#same with red and black grapes. green grapes are fine | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sashi-ya · 4 years ago

Text

NSFW ~ The Gods and the Fox ~ God!Law x God!Zoro x Sub!Sanji x GN!Reader

tw: gn! reader is stated as human, afab! body. Zoro and Law are deities (didn't want to give them real names as it might be a little disrespectful for cultures). Sanji is a hybrid (fox ears and tail but human body). Reader is the offering to them. Blood drinking. Rough sex. Sanji x Law action. slight Zosan as Master! Zoro and Sub! Sanji. DP. Oral. Impregnation. Choking.

wc: 2.5K

A few white rags around your naked body, clothes so see through, patches of skin showing everywhere. The henna tattoos on your legs grow like a bindweed from your ankles finishing right where no one has seen yet.

Maids anoint you with a mix of cinnamon and sandalwood oils. Behind your ears, over your collar bones, around your belly button. Golden heavy bracelets dangle around your wrists, and as they move your arms create a beautiful, enchanting melody.

You are one of the offerings for the gods, you’ve never seen them, you are scared… but you have been chosen, and you are one of the humans who will be saving your town from their anger.

“Thank you” several women around you bow and give you the “gift”. On your hands, a silver platter with a bottle of Sake and an animal heart on a box. You could swear it still beats; it still bleeds.

They cover your face with a fine lace cloth, apparently the gods enjoy discovering your countenance by lifting the veil just if they want…

...playful, sinful, gods of lust and sin.

They open big heavy drapes; you walk into the gallows of the gods. Inside you can perceive a powerful aura, something that almost crushes your ribs, something that surrounds and makes you feel dizzy. Step by step your bare feet over cold stones, your eyes fixed on the ground, your hands carrying the silver platter.

Around you, tambourines being played compliments the little golden chains that hang from your hips as you walk towards the deities, creating a beautiful symphony.

You feel invisible hands all over your body, pulling you towards the gods that are sitting on their thrones right before you. Underneath your veil, you are able to discover they look like humans, extremely handsome humans. One is covered in black ink drawings and white patches over his tanned skin, the other, also tanned, has a scar crossing his chest from side to side. Both of them have their crotches slightly covered with gauzes. Golden earrings that dazzle with the several candles burning around you. A hybrid in between a blonde man and a fox, feeds grapes to the green haired god, while the other grazes the head of a furry white creature.

You crunch just in front of their feet, offering them the silver platter with the gifts. “My Gods, my people wish you eternal life” you utter, as the protocol indicates.

The black-haired god reaches for the little box. His hand, also inked with long sharp nails, takes the bleeding heart out, and lifts it up. Red vital fluid running like a river from his fingers to his forearm. Icy grey eyes tinted by the crimson color of the ichor. He smiles while contemplating the way his arm gets covered in animal blood, and then crushes the heart in a single motion making it disappear like magic.

The other god, savoring the grapes his slave puts in his mouth finally turns to you. He smirks and grabs the bottle. You can smell the metallic scent his skin emanates that contrasts with the alcoholic scent of the sake. He drinks the contents of the bottle in just one chug.

They stay silent for a long time contemplating you, perhaps deciding who is going to claim you. Your knees and arms hurt as you wait for them in the same exact position, holding the silver platter up.

The tattooed God sucks the blood out of his fingers one by one, while the green haired God takes a katana. You swallow, they didn’t even lift your veil… you are sure you are gonna get beheaded by the black edge of that sword, or maybe your heart will be ripped from your chest by those sharp claws.

But they don’t hurt you. Not yet.

The tip of the katana lifts your veil, allowing the creatures to discover your face. The green haired god looks at you, and flashes a lustful smirk, making you get hypnotized by his single eyed sight. The tattooed deity comes closer to your face, grazing your chin with his nails.

“Look at me…” he whispers with a low, sexy voice.

You sigh, you feel a pressure on your whole body, especially on your core. He passes his thumb over your lips, leaving a sweet taste, even if you were sure the blood did taste like iron, this time it tasted like honey.

“Who do you prefer, human?”. “Do you prefer me, or them?”

Both of them ask as they pull you up without even touching your body, an invisible force making you stand up.

You’ve been warned, “if the gods ask who you prefer, you will be forced to choose… and they will kill you. Accept your faith”. Your lips tremble, they attract you more than any human you have ever seen in your whole life, the muscles on their bodies, the lustful need the tip of your fingers experience to touch them, your tongue wants to taste their skin…

“My Gods, I prefer… both”

The gods get surprised, and instantly look at each other with a sadistic smirk. “Finally, the perfect offering”.

The inked god snaps his fingers and in a matter of seconds every slave and musician disappear from the “sacred room”. The green haired god, that more than a deity looks like a demon, commands his blonde slave not to leave. “Sanji, stay here. Wanna taste a human?”. The man with a tail and cute fox ears nods frenetically, “my God… am I allowed?” he asks. “Of course, little foxy… you too”.

You haven’t seen his face until now, golden locks and deep blue eyes on a handsome face. “If he is joining, after all… it’s ok” you think, allowing lust and sin to corrupt your morals more and more.

“Come here, human…” the dark-haired god commands. You walk towards him and sit on his lap. The blond guy kneels right in the middle of both thrones. “He is Zoro, I am Law and that little thing there is Sanji” he introduces them to you. You smile, more interested in what his hands are already doing all over your body than their names. His sharp nails bury on your thighs, while Sanji kisses the bridges of your feet. Zoro takes one of his katanas and slices your clothes in two, the white gauze slides off and falls to the ground.

“Perfection… who would have said humans can be that perfect?”

Law makes you lick his fingers, one by one. Zoro, completely amazed by such beautiful anatomy, pounces over you. He smells your skin; he licks and tastes the little sweat drops your body produces. Sanji, purrs like a kitten around your legs, kissing up from your ankles to the inside of your thighs.

The tattooed deity squeezes your breasts while kissing you lustfully. He bites your lips so hard even some drops of blood appear. And he is pleased, he is delighted. “Your blood is so pure… you taste wonderfully” he says while stretching your neck, so he reaches your face better as you are sitting over his lap. And because you are sitting there, oh god the hard rock member under your thigh, growing bigger, growing, and pumping.

Zoro, who has never ever kneeled before anyone, much less before a human, asks his fluffy tailed slave to taste your sex with its own tongue. “Come on, Sanji. Taste the human”. “Master, can I?” he asks, while a string of blood falls from his nose.

“Go ahead, you’ve earned it. Put that mouth to good use”.

And he does. The slave uses his whole tongue to devour your core. “Delicious, Master. The human tastes delicious” he mumbles, muzzled by your anatomy. Zoro, who is now standing, is spreading your legs as wide as possible so you aren’t able to close them. He has already lost his coverings, and now that godly body is completely exposed before you. Hard, big member. It drips precum, and you wonder how much of a possibility is for gods to impregnate a simple human.

And you moan because that slave is desperately devouring your core with such dedication it’s taking you to heaven. And your moaning makes them even more aroused, feral.

Law bites your neck so hard; it also hurts your skin. The god is desperate for your blood, and you won’t stop him. He pants as your sweet red fluid fills his mouth. The more he drinks, the more you feel his sex growing.

Zoro grabs a bottle of sake and bathes your whole body with it. The cold sensation of the alcohol dripping on your hot skin feels amazing. But even more amazing is the way the green haired god’s tongue traces circles on your breasts, drinking the bitter taste of the sake.

You scream, not in pain, but in pure pleasure. There is an intensity that you wouldn’t ever experience, it feels out of this world… After all, it is.

Law, who at this point hasn’t done anything besides drinking your blood is ready to have some more fun, but Zoro is already stroking his dick in front of you to fuck you. “You gonna fuck the human first?” he asks. “Yeah”. “Then allow your little pet to suck my dick, come on. I wanna see if he is that good as you always say” Law asks for Sanji’s oral skills. “Right. Only for this time, remember he is mine” Zoro accepts, threatening Law not to do anything else besides what’s been asked. “Don’t worry Roronoa, I know whose hole belongs to whom”

The poor little foxy, chin shiny from your fluids, looks up at his master with fallen ears and puppy eyes, waiting for the order. “Sanji, go ahead”. The slave, who’s body is amazingly human-like and absolutely deliciously well trained, crawls up to the inked god, moving his tail side to side. “Don’t get too excited, remember who you belong to, little one”. “Yes, master”.

“Come here, human” the green haired god lifts you up from Law’s lap and takes you to a big round bed with red velvety sheets. “Spread wide, I’m not gonna stop myself once I’m inside you” he states, and you, aroused but scared, allow him to come closer.

Zoro’s phallus is as big as the one depicted on the several statues around the sacred palace and now is gonna be inside you. He fixes his eye, a red glare, a crimson shine on his steel grey iris making you ignore the fact that he is about to rip you in half.

And inside he goes, he deeply penetrates you, your walls stretch and clench around his member. You are unable to breath for at least some seconds, the first thrust leaves you unable to run the many physiological processes of your body. Zoro smirks at how your eyes turn blank, his pounding motion accelerates, his pelvic bones hit your crotch every time he goes deeper and deeper.

Your hands clench the sheets, twisting them as he goes faster and rougher. You dare to look at the god you have over you, realizing he looks more like a demon, than a deity. Purple aura around him, surrounding you two. Little horns growing from his head, his hair growing longer. And he was right, he isn’t able to stop, a true beast drooling from pleasure, sweating as he fucks you on and on and on.

You are about to faint, not sure if you have come more than two times while he fucks you nonstop. “I know you can take us. Look at them” he commands, moving your head to the side by your chin. Right, the god and the slave…

Law is sitting still on his throne, relishing at you being fucked by his beasty friend, while the blonde sucks his dick as if his life depends on it. “Roronoa this little thing is amazing with his tongue, good find” he says, while Zoro turns his face to him and his slave to check on him -never stopping the hip motion-. “Sanji, come here” Zoro commands, he must be a slave, but his master is jealous. Sanji, stops the blowing and runs towards his master. He allows Zoro to kiss him in an ambrosial way, so lasciviously.

Law stands up, he is tall and lean, covered in tattoos and white spots and as he walks towards you, you simply wish he were fucking you too. Law uses his claws to make Zoro face him. “I was having fun, Roronoa” he tells him, pissed, fixing his crystalline eyes on Zoro’s steel one. Pure rivalry in between those sights, a fight for power. “I know you; you want his blood… he is mine”.

And even if they were fighting over the blond foxy, Zoro doesn’t stop fucking you.

“Don’t worry, human. I will fuck you now, too” Law mumbles, without taking his eyes from Zoro’s. You, at this point unable to process any sentence, simply allow them to do whatever they please with you. “Let’s fill the human up together” he proposes. “Right”.

And as soon as you know, your back now rests over Zoro’s chest, while Law is pouncing over you. Your already stretched core is now being ripped open by the intrusion of both dicks. They synchronize in perfect motion to fuck you simultaneously, grazing their members as they go in and out of you. Law is also unable to stop. His dry blood-stained hand around your neck, for a better grip.

But, because apparently it wasn’t enough, your mouth gets also occupied with the little foxy’s dick. Choking on it, choking with Law’s claws buried on your carotids. Zoro has his huge, calloused hands around your lower belly from behind, pressing down. You are about to burst, dripping honey each time they plunge deep into you.

And of course, even gods have their limits… both of them release themselves inside you with a manly grunt, followed by your fifth or whoknowshowmany orgasms you had. Your mouth also gets flooded by Sanji’s orgasm. But it wasn’t the end… and your body worked as the offering of those gods until they were completely satisfied with you…

….

You lay on that bed; well aware they have probably already gone away. Sore muscles, tired, sticky, slowly closing your eyes because of the exhaustion until what you thought will be the next morning…

But you were wrong.

“Wake up…” you hear the voice of one of the gods whispering in your ear. “Wake up, be our Goddess… come with us”. Law lying at your left, Zoro at your right. His hands all over your small frame. “Be our Goddess” they ask -command- again.

“I wanna be your goddess… Take me with you…”

From then on, the gods weren’t just two, but three. Your throne in the middle of them, Sanji resting on your lap. You went from an offering, to be worshipped.

The three gods of Lust, Sex and Hunger, with their little foxy… 💖

377 notes · View notes

cobraonthecob · 3 years ago

Text

previous rating the outfits

disclaimer: this is my personal opinion

Part 2 of me rating the bnha characters in Chinese clothes! also taken from reddit

Denki Kaminari, much like the grape, is in Bruce Lee’s yellow and black jumpsuit. He’s also wearing yellow and black sneakers. It’s a good outfit, but since Denki’s hair is already yellow, it’s kind of too much yellow for once character to wear. It’s facing the same problem Yang from RWBY has - yellow is the main/defining color, but too much yellow kills the eyes. 5/10, good outfit, just too much of one color.

Kyouka Jirou is in a white qipao with dark blue borders and frog clasps, and porcelain blue flower designs, along with white mid-calf high boots with blue laces. She also wears a light blue flower in her hair. Okay first off? The qipao’s style is perfect for her, I love it. The skirt stops just above her knees, which works for a girl of her stature, and I love that she gets to wear boots for this outfit. That being said, I’m not sure why they chose blue as her color when she should’ve been in purple, and I’m not sure if I can see her wearing a qipao styled like this. The white and blue looks good on her, it’s just not her color (i can actually see shoto wearing this, tbh, i’m going to draw that, brb) and while she looks good in white, her Hero costume puts her in mainly black/dark grey. 8/10, I like the qipao’s overall outline, not so sure about the color choices and the lack of sleeves.

All Might is wearing a black longsleeved changshan with golden frog clasps and borders. He’s also wearing black pants, white socks, and black slip-on sneakers. It’s a good outfit, works really well, is a good example of what to do with yellow/gold in a design, though All Might in the show never struck me as a person wearing dark colors. It looks good, he should give it to me, 8/10, good colors, I could wear it, but it’s just not All might’s style.

Izuku Midoriya is wearing a medium green shortsleeved changshan with the same colored pants, no socks, and black slip-on sneakers. He’s also wearing his compression sleeve. The black frog clasps work really well with the silver and green, so whoever designed this outfit, they have good taste in color choices. I’d wear it. 1000000/10, good color choices and would be something I’d wear.

Ochako Uraraka is wearing a pink qipao with golden flower designs, red frog clasps, and red heels. The qipao’s skirt ends mid-shin for her and has some sleeves that go a 1/3 down her upper arms. It’s a good qipao! I have a qipao of the same length (though the slit should not be that high, it should be closer to 1/3 down or 1/2 down the thigh, not right at the juncture. do not confuse qipao for ao dai, there’s a major difference in that ao dai needs pants to be worn under it, qipao, you don’t need to do so). I think the gold doesn’t work well with the pink, and considering Ochako’s general color scheme, a darker color should’ve been considered. The red heels really stick out but in a bad way - why is it a different color from the dress lol. It’s a good qipao, I just don’t care for some of the color choices. 8/10, it looks good, just there were some Choices made that I don’t like.

Shouto Todoroki is wearing a dark blue shortsleeved changshan that is unbuttoned, same color pants, a white undershirt, black slip-on sneakers, and no socks. His changshan has golden borders. So first off, I’m just like ‘why unbutton the shirt’ and my tdmm shipping brain went ‘solidarity for momo’s canon costume’. So I like the outfit for the most part, though I’m just confused on why gold was put in his costume (why add an extra color when silver was right there). It’s a fine outfit, just the yellow I wouldn’t put on Shouto. 8/10, yellow’s just not his color.

Tenya Ida is wearing a white button-up shirt with a traditional collar, black pants, white leg/ankle wrappings, and black slip-on shoes. Tenya sweetie, I’m so sorry for whoever hit a wall designing your outfit, but what is this. I need to know. Anyone with knowledge in Chinese fashion please let me know what this is, because it’s so plain and I think he misheard on what to wear lol. 2/10, what is this. brb i’m going to give him an outfit so good, it’ll blow the socks off of everyone

#nightfalcon posts #bnha #boku no hero academia #denki kaminari #kyoka jiro #all might #izuku midoriya #ochako uraraka #shoto todoroki #tenya ida

17 notes · View notes

waywardnerd67 · 4 years ago

Text

Star Crossed: Brightest Star

Summary: Life on tour was stressful and (Y/N) (Y/L/N) enjoyed the quiet moments on her tour bus with her best friend traveling between cities. After a show one night, she discovers her BFF recorded her fangirling over her favorite actor and posted it online. In a single moment, her life changes forever. Pairing: No Pairing Rating: E - Everyone Warnings: Fluff Word Count: 1201 A/N: None

Check out: Star Crossed Masterlist

The crowd was deafening as Wayward Stars stood center stage and bowed. Her bandmates pushed (Y/N) (Y/L/N) forward joining in on the cheering. She smiled brightly, waved and took a bow. She could see the first ten rows of people that were sweating and red faced from rocking out with them. Never did a night go by that she was not eternally grateful for the life she was able to live.

Walking off stage, the other bands they were touring with greeted them around the large green room. Her best friend, Addy Pearson, was chatting it up with a guitarist from The Letter Scarlett. (Y/N) rolled her eyes at her before heading towards the buffet of food and drinks. By passing all the alcohol, she grabbed a bottle of water and a handful of grapes.

“I think I’m in love.” Addy said, wrapping her arms around (Y/N)’s waist.

“You say that about every guy you lock eyes onto. However, Benny is actually a good guy so I would approve of this one.”

Addy laughed while grabbing a beer, “We have a couple of days before we hit the next city, right?”

