we take him in.”

No one says anything for a while, until Harry, who had been watching the scene before him silently, finally gives his verdict, “I think it sounds like a fine plan. Get to work,” he orders the Kingsman agent behind the keyboard.

“And what about you?” Eggsy asks you, clearly displeased.

You shrug. “I don’t know, I can pose as like… a waitress?”

You adjust your tie in the mirror or the restaurant bathroom, then fold the collar of your dress shirt into place and smooth your hands down over the apron you’re wearing; to play the part you have to look the part. Although… You’re pretty sure the average waiter doesn’t have knives and a gun hidden away in a thigh holster under their apron. You hadn’t been entirely serious, but you were nothing if not true to your word, playing the role you’d suggested. You take one last look at yourself in the mirror before exiting the restaurant bathroom to take your position.

As you enter the restaurant, you find it’s mostly empty, just like Kingsman has arranged it to be. Your eyes find Jack, tucked away into a corner close to the door, having also done his best to look the part. His hair is in its usual side part, but somewhat slicked back, and he’s wearing a navy suit that’s much fancier than the ones he usually wears. You pass his table quickly, your eyes meeting briefly, and he nods at you once as you take your place in front of the window across from his table.

Daytime is the perfect time at a restaurant to clean the windows, right?

Your supplies to really sell your performance are already waiting for you, and you reach down to dip a cloth into the warm water, wringing it out above the bucket before bringing it up to the window. Via the glass, you can see the reflection of the table Jack’s sitting at, and the look on his face makes you want to turn to him, to reassure him one last time—

“I’ve got eyes,” Harry’s voice suddenly informs you through your earpiece. “Target approaching on foot, alone.”

Behind you, Jack sits up at the message, face transforming, relaxing, visibly slipping into the role of rich art collector. You focus yourself back on your work, rubbing the cloth along the window as your eyes search for the target through the glass. And then you see him approaching the restaurant with quick, short steps. He’s even more slender in person, but has the same pair of round glasses perched on his nose. His short, blond hair dances in the wind, and he brings one hand up to smooth it back down onto his head while the other hand carries a black briefcase.

You bring your hand up to the side of your face and press the little button on the earpiece. “Target confirmed,” you say. “Permission to continue mission?”

“Message received,” comes Harry’s reply. “Continue mission. Good luck, agents.”

Nathan enters the restaurant shortly after, and you will yourself to focus on your fake task at hand. Leaning down to wet the cloth again before getting back to work, you hear Nathan and Jack making introductions, and in the reflection you see him take his place across from Jack, setting his briefcase down next to his chair.

“I must say I’m surprised about getting an offer so soon.” Nathan checks his watch. “The auction hasn’t yet ended and the piece we discussed is… at the auction.”

“Technically,” Jack replies.

The man chuckles at that. “Technically, indeed.” He pauses, narrows his eyes. “Tell me, how did you know?”

Jack folds his hands and places them on the table as he begins his story. “Given my… reputation, I was allowed to view the pieces ahead of the auction and I found myself… distressed, when I realized my personal favourite piece was, in fact, a forgery. You see, it was damn near perfect, but then I noticed the brushstrokes; the way they were angled. I know about your…” Jack pauses, searching for the right word, “methods, and I knew I had to get in contact. Figured I could get the piece for a much better price from you than I could at any auction.”

“And how would you know about my…,” Nathan pauses, mirroring Jack’s earlier intonation, “methods?”

Shit. There’s a slight hitch in your stroke of the cloth along the window. What if he just made Jack? In the reflection you can see your partner’s look of contemplation, how he’s almost calculating what to say next and how to do it. You drop the fabric from your hand to land into the bucket by your feet, and take the dishcloth that’s slung over your shoulder to wipe your hands dry as you listen.

“I’m simply an admirer. Of this work, o’course,” Jack says, gesturing towards the briefcase next to the chair. “But also of your work.” Jack leans in, speaks softly when he asks, “Is it true, about the Chinese gu?”

Nathan doesn’t answer definitively, but his lips purse in a pleased smile before he pushes his glasses farther up his nose. “You’ve done your homework.” He sounds impressed, and you can’t help but be amused at the way Jack’s feeding this guy exactly what he needs to hear right now.

Leaning back in the chair, Jack matches the other man’s expression and gives him a casual shrug. “Told you, I’m an admirer.” He pauses, eyes drifting down to the case next to the chair, then asks, “Can I see the piece?”

There’s a long moment where Nathan doesn’t answer, but then, without a word, he reaches for the briefcase, clicks it open and gives Jack a view of the artwork inside.

Jack whistles. “Gorgeous,” he says, looking up at Nathan with an impressed smile. “Your replica looks just like it.”

Nathan smiles proudly, and you know you’ve got him when you hear what he says next, “You won’t believe how easy it is, especially with these smaller pieces.” He seems to catch himself, too; cheeks flushing the slightest bit before he’s checking his watch again. “Listen, I hate to cut this short, but I have another appointment; let's wrap this up, shall we?”

Jack shifts, looking down as if he’s contemplating the question. “I don’t think so.” He reaches inside of his suit jacket, produces his gun from its holster and points it at Nathan under the table, removing the safety with a soft click. “You’re gonna come outside with me – calmly, quietly, no need to make a fuss – and we’re gonna make sure every bit of stolen artwork is gonna go back to their rightful owners.”

Across from him, Nathan moves fast – surprisingly fast. He pulls his own gun from his jacket, points it at Jack. “Do you think I’d come here unprepared? I’ll tell you how we’re gonna do this: You’re gonna let me walk—”

As he talks, you glance over your shoulder, take in their positions, guns out but hidden from view of the rest of the restaurant. You look at Jack, and he doesn’t look at you, but his head jerks in a short nod. You turn away again, hand slipping under your apron, fingers flitting over one of the smaller blades in the holster before slowly slipping it out of the leather.

“—I mean, what’s your plan, hmm?” Nathan asks. “To shoot me here? For everyone to see? Whether you’re law enforcement or not, I know you’re not gonna do that.”

Jack’s grip on his gun tightens. “And you are?”

You turn and bend down, and to the untrained eye it would look like you were about to tie your shoelaces. During your movement, you swing the knife and throw it towards the table in front of you. There’s a soft swoosh, and then the knife lands in Nathan’s thigh with a squelching sound. He yelps, reaches for his leg, and in the process, the gun drops from his hand. Jack catches it effortlessly before it can clatter to the ground, then kicks at the bottom of Nathan’s chair. It sends the man tumbling backwards, the wood hitting the floor with a thump. You’re back on your feet in no time, rushing over to shield the man from the view of the few people in the restaurant, shoulder to shoulder with your partner who had the same idea.

“Oh, sir! Are you okay?” you ask, kneeling down to pull the knife from his thigh. He keens in response as you hide the blade away in the pocket of your apron.

“Oof,” Jack says, making a face and holding the lapels of his jacket as he looks down at the squirming man at his feet. “Came clattering down harder than a screen door in a storm.”

“I know,” you say with faux-concern, taking a hold of Nathan’s hand and pressing it down over the wound with a wet sound. “That was quite a fall! Let’s get you up, we should get you some air. Come on.” He struggles against you, but with a firm grip on his arm, you still him, then haul him onto his feet. You look at Jack with a knowing grin. “Sir, can you help me get this man outside?”

You find yourself watching from below the overhang of the restaurant, sheltered from the London weather, as Jack escorts Nathan to Harry and Eggsy, who are waiting by a dark car. As Eggsy helps Nathan into the backseat, Harry sticks his hand out at Jack, who contemplates the gesture for a split-second before taking Harry’s hand and shaking it. They exchange some words, briefly look in your direction, but you’re too far away to really make out what they’re saying. Eggsy closes the car door and watches the two agents, seemingly contemplating if he’s going to follow his colleague’s example, and you can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief when he does. Jack says his goodbyes in the form of a two-finger salute, then turns to make his way to you.

“Well?” you ask when he stands next to you, leaning back against the window as you both watch the car drive off. “Did we save the art world?”

“Close enough,” he says. “Harry said to thank you on Kingsman’s behalf, and that they’ll handle it from here on out. They just… want our mission reports within the week.”

You groan, eyes closing and shoulders dropping at the reminder. “That was the one thing I hadn’t missed about going on missions…”

Jack grunts softly, in agreement, you think, then says, “Think it was a successful first assignment together?”

“I’d say all the training’s paid off,” you say, shifting and knocking your shoulder against his. “Be sure to mention that in your mission report, yeah?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Jack chuckles shortly, then shuffles his feet and shoves his hands in his pockets. “Been meanin’ to ask you… Did you mean what you said earlier? ‘Bout trustin’ me?”

You look at him, trying to determine whether he’s really asking or just being a dick, but he keeps looking straight ahead, his expression giving nothing away.

“I did.” You pause before adding, “I wouldn’t be much of a partner if I didn’t, right?”

He cracks, the corners of his mouth turning upwards, a slight hint of a smile appearing. He looks at you from the corner of his eye. “You are a good liar…”

You can’t help but match his expression, thinking back to how exasperated he looked in the red flickering lights of the training space days ago. “I’m not that good.”

He’s quiet after that, head tipping down to look at his shoes as his eyebrows knit together and his tongue comes out to wet his lips. It feels tense, suddenly, and you don’t know if it’s because you said something you shouldn’t have. Does he not believe you? Maybe it’s just your imagination. You think of something to say to break the tension, or to at least change the subject.

“It was my wife,” Jack suddenly says, head shooting up to look directly ahead again and straightening his back.

Your mouth opens, then closes, seriously doubting if you’ve heard him right. With a confused shake of your head, you ask him, “Sorry, what was that?”

He clears his throat. “My wife. She’s why I turned on the agency.”

You frown, even more confused than before. “You never told me you’re married.”

He’s pausing again and your heartbeat picks up, cheeks heating at the idea that he has mentioned his wife and that you simply forgot. It’s just that Jack… He didn’t seem to be the type to be in a serious relationship. You rack your brain, going over the interactions you’ve had with him and scanning for the word ‘wife’ or ‘spouse’ or—

“Was,” he corrects. “It was years ago and... she died.”

—oh.

There had been so much emotion in his voice, and it’s all so unexpected that he knocks the absolute wind out of you with it. He almost doesn’t look like himself when he finally looks at you. He takes a breath before he continues, “Two methamphetamine users killed her durin’ a robbery. She was pregnant with our son and… and I guess, in my fucked up mind, that justified—”

“Stop,” you say. “You were right earlier. It’s— You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to tell me.”

“You were right,” he presses. “And I thought you oughta know it, ‘cause I—” He stops himself with a bitter chuckle before continuing, “Christ, this is gonna sound so fuckin’ cheesy, but… The whole thing in Cambodia, that’s not who I wanna be. I wanna be… better, y’know? Do the right thing, be a good agent, not be a shitty partner, the whole nine yards, and I… I’ve been thinking on it and I think it starts with trust.” He cocks his hip, hooks his fingers in his belt loops, and it might have been somewhat funny if he didn’t look so bashful when he peers up at you after. “And me workin’ on my communication skills and bein’ earnest, which I’m honest to God tryin’ my damnedest at right now,” he adds with a hint of a smile. “That sound acceptable to you?”

Blinking up at him, you let his words wash over you. You had truly meant it when you said you trusted him back in the hotel, and with the way he is standing across from you, all but wearing his heart on his sleeve, you trust him to be truthful and genuine with you now. There is only one answer you could give him.

“Yes.

#agent whiskey #agent whiskey x reader #jack daniels x reader #agent whiskey x you #jack daniels x you #kingsman the golden circle #kingsman 2 #pedro pascal #cowboy like me fic #dani writing #(screaming) i can't believe its real and here!!!

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minniepetals · 5 years ago

Text

tremble

❥⋆｡˚ viopera said: May i request: tremble + demon!au please? Thank you 💕

˚₊· ━━ WORD PROMPT

[ tremble ] for a muse to tremble with anger while the other trembles with fear

genre: demon!au

pairing: bts x reader

word count: 1.0k

˚₊· ━━ MASTERPOST

"H..H-Hoseok...?"

The voice may be small and quiet, just barely audible for his own ears to hear but as it accompanies with a light shaking to wake him, Hoseok's brows furrow when he slips out of his slumber and the light of the moon greets him from the opened curtains of those long windows. He's lied on the sofa of the living room using its armrest as his pillow and sighs when he sees you right beside him shaking him awake.

"What?" He grunts, voice cold to remind you how he hates anyone waking him out of nowhere even if it means you.

"Hoseok I..."

At first he wanted to believe your voice was only small because of your fear and hesitation upon waking him up but when he takes a closer look to examine the petite body that sits beside the sofa with your eyes falling to your lap and avoiding his and the way your fingers seem to fiddle with the sleeves of your sweater as if to hide something, he props a knee up and sits up to quickly grab ahold of your forearm, noticing something is terribly wrong.

"Ah!"

Your gasp follows with a squeak that alerts the rest to appear out of thin air into the dim room but Hoseok's eyes are simply focused on one thing and one thing alone.

Two cuts upon your wrist that crosses into an "x" following bruises hidden under your sleeve so he rolls them down with eyes that turn dark and bloody at the sight. Hoseok then searches for any other area, his arm automatically reaching for your face and tilting it to the side to find more bruises down your neck.

"It...it hurts," you let out breathlessly and only then does he realize the way your body is trembling under his hold.

He lets you go, taking a brief moment to look up at the rest before setting his gaze on yours once again. "Who the hell did this to you?" He demands in a low growl that's so cold and deep it brings a shutter down your body. He can feel his own self shaking with anger as his jaw clenches and his hands ball into knuckle white fists. "Everyone knows not to lay even one damn finger on you so tell me, Y/N," putting a hand on your shoulder, he leans in with a piercing gaze that can easily kill if that were possible, "who did this to you?"

"Hoseok," Namjoon utters in a low warning with just one single word.

"Using such tactics is not going to help ease this situation." Sighing, Jimin walks over with each step making no sound whatsoever until he reaches your side and takes you into his arms, allowing your body to fit against him as he settles himself onto the sofa. "You're going to have to be a lot calmer if you want the little one to give you answers." He lets his hand rest upon your head, running his palm down and down in a repetitive manner to try and ease the rapid beating of your heart while allowing you to listen to his own steady beats.

The room remains silent as they watch Jimin do his magic, setting a steady gaze on you as you follow the example of Jimin's heartbeat to try and calm your own self down. But the memories of what that man had done to you will not leave your head even though you know being in Jimin's arms guarantees your safety.

The man who holds you takes your hand in a gentle manner and holds it out for the rest of them to see and examine it for themselves.

"An x," Taehyung says with his brows deepening, "I've seen that before."

"So have I," says Yoongi.

"What is this? A warning?" Seokjin chuckles ruefully. "He could have easily eliminated her if he so wishes."

"But the man knows that putting his mark on something that is ours makes it even more infuriating."

You shudder at Jungkook's words while Jimin sits there, thinking as his eyes does not fall away from the mark on your wrist, before he hears your whimper and the way your head buries further into his chest.

"We committed a grave sin not coming to your rescue when you needed it most. You were terrified, weren't you?" You whimper to let him know of your answer, not that he needed it to confirm your fears. Anyone would be frightened if they were up against someone much powerful than they are. "It will not happen again," Jimin declares firmly. "We'll take care of him."

You clutch onto his shirt as if too afraid he'd be gone before you know it and you don't want that more than anything. "Don't leave me," you beg, "please."

He sighs again but plants a gentle kiss to your head in a silent vow that it would never happen before looking up to meet the other's gaze again.

"Decide now," Namjoon commands. "Who's going and who's staying. We need a few of us to remain protecting the castle."

"There's no way in hell I'm staying here," Hoseok says as he jumps off the sofa. "I'm gonna shred him to pieces."

"I'm going too," Yoongi declares

"So am I," Jungkook follows.

Hoseok is already off without a second thought while Namjoon turns to you with a hard expression as he crouches before you. He takes his hand to gentle run along your hair for a brief moment. "We'll be right back," he whispers carefully.

You turn to him from hiding against Jimin and the tears that flows from your eyes make his heart tighten with anger knowing he wasn't able to keep you from such an event. "Please be careful," you tell him.

"Worry about yourself," he orders, "though you have Jimin, Seokjin, and Taehyung to take care of you." He presses two kisses to your eyes before standing tall again. "The man who did this to you will not be seeing the light of the day ever again."

With that declaration, he disappears into mists of the shadows with Yoongi and Jungkook following right behind.

#wbm game #bts drabble #bts polyamory #bts poly #bts poly!au #poly bts #bts demon #bts demon au #bts x reader #bts ot7 x reader

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elvish-sky · 4 years ago

Text

All You Had Ever Dreamed {Fili x Reader}

A.N: So this could have gone in several directions but my brain went this way, so I hope that’s alright! Also, I think I got all the pregnancy stuff right but I’m 15 so I’m sorry if it’s inaccurate. And yes, this was supposed to be short. My bad. But I actually honestly love this fic it may be one of my favorite things I’ve ever written, thank you so much for requesting it!

Requested by @lonikje on Tumblr as part of my 450 Sleepover:

Word Count: 2,019

Pairings: Fili x Reader, mentioned Bilbo x Thorin

Summary: You faint during a training session with Kili and Dwalin.

Warnings: Fluff, mention of Menstruation, Pregnancy

**** All You Had Ever Dreamed

Whirling around, you ducked Kíli’s sword and jumped out of the way of Dwalin’s ax. You struck at Kili, feeling the block he delivered reverberate down your arm, and with one of your daggers locked together with Kili’s sword used the other to deflect another blow from Dwalin. Struggling with both of them, you disengaged and backed up, watching them regroup as you did the same. It was one of the rare days where instead of going too easy on you, Dwalin had decided that you were up for a challenge.

Eight months after the Battle of the Five Armies, Erebor was thriving. Thorin had been gravely wounded but pulled through, and although Fíli and Kíli’s injuries were less gruesome they were still worrying, but now everyone was back on their feet and healthier than ever. Bilbo had stayed in Erebor, much to the delight of both the company and the men and elves who thought, correctly, that the hobbit would be much easier to negotiate with than the dwarves. You had also noticed some romantic tension between the hobbit and the king but had decided not to bring it up. You stuck to speculating with your husband and his brother.

That was right. Fíli was your husband, having done a spectacularly over-the-top proposal the second he was back on his feet. You had laughed your head off to see the throne room covered in flowers when you walked in and then started sobbing with joy when you saw your dwarf bent on one knee. And then you were laughing through the tears as, after you accepted, the company appeared from the shadows to give you congratulations and Thorin had had a fancy flower crown entwined in his hair. You suspected Bilbo, and his wink confirmed it.

You had gotten married three months later, at a ceremony attended by not only almost every dwarf in Erebor but also Kings Bard and Thranduil. It wasn’t every day that the Heir of Erebor got married, after all, and Thorin had spared no expense to make it the best celebration possible. And after the disaster that was Thorin and Bilbo’s wedding, at which Fili and Kili had gotten drunk to liven things up and almost destroyed the cake Bilbo had spent hours working on for his husband, Thorin had taken every precaution to ensure your day went off without a hitch. And somehow it had, the ceremony had taken place outside, in one of Erebor’s few outdoor courtyards. The sun had shone down on the whole gathering, the moon coming out in the night, and you thought there had never been, or ever could be such a perfect day.

