#from a knight's anecdote

[777sisters]

the reluctant lady, oder

[miralines]

An incident in Rose's childhood that I would really like to put into a fic at some point but am unsure when or how is that. I think when she was very, very small she had a fear of ducks. She got over it by the time she was like six but it was just one of those weird irrational kid fears.

And I think at her family's summer house, there were all these ponds and gardens around, including a duck pond. So I think when she was three her parents or nanny or someone took her and Snow to this duck pond, like you do with small children, to go see the ducks.

Somehow she and Snow got separated from the adults for like. maybe two minutes. They wandered off, something happened. But in that short time, baby Rose and Snow were approached by an inquisitive duck used to tiny humans dropping it food.

This led to the relevant adults finding Rose brandishing a stick and wailing her head off as she stood between the duck and Snow (who was entirely unbothered by the thing), convinced that the only thing worse than facing the duck trying to eat her was that if she didn't, it would try to eat Snow.

Rose never lived this down, for the record.

[sp1resong]

more hollow knight liveblogging tomorrow. or later today. or whenever the urge strikes me again. thumbsup

[lilysundragon]

First phone call was from Izumi Sena, this is my sign to uninstall the game

[aster-go-brrr]

MORE THOMAMA LORE: her name is ulrike :D

[orphicreveries]

Henry gets jealous, unbelievable jealous and that makes him realise that he is actually in love and committed to you.

And simply the thought of you being with someone else makes him go insane.

Francis’s house was flickering with too many candles and too little sense. The wine, something expensive and French was being poured with careless abandon, and the smoke from Camilla’s cigarette curled into the low chandelier like an offering. You were sitting beside Richard. Laughing. Touching his arm. The entire scene was so painfully, politely theatrical that Henry found himself repulsed.

He did not speak much that evening. He sat opposite you, spine straight, wine untouched. You weren’t looking at him. Not deliberately avoiding, no, but not seeking him out either. And that, he thought, was worse. Like you’d forgotten to remember him. Like you’d chosen someone simpler.

Richard was blushing at something you said. Some harmless anecdote, your fingers brushing his wrist as you reached for the water. Henry stared at the contact, eyes fixed and glassy, and something unspeakably old and ugly stirred behind his ribs.

Her hand doesn’t belong there.

She never laughs like that with me.

I would’ve killed a man for her once. And now she’s smiling at Richard like she’s never been touched.

He did not say a word when the party moved to the drawing room. Didn’t offer to help when you carried your wineglass with one hand and the hem of your dress with the other, nor when Richard leaned too close to whisper something idiotic in your ear.

You found Henry much later, where you always found him standing in the shadows like something pressed between the pages of a very old book. Francis’s library door had been left slightly ajar, and inside he was alone, staring at the window, fingers tapping once against the glass.

“You’re angry,” you said. You didn’t bother softening it. He would’ve heard the amusement in your voice anyway, and he hated being humored.

“No,” he said, not turning. “I’m out of my mind.”

You stepped inside, shutting the door behind you. The lock clicked like a gun being cocked.

Henry turned slowly. His gaze met yours, and the room went colder.

“Is there something you want to tell me?” he asked, like a professor catching you plagiarizing Ovid. There was no tremor in his voice. Only ice. Calculation.

“About what?”

“Richard.” His voice didn’t rise. It never rose. But the name was spat with the acidity of a curse. “You looked comfortable.”

You folded your arms. “I was being kind.”

“You were being flirted with. And you let him.”

You laughed, too sharp. “What, and you’re jealous now?”

“I’ve been jealous,” he said, calmly, walking toward you. “I’ve been jealous for months. I simply no longer care to hide it.”

You’re honestly in shock at the news of the cold and stoic Henry being jealous.

He stopped when he reached you. You didn’t move.

“You think he’d know what to do with you?” His voice dropped. “Would he even know how to touch you?” His face inches closer. “Do you truly think he could know you the way that I know you?”

“Henry—”

He kissed you, cutting you off like punctuation, hard, brutal, no breath, no prelude. His hands were already gathering your dress at the thighs, the bookshelves behind you creaking as he shoved you back against them. Leather-bound copies of Plato trembled.

“Did you like the way he looked at you?” he murmured into your neck, biting. “Did it make you feel desirable?”

You were breathless, fingers clinging to his shirt. “I didn’t do anything.”

“No,” he agreed. “That’s the problem.”

He dropped to his knees like a knight, but nothing about him was reverent. His hands were already under your dress, mouth at the soft inside of your thigh.

“Let me guess,” he said, breath hot. “You thought I wouldn’t care. Thought I was above it. That I’d keep fucking you like nothing happened.”

You gasped as he licked a slow, deliberate stripe up your cunt, one hand holding your thigh open.

“You were wrong.”

He ate you out like he was trying to rewrite something. Like Richard’s name had been written there, and he was erasing it. You could feel the blunt pressure of his fingers digging into your thighs, bruising, possessive. He wasn’t trying to make you come quickly, he was dragging it out. Ruining you.

When he stood again, his mouth was wet. He kissed you with it. Let you taste yourself.

“You’re mine,” he said, unbuckling his belt with infuriating grace. “Say it.”

You didn’t.

So he fucked you against the bookcase.

It wasn’t soft. It wasn’t kind. But it was slow, each thrust deliberate, dragging a whimper from your throat despite how hard you bit your lip to stay quiet. He didn’t want fast. He wanted complete obliteration.

His mouth was at your ear. “Still thinking about him?”

“Huh?” You gasped

“Good.” A pause. “Because I will not share.”

It was overwhelming in a way that bordered on cruel. The rhythm of his thrusts was slow but ruinous, each one dragging something sacred and senseless out of you. He wasn’t fucking you to get off. He was fucking you to prove a point, one only he knew, one that kept spilling from his mouth in jagged fragments between clenched teeth and bitten kisses.

The sound of him, sharp exhales, the wet slap of skin against skin, the low, groans he barely let himself make filled the room like smoke. You clawed at his back, not because you needed him closer, but because there wasn’t any closer to get.

Every time he pulled out even an inch, your body clenched down like it thought he might leave. Every time he pushed back in, it felt like the first time again like he was discovering something secret inside you. Like he was branding it.

“You’re the only thing I believe in anymore.” And that alone would push you over the edge, the rawness and honesty in the way he says it.

You came first.

It hit like a fever, like a breaking wave, like the first sharp inhale after being underwater too long. Your thighs trembled around his hips, shaking violently from how long he’d held you on that edge, hovering there, useless with need, body taut and burning. And then suddenly it snapped. Not gently. Not in some soft, movie-score kind of way. You shattered around him.

But he kept going. His head is bowed low, eyes pinned to the place where your bodies meet, and his fingers dig mercilessly into the meat of your thigh, holding it open like he owns it.

And it’s all so unbearably slow.

Measured. Deep. Focused. Not because he’s being gentle, but because he’s chasing something. A precise feeling. An answer, maybe.

Your voice breaks, his name stuttered out in a gasp, breath catching in your throat, and something in his expression flickers. Not soft. Just cracked, for a moment. You feel him twitch inside you.

“Don’t,” he says lowly. Like you’ve touched a nerve. “Don’t say my name like that.”

But he doesn’t stop. If anything, he pushes deeper.

And then it hits him. Right as he feels your walls flutter around him, back arching, hand fisting the sheet—

This is different.

Not the sex. Not the body. But the weight of it.

He’s been inside other people. It’s never felt like this. Never like his ribs are being peeled open. Never like his breath is leaving him in fragments.

Your hands are on him. Your mouth, too, kissing at his neck, his jaw, your lips brushing something devastatingly sweet into the shell of his ear. He doesn’t even register what you say.

Because suddenly it’s all too much.

Your skin is too warm. Your body too tight. Your voice too soft, too intimate. You know things you shouldn’t. You’re looking at him like you see him, and Henry, Henry Marchbanks Winter, has never been more undone.

And it terrifies him.

He won’t say he loves you.

But something inside him is breaking.

He groans, breath hitching hard. His thrusts grow erratic, his hands tremble.

“Don’t look at me like that. I’ll come- fuck I’ll come if you keep looking at me like that.”

“If anyone else ever-” he cuts himself off with a gasp, voice cracking on the brink, “-if anyone else touched you like this, I’d-”

He doesn’t finish the sentence. He doesn’t need to.

Your nails rake down his back. Your mouth finds his again, messy and open, and when you come, biting his shoulder to stifle the moan, it sends him spiraling. A full-body shudder. He follows you with a guttural, broken noise, buried so deep inside you it feels like drowning.

He comes hard. Like he’s losing something. Like you’re taking it from him.

And afterward, when you’re panting beneath him and he’s still buried in you, muscles twitching with the aftershocks, he doesn’t speak.

He just stays there. Forehead pressed to your collarbone. Breathing you in. Letting himself be ruined in silence.

Because he doesn’t have the words for what this is.

But he knows it’s never happening with anyone else.

Not like this.

[asksonicverse]

[ Creator Special! ]

Heya! Another creator special for you guys :)

So for this one, I don’t know really. I have so many ideas for different Sonic AU’s and comics I want to do but I don’t want to burn myself out even if I have the urge to DRAW DRAW DRAW (cough cough check out my other Sonic art over on @verizzafai )

I am soo grateful for all the support on this blog and I want to provide for yall for awhile. So it won’t wrap up too soon, but I don’t see this particular ask blog lasting more than a year :) (especially with how fast I pump these out)

And thank you 💞

Ok here’s my height head canons! (just taller and shorter, not specific to eachother btw)

Wanting to address both of these in the same comment.

Of course!!! You are very welcome to start your own ask blog, if you base it directly after mine I’d atleast put a credit somewhere, but if it’s just the idea of “stick them in a room” then you never even have to ask! Also link me when you do… I would love to see it… hehe!

I am very aware of @askssgenerations and their work, while similar in concept, is different to mine! From what they’ve shown/teased their story is going to be very different from mine and I encourage you to check them out if you want more Ask Blog shenanigans. They even were very kind to give me credits for the similarities in our blogs.

I also sort of addressed this in one of my anecdotes at the bottom of my posts but I want to say it again here. Anyone is welcome to do this idea, it’s not a super unique one, you know? Stick a bunch of dudes in a room and make them interact. We love those!!! So go ahead! Create away.

Please remember to be kind :)

It’s mostly just the fact that they’re knight and king… not super professional for a KING to be in love with a knight, even a high ranking one such as Lancelot.

They’re figuring it out :’)

No, paradox is the only one who knows and he’s going to keep his mouth SHUT! (To everyone else that is, even Prism.)

He’s not as put off by them because Lance and Arthur aren’t “Sonic and Shadow” like the others, so If/when the others find out, they can sorta excuse it.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed this one!

Previous | Next

[romanteacism]

Knight Aemond x Princess Reader Broken

Synopsis: What is one more broken promise and two more broken hearts? Warnings: Angst. PREVIOUS PARTA/N: They're gonna be fine-- keep the faith

“I thought she’d be prettier,” Aemond let out a grievous breath, his hands balled tightly in a fist as his eye rolled at the words his betrothed whispered to him when you entered the great hall with your family. His house’s place was tucked by the farthest corner of the halls, but even if a crowd of attendees hid him away from your view, his lone eye would still succumb to seeking you out. After two years, he felt his heart finally announce its presence again, even if he only caught a small glimpse of you. He felt his knees weaken and his hands grow colder as he saw the clear melancholia in you, even if a pretty smile was on your lips. He always knew what you hid beneath the surface. How could he not?

“It is treason to say such a thing about the princess… they could take your tongue for your words—or even place you in the black cells for a month,” Aemond muttered as your father, the king, signaled for his guests to take their seats. He placed his gaze on the table, resisting looking at you because he was uncertain what he would do if he stared at your face much longer. However, Lady Cassandra looked upon you in curiosity. “Well, it’s the truth,” She whispered. “Everyone in the kingdom speaks of her as if she is the most beautiful princess there ever was… but if you ask me, she looks quite plain.” 

Aemond tried to rein in his anger, but he could not do so because even after all these years, he could not stomach anyone speaking badly about you. “Hold your tongue,” He seethed quietly, fire behind his lilac eye, and Lady Cassandra looked quite alarmed at the tone of his voice and the severe expression on his face. “My darling, no need to be so serious… none could hear me. Though I must say, I am touched that you are so concerned about your beloved betrothed,” Lady Cassandra grinned as she took Aemond’s disposition as concern rather than annoyance. Aemond felt his eye twitch at Lady Cassandra’s words. Aemond chewed on his cheek as your father began to speak; everyone in the hall turned upon their king except him. 

True to your eldest brother’s words, he did sit before you and hid the view of the guests, but most importantly, Aemond. You fiddled with your fingers in anxiousness and prayed that the feast would pass quickly. “Do not fret, sister; you could retire after the second course,” The prince whispered beside you, and you could only give a small smile of gratitude. However, that smile was quick to wilt as you realized that before the feast could actually commence, those who sought your father’s blessing for their marriage were to approach the long table. As your brother saw the clear alarm in your eyes, he too realized what was to happen next. “I… I shall be fine, brother.” You managed to say, but the validity of your words was debatable.

You tried to keep your mind preoccupied as the lords and ladies who asked for your father’s blessing for marriage began to queue before the long table. Your eldest brother began to speak to you and your brother, offering any anecdote just so you would not let your mind wander towards your past knight, who stood with his betrothed at the end of the line. When he was drawing closer, your fingers nervously traced the embroidery of your dress, bracing yourself as you would once again be faced with the love you had lost. 

Luckily, your cousin Eliza suddenly appeared, in her arms was her babe, and she quickly excused you from the long table as she had been privy to the truth. “Come, cousin, my son has been desperate to spend time with his aunt,” Eliza smiled softly as her daughter coed in her arms, ushering you to stand and offering an escape from facing Aemond. 

Aemond, who stood at the end of the line, felt his breath fall short as he saw you stand, your gaze planted on the babe in Lady Eliza’s arms. This was the closest he had been to you for two years. He was finally ready to face you, to look into your enchanting eyes once more, but his chances were gone as you had left, just as he did. 

“Thank you,” You said quietly as you took Eliza’s son into your arms, the tot quickly settling into your hold. You need not utter why you gave thanks, as Eliza quickly understood and took your hand and gave it a loving squeeze. 

“Oh, by the way, cousin, I wish for you to meet Lord Andrew. He’s my dear husband’s cousin,” Eliza smiled, and as the words left her lips, the young lord stood. His stature towered over those who sat at the long table and over you as well. Eliza knowingly smiled as she caught the way your eyes slightly widened when you saw her husband’s cousin. With his tall frame, warm brown eyes, and sand blonde locks, he looked exactly like the man you had envisioned and told her you would marry when you were younger. Eliza would like to believe it was fate. Though she had once wished it was Aemond you would end up with, it would seem that was just a fantasy, as he was now lined up before your father to ask for his blessing with his betrothed on his arm. 

“A pleasure to finally meet you, princess.” Lord Andrew smiled and took your hand to place a kiss on your knuckles. For the first time in two years, you feel the familiar heat on your cheeks and the slight flutter in your heart as your eyes meet those of warm brown eyes. 