She nodded, “Thankfully. My body is sore and in need of some R&R. Are you joining me on my bus or sneaking off with your newest boy toy?”

Her best friend kissed her cheek, “See you in the morning.”

“Yeah, yeah…” She watched Addy skip back to the latest notch to be added to her belt.

Honestly, she was thankful that she would have her bus all to herself. A night alone with her favorite show and junk food was exactly what she needed. Waving goodbye to her tour mates, she asked one of the bodyguards to come with her and went out to meet some fans standing near the buses. It was one thing she could do as a thank you to the fans who spent their money on seeing her. She wanted to make sure they knew how much she appreciated them.

After a few dozen hugs, selfies and autographs she finally made it to her bus. Stripping off her sweaty, nasty clothes she got into her favorite pj shorts and Zeppelin shirt. Grabbing some leftover pizza from the night before and her favorite gift from a fan. (Y/N) settled into her bunk and started up the last episode of Supernatural she had been watching.

“Dean Bear, this is the episode you were inspired from.” She whispered.

She snuggled with the Build-A-Bear that was made to look like Dean Winchester with glasses. Snapping a quick picture of her teddy bear and posting it on her Instagram.

Towards the end of the episode, she felt her bus roar to life and soon started to move. That is when a notification popped up on her phone.

Heart racing, she pulled up the video forgetting that there was a Supernatural convention going on this weekend. One day, she was going to be able to schedule a weekend for her to go. For now, she was thankful for fans that were there for sharing their videos online. (Y/N) let out a squeal reading the title of the video.

VanCon SNS - Jensen Ackles Heaven & S.O.B.

Clicking play, she turned the volume up on her phone. Letting out a breathless sigh, watching him walk onto stage wearing black boots, tight jeans, simple black t-shirt and dark cowboy hat.

“Good god…” she murmured.

The first notes of Bryan Adams “Heaven�� began to play and (Y/N) literally melted in her spot. His beautiful baritone voice made her heart skip. He commanded the stage and audience, captivating everyone’s attention.

“Oh no… you’re watching Jensen Ackles videos again.”

She looked up seeing Addy walking to her bunk pressing pause on her video, “What happened to Benny?”

She shrugged silently, flopping down onto her bed, “I obviously mixed up the signals being sent my way. It’s fine now I can lay here and make fun of your obsession with Jensen.”

(Y/N) stuck out her tongue, hitting play, “You show me a man with more talent and hotter than him then I will stop obsessing over him.”

The next song he sang was one of her favorites. The man was made to be a rockstar from his voice, playing guitar and the way he moved his body. What she would not give to see him perform live.

“You’re drooling…”

(Y/N) rolled her eyes without looking from her screen, “I can’t help it. He’s gorgeous and talented and the perfect man.” She threw her arm over her eyes dramatically pretending to faint.

Addy laughed at her but let her finish fangirling without further comments. The rest of the night she spent watching Supernatural finally falling asleep to dream of the handsome green eyed rockstar.

A couple of days later, she was sitting in her bunk before a show when she heard Addy having a heated conversation with her manager. Rolling out of her bunk, she walked to the front of the bus seeing her best friend rolling her eyes and her manager’s bright red face.

“What’s going on?”

“Ask your friend what she did.” Her manager stormed off the bus.

She turned towards her friend who was shrugging nonchalantly, “I get what the big deal is. I mean it’s nothing embarrassing or anything.”

“Addyson Marie Pearson, what did you do?” Panic flooded her stomach seeing Addy pulling out her phone.

A million thoughts ran through her mind. Did she post a picture of them from their wild days of concerts and after parties? Did she mouth off to one of the haters on social media again?

She handed (Y/N) her phone to a Tweet she posted tagging her in it. There was a link to a YouTube video and her stomach sank. Pressing the link it was a short video of her in her bunker from a few days earlier. She was singing along with Jensen Ackles smiling from ear to ear staring longingly at him.

“You’re drooling…” She heard Addy say from behind the camera.

She watched herself roll her eyes without looking from the screen, “I can’t help it. He’s gorgeous and talented and the perfect man.” She threw her arm over her eyes dramatically pretending to faint.

Text flashed on the screen, “#1 Jensen Ackles Fangirl”

The video already had thousands of views. The tweet had been reblogged over a hundred times. (Y/N) looked up, jaw slacked at her giggling best friend.

“Jesus Addy… why?” she asked, handing the phone back and putting her head in her hands.

“I thought it was cute and you’re fans love seeing candid moments like this. Who knows, maybe Mr. Ackles will see it and fall in love with you.”

Her head snapped up, “Oh god… I really hope he never sees that. I mean really what are the chances of that happening?”

Both their phones went off at the same time. They looked at one another before looking at their phones.

“Ho-ly crap…” (Y/N) whispered, pulling up the Twitter notification.

If you enjoyed this story then check out my Masterlist!

For updates please follow #waywardnerd67fics

Taglist: @waywardbaby @ladywinchester1967 @akshi8278 @dean-winchesters-bacon @carryonmywaywardcaptain @destiel745 @carribear31 @whimsicalrobots @adoptdontshoppets @mrswhozeewhatsis @bella-ca @drakelover78 @imascio08 @mannls @time-travel-bouqet @myinconnelly1 @maddiepants @tumbler-tidbits @sandlee44 @destielhoneybee @jerkbitchidjitassbutt @thefaithfulwriter @stoneyggirl @emoryhemsworth @atc74 @cosicas-cuquis @mimaria420

#waywardnerd67fics #star crossed series #jensen ackles fanfiction #jensen ackles fanfic #jensen ackles #reader insert #rpf #fluff

57 notes · View notes

erinsvintageemporium · 3 months ago

Text

It's Fashion Plate Friday!

This week I have the colour fashion plate for April from Peterson's Magazine.

FASHIONS FOR APRIL. page 331

Fig. 1. - Reception-Dress of Black Silk, and Black and Straw-Colored Pekin Silk; the skirt has two narrow, knife-plaited ruffles in front, and three at the back, and the front is very much wrinkled, and trimmed with white lace, and black and straw-colored satin ribbon; the back of the skirt is also draped, and is of black silk, while the sides are of the Pekin, straw-colored and black; the lace and bows also ornament the back and sides. The deep basque jacket is of the Pekin silk, trimmed with lace; black straw hat with yellow feathers.

Fig. 2. - Carriage-Dress of Light Blue Camel's Hair; the train at the back is slightly looped; the front of the dress is trimmed with a band of Persian embroidery; the body has a slight fulness from the shoulders to the waist over the dart seams, and is confined by a wide belt of the camel's hair; bége-colored bonnet with blue plumes.

Fig. 3. - Walking-Dress of Wine-Colored Silk, and Wine-Colored and Bége-Striped Camel's Hair; the ruffle around the bottom of the false skirt, the sleeves and bands of trimming are of the wine-colored silk; the striped camel's hair is made square in the neck, is slightly draped low down at-the sides, and is cut in broad points in the front of the skirt; a knife-plaiting of the camel's hair trims the rest of the skirt around the bottom; a row of bows of red grosgrain ribbon, faced with bége-colored satin passes from the left side of the square corsage to lower right side of the skirt, where there are several long ribbon loops; bége-colored straw hat, trimmed with feathers of the same color, and wine-colored ribbon and a dark red rose.

Fig. 4. - Visiting-Dress of Pale Fawn-Colored Foulard; the back is draped in three long loops; the front, near the bottom, and on the right side, is trimmed with Breton lace; the coat-basque and vest are untrimmed, with the exception of the collar; the vest opens heart-shape on the neck, and has a plaiting of the silk, one side of which reaches to the broad band which passes across the front. Bonnet of the color of the dress, with bows of ribbon, and strings to match, and a bunch of grapes and green leaves.

Fig. 5. - Walking-Dress of Very Fine Smoke-Gray Bunting; the under-skirt has a wide box-plaiting in front, with a kilt-plaiting around the rest of the skirt; the upper-skirt is princess in shape, and the bottom is turned up in milk-maid style; a trimming of rich, oriental embroidery passes down on each side of the front, and around the. top of the skirt, where it is turned up; three-quarter sleeves, finished with embroidery like that on the skirt. Hat of smoke-gray straw, with veil of the same color.

1879-04 PET01

#fashion plate #historical fashion #victorian fashion plate #1870s fashion #1870s #american fashion plate #peterson's magazine #peterson's ladies national magazine #1870s fashion plate #1870s walking dress #natural form fashion

10 notes · View notes

lu-undy · 4 years ago

Note

I'm not sure if you've already written something like this, but what about Spy showing Sniper his face for the first time?

Here it is!

"Mh…"

"Mornin' gorgeous."

Spy smiled as he felt Sniper's lips on his back, peppering kisses there. The taller man was spooning him, his hands slid along the Frenchman's slim silhouette, on his pyjamas.

"Sniper…"

"Let me just…" The Aussie's hands had laced up to Spy's collar. He undid the first few buttons before he pulled down the shirt, freeing Spy's shoulders to kiss them. His rough hands touched the porcelain white skin and his lips gently grazed it, slowly melting from here to there. Spy lowered his head and closed his eyes, feeling Sniper on his back now. Their legs slid against each other's, under the blanket.

"S-Sniper…"

"Don't worry, I won't remove it." He whispered back, pushing the edges of the mask up to reach further up Spy's back. He kissed and nipped, gently. "Gosh, you're so soft."

Spy smiled, his eyes still closed, and he bit his lip.

"You of all people should know it by now." He answered before he heard Sniper chuckle behind him.

"Spook?"

"Oui?"

"Will you let me see your face one day?"

Spy opened his eyes and frowned.

"I… Do not know." He rolled to face Sniper and the Aussie slid his hands to the Frenchman's masked face.

"I'm sure you look gorgeous under that thing."

"Merci, but…" Spy averted his gaze. "I do not think it is a good idea. Not at all."

"Oh, ok… I-I mean we're alone here, the doors are closed and all, no one else would see you."

"It is not about that." Spy answered.

"What is it, then?"

"A lot of things." He buried his face in Sniper's chest. "One of them is that you will realise that I am far older than you are, far more grey, tired and beaten up by life."

"No you're not. And even if you were, I couldn't care less."

"Sniper, I… I am not the arrogant womanizer that people see in me."

"I know, you also like men."

"That is not what I meant."

"Oh?"

Spy frowned harder and sighed.

"I cannot show you my face, I am sorry."

"It's… Ok, alright. I don't really get it but it's not worth fightin' over."

Spy raised his eyes to his lover.

"What?"

"All I'm sayin' is that well, I'd love to see you entirely but it's fine. I guess we can go on like that."

"You have seen so much more about me, Sniper, I have lain naked in front and under you before."

"I know but… It's odd that in your head you should hide your face more than your… y'know."

"Well, people can recognise me with my face, not with what I have between my legs."

"Yeah, I get it but… Still, a bit of a shame, I think."

Sniper removed his hands from Spy's face and looked away. Silence fell in the Frenchman's room. The only noise was the tireless ticks and tocks of the alarm clock on the night table.

"I am superstitious." Spy's voice slashed the silence.

"What?"

"I am superstitious." Spy repeated.

“What’s it got to do with what we were talkin’ about?”

“Everything.”

“Spook, you make no sense.”

“Of course, I do.” Spy closed his eyes out of annoyance. "You just do not understand."

"Tell me."

Spy laid his head on Sniper's chest and took his large hand in both of his.

"I thought it was only stories but I now fully believe it. Each time that I show my face to a person that is dear to my heart, they… They go away."

Sniper's eyebrows jumped.

"What?"

"It is a curse. Anyone I have shown my face to ends up leaving me, either just moving on away from me, or worse." Spy explained before he sat up on the bed, next to his lover. Sniper sat up too and laced an arm around Spy.

"So you always wear it now, because you're scared it'll happen again?"

"I remove it if I do not care about the person my heart chose."

And Sniper understood that if Spy kept his mask on at all times with him, it was because the Aussie counted an awful lot to him.

"I… Hold on, you say that people went away as if they have left you in the past. How the hell could they leave you?"

Spy lowered his head and sighed.

"Because at some point, they discover who I am and… and it is better that way." Spy freed himself from his lover and stood up. He slipped on his dressing gown and locked himself up in his bathroom.

Sniper watched him move away and sighed. He both found Spy's words ridiculous and heart-breaking. He wished he could do something to help. He scratched his naked chest and ruffled his hair on his head.

Well, he should get up and make some coffee. That would give Spy some time to feel better maybe.

Sniper got to his feet and grabbed his shirt that he put on, but kept open. He went to Spy's kitchen and got the cafetiere ready. He put two mugs next to it and started to gather the toasts and butter, from the fridge. He turned the radio on and let the chatter occupy his thoughts.

When the coffee was ready and the smell gently floated in the Frenchman's suite, Sniper readied a pan and broke a couple of eggs in a bowl. He knew that Spy liked an omelette in the morning, so he got to work. After beating the eggs vigorously, he went to the fridge to take that goat cheese that his lover liked so much and added some to the mix before spreading it on the oiled pan.

Sniper watched as the liquid eggs hardened while the goat cheese melted. Suddenly, the light switched off in the kitchen. He raised his head to the bulb and headed to the switch when a hand stopped his wrist.

"Non, please."

"What?"

"Don't turn the light on." Spy hugged his lover, and Sniper's pupils retracted to a dot as his eyes snapped wide. He didn't feel the fabric of Spy's mask on his chest, no. He felt Spy's skin, and even some of his hair. "Close your eyes."

Sniper obeyed and felt Spy move away from him.

"I will blindfold you."

"My eyes are closed, Spook."

"I don't want to risk it." Spy answered as he turned around Sniper, who felt a smooth cloth over his eyes. Spy was behind him tying the cloth. "Now…" He took Sniper's hands and stuck them on his face, one on each of his cheeks.

The Aussie's eyebrows rose as he touched a face he wished he could do more than touch. He closed his eyes behind the blindfold and tried to project the image of what his curious digits were discovering.

Eyebrows, eyelids, yeah, he knew those. Gosh, Sniper could feel the lines at the corner of Spy's eyes. He loved those. Whenever he smiled, they smiled with him. And the Aussie had the same too…

Nose, mouth but oh my God, what was that…? Spy's hair… Rather short on the sides and behind his head as well, longer on top. So soft and straight, it flowed between Sniper's fingers like threads of silk.

His thumbs brushed Spy's forehead, his eyebrows and down his temples, his naked cheeks to end on his lover's lips. They were pursed up in a smile.

"I-your hair feels amazin'."

"Merci. It is grey at the front here…" Spy took Sniper's hand and guided him. "And on the temples, here and here. The rest struggles to stay black."

"Gosh…" Sniper bit his lip. "I wish I could see it… And see you really. It's hard to imagine it all with just my hands touchin' you."

"I am sorry. I wish I could but…"

"Hey, it's fine. It's ok."

Spy put his hands flat on Sniper's, which were sandwiching his face.

"I… I cannot afford to lose you. I know it is egotistic, but non. Y-you are… non."

"Hey…?"

"I would rather lie to you about my face and live with the guilt of lying to you continuously, rather than risk losing you."

"Love… I… I don't want to force you and I'm not forcin' you but you know I'm not gonna leave you. You know I don't care about what you look like, you could look horrible and I'd still stay, cause I don't just like you for your face. I just… You're such a good bloke, and a pleasure to live with."

"Sniper, I have heard these words a million times before and yet…"

"Mundy. Name's Mundy. I have only my parents, no siblings. They… They adopted me. They own a little farm in the Outback, nothin' big, just enough to pay the bills and keep them busy. I… When I was a kid, I was bad at school and dropped it as soon as I could. Been workin' with huntin' contracts ever since because Dad had shown me how to and there was nothing else I was half-decent at."

Spy frowned.

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"Because I want you to understand that I… I-I… I don't just stay with you to spend the nights and all… It's… What do I need to do for you to get it? I… I bloody love you!" Mundy burst out. "I won't leave you, I… If I could I'd stay with you forever!"

"If you could?" Spy asked.

"If… If… I was never the one who left anyone. I was always the one who got dumped."

"Why?"

"Because people don't see themselves buildin' anything with me! I'm a weirdo who lives in a van, I don't have a house or a flat of my own, my address is still my parents'. It's-it's not like I have a normal job and a normal life and…" Sniper pulled Spy's head against his chest and held him close. "You're one of the very few blokes I really feel like… Like we can be a bit more than just what we are. I mean… It makes so much sense. No one gets it, you and me, but-but I feel it. I feel comfy with you, like you've always been with me and… Spook, please… What do I need to do for you to believe me?"

Silence fell for a while and their embrace was intense.

"I would love to believe you." The Frenchman said and felt one of Sniper's hands in his hair, his fingers between his locks and pressing him against his bare chest.

"Why don't you?"

"I am scared… Mundy."

"Don't be. I'm here." He bent his head down to kiss Spy's hair. "Gosh, even your hair smells of you."

"Thank you."

"Spook…"

"Lucien." Spy answered, nuzzling in his lover's chest. "My name is Lucien. My parents left this world a long time ago and I have no other family left. My mother used to be a dressmaker, and my father, a lawyer. They lived in the South-West of France, where I was born and raised, under the sun, and between green and red grapes."

"Why're you tellin' me all this now?"

"Because I am more scared than ever."

"Why? I got you here, you're in my arms, nothin's gonna get to you."

"Oui but… Hold on."

Lucien pushed himself away from his lover's embrace and Mundy felt the cloth around his eyes go.