Anyway, you were currently trying not to get eviscerated by the two dwarven warriors (which wasn’t technically possible, given the fact that you were using blunt weapons, but you wouldn’t put it past Dwalin. That dwarf was strong). Twin daggers clutched, you slashed at Kíli before running up the wall and flipping over his head, unsteadily landing behind him with a dagger at his throat.

You let out a breath of satisfaction, but your dagger was suddenly knocked from your hand, Dwalin barreling towards you with his hand still extended from the throw. Leaping out of the way, your breathing grew heavier as you were driven back by the two dwarves, their efforts renewed. Your head started to feel light, sort of fuzzy, and you kept backing up, blocks growing weaker. As everything faded to black and you collapsed, the last thing you heard was Kíli.

“Fíli’s going to kill me.”

You opened your eyes, everything hazy until you blinked it into focus. You were in a large room, sunlight streaming in through the windows to highlight- was that Kíli standing above you?

“Y/N!” Kíli brushed your hair back from your forehead, looking concerned. “You fainted, are you alright?”

“What are you doing here?”

He pouted. “That’s not exactly the wake-up greeting I was expecting. And didn’t you hear what I said? You fainted in the middle of training. I carried you up to Oin, you’re in the healers’ rooms right now.”

Ahh. Well, that explained why the room was so much bigger than yours, and why there were chairs arranged around the bed you were in.

“Thank you, Kíli. Do you know where Fíli is?”

“I think they sent for him a few minutes ago, you’ve only been out for about ten. He should be here-”

Kíli was cut off by Fíli shoving him away from your bed.

“Y/N!” The golden-haired dwarf exclaimed. “What happened? Are you alright? Why is Kíli here, and why is he touching your face?”

The dark-haired dwarf stood with a smirk. “I’ll just leave you two alone now,” he said and slipped out the door with a smirk.

“Fíli! Don’t be rude! Kíli was taking care of me!” Then realization dawned.

“Is somebody jealous?” You asked with a teasing smile.

Fíli blushed.

“Fíli! You shouldn’t be jealous of Kíli! First of all, it’s Kíli. If I fall in love with him, please make sure I haven’t hit my head, he’s basically my little brother. And secondly, I’ll never love anyone but you, you don’t have to worry about that.”

He smiled at you sheepishly. “I know. I was just worried, and-”

“I know,” you cut him off, grinning.

“Ah, look! It’s Oin!” You waved to the healer as he bustled in, arms full of herbs and vials.

“Ah, Oin. What is wrong with Y/N?” Your husband inquired, the worried look on his face almost comical.

“Well, it could be several things. Have you been eating enough?” The healer inquired about this while mixing up a tincture.

“Yes.”

“Sleeping regularly?”

Fíli nodded to answer this question.

“How about water? Have you been drinking enough?”

“Weelllll…” you trailed off sheepishly. “I’m not the best at remembering to drink water.”

“When did you last have a glass today?” The healer was now looking a little worried.

You cast around in your memory. “I had a glass at breakfast, but I haven’t had any more today.”

“WHAT?! YOU HAVEN’T HAD ANYTHING TO DRINK SINCE BREAKFAST?!!! IT’S THE MIDDLE OF THE AFTERNOON!” Fili was furious. Oin was nodding in agreement as well.

“I’m sorry!” You exclaimed. “I’ve just been so busy lately, and I’ve been aching so it’s more trouble than it’s worth to go all the way down to the kitchens.”

“Aching, you say?”

When you nodded, Oin came to your bedside.

“When was your last monthly bleeding?”

Fili blushed at this, and you swatted him before counting in your head.

OH.

“It’s been almost three months. We’ve been so busy I didn’t even notice!”

“Then that’s it. You fainted not only because of dehydration, which you’ll need to be much better at but also because you’re pregnant.”

“Wait. What?” Fili looked shocked.

Oin smiled at you, leaving the room.

Fili gazed down at you. “Are you really pregnant?”

You nodded. “I am. I hadn’t noticed the signs before but now that I know it’s blindingly obvious. We’re going to have a baby.”

He lifted you from the bed, spinning you around in joy before suddenly stopping.

“That can’t be good for the baby.”

You laughed. “It’s fine, Fili! I’m fine. And we’re going to be parents.”

He smiled, kissing you.

Later that day, you sat with the Company and Thorin’s sister, Dis, now your mother-in-law, in the rooms of the royal family where you all often ate. Sitting at the table, which had been built specifically for the group of sixteen, Fili kept refilling your water glass every thirty seconds. You made sure to drink enough, now that your body was supporting two. Fili glanced at you, and you realized the table had hushed, you hadn’t noticed the sound of Fili’s spoon against his glass gathering everyone’s attention.

He stood, taking your hand and pulling you up to stand next to him. “We have an announcement.”

Everyone was staring at you both expectantly, and Fili nodded at you to continue.

Smiling, you spoke. “I’m pregnant.”

“We’re going to have a baby!” Fili exclaimed.

The table erupted in cheers and well-wishes.

“So that’s why you fainted earlier!”

You silently cursed Kili, knowing that now the overprotective side of the dwarves would emerge full force. And it did, Thorin started listing everything he needed to be done for you before Dis shushed him. The king then walked up to you, arms open, and hugged you.

“Congratulations, Y/N.”

He then moved on, slapping Fili on the back before stepping back to allow the rest of the company to give their congratulations as well.

Oin winked at you as he hugged you, and said, “I would never spoil your surprise.” The rest of the group gave out hugs and congratulations to you and Fili, and you glowed with happiness, knowing there were few people better than these for your child to grow up with. Finally, Kili stepped forward.

“I’m going to have a niece or a nephew! Congratulations, Y/N, you’re going to be a great mother.” He then mock-whispered, “but I’d watch out around Fili. I’m not sure he’ll do as well.”

Fili punched his brother before grabbing him in another hug, their words whispered too softly for anyone else to hear.

Lastly, Dis came forward, wrapping you in a warm, motherly embrace. “My son is right, Y/N. You will be a wonderful mother. And, if you need any help, don’t hesitate to come to me. Mahal knows I have the experience.”

You thanked her, smiling before she ushered you and Fili out the door. “Now go to bed. It’s late, and you need your rest.” She closed the door behind you, your last glimpse a room of smiling faces.

Back in the rooms that you shared with your husband, you crawled into bed, hair loose, in your favorite nightgown. Fili motioned for you to move closer, so you did, resting your head on his chest as his arm snaked around your shoulders, hand coming to rest on top of yours, where you were unconsciously cradling your belly. He began to sing, a tune that you recognized from the beginning of your quest, so long ago.

“Far over, the Misty Mountains cold,

To dungeons deep, and caverns old.” Fili’s voice wove the song masterfully, and you were taken back to the first time you had met him, almost two years before.

You had stepped into a hobbit-hole of calm, and hearing the sound of voices walked through, careful not to hit your head until you came upon a room of singing dwarves.

You paused in the doorway, letting their song wash over you.

“The fire was red, it flaming spread.

The trees like torches blazed with light.”

They finished, and you stepped into the room. All the heads immediately turned towards you.

“Who are you?” A golden-haired dwarf looked suspicious.

You drew breath to answer, but before you could Gandalf stepped into the room.

“This is Y/N. She will be joining us on our quest.”

The dark-haired dwarf by the fire that looked rather grumpy made as if to protest, but a glare from Gandalf stopped him. The other dwarves quickly introduced themselves, and the golden-haired one stepped up last.

“Y/N, huh?”

You nodded.

“I’m Fili.”

Now, almost two years later, you were in the reclaimed mountain they had sung of, lying in bed with the golden-haired dwarf who had originally been so suspicious of you.

“We’re going to have a baby,” Fili said with a look of wonder, and you smiled at the tears of joy starting to roll down his face.

“We are.”

You kissed him, so alight with the happiness you thought you could burst, before breaking away and laying your head back on his chest. Laying there, you could hear his heartbeat, beating almost in time with your own. You couldn’t wait until the third would join them. With your husband next to you, and a baby growing inside, you finally had all you had ever dreamed of. And it was perfect.

Everything tag 💞: @entishramblings @itgetsatadhazy @boyruins @anjhope1 @wellofeternalthirst @kumqu4t @katbby16

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sunmoonandeddie · 5 years ago

Text

as long as i’m living

pairing: bucky barnes x reader

word count: 4,097

summary: Battles are always hard, especially the aftermath and what’s left behind.

warnings: Parent death. Cussing. Violence. Angst. Hurt to comfort.

a/n: Lmao I don’t always get the motivation to write, but when I do... Please let me know what you guys think.

There’s a certain feeling that lingers in the air in the ending moments of the battle. When the dust has started to settle and you’re not quite sure whether or not that was the last of your enemy or if you need to prepare for another wave. The wariness clung to your skin like sweat as you look around, heart still racing a million miles an hour.

The scent of blood hadn’t yet been overtaken by the scent of death, but it wouldn’t be long before it did. It’s tangy and metallic and you could just choke on it.

This particular battle was at a Hydra base, and the reptilians that you’d been fighting for hours covered the ground.

As you looked around and your eyes met a pair of lifeless orbs, you’re reminded that even though they were horrible, despicable people, they were still people.

They were human.

Their blood ran just as red as yours, their fingerprints a pattern just as unique as yours. There would never be someone just like them. There would never be someone with the same marks on their skin, their moles and freckles and stretchmarks. They wouldn’t have the same experiences or memories, and the ones that the people on the ground had were gone forever.

But you scoffed as your eyes made out the Hydra symbol on an agent’s shirt.

Hydra’s members might’ve had the bodies of humans, but every single one of them had a monster’s mind.

You couldn’t bring yourself to believe there was anything human about choosing a life of killing people in the name of hatred, of taking down mankind.

But the worst part of the aftermath of a battle was when you had to comb through after to find survivors. You had to take those that had survived in for questioning and then they were usually thrown into a prison cell for the rest of their lives.

“Honey?”

A good amount of the tension that resided in your chest and leaked out into your shoulders released as you heard the sound of your lover’s voice.

“Bucky,” you breathed out in relief as he came down the hall.

But there was protocol that had to be followed.

He stopped six feet away, taking a breath. “How many dates did it take before I kissed you?” He asked.

A smile tugged at the corner of your mouth. “Four. And I kissed you first because you were too nervous.”

Security questions. Things only you and your teammates would know. The lot of you had been through enough cases of stolen identities and imposters attempting to infiltrate the team for you to go without them.

The hunk of a man that you called yours rushed forward and cupped your face like you were made of fine china before kissing you soundly.

Every logical thought left your head as you melted against him. Butter. That’s what you were anytime he touched you. Fucking melted butter.

You had never thought that you’d meet someone that could make you feel so at home until you’d met him four years before. It had taken you a little while to let him in, and most people were surprised when they found out that he was the one that was breaking down your walls and not the other way around.

“You okay?” He asked, even as he was already pulling back to check you over. He lifted your arms to check for any injuries before doing the same to each leg while letting you lean on him. A sly smile spread over his face as he then began to pat down your tummy and your back, ending with playfully squeezing your ass.

You knew part of it was actually to look for injuries, but the bigger point of it was him trying to unfurrow your brow and relax, to get you to laugh.

And it worked every time.

But a whimper cut through the air and you froze. “What was that?” You asked as your head whipped towards the direction it had come from.

“I’m not sure,” Bucky said, his hand going to the gun that rested in his holster. “Wait he—”

Before he could even finish his sentence, you were rushing towards the sound.

You had a gut feeling that it wasn’t an enemy. That hadn’t been the sound of a cold-hearted Hydra agent.

“M-Mommy?”

Heart hammering, you stopped in the doorway of what looked like a mini laboratory, stopping in your tracks as you saw the scene laid out before you.

You jerked awake as you heard the sirens going off, the alarms. You’d been through enough safety drills to know that they meant trouble.

Your mother reached for you, her loving hands picking you up and wrapping you in a warm blanket. “There we go… There’s my baby girl. All nice and warm,” she cooed.

Why was she in her work suit? You didn’t understand… She wasn’t supposed to work until morning, right?

The only light in the room was coming from the window, moonlight streaming in and landing on your bed, where your pile of stuffed animals rested.

“Mama?” You yawned, eyes still fuzzy from sleep. “Mama, what’s going on?”

“We’re gonna play a game, okay?” She whispered, bringing her finger to her lips in a shushing motion. There was a look in her eyes that you couldn’t name. It was a foreign wobble in her lower lips, a glassiness in her eyes.

The fabric of her black suit was rough as you clung to her. “What kind of game, mama? I’m tired… Why can’t I go back to bed?”

She grabbed your favorite stuffed animal from the bed, a stuffed elephant named Pinky, and placed her in your arms. “Because we gotta, okay?” She said, a tear trickling down her cheek.

For some reason, the tone of her voice got you to stop complaining, and you nodded. In your short life, you’d never seen her so… panicked.

Your mother plastered on a smile as she carried you to the miniscule kitchen of your apartment, over to the lazy Susan in the corner. “We’re gonna play a game of hide and seek, okay? And we gotta win, yeah? You like winning.”

That was true. You’d had a bit of a competitive streak.

After you confirmed what she said with a nod, she hugged you tight, tighter than you’d ever been hugged before. “Mama loves you so much,” she said, tears openly rolling down her cheeks as she pressed kisses all over your face. “You know how much mama loves you? More than anything. More than the moon and all the stars in the sky.”

Her sadness was starting to spill into you as you looked at her, your chubby hands holding onto her cheeks. “M-Mama? Mama, what’s happening?”

“Everything’s gonna be okay, baby girl. Mama loves you. And I’m always gonna love you and I’m always gonna be here for you, okay?” She said, sniffling as she wiped at your eyes. “No more tears, okay? No crying in hide and seek, yeah? We gotta win and we can’t win if we’re crying.”

“I love you, mama,” you said, feeling the overwhelming urge to tell her over and over. “I love you.”

“I know, baby girl,” she said with a weak laugh as she kissed your cheeks. She opened up the door of the corner cabinet, pushing everything inside back to make enough room for a four year old. Your mother wrapped you and Pinky up in the blanket a little tighter, a weak smile on her lips. “You’re gonna hide in here, okay? And you’re gonna go all the way to the back, yeah?” She set you in the cabinet, holding your face in her hands. “And listen. Look at me. Look at me. You have to be completely silent. No noise at all, okay? We gotta win hide and seek.”

Your brows furrowed as you started to get out of the cabinet. “B-But I wanna hide with you, mama. Where are you hiding? Who are we playing with?”

She shook her head as she urged you back into the cabinet. “Shh… Shh…” She glanced back towards the front door before looking back at you. There were footsteps running by outside, but so far no one had attempted to come in.

“Mama?” You whispered, your eyes round with fear as you glanced towards the door. “W-Who are we playing with?”

The shaky breath she took alarmed you. “It’s a surprise, okay?” She said as she got you to sit back down in the cabinet. “But listen. Mama needs you to cover your ears, yeah? And no coming out or peeking until the sirens stop or I come and get you, okay?”

A nod. “O-Okay, mama…”

She pressed her lips to your forehead, and you could feel her tears on your scalp. “I love you so much, baby girl. So much.” Your mother closed the cabinet door after urging you to scoot towards the back, Pinky clutched to your chest.

The cabinet was pitch black except for the little sliver of light that came from the crack at the bottom of the door.

Heart pounding, you covered your ears just like she said, squeezing your eyes shut for good measure.

You could hear the blood pounding in your ears. Despite your mother reassuring you that everything was going to be okay, you couldn’t stop crying.

There were random bangs here and there, and then you heard the banging on the front door of your apartment. There was another bang, and then a loud thud, like a door being slammed against the wall.

You couldn’t quite hear what else was happening as you sat inside the cabinet. Pinky’s soft fur and the warmth of the blanket was the only comfort you had.

There was a commotion outside, but your mother’s words rang in your ears. No peeking or uncovering your ears or getting out of the cabinet until the sirens stopped or she came and got you.

But this was bad. Really bad. You could feel it in your gut.

Your mother had always told you to trust your gut, but you could tell this wasn’t the time.

But maybe just a peek wouldn’t hurt… You just wanted to know what was going on.

Palms sweaty, you opened the door just a crack to peek out into the kitchen. Your blood ran cold as you saw your mother pointing a gun at a man that was standing in the doorway.

“Get the fuck out,” she snarled. You’d always known she was a powerful woman, a lioness, but you’d never gotten to see it in person.

The man sneered, the look of the devil in his eyes as he shifted his gun in his grip. “You’re not the one in charge here, are you? Not exactly one to be giving orders.” He turned his head slightly as someone spoke into his earpiece. The look that settled over his face was horrifying. “It’s not personal,” he said as his finger twitched on the trigger. A loud bang echoed throughout the room, your hand slapping over your mouth as you fought the scream that bubbled up in your throat.

Blood splattered across the pristine white cabinets of your kitchen as your mother fell. Her knees made a thud as she cried out, falling onto her side. There was an indent on one of the cabinets where the bullet had hit after it exited her lower back.

“Like I said,” the man said with a snort. “It’s not personal.” He left with his boots thudding against the tiled floor, leaving the door open.

Your entire body was trembling as you pushed the cabinet door open, your heart racing. “M-Mama?” You said as you slowly left the cabinet. “Mama?”

She had curled up on the ground, pressing her hands to the entry wound on her tummy. “B-Baby girl… Y-You need to g-get back in the cabinet, okay?”

Shaking your head, you crawled towards her, not caring that your purple pajama pants were getting soaked. Your lower lip wobbled as you went to her side. “Mama? Y-You’re hurt.” You needed to get help. You had to.

You had started to get to your feet, your legs wobbling, when she grabbed your hand. “Baby girl. Baby. C-Come here,” she said. She knew there was no way she’d be able to convince you to get back in the cabinet now. Her slender fingers, which you had always thought were so pretty and elegant, reached up to cup your face. “It’s gonna b-be okay. I promise. B-But I need you to stay right here with me.” Your mother shifted, wincing in pain. “My baby. I love you so, so m-much. And I’m always g-gonna be with you. I promise.”

“Y-You pinky promise?” You whimpered, holding up your pinky for her.

A weak smile brightened her face for just a second as she nodded, wrapping her larger pinky around yours. “I p-pinky promise. Now can you come over h-here? Get real close.”

Sniffling, you moved closer to her and let her guide your head to rest over her heart. “I love you, m-mama… You’re gonna b-be okay, right?”

“Yes, baby. I’m g-gonna be okay,” she said, her voice cracking. “I love you more than the moon and all the stars in the sky.” Her arm wrapped around you, keeping you close as she started to softly sing the lullaby she sang to you every night. “I’ll love you forever. I’ll like you for always. As long as I’m living, my baby you’ll be…” It was from your favorite night time book, Love You Forever. There wasn’t a single night that you could remember where she didn’t read it to you before bed.

Tears rolled down your cheeks as she sang the lullaby over and over, her free hand smoothing over your hair. Her heartbeat was getting weaker. You could feel it.

She was fading.

“I’ll love you forever. I’ll like you for always. As long as I’m living…”

Silence.

Her hand had stopped moving. Her arm around you went limp.

“M-Mama?” Lower lip wobbling, you sat up a little, turning to look at her face. Your hands moved to her face. “Mama? M-Mama, you gotta wake up,” you said as you shook her a little. The panic was starting to set in when she still didn’t move, even though her eyes were open. Everyone had always told you that you’d had her eyes, but now they were strange and unnatural, unfocused.