Aemond, who was standing before your father, saw the scene, eye wide and confused. His mind was running with questions that no one could answer. For the past moons, he and the whole of the kingdom believed that their beloved princess was married. But you were still here, in your father’s house. No prince nor lord escorted you through the castle walls, nor did anyone see you with another man who was not related to you. Could it be true that your hand was not taken by another? That you had kept your promise to him that you would never take another that was not him? Aemond could not stew in his thoughts any longer as the king was now before him, and he and his betrothed were asking for his blessing, but all he wanted to do was run to you and leave all his misguided actions behind.

As the feast went on, Aemond could not help as his eye kept glancing in the direction of the princess. She forwent her proper place by the head table and instead occupied the seat next to a lord in a place that seems to be connected to Lady Eliza’s husband’s house. Aemond watched steely-eyed as the lord leaned forward and invaded the princess’s space, a smirk on his lips. Aemond had thought you would back away, put further space between you and the lord as you often did, but you only mirrored his smile, and he dared say he saw you mimic the lord’s movements and lean further as you two engaged in a conversation that was meant for you two alone. 

Aemond gripped his chalice tightly. Aemond had always resisted jealousy before, even if he often failed. But now? All he wanted was to stew in his jealousy. Nurse the pit in his heart as you laughed with a lord. And curse the day that he decided to leave you. However, Aemond could do no such thing, as all he felt was his own doing. 

You resisted turning towards the direction of your past knight. He was on the other side of the room, yet you could still feel the familiar burn of his lilac, icy stare. Questions infiltrated your mind— the same questions you had years before. Why did he leave? What have you done wrong? Why had he not returned your letters? All of these questions were never given an answer, and you would think that after years of silence, you would have given up and decided to move on. But who could truly move on from their first love? So instead of giving in to your wants to march over to the other side of the hall and demand Aemond’s answers, you preoccupied yourself with Lord Andrew. If Aemond had clearly moved on, so should I. You thought. You breathed in deeply and decided that it was truly better to forget about him because if you dwelled further, the hurt in your chest might never leave, and it only doubled each time as you thought of him and his soon-to-be lady wife. 

“Might be too forward of me to ask if we could break fast tomorrow, princess?” Lord Andrew questioned sheepishly, his eyes going downwards in shyness, and you bit your tongue. “But we had not even finished our supper, my lord,” You say, eyes glancing towards the plates before you two that were barely touched as you and the lord had been too preoccupied with speaking and getting to know one another. 

“Oh— I… apologies, princess, I did—“ You bit your lip to prevent the amused smile that wanted to come forth as the lord began to ramble on his apologies for being too forward, and his fear of offending and scaring you off was evident in his eyes. You licked your lips and took hold on his hand that reasted atop teh table as a signal for him to cease fretting and voiced out that you would very much like to break your fast with him on the morrow but what you liked most that for the first time in two years, you found someone who could bring your thoughts away from Aemond. 

When Aemond witnessed that you bestowed your touch upon another and how his stare could not persuade you to look upon him, he quickly stood and excused himself from the house’s table and left. Desperately wanting to erase the scene he had witnessed in his mind and expel the rage and hurt he had felt because he had to come to the truth of his actions— that his rash and ill-thought-out decision had led him to lose the love of his life. 

When morning approached, you woke earlier than you had thought as the incessant barking of your pets broke your slumber. You sat up on your feathered bed and rubbed the sleep out of your eyes, all the while Theo used his mouth to pull at the sleeve of your nightgown and urged you to stand. When you did, you looked upon Sapphira in question, and the two of your eldest cats only nudged their furry faces upon your leg, and you stumbled upon them as you tried to dress in your robe. You stayed silent as your cats began to push and lead you outside your chambers. The castle was still fast asleep, and the sun barely broke through the horizon.

Through your tired stupor, you did not question the odd behavior of your beloved pets as you walked barefoot through your home and were led to the gardens. When Theodore and Shapphira’s whinnings finally ceased, you sighed and scooped them up in your arms, “Why must you wake me and lead me to gardens for nothing, my loves?” You asked softly as they rested calmly in your arms Ypu turned to return from whence yyou came from but your steps quickly ceased and you froze in your spot as you were greeted by Aemond who was only dressed in his night clothes and from the sweat on his face, you would wager he came from the tiltyard. He had a triad of cats in his arms, the kittens belonging to the felines in your arms that you quickly placed back on the ground as you feared that at any moment you might just run away, as you had never thought you should be confronted by him. 

“They stumbled into the tiltyard… I supposed they were yours because of their jeweled collars.” Those were the first words that Aemond had spoken to you. Even he himself was surprised that he did not stumble or stutter— he was certain that the words on his lips would be caught if he dared to speak to you now. You nodded meekly, watching as Theodore and Sapphira looked upon the man who had been your constant companion before. 

When Aemond looked upon the pets that he once helped raise, he felt another pit in his stomach. It was odd; he was never particularly fond of your cats, but deep inside, he still cared for them because he knew how much you adored them. Back in his home, Aemond had the habit of feeding the stray cats he saw on the grounds, a small voice in his head urging him to do such actions because he knew you’d approve of it. To this day, in House Targaryen, there were maids and squires instructed to feed any wandering or stray cat they found. 

You dared not look at Aemond, your eyes firmly planted on the ground, and as you saw him dip down and return the kittens to their parents, you took that as your turn to leave. “Good day, lord Aemond,” Was all you managed to say, and you tried to follow your cats, who returned inside the castle walls. When Aemond heard his name from your lips, he felt his knees weaken and his heart burn at the tone of dismissal in your voice.

He watched you try to hastily return inside the castle walls and perhaps hide from him once more, but he could not let it be so. He was brash as he took hold of your arm and pulled you closer to him. “Please,” Was all he could say, his being too consumed with the thought of you near, that you were once again in his grasp and that he was finally breathing in your scent and hearing your voice once more. 

“I command you to let go of me,” You ordered, voice harsh as you knew that each second spent near Aemond would undo all the stitches that his leaving had caused. You only felt him hold onto you tighter, trying to pull you closer. “I’m sorry, my heart,” You hear him whisper. He was standing behind you, his hold still upon your arm and his face thrading near your head, his breath fanning your hair. You feel the threat of tears quick to come. You shut your eyes tightly and shook your head. “Do… do not call me that— how dare you call me that?!” 

You seethed and forcefully removed his hold upon you so you could meet his eye. “You have no right to call me your heart after you had left mine broken for years!” You practically screamed, the hurt in you bubbling into rage. You watched as Ameond tried to speak— to try and say his peace but you could not let him do so— the questions you had that you desperately wnated the answers for could finally be known but you could not let it be so because you knew that whatever reason he offered, your heart would be too soft and understand him. Now, you felt as if you’d rather hate him and forgo closure rather than hear his side and mourn him for the rest of your life. 

“You had left—you left me after… after everything, and not only did you not give me a reason, you had as well ignored me! I do not wish for your apologies nor your explanations— I do not even wish to see you! But here you are, in my home once more… asking for my father’s blessing so you could marry another.” Aemond stood stiffly, he knew you were close to tears and all he wanted to do was take you into his arms and let you cry onto him once more, but he knew that the tears you wished to shed were not of sadness— it was of anger; anger towards him. 

“You have it— you have the king’s blessing.” You said. “And would you please do me this kindness?” You asked, Aemond’s lowered gaze finally placed itself upon yours once more. “Leave. You have gotten what you came for— you are free to do as you wish, but I beg of you, leave.” Aemond fisted his hands at your request, at the pleading tone in your voice. Is this truly what you wish? For him gone? Or were you only spurred by your anger? “I… I can’t, not again,” 

You scoffed at Aemond’s reply. “You had no trouble doing it the first time… what is the difference now?” You asked bitterly. You watched as the solemn sadness in Aemond’s eye faded, and in turn, fire took its place. “Do you honestly believe I wished to do that? Do you truly think I wanted to leave you?” 

You laughed humorlessly. “Aemond, not only did you leave, but you left me without a word! You could have explained your situation to me— you could have sent a letter— anything! And I would have understood! Yet you did not, I had to find out what had happened to you through whispers and gossip! So yes, I do believe you wished to leave— and you were only a coward to leave without telling me why.” 

“Do you wish to know why?” Aemond asked, stepping closer to you. “No.” You answered plainly. “I am done questioning why— I have thought of any possible reason as to why you had done what you did. I’ve had enough… So no, I do not wish to know why, Aemond.” You swallowed thickly as you met his eye, you stared into the lilac orb that you had deemed the most beautiful gaze you’ve ever held years before, and quietly mourned the fact that this may be the last time you looked upon them. 

You moved to walk away, to finally leave all of this be, but four words from Aemond made you freeze. “I only love you,” He said, staring upon your departing frame that ceased as the words left his lips. He took that as an opportunity to really tell you the words he wished to have said years before. “You are right, I was a coward— I have broken your heart and trust… but do not think for one moment that I have ceased loving you, my heart. I have promised you— laid out my oath that you shall be the only one that I will love and have 'til the end of my days… I still intend to keep my oath,” 

You breathed out a heavy breath, turning to him once more. His eye filled with hope by that small action, you dared to step closer and cup his cheek and stroke his scar with your thumb as you had often done before. That only put forth further hope in him, but it was quick to die at the words that left your lips. “You have already broken one of your oaths, Aemond. What is one more?” It placed further dread in your heart as you studied his eye filled with hurt, and at any moment it looked like a tear might fall from the lilac orb, but you could not help but say the following words that engraved in Aemond’s mind that he had truly lost you. “Marry Lady Cassandra, Aemond. You may not have kept your promises to me, but at least keep the word you’ve given her.” 

Tag List: @anuklee @rebeccawinters @bellarkeselection @gayfiretruck @thhriller @bittersweetmargarita @jellybeanstacey0519 @ewanmitchellfanatic @aegonswife @briefwinnerpersonaturtle @lee-uh @melsunshine @solatiiium @padfooteyes @nordicmaiden @infernalrusalka @username-is-found @callsigncrushx @livingdead-materialgirl @catherine1x @tanyaherondale @darlingcharling-blog @depressedpolishgirl @roseidol @sapphirevhagar @that-girl-named-alex @wuluhwuhmaster

[enjakey]

Through Plastic Screens

Pairing: Niki x Fem!Reader

Old fic (8k) being reposted AGAIN. Not plagiarised guys, it’s the same person. I literally cry every time I reread this. It’s gotta be one of my favourite fics I’ve written.

There’s so much yearning, so much slow burn- and I chose to hurt myself by writing this.

Summary: in which Niki, enhypen’s baby, falls in love with a fan, Y/N. And somehow, through all the tribulations of life, they stay in touch. Calls, texts, videos and pictures- it was all they ever knew of each other, how they fell in love. But how long would this last, pining for each other through plastic screens? But they refuse to leave each other’s lives- even ten years later, when they’re old enough to get married and have stable careers.

Read the extra HERE

I

There were many things about Y/N that Niki admired. He liked her habit of twirling locks of her hair around her finger whenever she spoke nervously, the ritual serving her endearing and beautiful features. He liked how her hair fell to her waist in waves that reminded him of a sunny day on the beach and palm trees with coconuts. He liked the twinkle in her eyes while she spoke to him, myriad anecdotes and jokes hidden behind her irises to share. He liked her fingers, supple and lean while he held them with cautious and almost shaky hands. He also liked her sense of fashion, simple and clean with the smallest pops of vibrant and neon colours that appeared in her jewellery or her shoes.

Then there was her laugh, joyous and juvenile whenever he made a joke yet the back of her hand would always hide her smile, which he imagined was captivating as well. He thought her voice was enchanting, casting some sort of spell on him that made him repeat every syllable she had ever spoken in his head like a beautiful broken tape record; like he had found his new favourite song and would listen to it on repeat until he got sick of it and would wait until he heard her say more sentences that he could repeat in his head. He found it fascinating that she wanted to study planetary sciences once graduating high school, making him realise she was smart and ambitious with great hopes for the future.

He could tell she was a shy girl by the way she would be at a loss of words with some of the things he said. He could also tell that she was the type of person to have very few friends by the way she talked about school and any experiences she thought to mention. He wasn’t judging her, but rather applauding her kind and caring personality, a personality built so graciously out of rose petals and tufts of clouds. He knew, just by the way she listened to him intently with curious eyes, that she was the girl that jumped to help any friend in need. And he also knew that she didn’t have anyone in her life who would be there for her when she needed it, regardless of whether she asked for support or not.

While talking to her, he felt like he was her knight in shining armour. He held her hand between his palms and he felt as though he was protecting her from all the misery anyone would and could bring her throughout the rest of her life. Her violet sundress was suddenly transformed into a period gown and her hair was curled to perfection, styled into what he would imagine princesses and queens used to wear back in the days of royalty. He felt as though they were riding away into the sunset on a horse, hand in hand while her sweet laughter of relief echoed into the background. She looked at him like he was a saviour, her saviour, and he wished to play that character for longer than he would be an idol.

Niki noticed and thought of everything previously mentioned in the span of eight minutes. If he was forced to be precise, it was exactly seven minutes and thirty-eight seconds. It was the total amount of time he had ever spent with her and there was little to no chance he would meet her, or see her, ever again. Because he met Y/N during an off-line fan signing and he found himself being swept off his feet by a simple conversation with a girl almost his age, visiting Korea with her parents for vacation and making use of her only chance to meet the members of her favourite boy group. By his luck, he just so happened to be her favourite member- her bias.

There wasn’t a time in his career of being a kpop idol that he felt insecure. He had always known that he was attractive, fitting the standards of modern male beauty which were enhanced by the mole on his chin and his boxy smile. But that day, after he got home from the fan-signing, Niki spent hours staring at himself in the mirror, brushing his fingers over his chin and nose and jawline, wondering if he truly was attractive and worthy enough to be favorited by Y/N and wondering if she only biased him in their similarities in age and nothing else. His hands carded through his hair, letting it fall messily past his forehead and temples and assessing whether it suited him or not and recalling if the wind had ruined it all while he was talking to her. He hoped and prayed to God, someone he didn’t even believe in, that she didn’t regret meeting him that day and that she was more in love with him by the end of their interaction because he was being himself, saying things most people would say to an old friend with trust and security and comfort. He felt comfortable around her, free like he could be himself without the curse of judgement looming over him. And he smiled freely and naturally with her without the presence of awkwardness like it was with everyone else he met that day. He could sense her aura, this pull about her that made him feel like he could do and say anything in front of her and she wouldn’t think of him any less.

He hoped his judgement of character wasn’t wrong.

Niki was part of a couple of offline fan signings till now. He had met a lot of people- girls who squealed at the sight of him and complimented him every chance they got, but he never met someone like Y/N . He never met anyone that could intrigue and endear them as much as she did, fluster him with a bat of her eyelids and a tilt of her head. He didn't think eyes of curiosity could have such a hold on him, pushing and encouraging him to speak more about himself due to the care and solace that lay underneath. A part of him was convincing himself that he would meet more girls like her as he lived on. He would meet more people like her and make him want to be himself and that people like her could be found anywhere if he simply looked in the right places. But the more he thought about it, the more he realised how that person wouldn’t be Y/N . They wouldn’t have the same hair as her or the same smile, skin, nose and eyes. He just wanted it to be Y/N.