"C-can I open my eyes? You put your mask back?"

"Oui." Lucien flipped the switch to turn the lights on.

"Gosh, Spook!" Mundy slapped his hands on his face as soon as he realised that his lover had lied and he hadn't put his mask back on. "Bugger I nearly saw you!"

"Please…" Sniper felt his lover's hands on his wrists, pulling them down.

"Spook…"

"Lucien." Spy corrected him and as he removed Sniper's hands from his face, he saw that the Aussie had kept his eyes closed.

"But you said you didn't like it if I saw you."

"I have changed my mind."

"Why?" Mundy continued to speak with closed eyes.

"Because of what you said."

Mundy felt his lover's hands on his naked chest. He opened his eyes.

"Oh bloody hell… Look at you… You're…"

His hands immediately went back to Lucien's face and touched again, stroking, brushing, grazing, his eyes darted left, right, up and down.

"My God… H-how…?"

Lucien tried smiling, but not too much. He was very self conscious about his age showing in the million wrinkles on his face when he smiled.

"What do you think - mh?!"

Spy was surprised mid-sentence by his lover's lips. And the intensity, the force with which he was pulling his body and his hair, his very lips too into the kiss. The Frenchman almost felt his feet take off of the ground.

"What was that about?" He asked, although being as breathless as his lover.

"How could you ever think you're too old or ugly or whatever? You look better than in my dreams, you look… Y-you… I-I don't know what the word is, or even if the word exists or-or maybe there's a sentence or maybe an expression? Bloody hell, what am I sayin?!" Mundy's voice was high-pitched and broken, he was out of air and stopped to catch his breath for a while. "You're gorgeous, you're so beautiful, you're… How could people leave you after seein' your face, you look bloody fantastic." Mundy pulled his lover close and hugged him all over, ending with his cheek on top of Lucien's head.

"Mundy…?"

The Aussie rolled his eyes and closed them in bliss, scratching his lover's head as he would a cat.

"Say my name with that accent once more and we're gonna skip breakfast to go straight for lunch." He growled.

"Mundy?"

"Gosh…"

"May we still have breakfast?"

"Maybe."

Both smiled and Mundy kissed his lover on the head.

"Lucien?"

"Oui?"

"Why did you change your mind?"

Lucien raised his eyes to his lover.

"I told you, because of what you said."

"What did I say?"

The Frenchman smiled and blushed. This time, Mundy could see it so clearly that he couldn't help but stare, and his own cheeks turned pink.

"You said that you loved me." Lucien answered.

"Yeah, and I do."

Their smiles widened.

"It is the first time you tell me this."

"Yeah, it's hard to say."

"Indeed, it is." Their eyes met and lingered. "I love you too, Mundy."

"Alright, you looked for it…" The Aussie dragged his lover out of the kitchen.

"What-? Where-?"

"Bedroom, now. Breakfast in bed…"

"What?" Lucien asked as he was led to the bed.

"C'mere…" The Aussie pushed his lover deeper in the sheets.

#tf2 sniper #tf2 spy #sniperspy

39 notes · View notes

rataltouille · 5 years ago

Text

BONFIRE, BONFIRE!: A COLLECTION OF FLASH FICTION + POETRY

so i’ve decided to compile all twenty [these will be split into two so that the post isn’t super long] of the writing pieces i’ve done for my random celebration into one post so that it’s easier to read / access share!! you can also find it here, all put into one work, on wattpad, because i feel nostalgic about that website and decided to just post it!!

NOTE: i know that this shouldn't need to be said, but these 20 pieces belong to me so please don’t copy/repurpose it for your writing!! i plan on using these somewhere in my own writing and either way they’re stuff i’ve written so don’t use them!!

1. cooking + destructive + purple from @andiwriteunderthemoon [also i kind of cheated with this prompt and asked my sis @dreamscanbenightmarestoo for ideas and so the base idea’s from her!!]

I didn’t mean to set my house on fire, alright?

Let me set the scene: I’m sitting in my room, watching the infomercials that blur together, and suddenly there’s a bright purple flash on the glitching screen: /grapes/. They’re shiny, plump, and oh? A recipe for fine wine? Don’t mind if I do. So I pop into my kitchen and cut the grapes, dice them up, finally using the knife after years of not cooking— /mother, are you proud of me now?/— and stick the soft, luminescent fluid into a glass bottle. Following each step of the recipe.

The recipe didn’t mention an explosion.

Destruction rained around my house like a meteor shower. The bubbles from the fluid, frisking up at contact with metal, swam across my shoes and into the living room. It touched the TV, which still flashed the recipe, which I was still cursing at. And then, you know, it burnt up. The couch scorched first, I think. So that was fun. I later realised that I’d used my reserve of petroleum, which I’d put in my kitchen cabinet, instead of vinegar. I think I’ve got to move back in with my mother again.

2. running + quiet + sky blue from @kryskakikomi [i have no idea what this is i drafted this in a fever dream state]

Summer crawled up his skin like a worm. He was seated at his dining table, crosswording his way through the sticky morning, when it struck him that the humidity was new. He’d been caught in summer before, of course, but this year was different. His parents had whisked away to their hometown, and he still didn’t understand why he wasn’t allowed to go. He loved their home— he could have been running on beach sand and waves could have cruised over his feet, and his face would reflect sky blue under palm trees. Instead he sat doodling and scratching at cement walls in a quiet that nagged at his ears, grappling his flesh like a fishing hook, reeling him in. Boredom, him sister told him, before she also left for someone’s home. What would you know? he whispered once the door latched from the outside. Maybe /she’d/ like to sit on the same wooden chair, all the pink paint worn out, and scratch out squares of empty text until the pen poked through the other hand. He scoffed. At least he knew the number of scars on the wood; he could hold that over her when his parents returned.

3. hallucinate + hazy + violet from @chloeswords [i wanted to write something dreamy and ethereal but everytime i look at your url i’m reminded of church mud and indirectly my religious trauma so here we are 🤡]

We hold the book in our arms and chant for God. We don’t know what he looks like. They say that he’s sharp, never pixelating or blurring or showing through, like a hazy image would. No, children, our family says, he will come clothed in gold and velvet— the colour a deep and rich crimson, or chartreuse. And of course, he weaves a violet into his hair. Because he is just that humble. Just that gentle. Loving.

We’ve almost understood now. Pray, clasp our palms together into a transient equinox, and pray. Maybe he will shine down on us. Maybe we will speak so loud and chant so long that our lips will chap. Maybe we’ll simply hallucinate him to salve our bones. Our family says, he will bless you. And so he will.

4. halcyon + pluviophile + beige from anon [i was yearning for cats i am a cat person i love cats]

I remember my life before I moved to London,

Those halcyon days that I spent scooping up cat litter and brushing warm fur,

Being a mother to beige and white and black little felines.

They keep better company than humans.

Now I’m a self-proclaimed businesswoman, artist, influencer, pluviophile,

Even when I’ve barely stepped foot outside during the rain,

[But it needs to be said that when it rains in London, it pours].

I think I’d like to open a cat cafe;

I’m rich enough to pull it off.

5. sing + vulnerable + olive green from @occiidens [this was actually super fun to write because it’s a break from the typically unhinged stories i gravitate towards]

You watch from the highest hill of your town, hand wrapped around the serrated wood of a red oak tree. The bark pokes into your flesh, drawing blood that shouldn’t have been taken from you. You scowl. Just another thing that lives to cause you pain.

Three storeys down is a young man, short and smiling and lovely. He has dark skin and darker hair, walking with the stride of a deer, and he’s smiling; the joy reflects onto your face, even though you can’t hear him. He wears a cotton shirt, the olive green stark against the fire-blue sky. You call out, sing his name, three times in a row.

When he finally looks up, squinting as you silhouette under the sun, the smile widens. A wave. You’re suddenly overcome with embarrassment. Your palm digs into the bark until the wound is freshly dug again, the skin supple and vulnerable. You want to wave, but your hands would look so awkward, and the blood wouldn't help. So you turn on your heel and run— why are you so awkward?— and the grass around you is brighter. This is now a tomorrow issue, you conclude. You’re still smiling.

6. dislocate + ostentatious + blood red from @oasis-of-you [this got really unhinged really fast. TW: body horror]

If you take a turn at Finn Avenue,

Rogue your way down a blood red river,

[It’s not actual blood, do not worry. The colour’s a pigment and it’s saturated enough to give you the texture, the touch, the taste of blood, but I repeat, it isn’t true blood. You might think that it’s ostentatious of us to make you cross a river like that, but you’ll understand why.]

And if can stick your fingers inside the fluid,

You’ll find a bone.

Don’t pull it out fully! Only observe.

[This is a real bone, most likely animal. We may be ominous, but we don’t hurt humans. Not yet.]

So what do you do now? You want passage into a better world.

You came here because you saw the brochure, the flyer,

Radiant Idyll, home for love, but you also saw the jutting anatomy that leads to the city. The pictures were rather clear.

Why do you look so surprised? We’ve put this on the brochure— don’t you ever read the fine print?— to avoid this exact situation. That you would cross a body, a skeleton, pooled over in a fluid that we don’t name, but it’s probably alive.

It’s watching you right now.

So what do you do now?

Hurry up, unhinge your arm, dislocate the elbow, drop it into the blood, forgive me, false blood, and pay for your passage.

Oh! Excellent; that’s record time. We do hope you enjoy your stay!

1. @noteaboy [i’ve interpreted your url as ”note, a boy”]

There’s an orange tree. It’s spring, and there’s an orange tree, and it brims with fruit and citrus perfume. Point your lens flare downwards, and note, a boy. A young man, perhaps, because he combs his hair, uptight and firm, and he wears a tie. A long suit. He doesn’t look up, because his hand holds a book. /He/ holds the book, not the hands— tenderness doesn’t translate through anatomy, I’ve taught you this before. He’s waiting for someone. There’s only the rustle of leaves. He drops the book onto the lap of the tree, crushing the apple that had fallen down. Orange, not apple. Take note better. You only have one chance to get this right.

2. @eatingjupiter [your url is so beautiful omg]

The goddess had said this before she died: you need to watch over him. He needs your sentry to survive. The goddess’ words weren’t heeded. Little baby Jupiter tottered on lava as him parents small-talked with their kingdom. Well, it must have been small talk, because nothing seemed to happen afterwards other than his mother’s face collapsing in agony, anger, annoyance. He knew not to touch them then. He’d fly off into the sun one day, but if his hands were but and charred, he wouldn’t survive even a third of the journey.

The prophecy was simple: the firstborn to the kingdom will metamorph into a celestial, purify themselves so that only stardust remains. Live in the sky forever. The astrologers were baffled; you don’t just become a star. They should have heeded the goddess.

Jupiter was sixteen when he expanded and collapsed all at once. He still lives, they say, and the astrologers /were/ right, in a way: people just don’t become stars. They become almost empty space. Nobody knows if his hands were burnt when they left earth’s orbit forever.

3. @laughtracksonata [your name gave me slight horror vibes idk why!!]

Hahaha. The Horror Movie (don’t ask me for a name, I’m not good with those), with its cymbal crashing and plastic sounds, it’s so loud and scary that it hurts, father. Please turn it off.

Father doesn't listen. I shiver on the couch. The screen flickers like radio static and reflects off our wide eyes. What kind of a home is this anyway? I don’t want to fucking listen to a laugh track or a horror VHS tape or watch the bass crescendo as the serial killer jumpscares the watcher. I don’t think that having hour pupils glued to the same blood-splattered movie, with the same recording looping in his eardrums will help him. He laughs along, sometimes. It’s scary. Father needs a new hobby.

PART TWO COMING SOON!!

anyway this got REALLY long so i’m posting the third prompt group, the one based on songs, as a second part in some time. i hope you enjoy this, and PLEASE do boost!! i spent a lot of time writing these pieces and am pretty proud of them :’)

general taglist: @lovingyou-is @guulabjamuns @andiwriteunderthemoon @coffeeandcalligraphy @melonmilk @silentlylostwriter @charles-joseph-writes @eklavvya @eowynandfaramir @bitterwitchwrites @laughtracksonata @whatwordsdidnttouch @indeliblewrites @thenataliawrites @summersguilt @illimani-gibberish @sarahkelsiwrites @writing-in-delirium @shaelinwrites @sienna-writes @chewingthescenery @jennawritesstories @chloeswords @aelenko @keira-is-writing @cherylinanika @infinitely-empty-pages @jmtwrites @august-iswriting @freedelusionbanana @beetleblue88 @mistercaleb @iwannawritepls @hanwatchingmovies @mortallynuttyqueen @idratherliveinnarnia @maisulli @thegreyboywrites @ahowlinwolf @ravens-and-rivers @oasis-of-you @yanittawrites @chazza-writes-sometimes @skyfirewrites @lovebenders @treybriggsthewriter @themidnxghtwriter @ash-karter @queen-devasena @a-procrastination-addict @gaymityblight @beyondthebracken @madmaxst26 @adielwrites @moonpixxel @hollow-knight-dnd @keep-looking-here @overlap @ashleygarciawrites @ryns-ramblings @wordsbynathan @novaemlynlewis @sophiewritingstuff @howdy-writes @occiidens @nsanelyawkward @viawrites-andacts

#writeblr #am writing #flash fiction #poetry #wtwcommunity #ofcolourtracking #crabappletracking #anyway part two probably in a couple days #i still have to start writing them 🤡✌️#bonfire bonfire

118 notes · View notes

ecofinisher · 4 years ago

Text

Lady Frost and the Fire King - A familiar partnership - Chap 39

Chapter 39

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31330631/chapters/84485965

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13886468/39/Lady-Frost-and-the-Fire-King-A-familiar-partnership

In the evening several students had arrived at the Françoise Dupont school to attend the prom night organized by the school.

In the meantime, other students, which were invited for the prom were arriving as well at the moment, under them, Rollan was present along with Wayhem and Michael. Wayhem wore a black shirt and pants, which were from Gabriel, and a red tie, which belonged to the same brand. Michael wore dark-brown pants and a green vest with a bow tie.

„You paid 140 euros for that all?“ Asked Rollan shocked as he looked at the dark colors the boy wore.

„I like it. I‘m also planning to use it in the future on other occasions. No one says it‘s a one-time deal,“ Said Wayhem making Rollan nod.

„Unless it‘s a wedding. I hear many people do buy clothes for every different wedding. At least women,“ Commented Michael. „And the dress prices for women compared to our are huge,“

„Have you seen the prices for elegant suits of other brands? Or better for the ones specially used in weddings? They‘re more expensive than you think,“

„Okay, I believe so,“ Admitted Michael and the trio stopped in the middle of the court to see a few students standing around talking, two duos dancing and a few ones at the bankett table eating.

„Are you guys going to eat something?“ Asked Rollan making Wayhem nod and Michael shake his head.

„I‘ll be waiting here for Sofia,“ Responded Michael making the two boys nod.

„I‘m actually interested in trying out those snacks,“ Commented Wayhem, then Rollan nodded.

„I‘m actually a little hungry. I‘m coming as well,“ Mentioned Rollan, which followed Wayhem at the table to check out the various plates with different snacks, which had already a few missing.

„Lots of healthy snacks,“ Commented Rollan picking up a small toothpick with two cherry tomatoes and a mozzarella ball in it and shove a tomato into his mouth. Wayhem had picked up in the meanwhile from an etagere a triangle-cut sandwich with ham and salad and looked at Rollan taking the last two balls from his toothpick.

„Hey over there you got sweet stuff if you‘re interested,“ Commented Wayhem pointing at the end of the table, where Rollan just walked to encounter a plate with macarons only, then looked at the other ones and decided to pick up a half banana, which was covered in dry chocolate cream, which Rollan looked at it with a warily look.

„This looks interesting?“ Asked Rollan taking the stick, where the banana was attached to and took a bite from it, and smiled. „Mmh,“

„While you‘re on that I‘m gonna take this large Linzer cookie,“ Mentioned Wayhem picking up a large cookie, which had a smiley face on it, where you could see the jam filling of it. „Is this strawberry?“

Rollan finished the banana, then looked at Wayhem which was tasting the cookie and Rollan looked at the entrance to see more students enter, but there was no spurt of Gerda yet.

„Did you come on your own or have you a date?“ Asked Rollan making Wayhem shake his head.

„Nope, I‘m all on my own,“ Mumbled the brunette. „I‘m fine for now,“

„Okay,“ Replied Rollan walking around the table to look at the available snacks, then approached a table across the one with the salty snacks and looked at all the glass, that had been filled in with various drinks and Rollan picked up one, which was grape juice then he took a sip of it and frowned a little disappointed at the taste. Rollan watched the baker of the bakery across the school appear with a plate with hot ham croissants and added them into a plate, which had been empty.

„Want to give my croissants a try?“ Asked Mr. Dupain. „They‘re filled with smoked ham and cream cheese Trust me, you‘re going to love it,“

Rollan smiled, then picked up one to try it and blew at it due to its temperature.

„Gracias,“ Answered Rollan, then Tom pondered for a little while and questioned the boy.

„You‘re alone here?“ Asked the adult making Rollan shake his head.

„Wayhem and Michael came with me,“ Answered Rollan. „There‘s also a girl, I‘m waiting for, but she hasn‘t arrived yet,“

„Really?“ Asked Tom making Rollan nod, then Tom approached the raven-haired Spaniard and led him to his side, where three piles of plates were and took one for the boy. „Why don‘t you collect this girl a few little snacks for her to when she arrives?“ Asked Tom watching Rollan look at the plate and shrug his shoulders.