“Mama!” You cried, literally begging at this point as you shook her even harder. “M-Mama, you gotta wake up! Wake up!” You slumped against her as you realized she wasn’t going to wake up, sobbing into her chest. “Mama… Mama, please… Don’t go…”

It was several hours before anyone found you. At least four.

There were footsteps coming down the hall, but you hardly noticed. You were curled up against her body, holding onto her hand even though her fingers had gone cold.

“Shit.”

Your head slowly turned to see several agents in the doorway.

“Hey, kid,” the one in front said after a rather pregnant pause.

Hiccups shook your chest as you looked at him. “M-Mama’s gone. And n-no one came to h-help.”

The man sighed, rubbing his temples. “Come on. Let’s get you out of there,” he said, walking over and picking you up. “NO! NO!” You screamed, kicking out at him. It was the most energy you’d had in hours. “PUT ME DOWN! I WANNA STAY WITH MAMA! I WANNA STAY!”

“You said it yourself, kid,” he said as he carried you out of there. “Your mom’s gone.”

There was a little girl sitting on the ground, her hair in pigtail braids. “Mommy?” She repeated, her little voice wavering as she shook the woman that was lying on the ground. “Mommy, wake up. You gotta wake up.”

It was like a mirror had been forced in front of your face, and then someone had smashed your head into it.

It was jarring, being reminded that Hydra agents, just like any other humans, had children. And when they died for their cause, those children were left behind as orphans.

“Honey…,” Bucky whispered behind you, but he stopped once he realized what was happening.

He knew your past. Of course he did. And he visited your mother’s grave with you every chance the two of you got.

You did always get to see her name on the Wall of Valor anytime you went to any SHIELD facility. You could never bring yourself to pass it without kissing your fingers and pressing it to her name.

It was hard sometimes. You didn’t really get to know her as a person or an agent. You knew her as your mother, of course, but you wanted to truly know her. You wanted to know who her first love was, her favorite brand of jeans, what her favorite movie genre was.

And this little girl would be just like you if you didn’t do something about it. She’d end up in the foster system, being passed around until either someone adopted her or she aged out, like you had.

You couldn’t let that happen.

“Hi, sweetheart,” you said softly as you moved closer to the little girl. “What’s your name?”

She jerked in surprise, backing away towards her mother as she looked up at you and Bucky with wide brown eyes. “W-Who are you?”

A fierce urge of protection came over you as you gave her your name, crouching down and watching her closely. “Can you tell me your name?”

You were doing your best to fight the grief that was welling up in your chest. It wasn’t often that you allowed yourself to think about the night that you’d lost your mother, but now you were reliving it. Colors and sounds and scents were flying through your mind at an alarming pace as you tried to focus on the little girl in front of you.

“V-Valerie,” she said after a second. She sniffed as she looked back at the body behind her. “C-Can you h-help my mommy? She’s not waking up.”

Taking a shaky breath, you moved towards her. Your shaking fingers pressed against her pulse point in her neck, and just as you suspected, there was nothing. She was almost cold to the touch already.

Valerie was younger than you had been, but only by a few months. Her round cheeks were stained with tears as she watched you examine her mother.

“Val, can you look at me?” You asked gently as you took her hands in yours. Your throat felt tight as you tried to find the words to explain. It hadn’t exactly been done gently for you.

She nodded, her soft eyes hopeful. “C-Can you help mommy?”

A deep breath. Count to five.

“You know… When I was your age… When I was your age, my mommy had to go away,” you said quietly, squeezing her hands. “She got hurt. And… And she had to go somewhere better. Somewhere she wouldn’t hurt anymore.”

“But… But I want her here,” Valerie whimpered, a fresh wave of tears coming over her. “Why can’t she be not hurt here?”

“I don’t know, sweetheart,” you admitted as you smoothed her flyaways back away from her face. God, your own tears were threatening to overwhelm you. “But my mommy is always with me, just like yours will be with you,” you said. You pointed to her heart. “Right here.”

You’d have to explain in more detail later on down the road, or maybe she’d just come to understand as she got older. In all honesty, you just really hoped that she would grow to understand.

Her brows furrowed as she looked down at your joined hands. “But… But mommy feels better now? S-She’s not hurt?”

Pressing your lips together, you nodded. “Exactly. Her body is here, but her heart and her soul is not, yeah? And she’s looking down on you right now.” You looked around, trying to find any sign of another parent. “Do you have a dad?”

She shook her head, her thumb going to her mouth.

Bucky’s heart hurt for you and the little girl as you searched the suite, eventually finding birth certificates and everything you’d need.

“Bucky, can you take these?” You asked, knowing that you two needed to get back to the quinjet. There was no doubt that your teammates were shouting into Bucky’s comm, since you’d turned yours off. After the documents were safe in his arms, you turned to Valerie. “Sweetheart, can I pick you up? We need to get out of here, okay?” It took a second for her to agree, but you easily lifted her into your arms and rested her on your hip. “Do you have a favorite blankie? A favorite stuffed animal?” Once her stuffed animal was in her arms and her head was covered with the blanket, her vision obscured from seeing the carnage of the battle, you nodded to Bucky, and the three of you quickly found your way to the quinjet.

“Not a word,” Bucky warned the others as the three of you climbed on.

The others were watching in confusion as you took Valerie to one of the seats farthest away from everyone. “Okay, sweetheart,” you said as you gently uncovered her head. “It’s gonna be a few hours until we’re home. You wanna get some sleep?”

She nodded, still sucking her thumb. “W-Will you stay with me?” She asked, clinging to you.

“Yes. I will,” you said reassuringly. “Can I change out of these clothes first? They’re a little uncomfy, huh, baby?”

Bucky moved over to her, quietly introducing himself as your boyfriend as you changed into civilian clothing in the bathroom.

“What are you thinking?” Natasha asked the second you emerged. “Taking a kid?”

“We killed her mother,” you said, watching Bucky and Valerie over her shoulder. It definitely seemed like they were getting along…

“Her mother was a Hydra agent.”

Your brows furrowed as you met her eyes again. “And?” Out of all people, Natasha should’ve understood why you brought the little girl along. “She’s a child. One that deserves a future.” A grin spread over your lips as you moved back to the two, relaxing as you saw the faint smile on Valerie’s lips.

“I may have promised Val that we could get ice cream tomorrow,” Bucky said, giving you puppy eyes as he looked up from where he was kneeling in front of the little girl.

“Yeah? I think we can do ice cream,” you said with a slow smile as you sat down.

The little girl immediately crawled into your lap and curled up against your chest, closing her eyes. She was dozing on and off the two hour plane ride home, and you immediately took her to bed once you got back.

Bucky and you tucked her into your shared bed, knowing you’d have to go and get her a bed and everything the next day. But you didn’t mind giving up your bed for her.

“I’ll love you forever. I’ll like you for always,” you sang sweetly to her as you unbraided her hair, smoothing it away from her face. “As long as I’m living, my baby you’ll be…”

“She’s so tiny,” Bucky whispered, looking at the little girl with a soft reverence. “She reminds me of Becca when she was small…” He couldn’t help but smile as he rested his chin on the edge of the bed. “We need to get her a bed and things…”

“Tomorrow…,” you said quietly, shushing him gently.

Maybe the universe had intended for you to find her. Maybe Valerie was meant to be your daughter, because the second you had seen her, you’d known that you’d do anything to protect her.

Just like your mother had done for you.

She was still teaching you things even now.

There was a certain feeling lingering in the air. It was the exact opposite of what you always felt at the end of a battle.

The smell of baby shampoo. The sound of her soft snores. Bucky’s head resting against your shoulder.

The both of you needed to shower, but you didn’t care. It could wait just a little bit longer.

Your eyes felt hot as you caressed the little girl’s cheek, swallowing around the lump in her throat. “I’ll love you forever. I’ll like you for always. As long as I’m living, my baby you’ll be.”

#bucky x reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky x y/n #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky x you #bucky barnes x you

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babypandawrites · 4 years ago

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Allies, Pt. 12

The Siege of the North, Part Two

Pairing: Sokka x F Reader Warnings: Implications of Death, I think that's all? Word Count: 3,286 Summary: With the Fire Nation waging war on the Northern Water Tribe, you didn't expect things of the past to be brought up, but, when do you expect anything at this point.

Note: And here we have, the final part of Allies :') But don't worry- the story will continue in a sequel 👀 Phew I did not mean for this to take so long, but I was having a really hard time with the end and ended up having to change where the reader was towards the end for me to... actually be able to write the chapter. Thank you to everyone who has enjoyed the story thus far! It means the world to me, really. It's crazy to think about how I've been working on this for four months! I hope you guys will stick with me for the months to come while I write the sequel :') I'll be carrying over the taglist to the sequel since it's the... same story just a different name heh. Let me know if you want to be added or taken off! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and that you all have a great day! <3 Also hi sorry bringing this poll back up bc the results are currently tied!!!

-Navigation- | -Atla Masterlist- -Last Part- | -Allies Masterlist- | -Next Part-

Taglist: @boomeraangin | @brokennerdalert

Eyes blinking open, Y/n slowly came too. Her vision was blurry, and her head was pounding. Faintly, she could hear someone talking, but her head was too fuzzy to make out who it was and what they were saying. Her vision clearing, she could see a rocky ceiling, which seemed… odd. Was she in a cave?

When she tried to sit up, she found that she couldn’t move. Her arms were trapped against her sides, and her legs were bound together. Groaning quietly, Y/n twisted onto her side. Aang was on the ground a few feet away from her, hands bound behind his back. He didn’t seem… present.

Observing the situation more, she noted the figure that stood at the entrance to what she was assuming was a cave. They were still talking, and her head was finally clear enough to make out what they were saying.

“I don’t need luck though, I don’t want it. I’ve always had to struggle and fight and that’s made me strong. It’s made me who I am.”

Struggling weakly against her bindings, Y/n furrowed her eyebrows together. “..Zuko..?”

His head turned to the side slightly, an acknowledgement that she was awake, but he didn’t turn to face her. “Don’t bother trying to get free, I’ll just knock you out again.” He paused for a short moment. “Sorry about that, I just.. I knew you wouldn’t give up. You never have.”

Zuko had… taken her too. Why…?

Grunting, she continued to struggle against the rope, stopping only when Zuko rested his hand on her arm. “What did I just say? Did I knock you in the head that hard?” Sighing, Zuko settled on the ground next to her. “I’d prefer if you didn’t make me knock you out again. You probably think otherwise but I don’t want to hurt you.”

Opting to stay silent, she shuffled in place. He watched her carefully, before awkwardly looking about once she stopped moving. He took in a deep breath, when she started shuffling again. “Are you.. uncomfortable?” Being met with silence, Zuko glanced at Y/n to see she was looking at him with a blank expression. “I can sit you up, if you want.”

Not receiving an answer once again, he let out an annoyed breath. “Conversations usually go both ways, Y/n.”

Still, she looked at him blankly. “I don’t think people typically converse with their captors, Zuko.”

“Well, we used to be friends!” Crossing his arms with a huff, Zuko slumped against the cave wall. “I guess the key phrase is ‘used to be’, isn’t it?” He clicked his tongue, before breathing out a sigh. “I didn’t capture you to turn you in, we could… still be friends.”

Y/n took on a pensive expression. “Then why..?”

“Why did I capture you..?” Receiving a nod of confirmation, Zuko shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t… I don’t know.”

“You don’t… know..?”

“No! Okay?! I just-” Breathing out another annoyed breath, he dropped his head into his hands. “Why? Why did you leave? I thought… I thought we had each other's backs and… and you just up and leave?! Just like that?! No explanation, no nothing!? So why?!” Continuing to stay silent, Y/n grimaced internally at the rise in Zuko’s volume. The more he spoke, the louder he got. It was almost hard to imagine that this was the boy she grew up with.

Zuko scoffed, shaking his head slightly. “Fine then. It doesn’t matter anyways- You’ve chosen your path.” He let out a laugh, one edging on hysterical. “You know, I thought maybe I could sit here and convince you to come back, but I can see that isn’t going to work… The Avatar and his friends have won your favor.” He was silent for a moment, seemingly calming down from his outburst. “Uncle told me that I shouldn’t be mad at you, that I should respect your decision to find your own path. How can I do that when your so-called path is going against me?”

Before Zuko could continue, Aang came too, returning from the spirit world. Attention turned to the boy, when he started to struggle against his bonds. After a short moment of futile struggle, he sat up to face Zuko.

“Welcome back.”

“Good to be back.” Aang spoke with a threatening tone, blinding reaching around with his hands- which were tied behind his back -to try and find Y/n’s wrist. Once he was able to grab onto her wrist, he took in a deep breath and blew Zuko away from them while simultaneously shooting both him and Y/n out of the cave. The two landed in the snow outside, where Aang started to caterpillar crawl.

It didn’t take long for Zuko to get to them, grabbing Aang by the collar and lifting him in the air once he did. “That won’t be enough to escape.”

Suddenly, Appa appeared above them, before landing on the ground. Y/n breathed out a sigh of relief. Katara got off the bison, as Zuko dropped Aang back into the snow. “Here for a rematch?”

“Trust me, Zuko, it’s not going to be much of a match.”

Katara blocked a fireball Zuko shot at her, sending a wave of ice towards him. Once the ice reached him, she encased him in a pillar of ice that she raised high from the ground. When she dropped him, he fell to the ground unconscious.

Sokka jumped off of Appa, rushing over to Aang to cut his bonds. “Hey! This is some quality rope!” He commented, before moving to Y/n to free her as well.

“We need to get to the oasis! The spirits are in trouble!” Aang got up, and ran to Appa, while Sokka helped Y/n to her feet.

Everyone was on the bison, ready for take off, but Aang hesitated on leaving, looking towards Zuko’s knocked out form. “Wait, we can’t just leave him here.”

“Sure we can. Let’s go.”

Y/n shook her head softly. “No, Aang’s right, we can’t leave him. He could die.”

Aang jumped off Appa, and grabbed Zuko to bring him up onto the bison. Sokka watched him with a somewhat exasperated expression. “Yeah, this makes a lot of sense. Let’s bring the guy who’s constantly trying to kill us!”

As they started to fly back to the Spirit Oasis, the moon changed to a blood red, casting a red light over everything. This seemed to affect Yue, who held her head in pain, letting out a groan.

Sokka looked at her concerned. “Are you okay?”

“I feel faint.”

Aang, with a hand to his head, looked at the moon. “I feel it too. The Moon Spirit is in trouble.”

Yue glanced at the moon as well. “I owe the Moon Spirit my life.”

“What do you mean?” Sokka questioned.

“When I was born I was very sick and very weak. Most babies cry when they’re born… But I was born as if I were asleep. My eyes closed. Our healers did everything they could. They told my mother and father I was going to die. My father pleaded with the spirits to save me… that night, beneath the full moon, he brought me to the oasis and placed me in the pond. My dark hair turned white, I opened my eyes and began to cry- and they knew I would live. That’s why my mother named me Yue, for the moon.”

They neared the oasis as Yue finished her story, to find Zhao there- a bag in hand and Momo on his head trying to stop him from what he was doing. The group got off Appa when he landed, sans Yue and Zuko, ready to fight Zhao and the other Fire Nation soldiers in the oasis.

“Don’t bother!” Zhao held a knife to the bag he had, which must have had the Moon Spirit trapped inside.

Aang dropped his staff, raising his hands in surrender. “Zhao! Don’t!”

“It’s my destiny… to destroy the Moon… and the Water Tribe.”

Y/n glared at the man, resisting her urge to attack him. “You’re insane.”

“Destroying the moon won’t just hurt the Water Tribe. It will hurt everyone- including you. Without the moon, everything would fall out of balance. You have no idea what kind of chaos that would unleash on the world.” Aang tried to reason with him, but Y/n wasn’t sure words alone would stop the man.

“He is right, Zhao!” Heads turned to Iroh, as he approached.

“General Iroh, why am I not surprised to discover your treachery?” Zhao spoke in a bored tone.

Iroh lowered his hood. “I’m no traitor, Zhao, the Fire Nation needs the moon too. We all depend on the balance.”

Unsurprisingly, Zhao continued to hold his threat on the Moon Spirit, the knife he held at the bag it was captive in not dropping.

“Whatever you do to that spirit I’ll unleash on you ten-fold!” Iroh pointed a finger at Zhao, before taking on a firebending stance. “LET IT GO, NOW!”

After a moment of stillness, Zhao faltered, lowering the bag. He kneeled and released the fish of the Moon Spirit back into the pond. The red light casted from the moon returned back to normal.

Seeing something move in the corner of her eye, Y/n’s attention moved to the right, just in time for her to see a figure sneaking away. Careful not to draw attention to herself, she followed after them, noting that Zuko was missing from Appa’s saddle as she snuck by. He was taking the chance to sneak away, while everyone was focused on Zhao. If she had anything to say about it, he wouldn’t be getting far.

In her pursuit, the moon fell dark, probably thanks to Zhao. It’s not a surprise that he would try and kill the moon spirit, even after letting it go. Keeping her distance and staying as hidden as she can, Y/n continued to follow Zuko- Only stopping when he did. Eyebrows furrowing together, she watched as he shot a blast of flames to a lower area from where they stood- Which was shot at Zhao.

The man stopped in his steps, looking up at Zuko incredulously. “You’re alive?”

“You tried to have me killed!”

He shot several more blasts at Zhao, which he was able to dodge. When he tried to run off in the other direction, Y/n moved quickly to grab her bow and an arrow, shooting it at the ground in front of him. Both Zhao and Zuko were shocked by this, not having noticed her before.

“You tried to have him killed?!”

Zhao’s gaze darted between the two, before primarily focusing on Zuko. “Yes, I did. You’re the Blue Spirit- and enemy of the Fire Nation! You freed the Avatar!” Pausing, he pointed to Y/n. “And her!” His words dripped with venom.

“I had no choice!”

Zuko fired several more attacks at Zhao, while Y/n readied an arrow- though she waited to shoot it until the right moment. Zhao avoided the attacks, removing and dropping his smoking cloak as they subsided. “You should have chosen to accept your failure- your disgrace! Then, at least you could have lived.”

Returning the fire, the two end up in a short exchange of attacks, before Zuko blasted Zhao in the chest, knocking him down. Having seemed to realize Y/n was waiting for the right moment for attack, Zuko glanced at her. “Now.”

Though she didn’t need his signal- In quick succession she fired two arrows at Zhao, one pinning his sleeve to the ground, the other pinning his pant leg. The two jumped down to the lower level Zhao was, landing on either side of him as he struggled to free his clothes from the arrows. Zuko took on a firebending stance, while Y/n pulled another arrow through her bow. They both waited to attack, watching the man carefully.

Finally wiggling the arrow free from his shirt sleeve, he scoffed, looking between the two. “Two traitors working together again, hm? I’m not surprised at this point.”