He spent weeks thinking about her, hoping to bump into her every time he walked into a convenience store or travelled past a tourist attraction and looked around to see if he could spot her posing somewhere while her parents took pictures of her. He even bought her a necklace from one of those stalls on the streets, thinking it would be a romantic gesture if he gave it to her the next time he’d see her. But alas, no matter how much he wished to catch another glimpse of her or hear her voice for another second, Y/N was probably back in whichever country she came from and all he was left with was her name and an exchange that lasted seven minutes and thirty-eight seconds.

Between the third week of Niki wishing for Y/N , sadness had crashed into him like a wave, along with the tides of realization that his emotions would forever stay unrequited and unconfessed. He would brood over his schedules and drag himself around with a frown or heavy eyes. His shoulders were often slumped and his enthusiasm while playing video games with Heeseung or Jake disappeared. His only form of distraction and an outlet for his frustration became dancing, as it always had been since he was a child, and he found himself spending extended hours in the dance studio, running and jumping and even yelling throughout choreographies. It was like one day he was a boy filled with so much hope and love and now he was grieving over something that never was.

His change in behaviour didn’t go unnoticed by anyone. The management once scolded him for not showing enough enthusiasm during a V-Live and the rest of the members became officially concerned when he let the chance to make a perfectly timed joke slip by. It was painful watching the boy tut and sneer at things that would normally bring him joy- gaming, food, football and even watching horror movies with Sunoo. Every night he would come home, he would mumble his greetings to anyone else in the house and go straight to bed. Sometimes he'd skip dinner, other times he'd skip breakfast and on days where his schedule was empty, he'd lay in bed all day, watching a show while not even bothering to shower.

It took two days for Jay to beat out a confession from Niki, where he finally cried out his longing for a girl that was equivalent to a stranger. He weeded and sobbed and his eyes grew red and puffy and his body trembled while he dealt with emotions he couldn't understand because it was all so unfamiliar, so unheard of for someone to manifest such deep sentiment towards strangers. Y/N was equivalent to a girl he'd find attractive walking down the street and she was equivalent to any classmate of his he remembered from kindergarten yet here he was, curled up into a ball while his Hyung patted his head and told him that feeling confused and lost was an appropriate reaction to the predicament he put himself in.

The seven of them convinced the management to let them go out for dinner that night. They went to a Korean Barbeque not too far into the city, one which Niki used to always say he wanted to try out. Two guards stood in front of their table, standing high and mighty to make sure no one but the waiters interacted with them. The restaurant was fairly bustling, smoke filling the atmosphere along with the smell of grilled pork and lamb. From the corners of their eyes, they could tell some of the other customers recognised them, feeling sneaky cameras pointing toward them and groups of college students snickering and whispering about their presence.

Niki was talkative after a long time, contributing to whatever topic Jake was spouting about and making fun of Sunghoon when he got the chance. He ate properly after a long time, even accepting when Sunoo reached over the table to feed him enoki mushrooms. He seemed like himself after a long time and he was confiding in them, telling them about Y/N and the little things he could recall about her- her dangly earrings, silver chain around her wrist and neck and pastel yellow nails. Then he told them about his pining for her, how he spent hours trying to look for her on social media and how he carried around the necklace he bought for her in hopes of finding her someday.

“Do you have it with you right now?” Jungwon asked out of curiosity.

Niki nodded, reaching into the pocket of his jeans to pull out a slim silver chain with the pendant of a vibrant sunflower. It reflected against the tube lights hanging above them, twinkling and mirroring shades of yellow onto the white wall. The group was awed at the piece of jewellery, wondering how much it must have cost and hoping it wouldn’t go to waste. They gasped even louder when they were told that he bought it from a street vendor.

“This is stupid, right?” he said as Jungwon took the necklace from him, allowing Jay and Heeseung to admire it with him. “I mean, I’ve only known her for eight minutes and I’m so head over heels for her. Like, I’ve got to be stupid.”

“Yeah, you’re like the twenty-first-century Romeo,” Jake snickered, clicking his chopsticks together before earning a slap on the arm from Sunoo.

“Someone tell me I’m stupid,” Niki drooped his shoulders and looked around the group.

Jay cleared his throat, swallowing the last of his food. “You’re stupid,” he deadpanned and narrowed his eyes.

“Ok, that didn’t help,” Niki rolled his eyes and slumped into his seat.

“Dude, if you wanna get over her, the first thing you need to do is get rid of that necklace,” Sunoo pointed his chopsticks at Niki, a look of promise and determination on his face.

“Why would that work?” Niki asked.

“It’s like a form of cleansing,” Sunoo enthused, his voice softening as his hands. Everyone turned to look at him, some fighting the urge to laugh and others furrowing their brows in confusion. Upon noticing this, Sunoo raised his brows and tutted. “I’m serious! It’s the first step of letting go. Once Niki throws the necklace away, he’ll feel like he doesn’t owe her anything anymore and he can start to slowly move on from her.”

“And where did you get this from?” Sunghoon threw his head back in laughter. “From some k-drama?”

“No,” Sunoo jutted his bottom lip forward, puffing his cheeks. “My sister,” he looked down as though he was embarrassed as the rest of them burst into laughter.

“So you want me to throw this necklace away?” Niki confirmed and Sunoo nodded.

Jake was now holding the necklace, holding it towards the light and admiring it as though it was a crystalline diamond. The petals were a flaxen yellow, its small stem and leaf drenched in lush green. “This is a beautiful necklace, though,” he mumbled but was ignored as everyone was caught up in convincing Niki to throw it away and start anew. They were bustling like bees, arguing and urging in hushed noises so the guards wouldn’t hear while Niki sat silently, appalled by the only choice he was given.

“But what if I do see her again?” He reasoned.

“But do you really think it will happen?” Heeseung asked. “If you wholeheartedly do, then fair enough,” he shrugged.

“A huge part of me knows I’ll never see her again,” Niki sighed, looking to his side. “But I keep hoping that maybe fate will bring us together, you know? Like she’s not the only girl I’ve ever liked but she’s the only girl I’ve ever felt so strongly for. Isn’t it so pathetic of me? Right now, I’m wishing that she’ll walk through that door…”

Just then, the ring of the entry bell cut through Niki’s cinematic speech. For an instant, the entire restaurant ceased to silence and Niki’s gaze drifted towards the door. He first noticed a hand that held the door open, then her hair which was swaying to the side as she looked over her shoulder. Then she stepped into the restaurant, a smile glimmering under white lights and when her face came into view, Niki’s mouth parted, chin gapping as he soaked in the reality of the moment. The rest of the group turned in the direction he was looking, Sunghoon nudging Jake’s side so he would look away from the necklace and at the girl standing three tables away from them. All eyes were on her and Niki was shifting off his chair, slowly standing on his feet with mesmerised eyes and parted lips, an arm lifting so his finger could meekly point towards her.

“Y/N,” he breathed.

By hearing that, Jake’s brows raised, eyes widening with a gaping mouth. His chopsticks pointed at the necklace held in his hand and then at the girl everyone was staring at, his gaze focused on Jungwon who nodded enthusiastically, confirming his doubt. Sunghoon looked between Niki and Y/N , wondering what would happen next and Heeseung looked amazed, thinking about how the boy’s wish practically came true. It was too much of a coincidence, one that would go down the history book of romance. They all might as well be the side characters to a k-drama, watching the hero finally meet the heroine after an unfortunate incident.

“Y/N?” Niki’s head tilted to the side, brows furrowing like he was confused, refusing to accept that after four weeks of looking and wishing and pining she was standing right there, in front of him, under the same roof as him, breathing the same air scents as him.

She was dragging her parents to a table on the other end of the restaurant, a waiter guiding them with welcoming smiles and handing them an English menu. Niki’s eyes followed them as they took their seats. Y/N was smiling like she was on top of the world, hair bouncing around as she talked about something that made her father laugh and her mother shake her head in disappointment. She had on a different pair of earrings, as far as he could see, but she wore the same rings, bracelets and necklace from the last time he saw her.

“Am I dreaming?” Niki said, blinking profusely and pinching himself to feel some sort of sensation- he flinched and yelped in surprise. “Am I seeing things?”

“Is she wearing white jeans and a white tank top with designs of some anime character in red?” Jay raised a brow.

“Yeah.”

“She’s real,” he patted Niki’s back twice.

“Y/N!” Niki snatched the necklace away from Jake’s hand and sped away from the table. Sunghoon and Jungwon called out for him but nothing but her laugh was audible to him as he jogged towards her with no clear aim or plan in his head.

He didn’t know what he was going to say to her and he didn’t know how he was going to introduce himself to her parents without sounding like a love-struck idiot. All he knew was that he was impatient to speak to her again, to hear her words directed towards him and hear her laugh at his jokes and pick-up lines. His wishes were finally coming true, all the energy he spent drooping and whining over finally becoming worth something and as he came closer to her, his smile grew wider, a youthful excitement hovering over his head as his heart beat faster than it did while performing in front of a crowd of millions.

His signature boxy smile appeared on his face when he finally reached her table, chest heaving up and down as he tried catching his breath. Y/N noticed him with wide eyes, a tinge of fear flashing across her eyes when her parents turned their heads to find a tall boy dressed in swanky clothes with styled hair. “Niki?” She said, stunned by his presence.

“Hi,” he said, waving his hand at the group of three.

“Who are you?” Her father pointed a mean finger at him, silently asking him to walk away.

“Is he from that boy band you went to meet?” Her mother spoke softly, eyes darting between her dumbfounded daughter and awkward celebrity that was equivalent to a stranger.

“Yeah, he is,” Y/N cleared her throat. “You’re… why? How? I don’t even know what to say… why are you here?”

“I need to talk to you,” Niki said, frankly. He gulped down a lump in his throat while he tried ignoring the flashing glares her father gave him.

“What is going on?” He demanded.

“I don’t know!” Y/N brought her palms to her temples, feeling a rush of blood flow to her cheeks in embarrassment.

“Please?” Niki met Y/N ’s eyes for the first time that night and time seemed to slow for a second. His eyes were glassy, her words stuck in her throat.

“Yeah,” she cleared her throat and hastily apologised to her parents. “I’ll be back.”

Niki pulled Y/N out of the restaurant by her hand and she followed him while almost tripping on her feet. They stood near one of the windows, looking at one another for a few seconds, pacing around their feet. It was chilly and she shivered, teeth clattering as she wrapped her arms around herself. To keep her mind distracted from the fact that she was standing in front of her idol, her celebrity crush, she thought about how she should have listened to her mother and worn something with full sleeves and gotten a jacket.

“Are you cold?” He asked while removing his trench coat. “Here,” he said, handing it to her, comfortably standing in the cold with a shirt and knitted vest.

“Niki… what is all this?” She took the jacket from him, gaze not leaving his as she put it on and hugged it against her torso. “Normally, I would take a minute to be talking to you because you’re a kpop star and all that and honestly, any girl would be freaking out at the moment and even I am internally but I’m also really confused because you still remember my name and I didn’t think you would remember my name because you have more important things to remember and it’s really an honour-”

“You’re blabbering,” Niki grinned, tilting his head downwards so he could get a better look at her. He was towering over her, his hair falling onto his forehead and hands stuffed into his pockets to form an infatuated aura about him. She was also intimidated by him, her nerves only being eased by the jacket covering her arms. “Do you do that when you’re nervous?”

“Yeah,” she nodded, chewing the inside of her cheek. She was fighting the urge to meddle with her hair because if she did, then the jacket would loosen around her and she would feel cold. Instead, she would occasionally brush stray strands of her hair away from her hair.

“That’s alright. And please, call me Riki instead”

Niki didn’t know what to say anymore. The girl of practically his dreams was standing in front of him and he had all the freedom to do or say whatever he wanted but he didn’t know how to. He was shy, even embarrassed by his emotions as he looked at the girl in front of him, wondering how he was going to explain what he had been feeling for the past four weeks. From the corner of his eyes, he saw the rest of his members trying to stealthily peek at the pair from the window and he almost scowled.

She noticed the change in his expression and she looked over to find that all of them were there. Jay and Sunghoon were seated closest to the window so she could see them clearly eyeing them, observing their every move. Behind them were Jake, Sunoo and Jungwon and she could catch a glimpse of Heeseung nudging himself closer to the window so he could watch what the youngest of them was doing and acting. Realising that Y/N had caught them peeping, they all turned away and attempted to pretend like they had been eating and minding their own business all along.

“Oh, God,” she said, turning back to him in panic. “This just makes me more nervous. They’re all watching? Holy shit-”

“No, no, don’t worry,” Niki frantically shook his hands in front of him. “You don’t need to be nervous, they don’t mean any harm. I can take you to meet them if you’d like?”

“No, that’s really not necessary,” she chuckled awkwardly. “I’m a bit too shy for that.”

“It’s alright,” he said. “They all still remember talking to you during that fan signing, too.”

“Really?” she awed.

“Yeah, really.”

“It’s a miracle I’m not freaking out right now,” she grinned, leaning her head to the side. “So, why did you want to speak to me anyway?”

“Well,” Niki started, looking to his feet as he formed his words in his head.

“What is it?” She urged.

“I don’t know how to put this easily.”

“Well, then, just say it how you’re comfortable with it. You dragged me outside so you might as well just say it,” she chuckled with comforting eyes, her toothy smile soothing his nerves.

“Y/N , I really like you.”

Niki didn’t know how he let the words roll off his tongue so nonchalantly but he supposed his confidence made him look more attractive. He pulled his bottom lip between his teeth and darted his eyes around the changes in her face. Her brows slowly raised as she comprehended his words and her eyelids fluttered before her eyes grew to the size of baseballs. Her mouth opened and closed in repeat like she wanted to say something or spew out words of puzzlement but she couldn’t bring herself to. In the end, she was a stuttering mess, eyes glued to him and scared to shift her gaze.

“And I’d really like it if we could meet again tomorrow,” Niki added, in hopes of getting an answer from her.

There was a loud silence that followed. Y/N ’s mouth zipped shut and she pushed another lump of dread down her throat. A breeze blew past them, swaying their hair and bringing a few dried leaves to circle around them. It truly felt as though they were transported into a cliche scene from a romantic k-drama where the hero and heroine would be caught up in some quarrel but would end their argument by confessing their feelings for each other. But this was reality, as much as it felt like a dream, and the universe usually worked against the bigger pictures they dreamt for themselves.

“Riki, I’m leaving tomorrow.”

II

In the five years Niki worked as a kpop idol, he had met many people from celebrities and influential members of politics and media to the fans that he adored so much and in those five years, Y/N was the only friend he made that wasn’t part of his group. He had known her for a little over three years, their friendship solely based on physical interactions that lasted a whopping seventeen minutes, texts that went on for days and calls that started in the middle of the night and ended by sunrise. At the end of every day, despite their differences in time zones, they would text each other about their days, giving each other an insight into the most mundane details of their schedules and families. If Niki wasn’t tired and if Y/N was free, they would call during his night and her afternoon, sometimes watching a movie together or talking about something that would be deemed irrelevant the next hour.