„I guess it‘s a good idea,“ Commented Rollan and looked at the large variation, wondering what he should pick. „Epa, how should I know, what she‘s interested in?“

„You don‘t have to, just take a few things you think she should try. A few salty things, sweet things or healthy things,“ Suggested Tom. „There must be something, that would make her curious to try,“

„Yeah, I think there are a few things she could try,“ Admitted Rollan, then approached the table to look for diversity.

At the entrance, stood Kim together with Max and Nino talking with an African student, which wore headphones and carried under his arm a laptop.

„You‘re telling me, that Yuki and Urioto broke up because of an empty balloon someone left in his dorm?“ Questioned Kim shocked making the boy nod.

„It‘s hella stupid man. Werner only was in his room to ask Urioto‘s roommate for his party box and he had dropped it and eventually left it there. He wasn‘t expecting that there would happen such a big drama,“

„That‘s nuts,“ Commented Kim while Nino nodded.

„I don‘t know how people could mistake that for a contraceptive product, but yeah that really is crazy, that the two boys there fought because of this,“

„It‘s kind of weird this even happened that way,“ Commented Max making Kim nod.

„Hey before you go up at the stage, are you interested in meeting Rollan? The guy I told you about the basketball skills?“ Asked Kim making the older boy shrug his shoulders.

„I‘ve got to see, what exactly I have to plug in and out at the device, maybe I‘ll pass by before I start or after my part is over,“ Answered the dark-skinned boy making Kim nod, which then heard a familiar, squeaky voice and looked down to spot Luka coming along with his sister, the younger girl Rose and the new girl he knows from his class Gerda.

„Hey is that Gerda?“ Asked Kim surprised at seeing Gerda in a short, sleeveless dress with a woven surface over her front and small, white pearls on it. The skirt of the dress reached to her knees and had her shoes replaced with black ballerinas. Her hair she had let it open, passing over her shoulders down at her back. Nino looked along with Max and the DJ at the Quartett, that came upstairs.

„Hey guys!“ Greeted Rose, while Juleka waved at the group and Luka nodded with a smirk.

„Hey,“ Greeted Kim along with the others, while the unfamiliar boy approached Luka to high five.

„Is that your girl?“ Asked the boy curious making Luka shake his head.

„No, this is Gerda. She‘s in my sister‘s class,“ Answered Luka. „She has been invited to the prom by someone else if you‘re wondering,“

„Oh okay. Well, I‘d be surprised if someone like her wouldn‘t have someone. She‘s a natural beauty,“ Commented the boy with a smirk making Gerda feel embarrassed.

„Thanks,“ Answered Gerda, then looked up at the boys. „Has Rollan arrived yet?“ Asked Gerda making Kim shrug his shoulders.

„I know Wayhem did. Maybe he is in there as well and I haven‘t noticed,“ Answered the Vietnamese boy, then Gerda looked at Rose, which smiled and the group followed into the court, looking around at the decorations made for the evening, which were holiday-themed.

„The images up there of the things you see at the beach look realistic,“ Commented Gerda making Rose nod.

„That made our crafting club,“ Mentioned Rose proud. „A big chunk of the things we see all here now at the prom were done by the various after school activity groups,“ „Cool,“ Commented Gerda, then she spotted near the buffet tables Rollan looking around the table for more food for the plate on his hand, then Gerda chuckled and nudged Rose to show her his crush. „He‘s up there,“

„Aww, he‘s just like Nathaniel. Passionate about eating,“ Commented Rose holding her hands together against her chin.

Gerda approached the Spaniard, which was looking at the macarons, then she stepped beside him to look at his plate.

„That looks yummy,“ Commented Gerda, then Rollan looked at the girl and widened his eyes as he saw her now differently as usual.

„Gerda?…..Is that you?“ Asked Rollan surprised making Gerda nod. „I have never seen your hair open…...“

„Is it good?“ Asked Gerda while Rollan admired her hair dazzled, then Gerda moved her hand in front of his face to obtain his attention. „What do you think of it?“

„Your hair?“ Asked Rollan making Gerda nod. „It‘s great. Did your hair always look like this, when you had it open?“

„More or less,“ Commented Gerda. „Juleka cut the edges of my hair, cause it was a little sprouted,“

„You gotta keep your hair like that more often, it makes you look even more beautiful…..You know, you already are but like this you‘re…..uh better,“ Explained Rollan making Gerda laugh.

„That‘s sweet and you look stunning as well,“ Commented Gerda looking at his clothing. „White actually suits you well,“

„Gracias….I actually was going to take a red one, but then Arthur came along with a few of his old ones and I picked up this one here. It‘s slightly a little large, but it works well for me,“

„It really does,“ Admitted Gerda, then Rose gave Gerda a thumb up, which pulled Juleka away leaving the Norwegian back with the taller boy. Gerda watched her friends leave, heading to the other side of the court, then she smiled that the two girls have let her alone with Rollan without any other tries of helping them out.

„Gerda?“ Spoke Rollan getting the girl‘s attention, then he showed her the plate with the various snacks. „I picked up some variations for you….to try it out?“ Offered the Hispanic boy making Gerda smile and pick up a crystalized ginger slice to eat it. „If you want you can take them all. I had specifically picked up them for you,“

„I‘m probably not gonna eat all of this. You can have one or two as well,“ Said Gerda making Rollan nod, then she picked up one macaron and held it in front of Rollan‘s mouth, making him furrow his eyebrows, then he smiled and allowed Gerda to lead it into his mouth for him to eat. Rollan warped his face in disgust making Gerda shut her eyes up in shock.

„You‘re alright?“

„I‘m not very fond of pistachio,“ Commented Rollan making Gerda chuckle.

„Oh alright I‘m sorry,“

„It‘s fine,“ Commented Rollan watching Gerda take a small canapé with salmon on it and Rollan observed her eating with a smile.

At the small stage, which was placed under the stairs appeared the organized DJ, which had fixed his laptop to play on it and picked the microphone up to greet the students.

„Good evening students of the Françoise Dupont!“ Greeted the boy calling the attention of half of the students. „The name‘s Cristiano and I‘m one of the DJs for this prom. For the next 90 minutes you‘ll be listening to my mix, afterward, Principal Damocles will have for us a few words, before we continue with our next DJ, which most of you know, Nino Lahiffe. In the end, there will be a voting for our prom King and prom Queen and we will know who our winners are. So I suggest you all show your best side and show what you‘re worth for the prize!“

The students applauded watching the DJ give them a thumb up, then turn on the first song, which was a house-electronica song meant for partying.

„Oh yeah, our first song coming from the US-Rapper Okla-Homa. Always good for a wild night,“ Commented Cristiano loud watching students beginning to gather together in the middle to dance.

Gerda watched the students begin to dance with each other, then chuckled at the way some were dancing which was unfamiliar to Gerda. Gerda moved her fingers to pick up the last snack, which was a vanilla cookie and at the same time Rollan placed his finger as well meeting Gerda‘s and shrieked, then rolled his eyes at the girl, which beamed at the boy.

„You can take it,“ Offered Rollan shoving it with his index finger at the girl, which accepted it to eat. Rollan placed the plate aside afterward watched Gerda finish the cookie and looked up at Rollan, which smiled and looked at the students, that were dancing, additionally more students were arriving to join the others.

„Can you dance?“ Asked Gerda making Rollan shrug his shoulders.

„I can waltzer and others in company, but this style the others are doing I have never done before,“

„Neither have I,“ Stated Gerda. „Shouldn‘t we at least give it a try together?“

„Hmm I don‘t think it looks that hard….just in my imagination me doing that would be ridiculous,“

„If you want me to be honest I think everyone kind of dances awkwardly. Maybe this is the point of it,“ Commented Gerda making Rollan shrug his shoulders. „What do you think? Are you able to give it a try?“ Questioned the Norwegian girl, then Rollan watched the others dance and returned his eyes at Gerda.

„Let‘s go for it,“ Answered Rollan, then walked along with Gerda at the field, then both stood there waiting for one of the two to start, then Gerda watched Rollan observe the others, then looked back at her grinning a little sheepishly and Gerda began to dance as the others with Rollan watching her, then she approached the Spaniard placing her hands on his arms pushing him nearer to her and moved her shoulders and arms. Rollan grinned at Gerda‘s moves, then tried to copy the girl and looked at the others, which were all dancing on their own or with another person. Rollan looked back at Gerda, which continued dancing as the others were dancing, then Rollan slowly began to copy her moves and watched her nod and do a full spin, making Rollan smile, which stopped and did a quick spin while going on a tip toe and earned a small applause of Gerda.

„Hey that spin was good,“ Commented Gerda making Rollan chuckle, then he began to move his arms and dance, making Gerda glow at his confidence at copying the random movements, therefore she went along with the boy with their odd dance moves while the song was almost over.

„This is kind of funny,“ Commented Gerda making Rollan nod, then looked at the others, which began to jump up in the air, while holding their hands up and the duo did the same, then Gerda laughed excited about it.

„Eso es genial!“ Commented Rollan making Gerda grin, then the song was over and they stopped along with a few duos.

Marinette sat in her bedroom doing her homework and had on the computer a live stream of the prom night, which showed the DJ playing the music and it switched slowly to the dancing students. Marinette sighed, then picked up her smartphone to use the calculator, then shrieked as on her display appeared a phone number calling, which she attended it.

„Hello?“ Greeted Marinette.

„We‘re here,“ Said the voice making Marinette nod and turn the call off. Marinette went upstairs to get to the balcony, then encountered on the roof Su-Han along with a mysterious monk she had never seen before.

„Good evening,“ Greeted Marinette, then Su-Han held out his hand at Marinette to show her the fixed Ladybug miraculous making her smile and embrace the senior, which widened his eyes in shock. „Thank you so much for healing the miraculous for me,“

„There‘s no need to thank me for it. Now please put on your earrings to make sure she‘s good,“ Commented Su-Han watching Marinette put on the miraculous, then they got activated and Tikki showed up in front of Marinette.

„Welcome back, Tikki,“ Greeted Marinette holding out her hands at the kwami, which smiled and hugged them. „I‘m so sorry I have let an akuma take over me and…...you were now gone for a while,“ „What matters is, that we‘re both okay and the akuma was defeated,“ Stated Tikki making Marinette smile and look along with the kwami at the master guardian.

„This is the son of the former guardian of the Scandinavian miraculous box. He was going to step into his feet as the next heir until one faithful night the Snow Queen cursed the entire peninsula with her curse freezing almost every citizen including his father,“

„Oh and what happened next?“ Questioned Marinette looking at the monk.

„I never got the chance to work with that miraculous box, so after the Snow Queen was defeated I studied other legends, under them was the one of the wishing stone and this is where my topic is going to. You have these two new heroes in your group. The fire-themed one and the ice-themed one,“ „Yeah, Cat Noir said he found it in Gabriel Agreste‘s mansion. He has brought them from Norway I think according to his son Adrien Agreste, which we tried to send him undercover into figuring out details,“ Explained Marinette. „I already mentioned you that the other day, Master Su-Han,“

„I know that. This is now a way different topic now. Let him tell you, what he has to,“

„Okay, sorry, go on, Mister,“ Asked Marinette looking at the monk, which nodded.

„Those miraculouses your friends there were, you know the one with the fire and the ice powers. They‘re in potential danger to lose their control and be overtaken by the spirits of the Snow Queen and the Fire Demon. You have to get these miraculouses back, before they get turned into their slaves and lose their control for good,“

„Oh…...uh and how much time do I have to take them back?“

„I‘m not sure. I‘m the one, who experimented with their powers believing nothing would occur, but I have seen in one of the recordings made by surveillance cameras or any other ones, that recorded one of their fights. The fire boy‘s mind was nearly changing before something had interrupted him and prevent him to lose its tempter,“

„Does this mean…..if Fire King loses his tempter in a way he loses his control or….I don‘t understand,“

„I can‘t tell to 100% when exactly this could happen, but you really need to get them back before it happens. The spirits of the Fire Demon and the Snow Queen shouldn‘t be freed. They should return back into the wishing stone and I‘m at the moment the only one, who knows how to do that. I just need your help,“

„Okay, I just will need to know, where they are exactly. I don‘t know their identities to have it easier to find them,“

„Is there a way to gain their attention and get to them? Like a real-life issue? A faked akumatization?“ Questioned the monk making Marinette shrug.

„I haven‘t thought of anything yet, but I can come up quick with a plan,“

„We better leave it to you then and beware, if one or both of them end up losing their souls to these spirits, I‘ll tell you, it will be the hell to be able to defeat them all over again,“ Commented the monk making Marinette drop her mouth in shock at his comment.

„Don‘t break your head about it. I have my full trust in you, you‘re going to get them without a problem,“ Mentioned Su-Han making Marinette nod, then he jumped down off the roof along with the monk and Marinette dropped her back on the deck chair in shock.

„Did you hear that Tikki? What if we fail again?“ Asked Marinette making Tikki shake her head.

„We‘re not gonna fail, Marinette. All we need to do is to find out, who Fire King and Lady Frost are, then tell them what‘s up. Figuring out, who Fire King is won‘t be hard, Cat Noir already knows and we have proof, that something is wrong with Fire King. He will for sure understand and give the miraculous back,“ Stated Tikki making Marinette nod, then look around and back at Tikki.

„Let‘s get charged, we will look for Cat Noir,“ Warned Marinette making the kwami nod.

Later into the evening, Rollan stood at a corner watching a young couple take a picture in front of a wallpaper, which illustrated at the wall a picture of a beach and the ground had actual sand on it with a deck chair, a handmade sandcastle with a lying, red bucket and a shovel next to it. Rollan watched the couple being pictured by the photographer in a few poses at their choice making Rollan smile and cross his arms enjoying the sight.

The photographer gave the couple a thumb up, then looked at Rollan, which was watching the photo session, then approached the Spaniard.

„Hey! I haven‘t seen you here,“ Commented the photographer, then grabbed Rollan on his cheeks. „You‘re not from here aren‘t you?“

„I‘m from Spain,“ Mumbled Rollan, then watched the photographer take his hands down.

„I assumed you were Italian for some reason, but by looking at your built you‘re far too sporty in my opinion,“ Commented the Italian photographer making Rollan furrow his eyebrows confused.

„My friend Wayhem is sporty and Italian,“ Commented Rollan making the photographer grin.

„You‘re probably right, I was referring to the ones I know,“ Commented Vincent. „At least around here…...what do you think? Would you like to participate in a little photo session? I can see inside you hides a boy, that has potential to become a super model“ Complimented Vincent making Rollan shake his head.

„No, I‘m not interested in that kind of thing. I‘m more interested in being able to do something like helping people,“

„Alright and is it okay, if I take a normal picture of you?“ Questioned Vincent.

„Hmm I‘m not really fond of taking pictures,“ Commented Rollan making the photographer nod, then Rollan made his way along the side of the court to get closer to the restrooms, then watched a cook pass by with a plate filled with various cheese sorts shove into one single pike and Rollan took one giving the cook a smile, then took a bite of the first cube, then watched out of the restroom Gerda come out to his direction.

„Did you want a stick?“ Questioned Rollan moving his head at the cook, which was offering one piece at Myléne Hapréle from Gerda‘s class.

„It‘s fine,“ Responded Gerda, followed by Rollan shoving the last cubes into his mouth and looked around for a trash bin, then placed it on a plate, which contained more used sticks near the buffet table.

„What are you planning to do now?“ Questioned Rollan. „Shall we go to the dance floor again?“

„Are they going to play softer songs and not only the energetic ones?“ Questioned Gerda watching Rollan shrug his shoulders,

„Maybe they will play some,“ Answered Rollan. „We probably have to wait a little longer. They exchanged the musician over there, he might give us something else,“

„You‘re right,“ Agreed Gerda looking at the corner to see Juleka and Rose take pictures together, then she nudged Rollan on the shoulder and pointed there. „They‘re taking pictures,“

„That guy there asked me before if I wanted to take pictures,“

„And you didn‘t want?“

„I‘m not very comfortable with taking photos,“ Admitted Rollan, then she grabbed him by the hand and led him to the corner.

„Come, let‘s just take one picture together. As a memory of this night,“ Suggested the blonde. „Come you won‘t look bad I promise,“

„Alright, I‘ll do it,“ Announced Rollan, then the two stopped by the photographer, which took the last picture of the same-gender couple.

„Fantastic!“ Exclaimed Vicent, then looked at Rollan and Gerda that had alined for the photo session.

„I changed my mind,“ Said Rollan making Vincent smile and see Rose and Juleka pass by the man, then Rose picked the man by his arms as the older duo entered into the corner, so she could whisper something into the ear of the Italian.

„Okay, I‘ll do it,“ Said Vincent, then picked up his remote on his pocket to exchange the image behind the two into an image of a Balinese beach showing a beautifully light-blue water, and near the ground was the sand of the beach, which was compatible with the floor of the set. Vincent looked at the two, which stood beside each other normally, then he moved his hands to sign the two to get closer.

Rollan stepped to Gerda closer with an embarrassed face, while Gerda had rolled her eyes down heating up on the face at the boy‘s approach, then they smiled at the camera, which took a snapshot.