Y/n narrowed her eyes when the Admiral quit trying to wiggle the arrow pinning his pant leg down free, quickly pivoting on her heel at realization. Twisting to the side, she narrowly dodged the arrow when he threw it at her. This initiated the fight once again, Zuko sending a relentless stream of attacks. Realizing her bow wasn’t going to get her anywhere in a close range fight, Y/n hooked it away onto her quiver, running at Zhao while he traded fire blasts with Zuko. She grabbed onto his arm as he tried to send an attack at the prince, yanking it to the side so the blast shot to the right. He twisted his other arm to send a fireball right into her face, which she was able to duck away from as she released his arm. The momentary distraction gave Zuko the opening to shoot a powerful blast at Zhao, knocking him back a bit.

Unable to keep his attention on both of them at once, Y/n was able to swipe her leg at his ankles while he was focused on Zuko, knocking him down. Not relenting, Zhao shot a blast at Y/n, catching her off guard and knocking her down. She rolled out of the way of another blast, before Zuko helped her off the ground- While firing at Zhao. The two looked at each other briefly, sharing a nod.

Running at Zhao once again, Y/n twisted, ducked and dodged the attacks sent at her, while also giving room for Zuko to send his own blasts at the man. Once close enough, she started throwing punches at Zhao, taking his attention in the fight. The close proximity of the fight didn’t stop him from using his fire, leaving parts of her clothes to be singed. She ducked when he tried to punch her with a blazing fist, giving the opening for Zuko to send another powerful blast at Zhao, knocking him down once again.

He didn’t get up this time, rather looking past the two with a horror ridden expression. “It can’t be!”

Furrowing her eyebrows, Y/n turned to see what he was looking at- The moon. In the heat of the battle, she hadn’t noticed it started to shine bright once again.

Suddenly, water rose up coalescing around the bridge they were on, taking the form of a large fish like creature. It reached out and grabbed Zhao, pulling him off the bridge. He struggled against it, before Zuko reached out to him. “Take my hand!”

For a moment, it seemed like he was going to grasp onto Zuko’s hand, but instead drew back- an expression of hate taking over his features. Zhao was taken under the surface of the water, disappearing. Crossing her arms, Y/n looked at the surface of the water in near disbelief.

Silence lingered in the air, it only being broken when Zuko quietly cleared his throat. Looking up from the surface of the water, she glanced over at him. He took a minute, before speaking up.

“Listen, Y/n… I’m… sorry. For everything. I- Ugh, what am I even trying to say here.”

She raised an eyebrow in amusement. “That you’re sorry?”

“Yes- Wait, I already said that..” He breathed out a sigh, holding a hand to his forehead. Laughing softly, she held out her hand.

“Truce?”

He hesitated for a moment, before grasping onto her hand, a soft smile tugging up his lips. “Truce.”

Tugging him a step closer, Y/n put an arm around his neck, bringing him into a hug. Zuko tensed at the action, but returned it nonetheless.

“We can still be friends..” Mumbling quietly, she broke away from the hug. “But I need to get back to them.”

“I.. understand.” He paused. “Actually, no, I don’t. But… I won’t stop you.”

Offering a small smile, she slipped past him, intending to go back to the oasis. She stopped on the way there, however, seeing that her friends were gathered. Katara waved her over, inviting her into the group hug they were currently sharing. Running over, she joined them, a wide smile on her face.

---

Sea water gently splashed up against the sides of the boat, spraying past the railings. The more Y/n sat with her back against them, her head leaned back, the more the back of her shirt and her hair dampened from the water. Eyes closed, she took in a deep breath. With her terrible track record on boats, she didn’t know that being out at sea could be so… relaxing.

“Can’t sleep?”

She shook her head softly in response. “You can’t either?”

Sokka breathed out a quiet, somewhat tense, laugh. “No..” He paused for a short moment. “Do you mind?”

Opening her eyes to see that he was motioning to the space on the deck next to her, Y/n offered a soft smile. “Not at all.”

Muttering a small thanks, he gave a weak smile in return, before settling down next to her. He sat close enough for their shoulders to press together, the close proximity made her heart race.

Silence lingered over them for a long moment, before Y/n spoke up. “I heard what happened… With Yue.”

Breathing out a soft sigh, Sokka tilted his head back, looking up at the moon. “Yeah… I figured you would.”

“I’m sorry for bringing it up but- I just wanted to say if you ever need someone to talk to, I’m always right here.”

“Thanks..” He paused for a moment. “You know, I went to that shop you were working at once when you weren’t there. I was trying to catch you there, that… didn’t work out- Obviously.” He breathed out a quiet chuckle, digging into his coat pocket. “But I did meet that lady you worked for, and she asked me to make sure this got to you.” He held out a bracelet, the one she’d been looking at in the shop before she started working there.

Her eyes widened slightly. “I forgot about that.”

“That’s why she asked me to give it to you. Let me see your wrist.” He tied the bracelet around her wrist, once she held it out to him.

“Thanks.” She spoke with a smile, twisting her wrist slightly causing the stone to glint in the moonlight.

“It’s no problem.” Smirking, he took on a slightly teasing tone. “I didn’t expect you to be a jewelry person.”

Pressing a hand to her chest, she feigned an over exaggerated offence. “Just because I lived in a forest and can fight better than you doesn’t mean I can’t like girly things.”

He looked at her offended. “You cannot fight better than me!” She leaned a bit closer to him, raising an eyebrow. “You wanna test that theory?”

Falling silent, he gulped. “No, I think I’m good.”

They were both quiet, before breaking into a short fit of laughter. Leaning back against the boat's railing, Y/n hugged one of her knees to her chest.

Once again, silence fell over them. After a few moments, a sudden weight was on her shoulder. Tensing slightly, she looked to the side, to see that Sokka had fallen asleep- His head now leaning on her shoulder. She opened her mouth to wake him up, but stopped herself.

Something in her didn’t want to wake him up… The closeness was… Nice.

Letting her eyes fall closed, she leaned her head back, absentmindedly fiddling with the bracelet tied around her wrist. She felt so calm, but still her heart raced, and she wasn’t sure why.

With certain thoughts and memories coming to mind, however, the pieces started to fit together.

And it was in that moment, Y/n realized.

#avatar the last airbender #atla #avatar the last airbender x reader #atla x reader #reader insert #sokka x reader #sokka x y/n #sokka x you #team avatar #slowburn #book one allies

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voiceswithoutlips · 4 years ago

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Fallen - Chapter One

— pairing: OT7 x Reader (F) — genre: Fantasy AU, Vampire AU, Soulmate AU, Fluff, Eventual Smut, ANGST , Poly!BTS — word count: 2.8k — Rating: M — warnings: minor character death, slight gore — beta: Thank you so much @taegularities and @unoriginal-username15432 for all you feedback <3

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— chapter summary:

The people you killed, they haunted your dreams. They would say to you, “What you do always comes back to you, there is no escape from this miserable life.” It was true, there was no escape. In your world there was only darkness, sorrow, fear, hate and death, always death.

— A/N: It is I, your idiotic author. Welcome to my blog <3

Ch. 2

The sound of rain was like a roaring beast. It was almost midnight and the roads were lonely. You stood there in an alley facing a madman, uh, mad-vampire. His eyes were glowing red; he was wearing a dirty grey cloak on his rag like cloth. His brown hair had gotten messy when he’d run away from you but there he was, still as a dead body, waiting for you to attack. There were thick walls on both sides of the alley and behind him was a dead end. He was trapped.

“Lockham, why don’t you come back with me? That way I won’t have to kill you,” you suggested to the psycho killer vampire who stood a mere ten feet away from you. There was no way for him to run so maybe he would attack. You weighed your options - fight? That would’ve been nice; at least your body would’ve gotten some exercise.

He laughed. “You think you can win? Destiny is waiting for you Hunter,” he said in an impressive voice. Another one of those ‘destiny’ believers. Apparently the Goddess had a plan for us all, not that you had much faith in it. Gods don't care about who kills whom or who eats what, they’re more concerned about their own entertainment. You’d never put much faith in any higher power, God or not, nobody gave a shit.

“You’ve killed people Lockham, you’ve been a very naughty vampire and now it’s time for your punishment,”you said as a teacher would say to a naughty kid. He took a step back.

“Who are you to punish me?” he mocked, showing you his blood covered teeth. He was just having a meal when you found him and then you two had a nice chase. You were glad that he ran, you wanted to stretch out your legs anyway.

“Exactly, I’m no one,” you said and took a step forward; he took a step back simultaneously and vanished. What? Vanished? How? You walked forward to investigate and sighed. How careless of you. There was a hole, he fell into the sewer. He must have used cloaking so that it would look like he vanished. The only thing he forgot was to close the hole. You shook your head, you hated wet places! You jumped down and landed lightly on your feet, without making a sound, perfect.

You were getting bored of chasing him, it was almost dawn and you needed your beauty sleep. You took a deep breath and pulled out your silver dagger. It was your favorite weapon. Silver was deadly to vampires. It was very pretty with a finely carved snake on the handle with emeralds where the eyes should be; a gift from someone you had known a long time ago. You closed your eyes and let your mind wander through the tunnels. Just like your immunity to silver, your telepathy was stronger than centuries old vampires and you could perform magic. You were a half-witch after all.

You found him running through the tunnels. As soon as your mind touched him, he froze. You were inside his mind now. Reading someone’s mind was nothing like watching a movie or reading a book. It was like waking up from a dream, you don’t remember what you saw or heard but the thing that you remember is the feeling, the essence of the dream. Every being has a certain essence, unique to them. Like walls that you can’t see or touch, but you know they’re there. You could clearly see the tunnel before you, but it was like a distant memory, you were no longer there.

You were in a room, an old room with cobwebs and dust. It smelled of something rotten, like a thousand dead rats. There were worn out clothes hanging from the ceiling - correction, there was no ceiling, just clothes hanging midair and swaying with the wind, except there was no wind. At one corner sat two rusty iron chairs. The window with broken glass showed a full moon.

There was an old cupboard on the wall with the yellow wallpaper. It was white as if someone had carved it from bone. There were noises coming from the cupboard, screeching, screaming, the cry of a baby, the soothing voice of a mother, someone’s last words. A shudder ran through your body. I will never ever do this again, you promised yourself.

You heard a creak from behind and you swiftly turned back. There he was, sitting in a corner, the little boy. He held a tattered grey cloak in his hands. His body was folded at impossible angles. He was white as a sheet, there was no blood in his body. He was thin with brittle bones. Dull brown eyes in a sunken face held unimaginable terror.

He looked up at you. “I’m tired, I want to sleep,” he whispered and quickly stole a glance at the cupboard.

“Then why don’t you sleep?” you whispered back, clearly not wanting to wake anything in there. Yeah, getting into someone’s mind was a nice thing, you could get full control over them... but there was a catch. If something went wrong in that mind or if you failed to escape in time, then you’d be trapped there forever, or die. You were pretty sure that you didn’t want to be trapped in this mind, not here.

“They don’t let me sleep, they keep me awake so that I could bring more and more food for them,” he replied, pointing a finger at the cupboard. Slowly, you understood what he was saying. ‘One without a soul feeds on other’s souls,’ the thought crossed your mind, not a good one.

“What if you don’t bring them food?” You already knew the answer but you asked anyway, maybe just to confirm it.

“I’ll go mad,” he whispered back with horrified eyes.

“Come to me, I’ll help you sleep.” The words left your lips, the real ones which were still attached to your face. Lockham turned back and slowly walked towards you. You could hear his heavy footsteps in the tunnel. At last he took the last turn and there he stood right in front of you. His eyes were blank. It was like there was no soul in his body, no life. You had him entirely under your control. If you told him to do ballet, he would dance like a professional, but you weren't a sadist. Life had already tortured him enough.

“Come forward,” you said softly, the sooner it ended the better. He walked forward and your silver dagger slashed through his throat, severing his spine, killing him in a second. Blood splashed and soaked his body. It was a merciful death, you had seen worse. There are worse things than death in this world. Death was just an easy escape.

You stood there for a moment, looking at him, wishing that the outcome would’ve been different. Were you feeling sorry for him? No, you were feeling sorry for yourself. You were a fifty year old vampire and in all your years as a hunter you’d killed hundreds of criminals, but you had never been able to save one.

People knew and people talked. Some said that you were cursed; you were the representative of death, the spawn of darkness. As a result, the council only gave you high profile cases, criminals that were too far gone to be saved. It was always death. The people you killed, they haunted your dreams. They would say to you, “What you do always comes back to you, there is no escape from this miserable life.” It was true, there was no escape. In your world there was only darkness, sorrow, fear, hate and death, always death.

You pulled out your cell phone and called the police. They would take care of the body. You bent down to leave a tracker near it, so they would find it easily. Lockham’s eyes were wide open, and you closed them. “At least one of us is at peace,” you whispered.

“You’re home!!” little Lilly exclaimed happily as you walked through the door. Your family was sitting in the dining room, having supper. You were the firstborn, the eldest of your father’s children. Your father was the Duke of Serafino, the City of Snake; one of the two warrior cities in the Vampire Kingdom. He was a nice man with brown eyes and hair, fair complexion, nicely built but a little short.

Your stepmother was a beauty; she had blue eyes, fair complexion, sharp features and hair spun like gold. Her children took after her, all cream and gold. They all hated you, except for the little one, Lilly.

“Yay, I’m home,” you said sarcastically. It was hard not to be nice to the little girl who looked at you with wonder in her eyes; she was so full of life. To no one’s wonder you had blood on your clothes and your darling step mother eyed it with a look in her eyes that said filthy. For you, it was like an invitation. You were planning to have supper in your room just like any other day, but you sat down at the end of the table. Your father was seated at his normal seat which belonged to the head of the family. The chair right across from him was the place for his wife, but that was your mother’s place and now it belonged to you.

Your mother had died in childbirth, you had her amber eyes and olive skin. Her name was Katina. People told you that she’d been a beauty; you had some of her pictures and sometimes you would feel her close beside you. It was a weird feeling, but not bad, not at all. You weren't a person who put her feelings on display, heck you hadn’t even cried in like twenty years! The only permanent feeling you had left was emptiness. You felt numb, like a shell, nothing inside, no love, no hope, not even sorrow after all these years. It felt like you were dead and it was true, your heart was dead.

“I would like some blood sausages Charles and don’t forget the wine,” you said cheerfully to the butler. He was a nice guy, always talked politely. You suspected that he was in love with the cook, Ms. Glen; it would be nice to have some love in this house which felt like living in a coffin.

“How was your day, Y/N?” Lilly asked, her cheerful eyes trained on you. You wondered for how long this child would be allowed to keep her innocence? When you’d been her age ...you shied away from that thought. Thoughts bring back memories and your memories were like old corpses, one would never want to dig them. Instead you took a bite of your sausage - man, they were delicious.

“It was almost nice, Bunny. I played who-can-catch-me with a friend and I won!!” Bunny was the nickname you had given her because she was never still. Everyone paused for a moment; it was really weird and funny at the same moment. You loved how all the eyes drifted to you and back to Lilly. She was beaming because you had won the game. You gave her a small smile.

“Oh that’s wonderful!! Where is your friend now?” Curious little kid, everyone paused again, including you this time.

“You see, we were playing on a bet. He lost the bet so he had to …go to another city.” You were very good at lying, but her beaming eyes and pure innocence made it hard. It was impossible to lie to that child.

“When would he come back?” she asked, and you sighed. Your plate was half empty and the looks everyone were giving you just killed the hunger inside. You stood up with the wine glass in my hand.

“Chew your food, Bunny,” you replied and left the room.

Your room was a mixture of blue and gold. The wallpapers were straight lines of different shades of blue. The furniture was of mahogany wood with fine carvings. The round rug was golden on the edge and blue in the middle, it looked like a pool of water. All the linen was blue and gold as well. Your bed was round and big with golden bedposts and curtains. You had a balcony of your own with a little fountain with a sculpture of a mother and her child. You had spent a lot of time taking care of the blue roses in your garden.

The front wall was covered with your music collection. You found peace in music, it was the only time when you could just forget everything and float. You quickly changed and crawled under the sheets, picking up the remote from the side table and pressing the play button. It was Mozart’s duo. What an amazing symphony! It helped you drift back to your happy memories.

Unlike your half brothers and sisters, you were raised in Tiria. It was a small town on the edge of Serafino. You were raised by the Countess of Tiria, a very kind woman. She had grace, beauty, and wealth but no children. She showered you with love and pretty gifts. You had excellent teachers for your education. You learned everything from crochet to fencing.

The manor there was old and beautiful. It had a beautiful garden and a whole forest around it. You would often go into the forest, just to explore it. Those were the happiest days of your life. Until your tenth birthday - the day the Countess died.

Just like the symphony, your thoughts turned darker. You’d been happy that day; the maids had told you that you were going to have a big birthday party. The Earl had been there for two weeks now. Your innocent mind had thought that he was there for your birthday. That morning you were out in the gardens, picking up some red roses for the Countess, it was something you did every day. You would just run into her room to put them on her side table, she loved that. You held the bunch of roses in your tiny hands, running through the house to her room. You were wearing a very pretty white dress with laces and pink ribbons. Your bare feet softly met the stone floor as you ran to her room and pushed the door, happily calling to her.

The Countess was there, lying on the floor in a pool of blood. There were bruises on her body and a sword, stabbed right through her heart. The handle of the sword was in the hands of the Earl. He twisted the blade with a cruel smile in his eyes. Then you screamed. The flowers falling from your hands, red roses into red blood - they were the same color. Your pretty white dress was now red. You backed away still screaming, leaving little red footprints on the floor. The maids came running to you and held you tight as you screamed and screamed. You don’t remember for how long you were screaming or what happened later.

You drifted off to sleep.

It was a beautiful forest. The trees were so thick that sunlight barely touched the ground and everything was covered in moss. You were standing there in front of a giant wolf. It wasn’t a werewolf, it smelled like a regular one but just giant, like a direwolf. It was growling at you, baring his teeth. You had no weapons with you, you double checked. You looked around for an escape, you could kill him with your teeth but they weren’t as sharp as they’d used to be. You looked at your nails, they were fragile. Heck! You were human!!

“Y/N, wake up!!” the wolf suddenly spoke in a girly voice. It didn’t make sense, really.

“Are you a girl?” you asked the wolf who was ready to kill you. Talking to an animal, guess you had finally lost your sanity.

“Y/N!!” Someone was shaking you, trying to wake you up without much success. Then you realized you were sleeping under a bunch of blankets and pillows. It was three in the morning; you could tell by the smell of the air. You peeked at the person who had dared to disturbed you. It was Lily.

“What is it, Bunny?” you asked sleepily. It was good she had practice understanding you while you sleep talked, if it was anyone else, they would’ve thought you were talking gibberish.

“I had a bad dream,” she said with a puppy face. You knew what she wanted; she wanted to sleep with you.

“Me too,” you replied and ran your tongue over your teeth, yup, still vampire. “Come here you,” you said, grabbing her and stuffing her under the pile of blankets and pillows. You loved a warm cozy place to sleep. You held her like a teddy bear and dozed off again. She was so soft in your arms and she held tight onto you. Protecting someone was a good feeling. You went back to sleep as if you had never woken up.

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agent-cupcake · 4 years ago

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Beastie and the Bard

Fire Emblem Three Houses - Dimitri x Reader - Chapter 9

Word Count: 11,631

I bet you thought I’d forgotten about this. Nope, not yet. I actually have a fully fleshed out framework for where this story is going with a scene by scene breakdown. You can read the previous chapters on my blog or on AO3

This chapter takes place during the first part of the month before the Battle of Garreg Mach.