Calls and texts were rare and if it weren’t for Y/N ’s patience and understanding nature, they probably wouldn’t even be friends. She cherished every moment she could spend with him, caring for him in the only form she could through the plastic screens of her phone and laptop. She would check on him every once in a while, listen to him when he ranted about homesickness or the hecticness of his schedule and she even sent him care packages every six months. The sunflower pendant he bought for her all those months ago never left her neck and the jacket he let her borrow would be on her shoulders every time winter came. Niki would update her about his day through random pictures and snippets of videos he would take in between work and travelling. He also had a habit of sending terribly long voice notes filled with conversations between him and some of the other members. There was a bracelet of hers that she had given him the last time they met. The black and white beads stayed on his wrist no matter where he went or what he was wearing. It was little things like such that kept them close despite the distance between them and despite going days or weeks without speaking sometimes. They had the type of friendship that people wished they had, the type of friendship teenagers would grow jealous over.

Yet, Niki was always disappointed with how their relationship never progressed from friends.

In all honesty, he knew they would never work out as a couple. His career in the kpop industry strengthened and monumented by the day and he was already starting to make plans for his future for the days when he wouldn't be performing on stage and recording albums anymore. There lay a lot of pressure on his shoulders, along with odds stacked against his hopes for finding love. Y/N was fully focused on building herself a career in astronomy, studying extra hours and assisting as her professor's subordinate. She even worked internships, her talent and knowledge solidifying her career before she even graduated college. There was still a long road of schools and programs she had to finish before she could call her career something to be proud of and getting into a relationship, especially one that was online, would be a risk for both of them.

There were things they expected and needed from a significant other that they couldn't offer each other through texts and calls, which weren't even as consistent as they would like them to be. They wouldn't be able to go on dates and get to know how they would act if they were physically in front of each other. They wouldn't be able to hug, hold hands or kiss as normal couples do. They wouldn't be able to console each other on bad days because sometimes, words and random memes pulled from Pinterest just weren't enough.

So, despite how much they hated it, they would stay friends, online friends, until some miracle brought Y/N to Korea or Niki to America, where she was studying.

There were times Niki would hope he would find another fan to fall in love with the way he found Y/N . During meet and greets, he would cautiously and meticulously plan questions to ask the people that came to meet him in hopes of replacing the emptiness Y/N had left in his heart. But there was no other like her. He met girls that were bold and confident and he met girls that were smart enough to graduate from all the Ivy leagues. He even met girls that were sweet and kind and didn't have the heart to hurt a fly but they weren't Y/N and they didn't have her smile or that particular twinkle in their eyes and he had eventually given up.

"You know I've always loved you."

Niki was hiding under the covers, pressing his phone between his ear and the pillow and speaking in hushed whispers so he wouldn't wake his Hyungs. It was past one am for him and Y/N had just gotten back to her dorm after spending a day in the research lab with a classmate. They were both tired but could muster up enough energy to call for the first time again in a month. She moved to stand on her balcony, letting warm air hit her wind as she held her phone to her cheek.

"I know, Riki," she breathed. "You know I love you too."

"I've been thinking of all the possibilities of us being together and I just can't see it happening unless one of us sacrifices our careers."

She could hear his voice crack, soft whispers becoming broken mumbles as he continued speaking. She would be lying if she hadn't thought the same but she had always put it off, hoping for some miracle to take place so that one day she would find herself in his arms, put each other to sleep and waking each other up to the rays of sunshine protruding through curtains. But that would never happen, just like how they would never have their first hug, first kiss or first date together. Not now, at least.

"I've thought about it too," she twirled a lock of her hair around her finger and leaned against the railings. "We've talked about us getting into a relationship before. We know it's not a good idea. I'm fine staying just the way we are, you know?"

"I know, Y/N ," he sniffled. "But there's only so long either of us can wait for the impossible to happen, right?"

"What are you getting at?"

"I don't want to be hurt anymore over you and I don't want you wasting your hopes over me either."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm trying to say that if I end up finding someone else that I like, I'm going to try and move on and I think you should do the same."

Whenever Niki would go through an exceptionally bad day, he would put himself to sleep by watching a funny video of Y/N that he'd saved in his gallery. Some were videos of herself that she sent, shot by one of her friends while she said something comedic or did something regrettable. Other videos were filmed by himself, screen recordings of their video calls together while she did something stupid and childish for the sake of passing time or making laughter. These videos would usually wipe the tears or frown off his face and have him fall asleep with a smile but he didn't bother to do that after he hung up the phone with her that night. He roughly shoved his phone under his blanket and buried his face in his pillow, a string of sobs and cries muffled into it while he punched his clenched fists into the mattress.

He had awoken everyone at one point, yelling a string of profanities that made his Hyungs jump out of bed and run to his aid. He cried minimally but the salt tracks on his cheeks looked permanent. His hand stuck to the area over his chest where his heart resided, complaining about the fact that it physically hurt and taking painkillers didn't help him either. Jay and Heeseung sat with him until the sun rose, keeping him distracted with as much conversation as they could and even offered to play a game of football in the hall if he was interested.

The next two months were filled with minimal texts and pictures from his side. While she would blow up his phone with texts and pictures of updates about her life, he would respond with a few emojis and a short text explaining how his day was tiring and repetitive just like any other. He didn't send any pictures or voicemails and when they called, he barely spoke sentences that contributed to any conversation. When she found out from Jake that it wasn't just her he was acting depressed around, she yelled at him and gave him a piece of her mind until he came around and got over himself, finally coming back to his enthusiastic antics on the third month.

Life went on that way. Whatever priority he had given Y/N had shifted towards his career and whatever hopes she had for him had diminished. She still wore the necklace he gave her and he still wore the bracelet she gave him. She still used his jacket but care packages rarely went his way. They still texted but only once in a while as though they talked to each other for the sake of it. Their calls barely lasted for a few minutes because sometimes he would be busy touring and other times she would be busy with exams. So they resorted to sending voicemails to each other but only once in a while and soon, conversations were nonexistent.

“What happened to us?”

Y/N was in tears that night and she called him because she missed him. She missed her best friend and she missed how he cared about what happened in her day. She missed being excited to update him about her days regardless of whether they were boring or eventful. She missed sending him pictures and she missed how he used to appreciate her effort in the care packages she sent him or the random compliments or flattery he would text her. She simply missed him- being around him, talking to him, being able to crack jokes and laugh with him for hours about nothing in particular. But a part of her knew it wouldn’t be easy to go back to how they used to be.

“I don’t know, Y/N .”

“I miss my best friend,” she sobbed. “I miss you.”

“I miss you, too, Y/N ,” Niki pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, fighting the tears that pooled in his eyes. “I’m really sorry.”

“I’m trying so hard but you’re not putting any effort and it feels like you don’t care. So, it just makes me want to do nothing and say nothing to you.”

“I’m trying too but I’ve been busy and you know that, Y/N .”

“Riki, even I’m busy. But I’m still trying, aren’t I?”

“I’m sorry,” he breathed. “I’m trying, too. I’m sorry.”

III

Seven years later, Y/N received a letter from Niki.

“I’m getting married,” it read in his handwriting. “And you better be there.”

Along with the note came a wedding invitation. It was a navy blue card with intricate designs printed in white and in the middle of it read “NIKI WEDS JOCELYN” in bold italics. Then, there was the RSVP card which asked if she was attending or not; if so, would she bring a plus one? It was simple for her to answer but she pondered whether to even attend the wedding. Buying plane tickets to Seoul, Korea wasn’t the issue but flying there meant taking a holiday from lectures at the university and if she wasn’t sure it was worth the sacrifice. She wasn’t sure if she had it in her to face Niki for the first time in forever. Even though they had a reason to meet again, to have her fly to where he was so they could finally meet, especially when he requested for her there, she didn’t think she wanted to take that opportunity.

Niki told her about Jacelyn a few years ago. It was a meaningless mention like she meant the equivalent to a coffee he drank that day. Y/N didn’t think much of the fact that he rarely ever talked about her. In the beginning, she thought their relationship must have started off smooth and loving but as time went on and when she didn’t hear her name again, she assumed they had separated. Staring at the wedding invitation in her hands, she didn’t know if she was supposed to feel surprised that his first relationship turned out to be his last or hurt by the fact that he never shared anything insightful about the girl he clearly loved so much.

Y/N didn’t know how their friendship was salvaged for such an extended period of time. Over the years, texting and calling became taboo between them. Instead, they would email each other. It was a ritual of long and chained emails they didn’t plan on breaking. They would write them once every few months, detailing the things they deemed were important to mention about themselves and she was surprised he didn’t mention the importance of his fiancee. She didn’t know when he proposed and she didn’t know how they met and she didn’t even know if it would make a difference if she attended the wedding or not.

She supposed he stopped mentioning Jocelyn for the sake of not hurting her. To be fair, Y/N wasn’t detailing her encounters of rendezvous with other men and various other love interests in her life to him either. Yet the difference was that the men in her life were flings, drifting in and out of days like clouds passing over her head whereas Jocelyn was Niki’s sun, a permanent aspect that would continue to cheer him on through day and night.

Nishimura Riki was now the proud owner of his own dance studio. He had twenty employees working under him and two hundred students learning under his aid, dreaming to be the next best dancer of Korea or another kpop star like he once used to be. He was also a brand ambassador for Prada and Bvlgari and producer for the talk show Jay and Jungwon had started hosting a while back. He needed someone like Jocelyn to cheer him on and support him and she could give him things Y/N never could.

Because, in the end, love wasn’t enough of a reason for Y/N to abandon her studies and start a life with a boy who didn’t know how to treat her the way she deserved. Love wasn’t enough for Niki to abandon his dreams and build a family with a girl who couldn’t offer him what he needed.

On the RSVP card, she ticked that she would attend without a plus one.

Y/N didn’t get a chance to meet Niki before the wedding began. Instead, the first time she saw him in person after almost ten years was while he was standing beside the priest in tears while he watched Jocelyn walk down the aisle. He listened to him recite his vows, his sweet words sounding so familiar to her because they were words he used to utter to her when they were sixteen, naive and infatuated with the confusion of lust and attraction. Now they were twenty-seven, burdened with wisdom they wished they didn’t have and experiences they wished they could wipe away. They wished they could be sixteen again and make the mistake of falling in love with the wrong person because, at the time, it was the best kind of high they could find.

After the ceremony was complete, Y/N walked around with curious eyes and the jacket he had given her all those years ago. It was old and wrinkled and no matter how many times she had given it to the dry-cleaners, she accepted that the loose strings and dried curry stains could never be fixed. She saw the previous ENHYPEN members walking around, talking amongst themselves or enjoying a glass of wine. Sunoo was the best man and he had the pleasure of greeting all the guests- she wondered why none of them approached her. She quickly realised that to them, she was just a stranger. She was someone no one knew, forgotten with ancient history and replaced by the better.

Niki no longer wore the bracelet she gave him. She wondered when he had thrown it away while she played with the sunflower pendant that continued to hang from her neck. She pondered leaving without bothering to greet the boy, to remain without the joy of being able to meet an old friend. They were only physically around each other for seventeen minutes, it would be alright if they kept it that way.

But he came jogging towards her with wide eyes and two glasses of wine held in his hands. He had that boxy smile plastered across his face, chest heaving with excitement as he stood in front of her. Deja vu washed over them, reminiscing about the time they had met in that Korean Barbeque restaurant all those years ago when he jogged up to her and her parents and gifted her the necklace that was now a relic of their history.

“I gave you that jacket to keep, you know? Not to return it on my wedding day.”

“It’s the first time we’re seeing each other in ten years and that’s the first thing you have to say to me?”

Nervous would be an understatement to describe what both of them were feeling at that moment. The wine glasses held in his hands could be seen shaking and her heart was beating loud enough for half of the guests to hear. Yet, they shrugged with awkward smiles on their faces and leaned forward, wrapping their arms around each other for the first time but it didn’t feel that way. It didn’t feel as special and cherished as they expected it to feel but rather normal and common.

“That was our first hug, huh?” Niki chuckled and she took a glass of wine from him.

“It’s weird, isn’t it?” She scrunched her nose.

“It’s weird that it doesn’t feel weird.”

They clinked their glasses together and took the first sip.

Jocelyn walked towards them, her beautifully curled brown hair bouncing off her shoulders and dazzling hazel eyes smiling brighter for her instead of her lips. She was gorgeous and she started jumping around when she realised she was in the presence of Y/N , the girl Niki would talk about and praise all the time. It came as a shock to Y/N , looking between the married couple with a gaped mouth and a million thoughts running through her head.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t talk about you with her or the rest of the members?”

“None of them seem to remember me, though.”

“Oh, they remember you. I just don’t think they remember what you look like.”

Jocelyn left the pair to talk alone so she could tend to the rest of the guests. Y/N and Niki were left sipping on their unfinished wine, one replaying the events of the last few minutes and the other reminiscent of the last decade of their lives. He could still list out things that he admired about her. For instance, now, he didn’t feel the need to force out any conversation and he didn’t feel awkward now that they were meeting for the first time. He could admire her forever, not as a lover but rather as a friend because that was all they could ever be. He had a wife now and he was settled in life and Y/N was the person that had seen him grow and mature through the many stages of his life.

“You still wear that necklace,” he observed.

“Never took it off, Riki,” she pursed her lips. “And you stopped wearing my bracelet?”

“Yeah, I took it off a while back.”

“Nice.”

“It was my way of moving on, Y/N .”

She wasn’t angry, per se. Perhaps a little hurt, which manifested in the form of a pang in her chest but she accepted it in seconds, moving on from the pain and concentrating on the flavours of wine that sloshed around her tongue. Niki noticed that she was tapping her foot to the floor, almost as if she were impatient for something; he realised that her habit of twirling her hair around her finger was lost.

“I don’t think I stopped loving you until after I met Jocelyn.”

Y/N was probably the last guest to leave. Despite Niki and Jocelyn’s pleas for her to stay another night so they could go out for dinner and perhaps bond over lost time, she still hailed a cab to take her away to the airport. On her way there, she solemnly rested her head on the window, weakly chuckling when she realised that they had driven past the infamous Korean Barbeque she and Niki met at. She could almost relive the moment, see herself and him standing outside the restaurant while six other boys tried rubber-necking in their conversation.

Now that she was looking back, those memories were worthy enough to be laughed about. It was ancient history but it didn’t rip open a wound whenever it was talked about and she could accept that she wasn’t enough for her first love and her first love wasn’t enough for her.

She accepted that he got married and would start a family soon and she accepted that the next time they would meet again would probably be at her own wedding.

[hedwig221b]

Do you have any good recommendations for ‘arranged marriage’ for Sterek? I love all your recommendations and the recommendations others leave under your answers but I couldn’t find any that were specifically for arranged marriage.

Please and thank you so much! You are an absolute angel for your recommendations. 💜💜

Ah, thank you! You're so kind! Here are some of my faves...

Meant to be One by sunhazeheart

His nerves felt like a live wire was running hot beneath his skin, hands fidgeting with the silken material of his robe. If he had the concentration to spare, he might had worried about tearing it. It was all he could do to sit there at the vanity, eyes squeezed shut, and try to give in the constricting pressure around his chest that said that he was about to fall into a panic attack. Breath in. Breath out. His own heartbeat rushed in his ears. Being mated to the reclusive king with a frightening reputation to his name, bundled away from his home and father, and then surrounded by underwhelmingly distant faces hiding secrets was not how Stiles Stilinski imagine spending his life soon after turning eighteen. He can only remind himself that it is for the good of his people, both old and newly acquired. But, perhaps first assumptions are made too hastily and a fated match can be made, even surrounded by threats of war, revenge and death’s waiting embrace.

what do you call a rose by the_problem_with_stardust

He sinks down on a rock near a massive tree and rests his head in his hands. Someone nearby huffs. “Looks like my secret spot isn’t so secret anymore.” Derek looks up. There is a guy seated among the twisted roots of the tree. He’s about to get up and leave when the man’s scent hits him. Mate. No wonder his instincts are going insane.