„Have something more in mind for this picture?“ Questioned Vincent seeing Rollan and Gerda look at each other, then Rollan grabbed Gerda‘s hand giving Gerda an unsure look. Gerda had a different idea, then shove the arm, which Rollan had grabbed into the gap between his arm and body, then held her other hand up over his upper arm. Rollan got surprised at her touch, then smiled a little seeing the girl look up at him with a smile, then Rollan‘s grew slightly more and together they faced the photographer, which gave them a thumb up to take a picture. At his third try, Gerda leaned her chin on Rollan‘s shoulder making Rollan exchange his facial expression seconds after the picture was taken and he looked down at the girl.

„Perfecto!“ Commented Vincent, then Rollan looked back at the picture and got bewildered about it.

„Didn‘t we had another picture before?“ Asked Rollan making Gerda shrug her shoulders, then they walked out of the corner to the middle of the court. Rollan stopped, followed by Gerda bumping into him and she giggled as she did that, afterward Rollan pointed out at the DJ, which had picked up his microphone to speak into it.

„Ladies and Gentle-dudes! We‘ve been through a wild ride together, but now it‘s time for us to slow it down a little with some light music and easy listening. I tried to search for something, that‘s a little known under some of you, maybe you‘ve heard it in your childhood, who knows. Our first song comes from a known country singer under the girls here,“ Nino said, then he pressed the play button to start the song, which had at the begin of the music a guitar solo.

The court now remained with couples and duos only beginning to dance slowly to the music.

Gerda looked at the pairs dancing, then noticed how close Juleka and Rose were to each other during the dance with the little blonde having her head lied against the chest of the girl friend. Rollan looked around to see the other couples dance together, then he looked at Gerda seeing her smile enchanted at seeing her two best friends happy together, then Rollan pondered about the circumstances and turned around at the girl.

„Gerda?“ Spoke Rollan earning the girl‘s attention, then he bowed down holding out his hand at the girl. „Puedo solicitor este baile?“

„You're asking me what?“ Asked Gerda looking down at his hand, then studied his sentence. „You‘re asking me to dance?“ Questioned Gerda making Rollan nod. „Oh…..so baile means dance?“

„El baile. Si,“

„Si,“ Responded Gerda. „Quiero bailar,“ Answered Gerda taking Rollan‘s hand, then he guided her into the middle to be distanced from all the other couples, then he received the hands of the blonde and he moved one hand after the other, placing one on his shoulder and the right one on his hand. The free arm, Rollan placed behind Gerda‘s back, then both gazed at each other‘s face, Rollan having a dumbfounded expression while Gerda had an enchanting smile, which had begin to bewitch the Spaniard.

Gerda signaled with her eyes the friend to move further, then Rollan shook his head returning to reality, and began to waltz with the girl to the country song.

The singer began to sing, then Gerda focused on the friend during their act with Rollan leading her on the dancefloor keeping her and himself steady on the floor to avoid making a mistake. Rollan made a stop, then allowed Gerda to roll out, while he held his hand up to hold her and she returned back to the Spaniard, that reversed back with her on his arms. A few steps later Rollan let Gerda spin again, then she returned back into his arms slowly locking her eyes up with the ones of the Spaniard, making her wide them from seeing his maroon-colored eyes.

„But you came along and you‘ve changed everything…..“

The two teens waltzed together away from their standing point around the floor along with the other duos, which were focused on themselves leaving the two lovebirds go with the flow in a very identical manner without a failure as if they had been practicing together for a while.

Alya, which had been filming from the side the people dancing had Juleka and Rose pass near her, then noticed Rose point at the side, then Alya saw Rollan along with Gerda have wonderful act together making the alter ego of Rena Rouge smile and aim the camera at the duo, which was slowing down a little to go along with the song.

During the dance, Gerda had twirled around Rollan‘s arms, then he felt the long, blonde hair pass in front of his nose, making him chuckle and he grabbed the edge of Gerda‘s streak to sense it between his thumb and index finger.

„Has your hair always felt so smooth?“ Questioned Rollan making Gerda chuckle and shake her head.

„Juleka borrowed me her hair conditioner. Oh and have you smelt the scent of the shampoo I got from her?“

„Uh no?“ Responded Rollan, then Gerda moved her head down at Rollan‘s hand, then he reached his nose to her hairstreak to pick up the scent. Rollan cackled, thereafter he leaned his face nearer to her head to get the full scent into his nose and took his head back. „It‘s very good. What smell is that?“

„Honey and Almond,“ Responded Gerda. „It‘s a mixture. You like it?“

„To be honest I like that smell on you. It fits you perfectly,“ Admitted the Spaniard, making Gerda beam at his compliment. Rollan smiled glad at seeing his date was having a blast tonight, then adjusted the girl‘s hand back on him to lead the girl along the dancefloor, making her drop her head back smiling brightly as the song returned to the refrain.

„You lift my feet off the ground, spin me around…..“

„Hmm…..Hmm…..“ Gerda hummed to the song, making Rollan smile enamored at the sweet tune of her voice. She took her head up to look at the Spaniard, which had his eyes deeply focused on her, then she went along his lead on the floor and made a rotation, while being assisted by Rollan afterward she returned onto his arms.

„I don‘t want to hide it anymore…..“ Rollan leaned his forehead on Gerda‘s making her smile lovely, enjoying the tender moment between the two, then gazed up at the brown eyes of the Spaniard, which from a happy smile changed to a charmed one and Gerda placed her hands up under Rollan‘s chin to plant her lips on his making him wide his eyes at her move, then he shut them down, wrapping his arms around her slowly, followed by taking the lead and have Gerda move her arms down up on his shoulders, crossing her wrists on the other behind Rollan‘s neck with a slight mumbling noise of delight.

Adrien sat on his chair in front of the desk reading a book as Plagg sat on the desk looking at the live stream of the prom watching the crowd dance slow, which made Plagg yawn.

„Your father did well to not allow you to this. It looks so boring,“ Commented Plagg, then Adrien looked at the stream to see half of the duos, which were mostly lovers to the other have their heads leaned to each other to the calm style of the music.

„If I had the chance there to be with Ladybug or even with Kagami, it would have been pretty,“ Commented Adrien, then looked at the side to see images on the side mostly from Ladybug and two of them were from Kagami.

„You had great chances with Kagami, but you fucked it up by yourself because you couldn‘t leave alone your other crush,“

„I tried to forget her, but I couldn‘t,“ Commented Adrien. „Kagami was my chance to get through it, but I couldn‘t from seeing Ladybug every day,“

„You know the difference here Adrien is, you didn‘t always see Ladybug because it was a superhero case, you saw her because you wanted to. You missed moments, you could work on your relationship with Kagami or even something different, but you didn‘t,“

„Alright, alright, Plagg. Enough. I know I did terrible back there. I would have taken it all back, but I can‘t,“

„Yeah. Fire King probably will learn it from your mistakes or at least I hope he‘s going different,“ Commented Plagg looking at the screen, making Adrien raise his left eyebrow up then noticed on the live stream Fire King‘s alter ego sharing a kiss with Gerda.

„Well at least he seems pretty relaxed for a first kiss,“ Stated Adrien, then he got up and made his way to the windows to look at the schoolhouse, which was lightened by lights. „I think our class is the only class, where a few students didn‘t go to attend the prom. I, Nathaniel, Lila, and Marinette I think too,“ „Weird, why wouldn‘t Lila come?“ Questioned Plagg making Adrien shrug his shoulders.

„I assume her mom didn‘t sign her declaration. The same thing happened when we went to New York and Toronto. Marinette probably stayed back because of the bakery tasks for tonight. Nathaniel must have been because of his grandmother,“ Recounted Adrien then saw in front of his eyes the superheroine Ladybug pass by running above the roofs, heading to the Trocadero.

„Oh look Ladybug is back,“ Stated Adrien with a smile.

„Great to know Tikki is alright,“ Added Plagg, then Adrien looked down at her.

„Shall we do her a little visit? Just to see how she‘s doing?“ Questioned Adrien making Plagg shrug his shoulders.

„I don‘t care to be honest, but it‘s better than watching this boring live stream there,“ Responded Plagg, then Adrien opened the window and announced his transformation phrase.

„Plagg, Claws out!“ Shouted Adrien transforming into Cat Noir, then jumped out of the window to follow the superheroine and whistled loud to call Ladybug‘s attention, which stopped on top of a building before crossing the Seine.

„Cat Noir?“ Asked Ladybug watching Cat Noir arrive by the roof. „Oh great to see you right now,“

„How are you doing? What‘s with Tikki?“ Asked Cat Noir making Ladybug nod.

„She‘s fine now. Thanks for asking. Great that you showed up right now. I need your help, remember what happened last time with Fire King?“

„You mean his transformation issue?“ Questioned the blonde making the heroine nod. „What‘s up with it?“

„Su-Han introduced me to a monk and he told me about a relict they call the wishing stone. Fire King and Lady Frost‘s powers in the miraculous were taken from there….we have to take their miraculouses away or they both will lose their minds to the Snow Queen and the Fire Demon, which will cause destruction to our city. This apparently already happened 100 years or more ago and they were hardly manageable to defeat.“ „Really?“ Asked Cat Noir in shock. „And how are we gonna do that?“ Asked Cat Noir.

„You know, who Fire King is, right?“ Asked the blue-haired heroine making Cat Noir nod. „You‘ll talk to him, what‘s up and retrieve his miraculous, and I will see if I can find Lady Frost anywhere. If you spot there anyone with a wreath, that resembles Lady Frost try to speak to her. Or we‘ll have to wait for her to show up,“

„You could ask Rena Rouge to fake a situation and call her attention?“ Suggested Cat Noir, making Ladybug wide her eyes.

„Hey, that could work. Make your way up to Fire King, if you know where he is. I‘ll see if I can contact Rena Rouge,“ Ordered Ladybug watching Cat Noir salute at her and jump down at the road to head to the school.

At the prom after a couple of songs, Gerda and Rollan had gotten nearer with the other during the evening. Rollan was leading the girl during the current song, which had more pep than the previous one, then smiled as Gerda lied her head next to his face to lean on the shoulder.

„How are you feeling?“ Asked Rollan quiet, then heard the girl sighed enamored and the Spaniard understood, that she had been feeling well. „This is….“Began Rollan, then chuckled softly to watch Gerda move up her head to look at the raven-haired boy. „I have never thought about how both of us would have come this closer. I assumed we would be just friends and now…….this all happened,“

Gerda nodded, then leaned her arms around Rollan‘s head to nudge him with her nose gently.

„Me neither,“ Commented Gerda. „But when I got to know you a little I began to want more than just this,“

Rollan chuckled, then held his arms down aside Gerda‘s waist, allowing her to lean her forehead on his, then he rolled his eyes down to look into her crystal-blue eyes, which kept her focus on the brown iris.

„Remember, when I spoke about that one girl I liked?“ Asked Rollan making Gerda mumble.

„Uh hum,“ „You know I believe….I really never loved that girl. It‘s…..I don‘t know. I saw her every day and thought Damn, she‘s so beautiful, I never understood what was up there if I just found her pretty and was glad, when I was around her. With you….it‘s…..different. I‘m glad to see you and have you as a friend….. We…..we understand each other's lives and could be with each other when no one else could,“

„I have never been in love with someone before. You‘re the first guy I do perceive something and the need to get closer to you just grew more, instantly, that…..now that we‘re here together I‘m…...I couldn‘t be happier now,“

„I‘m sorry I didn‘t realize before how you felt about me,“ Apologized Rollan making Gerda chuckle, then get her head away from the boy to gaze at him.

„It‘s alright. You…..you spoke once about her right?“ Questioned Gerda making Rollan shrug his shoulders.

„I believe so. Her personality from the short time I saw her reminded me of you,“ Commented Rollan.

„Where did you see her in those short moments?“ Questioned Gerda curious, then Rollan pondered about what he should answer.

„Uhm basketball, after school,“ Lied Rollan making Gerda chuckle.

„This took you long to answer?“ Commented Gerda a little bewildered making Rollan nod.

„I had forgotten the word,“ Commented Rollan. „I‘m sorry,“

„It‘s alright,“

„I haven‘t seen that girl in her…...true form you know,“ Stated Rollan. „She wears a…..a long coat and has more makeup on her face, but I‘m not complaining about it. It‘s made well on her, it‘s not overly exaggerated as you‘ve seen on that blonde girl, that you saw bickering with Aurore from my class,“ Commented Rollan making Gerda chuckle.

„That‘s Chloé. Yeah, she‘s a little overdressed and overpainted. There I have to agree. This is why I begged Juleka and Rose to keep my face decent. I wanted you to like me for my real me, not an overly-changed Gerda,“ Stated Gerda watching Rollan cup her cheek, passing his thumb under her eye to uncover a bit of make-up, which had covered the freckles.

„I can‘t believe they covered up your skin points,“ Mentioned Rollan making Gerda a little confused, then figure out what he meant.

„Ah freckles you mean,“ Commented Gerda making Rollan nod, then Gerda took her hands down to grab Rollan‘s to question him something. „Just curious, what do you like about me? Do you have anything specific?“

„Personality-wise or something else?“

„Up to you.“

„Your kindness and confidence you‘ve shown, have caught my eye a lot,“ Commented Rollan, then both shrieked as the DJ had picked up the microphone making it shrill.

„Ops sorry dudes,“ Commented Nino, then showed up a paper on his hands. „Before our last song, I‘d like to announce to you the winners of the voting. As said before, The most voted girl and boy become the King and the Queen of the prom and in second place we get the Prince and the Princess. So open up your ears and listen up,“ Said Nino watching Principal Damocles come up at the stage along with Mrs. Mendeleiev, which were bringing the crowns and the tiaras for the winners. „Those aren‘t real ones, by the way, those were created by the crafting club together with the design club of Mr. Ross and Mr. Nickel,“ Explained Nino watching half of the students applaud.

„Okay dudes, we‘ll start with the second place“ Announced Nino. „Princess of the prom night tonight will be with 21 votes Aurore Boreal from class 12B!“ Announced Nino looking at the light, which searched for the girl, that was near the stage jumping excitedly in front of Wayhem and Luka, which observed the girl get up on the stage to receive the tiara, then the Principal ordered the girl to step forward at the stage to look at the crown, still excited about her win. „Our Prince Charming has gotten silver with 32 votes. Funnily equally voted by both genders. The award goes to Rollan from class 12B as well!“

„What?“ Asked Rollan confused looking at Gerda, which gave him a thumb up. „Why did I win?“ Asked Rollan confused, then Kim Chien Le showed up to clap the friend on his back.

„I voted for you man,“ Commented Kim, then pointed up the stage for Rollan to walk up in which he did and he received a silver-colored crown.

„Actually boys get the crown. Our DJ misunderstood me,“ Said Principal Damocles after setting the crown over Rollan‘s head, then he walked at Aurore, which waved at the Spaniard, which nodded and saw at everyone clapping at him, then swallowed hard tensed about the amount of attention.

Down came Vincent with his camera to take a picture of the two teens, then up the stage appeared the janitor to bring the two a simple rose with a ribbon on it with the number two written on it to hand it out to the silver-winners. After the prize, Rollan returned to Gerda, which stood there with Kim and Max, which were happy about Rollan‘s prize, then Kim held up his hand to have Rollan high-five him.

„What was the prize for?“ Asked Rollan, then watched Max adjust his glasses before explaining him.

„About 145 students had the chance to vote for any girl and anyboy here to become Prom King or Prince. You were elected by 32 students and got second place,“ Explained Max. „According to calculations sportsboys, Chads and anyone good-looking has greater chance to become the most votes, which happened to you,“

„Really?“ Questioned Rollan making Kim nod.

„You‘ve earned our votes. Sadly you didn‘t make it to King thought,“ Mentioned Kim making Max nod.

„I‘m fine with Prince. I would also be fine, if I didn‘t win,“ Mentioned Rollan looking at Gerda, which was looking at the ribbon and the quartett heard the next announcement, afterward Kim began to laugh as he heard Chloé had won the first prize.

„Who voted for her?“ Asked Kim making Rollan shrug his shoulders.

„I had no idea, where to vote,“ Said Rollan, then Gerda pointed at the box under the stage, which had large written Vote on it. „Oh,“

„I would have voted for you, if I knew that,“ Mentioned Rollan making Gerda grin at the comment.

„It‘s fine. I‘m also fine without the prize,“ Commented Gerda, then Kim began to yell as he saw Luka Couffaine get up on stage as he was elected Prom King.

„Almost all my classmates won,“ Commented Rollan making Gerda nod watching Luka and Chloé smile at the camera to get a picture taken, then they moved away and Nino played the next song, which was a pop song, which a soul-like topic.

Rollan placed his hands around Gerda‘s waist again, then watched her place her hands over his shoulders to go on for another dance session together, then she embraced the boy leaning her head by his head and noticed his shirt‘s collar have a notable, failed wrinkle on it, then passed her finger on it.

„Did you iron your shirt?“ Asked Gerda making Rollan nod.

„Yeah, did I miss something?“ Asked the Spaniard making Gerda shake her head.

„No I had noticed one wrinkle on it, which was made by the iron,“

„I was a little trebling with my hands,“ Commented Rollan. „I think I have two more, but under my arms somewhere,“

„Funny I haven‘t noticed anyone yet,“

„You know ironing isn‘t something I do every day, just once a week. Sometimes I do well, sometimes not so well. This one was okay thought,“

„It looks here like you have ironed from your back,“ Commented Gerda. „You know the textile part,“

„I do the arms first, then the body and the collar is the last thing I do,“ Explained Rollan watching Gerda move her head back to listen to his conversation with a charming smile while tapping him on his neck with her index finger. „Maybe the way I learned could help you better,“ Suggested Gerda moving her hand up at the collar lifting it up. „The best thing is to start at the collar and iron it from the inside, afterwards you move it around and go down here at the shoulder part,“ Guided Gerda moving her hand down under his neck, while going up slowly on her tiptoes to peck him on his lips, rousing up the boy, which had lost his attention when following the girl‘s words.