Elegiac Chorale Mortis Honore Opus 7, No. 1

There was something surreal about sitting in the classroom again, the desks arranged in their neat rows and Professor Byleth facing you all from his usual place. Not even a week had passed since your last class, since your last private conversation with Dimitri, but everything had changed. Peace, whatever dregs had been left of it after everything that had happened, was utterly destroyed. Any illusion of safety behind the old stone walls of the monastery was waved away into smoke. No more laughter, no more fun. The monastery swarmed with word of Emperor Edelgard’s treasonous claims and threats, words weaponized to spread disquiet.

It was almost a relief when Professor Byleth said it, confirming something that everybody already knew. “There is going to be a battle,” he told you all, his voice striking the silent room without any particular cadence. “Scouts report that the Imperial army led by Emperor Edelgard will be here by the end of the moon.”

By the end of the moon. You tried to calculate the days but knew that it wasn’t any more than three weeks. Less, actually.

“So soon?” Ingrid asked, her voice breathy with the shock you felt echoed within yourself.

“This plan has been underway for longer than we could have guessed,” Professor Byleth said. He winced, an odd tick of an expression. “I’m sorry for not seeing this sooner.”

“We don’t blame you, Professor,” Annette said. “Who could have known, right? We all thought...” she trailed off, but there was no point in continuing. You had all thought, you had all been so distracted.

“We can’t let ourselves get caught up on that, Annie,” Mercedes chided.

“You’re right,” Professor Byleth said. “Now, we must prepare for what is to come. Before we begin, does anybody have any questions?”

Nobody said anything. You scanned the faces of those you could see. Dimitri and Dedue sat in front of you, giving you only a profile glimpse of drawn expressions of exhaustion. Of those sitting in your row, nerves cast a sickly pallor over Ashe’s freckled cheeks, painted shadows beneath Annette and Mercedes’ eyes. You wondered how you looked. Tired, probably. You felt as if you hadn’t slept all week.

“Right,” Professor Byleth called, folding his hands behind his back in something akin to parade rest. It was interesting how quickly he had traded a mercenary’s unrefined motions for the more commanding stances of a general. “Dimitri, have you heard any word about what’s happening in Fhirdiad? Seteth’s reports indicate that they’re hesitating in committing any troops to defend Garreg Mach.”

“My uncle is blind,” Dimitri responded with obvious distaste. “He rejects reality. Foolish man.” Although nearly everyone knew of Rufus’s incompetence, Dimitri’s genuine and open scorn for the man, his uncle, was shocking.

“According to my father,” Felix added from behind you, his tone far more measured, “there is opposition within that prevents the regent from committing any men. Not to mention, the Kingdom troops are already spread thin along the western border.”

“Um, excuse me,” Ashe said, nervously raising his hand as if this were a normal class. “There is good reason for that. Professor, may I?”

“Please,” Professor Byleth said, motioning Ashe to continue. He looked from face to face nervously, fidgeting awkwardly in his seat. You were close enough to see the red rimming his eyes, the white skin on his chapped lips. But he spoke and his voice was steady enough, his gaze even as he addressed the class.

“Lord Lonato named me as his heir,” Ashe said, “although I have not yet claimed the title, the Church has allowed me to remain informed about what is happening in his territory. I am… I’m afraid there seems to be some conflict over how the western lords intend to act. After what happened, many of them have been actively rejecting Church aid. Should this become an all-out war-”

“They intend to betray the Church,” Dimitri said, turning and narrowing his eyes at Ashe. “No—to betray their country, is that it?”

“There could be another explanation,” Ashe said.

“I’m sure there is,” Professor Byleth said, motioning to calm them. “What you’re saying is that we can’t count on the western lords for help.”

“Yes,” Ashe answered, his shoulders slumping somewhat. “I’m sorry.”

“I cannot help but wonder if that was the intention,” Dedue said.

“What do you mean?” Byleth asked.

“It is merely speculation,” Dedue began hesitantly, like he was unsure if he should be voicing his opinion. “However, it seemed strange that Lord Lonato would raise a rebellion in the manner he did when he did. Unless he had outside support with considerable sway-”

“You think the Empire is behind Lord Lonato’s betrayal?” Mercedes asked.

“As I said,” Dedue told her, his expression unreadable, “it is merely speculation. But it would explain a great many things. Faerghus is more divided now than ever, it is difficult to believe that is a simple coincidence.”

“Duscur, Lonato, the Church,” Dimitri said, “the infection of the Flame Emperor’s touch has been festering in the Kingdom for far too long. And they would choose to ignore it rather than fighting for their country. Have they no honor?”

“Does any of this matter?” Felix interjected, clearly annoyed. “Even if the Empire did have something to do with the failed rebellion, Lonato is dead now. We can’t waste our time wondering about the motives of a dead man. We need to focus on the problems at hand.”

Dimitri raised his chin imperiously in reaction to that statement, although he didn’t object, turning to face the front again. Ashe sunk back in his chair, pressing his shaking hands flat against the table. Felix’s cruelty was expected at this point, but Dimitri’s was still a fresh wound. You could understand that. You put your hand over Ashe’s, pleased at how steady it was. Your eyes met and you nodded to him, hoping the show of support was enough. His lips quirked in what could almost be counted as a grateful smile.

“About that,” Sylvain said, breaking the tension somewhat with his easy tone. “I received word from my father. He said that he’d send men, but they still won’t get here in time. It’ll take an entire moon for any sizable force to get here. Best case scenario, the Empire forces are delayed, and we can bolster our numbers.” He didn’t continue with the worst-case scenario, but he didn’t need to. The little helpless shrug was more than enough.

Byleth nodded thoughtfully. “This will be a decisive battle, but we’ll be in need of fresh soldiers after the fact no matter which way it goes.”

“Win or lose, you mean,” Felix said dryly.

“We won’t lose,” Annette said. “With the Professor on our side, we’re definitely going to win. Right?” Her blue eyes jumped from face to face, searching desperately for confirmation of her plea.

“Right,” you agreed, trying to unravel the knot of fear and dread tangling in your stomach. You had to work past that, to remain strong. “No matter what, we can’t let the Empire scare us into submission. If we do that, we might as well give up before the battle even starts.” Could they hear past the conviction in your voice to the weak wobble that laid beneath? At the very least, Annette smiled in return. That was enough.

“We will win,” Dimitri said. “When I have her head in my hands, there will be peace. For all of us.” Even in profile, you could see the sickly smile he wore as he considered that. Compared to any regular expression of joy or pleasure, this was a ghastly, inhuman expression. One you had seen before.

“Dimitri, when was the last time you slept?” Professor Byleth asked, tilting his chin up as he considered the prince.

“Slept? I...” Dimitri replied, his eyes snapping upward and the smile dropping. A moment later, his expression froze over. “That is unimportant.” Even for Professor Byleth, this was dangerous territory.

“What about your last meal?” Professor Byleth pushed.

“That is no concern of yours,” Dimitri said, meeting his eyes evenly. “And assuming it was… I have no appetite.”

“Oh, so is that your plan?” Felix called, his voice dripping scorn. “You’re going to kill yourself before that girl can do it for you?”

“Felix,” Dedue said, a warning in his voice as he turned to scowl at him.

“Shut up, dog. I’m tired of your sycophantic denial,” Felix snapped. “Wake up, boar. If you want to lose your mind, do it on your own time. Right now, there are more important things to worry about.”

“Hm,” Dimitri said in response.

“Felix, calm down,” Ingrid said, her worry clearly etched into a frown.

“You’re telling me to calm down?” Felix asked her. “Am I the only one who understands what’s at stake here? You want me to spare the feelings of a mad boar… For what? How is pity for him going to save the lives of the people here? What good is compassion against an upcoming war? This is a farce.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Dimitri said, standing with the sharp scraping of wood on stone. “I recommend you all prepare yourselves. We will crush the enemy as soon as they dare to enter through the gates. And as soon as Edelgard draws near... I will have my revenge.”

Dimitri let that ominous threat hold in the still air. Dust motes played in the light streaming in through the windows, disturbing into a frantic swirl of a dance as he left the room with a swish of his blue cape. Dedue followed with a hurried, “Pardon me.” The doors shut behind them, but not before allowing in a chilly draft of cold wintery air. You didn’t even think about it, pushing away from the table with dread settling like ice in your heart.

“You’re going to go after him, aren’t you?” Felix accused, pinning you in place with his glare.

“What?” you asked, feeling the attention settling on you.

“Give me a break,” Felix said, his lip curling back in outright disdain, “you’re not fooling anybody. You’re as bad as that boar’s lapdog, constantly following him around as you do.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” you said slowly, carefully.

Felix scoffed. “Anybody with a set of eyes can see the truth. If he’s the boar’s lapdog,” he said, nodding towards the door Dedue had just departed through, “then you’re his bitch.”

You recoiled as if he’d physically struck you. It felt like it, almost. Heat built up urgently behind your eyes, ringing with the pulsing stream of blood in your ears. Like the first time you’d been punched in the face, you just felt stunned.

Did he know the extent of your feelings? You supposed they had been transparent from the start; you were an idiot to believe you’d ever fool anyone. All the same, thick shame began to congeal in your gut, rising up like bile. “That’s a terrible thing to say,” you said into the ensuing shocked silence, your voice soft with pained shock, light and airy in order to get past the swell of tears in your throat.

“Felix, that’s enough,” Sylvain said in warning, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder. Felix shook off Sylvain’s hand by standing up, glaring at him, too.

“You’re all fools. You think you’re being kind, but all you’re doing is enabling him to destroy himself,” Felix said. “We don’t have a chance of winning if we spend all of our time worrying about a mad boar. Tell me when we’re actually going to discuss something important. Until then, I’ll be training.” He turned on his heel and left without any further objection.

Elegiac Chorale Mortis Honore Opus 7, No. 2

There weren’t enough knights to do everything that needed to be done in preparing Garreg Mach for the impending battle. That meant that many of the less intensive tasks fell to the students to complete, including evacuation of civilians.

Those who had the resources to do so were able to get out practically on the day of Edelgard’s betrayal, like wildlife that could smell a storm before it broke, people scattered away from the encroaching doom. Others weren’t so fortunate. They were poor, they had families, they had settled their lives in Garreg Mach as surely and firmly as the old stone walls.

Getting those people to safety was absolutely essential and important, but the reality of the matter was grim. The friendly territories of the western kingdom and along the Alliance and Faerghus border were quickly becoming packed with refugees. Not just from Garreg Mach, but from the northern Empire. Asylum seekers from the Imperial recruitment and cruelty.

Most of those people were used to the mild winters in Central Fódlan, so those who were forced further north into the kingdom weren’t accustomed to the harsh conditions. Already, there were rumors of entire camps of refugees left dead from exposure. Or bandits, the Kingdom was still rife with lowlife thugs like Miklan. And that wasn’t even to mention the fact that the civil unrest had already left Faerghus without enough resources over the winter months.

The Alliance wasn’t much better, most of their energy was put into fortifying their own defenses and the little wars of internal conflict. You had never paid much attention to how divided the Alliance was after Duke Riegan’s death. Claude insisted he could get a handle on it, but there was only so much he could do for the time being.

That was the general feeling in Garreg Mach. There was only so much you could do. Only so much anyone could do.

You helped load another family onto an overpacked cart with only the most essential of their possessions. Families of the soldiers got priority, and this caravan was thick with children. Despite the hapless sounds of crying children and soft weeping, there was a hush over the once lively square. A somber farewell.

Having done all you could, you stepped back. You couldn’t help but focus on a young girl towards the back. She had a ghostly white face and clutched a doll to her chest with hands still round and dimpled with baby fat, her mother’s arm draped across those tiny shoulders to keep her from bumping into the strangers they would be traveling with. Tears glazed those sweet baby blues, exhaustion ringed the young mother’s eyes. Her husband, a young soldier who had hung around to say goodbye, would be staying and risking his life. He kissed both girls with the desperate fervor of a man who knew, on some level, that this was goodbye forever.

You wanted to believe that this was the best thing, and it was, but you knew what it was to be displaced at such a young age. You knew what it did to people. You knew what goodbye forever felt like. Selfish as it was, you felt almost as if you could see yourself in those glassy young eyes. It was just all too familiar.

Thinking of your mother, as always, was a painful thing. After realizing the magnitude of the situation, you had sent several letters to her nurses and the man you had left in charge of your Fhirdiad estate to warn them of what was coming. Right now, you held onto the belief that the battle at Garreg Mach would stop the war from invading into Faerghus, which meant that your mother was fine to stay in the country mansion. Besides, you worried about what the city would do to her system, she was already in such a poor state.

But that was a worry for another time.

The horses were kicked into motion and the cart rolled over the smooth cobblestones to the great somewhere else. You hoped the goddess went with them, keeping them safe. When they fully disappeared through the gate into the cloudy winter sunrise, you turned on your heel to return to the monastery. After such a long night of patrolling and a morning of packing up civilians, this was the last thing you wanted to do, but you had already put it off too long.

If you were a good person, or even a good leader, you would have visited your company the moment you had any solid news about what was happening. But you weren’t. You didn’t.

Not all of the soldiers employed by the Church stayed in the monastery, which was reserved primarily for the knights and those with high standing in the militaries of the three countries. In a section wedged between the monastery proper and the town of Garreg Mach, a large camp of barracks had been laid out for all of the other soldiers. The organization of it was a bit strange, considering most of them had separate allegiances and very few of them reported to the same generals. Lady Rhea would be considered their High Marshal in theory, but that was just about the only unifying force. Each battalion of soldiers was employed to serve whichever student Officer they had been assigned, so they worked both as an independent, almost mercenary-like group as well as military personnel.

You had always felt awkward with your own battalion, unsure of how to command or treat them. Lieutenant Avery was basically the leader of your company. There was no question of the men’s loyalty, your authority wasn’t the highest to those men, even if they were technically yours to lead. That had never bothered you, not in the way it should have. Only recently had you begun to feel shame about the fact. So many other students had been found to have traitorous Imperial soldiers under their command, a massive embarrassment to the Church as well as cause for distrust of the students themselves.

The vacancy of the empty barracks segmented for the Imperially sourced companies was hostile. Urgent intensity passed between the men who were still hanging around in thinning groups, performing the first of the day’s chores or hanging around in hunched clusters, creating an atmosphere so oppressive you almost found it hard to breathe. They were in a strange place. Staying pitted them against their country, but to leave would be a betrayal against the Church. Nobody trusted them either way, forcing them to congregate only among themselves. That was what Edelgard had done. Verbal poison, the warfare of the mind, turning everybody against one another. Unifying a country, it seemed, required mass division first.

Your men were placed in the no man’s land at the outside of the Kingdom barracks. Professor Byleth had offered you several companies of Kingdom patriots, but you hadn’t felt drawn to them like you were to Avery’s Wyvern Co. They were fresh soldiers among the large array of companies out for the Church to hire, only having arrived shortly before the year began. In truth, you weren’t even completely certain that they were soldiers to begin with. Avery was a strange person with a mysterious background and you truly believed he was a good man, but there was something about him that lacked the shine and polish of a soldier.

Not that it mattered much to you. You liked him; you liked the men. Amidst the dark and oppressive atmosphere of the barracks camp, he and his men sat around a fire, eating breakfast, and chatting among themselves.

“Fancy this!” Avery called as you approached, his grin lit up in brushed orange and distorted by the smoke of the dancing flames. “And here I was just wondered what had happened of our dearest Captain.” The complete disregard of proprietary and respect was utterly inappropriate, but it was clear that Avery never meant anything strange by it. What was strange to you was how easy-going he sounded. Compared to the rest of the Garreg Mach, it was like laughter at a funeral. You didn’t mind it. This task was dour enough without a bad atmosphere. “Why don’t you sit?” Avery offered, gesturing to the bench seat by him. “Have you eaten? I’m sure there’s still more...”

“I’m fine, thank you,” you told him, sitting. “I’m… sorry to not have visited sooner. You’re all doing well?”

“Better than you, it looks like,” Wendell, one of the men who had been wounded in the Sealed Forest, told you. After your concern for his injuries following the battle, he seemed just as loyal to you as Avery. “If you don’t mind me saying, of course.”

“Wen,” another man, Euston, scolded dryly. “You can’t say things like that to a young lady.”

“She’s our Captain,” Avery said, lightly hitting Euston across the back of the head. “Show some respect.”

Euston laughed, undeterred. “You’re one to talk, worrying about her like some kind of mother hen.”

“Is it wrong to care? This past moon has been difficult,” Avery said. Everyone sobered up at the reminder. Difficult was probably an understatement. “You were there when the Emperor revealed herself, weren’t you?” Avery asked you. “I heard what happened. The prince-”

“Dimitri’s fine,” you said, avoiding his eyes. “And I…” You meant to say that you were fine, to reassure them that their captain was steady and sure. But you couldn’t. “That’s actually what I’ve come to talk to you all about. As I’m sure you’re all well aware of by now, there is going to be a battle. The rumors are true. Imperial troops are estimated to arrive by the end of the moon.”

Avery whistled, a quiet rumble of dissent waving over the men. “That soon? She must have been planning this awhile.”

“Yeah,” you agreed, hating to think of it. While you were carelessly training and falling in love and having your heart broken, she was sowing chaos, arranging a war. “And I’m sorry for neglecting you all. I should have done this sooner.”

“That doesn’t bode well,” Euston said.

“If you wish to leave, you’re free to do so,” you told them, your voice raised as you forced yourself to look from face to face, to not shy away from this task. Every expression you acknowledged was set in various degrees of stony to bemused, as if they couldn’t believe what you were saying. “I’ll personally pay you three moons’ wages… More if you act as an escort for the civilians leaving Garreg Mach. You’ll also get a glowing recommendation for your service thus far.”

“The odds are that grim, eh?” Avery asked. Everyone was watching you, waiting for your answer.

“Um…” you began forcing yourself not to clam up under the pressure. “Yes. A-and no. The chances of victory are… Well, nobody really knows at this point. But even if we win, this is a full… a full-on military assault. Edelgard… Emperor Edelgard means all-out war. The Church is just the beginning. I won’t force anyone to fight, I know that none of you ever signed on for allegiance to the Kingdom, or even the Church.”

That began another wave of grumbling, words you couldn’t quite make out as that information was digested. The fire was dying, but the rising sun illuminated enough for you to see the uncertainty on every face, the doubt. You were confirming things they already knew.

“If there’s going to be a war anyway, where would we go?” Lester asked loudly. He was the other one who was wounded in the Sealed Forest. You didn’t like to think of yourself as buying forgiveness to assuage your guilt for his injury, but you did know he had an affinity for chocolate. “Seems like a victory here is our best bet to avoid that.”

“Yeah,” Euston agreed. “War seems like it would be… annoying. We came to the Church because they give us the easy life. Or, they did before this mess all started.” General assent followed his words, heads nodding.

“I’d never forgive myself if I left you here, Captain,” Wendell said. “I may not care that much for the Kingdom or the Church or anything, but I like you. Never known a noble who was so...” He waved his hand, at a loss for words. “You know… The point is, I’m staying.”

“Wendell…” you said, your voice half choked. “Thank you.”

“So, does anyone want to take up our generous Captain on her offer?” Avery asked. Silence met his question, a resounding answer in its own right. You swallowed down the lump in your throat, hating to feel the pressure of tears at the back of your eyes.