Deflowered by astrugglingstoic

In which there is a prince, a knight, sequential sword fights, and an anecdote about pressed flower petals.

The White Hart of Winter by DarkAthena (seraphim_grace)

Sent to marry the Hale Beast Stiles finds himself alone in a castle left to ruin and watched over by Kate Argent, who he thinks is sleeping with his new husband and seems determined to destroy him.

You Made Me Believe by kits_lightning

“Here he comes.” His father whispered. Stiles couldn’t look, he felt nauseous and anxious. He tried to shake off the memories of witty, sarcastic comments, broody eyebrows, and intense stares. Stiles has been promised to a Prince he's never met before and they're about to get married but he can't stop thinking about the love of his life whom he's had to leave behind for the good of the kingdom…. or so he believes.

Under the Golden Moon by NARKOTIKA

Derek doesn't know how long he sits in his wolf skin, on his haunches, observing Stiles as the sunbeams slant through the trees and cast slashes of light across the omega's willowy form. The boy has his feet in the water, a babe on his hip, a bright smile on his face as the other younglings splash around and soak his garb. The creamy skin of his thighs peek out from the slits running down the sides of his draping skirt, and Derek has never wanted anything more than he wants this beautiful being of the woods.

The Thorns of a Rose by Dexterous_Sinistrous

“You have your mother’s eyes,” Peter suddenly commented, his tone light in his observation. Stiles stiffened at the mention of his mother. “Honest eyes,” Peter added as an afterthought. “Sunlit like the golden embers of coal burning in a forge.” Stiles turned a soured expression on Peter. “Have you a point?” He asked. “Many men have struggled to have those eyes even spare them a glance,” Peter simply stated. “An honest but naive treasure that managed to fool a dragon.” He placed the crown on Stiles’ head, amused when the boy immediately pushed away from him once the ornament was in place. “Hopefully those eyes can fool the Seven Kingdoms into thinking you could love a wolf.”

The Bargain by dr_girlfriend

Time drags on, and it becomes apparent that this is not a part of the tradition. The wolves start to shift on their feet and murmur, but no one attempts to speak to Stiles. He stands, feeling the back of his neck growing red from the sun and his face growing red from embarrassment. What will happen if Derek Hale cannot be coerced to the altar? Will the bargain be revoked?

Union by bythemoonlight

On the brink of war, the union between two strong packs is the only solution. The Stilinski pack is left with an omega heir and the Hale pack an alpha without a mate. Brought together as mates but ripped apart by a long war. They have to adjust to being back together after six long years.

The Decay of a Cosmos by Dexterous_Sinistrous

The memory of Derek confessing to him in the quiet of their shared resignation sparked from her words–“A child is leverage to my mother.” Derek knew what Talia wanted. And he refused to give it to her. Stiles’ hands tightened into fists. This was a gift, but not one Derek had given him willingly. He would live with that knowledge each time he held their son close. ~*~ A tale as old as arranged marriage, with a space opera twist.

A Tale of Two Princes by AllTheseSquaresMakeACircle

Given his nature of who he was, Derek Hale, only son to Talia and Marcus Hale, never expected to be married. Hell, he didn't even appear in public. But, after the war with the Argents, their country needed stability. And a political marriage suited that. Shame it had to be the prince of their neighbors to the south. Stiles had no idea where his life would take him. But a marriage of convenience to the crown prince of one of their neighboring countries wasn't exactly on his mind. He had to admit, it would have it perks. Both for the royal family, and for his country. He just didn't know anything about werewolves. Especially ones who were cursed out the ass. Oh well, he'd figure things out as he went.

The Fox & The Wolf by Dexterous_Sinistrous

The war between the fox and wolf clans has raged for centuries, ignited in a time before anyone can remember. Now both clans—tired of the bloodshed and hate—are searching for a way to end the war. Crowned prince Stiles Stilinski—heir to the fox clan—has agreed with his father to meet with the Hales, the ruling royal family over the wolf clan. Under the counseling of the Druids, both clans are presented with a solution to the war: unite the Stilinski and Hale clans through marriage. To quell their people's anger, both Stiles and Derek—eldest living Hale Alpha—are urged to accept the other as an equal; as their mate. For the sake of their people, both houses make the ultimate sacrifice by choosing duty over love. But, out of what was first assumed to be compromised, quickly turns to be a better match than either could have hoped for. But not all is easy for either clan, as some members refuse to believe that the war could end so easily.

By Moon And Stars by kellifer_fic

"Have you heard of this Alpha?" Stiles asks, shuffling up his pallet so Scott has room to sit. Scott does with a grateful little twist of his mouth. Stefan forces him into the Stilinski ceremonial armor when they travel and Stiles can see that it's heavy and doesn't sit well on Scott. He can't shift encased in metal and Stefan knows it. "I know of him, mostly stories that seem a little fantastical. Shifters exaggerate just like common people. They like their war stories." "Tell me of him. Tell me a war story."

The Arrangement by Arver7

Through blackmail and lies, Stiles and Derek are forced into a marriage neither of them wanted. If they each want to survive each other, they must learn to coexist. But the more they get to know each other, the more they seem to care about each other. But will the lies stop them from falling in love?

The Light in the Woods by DiscontentedWinter

To honour a treaty with the people of a strange land, Derek Hale, prince of the kingdom of Triskelion, has to marry Stiles.

Until Sunrise

“You told me I would have time,” Derek said, simmering with anger. “You promised to leave the choice to me.” “The court is starting to talk,” said Peter. “We do not have a stellar reputation as it is, and your ventures into the world of simple pleasures do not go unnoticed. You do not care, of course. But you are, pardon me, too loud for it to remain discreet.” “You think if I were to have a wife, I would stop fucking?” Peter cringed his nose. “No. It would make you a proper, civilized man. You are getting too old, nephew.” “Fine. But I’ll choose.” “No,” Peter smiled. “I shall choose.” Derek opened his mouth to argue, but Peter did not let him. “We both know you will continue to fuck whomever you want. None of us will be able to stop you. Let me have a pick of a proper spouse to placate the court. That’s all I ask.”

[masterlist link]

[jks1uv]

𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑂𝑛𝑒 𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑀𝑒 ; marc spector / steven grant | one-shot |

summary: in which you believe your boyfriend is perfect (and the one for you).

pairing: gf!fem!reader x bf!marc spector + gf!fem!reader x bf!steven grant.

trope: established relationship.

genre: fluff + romance + comedy.

warnings‼️: crude language + an implication of sex.

word count: 1,855.

random disclaimerrr: my oscar isaac phase started 3 years ago & moon knight literally changed my life. happy reading! ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ ♡ © 2025 @jks1uv

He’s reading on the sofa with a velvet blanket draped across his legs.

A classic literature book in his hands, reading glasses sitting on the edge his nose; his face is relaxed.

No unnecessary creases in his forehead, no frown stitched onto this lips. Just cool, calm and collected.

The sun peeks out from the blinds and shines its rays on his side profile, adding a soft glow to his already gentle face.

His cocoa eyes look like pools of honey now, you can almost taste the sweetness swirling around in them.

His skin looks cleared from any blemishes, only the creases along his eyes and smile lines remain.

It adds to his personality, you think.

His face is shaped by the turmoils of life and are visible by those whose trials and tribulations leave a similar mark.

His nose is Greek-like and you understand the appeal of bigger than average noses.

He’s just reading but the atmosphere he’s created adds to his essence. He’s just reading and yet, he’s so handsome.

How did you get here? So down bad, I mean.

Maybe it’s his intelligence that does it for you.

You love a guy who knows his stuff and nobody reads classic literature anymore, let alone read.

Steven has always been a curious mind. His thirst for knowledge could only be quenched by more.

He loves learning and sharing what he’s acquired with you, no matter you know the concepts of the topic or not.

He’s passionate, eloquent, and just so fucking brilliant. He just happens to know… everything.

You think he’s the modern day Library of Alexandria.

“Did you need somethin’, love?”

Steven blinks up at you, his last page bookmarked.

He uses the bookmark you made him with the perfume you wore to your first date spritzed on top before laminating it.

You’re a deer in headlights, nervous you’d been caught drooling over how good he looked just sitting there all comfortable and indulging in what he loves.

“Hm? Oh- uhh, nope. Nothing! I’m good, everything’s good.”

You smile brightly and hope he believes it.

He nods once, a bit skeptical but drops it.

“Alright.”

You and Marc are grocery shopping.

He decided to drive so you let him, but then as you went to grab the cart; he beat you to that as well.

You don’t question it because you secretly admire how he wants to do everything for you. You want to see how far he’s willing to go.

Is that toxic?

You’re in the spices aisle, trying to remember if you need to stock up or just replace some items altogether.

“We need paprika and cinnamon, and we should also buy another can of salt since we’re about three quarters down.”

Your lips are parted in awe and your eyebrows are drawn together at his admirable eye for detail.

“How did you..?”

He pulls out a crumpled up little piece of paper, visibly torn out of a small journal or something.

He gives it you and you skim through. Sure enough, you find the 3 items he stated with little anecdotes among other items.

“Did you memorize this?” You ask with your mouth forming a slight smile.

He’s checking out the prices on paprika.

“Yeah.”

He’s so nonchalant dreadhead with his response but it means everything to you.

He finds a couple of small containers at a reasonable price and drops them into the cart.

You see 15 different things on there and he has them all memorized. For you.

“Take my breath away~”

That he has.

You’re having a movie-moment right now. Granted, at a Walmart, but their speakers are doing you so much justice.

It’s the perfect song to play in the background during the perfect moment.

It’s like he’s in slow-motion with his hand sweeping back some of his inky, shiny curls.

His eyes blink towards you and you see his lips moving but you can’t hear anything. It’s muffled, like you’re underwater.

But like all great things, it comes to an end quite abruptly.

He calls your name with a wave of his hand in front of your face to catch your attention.

*record scratch*

“Y/n? Did you hear me?”

“Uh- what, huh?” You blink profusely as you blabber.

Marc takes in your stunned expression but continues.

“I was asking if we should get that juice you really like. It’s not on the list, but you ran out of it a while ago.”

Your dry mouth and shameless staring becomes apparent to you. You clear your throat in an to speak.

“Uhh, yeah. Sure.” You mumble before coughing lightly.

You turn away and fly speed-walk to the juice, not daring to turn around and see your man glancing at your peculiarity.

"Hey, Y/n?"

"Hmm?"

You're currently painting your nails after not indulging in the art for a while. You’re cure them under the UV light while your lover asks for your opinion.

“Which one looks better.”

You look up at Steven’s ask and almost drop your jaw.

He’s wearing a black button up with the first few buttons open, revealing the smooth, tan skin on his built body.

He wears a lot of loose clothing but this button up was more fitted. The material stretched slightly around his biceps when he went close the two buttons at the cuff of the sleeves.

“Mhm.” You don’t trust your voice right now.

“Just ‘mhm’?”

You nod your head and gulp harshly when you see him turn to examine himself in the mirror.

The back.

His broad, firm, muscly back is hidden under the taut, cotton material and you can’t look away when he fixes a tie to compliment the shirt.

He’s muttering something you can’t bring yourself to focus on and don’t realize it was a question.

“Love? Hello?”

“Huh-? What happened?”

His brows are furrowed in a quizzical manner.

“Oh! Uhh, yeah. This is good, looks uh… nice. Great! Wear that one.” You smile hoping you haven’t given yourself away.

Steven frowns and comes towards you. He caps the nail polish and sets it aside along with the UV light.

“Are you alright?” He asks gently.

“Yeah! I’m alright, why wouldn’t I be?”

He tilts his head slightly and maintains eye contact with you.

You’re still aware of him wearing the shirt and the revealing skin atop his torso, creating space for something better beyond imagination.

The sight is too much, it makes you want to kiss him till you can’t, and then some.

His hands engulf yours and you have no choice but to look at him, nervous yet giddy inside.

“You can tell me, Y/n. Have I done something-?”

You go against your mind and kiss him.

It’s a clash of tongue and teeth, a messy fight for lips and the desperate result of fighting temptation.

Steven is surprised and while he does love kissing you, he’s completely befuddled.

“Love, wait-”

“No.”

You go back to indulging yourself and almost squeal in excitement when he grabs your waist to pull you closer when you feel him change.

The nervous yet giddy feeling comes back tenfold when the man you see is the constant object of your desires.

His eyes are so expressive, they have a language of their own.

You’re a bit breathless from a few moments ago.

“What’s gotten into you?” He’s amused but intrigued.

You shrug, a bit annoyed with the interruptions.

“I can’t just kiss my man whenever I want to?”

Marc’s eyebrows jump a bit at this and he feels a sense of pride in his heart when you remind him of being your man.

“You can.” He says simply.

You don’t know what he’s playing at when he’s the best at having a poker face.

“But..?”

He stares at you for a moment and sighs.

“You’re acting… different.”

Busted.

“Ever since that time Steven caught you staring at him-”

Fuck.

You really thought you nailed that, huh.

“-you’ve been off. I clocked it at Walmart when you were staring at me all Disney princess-like.”

That makes you feel threatened and touched.

“Aww wait that’s so cute- wait. Did you just use ‘clocked’ in a sentence unironically?”

He gets whiplash from your undivided attention switching sides due to his discovery.

“That’s what you’re choosing to focus on? Seriously?”

To be fair, you do have a bit (a lot) of brain rot.

“We need to ban you from TikTok.” He’s decides.

“They already tried that, silly.”

It’s fun sidetracking but anything to distract him for as long as possible before he forgets the true purpose of the conversation.

Unfortunately, he’s a smart cookie.

Marc narrows his eyes at you suspiciously. “I know what you’re doing.”

Okay, just stay calm.

“What, talking?”

A lazy smirk drapes over his features and he’s confident in himself.

“You know what.”

His deep, baritone voice makes an appearance in the form of a murmur and you’re weak.

He tilts his head in that way which makes you wonder what’s really going on in his head and it’s all mind games!

You’re stuck between the cycle of admitting what’s up or lying and waiting to be caught again.

The suspense is killing you and you can’t take the embarrassment anymore.

Shamefully, you come clean.

You sigh with your head down, your eyes land on your painted and now dry nails.

“It’s you.”

“What’s me?”

You look at him and explain.

“It’s just, you’re too…”

You try to find the right word to best describe your explanation but fall short when you realize there’s really no other way around it.

“Perfect.”

Marc is yet again amused, but confused.

“I’m... too perfect?”

You groan in frustration.

“Yes! You and Steven are too perfect. Like, the other day, he was literally just reading and I thought he was the most smart, and sexy, beautiful person ever.”

Steven makes a short-lived appearance to show his thanks.

“You really think that?” He shyly asks.

You smile. “Of course I do.”

“And what about me?” Marc chimes.

“I think you’re cocky. I give you full marks for that.” You muse.

He rolls his eyes and you hold the urge to say ‘sassy’.

“I thought you were the man for me when you made a list and memorized it just for me.”

Your confession is heartfelt and doesn’t fall upon deaf ears.