„I will give it a try tomorrow,“ Promised Rollan smiling courteously at the blonde, which replied back with a amused one and placed her head aside his, continuing their last dance under the open skyline over the school ground.

#snowqueen #miraculous #miraculous ladybug #crossover #x-over #fanfic #fanfiction #ao3 #archiveofourown #prom #prom night #снᴇжнᴀя коᴘолᴇвᴀ #снᴇжнᴀя коᴘолᴇвᴀ Роллан #снᴇжнᴀя коᴘолᴇвᴀ гердa #Роллан и Герда #снᴇжнᴀя коᴘолᴇвᴀ Роллан и Герда

8 notes · View notes

k-llama-llama · 5 years ago

Text

Blue

TXT AU: 6th member

Sara x TXT

Sara has the worst anemic attack she’s ever had.

A/N: Please check out my PATREON (patreon.com/kllamallama) for exclusive posts you can’t get anywhere else, as well as lots of other cool benefits!

Requests are OPEN

Masterlist and other Follow Me links in bio!

“I can’t believe you’re wearing a crop top.” Hueningkai tugged on the back of Sara’s shirt. “It’s like a whole new you.”

“Haha,” Sara pushed his hand away. “It’s barely an inch of my stomach, don’t get too excited.”

“Ew. No, I’m just surprised you agreed to wear it.” He said. “Especially for promotions.”

“Zoey and Sumi said that it would look good.” Sara told him. “And I thought it would be okay. Why, does it look weird?”

“No, you look pretty, Noona.” He promised.

They were backstage at an award show, waiting to go on to tape their performance of Puma. To be honest, Sara had been skeptical of the whole crop top thing, but Zoey had promised that it would look good. And Sumi had insisted that because she’d never worn one in public before, fans would just talk about how good she looked. And so she hadn’t seen the harm in trying it out.

Of course, she’d skipped breakfast and dinner to make sure that she had a waist. She’d taken her pills and eaten an apple, but that was it. And she had to say, she felt like it was paying off. She’d never had the most defined waist, but there was the beginning of an hourglass shape, just barely displayed by her crop top.

“You’re feeling good, Soo-ji?” Soobin came over.

“Yeah, I’m good.” She grinned. “Just ready to get this over with.”

“You and me both.” He grinned, and spotted a staff member signalling them over. “I guess it’s our turn.”

An hour later, when they climbed down from the stage, Sara was absolutely wiped. She was sure there was sweat dripping down her forehead, and she wondered if the red flush of her cheeks was visible through her makeup.

Taking the first step down from the stage, Sara felt a familiar floatiness descend on her. It felt like her legs weren’t attached to her anymore, like she was a puppet-master just pulling on the strings. She couldn’t feel the movement, and her head began to feel cloudy.

She grabbed Yeonjun’s arm. “I need to eat something.”

“Yah, you and me-” He turned to look at her, instantly taking in the pallor of her face and the unfocused look in her eyes. “Right, let’s go.”

He looped an arm around her waist, hurrying her down the stairs. Sara slumped into him. She was still walking beside him, but he was dragging her in his hurry to get her back to the green room.

“Tae.” Yeonjun said sharply. “Grab her other arm, she’s going to go.”

Sara felt her other arm be pulled over Taehyun’s shoulders, and allowed her weight to drop.

“You’re going to be fine, Noona.” Taehyun said as they shoved through the door to the green room.

“Let’s put her here.” Yeonjun settled her onto the couch, and then disappeared.

“I have your pill and some orange juice.” He held it out.

Sara held out a shaking hand, her mind completely blank.

“Don’t worry.” Taehyun grabbed her hand. “We’ve got it.”

If she was in her right mind, she would have thanked them. Because there was no way she was capable of holding the glass right now.

“Open up.” Yeonjun placed the pill on her tongue, holding up the glass of orange juice so she could take a sip.

She swallowed the pill, feeling relief flow through her. She didn’t feel better yet, as it would take a few minutes for that to happen, but at least she knew that she would feel better soon.

“Just lay down.” Taehyun moved her so her head was resting on a rolled up sweater. “We’re going to go get ourselves some food, but we’ll be right across the room.”

She was pretty sure she nodded.

Soobin hurried over as soon as he was in the room. “Hey, you doing okay?”

“Just...resting.” She said, her voice sounding weak even to her own ears.

“She just took her pill.” Yeonjun informed the leader. “We’ll just give her a minute.”

“Okay. I’ll be right over there, okay Soo-ji?”

Sara had no idea how long she’d been lying there, waiting for her medicine to kick in. But it suddenly hit her with a start, it wasn’t kicking in. The sense of calm she was feeling wasn’t her medicine helping her, it was the fogginess descending over the rest of her body. It was getting worse.

The thought had just crossed her mind when her world went black.

The boys were busy collecting their food, arguing over who would get the last bagel and dividing up a bunch of grapes.

“Maybe Soo-ji should get the last bagel.” Beomgyu suggested. “If she’s feeling up to it.”

“That’s true. Sara do you want the-” Yeonjun turned to look at her. “Sara?”

There was no response.

“Yah, are you hungry or do you want- Holy shit.” Yeonjun gasped. “Soo-ji!”

“What’s wrong? Oh my god!” Soobin turned, his eyes landing on Sara.

She was lying on the couch where they’d left her, completely unconscious. Her face was deathly pale, and her lips were tinged with blue.

“Soo-ji! Wake up!” Yeonjun smacked her cheek, trying to get a response from her.

“I thought you said she took her pill!” Soobin shouted, shaking Sara to try and wake her up.

“She did! She should be fine.” Yeonjun turned, planning on shouting for help.

Beomgyu was way ahead of him, leaning out the hallway. “Someone call an ambulance! Please!”

“She’s breathing, right? Tell me she’s breathing?” Soobin felt at her neck for a pulse.

“I don’t...I don’t...”

“She is.” Taehyun felt her chest for the rise and fall of her shallow breaths. “But, it doesn’t seem like she’s breathing enough.”

“SOMEONE HELP!”

They weren’t sure how long it was before the paramedics rolled their stretcher into the room and they were shoved back. There were monitors strapped onto her, an IV put in, and then she was lifted onto the stretcher. All the while they just kept hearing words like ‘seizing’ and ‘shock’ and ‘lack of oxygen’.

Sara was wheeled out of the room, their manager taking off after her.

“Get your things.” Another staff member said. “We’ll take you home.”

“No, take us to the hospital.” Soobin said, grabbing his things.

“You won’t be able to see her right away. You don’t need to-”

“We’re going now.” Yeonjun pulled his and Sara’s bags onto his shoulders. “We’re going to be there.”

When Sara came to, she was aware of two things. The first, was that she was extremely cold. The type of cold that seeped through to her bones and made her instantly wish that she could drink some tea or something to warm her up.

The second things was that her legs appeared to be strapped down.

She opened her eyes slowly, blinking as the light agitated a headache that she hadn’t realized was there. Something tickled her nose, and she lifted a hand, feeling a tube that she realized was blowing air into her nose.

Lifting her head, she tried to take in the room.

The first thing she realized was that her legs weren’t strapped down. Instead, Taehyun and Hueningkai were laying across her legs, pining them to the bed.

She looked around the room. It was definitely a hospital room, but the lights were dimmed. Yeonjun was curled up in the chair next to her bed, wearing the same clothes from their performance. Soobin and Beomgyu was on the couch on the other side of the room, with one of them snoring loudly.

She glanced at her hand, finding an IV taped to it. What the heck had happened? The last thing she remembered was taking her pill, and she should’ve felt better. She couldn’t remember why she was in the hospital now.

The nice part of her wanted to let the boys sleep. But she was freezing.

“Yah, Yeonjun.” She reached out with her hand and poked his foot. “Wake up.”

“Not yet,” He grumbled, turning away from her. “I’m still-”

His eyes shot open, landing on her; sitting up in bed, staring at him expectantly.

“SOO-JI! You’re awake!” He shouted.

It was like a bomb had gone off, and the others boys shot awake.

“Noona!”

“Sara!”

Someone jumped on top of her, tackling her in a hug.

“I was so worried!” Huka squeezed her tightly.

“Get off!” Soobin pulled him away. “You’ll hurt her.”

“I’m fine.” Sara smiled at him, before remembering. “Actually, I’m cold.”

“Here, take my sweater.” Yeonjun pulled a sweater off the back of his chair.

“It’s the middle of the night, but I’m sure we can get a nurse to get you a blanket.” Soobin said. “I’ll go.”

“No, not yet.” Sara protested as Yeonjun wrapped the sweater around her shoulders. “Why are we in the hospital?”

“Do you remember what happened?” Beomgyu asked. “After the performance?”

Sara tilted her head. “I remember feeling faint, and Jun helping me take my pill, but nothing after that. I passed out?”

Yeonjun poked her in the forehead. “You did a little bit more than that. You were turning blue and barely breathing.”

“They had to give you blood and stuff, Noona.” Taehyun said. “The doctors said it was really bad.”

“Do you have any idea why it happened?” Soobin asked. “You didn’t feel sick in the morning? You were eating, right? The doctors said it shouldn’t have happened.”

Sara blinked, trying to clear her head. She did have a horrible headache, but she could vaguely remember. “My crop top?”

“Your crop top?” Soobin frowned. “Can someone page the nurse I think she’s-”

“No, I didn’t eat dinner or breakfast because of my crop top.” Sara remembered. “I just had an apple in the morning. But I was taking my pills so I should’ve-”

Something smacked her in the back of the head.

“OW!” She shouted, lifting a hand to feel where she’d been struck. “What is wrong with you?”

Yeonjun just crossed his arms. “You deserved it.”

“I have a headache! I’m literally in a hospital bed right now.”

“Yeah but you’re stupid.”He scoffed. “How come you get to nag us about picking up our clothes and everything else you could possibly think of when you can’t even remember to eat dinner.”

“I can-”

“It’s literally the one thing you have to do!” He insisted. “I almost had a heart attack because you wanted to look good in a crop top?”

“I’m fine, and it’s not going to happen again.” She promised.

“Obviously not.” Yeonjun turned to Soobin. “Because we’re supervising your meals now.”

“You are not.” Sara went to cross her arms, but then remembered the needle and thought better of it. “I don’t need you to make me eat my vegetables.”

“Yeah, you’re not getting out of this.” Soobin shook his head. “We’re supervising.”

“You can’t be serious.”

“We’re serious.” Huka said with a bright smile.

“Urgh.” Sara groaned. “Whatever. I’m freezing and I have a headache, so can I go back to bed?”

“Sure, we’ll turn the lights off.” Soobin smiled obviously feeling like he’d won.

Sara lay back down, resting her head on the uncomfortable hospital pillow. She saw Yeonjun settle back into his chair, and felt the weight of her blankets grow as sweaters were piled on top of her.

“We’ll be right here if you need anything.” Soobin said, moving her hair out of her face.

“You’re seriously all sleeping here?”

Taehyun and Hueningkai each rested their heads on one of her legs. “We’re pretty comfortable.”

“Whatever.” Sara snuggled back into the pillow. “Night everyone.”

“Goodnight!”

334 notes · View notes

vampiresuns · 4 years ago

Text

The Stories Of Dead Kings | Prologue, Part 3

✴︎ THE STORIES OF DEAD KINGS ✴︎

4.5k words. In which the Palace continues to bring out things long ago buried within Anatole, the investigation commences and he makes an unlikely friend. CWs: Memory loss, death penalty.

You can read the rest of Anatole’s apprentice timeline series here.

Antu did not like the white dogs. A shame, because Anatole loved that breed — he had only seen pictures of it, drawings in books and a couple of paintings, but he thought it was a fantastic one all the same. They looked so funky and given his preference for raccoons, it was no surprise he favoured fuzzy, slightly funny looking but beautiful animals. He’d pet them later.

Antu liked the voice that called to Anatole even less. While he didn’t like it either, Antu reacted with a viciousness Anatole had never seen before.

Stay back! You’re not wanted! He threatened, his voice echoing in Anatole’s mind as he bared his teeth at the open air.

No! We don’t like it in there! You can’t make us go!

With the dogs pulling him through his clothes upstairs, he had to hold onto Antu for dear life, fearing his familiar would launch himself at the dogs. It made him a blur of hands, fur and hair.

“Ouch, Antupillán, don’t scratch me!”

As soon as they’re in the dark hallway, the dogs vanished, but Antu did not seem any more calm. Still in Anatole’s arms but ready to jump if needed, he was still growling at nothing and every time Anatole tried to make an advance, trying to walk down the hall to explore the room by the end of it, Antu tried to bite his hands.

“Fine, fine, fine, Antupillán, you win.”

When the ghostly voice purred behind them, Antu climbed over his shoulder before Antole could stop him. Of course his raccoon threw himself at an apparition, because demanding fair trials out of the Countess of Vesuvia wasn’t excitement enough for the furball he had for a familiar.

✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎

Anatole tried very hard not to growl at Portia when she brought him breakfast, but the Palace kept hours that were too early, even for him, who had become a relatively early riser out of habit — waking up at dawn was too much, what had happened to seven AM? At least she had come with coffee, coffee he chugged while he listened carefully at her.

He had no clue about how to feel about the clothes, though the shirt was a dream come true. Cross-tied and with a V neck opening, big bishop sleeves, and matching, deep emerald green pants and a sleeveless long coat. The coat had a gold embroidered trim, and it reached his ankles, It would flutter deliciously as he walked down the hallways, the clack of the black boots with a golden plate shoe tip against the marbled floors.

Everything was miraculously his size; he didn’t still comprehend nor trust the Countess’ motives for giving him clothes, especially when he had brought his own. Anatole might not have a personal tailor, but he was very dedicated and careful about his clothing. He always strived to be well dressed, so what was the reason for it? Ease him after his opinions last-night? That felt too much like trying to buy him into the Countess' good side. However, while it was true he didn’t know how to feel about her, he felt it was unfair to automatically assume the worst. This required further analysis.

Portia left his room and he looked at the clothes with a sigh. He examined for a minute longer as he ate another pastry. He looked at Antu, who was still pretending to be an angel after jumping from his arms to fight a ghost out of all things.

He was eating some grapes.

It’s pretty.

“We don’t accept gifts from people we don’t trust.”

Who’s we?

“Oh, is that how it is?”

You have never been very good at lying to yourself.

“And you’re awfully insightful this morning, huh?”

Antupillán continued eating his grapes, this time in silence. He had a point, Anatole supposed. It was a gorgeous outfit but he hadn’t been lying to himself when he said he didn’t accept gifts from people he didn’t trust, and after last night, he wasn’t sure he was on the best terms with the Countess, even if she did seem civil enough afterwards. He couldn’t wear this, even if he really, really wanted to. It would be wrong, it would betray his principles, it would—

It would have to do because when he turned to check where he had left his clothes, he realised the Palace’s staff had taken all of them to laundry them. When Portia had mentioned that, he had assumed they’d only take the clothes he was wearing last night.

“Fuckers.”

He hated people rummaging through his stuff. He was very, very close to deciding to throw all caution and professionalism to the winds and be contrarian as could be. It was a bad idea, but there was a part inside himself which had been kept dormant for the most part. That part made him want to remind people he wasn’t trapped somewhere with them, they were trapped somewhere with him.

Perhaps another time.

✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎

The Palace’s library was one of the most gorgeous places he had ever set a foot in. From its doors to its high shelves, with the high windows with stained glass and the plants, Anatole wished he had the entire day to get lost in it, explore every section, even the ones he wasn’t interested in. He wanted to ask why was the library locked up under so many keys, but he didn’t know if he’d get an answer, or if Portia knew, or if the Countess would be up to more of his really incisive questions about things she would deem out of Anatole’s range of incumbency.

If you asked him, Libraries should be public.

Despite how they left things last night, the Countess seemed to be in a great mood, complimenting his looks and treating him amiably. Anatole detected no deception nor flattery in her words; it threw him off for reasons he didn’t have the time to decode right now. Perhaps he had become too used to people shading half a light on things for reasons bigger than Anatole himself, perhaps the reason was another. It’d have to wait to be pried into.

“You told me you read.”

“Constantly, as long as my brain lets me.”

Silence fell between them. Well, this was starting to get awkward.

“Thank you,” the Countess said.

“What for?”

“You are very genuine,” she said. Anatole didn’t know what to do with that. Taking his silence as encouragement, the Countess continued. “Reading is a wonderful gift, shared by all citizens where I come from, but it’s woefully uncommon here.”

He hummed, squinting back at the Countess. He took a sharp breath as he made himself count to ten. He had felt the same need to speak without knowing what he would say as before, but this time he could anticipate it would be something angry. He didn’t need to know where these things were coming from to know he was about to ask the Countess whose fault was that, and then he’d be really, really done for.

He kept his mouth shut this time — Antu biting him softly (but strongly enough to make him hiss) helped. Time and place. He was better than this, he was taught better than this.

Wait, what? Taught what? By whom?

“Concentrate, for fuck’s sake,” he muttered between his teeth.

“Did you say something?”

“That this is truly a wonderful collection.”

“Anatole… you are my guest, if you wish to return here, you need only ask. But for the moment I would have your undivided attention here.”