“Thank you. It is… my greatest honor to lead you all,” you said, feeling that the words weren’t enough but knowing it was the best you could do. To them, a company of seasoned men, what were you? A slip of a girl pretending to lead them. And yet, they would follow you.

“When this is all over, you’re gonna owe us all a drink,” Euston said. “I’ve always wanted to try that plum liquor they make in Morfis.”

“When this is over, I’ll owe you all a hundred drinks,” you said. “So you’d better all make it, okay?”

“Yessir,” most of them said in unison, touching forefingers to their brows or giving you half-salutes. You let out a heavy breath, glad to be done with that and feeling far better than you had upon arrival.

“I’ll be off, then,” you said, standing up and stretching. The sun had risen, but the sky was miserably gray and cloudy. One of those days. It seemed like all days were one of those days.

“I’ll walk you back,” Avery said, standing.

“You don’t need t-”

“Come on,” he said without waiting. You waved to the rest, even getting some smiles in return, before hurrying to match his stride.

In a way, you were glad for the company. The tension among the battalion camp was just as uncomfortable now as it had been on the way in, but now people were moving around. There was an endless supply of jobs anymore, always something for someone to do.

“It was good of you to offer that,” Avery said.

“Do you think any of them will accept?” you asked. Nobody had spoken up at the moment, but that didn’t mean they wouldn’t in private. You didn’t fault that.

“No, we stick together. No matter what.”

“They’re very loyal to you.”

“Like I said, we stick together,” Avery said. “You never asked what we did before we came to Garreg Mach, or why.”

“I didn’t think it was important,” you responded.

“I can’t tell if you’re too naive or too kind,” Avery said, shooting you a sideways smile. “When you picked us, I was braced for the worst type of brat, that’s what we signed up for. But you’re not that. Sure, you’re incompetent, but I know you mean well.”

The casual jab hurt, but the praise leveled it out. Somewhat. Besides, he was right.

“Even if you were the worst of them, we’d have taken it. It’s like… penance. But you’re not, so I figure I should give you a chance to decide you want men like us following you.”

“I don’t care about your past,” you said.

“We were criminals,” Avery said, acting as if he hadn’t heard you. He wasn’t looking at you anymore, his eyes forward and expression schooled into a serious mask. “Damned good ones, too. We all came from villages near the Almyran border, grew up on the backs of wyverns, always dreamed of being accepted into Gonerill’s army. I got my own company before I really realized it; the fight with the Almyrans is pointless. Fighting for fighting’s sake. You lose limbs and lives in what amounts to little more than a game, there’s nothing respectable or sane about it. So, we, my men and I, deserted.”

“Oh,” you said, stunned by the confession.

“After that, we terrorized people, thinking we had some sort of right to do it because at least we weren’t liars like all of the nobility who toss lives away like trash. We only took from the rich and called it justice.” Avery sighed regretfully. “The things we did… the things I did... “

“It couldn’t have been that bad,” you said doubtfully, trying to imagine somebody like smiling Wendell doing what Avery was describing.

“I destroyed people’s lives,” Avery said. “Because of me, children lost their fathers, women lost their husbands... One day I looked at what I had done, what we were doing, and knew that I was damned. I came to the monastery to beg forgiveness, to serve the children who I might have ruined.”

The two of you were approaching the front gate. Cold shivers had crept up your spine, over your arms. Bandits had killed your father, ruined your mother. Ruined you, in a way, even if it was liberation.

But Avery didn’t know that. Besides, it couldn’t have been Avery. To believe in such a coincidence was too awful, too cruel. Avery was a good man, you believed that.

“Now you know who it is that serves you, Captain,” he said, stopping and facing you. He didn’t have the face of a bad man. His skin was leathery and crinkled from too many years in the sun and the line of his nose was an uneven mess from being broken a time or two. He surveyed you with a neutral expression, waiting for your judgment.

“Thank you for telling me,” you said carefully, willing yourself to not become emotional. “I think… I’m not the person to forgive you, but… But it would be really hypocritical of me to judge you. A man I lo―care about quite a bit is in a similar position, looking to the goddess for help and forgiveness, and I… What else is there? As long as you keep trying to be a better person and… Um… I don’t think any less of you. I’m grateful that you trust me.”

Avery measured that response for a long moment before he finally spoke. “Then it is my genuine pleasure to serve under your command.”

“And I’m going to be better,” you told him. “I know I’ve been a poor captain. Most of the time I feel like a child, but I… We can both be better, right?”

“I’d like to think so.” Avery smiled, encouraging you to do the same. “Have a good day, captain. And consider getting some rest”

“I will,” you said. Consider it, at least. Sleep was evasive these days. Besides, there was so much to do. Still, after Avery left, you did take a moment to breathe, to consider what he told you. It didn’t change anything, did it? Yet somehow, you felt more hopeful. And distraught. It seemed the world was insistent that you not let go of your past, throwing it back in your face like this.

But there wasn’t much time for contemplation like that. You hurried back to the monastery, determined to make the most of this ugly gray day.

Elegiac Chorale Mortis Honore Opus 7, No. 3

Six days had passed since Professor Byleth had called you all together to discuss the state of things. You felt the passing of each hour acutely, the countdown dragging the monastery closer and closer to uncertain ruin. Yet, at the same time, it seemed as if the clock was crawling along, prolonging the nightmare-ish state.

Felix hadn’t so much as looked at you since that disastrous last confrontation.

Dimitri only occasionally showed up when he was summoned.

And you were silly. Stupid, even. Why you felt the need to volunteer yourself to go get him to come to the meeting today, you didn’t know. He was more likely to listen to Professor Byleth anyway. But you did. Of course you did.

The vaulted space of the cathedral was nearly always filled with those who thought to pray for aid from the Goddess. Devoted and questioning alike gathered up to pray for their souls, to pray for their loved ones, to pray for some measure of comfort. Everywhere buzzed with word of Emperor Edelgard’s proclamations and the size of her forces and the fearsome strength of her military, whispered rumors dripping in like poison along with the prayers.

Dimitri spent a great deal of time in the cathedral. Nobody really knew why, people whispered about it like it was some great mystery that a man half mad would think to reach out to the goddess for guidance, but you thought you understood. Avery’s desire for penance was fresh in your head, and you could remember Dimitri’s words that night in the Goddess Tower, almost like a melody you couldn’t quite shake from your head.

“The goddess just watches over us from above… That is all. No matter how hard someone begs to be saved, she would never so much as offer her hand. And even if she did, we lack the means to reach out and grasp it. That’s how I feel about her.”

And you knew that he was the one most affected by Edelgard’s betrayal, the one suffering the most pain. You kept your promise that you wouldn’t tell anybody of his true connection to the Emperor, but it haunted you. The moment of her mask falling away had cut some integral thread of forced composure that Dimitri had been clinging to as a lifeline, and without it he’d fallen victim to the very worst parts of himself. He spent so much of his time reaching towards the goddess for a lifeline because, despite the brutal killings you had seen him commit, he was weak.

You were weak, too. Although you had a reason to seek him out, your feet took you to him because they always did, they always brought you to him. You were so, terribly weak.

Upon passing through the gate of the cathedral, it was impossible to miss Dimitri. Everybody gave him a wide berth of space when passing, casting him nervous side glances, and whispering to their companions in hushed tones. He stood alone like an exhibit in a museum. Rumors had spread about Dimitri just as quickly as they had about Edelgard. Rumors of madness, of insanity. It was upsetting to hear, heartbreaking that he was viewed as little more than a spectacle, but you shrugged them off. It didn’t matter what people thought, or at least you couldn’t blame them. They were ignorant and afraid, and while Edelgard was still far away, Dimitri was right in front of them.

He, as had become usual, stood in his grand stage of empty space. A position he could occupy for hours without break. Dimitri’s uniform wasn’t as neat as he had usually kept it, and his hair needed to be cut. Your heart softened upon seeing him. A foolish, stupid feeling. Unwanted entirely. You knew that things had changed and could keenly remember the many times he’d snapped at you for doing what you were about to do. Whatever tenderness that had been cultivated within him before now was gone. Withered away like flowers in the frost, a sweet melody played sour on an out of tune lyre.

But you refused to stop, and you especially refused to be frightened of Dimitri, or believe that he would do anything to hurt you.

It was better to stick only to present concerns. Such as the fact that he was muttering to himself again. Words you couldn’t quite hear over the hushed noise of the devout. Dimitri’s lips moved with a rhythm that made it seem like he was speaking to something, someone. The dead, his dead. You had heard him use their names once, addressing people who were long gone and buried. Glenn, father, stepmother. He stopped whenever someone was close enough to pick out details, but you heard them all the same.

Melancholy intermingled with a deep, bone-grinding fear at seeing him like this. Many poems or songs you knew spoke of insanity, but none of their descriptions truly matched the broken man in front of you. They saw the afflicted through the eyes of a romantic. In other words, a lovely lyrical lie. What most of them had in common, however, was an eventual tragedy. With every fiber of your being, you swore to not allow him to become victim to such a fate.

You had failed once. You couldn’t handle another. You were weak.

“Dimitri?” you asked, striding up to him with a level of cheery confidence you weren’t so sure you felt. The eyes of a crowd of outsiders followed you now that you had broken the bubble of space surrounding the prince that frightened them so, watching as if you were approaching a beast in the woods unarmed.

Dimitri didn’t respond, either ignoring you or lost in thought of whatever he’d been muttering about. You would have preferred the former, because at least then he’d still be with you, not sunken down into some dark void that you couldn’t possibly reach him in. Unfortunately, you suspected it was the latter, what with the way his blue eyes were ringed with deep shadow and glazed over. You couldn’t even imagine the last time he must have slept. According to Dedue’s careful vigilance, he spent his days in the cathedral and his nights on the training grounds, throwing himself into combat practice so intensely nobody dared intervene. Not even you.

“Dimitri?” you asked again, a bit louder, daring to reach out a hand to get his attention. The touch startled him, and for a moment you were almost afraid that he was going to strike out. He didn’t, although you could tell by the way his body was coiled and poised that it had been a close thing. But he didn’t, and that was all that mattered.

“What is it?” Dimitri asked in the clipped and cold tone of an accusation. The familiar blue of his eyes was flat when they found focus on your face, his stare without any recognition for your feelings or softness for who you wished you were to him. It hurt, it still hurt. Maybe it would always hurt when he looked at you like that, maybe your heart would never scar over and allow you to recognize that this version of him wasn’t truly who he was. You began to rack your brain for a proper verse about the pain of looking in the eyes of someone you loved and seeing nothing in return but stopped yourself. There was no song or lyric that could explain the piercing ache of such a feeling. With him, with your mother, you knew that so very well.

“The dining hall is serving cheesy Verona stew,” you said.

Dimitri grunted dismissively, turning his face from you. That, of course, was not nearly enough to actually stop you.

“See, I asked, and nobody seemed to know if you’ve eaten in the past few days,” you continued.

He said nothing.

“And I know for a fact that you like cheesy Verona stew.”

Nothing.

“Plus, you won’t be able to fight or anything if you’re starving, so-”

“What, exactly, is it that you want?” Dimitri abruptly snapped, fixing you again with a look you refused to believe was a glare of murderous intent. Despite that firm belief, the expression was threatening enough to push you into taking an unconscious half-step away in physical recoil.

“I was worried-”

“I’m fine,” he insisted in a raised voice. Not shouting, just authoritative. It made your stomach drop anyway. At your reaction, he lowered his voice, shaking his head in a jittery way as his eyes cast downwards, a hand raising so he could press a finger against his temple. The headaches he had once told you of must have reached a new level of agonizing. “As soon as her blood is drained from that treacherous heart, everything will be fine… We’ll be fine... So leave me be.”

Overexposure drained those muttered words of much of the power they used to hold but hearing the man you’d seen nearly break down over death speak so casually of gratuitous violence created its own type of deep-set horror. Not to say that was unexpected. You’d heard him say much worse since he learned of the Flame Emperor’s true identity.

“Okay, I-I’m sorry. The Professor is calling for a council and requests that we all attend. I was thinking that you should eat something beforehand. It might make you feel better, you know?” you explained. “But if you’re not hungry, th-that’s fine. The meeting’s in an hour.”

“I understand,” he snapped, cutting you off.

“We could go together, if you wanted,” you offered.

Dimitri gave you a flat look and for a moment you were sure he was going to shout at you. But he didn’t, which was somehow worse. “I’d rather you leave me alone.”

“You don’t need to be alone. It’s not healthy,” you told him quietly. “Before, you told me that you would talk to someone, that you would… Don’t you remember?”

For a long moment, Dimitri didn’t respond. You had no idea what was going on behind the storm of his eyes, the conflicted dance of anger and pain. “Why must you continue to torture me?” Dimitri finally asked, his voice low and throaty. “None of it meant anything, don’t you understand that? It was not my place to tell you those things. I have but a single purpose, to be distracted was my most grievous error. So leave me be.”

He turned away, once again facing the front of the cathedral.

“Okay,” you agreed, almost inaudible with the way your throat had swollen up. “I’m sorry.” Dimitri’s eyes closed, but he didn’t respond. That might have been for the best. You turned on your heel and left the cathedral, feeling the dozens of eyes track each step, whispering. Always whispering, talking, lying, always, always-

On the bridge, you faced the harsh wintery wind, hoping that the sharp bite of its touch would hide the true reason for your watering eyes and red cheeks. Because you were weak. Because you were in love with a man who was fated for tragedy. Because you knew goodbye forever and there was nothing that you could do about it.

Time ticked on, seconds became minutes, minutes you didn’t have the luxury of wasting. You turned you back to the cathedral and the wind and acknowledged that you had at least done as you were told. Just like a soldier would. Just like a knight.

Elegiac Chorale Mortis Honore Opus 7, No. 4

Even with war hanging heavy on the horizon, even with your heart heavy and breaking, the mundane chores still had to be done. Until coming to Garreg Mach, you had never so much as thought about doing the dishes. It left your fingers pruning and hands chapped and dry, but the ritual of it felt satisfying. Taking something dirty and making it clean. You and Ingrid stood above the sudsy, steaming basin; your uniform sleeves rolled up to the elbows.

The two of you made some small talk at first, but it was clear to see that she was preoccupied. You’d have loved a distraction from your Dimitri-centered thoughts―and under different circumstances, you might have tried anyway―but there was really nothing to say. Dimitri’s harsh rejection the day prior still burned hot and horrible in your chest. If you thought about it, you’d probably start crying again.

“I feel as if I owe you an apology,” Ingrid finally said as you worked a particularly tough bit of grime from a plate. That brought you up short, looking at the blonde to try and figure out what she was thinking to say that so suddenly.

“An apology?” you repeated after a moment.

“For what Felix said,” Ingrid clarified, her eyes casting down towards the water.

You stiffened at the reminder. Out of everything that had been happening lately, you had almost forgotten about that incident. No, you had willfully been trying to forget about it. “You don’t have to apologize for that,” you told her.

She sighed. “It’s always been up to me to clean up after them. His Highness, Sylvain, and Felix... I tried to talk to him, but he won’t hear it.” Ingrid paused. “He doesn’t mean it. I doubt that’s any consolation, but-”

“I know,” you said, cutting her off.

The Boar’s bitch. Goddess, that was cruel. But it wasn’t even entirely untrue. That was the worst of it, to have something you held as holy pulled out from your heart and exposed for the appraisal of eyes that would defile its sanctity.

“I don’t know the details of what happened between Felix and Dimitri to make him so angry, but it changed him,” Ingrid said, picking up a tin mug to begin washing. “After Duscur… Well, everything changed. Felix used to adore Dimitri. He followed them everywhere like a lost puppy.”

“Them?”

“Dimitri and… And Glenn.” Pain twisted Ingrid’s voice with the name. “He is… was Felix’s older brother.”

“Dimitri’s mentioned him,” you said. Dimitri talked to him, actually. Glenn was one of the dead, a victim of the Duscur Tragedy. From what you had gathered, Glenn had been the knight ideal. And, if you weren’t mistaken, Ingrid’s betrothed. You tried to imagine the girl you knew being promised to any man, but the image just didn’t compute. It was almost as strange as trying to imagine a younger, softer version of Felix.

“Losing him was hard on all of us,” Ingrid continued. “I can’t say I don’t sympathize with Felix’s pain... but that doesn’t excuse what he said.”

“It’s fine,” you said, focusing especially hard on the plate you were scrubbing.

Ingrid didn’t respond to that, although you could feel her eyes jump up to watch you every so often, her mouth opening before closing again. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of waiting, she said, “I don’t mean to pry, but you and Dimitri…” Your entire body tensed up, shoulders hunching and the silverware you’d been washing slipping back into the basin with a splash. Of course, you’d been waiting for a question like that. But you hadn’t been ready, either. “I know the two of you were close,” Ingrid said, as if she hadn’t noticed your reaction. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but I… Well, I suppose I know what it feels like to have your heart broken. If you need someone to talk to, I’m here.”

“Thank you,” you told her stiffly, fishing the fork out of the murky water. There was more to be said, the words piling and pooling up on your tongue and ready to spill out, but before you could speak, the pantry door was flung open, a tiny figure emerging.

"Counting all the way up to numbers I don't even know. And more! Flour and sugar and rice and grain galooore-"

"Annette?" you asked, watching her spin on her toes as she closed the door behind her.

"GAH!" With a graceless turn, Annette whirled around, a hand clasped over her mouth and the notepad she was holding crashing to the floor. Recognition flashed through her wide blue eyes after a moment of horrified shock and she lowered that hand to her chest. “Oh, it’s you!” she exclaimed. “You scared me!”

“Sorry...” you responded, exchanging a glance with the equally bewildered Ingrid.

"Oh, well, it’s fine,” she said, trying to play it off. “You didn't… hear anything, did you?"

You were about to lie, mostly to avoid upsetting her, but Ingrid beat you to it. "You were... singing?”

Annette winced, "I can explain! I was taking inventory for Seteth and got very focused and the song just sort of came to me and… and…" She deflated. "I don't suppose you would pretend that you didn't hear that, would you?"

"Why?" Ingrid asked.

"Because… because…" Annette said, flustered. "Because if everyone finds out that I sing to myself they're all going to think I'm that weird girl who makes up stupid songs about counting and food and then they’ll all whisper about me behind my back about how weird and stupid I am!"

"It's not that weird to sing while you work,” you told her.

"Do you?" Ingrid asked, looking at you curiously.

"Well… not around people…" you answered. Everybody in your class knew about your affinity for music on account of that day Sylvain stole your book of songs, but you didn’t advertise the fact that you enjoyed making music, too. Especially not to the knight ideal like Ingrid. Music was impractical.

"See! It is weird!" Annette exclaimed. "Now you're going to tell everyone, and they'll all think I'm a total freak who sings about flour and sugar and-"

"Annette…" Ingrid cut in, frowning in concern.

Annette continued on like she hadn’t heard, her rant getting progressively more distracted, "And they're gonna look at me and laugh and never take me seriously because of the stupid childish songs and-"

"I didn't know you liked music," you said, interrupting her.

Annette blinked, focusing on you. "I don’t really tell people. It’s kind of embarrassing.”

"If it makes you happy, I don't think it's embarrassing," you told her.

"She's right," Ingrid said seriously. "I don't have any interest in music, but the song wasn't that bad."

"That bad…" Annette said, frowning. "So it was still bad. I knew it. Oh, this is just the worst!"