Marc’s lip part in awe and his eyes shine with appreciation.

“I also thought it was hot when you grabbed the keys and cart before I could even think about it.”

He raises an eyebrow at that.

“It was hot?”

You shrug, not knowing he’s just trying to boost his own ego.

“Yeah. I like it when you take initiative.”

He nods to himself, pondering about what else he takes charge in that attracts you.

“So, what about in the bedroom?”

You look up at the ceiling and can’t believe you walked into that.

“You really know how to suck the fun out of everything, don’t you.”

He wiggles his eyebrows at you suggestively and you laugh at the stupid notion.

Yeah, you deem he’s the one for you.

[moonknightsonata]

Book Dilemna

pairing: Marc Spector x reader, Steven Grant x reader

summary: You’re moving in with the boys, and Marc greatly underestimated how many books you were bringing into their already full of books apartment.

cw: What’s a little bickering between lovers, Marc suggests something blasphemous about books several times. Mostly fluff.

wc: 1413

a/n: Is this a little anecdotal of when I moved in with my boyfriend and he thought I had too many books? Yes. I can only imagine how many books Steven and I could have if we combined our libraries and we would both be in heaven but Marc hates it.

Here’s something a little sweet while I work on something heartbreaking with Marc.

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆ ⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

Marc thought Steven had a lot of books. He had naively assumed Steven had the biggest personal collection of books that someone could have in one apartment, and that only libraries or bookstores would have more than him.

That thought left his brain immediately when he was lugging up the tenth box of books from the moving van into his - now shared with you - apartment.

He unceremoniously dropped the box on the table and rolled his shoulders as he gave you an unimpressed look. “Please tell me that was the last box of books.”

You looked at him from the kitchen where you were unpacking your favorite mugs into the cabinets. “Um… how many have you brought up?”

“I think that was ten.”

The grimace on your face let Marc know it was not, in fact, the last box of books. How many books could you even have? Marc wondered if you had even read them all, or if you hoarded them like a dragon. He groaned as he sat at the dining table, leaning his head back on the rest of the chair. “How many more?”

You gave a little shrug, apologizing. “Maybe a few more?”

Marc’s eyebrows furrowed as he looked at you suspiciously. “A few, like 3 more or a few like another 10?”

“… 5? I’m not sure honestly…. I didn’t keep track when I packed them up!” You defended yourself, putting the last mug away. You made your way towards the door, slipping shoes on. “I’ll go get the rest of them, you sit for a few minutes, you’ve been going up and down for the past hour and a half.” You really did feel bad, Marc was being such a trooper after all, lugging your stuff from the van.

Marc shook his head, already standing up and wrapping his arms around you to stop you from going downstairs to get the boxes. “No, no, I can do it. C’mon, I was Moon Knight - I’ve dealt with ancient Egyptian gods, you think I can’t handle boxes of books?” he teased.

“You’re the one complaining -“ You started, before Marc interrupted you with a kiss. As he pulled away with a grin on his face, you rolled your eyes. He started it.

“Where do you and Steven plan on putting all these books, huh? Steven’s books already have most of the real estate in here.” Marc gestured to the stacks of unorganized books that already claimed every available surface of the apartment sans the kitchen counters and dining table.

“We just have to organize them a bit, we’ll fit them!” Marc raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms with an incredulous look on his face. Your confidence wavered a bit under his look and as you took in the inventory of just how many books were around you. But really, you were sure that with a bit of organizing you could fit them all.

“Maybe you’ll have to get rid of some -“ Marc started before he heard two interruptions.

Are you out of your mind? Steven.

“Are you out of your mind?” and you.

If it wasn’t so annoying how you had both screeched at the mere suggestion of losing a couple of books, Marc would’ve found it hilarious that the two of you had been so in sync. He raised his hands in mock surrender, he at least knew when he’d lose a battle. “Okay, okay, forget I said it. Geez, you and Steven hated that idea.”

You smiled triumphantly, both for getting your way of keeping all of your books, and the fact that at least one of your boyfriends understood. Two against one worked in favor, after all. “Good. At least one of you has some sense! Getting rid of books… unbelievable!”

She’s right, Marc. Getting rid of books, that’s just mental. Steven agreed with you, and Marc could see him shaking his head from the corner of his eye in the mirror hanging nearby.

“At what point do you two have too many books?”

There’s no such thing as too many books!

“There’s no such thing as too many books!”

“You two have to stop doing that.” Marc deadpanned, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Let’s just finish getting all of them into the apartment, before we decide what to do with them. I will honestly be shocked if you and Steven can fit all of them on these shelves.” Marc said, opening the front door to go back downstairs.

You trailed behind him, at least to help finish unloading the van so that he wasn’t the only one doing the heavy lifting. “We’ll fit them all, you’ll see!”

-

You definitely were not going to fit all these books.

You and Steven had waited for the next weekend to tackle organizing and shelving both his and your collections.

The day started with the two of you bickering over the proper way to organize the books.

“Definitely by title.”

“Title? But then you could end up mixing the subjects! We should do it by subject and genre.”

“That might work for all of your history books, Steven, but what about my novels? Some are romance, some are fantasy, and some are both! What if one of my romantic fantasies get misplaced into the ‘just fantasy’ section?”

Oh my god, you two are making this so much more complicated. Just put them on the shelves!

Steven’s gaze shot over to the mirror hanging on the wall so quickly, you thought he might have gotten whiplash. “We certainly will not “just put them on the shelves”, Marc! They have to be organized.

Do it by color then.

Steven knew if you had just heard the blasphemous words that Marc just suggested, you would lose your marbles. “Absolutely not.”

“What? What’d Marc suggest?” you asked curiously.

“Organizing them by color.” Steven snorted, even adding an overdramatic touch of shuddering his shoulders. “Can you imagine, love? By color?”

You paused and Steven’s bemused expression fell. “You can’t be serious.”

”I’ve seen pictures online where people have done it, it did look kind of pretty.” You shrugged, nonchalantly. You couldn’t say you would actually humor the idea of organizing books by color, but the absolute conniption it put Steven in almost made you reconsider.

”How would you even find anything?”

“I know what color my books are! Not my fault that most of your history books are all brown and yellow.”

Steven couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His own partner, suggesting organizing books by color. If he wasn’t so in love with you (and if he didn’t think it would be a case of the pot calling the kettle) he would’ve called you mad.

After about ten more minutes of bickering, discussing how to organize the books, you and Steven had agreed that first by genre, and then by title would be the simplest way. It would most likely be the quickest way to find books when they were needed.

It took another three hours just to organize the books into stacks, spread out around the apartment and labeled with sticky notes on what genre they were (which also lead to a few more interesting debates on whether you would sort ‘general mythology’ books with his Egyptology books, or should it Steven just have a ‘mythology’ genre - or should your romance books be separated by ‘young adult’ and ‘adult’).

But by dinner time, you and Steven had managed to get many of the books onto shelves around the apartment.

You were washing the dishes after dinner, when Marc approached you from behind, wrapping his arms around your waist and kissing your neck. “I’m surprised you two got as far as you did.” Marc had honestly suspected he would come to front and find the apartment overrun with books.

You turned your head towards him, beaming with a prideful gleam that Marc could practically hear ‘I told you so’ coming. “You doubted us?”

”When I could hear you two arguing practically all day? Yes.” Marc chuckled, rolling his eyes.

You returned the eye roll and handed Marc a towel to start drying the dishes you were washing. He took it from you, diligently drying and putting the dishes away. “We weren’t arguing, we were discussing.”

”Mhm. If you say so.” Marc says, a teasing grin on his face.

“Although… I hate to say you were right about one thing.”

Marc’s face lit up and he grinned like a cheshire cat.

“Oh? Do tell.”

”We’re going to have to buy more bookshelves.”

[heartattack-eyes]

ALWAYS YOU

Clark Kent Smallville

clark confesses after you think he's still in love with Lana.

You came back from Gotham, you had left a few years ago for your parents' job, you left all your life and teenage illusions in Smallville, you loved the city, but you knew that nothing could compare with the tranquility of your home, those people who had seen you grow, dream, laugh and cry, your classmates, your neighbors, friends and the unmistakable childhood love, Clark.

All these years away from him only reaffirmed your feelings, you grew up together, half (if not all) of your good memories came from the Kent farm, you loved that place, you loved the Kents just like your parents, and it was not for less that family had something charming, but Clark was your weakness, his bright smile, the small freckles scattered like stars on his face and shoulders, those green eyes in which you could easily get lost, and that brave heart always willing to help, he was your definition of Prince Charming and it was not for less now.

After a long trip you arrived at the old farm, grandma still kept it warm and vibrant, taking things down from the truck was an arduous task, but it wasn't until you felt how someone helped you with the stacked boxes you were carrying¬-Careful, I wouldn't want that pretty face to get hurt- That voice, you would recognize it wherever it was, after putting the boxes gently on the floor you saw him, after so much, joy ran through your body and the only proper reaction was to wrap him in a hug- At what moment did you arrive? My God, you don't know how much I missed you- you let go of his arms and stared at him while he gave you one of those smiles, that beautiful smile- My parents told me they were coming back and I wanted to be the first one to see you, I missed you so much- He hugged you tighter and for a second you could feel your heart bursting with love, I miss you and that was more than enough for your feelings to start floating through the air like flowers in cartoons.

After unpacking they went in their car to Talon, there were the rest of your friends: Chloe, Pete and Lana. Each hug felt sweeter than the last, between laughs and anecdotes everything felt perfect, little by little the clients started to leave and among them Lana and Pete, Clark accompanied them to the car and Chloe decided to break the silence- So the city girl went back to her roots? Tell me, do you still feel that beautiful love for Clark? -She emphasized the word love, the heat rose in your cheeks and you could hear her giggle at that -You're going to tell me there wasn't a guy in the city of crime that caught your eye, really? - You smiled and almost as a whisper - I found cute guys, but believe me, there is no one like him-Chole took the last sip of his coffee and arched his eyebrow - I understand your point, but I think it's about time you forget it, look I don't mean it as a bad thing, but, the eyes of your knight in golden armor has his eyes on Lang, and it's been that way since you left, I don't want to break your heart, but it's time for you to wake up from that, I know he's charming, but, have you ever felt that he has reciprocated your feelings- His words hurt, yet it was true, you noticed that puppy dog look when he talked to her, even when he opened the door for her, he looked excited to breathe the same air as her.

Clark was back and it was time to go home, they said goodbye to Chole and you got into his car, on the way your thoughts were playing against you, Chloe was right, I had been keeping these feelings for so long that I couldn't even see other people in a romantic way without thinking about him, but... telling him what I felt could crack our friendship and that was the last thing I wanted, telling him how I felt could crack our friendship and that was the last thing I wanted, but if I wanted a change, I had to start by being honest, after so many years away, I couldn't go back and get stuck in the same feelings as when I was a girl, and well it was true, you didn't think he reciprocated your feelings, he didn't see you in any other way than as his eternal friend. Until his voice broke the silence, sounding a little hoarser than usual-Hey, are you okay? You're kind of quiet, didn't you like the way out? - she parked at the entrance to the farm and looked at you with those worried puppy dog eyes, you didn't hesitate to smile, you had to get what you were feeling out of your system before your heart or your brain exploded - Clark, if I tell you this, will you promise not to walk away? - You took a deep breath, your eyes stung and you felt your blood pumping a thousand per hour - Well you're scaring me a little, but I promise you that whatever it is, I won't walk away from you - With the Jesus in your mouth you made up your mind, you turned down the music and stared at him - I like you a lot, now that I'm back, I realized that those feelings never went away, that I still feel the same for you since a long time ago and I know that you like Lana and believe me, I won't interfere in that and I understand that you don't feel the same, but please, don't let this ruin our friendship - You felt that at any moment you were going to cry, his eyes were scanning you and his face was indecipherable, was he confused? Would he be angry? would he mock? Whatever his reaction was you would accept it and you would go on, heartbroken, but you would, his reaction took you by surprise, he put his hand on your face softly caressing your cheek, he approached you slowly and looked at your lips as if they were the last elixir on earth, and tenderly kissed you, you could swear you were dreaming, he pulled away slowly, he illuminated you with that beautiful smile once again and with a soft voice he said- I've been waiting for this moment for a long time, but I never had the guts to say it - he put his forehead against yours - But, what about Lana? - I'm not in love with Lana, I never was, it's always been you, just you- Clark, I've seen how you look at her, how you act when you're with her, you don't need to say these things so you don't break me, I'll understand. - He let out a laugh, almost like a snort -Honey -I take you by the hands. -When you left I thought I would get over you, that things between us would never work, I tried to focus on other things, other people, but nothing compares to you, to your jokes, to your arguments, your weekend cakes. You don't leave my mind, your voice is the last thing I hear before going to sleep and the first thing I hear when I wake up, your long calls in the early morning I look forward to them, the way your forehead wrinkles when you don't like something or when you concentrate and if I tell you this is not because I'm pretending, it's because I love you and I want you to believe it. - And that was more than enough to seal those words with a kiss under a sky covered with stars that were accomplices of that growing love.

It's my first time uploading something about this character (and something long in general jsjs), I'm in love with the series and I love clark so much.

I hope to upload something as nice as this again soon and with other characters too.

SORRY IF MY ENGLISH IS NOT GOOD, IT'S NOT MY FIRST LANGUAGE.

[spiritwriterwisp]

Knight's Day Out!

Inspired by @zeivira "No rest for the wicked." & "A Difference In Medical Opinion" by petalil on AO3. Thank you guys for this delicious idea♥️

After achieving knighthood, Subaru spends the day with his fellow knights. Will he be able to prove his worth despite his "condition"? More at eleven.

As Subaru sits with the knights for the first time after his knighthood ceremony, he finds himself drawn to their day to day life.

He's always been so used to their rigid manners and unmoving posture, but now that they're in the barracks - away from judgement and their duties, their demeanor completely changes. They exchange greetings, funny stories and short anecdotes from their patrols.

Subaru quickly finds himself relaxing right beside them, they sit together and chat about mundane things. However, he could sense wary glances towards him.

'Is this because they don't accept me?' Subaru wonders. But he quickly quashes the thought. The knights have been nothing but respectful to him - even if they haven't, Subaru was sure that their prideful nature would have forced them to be more vocal about their objections to his knighthood.

'It can't be that. So, what's making them so wary of me...?'

The thought stays in his head when lunchtime rolls around. By this time, Reinhard, Julius and Ferris have joined him. They sit together alongside a few other knights named Hamish and Jameson.

"So Ser Subaru, have you been enjoying your stay?" Asks Ser Hamish.

"Yes, it's been very fun! But..."

"Subaru, I can sense some mixed feelings. Is everything alright?"

"Nya knyow Subaru-kyun, nyu can always tell us what's wrong."

"Do not fret Subaru, if someone is bothering you - I will act accordingly."

"That's right Ser Subaru! Don't worry!"

"Well, it's not bad and no one's bothering me! Jeez... Anyways, it's not that. I just felt like some knights were staring at me weirdly."

The five knights stay quiet. Ferris and Julius throw knowing glances at each other. Reinhard looks down at his food with an awkward expression. Ser Jameson's shoulders tense and Ser Hamish's fork becomes really interesting to look at all of a sudden.