There was something deeply intimate about prying into someone organisational systems. How they cluttered, why they cluttered, the organisation methods employed, the thought process behind it and what you could infer of it by looking. The way documents were studied and how and where notes were taken. In that sense, Dr. Devorak’s desk teemed with information.

It might have felt like prying a little too deep into him, but Anatole thought it was a fair exchange after he broke into his house. An eye for an eye wasn’t the best justice system, but hey, a little pettiness couldn’t hurt, besides, investigating the murder was his job now.

His musings were tampered by the mention of Asra working for the palace during the Red Plague. He didn’t remember living through it, though he had always assumed he must’ve been present for it, given their earliest memory was of a post-plague Vesuvia. It had ravaged everything. Plagues were like wars, they seldom discriminated. Not that Anatole knew of war beyond books. If that wasn’t the case this was, once again, nor the time or place to second-guess himself.

Do you know what an explosion sounds like, Asra?

After promising the Countess he would meet her for dinner, he set himself to work. Anatole loved few things more than a good puzzle without a solution, and once he grew determined he did nothing half-ways.

Lacing his fingers together, he stretched them, a waft of satisfaction dawning over him as his joints cracked.

“Let’s figure you out, Julian ‘Magic Cards’, hm?”

He didn’t expect his search to lead him back into the city, but with Antu in tow he’s determined to follow the trace his magic had cast into its streets. Vesuvia was a wild thing, a glimmering thing in the lowlights of dusk making Anatole wonder why hadn’t he insisted in seeing more of it, wondering how much memories of it could he be missing. What used to be his favourite spots? His favourite streets? His favourite garden?

He wasn’t one to dwell in the past, living in the past was no way of living, but that didn’t mean the past didn’t matter. He just wanted to be able to reclaim it, to say ‘this is mine, this took me where I am today, this made me myself, just like who I am today will make me the myself of tomorrow’. He looked at the past not with wistfulness but searching for an explanation.

The area he found himself in was crowded, urbanistically speaking, shabby, probably in need of repair, and while he didn’t stop chasing that trace something in his heart (and his temple) pulsed. Something unknown and caged, something which begged to be let out, something he couldn’t make out what it was. He hated not knowing, he was getting tired of getting all these feelings, these knowledge, these looks and these visions without any sort of explanation. This time he didn’t file it away for later, and yet whatever he felt, eluded him.

The word he was looking for and failed to find was Love. A word which would continue to escape him for a little longer, as Julian Devorak himself manifested out of an open door. Finally, he thought, throwing hypothesis and chasing them was starting to give him results.

Falling into a barrel and stepping on Antu’s tail were unforeseen outcomes. So was falling face first into Julian’s chest after he helped him out of the barrel, both of them looking at each other like deers startled by light.

After Julian let him go, he held Antu, petting him as a way to apologise for stepping on him by accident.

“I have a name, you know? Shopkeep isn’t it,” he said as he looked at the Rowdy Raven’s sign.

“Dare I ask what brings you to this neck of the woods, Not-Named-Shopkeep?”

Anatole caught himself smiling, but as he tried and failed to find a way to explain what had happened the smile faded from his face. Words eluded him and he had to admit he was very grateful for Julian taking it in stride. Because how could he explain any of this without giving away his new-found position? Or at all? He couldn’t find it in him to articulate such a thing — not to mention the glint in Julian’s eye as he turned to him was much more exciting.

It tied neatly to the trace of Anatole’s magic, like a master key he had been desperately looking for.

“Rumour has it you’re working for the Palace,” Julian sneered. “What happened to not being a snitch? I’m sure— well, by now— you’ve heard some interesting stories about me.”

“As interesting as you’re prone to not explaining yourself, though both of those might be gross understatements. And I take great offence in you thinking I’m a snitch. Don’t you think that had I told anyone you’d already be found?”

“I’m very slippery and you don’t know where to find me.”

“I found you now.”

“By accident I’m sure, not to say you aren’t talented and magnificent and all those things the rumours say… but you haven’t heard my side of the story.”

“Julian?”

“Yes?”

“Stop assuming the first thing about me and how I do things, will you, sweetheart?”

Julian’s cheeks went as red as his hair. Anatole let out a pained whine. Wherever that had come from, Anatole didn’t want to know and he expected it to not come forward again. He apologised; Julian, having composed himself, thought teasing him was a good idea but Anatole levelled a look at him that convinced him otherwise.

He sighed. Julian was right: he’d only heard things from the Palace and muddled rumours. A wanted poster was a statement of capture, not an absolute truth and it was obvious to him there was some sort of power imbalance playing against the doctor. So when Julian said he could get him a drink, to get the story and to pay him what he owes him from the reading, Anatole found it difficult to say no.

“I don’t usually accept trading payments unless previously discussed, or the party is in need, but you know what? I think I’m willing to do an exception for you.”

“Oh, please, you work for the Palace now, I think you’re set on the money.”

“You know, I haven’t discussed fees and wages with the Countess, do you think we’d be cell mates if I did?”

Julian laughed. One drink couldn’t hurt, right?

✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎

The flurry that erupted after the caw of the Raven would be etched into Anatole’s mind forever, becoming part of his daydreams unsanctioned. It was the kind of chaos which brought the familiar thump of an inconclusive memory. The Doctor might not have told him his part of the story, Anatole was well aware, but he did give him some insight into his circles and his person. Not anyone who was wanted by the Palace would shield the Palace’s investigator in the shadows so they didn’t get in trouble for hanging out with said wanted person.

As he vanished after an awkward and unfinished thank-you-for-not-being-a-snitch, Anatole turned to make his way back to the Palace, only to be met with Ludovico, who introduced himself and tried not to stare at him while he hailed a carriage for Anatole.

Anatole paid no mind to the staring. Whether it’s leftover staring from the day before, or staring driven by having found him in such an odd quarter of the City, he chose to ignore it. His apology for summoning a carriage for him despite him being the one who said it was a bad idea to leave the Countess waiting, was another thing altogether.

It was true Anatole didn’t particularly enjoy carriage rides, but why would a Palace guard would know such a thing? Did it have to do with how he felt yesterday when crossing the gates? As he stepped into the carriage he tried not to think about it, afraid he’d overthink his way into a migraine.

Relieved as he realised he was in time for dinner, Anatole took in the exquisite smells of what is definitely too much food. He was too hungry to think about the quantity for now, perhaps he could inquire about it after he ate something.

His appetite seemed to hold itself back at the mention of the Courtiers, almost evaporating altogether. He still forced himself to eat, he needed it after such a day in the City, while he listened with rapt attention to the Countess' words. He dabbed his mouth with a napkin before taking a drink from his cup, doing the same afterwards. That he didn’t have any issue distinguishing the cutlery from one another somehow didn’t call to his attention like his next words did.

“I know, and I promise you I’ll be careful.”

“You already know my Courtiers?”

“Oh no, no such thing it’s just—”

“One can never second-guess one’s intuition, is it not right Anatole?”

For the first time in two days, when he smiled at the Countess it was genuine. “Exactly.”

Just like he knew the painting, the gardens, that other version of himself walking through them and his opinions on subjects which required more education than the one he thought he had, he somehow knew the Court — being equal times prepared to brace himself for meeting it, and unprepared for whatever he may find.

He knew deep inside he could trust the Countess to have his back on that, however. It’s the way the word ‘Courtiers’ felt from her mouth: she didn’t trust them.

The mention of Julian’s hanging brought him back from wherever place of commodity his mind had gone into. The faraway look in the Countess’ eyes almost eluded him. Almost.

“Countess…”

“I am thinking about what you said last night, Anatole, but I expect you to understand I must seek to tend to my people’s needs.”

“And you think they need executions?”

“I think they need to see justice done.”

While restricted and mild, Anatole couldn’t help to look at her with some semblance of disappointment, his unspoken question dancing between them.: And is this justice? Is justice confession and punishment?

She truly must’ve given it a thought to not react with the same impetu as last night. Instead she changed the topic with a weary sigh, claiming such were tomorrow’s matters and stating having questions for him — not of his day, like Anatole had feared, but of himself. Being surprised at the change of disposition the Countess had shown today didn’t cover it. Bewilderment might.

At the mention of friendship, bewilderment fell short too. Sensing his apprehension, she smiled at him invitingly, jovially, exposing her hands to him in a gesture of trust.

“I am afraid I do not have many friends, nor know enough people who fear not my position in order for them to tell me what their true opinions are.”

Anatole sighed. “Countess, I do not wish to antagonise you when I say those things, I find it hard to help it, that is all. I’d like to think if I was in such a position the responsibility was so heavy I needed council, I would wish it was sincere. It’s not up to us how history remembers us but that doesn’t mean we have no choice in the matter. I believe our choices make us who we are, whichever those choices might be.”

“You are awfully impertinent,” the Countess said with a playful tone, “which must surely give you an advantage at life.”

Anatole laughed with his mouth open, his head thrown back. “No, but it does give me a strong personality. Tell me Countess, what do you wish to know about me?”

✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎

Out of all the things he found about the Countess, perhaps finding out she too understood the feeling of homesickness for a place you could no longer return to — because one couldn’t or one didn’t wish to — was the least expected out of them all. Anatole knew he had been born in Bgraz, Balkovia, but that’s all he remembered of his hometown. He didn’t even remember how he had ended up in Vesuvia, though the more he thought about it, the more he suspected he had some kind of relation to the City beyond his deceased Aunt having a shop there.

He didn’t tell the Countess as much, not even sure of how to word it aloud but it was refreshing to find someone with whom he could talk about these things.

The night was welcoming and cool. The stars were visible in the inky night sky, making Anatole wonder how they would look in Balkovia, that unknown homeland he couldn’t remember. The Countess’ words about Anatole not being quite like she had imagined him, or the intrigue she felt towards him pulled him away from his thoughts.

Anatole wondered if she, like Julian, was also a victim of the rumour mill. Word in town was she was a tyrant, yet she didn’t seem malicious — malice was something Anatole’s language filter picked up with incredible ease and it left a feeling in him hard to ignore. It didn’t just make him immediately stand on edge, it also felt like tarr on one’s skin. Hot, icky and venomous. The Countess felt lost, not malicious. Someone with good intentions and not enough turn out, as he had previously felt.

“Tell me, Anatole… Why did you come to the Palace? Why did you agree to help me?”

“I believe I said it was a matter of justice, last night.”

“You did, but when I asked you to come, you didn’t know what for.”

She got him there. The offer of trust from the Countess would not last if he wasn’t honest with her — perhaps if he was, he would be able to convince her to reconsider the way in which the Devorak affair was being conducted.

The answer was obvious, wasn’t it?

“Because it felt right. I knew that whichever answers I’ve been seeking, I would find them here.” Anatole existed in the liminal space between his heart and his head. They were extensions of one another. Living a full life required both.

When the Countess asked him if he had any questions for her, reassuring him he could speak freely, Anatole already knew what to ask and in his defence, the Countess shouldn’t have taken it as a vague question, because it wasn’t. The claim was just an excuse to elude the topic; the stage they were in, of whatever it was she, him and whatever else bigger than them had sent in motion was looking at them in the eye and avoidance would help exactly no one.

“You know I mean the murder investigation. The Count has been dead for years, so why now?”

“Ah, that is a right question to ask. Vesuvia is in dire need of help. Order needs to be restored… and I am in the unique position to restore it. However, I intend to lead by example, not fear. I must show the city I am capable. I have so many plans for Vesuvia. I was to see this city flourish… Perhaps you’ll be able to help me with those plans, Anatole. I could use more competent people on my side...”

Her loneliness was heavy, almost too heavy, the feeling pouring into her speech and threatening to cover Anatole under a heavy blanket, merge with his own unattended loneliness and trap him in place forever. Seen and unseen, craving connection and something more he couldn’t name nor grab, no matter how hard he tried to.

“It’s funny,” Anatole said, a knot in his throat. “I did not expect you to be as lonely as I am. I never allow myself to admit it out loud, let alone in front of someone else. Yet here I am.”

“You already know I won’t do things whatever way. I want to find justice, and I do not believe justice lies in a hanging. You are right, your position is unique, but it’s also risky,” Anatole paused to take the Countess hands in his. His next words came from the same unknown place as they did all those times he felt compelled to speak, though they were much kinder this time: “When we know something is not right, we do not settle. People like us, whatever that means, were not thrusted into the world to settle. Power wielded without reason, without justice, without kindness, without knowing the subject you must serve will always lack. I will not tell you what to do, you are capable enough, Countess, to figure that out on your own, but I will tell you this, as a friend: truth is the only thing worthy to be built on, and when we find that truth we plant ourselves in front of whomever dares us to move and we say they move. The truth can’t lead you astray, as unpalatable or hard to accept as it might sometimes be.”

Out of all the things he expects the Countess to tell him that he’s sweet is not one of them. He’ll take it.

✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎ ✴︎

Just between you and me… I think Count Lucio had a lot of enemies, too. Alone in his bedroom, having returned from exploring and chatting around with her, Portia’s words swirled around him, letters formed by a light orange haze, forming and evaporating in front of his eyes. Portia’s words came from rumours but they were enough to cast reasonable doubt about what might have transpired that night. It was kind of her to look after Anatole, so the least he could do was to take her words to heart.

Originated in rumours or not, Portia was right.

Going out with her was as strange as it was enlightening. He was sure the Chef, Hestion, had said something to Portia along the lines of how he expected Anatole to remember his way around the kitchen, only he had called him ‘Secretary Radošević’. Perhaps it had something to do with the investigation, but it made Anatole feel odd.

The servants in the Veranda had been very welcoming, but almost too welcoming and he was sure he had caught a couple of them speaking about him —not as if this was his first time in the Palace, but as if this was him returning to it. Speaking of returning, someone had congratulated him for becoming the main investigator for the case and how it was nice to have him back. Ignoring the way his vision splotched as best as he could, Anatole had only thanked them and turned back to Portia feeling lost and ill.

Normally, Anatole paid no mind to out of place comments. If someone demanded something of him he couldn’t remember, he tried to remove himself from the situation as fast as possible, but these felt different, the words staying with him even though his and Portia’s nightly adventures had finished.

What weighed him down the most, though, was the Countess wanting him to join them for the announcement tomorrow. It made sense, but he had a terrible feeling about it.

Antupillán was nowhere to be found. Anatole hoped that he had a good reason to be missing at a time like this.

21 notes · View notes

stepboldlyjess · 4 years ago

Text

When Will This Be Over?

Chapter Two

“Let’s go, Morrigan!”

“Oh my goodness, Jack, I’m coming! Calm down!”

Morrigan grabbed her new dress off her bed and slipped it over her black swimmers. Jupiter was taking his scholar and nephew to the beach today as a way to relax and let off some of the stress of school and work.

When she opened the door, she found Jack standing behind it looking rather impatient. His hands were in the pockets of his green board shorts and he was rocking on his heels.

“Don’t do that. That’s Jupiter’s thing. Get your own thing,” she muttered as she walked past him.

Morrigan led the way down to the lobby, Jack following not too far behind her.

“I don’t know why girls take so long to get ready. Honestly, it’s not that hard.”

Morrigan rolled her eyes. “I didn’t even take that long! Maybe you just got ready unusually quick.”

“Impossible. I showered, got dressed and grabbed our towels—yes, your towel too—all in twenty minutes.”

“Whatever. Jupiter probably isn’t even ready yet!”

Morrigan sped up and quickly made her way down the stairs that led to the lobby. When she got there she found Jupiter sitting in a couch near the door, sporting bright pink board shorts, paired with an orange t-shirt. He wore sandals and on his head rested a pair of sunglasses. On one shoulder, a blue and grey striped towel rested, and on the other, a cooler bag hung.

Morrigan could hear Jack trying to contain his chuckles behind her. She turned around and fixed him with a glare.

“Shut up, Jack.”

“We haven’t even started the day, and you two are already arguing. I really don’t feel like being an adult today so it would be nice if you could get along with one another.”

“Yes, Jupiter,” chorused Morrigan and Jack.

“Right. Now, who’s ready to go to the beach? By the way, love the dress, Mog,” he said, winking at her.

Smiling largely, Morrigan followed the two boys out the front door of the Deucalion. As they walked the short distance to the beach, the three talked about everything and anything. Morrigan tried her hardest not to argue with Jack but she found it almost impossible. And besides, he was picking on her too.

When they arrived at the beach they found a nice quiet space not too far from the shoreline. They laid their towels down on the sand and Jupiter placed the cooler bag down next to his towel and pulled the zipper to open the bag. He grabbed out a bottle of sunscreen and held it out to Morrigan.

“Put it on, Mog.”

“Jupiter, I’m not a little girl anymore.”

“You wouldn’t want to be walking around like a red lobster for the next couple of weeks, would you?”

“No,” sighed Morrigan. She took her dress off and accepted the sunscreen. She squeezed some out and rubbed it everywhere that could be effected by the sun.

Once Morrigan finished with her arms, Jack yelled, “Come on! It doesn’t take that long! Give me the sunscreen! I want to go for a swim.”

“Must you always be so impatient?”

“Must you always take forever?”

When Morrigan finished with the sunscreen she passed it to Jack and watched as he took his shirt off and barely put any on.

“No, Jack,” said Jupiter. “Put some more on, please.”

Jack looked at his uncle before rolling his eyes and squeezing some more sunscreen onto his exposed skin. Once he was done, he passed the bottle to Jupiter.

“Last one in is a rotten egg!” yelled Morrigan. She sprinted towards the water and laughed when Jack ran right past her.

“That’s not fair!” called Jupiter from behind them.