"It wasn't!" you told her quickly. "I liked the melody; did you compose it?"

"Well, yeah," she said, fidgeting with her notepad.

"That's really amazing, Annette,” you said enthusiastically. “I'm no good at writing music."

"Oh, it's not that impressive," she said, waving her hand.

"I'd love it if you could teach me some time," you said. "It might be a nice break from-" you waved your hand around generally, your voice trailing off.

“Well, if you really want to, I guess I wouldn’t mind,” Annette said. “As long as you promise to never, ever tell anybody what you heard today.”

“I promise,” you vowed.

“As do I,” Ingrid said.

“That’s a relief,” Annette said, finally picking up her dropped notepad. “Are you free tonight?”

“I have patrol duty with Ashe,” you replied, frowning. “Maybe tomorrow?”

“Sure! I’ll have to let you know when, though. There’s so much to do.” Annette sighed. “Speaking of which, what was I doing…?”

“Inventory?” Ingrid offered helpfully.

“Oh, right! That!” Annette responded, her trademark bounce returning. “Well, I’d better go, then. I’ll see you tomorrow!”

You and Ingrid said goodbye, but Annette was already out of the kitchen. Seconds later, there was a loud crash right outside the door and Annette’s muffled voice demanded to know why there was a box in the way where people were walking. It left your heart feeling oddly light. Everything else could change, but Annette was still a whirlwind mess of drive, clumsiness, and quirk.

“If you have patrol, you should probably get going,” Ingrid said. “I don’t mind finishing up here.”

“Oh, right,” you said, quickly drying off your hands. “I hate being out in the town these days, it’s so empty and creepy.”

“Do you want to switch?” Ingrid asked, raising an eyebrow. “I have guard duty tomorrow at dawn.”

“As enticing as that sounds, I think I’ll pass,” you told her, your face scrunching up at the very idea of it. It was one thing to be cold and miserable at night but being cold and miserable with the memory of your soft, warm bed fresh in your mind was worse.

“I suppose it was worth a try. Be on your guard,” Ingrid told you. “And be safe.”

“Thanks,” you said. “I’ll try.”

Elegiac Chorale Mortis Honore Opus 7, No. 5

“Ansel’s stories are great!” you insisted, walking side by side with Ashe on your nighttime patrols. With the curfew, there were no other people wandering around, but that wasn’t the only reason for the uncomfortably hollow feeling in Garreg Mach. With each passing day, the small towns that littered the outskirts became ghostly haunts, shops closing up and merchants who sold anything other than weapons and supplies packing up. Outside the realm of his torch, the once lively was a depressing and frightening place. But having company helped. It helped a lot. “I love the characters.”

“I didn’t say they’re bad,” Ashe responded quickly. “But... they’re mostly romance. They shouldn’t be shelved by the stories about knights, someone could accidentally pick one up and have no idea what they’re in for.”

“There are knights and heroes, too,” you pointed out. “Besides, romance is integral to the plots of most hero stories. What’s worth fighting for more than love?”

“You’re starting to sound like Sylvain,” Ashe told you, laughing.

“Don’t you fight for love?” you asked, only slightly defensively. “Love for your country, your family, your friends… Isn’t that why people fight? We’re all driven by passion, don’t you think?”

“Huh… I guess that’s true. But... wait, that wasn’t my point! I-” Ashe’s words abruptly cut off as you turned a corner. This street, a main thoroughfare with some of the few remaining open establishments, was well lit. A crowd of people congregated at the far end. “What’s going on over there?”

You blinked, caught off guard by the sight. “Is there some sort of event?” you asked.

“Not that I’m aware of,” Ashe said. “Besides, the curfew...”

“We should go check it out,” you said, all amusement from your conversation going stale and cold. You had a very bad feeling about this.

Ashe quickly put out the torch, following after you as you approached the crowd. There was a sense of dread in the air. There was a crowd, sure, but their voices weren’t loud enough, no laugher could be heard. It was just tension and raw, crackling energy. Most of the people were soldiers, men and women from other battalions. Some villagers. The entire crowd smelled of urine and liquor and the desperate vinegar of excited sweat. You tried to cut your way into the group, standing on your toes to see what they were all circled around. Nobody paid you any mind, too focused on what was happening to make way.

“Is that… His Highness?” Ashe asked, his voice loud above the noise.

And it was. Standing in the impromptu ring created by the surrounding crowd, Dimitri faced off against five other men. One of them was wearing Imperial fatigues. Another wore clothes you recognized as being an unkempt and dirty Faerghus soldier uniform. All of them had a wild, drunken look and anger and bloodlust.

“-known that your association with that Duscur beast would rub off on you,” the Faerghus soldier was saying. “I refuse to follow a monster into battle, let alone lead my country.”

“I see,” Dimitri replied. Despite the many voices rumbling around the square, his was easy to make out. “You have betrayed your country, trading one monster for another. How does that feel?”

That made the other man wince, but his fury was far more potent. They were ganging up on him, this was an ambush.

“Ashe go get help. Professor Byleth… Guards… anyone! Hurry!” you told him, your voice quivering with urgency. He blinked, his eyes wide and frightened, but nodded.

“I’ll be quick.”

With Ashe running off, you tried to steady yourself with a deep breath, forcing your hands to stop shaking. “Let me through!” you demanded, trying once more to cut your way through the crowd. People shifted, although you took more than one elbow to the ribs, bodies pushing back against you. “On behalf of the Church of Seiros, I demand that you let me through!” That finally worked. Sort of. You broke out into the front of the group, a hand on your sword hilt. “This i-is… an illegal act of violence against the crown prince of Faerghus… Disperse now!” Jumbled and nervous, your words were still able to get the attention of the group of men. Dimitri turned, meeting your eyes for a half-second with a look of surprise. And then his face darkened, his jaw clenching as he looked away.

“What is this?” the Imperial asked mockingly, “Another student? Maybe a friend of yours, crown prince?”

Dimitri said nothing, not even looking at you.

“The guards will be arriving soon!” you threatened.

“Faerghus law allows any Faerghus soldier challenge his superior, nobility and royalty, to a fight,” the soldier said. “It’s up to him if he wishes to accept the terms.”

“What do you say, beast prince?” the Imperial asked. “Do you have any honor left, or have you abandoned that with your humanity?”

“Honor?” Dimitri asked, sounding amused. “Coming from one who wears the colors of the Empire? Tell me, do you act on behalf of that woman?”

“I act for myself,” he responded. “And for justice. My brother was one of the men you slaughtered in the Holy Tomb. I saw his body, creature. You’re no prince, you’re not even a soldier. You’re a monster.”

“And your gang of traitorous vermin?” Dimitri asked. “They agree?”

“Faerghus is better off without you,” the Faerghus soldier said, eliciting sounds of agreement from the others.

“Fine,” Dimitri said. “I accept your challenge.”

“No!” you shouted, lunging forward. Or, attempting to. A man you hadn’t even noticed shot an arm out to keep you from entering the informal circle, pulling you back.

“Don’t interfere,” he said, holding your arms pinned so you couldn’t go for your weapon. His breath was hot and sour on your ear, making you shudder in disgust. “I have money on this fight, girl. Five to one… the pretty boy’s ‘bout to learn a lesson he won’t forget.”

“Dimitri, stop!” you begged. It didn’t even occur to you to be worried for him. Only about what he would do.

The Faerghus soldier went for him first, pulling a knife from his stained coat and lunging at Dimitri with wavering, drunken posture. He was a large guy, the type that expected to win fights based purely on his size and raw strength. Dimitri sidestepped the attack, grabbing the man’s beefy arm as he did to misdirect his momentum and contort the arm behind his back, twisting him around and sending him staggering to the ground.

Dimitri had gotten hold of the knife during the exchange, but he didn’t bother using it. When the large man made to grab Dimitri’s legs, Dimitri kicked him in the chest. Bones crunched. Loudly. Dimitri kicked him again, the choppy strands of his blond hair flipping and falling with the motion.

Despite the shocking display of efficient brutality, the Imperial went into attack. His knuckles glinted with metal as he drew back his fist.

“Watch out!” you called, but the warning was unnecessary. Dimitri whirled around, grabbing the Imperial’s hand before it could make contact and slamming it flat against the side of the building. He drove the knife right below the band of metal ringing the Imperials fingers, pushing it into the grout between brick until the handle was flush to the man’s skin. The Imperial screamed, immediately trying to pull the knife free, but it was stuck. He tried to lash out at Dimitri, but the prince easily ducked beneath the attack.

The other three men bunched in a group, ganging up on Dimitri together. The tallest stood in the center, a short man on his right and a heavy looking guy who’d picked up a broom as a makeshift weapon on his left. All you could see of Dimitri the back of his uniform and the fluttering cape on his shoulder, so brilliant and vividly blue.

Ducking out of the way of the broom’s handle, Dimitri took a fist to the face from the shortest man. Despite the successful blow, the short man was immediately rewarded with a brutal backhand that sent him to the ground with a fleshy kind of crack.

Dimitri didn’t hesitate, throwing his body at the man holding the broom. The wooden handle split into two pieces beneath Dimitri’s gauntleted left hand, his right elbow slamming against the heavy guy’s face while he was distracted by the loss of his weapon. The heavy man’s face immediately exploded in a bright spray of blood, sending him stumbling back and tripping onto the ground, clutching his face desperately.

The tall one tried to attack with a straight right, but Dimitri spun out of the way, swinging the broken piece of broomstick handle in an arc at his head. The wood broke on impact with the guy’s skull. While he was stunned, Dimitri’s fist easily connected with his stomach. He dropped with a heavy “umph” of a groan.

Breathing heavily, Dimitri turned from them, dropping the short length of broomstick handle with a clatter of wood on stone and tossing his sweaty hair from his brow. Blood dripped from his nose, staining the ashy pale of his complexion, dribbling over his chapped lips.

The Imperial was the only one standing, having managed to free himself. You hadn’t seen what he’d done to get out of the trap, but the knife remained in the wall and his hand was in a ruined state, too covered in blood for you to see.

Dimitri faced him, his chest heaving and a gruesome smile on his face. Blood dripped into his mouth, staining his teeth red. With wild eyes, he surveyed his final opponent.

Had Dimitri done this on purpose? Ensured that the Imperial would be the last to face him so he could savor it? Something about the expression on his face made you think that sickening thought. Taking advantage of the way the grip keeping you still had slackened in horror, you stumbled forward.

“Dimitri stop!” you shouted.

He ignored you, moving towards the last man with the predatory gait of a killer. You didn’t even think about it, lunging at him and wrapping your arms around his middle. Doing that could have killed you, you knew that. His reflexes were faster than you could ever hope to move. But your blood pounded steadily in your ears and your pulse made your throat feel swollen and men you hoped weren’t dead littered the ground. You needed to make him stop.

Somehow, it worked.

“Unhand me,” Dimitri demanded, prying you off of him despite your attempts to hold fast. The violence of it pushed you back several steps, but you managed not to fall. “This Imperial traitor asked for a fair fight. Have I not granted him his wish?”

“You’ve won!” You looked at the glowering Imperial who was wrapping his hand with a ripped piece of shirt. “Yield, please. You can’t fight, your men are down… Please, stop this.”

“No,” he said, pulling the fabric tight with a wince. With that, he swung, his arm arcing clumsily towards Dimitri who easily caught the fist, twisting it with enough force to make the main shout in pain. The movement forced the Imperial to fall forward, but Dimitri caught him with a grip on the front of his uniform, pulling him close.

“Dimitri,” you pled. “You can’t kill him. Please.”

“No? Even though he follows that wretched woman?” Dimitri asked. “Even when he would have gleefully killed me in an honorless fight?”

“Please, just yield and leave. Please,” you begged of the other man. “Dimitri, you’d let him go if he yielded, right?

“This foul creature does not deserve your pity,” he said.

“Please?” you begged again.

“Fine,” Dimitri allowed, his lip curled as he looked at the man. “I’ll let you go free. Provided you deliver a message to your master.”

The Imperial sneered, answering by screwing up his mouth for a second and then spitting. The glob of saliva landed squarely on Dimitri’s cheek. Dimitri accepted it with a cold, empty patience, letting it slide down his face without any reaction. “I’ll accept death before I do something for a beast like you,” the Imperial said.

“Very well, I shall be glad to deliver,” Dimitri responded. “You and your gang of cowards are not the first men I have sent to the Eternal Flames. But you already know that, don’t you? Your face is not even worth remembering. Just as I have forgotten your brother, you too will die a meaningless death.”

A strangled sound of rage left the Imperial’s mouth, his face twisting in genuine hatred as he fought the hold Dimitri had on his uniform. Blood had already soaked through the makeshift bandage on his hand. And Dimitri was going to kill him. That sickening smile was gone, all emotion sapped out. His expression was cold and cruel. The act of killing made him dark. Empty.

“Dimitri!” a familiar voice called, breaking the tense scene apart. The crowd, whatever remained of it, parted for Professor Byleth’s confident stride, his green eyes focused solely on the prince. Ashe hurried behind him; his cheeks colored with a flush of exertion. Dimitri’s grip on the Imperial slackened, some awareness seeping into his eyes. Finally, he wiped the spit from his cheek, catching some of the blood from his nose. It left a rusty streak on his pale skin.

The Imperial took advantage of Dimitri’s distraction. His nails made contact with Dimitri’s face for a second before the prince reacted, throwing him away with unnerving ease. What was left was four distinct and angry short trails of red high on Dimitri’s cheekbone.

“It seems you’ve been spared,” Dimitri called as the man scrambled to get upright. But he had landed poorly, swaying dizzily like he hit his head. “This time.”

“What happened?” Professor Byleth asked you, forcing your attention away from the horrific scene. You cleared your throat, trying to calm your mind.

“They challenged him to a fight,” you said. Byleth’s lips formed a line, but he nodded. “And he accepted.”

“These men were Imperial vermin and traitors,” Dimitri added. “They wished for a chance to take me out and failed.” He sighed, shaking his head. “Vengeance… Vengeance is for the strong. They were too weak to attain it.”

“You didn’t need to accept their challenge,” you told him, belatedly realizing that you were crying. Shaking, too. Trembling so hard you felt it in your bones. “You’re… you’re better than that.”

“Am I?” Dimitri asked. “Tell me, would it be honorable to keep another man from his revenge? I allowed him a fair chance, and he was unable to follow through.”

“Still…” you muttered, looking around at the carnage. Already, guards were surveying the downed men. Checking for pulses. Killing men in battle was one thing but killing them here in the dark and dingy streets of a nearly abandoned town. A place that was supposed to be a refuge, to be sacred. It was like you couldn’t breathe, like the world was closing in on you.

This wasn’t Dimitri, was it? The man who had kissed you, who had held you, who had made you laugh. The man you were in love with.

“If you can’t stomach reality, you have no place here,” Dimitri said, stalking past you. Professor Byleth attempted to stop him, but that didn’t matter. Dimitri was a force of nature, like a storm or a fire, without reason or restraint.

Besides, the guards for calling for Professor Byleth’s help, likely asking for advice on how to handle this situation. How were you supposed to handle this situation? What were you supposed to do?

“Are you all right?” Ashe asked, peering at you with a look of concern. “Let’s go back to the monastery, the guards can take care of this.”

“Okay,” you agreed. Your ears were ringing. It sounded like screaming. It smelled like blood and fire and the tangy, sour, stale sweat that reeked of pain and fear. Was this any more or less horrific than what you had already seen? You already knew the violence Dimitri was capable of, you already knew the depths to which he had descended.

“Are you sure you’re okay? You look really pale…” Ashe said.

You felt a little numb. Empty, cold, like everything had been drained out and replaced with cotton.

“Ashe?” you asked, but your voice sounded far away.

“Yes?” He looked so concerned, so earnestly worried for you. That was good, nice. You could hold on to that.

“What do you think it is to be honorable?”

Ashe blinked, clearly confused, but his answer was quick. “Honor is doing what’s right.”

“Who defines what’s right?” you asked.

“I’m not so sure this is important right now,” Ashe said, looking around. You ignored it all, the noise and the people and the carnage and the fear and the disgust, focused only on the one question. “Perhaps we should wait until we’re-”

“Please?” you asked. That word was etched into your tongue.

He looked like he was about to argue but relented after a moment. “I suppose the goddess defines what’s right, so do those who lead us,” Ashe said. “But knights also must follow their hearts. To follow all of those things… that’s honorable.”

You closed your eyes, trying to comprehend exactly what he said. That definition definitely made sense. Honor both was and wasn’t. Nebulous and strict. If you doubted what you knew, you’d lose it entirely. It was better to let it be, you decided that long ago.

Letting out a shaky breath, you nodded. “You’re right.”

“Are you okay?” Ashe asked again.

“Yeah,” you said, nodding. It wasn’t a lie, exactly. You just had to ignore this, shove it from your mind. Focus on other things. “Let’s go back to the monastery.”

#dimitri alexandre blaiddyd #fe dimitri #dimitri alexandre blaiddyd x reader #fe dimitri x reader #fe3h #fire emblem three houses #beastie and the bard #my writing #i say its dimitri z reader but really it's more of an ensamble piece #like who even knows anymore #mercedes is a better bf at this point #wowzers i put the wrong chapter number how embarrassing

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waiting4inspiration · 4 years ago

Text

In the Dark XVI: Plans

Summary: You get back to the compound, explain things to Steve, and tell him what you’re plan is to end the war. Nat goes to Bucky’s coven to look for him.

Warnings: angstish, fluff, strong language, mentions of arranged marriage, vampire/werewolf au, soulmate au, mentions of a war

Word Count: 2,224

In the Dark Masterlist II Marvel Masterlist

“I told Steve the truth. Come home, the pack needs an explanation.”

That was Nat’s message. And though you only saw it hours after you had received it, it got you out the door as quickly as when you left the compound. At least you left with a smile on your face and confidence about your plan. Bucky didn’t expect you to be this excited about knowing that Steve now knows the truth. But before you walked out the door, you told him that this is it, kissed him passionately, and ran down the hall with a happy squeal in your voice, making the vampire laugh.

The pack thinks you’re walking back into the compound in confidence because you’re ready to be the alpha. But that’s not the reason for your confidence. You’re walking in confidence because in your mind if Steve was upset about bonding with Bucky, he would have hunted you down by now. You know he has the capabilities to do it.

And though you expect him to have a furious look on his face when you meet, he doesn’t. You’re not sure what the look is, but it’s not the kind you thought he would have.

Nat stands beside him, a small smile on her face to know that you’re back home safe and sound. And now that you’re out of the packs’ ear and alone with Nat and Steve, and Sam apparently, you’re ready to start telling them the truth.

But before you can open your mouth to start your speech you had been planning on the ride back, Steve holds up his hand to stop you. “Just...put up your hair,” he says, trying not to come off as being angry, but his rough tone shocks you a bit.

Knowing that he wants to see the mark on your neck, you do as he says and exposes the scarred vampire bonding mark on your skin. “So, soulmates do exist,” Sam states as he walks closer.

You look up at Steve as he takes a step closer, his eyes moving from the mark on your neck to the locket. And he still doesn’t seem to get angry by all of this. “You’re taking this extremely well,” you whisper, making his eyes shift up to meet yours and he finds that you’re slightly concerned about that fact.