"Seriously, what's with this reaction!? C'mon guys, you know something. Spill!"

The five knights look at each other, as if waiting for someone else to clear the air.

"Did I do something!? Geez, it must have been embarrassing...!"

"No no! Ser Subaru you have done nothing wrong! No one is offended by you being here!" Mumbles Ser Jameson.

"That's right, Subaru! You are very welcome and all the knights enjoy your presence." Adds Reinhard, clearly attempting to clear up the misunderstanding.

"So what is it, then? You guys are clearly hiding something. I need to know if it's important." Responds Subaru.

"In reality Subaru, while your presence is welcome. The news of your knighthood wasn't well-received by some knights." The previously quiet Julius explains with a steady tone.

Subaru feels his shoulders drop in disappointment.

"While everyone greatly respects your contributions to our country. Many had objections of letting an ill man into the ranks of the Royal Guard."

"I'm not that ill! I can hold my own just fine!" Subaru interjects. Deep inside, he feels a little shame creep up in his chest. The fact that others see him as fragile and useless hurts.

"We know Subaru. However, that hasn't stopped some objections from being raised. Fortunately, Captain Markos did well to quash any objections." Reinhard says.

"But that's not what you guys said earlier. You guys kept saying how much 'the knights like you' and all that stuff. You know you don't need to lie to me right? I'm old enough - I can handle the truth."

"That's because the objections didn't come from malice but rather a place of concern." Ser Jameson confirms.

"Huh?"

"Subaru, when the knights heard of your...condition, there was a growing sentiment of granting you a considerable retirement instead of active duty." Julius reveals.

"That's true. Most of the knights attempted to change the captain's mind about your enlistment because you have already served well. They believed you deserved an early retirement." Ser Jameson explains.

"Geez, an early retirement? That's a bit too much! I mean, what am I gonna do for the remaining sixty or something years of my life? Just sit around and do nothing? Yeah no thanks, I would rather serve-"

As Subaru looks up at his friends mid-rant, he stops as he sees their shocked faces. Ser Jameson drops his fork, Julius' eyebrows knit together in confusion and worry. Ferris' mouth drops, completely stunned as if Subaru just declared himself a witch cultist. Ser Hamish appears to be completely white with a deadpan look on his face. Meanwhile, Reinhard stares in confusion, his eyes trained on Subaru.

"S-subaru, what do you mean by sixty years? How o-old are you?" Stammers Ferris, who still hasn't recovered from shock.

"That's weird, I'm eighteen years old Ferris. And I mean I'm gonna live sixty more years, so I would die in my eighties. I think?"

The temperature drops significantly.

"Hey, what's with this reaction all of the sudden!? I didn't say anything weird! C'mon, guys." Implores Subaru.

"...Subaru, the average person lives for about one-hundred and fifty years. They are considered elderly when they're one-hundred and twenty years old." Reinhard chokes.

Now it was Subaru's turn to be shocked.

"Hold on, did nyo not nynow this?!" Exclaims Ferris. His arms holding his weight on the table.

"No! No one in my family ever lived that long! Sixty is retirement age guys!"

"Oh my Od."

That was not how lunch was supposed to go.

After that disaster of a lunch, Subaru can feel the knights stares morph into extreme worry and sympathy.

Every time Subaru attempts to do anything helpful, the others step in and take over the task.

"Don't worry Ser Subaru, I'll take over now."

"Don't bother yourself with this, Ser Subaru."

"Allow me to help you!-"

Is this what being a Disney princess feels like? Feeling like a damsel in distress leaves a sour taste in his mouth. Subaru knew that the knights had good intentions, but their constant need to help him and take over every single task in his place only served to reinforce his feelings of inferiority.

Subaru wanted to prove himself. He has long since given up on proving he's not ill. That he doesn't have a partial Sleeping Beauty Disease. Because he has come to the realization that he always will be so in their eyes.

After all, he's an outlander with a foreign physiology. In a world that functions with no need for sleep, he is considered functionally disabled.

There is nothing he can do to change that.

But that doesn't mean he won't try to exceed expectations.

With his trusty whip by his side, he will show everyone his worth.

In a carriage bound for the forest, a small team consisting of Sir Jameson, Sir Hamish and Subaru led by Ser Yonas prepares to investigate a Mabeast sighting.

"Villagers claim to hear distant howls and violent thumping in all hours. Not only that, but also a previous check up has confirmed a significant rise in mana levels on the premises." Sir Jameson explains.

"There is no need to explain further. Sir Jameson and Sir Hamish shall head east. I will head west and -" Yonas' eyes dart towards Subaru. "Subaru will remain here with the coachman."

"Hey! I'm a knight too! How come I have to stay here!?"

"To protect the coachman, of course."

"The coachman doesn't need protecting he's holding a barrier stone! You're just trying to bench me."

"I'm not sure what you mean by 'benching you' but I will not allow a man of your condition to step unto the field. Otherwise, you risk holding us back."

"Sir Yonas, that is an awful thing to say..." Mutters Ser Jameson. He wanted to defend Subaru's honor, he was the slayer of Sloth and the Great Rabbit after all! However, Ser Yonas doesn't seem moved by his meager comment.

"Be quiet, fool. If he falls asleep during this mission, not only does he risk himself but also all of us. As the acting Captain of this mission, I will not allow dead weight." States Ser Yonas.

"it doesn't work like that! I don't fall asleep randomly! And definitely not in the woods-" Subaru tries to defend himself, only to be interrupted.

"Your illness will hold us back." Ser Yonas declares, not allowing any room for argument.

"You don't know anything about my illness!" Subaru yells.

"I don't care to know. Remain here, Subaru." Ser Yonas spits out. He gets up and motions for both Ser Jameson and Ser Hamish to move out and begin their mission.

The sympathetic knights throw sorry glances at Subaru. They couldn't disobey their superior officer.

The three leave Subaru to sulk with the coachman, who places a gentle pat on his shoulder.

"Y'know son, you're a good man. Don't take what Ser Yonas says seriously. He's always like that." The coachman says, trying to comfort a grumpy Subaru.

"How do you put up with an annoying guy like that, then? I'm not staying quiet if he decides to insult me again next time!" Subaru declares, putting up his arms dramatically.

"He he, why not challenge him to a duel?"

"And have a repeat of Julius? No way! I specialize in battles against witch cultists and beasts - not knights! Thank you very much!" Subaru shuddered, he had learned a good lesson in the Capital that day. He could still feel Emilia's cold look.

"Well for what it's worth, you saved my little nephew in Arlam that day. To me, you'll always be our hero." The old coachman confesses.

The comment drills itself deep in Subaru's heart. He feels blood pumping into his cheeks as he becomes red in the face from embarrassment.

"Aww, thanks man. I appreciate it. Hey, do you know why Yonas is such an ass?"

"I'm afraid only Ser Yonas can answer that question. I know for a fact that he was the leading voice against your promotion."

'That's because the objections didn't come from malice but rather a place of concern.'

Subaru remembers Jameson's comment. While Yonas's behavior hints at a more malicious reason, he trusted Jameson's words far more.

'Could it be...' Subaru wonders.

"Y'know son, I have been the coachman for the Knight Order for the better part of twenty years now. Not once have I heard a single bad word about Ser Yonas. That boy was always kind, a little harsh but kind nonetheless." The old coachman admits.

'Is....Is Ser Yonas a tsundere?'

"That boy has seen a lot. While I haven't confirmed it, I have heard rumors that Yonas's younger brother has fallen into an eternal slumber years ago."

"Oh...." Subaru looks down at the grass, his shoulders drop and his face softens.

This would make sense. If Subaru were a constant reminder of his younger brother's affliction, it wasn't surprising that Yonas disliked him.

Subaru gets up with new-found determination, he pumps his fist up into the air and declares : "I'm Natsuki Subaru, and I won't stand back even when I'm ordered too!"

He steps off the carriage and heads into the forest.

"Son, where are you going? You're disobeying orders! Ser Yonas won't let this go!"

"I didn't become Natsuki Subaru by following them! I'll see you later, old man. Thank you for the pep talk!" Subaru says as he runs off in the same direction as Yonas.

"That boy is gonna get into so much trouble..." The old man sighs. But deep in his heart, he hoped he wouldn't.

Ser Yonas has severely underestimated the number of Mabeasts in the forest. He didn't think he would run into an entire herd of them. As he runs across the foliage, attempting to reach higher ground to hopefully gain an advantage.

The beasts are gaining up on him.

His hopes are for naught as a massive cliff looms over him, blocking his escape. Yonas unsheathes his sword as he prepares a final stand.

"I will not allow the witchbeasts into the village!"

He takes in a deep breath and shouts :

"I am Ser Yonas Verdant. A proud Knight of Lugunica. Prepare to die."

The beasts don't understand. Yonas was sure that even if they could, they wouldn't care. They bare their teeth and ready their claws.

His life flashes before his eyes. Visions of a woman and two children, a comatose man and a respectable home rush through his mind.

"Hey buddy! Looks like you're in a pickle, my guy!" Laughs a familiar voice from above.

See Yonas looks up in disbelief only to find Subaru, grinning down at him. But before he can interject, Subaru yells :"Get away man! Nature's strongest attack incoming!"

Without thinking, Ser Yonas dodges to the side, moving from underneath the massive cliff into a nearby river.

The earth shakes. A massive wave of dirt and rock crashes into the witchbeasts and buries them underground, kiilling them instantly.

The sound of growls and bones breaking slowly fade as the monsters die underneath the mound.

'What the hell just happened.' Ser Yonas thinks as he drags himself out of the river. A rough hand helps him on his feet.

"What the hell was that!? How did you do that!?" Yonas screams at Subaru.

"Chill dude, the cliff was eroding so I just moved a few rocks. Then the whole thing just crashed into itself. Don't worry, I had everything under control."

"Under control? Under control!? You dropped the entire cliff! Are you insane? Not only did you disobey direct orders, you also engaged in a dangerous stunt! Do you have anything to say for yourself!?"

"Geez I'm sorry I saved you, asshole!"

Ser Yonas flinches.

"How about this, let's just sit in silence and wait for Hamish and Jameson to pick us up. They must have heard the cliff crashing down." Subaru suggests, any goodwill he had towards Yonas fades away like dandelions in the wind.

They sit next to each other in silence under a tree. The gentle wind breezes past. The pale moonlight envelopes the world. In this tranquil environment, Ser Yonas finds his anger fading away.

"I apologize for my earlier harshness. While I don't agree with your methods, you did, in fact, save my life."

"...You're welcome."

"I must also apologize for my treatment of you earlier. You did not deserve such words."

"Why did you hate me so much?" Subaru softly asks.

"In truth, I was jealous. My brother has been sleeping for five years now with no signs of waking up. And when I heard of you, I became inexplicably angry-why is my younger brother cursed to forever sleep while you wake up?"

Subaru looks up from the ground and shifts his gaze to where Yonas sits. He is sitting completely drenched in water with his face buried in his knees, as if to hide himself from the world.

"So I took out my anger on you. It was shameful of me to insult a great knight such as yourself. You, who has saved more people than I ever have-"

"Don't insult yourself like that, man. You're a good guy and a great knight. You help people every day. You saved people too. Don't forget that. I'm sure your brother will be proud of you."

Yonas raises his head from his knees and looks at Subaru with tears in his eyes.

"Even when I reminded you of your disease? Even when I bullied you back in the carriage, even when I-"

"That's the Yonas from an hour ago. The Yonas sitting in front of me now has apologized to me."

Subaru takes out a handkerchief from his pocket and begins wiping his tear-stricken face.

"I have heard of your diminished lifespan from the other knights. I just wanted to say that I truly am sorry."

"Don't feel bad. I don't. I've been like this my entire life and so have my family so it's not like I feel left out or something. What's the difference between living for eighty or one-hundred and fifty years? I'll still live a good life that's for sure."

"How can you be so confident?"

"You're not gonna live if you keep wondering about the future. You're gonna make mistakes in life, so try your best to learn move on, y'know."

Yonas stares at Subaru in shock.

"So you're just going to forgive me that easily?"

"Yes."

"Why? If it were anyone else, I would have been challenged to a duel or..."

"Geez man, calm down! I forgave you because you're genuinely a kind guy, like deep deep inside."

For the first time in a long while, perhaps since the day his beloved younger brother fell into his never-ending coma, Yonas truly laughed from deep inside his soul.

Unable to hold himself back, Subaru begins laughing as well.

And that's how they're found.

Upon making their way back to the guard station, the crew went into their separate ways and Subaru finds himself sitting next to Reinhard.

"Hey Reinhard, were you also against me becoming a knight?"

"...Yes, I was. I believed an early rest for you was far more appropriate."

"What changed your mind?"

"It was the way you looked at Lady Emilia during your knighthood ceremony. You had such a love-filled gaze. I knew that in that moment, you have found your will to live."

Subaru blushes as he looks up at the night sky. For the first time in a long time, a burst of honesty devoid of any jokes spreads in his chest.

"I just wanted to live with the girl I loved for the rest of my life."

His eyes feel heavy and a yawn escapes his throat.

"Oh Subaru, Ferris has prepared a room for you tonight before you return to Lady Emilia."

"Thanks man....I appreciate it" Subaru mutters as he stumbles into his room. As soon his head hits the covers, sleep overtakes him and he passes out cold.

As sunlight creeps in through the window, Subaru is startled awake by the feeling of someone watching him sleep. He opens his eyes, only to find a group of at least a dozen knights staring at him as he slept.

"Oh, c'mon guys!"

Who are Ser Hamish & Ser Jameson and Ser Yonas? I made them up for more world building. I thought it would be better to see more characters other than the known cast.

I actually started writing this one shot in February but then school ate my will to live lol. It started as comedic & then became a bit more depressing as I kept writing.

A massive thank you to @amphimoria for catching a lot of (dumb) mistakes made by me. English is not our first language, so forgive any mistakes ty ♥️

[teaeodora]

"IN THIS HOUSE, THE WIFE REIGNS SUPREME! "

a/n: am i back? or perhaps this is a mere illusion..

synopsis: when faced with their wife's wrath, even the mightiest men of the land are forced to comply.

contents: small anecdotes, maybe ooc diluc because once again I am bad at writing him??? implied!female, whipped men (why not?) loser coded cuties scared of their wifes, mentions of pregnancy (wriothesley), swearing (mild), fluff, i blanked out mid way writing this but it is what it is and i find it cute, self indulgent.

not proof read.

DILUC !

Master Diluc was always in control. After all he ran the biggest winery in the entirety of Tevyat. Ledgers, Budgets, Circulation of goods, transactions, loans — this man could do it all.

On paper, he was the perfect husband. He was secure in himself, didn't take anyone's incompetence and preferred a quiet life with you. What more can a man desire?

However, as the saying goes - nothing is perfect. So having Kaeya, his stepbrother's continuous coercion into drinking was the imperfect part of his life. It was ironic really, being the owner of a winery, he held a distaste for alcohol and preferred grape juice.

Yet today he sat in his own tavern, one glass down. How had he come to this? How did he magically end up with one whole glass of wine in his system, coursing through his veins? He had no recollection.

He half heartedly listened to Kaeya and Rosaria's conversation when his ears caught another conversation. Two customers talked about having "wife" troubles and how they regret marrying so suddenly.