Morrigan looked over her shoulder and watched as he was attempting to take his shirt off, squeeze out some sunscreen and apply it to himself, all at once.

She wasn’t watching where she was going and she was surprised when she felt cold water come in contact with her feet. The sand was softer here, and Morrigan tripped. She held her breath, expecting to go under, put instead two arms caught her waist and pulled her back up.

“Thanks.” Morrigan looked up to Jack and blushed when she realised he still had his arms around her. She hastily moved from his grip and swam to where Jupiter now was.

He was waist deep in the water, looking out onto the horizon. Morrigan wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his stomach. Jupiter groaned from the sudden weight he was holding but instinctively placed his hands under her thighs. Morrigan dreaded the day where he would be too old to do this, because although he joked about it, Jupiter was going to get older one day and his body wouldn’t work the same.

“What was the first trip you ever went on? For Wunsoc?” asked Morrigan.

Jupiter thought about this for a moment before chuckling. She felt the vibrations in his neck move through her arms.

“It wasn’t anything special. I was an assistant on a ship. We didn’t go too far out. There was a missing child so they thought it would be a great opportunity for the new League of Explorers members to learn the ropes.”

“Did you do much?”

“Not at all. I was the one everyone hated. The one they found annoying. I sat out for most of it.”

“Did it ever cross your mind to quit?”

“Oh, most certainly, but that’s with most jobs. As soon as you think you aren’t good enough, you want to save yourself the humiliation and remove yourself from the situation.”

“What made you want to keep going?”

“It was what I wanted to do. I wanted to see the world while helping others.” Morrigan wasn’t surprised in the slightest. Jupiter has always been her number one role model because of his resilience. He never let anything get him down. “What do you want to do with your life, Mog?”

That was simple. “Make people happy.”

“You make me happy everyday.” Jupiter slightly let go of her thighs and lowered her to the ground. He turned around to face her and pressed a kiss to her forehead. Morrigan smiled up at him.

{~~~}

The three spent the rest of the day splashing and screaming and laughing in the water, but when it came to the afternoon, they were exhausted. Jupiter and Morrigan were lying on their towels while Jack was sitting up and reading.

“Hey, Mog?” asked Jupiter.

“Yeah?”

“Do you think you and Jack could walk across the road and get us some snow cones without biting each other’s heads off?”

“No promises.” Morrigan sat up and looked to Jupiter and was met with a stern gaze. “Okay, sorry. Yeah, we probably could.” She looked at Jack who was nodding, although reluctantly.

“Great! I’ll have blue raspberry thanks!” Jupiter closed his eyes as Morrigan and Jack both stood up.

“Don’t fall asleep while we’re gone, Jupiter.”

“No promises, Mog.”

Laughing, Morrigan picked up her dress from where it was sitting on her towel and slipped it back over herself. She waited for Jack to put his shirt back on and then they made their way to the zebra crossing together.

“Today’s been fun,” said Jack.

Morrigan searched his face for a sign of sarcasm but there was none. When he looked back at her, she raised an eyebrow.

“No, really, Morrigan. You’re someone I enjoy being around.”

“Even though every time we’re around each other, we fight.”

Jack chuckled. “That’s my fault. I promise to be nicer to you.”

Morrigan nodded. It wouldn’t be that bad if Jack were a little nicer to her. It wasn’t a lie that today had been fun. She really did enjoy his company, and she was always excited when he came home.

Jack had now graduated from Graysmark School for Bright Young Men and was now working in the real world. Although that didn’t mean that he was home any more often. His work was very similar to Jupiter’s. He was always being called away and never had anytime for family and friends. Days like today were very rare so it was always important that the three treasured these days. It was not often that Jupiter and Jack were both home.

They crossed the road together and walked into the small shop. It was rather busy and the line was massive, extending to the door and then curving around and following the length of the wall. It did feel good to be in air conditioning, though. Much nicer than being in the heat.

“Should we just go?” asked Jack. “This line is going to take forever.”

“No,” began Morrigan. “Jupiter loves this store. He took me here when I first came to Nevermoor.”

She had been struggling with the Trials and Jupiter had wanted to give her an escape, so he took her out for the day. He showed her the city of Nevermoor, showing her all of his favourite features.

“Alright, fine,” sighed Jack, “but I need the bathroom. I should be back before you need to order.”

“If you’re not, what do you want?”

“Tropical, please.”

“Ooooh, you said ‘please’!”

Jack lightly punched her on the arm. “I’m trying really hard, Mog. Don’t make this anymore difficult.”

“Okay. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright. I’ll be back. Try not to let anything dangerous happen while I’m gone.”

“I won’t.”

Jack turned around and Morrigan watched as he disappeared behind the door that led to the bathrooms.

While she waited, Morrigan squinted her eyes and tried to make out what was written on the menu that was hung behind the counter. She thought she should play it safe and go with her favourite, grape.

After minutes of waiting, Morrigan was still positioned towards the back of the line. Jack hadn’t returned from the bathroom either, but she didn’t think much of it.

“Oh my goodness,” said Morrigan impatiently. “When will this be over?”

#nevermoor #wundersmith #hollowpox #morrigan crow #jupiter north #jack korrapati #jupidad #morrijack #nevermoor fan fiction #when will this be over?

13 notes · View notes

modestlyabsurd · 5 years ago

Text

Just a Dance (Loki x Reader)

"Let's hear it for the gride and broom!"

The formal crowd of green and red erupts into applause, and your glass of green punch fogs up from a sudden laugh after seeing a tipsy Tony Stark on the stagefront - using the microphone stand as a cane.

Having never been fond of line dancing but finding it very entertaining to watch, you nestled yourself away from the commotion by the food bar, lined with tables under black cloths and stacked high with elegant dishes, to observe the dance floor. The cha-cha slide never disappoints; the look of concentration on Peter's face as he tried (and failed) to hit the poses was enough, but add that to the honest yet terrible attempts from the "gride and broom" and you've got a beautifully orchestrated shit show.

Tony's drunken voice continues to blubber incoherent sounds of happiness over the crowd. "Where are you guys anyway? Get up here - blurgh - it's sappy mushy speech time, come on!" With that, everyone encourages the newlyweds up to the stage.

Even from your nook, the brightness of the couple's smiles are blinding, nevermind the spotlights following them along. You feel your cheeks getting tighter as an unconscious smile spreads across them, marvelling at how Bruce lovingly carries Natasha's long, white train up the steps. Her red lips and braided hair contrast gorgeously against her dreamy wedding gown, and Bruce can't take his eyes away - nor can either of them help the huge, toothy grins on their faces.

A hopeful phenomenon. Two tortured souls who found peace and love in one another. You knew no one deserved it more.

Natasha urges Bruce to speak first. He makes a face, but happily obliges nonetheless. "I guess this thing's on then?" he says, eliciting modest laughs from the people. "Ah, thank you all again for being here, hope you're having as good a time as we are. Thanks again to Tony for providing us with pretty much everything, from the venue, to the decorations, to the food, to the music, to gifts, to our honeymoon - this could go on for another forty-five minutes,"

"Hey," says a deep voice; you turn to find a sharp-dressed man-bunned Thor standing next to you. "Missed you on the dance floor."

You offer a smile. "Not exactly my cup of tea. Neither is this, though," you swirl your punch around.

"The red one is far superior," says Thor, stepping around you to ladle himself another glass. "Have you tried it?"

"Yeah, that's the spiked one. No wonder you like it more." You hear Bruce speaking of how trapped he felt for so long, until Natasha swindled her way into his life and somehow made him feel worthy of living.

"Really? Hm, I couldn't tell. But you have a point, it's at least a bit better than that," says Thor, though you barely hear him - and when he meets your eyes, you don't really see him either. "Everything alright?"

"Hm?" you chirp. "Oh yeah, I'm fine. Why you ask?"

"You just seem ... elsewhere, I suppose. But perhaps it's my own longing disguising itself as someone else's." he says nonchalantly, looking to the floor and downing his glass of red punch in one go.

You open your mouth for a humorous response before you see a wave of sadness wash over Thor. Instead, you nudge his tree trunk of an arm, "C'mon. I give it two weeks before Jane comes back."

He scoffs dismissively and draws a pattern on the floor with his shoe. "Sure. She, erm ... has she, mentioned anything about it, to you?"

"Actually, make it one week."

It was indicated that Bruce's speech had ended when the crowd started cheering and the lights dimmed. With the spotlights still on Natasha and Bruce, they hold each other intimately close and dance to another slow song below the stage. The band's soft guitar and bass vibrates from the soles of your feet up through your bones, all the way to the condensating glass in your hand. It was both a riveting and soothing sensation all at once.

A few feet away, you spot a familiar dark figure weaving through the dancing couples toward you and Thor. As his confident strides bring him into clearer view, your mouth suddenly feels like it's full of cotton and the room gets warmer. Wishing to just become invisible, you attempt to busy yourself with one of the vast cheese platters nearby - haphazardly, having no idea which cracker goes with goat's milk brie or which fruit goes with English Stilton.

He emerges and taps the shoulder of his oblivious brother's maroon blazer. "Don't blame the messenger, but a drunken game of truth or dare has resulted in your friends attempting to lift Mjolnir."

"Gah, not again!" Thor slams his glass on the table, causing some of the cake and hors d'oeuvres to rattle, before running away and disappearing in the sea of people. You're left alone with Loki, and your invisibility attempt has resulted in a not so nice bite of smoked gouda and white grapes.

Next thing you know, your punch glass is empty and your mouth is still dry.

Loki makes a point to look into your eyes rather than gawk at your formal wear as others have already done. It's a breath of fresh air, yet at the same time, his small, polite smile makes you forget how to breathe altogether. You force a smile of your own despite your growing nerves.

"How can you be enjoying yourself tucked away from the fun like this?" says Loki. His voice reminds you of melted chocolate, which draws your attention to the gloriously flowing chocolate fountain across the room. Enticing as it was, looking at the confection was a futile effort to avoid staring at Loki's dark green suit and black bowtie, or his new short curly hair that worked so well.

"You're one to talk. Haven't seen you having much fun either," the words flow smoothly. A nice surprise.

"I never said I was enjoying myself."

You laugh and shrug in concurrence. "I dunno, it's better than it seems. I'm here with all the food and drinks, everyone else is busy, and I have a bird's eye view of the dance floor."

Loki reaches an arm around you and grabs a finger sandwich; the brief closeness sends pleasant goosebumps over your neck. "I suppose. But wouldn't it be nice to see it up close?" he asks. The way he deftly held and nibbled the tiny food ... Jeez. How in the world can someone make eating a sandwich attractive?

In desperate need of a distraction, you turn to the three tier display of sandwiches and take one at random. From your side vision you see Loki anticipating your answer, so you reply with a mouthful of cucumber and cream cheese, "I don't dance."

"Oh, come on. Will you dance for me?"

You stop chewing to stare at him wordlessly.

"Ahem, bad choice of words," he clears his throat and says with a grimace. "I do beg your pardon. Rather," he extends a chivalrous hand toward you, "will you dance with me?"

The disbelief that Loki wants to dance with you, out of all the single people around - most of whom aren't chipmunking all the snacks - it almost leaves you dumbfounded. Almost being the keyword, being as how you took his hand so quickly. The coldness of it shocked you a bit, but the lightness and warmth of his hold made you feel safe. As if you could hold on, or even let go if you wanted, and he wouldn't mind.

He lead you to the center of the floor. The two of you were engulfed by the sea of people dressed in dark shades of red and green, dancing closely to the music. Just as the anxiety began to set in, Loki lifted your interlocked hands up to shoulder level and held you just beneath your ribcage with his other hand. Your mind is whirring, you can't decide if your shivers stem from anxiety, the temperature of Loki's skin, or the mere fact that you can smell him and it's driving you a little crazy.

He squeezed your hand, and patiently placed your free arm around his shoulder. Breathe, you remind yourself. Relax. It's just a dance. It's nothing. The vibrations from the music soothed you, slowly swept you away from your worries. When you dared to reopen your eyes, you found that it was not only the band, but Loki's gentle swaying that carried away your fears.

"See? It's not so bad."

You shake your head. "Just wait until I step on your feet."

He looked at you and you looked at him. You, a clumsy bag of bones, and he, a skillful puppeteer, gracefully carrying your bodies' movements. You both smiled. Like pots of water, overflowing with nervousness and happiness alike.

As he found you relaxing and absorbing the moment, Loki finds himself gazing at the way your hair is framing your face. It hangs and accentuates the softness of your features, but somehow reflects a distinct royalty in you, despite there being none. He can't bring himself to look away. You hadn't seemed to notice that the song had ended and a new slow song had begun to play, and Loki didn't bring it to your attention.

Rather, he brought your warm hand in his grasp up around his shoulder, matching the other, and placed his own hand to match the one at your side. He was testing the waters, really, and was relieved that you offered no protests to his actions. In fact, you seemed to meld into him further by laying your head on his chest, making his heart jump miles into the air.

He was good at concealing his emotions. Or he thought he was. Before you.

The light vibration of your voice against his sternum pulls him from his thoughts. "Pardon?" he asks.

"What are you wearing?"

He glances at himself. "A suit."

"I can see that, dipshit," you chide. "I meant what Asgardian fragrance are you wearing?"

"Oh," Loki croaks, biting away a sting of embarrassment. "I dunno. Must be my natural scent. Pheromones, as your human science says."

"Liar," you playfully squint your eyes at him.

He raises a hand with three fingers, "Scout's honor."

If you could facepalm without breaking away from Loki, you'd punch yourself in the face. "That's, that's not how it works - "

"Shhhhh ... we don't speak of the Scout's rules," he presses your head back into his chest with an open hand, subsequently silencing your laughs and concealing his own blushed cheeks from your view.

"I just realized something."

"What?" he says cheerfully.

You pull your head up to look at Loki. "Everyone in this room is staring at us."

Discreetly, Loki looks around and sure enough is met with many prying eyes. It made you want to crouch behind his legs to hide, but since that's not socially acceptable, you study Loki's dark green Victorian jacket. Is there food on you or something?

But he, on the other hand, lapped up every bit of the attention of the wedding guests. He flexes his fingers a bit, pinching your hips; a gentle reminder of his closeness to you. "Mm, perhaps they're jealous."

"Jealous of what?" you wonder. People are whispering under their breath in a way that instantly made your palms sweat. You try to decipher what they're saying, but all that's clear is that you're the topic.

"Of me."

"Psh. Yeah, you're probably right." You allow your eyes to drift over to his slightly crooked bowtie. It accentuates his boyishness; it sends butterflies through your chest and down to your belly.

"Do you know why they're jealous of me?"

"I mean, I can think of a few reasons."

His cheekbones round out as he smiles. "Well there's one reason in particular that is driving them all mad at the moment. Aside from my mere existence, of course."

A laugh puffs from your throat. "What is it?"

"It's the fact that I'm dancing with the one person that everyone in this room wishes to dance with."

You blink, as his bowtie seems to become a blobby rectangle shape. Me? you think. The room was already too warm, and now your face is uncontrollably heating up. You notice the scuffs on his shiny black dress shoes.

"You're crazy."

Loki looks up momentarily, feeling warmed from the inside out by you. The damp hands placed around his neck are all that's holding him on the ground. "Call me what you will - I know envy when I see it."

You miss a beat and step on his toes, but he doesn't react; in the same moment, the lights brighten, as the crowd began to applaud and mindlessly you did too. The dance was over.

When you turn back, you find that the lights have enhanced Loki's vivid green eyes. They were happy. They captivated you entirely, drew you in to him. You felt drunk; Loki was your liquor and you'd drank more than you ever had before. Someone's speaking on stage but you don't hear them. It's just you and Loki.

Cold, fingers sweep behind your neck and effortlessly bring your mouth to his. Drunk, without inhibitions, you allow for the kiss to deepen and Loki obliges, but only modestly, mindful of the ever prying eyes. You couldn't have been further from them. His hands held you in place, kept you tamed. He pulled away ever so slightly to let you breathe - and indeed you needed to, for you were breathless completely.

It took all you had not to kiss him again and never stop.

"YAAAAAS!" someone shouted.

You and Loki both turn and find Peter cheering like an idiot. And if for some reason you were imagining everyone staring earlier, though somewhat preoccupied, they're definitely staring now. Mentally you were screaming at Loki to poof you two away from it all as you hid your face in his lapels. The scent of him encased you in a fleeting blanket of safety.

"Please," Loki assures - still holding your hand, "there's nothing to see here. Do return to the party."

And they did. They listened to Loki without another glance. As they dispersed to mingle, you caught sight of Natasha and Bruce across the room; you mouth an apology to Natasha, but she shrugs it off with a smile and a knowing wink. Which didn't help the the fact that your face might as well be melting from embarrassment.

An icy breath in your ear takes the wind out of you.

"What did I tell you? They're all envious of me. Because of you."

🎶they come runnin bustin down all the doors

cuz EVERY girl's crazy bout a sharp-dressed Thor 🎶

tag list: @sydneyss-worlddd @afinedilemma @fire-in-her-veinz @belladonnabarnes @drakesfiance @internetgremlin @dragon-chica @triggeredpossum @tarynkauai @sadwaywardkid

#loki x reader #loki imagine #loki series #loki #loki odinson #loki laufeyson #tom hiddleston #thor #thor odinson #the avengers #avengers #avengers x reader #avengers imagine #avengers endgame #marvel #marvel x reader #marvel imagine #mcu #modestlyabsurd

193 notes · View notes