His smile, however, seems to reassure you a bit more. “I know Bucky. And even though he’s a vampire and things didn’t end well between me and him, I know he’s a good guy,” Steve mentions, reaching out to rest his hands on your shoulders. “And, I have a feeling that after everything he’s been through, he deserves someone like you.”

You smile at his words and nod your head in thanks to him before glancing down to your wrist that still has the bracelet he gave to you. Slowly unclipping it, you bite your lower lip and hand it back to him when he follows your gaze. “Thank you for understanding, Steve,” you whisper, smiling at him as he takes the bracelet and looks up at you again.

“So, what’s your plan now, soulmate?” Nat questions, making you and Steve step away from each other.

Looking up to Steve when he turns his head back down to you, you take in a deep breath and run your tongue over your lips. “I need to know that no matter what, you will support me and my decision,” you speak, needing reassurance that you have another werewolf pack by your side.

“Why? What are you planning?” Sam asks as he steps forward again.

“I want to show everyone that vampires and werewolves can be in one place without biting each other’s heads off,” you sternly state and you turn to face him. Sam stares down at you, folds his arms over his chest and shifts on his feet, waiting for you to carry on. “I want everyone to know the truth about how this war started. I want to prove that our urge to kill vampires and their urge to kill us is all based on false stories and that we can live together in peace, find out what each species wants and set up treaties that actually work,” you carry on, looking between the three werewolves in the room with you. “I want each species to be treated equally.”

Sam, Nat, and Steve glance between each other as smiles grow on their faces. “And what are you going to do about those that disagree with you?” Steve questions.

You smile back at him, a determined glint flickering through your eyes as blink makes him smile even more. “Prove them that I’m right. We won’t be working alone. Everything will be done with vampires. Every meeting will have as many vampires in the room as there are werewolves,” you explain, your words making Nat nod in agreement and think to herself that it’s a good plan. “Those that disagree, I’ll prove them wrong with Bucky at my side.”

“It’s gonna be a lot to explain to Tony when he wakes up,” Nat mentions, and your smile immediately drops.

You should go see him. None of this would have happened, none of this ‘planning to end an age-long war’ would be happening now if he hadn’t been attacked after going for the rogue nest of vampires. You don’t know if you should be grateful about that, or saddened. Still, you should go see him.

Steve knows the look in your eye and smiles as he places his hand on your shoulder. “I’ll take you to see him, if you want.” To that, you nod up at him and turn towards the door.

Nat smiles to herself, proud at how well you’re handling things and taking control. But, she knows that you can’t do this alone. Even though you have her support, as well and Steve’s, you’re going to need more than that.

You need your mate, now than ever before. And she’s going to make sure you get just that.

Sitting on the bed beside Tony, you bite your lower lip as your eyes glance over the bruising on his face. You remember what it was like, having vampire venom in your system. You’re just glad that your father is stable now after having the venom sucked out of his body. But you don’t want to imagine what he could be experiencing now in this coma. What dreams he could be having.

“When you were bitten the other day, in the park. Why weren’t you affected by the venom?” Steve questions, stepping closer to you as you break your stare on Tony’s face and drop your head between your shoulders.

That’s a question you have yet to find the answer to.

With a sigh, you shake your head and slowly look towards him. “My best guess is that because they were newly turned vampires, they didn’t know how to inject venom into a victim,” you state and it seems like the most plausible answer.

But Steve can see that you have another guess. “But sometimes I think that maybe being a vampire’s soulmate changed that.”

“You think you’re immune to vampire venom now?” he asks, making you shrug your shoulders and glance back down to Tony.

“It’s not as complicated as you think,” a voice says from the door of the room, causing yours and Steve’s heads to snap to the side to see who it is.

Steven Strange walks into the room, a comforting smile on his face to you as you stand from the bed and face him. He glances down to Tony for a moment before looking back up to you and Steve. “You were bitten by a vampire who was turned a week ago. They still have a lot to learn. You were lucky,” Strange mentions, confirming your suspensions and informing you that you’re not immune to vampire venom. Just that of your soulmate. “And it seems that your luck has carried on. That you’re now planning to end this war,” he adds, looking over to Steve to check if he supports your decision.

You both nod after looking at each other. “It’s going to be tough. I don’t think a lot of werewolf packs or even members of our own are going to like the idea of working with vampires,” Steve mentions, folding his arms over his chest as he keeps his stare on Strange.

“You might be wrong,” Strange says back, perking your interest and making you take a small step forward. “You werewolves believe a lot in connection like mates. It’s important, a way of life for you, right?” You and Steve nod to that. Mates have a deep connection with each other, which is why it’s rare for mates to split up. “And the vampires want this war to end as much as the next person does. They’re tired of being portrayed as the monsters and if that can end, then they’ll be on any side that will end this war. So, it’s not as complicated as you think.”

“There are some vampires that won’t side with us because we are werewolves. And what about the urge to kill that we all feel for the opposite side?” Steve questions, looking between you and Strange, seeing as how one of you seems to always have an answer. “Asking them to try and push those instincts aside isn’t going to work.”

You know he’s right. It was stupid of you to think that you could ask that werewolves and vampires. You thought it might work and you have yet to test it out, but you do need a back-up plan if it doesn’t work.

“You might be surprised. But, you might want to wait until Full Moon is over before putting these plans into action,” Strange suggests.

Full Moon? So soon? You’re amazed at how quickly time seems to have gone. But you know that Strange is right. Trying to carry out these plans when nerves and emotions are riling up because every werewolf is getting ready to transform won’t be a good idea.

It would probably be a good idea for you to spend Full Moon with your pack, now that you are the alpha, but you’re worried that your wolf won’t allow that to happen. Perhaps if Bucky can be here…

No, that’s a terrible idea. Having a vampire in a compound full of transformed werewolves would be like putting Bucky on death row.

You’ll figure something out. You have to.

To say that Nat is nervous about walking into a coven of vampires is an understatement. She can feel her instincts rising with each step she takes. She has no idea what she’s going to do when she comes across one vampire, or what they’ll even do. But, she’s ready.

The doors swing open, making Nat stop in her tracks so she doesn’t give the impression that she’s here to cause any harm. And when she sees Bucky in front of the group of vampires, she breathes out a relieved sigh and wipes her sweaty palms on her pants as she fights back her instincts.

In her mind, she keeps chanting to herself ‘Don’t attack, don’t attack, don’t attack’, but she can’t help the fact that her eyes flicker a golden color just like Bucky and his company behind him can’t help the red glow that fills their eyes and the fangs that poke out slightly from their lips.

Bucky holds his hand up to stop the others behind him from following as he carries on to near Nat. She’s a bit relieved at that. Talking to one vampire is easier than talking to four.

“What are you doing here?” Bucky asks when he reaches Nat. Respecting his boundaries, he keeps a good amount of distance between him and the werewolf in front of him. “Is (Y/n) okay?” he questions, thinking that’s the only reason she must be here, that something bad has happened to you and she has to break the news to him.

Nat smiles at him and shakes her head “She’s fine. More than fine, actually. She’s determined to get this plan to end the war going,” she says with a chuckle in her voice. And Bucky laughs with her as he nods his head. Nat doesn’t feel a threat anymore, not even with the vampires behind Bucky, so her shoulders relax. She didn’t even realize she was tense. “She’s going to speak to the pack tonight. I think she needs you there with her.”

Those words make Bucky’s head snap up and his smile falls. “You think it’s a good idea for a vampire to walk into a pack of werewolves just like that? How do I know this isn’t a trap?”

“I’m doing this for (Y/n),” Nat snaps at him, making the female vampire behind him shift on her feet. Nat can see that she wants to hiss, but won’t unless her leader does. “I give you my word that you will walk out in one piece,” she mentions, pulling her eyes away from the group behind Bucky to look at him again.

He thinks about it for a moment, glances over his shoulder to Wanda, and sighs. How can he say no to this if you need him?

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Tags in the reblogs

#vampire au #vampire/werewolf AU #Vampire!Bucky #Bucky Barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky imagine #bucky x y/n #james bucky barnes #bucky fanfic #bucky #bucky x reader #bucky barnes imagine #the winter soldier #the winter soldier imagines #the winter soldier x reader #in the dark

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bensonsbreakdowns · 5 years ago

Text

The Sun Met The Moon

SUMMARY — and finally the sun and the moon met, and they fell madly in love

WORD COUNT — 2.5k

NOTE — part three to part one + part two

───── ･｡ﾟ☆ﾟ: *. ☽ .* : ☆ﾟ. ─────

alex’s drums:

Sweat clung to his brow and shone in the golden light of midday. She smiled at the sight of him, stripped of all awareness and singled in on the task at hand. He had Alex’s drumsticks between his fingers, and a black ballpoint pen between his teeth. She watched him for a while, tracing the flex of his biceps every time he beat at the mounted toms. A blush of sheer adoration spread across her stomach lining, unleashing that same kaleidoscope of butterflies through her being that she had been introduced to weeks ago. Maybe it was too soon to say she loved him, but she could see the rest of her tomorrows in his arms.

“Hey, Ghostie.” She smiled at him from halfway across the room, advancing with less stealth now that he was aware of her presence. “What’cha working on?” She questioned. When her bare torso brushed against the snare drums, she leaned forward to kiss his lips sweetly. He tilted his chin upwards and pushed his bottom lip out, asking for another just seconds after she pulled away from the first.

“Just some new instrumentals.” He mumbled, setting the drumsticks and ballpoint pen aside on the floor tom. He reached for her hands, mumbling a gentle breathed, “come here”, and pulled her down into his lap when his hands could guide her waist. Luke smiled against her neck when she giggled, turning her head so she could tickle his ear with kisses.

“What are you doing?” She giggled when his hot breath tickled the patch of skin his tongue had just caressed. He was being his usually sweet self, though something else was prompting these touchy motives. “Alex is going to kill us if we mess up his drums.” She pulled away from the lips on her neck when they began to distract her, and instead she leveled her eyes with his.

“Said you wanted to play the drums with me.” Luke smiled, nipping at her lips when she pulled them tight in a sheepish grin. She broke out into a full fledged smile at his silliness, cupping his cheeks with her hands and pulling his lips to hers in a proper kiss. “Put your foot on that pedal.” His arms looped around her waist, holding her tightly against him so she wouldn’t slip away from his touch when they started. “That’s the bass pedal. Push it every four counts and when we get to the pre chorus every eight, yeah?”

Luke had gone through relationships and heartbreaks prior to what he had with Mia, but he had never been with someone who understood music like she did. He hadn’t ever met anyone like Mia.

hair braiding:

She left him with Julie and the boys while the sun was still high, letting the band get a few solid hours of practice in without her distraction. She loved Luke, but he was incapable of getting anything done while she lingered, always wanting a cuddle or a kiss. It was cute, made her feel desirable, but she feared it would get annoying for their friends.

She felt his gentle breath against her neck before she felt his arms snaking around her waist, pulling her back into his chest. She didn’t care that his hands were cold as he wiggled them between the waistband of her shorts and dug them into the flesh of her hips. She was just thankful that she still got to feel him against her.

“How was the rest of rehearsal?” She asked softly, reaching her hand up to gently twist silky strands of his milk chocolate locks. Her nails scratched against his scalp, encouraging his arms fall heavy across her sides for a few blissful seconds. She strained against his hold, but he didn’t seem to notice her writhing, or when she let out a soft whine of discontent.

Luke went on about practice, and the song he and Julie introduced to the boys. His smile was evident against her neck, and this time he noticed when she flexed against his hold and tried to twist in his arms. His retelling of practice seized, a smile cradling his lips as he squeezed her tighter, keeping her still.

“What are you trying to do?” Luke taunted, watching her strain once more before admitting surrender to his tight eskomo embrace. He kissed a path along her neck, but it did nothing to distract her from her ultimate goal.

“Let me hold you.” She managed through smiles and hums when his lips tickled her skin, heating the already dangerously hot exposed skin. Luke broke out into a full fledged grin, biting gently at the hollow of her neck.

She wrapped her arms around his shoulders loosely, digging her fingers into his hair, and smiling contently. His head was heavy on her chest, but the weight was welcomed greedily. She loved just getting to hold him like this, considering most days he was pulling her into his lap and showering her with love. Absentmindedly, she had twisted strands of shaggy brown hair into a french braid.

reggie + alex being younger siblings:

Mia and Luke had finally settled down in the basement for a movie night. Julie had been the cover story, though once Mia’s parents were convinced of the girls sleepover, she snuck out of the window and made a mad dash for Flynn’s.

Mia grinned at the blue reflecting off of Luke’s eyes. She had seen Mamma Mia more than a handful of times, in fact it was her favorite modern musical, but Luke had never experienced it, and watching him was better then any scene between Meryl and Amanda.

“Do you like it?” She grinned eagerly, watching Luke’s smile widen when he looked down at her expression of sheer excitement.

She nearly shrieks when Reggie’s voice sounds instead of Luke’s, and her head snaps to the side to find both Alex and Reggie curled up in two spare blankets. Luke looks majorly annoyed, forcing a glare at his bandmates.

“What are you doing here?” He seethed, not lightening up despite the amused smile growing on Mia’s lips.

“You said it was movie night.” Reggie shrugged. “You know, Mia, this isn’t what I expected from you.” He vocalized, not batting an eye when Luke threw his head back in exasperation and threw a handful of popcorn in his direction. The leather clad brunette hummed, picking up a popped kernel and throwing it into his mouth, nodding towards Alex in confirmation of it’s good taste.

“So much for date night.” She whispers into Luke’s chest, though she was just happy to be beside her boyfriend and sharing her favorite film with him.

pre show + post show cuddles:

Luke’s head was buried in the crook of her neck, his anxious fingertips digging into the flesh of her hips. Julie and the Phantoms were playing the Orpheum, again, and his nerves were unrelenting in their assault towards his confidence.

“It’s gonna be great, baby.” She whispered into his ear, fingers twisting at the loose strands of hair that had slipped from the two braids down his scalp. She pulled the elastic tighter, laughing when Luke winced. “You’ll be great.”

“Phantom’s your on in 5!”

Luke squeezed her waist tighter, though whatever nerves had plagued him just seconds ago seemed to dismantle. He was hyping himself up, thrilled by the approaching gig. He got so in his head that he forgot he loved this, it just took a couple braids and kisses to set his confidence back.

“You’ve got your bearings now?” She teased, kissing Luke’s nose and standing from his lap. She held her hands out for him, helping him up and off of the chair. The blue eyed boy nodded, shaking out his hands and forcing a wide grin onto his lips that had her laughing. “Go knock your socks off, Rockstar.”

Luke made a b-line for her after their set wrapped, his sweaty body pinning her in a hug while she squealed and tried to worm away.

“Luke! You’re disgusting. You’re all sweaty.” She whined. Her arms were pinned to her sides and her face was pressed into his chest, filling her with only the scent and feel of his sweaty and smelly body. “Stop it!” She threw her head backwards with a laugh, somehow managing to break away from his embrace.

The braids she had tied into his hair were dripping with sweat so much so that the elastic was falling to the ends of his chocolate locks. She bats at his chest, nodding in the direction of the showers around the corner, “Go take a shower, smelly ellie.”

Luke breaks out into a grin, forcing a ket kiss to her cheek before rushing off in the direction of the communal bathroom and showers, chasing Alex and Reggie who had clearly had the same idea.

guitar lessons:

“These chords right?” She looked up with the same crescent moons in her eyes that Luke had fallen in love with. She had yet to stop trying to impress him, getting better and better at her musical craft by the day.

“Exactly.” Luke smiled, blue eyes glistening releasing the same kaleidoscope of monarchs in her stomach. “Move down to G, baby.” Luke instructed softly, not wanting to break the soft focus she held. He motioned to the neck of his own guitar, smiling widely when she mimicked his actions and strummed the same note.

Seeing her tongue poke out from between her strawberry lemonade lips when she focused and the crinkle of her nose every time she smiled up at him in delight made his half ghostly heart jump.

When she went down to the wrong chord again, and frustratingly looked up at Luke with stars in her waterline, he reached over and adjusted her positioning. His fingers lingered around hers for longer than was needed, but neither party minded as they shared a highly sought after moment.

“You play it.” She whispered, having had enough of her own lessons for the day, wanting to focus instead on her boyfriend's delicate craft.

Luke smiled complying to her demand, nodding her along to sing the softly aged lyrics, “Here comes the sun…”

finger kiss to lips thing:

She’s rambling. She knows that she’s rambling yet she can’t bring herself to stop. Luke had opened a wormhole of thoughts and hadn’t expected the emotional breakdown to follow. Her hands are fisting at his t-shirt, but her eyes are alight with wild emotion that he’s never seen before. She’s dangling over the edge and he’s unsure of how to pull her back to safety.

“Baby.” He tries, pointer finger beneath her chin and directing her attention to himself, “Baby girl. Mia.” Her eyes fall on his but she’s still a mess of hiccups and syllables, shuddering out apologies between every harsh intake of breath her lungs don’t reject. She’s gotten herself so worked up she can’t calm down. She wants him to understand her, but she knows that the more she talks the less he will.

“That’s not what I meant! Of course I want to spend forever with you, I mean, if you want to spend forever with me. I just, I didn’t mean--” She rambles, her eyes pinching tightly when she understands the bending of Luke’s expression.

Luke watches her struggle for a moment more, wishing he could just fill the miniscule amount of time before her next sob and tell her she had nothing to worry about. He wanted to spend forever with her as well; he loved her, but every time he tried to talk she shook her head and looked frantic.

Finally, he pulled his middle and pointer finger together, pressing them to his lips before smothering them against hers. Mia’s eyes drew wide as she tried to comprehend what just happened, but Luke only smiled at the silence at her doe-like expression.

“I love you too.”

forgetting they can feel each other:

They’re working together on a song, surrounded by broken picks and instruments. Julie’s keyboard is on the ground by her thighs and drumsticks are poking out from the tops of Luke’s ears. He’s nearly inverbal, mumbling broken words to her from behind pens and picks, but the sight of him pulls her heart in further.

She plays another melody on the keys, coupling it with the notes Luke had insisted on. It sounds sweet in her ears, and Luke looks up with a smile when it draws him away from his concentration with lyrics. A pick is between his teeth again, so the compliment he tries to throw at her is muffled and close to uninterpretable, but she understands him. She understands everything about him. She understands why he holds her for as long as he can and why he pops into her classes at random. She understands the way he mumbles behind his hands and pens and picks, and why he insists on her making the two of them food even when he’s capable of it. She gets it.

Luke watched Mia bring her lip between her teeth, eyes scanning the workspace before she lands sight on a faded leather notebook. Her path is blocked by his body, but she doesn’t pay it any mind as she pushes onto her hands and makes a start for the lyric book.

Her head collides with Luke’s chest firsts before she falls uncomfortably over the guitar and into his arms, looking bewildered for a moment before she’s brought back to the reality of Luke’s status. She can touch him now, it’s not like three weeks ago when they were condemned to ghostly hovering.

“If you wanted me to hold you, all you had to do was ask.” Luke beamed, moving the guitar aside so he could cuddle her properly. Mia’s cheeks flushed, “Did you forget you could feel me? Well, maybe I have to remind you.”

HONORABLE MENTIONS — the three times mia knew luke was in love with her and the seven she thought he was in love with reggie:

TAGLIST — @r0s3mm @midnightmagicmusings @joshy-obx @parkeret

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