It was almost as if his tongue had gained consciousness of its own and the word fell out of Diluc's mouth, "As a man, if you only love one woman and then married her immediately—"

"Master Diluc" Kaeya tried. TRIED to stop this man.*

"...then you're truly foolish," Diluc finished. The silence that came next was merely the calm before the storm.

"Is that so?" the voice spoke up from behind. If anyone held the world record of sobering up in a matter of seconds- it would be Diluc Ragvinder right now.

"So..are you clever..or foolish for loving and cherishing me?" You leaned in, eyes radiating the clear sign— one wrong move and the celebrated Dark Knight Hero would be straight into his grave.

Diluc blinked once, twice- before stammering out in a fit of panic "uh..uh yes..yes ofcourse, I am foolish," he quickly admitted.

That may have saved him for the couch tonight but Kaeya was certainly not going to let him live this down.

ALHAITHAM !

Alhaitham never hid the fact that he disliked being the Acting Grand Sage. The only positive part of the circumstance was that he had access to all the documents and he could analyse them all he wanted and leverage them to his favour in the future. If needed.

Thing was, now he had to oversee twice as many workers of the Akademiya and it was twice as grating at his nerves. He'd rather be rejecting applications into the Akademiya for his own amusement than be a leader. He was clear with he wanted — peace, quiet and stable income. Rest? He didn't care enough or purposefully tuned it out.

He was been a slight hardass to the employees, critiquing their work, pointing out alignment issues on documentation, muttering something on the lines of a 12 slab long relic being easier to decipher than this utterly mind numbimg report submitted by one of the freshers. He couldn't take it and reallocated the guy to some other department.

Now the others were worried of meeting the same fate. So desperate times called for desperate measures. You.

Alhaitham sat that day in his office, feeling uneasy. Why did it feel like something bad was going to happen?

Click. Click. Click.

Oh, he'd recognised that sound anywhere.

"I have heard that you are being a hard ass...to the employees..." you stood near his desk, foot tapping in a rhythmic motion, screaming "You better have a logical explanation"

Alhaitham gulped. Gulped. His adam's apple bobbing up and down in subtle apprehension. "Look, it is just that their work isn't upto the mark—"

"Then instruct them instead of firing people and causing terror."

Alhaitham was the Acting Grand Sage. He was the highest authority. He held dominance over every operation. However, domestic operations seemed to be the one field he seemed to be rendered helpless at.

WRIOTHESLEY !

Fontaine, the land of mechas, tea parties, elegant dresses, and ofcourse downpours.

The bakery was warm, contrary to the cold weather outside, full of delightful scents of baked bread, steaming buns, delectable cookies and much more. The owner smiled to themselves, cleaning the top of glass display, content with what they had established.

The bell rang, signaling someone entering the bakery. Who in their right mind would come in this downpour? The owner took the appreance of the man soaked from head to toe, his black hair damp and a bit flattened, the overcoat hanging off his shoulders seemed heavy and dripped with water. His boots thudded against the floor as he approached the counter.

"...Your Grace!?" The owner sputtered at the sight of the Duke of the Meropide, a man who was as illusive as they came. "What brings you here?" The owner couldn't help but ask, seeing the man who braved the storm and was now in his store.

"I need your sweetest baked good. And please, stuff it with extra chocolate. Extra means extra. The Duke emphasied on the extra part.

"Yes but...if you don't mind me asking, why are you out here in such a weather?"

"Because my wife is craving something sweet. And that's an order as far as I know it," the Duke laughed, both from amusement and the fear of being murdered in cold blood by a woman 27 weeks into pregnancy.

"Oh."

"Oh indeed."

Wriothesley returned 30 minutes later, both proud and tired, "here love I got you the—"

You looked at him and sheepishly grinned "um i actually want your spicy BBQ ribs..."

...

Someone end him please.

NEUVILLETTE !

Neuvillette scribbled at the paperwork that piled up on his desk. Admistrative reforms, trade permits, policy amendment suggestions, court cases...

Tick tock tick tock

He glanced at the time. It was 8:30. He had strict orders to return home by 9. Non negotiable. After all his lovely wife said she would prep the best dinner date for the both of them and had been looking forward to it the entire week.

He couldn't help but smile the memory of her smile, her excited words as she explained her plans for the date, the different things she'd bake. It made his heart flutter. Neuvillette was a person unable to feel things — his position as the Chief Justice demanded that from him. Yet amidst all that, he enjoyed having a small space of comfort and familiarity he had created for himself. Just you and him. Nothing else.

Problem was—

8:35

"Monsieur Neuvillette, you've got these letters, some from the nobles, few from the common public." Sedene, the melusine receptionist reported, placing the heap of letters on his table.

8:40

"Monsieur, have you reviewed the case files for tomorrow? The board is asking for it." Sedene asked, waiting as he got up to retrieve the files.

He sighed, satisfied that he was finished with his duties for today. Now he could organize his space and still have time to get back home—

8:45.

"Monsieur! This needs your immediate approval! Its about amendment demands in the overseas trades by the foreign envoy"

Neuvillette wanted to pinch his nose. Seriously? How is it that the moment he fathoms the thought of some leisure...work finds its way to him? He was desperate to leave.

"Please tell them that my work hours are over and to come back in the morning." Neuvillette politely said.

"But they are not listening Monsieur—"

...sigh guess he had no choice.

He knew you would be furious. After all, he was 30 whole minutes later. Not one minute, not two but 30. As expected you were furious and it made fear and nervousness creep up his spine. The Iudex was a man of utmost authority. His judgement was absolute and his confidence was resolute.

Yet, all seemed to combust at the sight of you.

"Why?"

"Stubborn foreign envoy" he replied curtly, not beating around the bush.

You nodded before chuckling at his serious expression. "Relax honey, I am not going to skewer you with a fork."

Neuvillette exhaled in relief, "Thank god. Though I sincerely apologise my love."

"Oh no need. Just your company is enough" you smiled before going back to reheating the food.

Neuvillette didn't believing in falling in love twice. But hell he just did. With the same person that he devoted his heart to from the start.

ZHONGLI !

"Honey, you're going out, yes?' You called out to Zhongli, who was finishing up getting ready for the day.

"Yes dear," Your husband replied in deep opulent tone, enough to make your knees buck every single time.

"Please get milk, eggs and meat on your way back...we are out of it and I won't be able to make stew with just vegetables," You peeped out from the kitchen. He smiled, "ofcourse. I'll be back by noon."

Zhongli had impeccable memory. He could recall every moment of every war from millenias ago. Yet a small voice nagged at his brain. He was forgetting something. What was he forgetting?

"Director Hu, am I forgetting something?"

Hu tao turned around, looking utterly baffled, "you? Forgetting something? That's impossible Zhongli."

Zhongli thought for a bit more before agreeing. Yeah, he never forgot anything. Maybe it was just him overthinking...

If only he had listen to all the alarms that warned him for what was about to come.

"I am home" Zhongli announced softly, taking off his shoes and stepping into the house.

"Welcome back!" You greeted him with the same warm smile the Lord of Contracts had grown to love. In his eyes, not even the mostly radiant Cor Lapis could match your radiance.

Then the dreaded question came.

"Did you get the groceries?"

pause. visible sweat drop.

So that was what he forgot.

"Um.." Zhongli sheepishly scratched at his cheek,* "...it seemed to have slipped my mind. You see dear, Director Hu needed my help with the funeral preparations and then Childe accompanied me to this ancient artifact stall where they were selling rather intriguing pieces—"

"So, you forgot groceries but bought artifacts?"

"..."

And for the first time in a thousand centuries, Deus Auri had to stare at a dinner full of artifacts after his beloved reprimanded him, saying "since artifacts are so important, might as well satisfy your hunger with it too."

a/n : IT IS FINALLY OUT. THIS HAS BEEN IN MY DRAFTS SINCE LAST YEAR AKANDOAUDS I had such a fun time writing this- and giggled so much. So i hope you giggled too. Have a good day/night smoochies my loves.

creds: @teaeodora , banner creds : hoyoverse

[flipppyflopp]

“This museum is celebrating its 100th anniversary? Wonder if there will be any pictures of me during its 200th anniversary.” 🎉✨

Happy birthday to my twst oc, Finn Lyder! I wanted to celebrate by doing my own spin on the Platinum Suit cards, so I decided to have Finn carrying a tray of candy apples since none of the other Pomefiore Platinum Suit cards include a snack. Then I let people over on Instagram vote for Finn’s duo partner and they all chose Sebek (which is a perfect pick since they are both in the Equestrian Club), so I included a doodle of what Sebek would give him for his birthday.

Below is a vignette I wrote for Finn and Sebek in the style of the other Platinum Suit cards, so feel free to read it below! Enjoy!

Platinum Suit template by @fumikomiyasaki

Finn’s Platinum Suit Vignette

Finn: This place just keeps going and going. I think there can’t be another floor and then there’s another set of stairs waiting for me. I’m tired of climbing stairs, let’s see what we’ve got on this floor.

Finn: Oh! A picture of the raven that served the Fairest Queen. What a loyal sidekick to have at her beck and call, makes me want one of my own.

???: Who’d want to serve as your sidekick?

Finn: Speaking of sidekicks, looks like I stumbled into one of Malleus’s sidekicks.

Sebek: Excuse you, human! I am not Lord Malleus’s sidekick. I am his loyal knight ready to protect him at a moment’s notice.

Finn: Geez, is there really a difference?

Sebek: What was that!?

Finn: Nothing! Just admiring how this painting captures the likeness of the Fairest Queen’s loyal servant.

Sebek: Really? How so?

Finn: This raven would fly to the Queen’s side no matter where she was or the time of day. He would also bring her ingredients from all over the world for her potions. Talk about total loyalty.

Sebek: How commendable. Going above and beyond should be the goal of any servant if they truly wish to stand proudly at their liege’s side.

Finn: Makes me want my own loyal companion. Imagine all that I could accomplish.

Sebek: What animal companion would you seek to aid you?

Finn: Hmm. I’ve always wanted a trusty steed…but…

Sebek: Ha! That’s a bold comment considering your performance in the Equestrian Club!

Finn: Hey, I do just fine!

Sebek: Your horse, Minimus, hardly listens to your whims. Often he is leading you around and through the courses.

Finn: I think you’re just exaggerating-

Sebek: Just the other day, you tried to lead Minimus through the mud and he kicked you into it. Then you tried to wrestle him into it as well. Riddle was ready to have both of your heads.

Finn: Don’t remind me. I had to clean the whole stables by myself, which took forever.

Sebek: Maybe you’re more cut out to be Minimus’s sidekick.

Finn: What?! Don’t be ridiculous! Me? A sidekick for a horse?

Finn: One day Minimus and I will be the best duo there ever was! Just you watch!

Sebek: Now here’s a painting I recognize. This is the rabbit known for his punctuality according to Deuce’s anecdotes about his hometown.

Finn: Yeah the White Rabbit was always in a rush from place to place. He worked hard to always be on time and do his duty. I don’t know how he did it.

Sebek: Oh, do you have trouble with tardiness, Finn?

Finn: Most days no, but occasionally I do oversleep.

Sebek: How many detentions have you received this year?

Finn: None.

Sebek: None!? That’s not possible if you’ve been late to class!

Finn: Watch the volume! Geez…I have a secret to not getting any detentions or tardies.

Sebek: Really? What is it?

Finn: Parkour.

Sebek: What!? How does that safeguard you from detentions?

Finn: Let’s take last week for example. I overslept because I stayed up to study for a big exam in Alchemy. I’m sure you already know that Crewel is unforgiving of tardiness, so I knew I would receive an automatic fail if I showed up late for oversleeping.

Sebek: He is ruthless when it comes to punctuality.

Finn: So I had to make it to the third floor and I was right in front of the main staircase; however, I encountered an obstacle.

Sebek: Which was?

Finn: Professor Crewel himself.

Sebek: What a grim predicament to be in.

Finn: Exactly. Crewel smirked and began heading up the stairs. Obviously if I wanted to beat him to class I’d have to sprint by him, which would give me a detention and I’d still be late. Instead, I took off into the courtyard. From there I took a running start and swung up onto the nearby archway. I quickly scaled the siding and used a column on the side of the school to climb my way up to the third floor. I jumped from window to window until I made my way to where the Alchemy lab would be on the third floor.

Sebek: What physical prowess! But you still haven’t gotten into the lab.

Finn: Well from there it was down to luck because the person sitting in front of the window was none other than Silver. I quickly tapped on the window and luckily, he turned around and let me in. Then I shut the window and slid into my seat just as Crewel walked in. I wish you could have seen the look on his face. He was so mad, but he couldn’t fault me because I was in my seat before he arrived. So that, Sebek, is how parkour has saved me from getting detentions.

Sebek: I can’t say I approve of you besmirching the school grounds, but I can commend your physical capabilities as not everyone is capable of such feats.

Finn: I would besmirch the school grounds again and again if it means I don’t besmirch my attendance record. Vil would never let me live it down if I couldn’t make it to class on time.

Finn: Oh, I recognize this painting. I used to love this story as a kid.

Sebek: Really? I’m not familiar with this piece.

Finn: This shows the demigod at the end of his journey to become a hero. He had been adopted by a loving couple, but he set out to find his real family because he wanted to know where he came from and where he belonged. At the end of his journey he realized that it didn’t matter who his family was because he had found where he belonged, with those who helped him along the way.

Sebek: What a touching tale. Is it a story your parents read to you as a child?

Finn: No, I grew up in an orphanage. I never knew my parents.

Sebek: I apologize for my carelessness! I shouldn’t have asked something so thoughtlessly-

Finn: It’s really fine Sebek, it doesn’t bother me. I don’t really care to know who my parents are or who they were. I’m me and that’s what matters.

Sebek: Really? You have no need to satiate a curiosity to know your past?

Finn: Yep. Besides, if I didn’t grow up in the orphanage, I wouldn’t have met so many interesting people. I always had plenty of kids to play with, not to mention I got to hear all kinds of stories.

Sebek: I suppose you would get to meet people from all over Twisted Wonderland.

Finn: Yeah, there was never a dull moment back at home. If I didn’t grow up there, then I never would’ve known all those kids.

Sebek: Huh, what a positive outlook to have.

Finn: Of course that’s just how I see it. There are different perspectives and of course things weren’t perfect as they were, but I was happy, and that’s what really counts. I had a place where I belonged.

Sebek: A place to belong…

Finn: But I won’t be going back there after I graduate. I probably won’t ever go back.

Sebek: Bwah!? Why not if you think on it so fondly?

Finn: There’s nothing left for me there as most kids come and go very quickly, so the ones I know won’t even be there anymore. Besides, my eyes are on the future now! Twisted Wonderland’s a big place and I’ve got tons I want to see.

Sebek: Really? Where’s one place you’d want to go to?

Finn: How about…Briar Valley? With you serving as my personal tour guide!

Sebek: What!? How dare you boldly assume I’d serve as a guide for you, human!

Finn: Come on, we’re club mates, not to mention I’m your upperclassman.

Sebek: I won’t allow you to persuade me so easily!

Finn: Really? Then I’ll just go ask Silver and he’ll say yes.

Sebek: Huh?

Finn: There’s no way he’d turn me down, he’s such a nice guy. Thanks for hanging out, see you later Sebek!

Sebek: Wait! Don’t think I’ll let this drop so easily, Finn!