#//To be fair; he wasn't actually aiming to distract HER

[dutybcrne]

Kaeya once gave up drinking for a whole month in penance because he'd accidentally embarrassed Diona in setting off her instincts to pounce by idly reflecting lights from an ice crystal.

[danisbrainrot]

tell your boyfriend

natalie scatorccio x reader

warnings: cheating (sorry not sorry, travis), reader being a shitty person, angst

ever since I found out this song was actually about a woman, I don't know why, but I immediately thought of nat. I can't explain it LMFAO.

it had been weeks since the plane crashed, and the team was condemned to suffering in the wilderness. it was lucky lottie had found the cabin in the first place, but as you swung the axe high in the air, before bringing it down with a resounding crack, you started to wonder if life would've been better if you died in the crash.

you were starving, delirious and weak. there was no sign of a rescue team—who knows how long you'd have to spend out here. watching natalie and travis walking back, hand in hand, you felt yourself growl quietly to yourself. it wasn't fair that travis, who'd never talked to nat before the crash was dating her, but you—who'd loved her for years—were forced to watch from arms length. the sight wasn't made any better when you noticed the absence of meat.

everyone was teasing the two of them, causing you to storm off into the forest. you couldn't help but find everything unfair. falling for a girl who liked a boy—knowing if you were a boy, she'd love you.

kicking over a pile of leaves, you took out your anger on the forest. you hadn't even noticed natalie, until you almost pegged a rock at her (you'd meant to get the log). "oh my god, I'm sorry nat," you exclaimed, running towards her to see if she was okay.

she snorts, moving closer to you. "feeling hangry?" she teased, taking a seat on the log you were aiming at previously. you sarcastically laugh in response, taking a seat next to her.

"joke all you want, if you spent less time fucking travis and more time looking for animals, I wouldn't be destroying the forest," you snap, feeling your stomach begin growling. nat's eyebrow raised teasingly, eyes pointed at your tummy. it's timing was uncanny.

"we're not fucking," natalie replied, making your heart race in excitement. "I mean, I'd like to. . . but he can't get it up."

knowing this was your chance, you took advantage of this information. "maybe he's gay?" you reply, trying to sound as earnest as you can. you nudge her side, "no straight man could resist you," you wink at her teasingly, receiving a soft shove to your shoulder.

"I've always trusted your gaydar. . . but I don't think this is it," she mumbles in response, leaning forward and placing her chin in her hands.

there was a beat of silence, as you desperately try to come up with a plausible explanation to break them up. "you could always ask coach, I'm sure he'd know all about gays," you joke.

nat turned her head slightly to face you, "you're right. maybe I should—" your heart sank, realising that she was seriously thinking about it.

"have you thought that maybe he's interested in someone else? and you're just a distraction," you blurted out, wishing you could take it back immediately.

nat scoffed, standing up, "yeah, thanks. that makes me feel fucking fantastic," she snapped, stomping away.

"nat! I'm sorry!" you called out, but she ignored you.

«—(♥)—»

later that night, you found yourself in the storage room, with your stomach growling. you knew that mari was hiding some berries in here and you were so hungry that you no longer cared about stealing.

the sound of creaking behind you made you jump in fright, whipping around to let out some excuse when you realised it was just natalie. "oh, I thought you were mari," you mumble, turning back to continue your quest.

"looking for her secret stash?" she asked, you tried to work out if her tone was curious or teasing. "it's behind the box there."

when she pointed in the direction, you side eyed her, wondering how he knew where it was. glad that she'd shown you, you decided not to ask. you pulled out a large white bucket and hungrily opened the lid, only to be disappointed at the contents. "she's letting them ferment?"

you turn to face natalie, who shrugs, "it's not that bad. it's pretty strong though, just made purely out of berries, makes you get drunk quicker," she explains; you snort at her, shaking your head.

"you'd have a lot of experience with being drunk," you snipe.

"hilarious, you know you're so funny, you should think about joining snl," she replied sarcastically, crossing her arms over her chest.

you sighed, putting your head in your hands. "I'm so hungry, nat. I can't keep living like this," you whisper, on the verge of tears.

natalie sits down next to you, placing a hand on your thigh. "it'll be okay, I promise. travis and I are heading to a new place tomorrow, we'll find deer there, I'm sure," she soothes. you lay your head on her shoulder, playing with her hand on your thigh.

"a new place to hunt? or a new place to fuck?" you snapped.

narrowing her eyes at you, she scoffed and got up, "you know, I liked that you weren't like the others, that you never slutshamed me. . . I guess you're just like the rest of them," she replied, leaving you alone.

you knew it was stupid to take your unrequited feelings out on her, especially because she didn't owe you romantic love. however, it killed you watching her fall in love with travis—and the hunger eating you away wasn't making you a nicer person either.

tentatively scooping some of the berry juice in your hand, sipping it, when you heard mari approaching. in a panic, you'd never put something away so quickly.

«—(♥)—»

natalie trudged through the forest with travis in defeat; the gun slung over her shoulder serving as a reminder of her duty as hunter—a duty she was failing. their eyes were still peeled for any deer, hopeful for any last minute catches. however, it seemed like all the animals in the forest knew about their plans.

groaning, nat put her head in her hands and sat on the log. "this is fucking stupid," she grumbles, ignoring travis as he took a seat next to her.

"maybe we should stay put here, just for a little while," he suggests, his thigh brushing against hers. nat rested her chin against her knees and offered him a weak smile.

neither of them noticed you, hiding in the bushes, having given up scavenging for berries. they'd been gone for three hours, leaving everyone else in the cabin to search for food—and for what? it seemed no one would be eating anything. . . meat or fruit. the disappointing view of just the two of them made your stomach growl, reminding you of how long you've gone without eating something substantial.

stepping on a twig accidentally, you winced as both their heads snap in your direction. "you're following us now? disappointed to see we aren't having sex?" natalie sniped, getting up and walking towards you.

showing off your basket, you know that she wouldn't believe you even if it's true. "just hunting for berries, figured they were further out than usual," you mumble, taking a step back the closer she got.

it wasn't until you were both face to face, your chest heaving and trying to look tough, that natalie smirked. "I get it, you're hungry, but you don't have to follow us," she teased.

you rolled your eyes, "travis, can you give us a moment?" you asked, your heart racing as you come to terms with what you're about to do.

travis scoffs, looking at nat for confirmation, who only gestured for him to return to the cabin. in shock, he sent her an odd look, before standing up, and walking away silently.

natalie turned to face you again, "what did you want to talk about?"

"i wanted to apologise. you're right, I shouldn't be slutshaming you because I'm hungry. . ." you pause, wondering whether or not you should continue. desperate to tell her about your feelings, you could feel your heartbeat raising impossibly fast. "it's actually so stupid—the real reason I was mad at you."

natalie raised her eyebrows teasingly, placing her hands on her waist and smirking at you. "let me guess, the real reason is that you like me?" you stare at her stunned, "please, you don't think I know? I'm not Jackie," she laughs. you feel a blush coming across your cheeks.

sliding her thumb through your jean loops, nat pulled you closer to her, until your chest was pressed against hers. "how'd you find out?" you whisper, looking up at her in awe.

"because I may or may not feel the same about you," she mumbles, her lips inches from yours.

"what about travis?" you ask; nat shrugs in response, finally pressing her lips against yours. initially, you freeze, not kissing her back, until she gripped your waist firmly, holding you in place, encouraging you to kiss her back passionately.

wrapping your hands around her neck, natalie pulls away for a second, "I should probably tell my boyfriend," she whispers. you raise your eyebrows in shock.

"tell him what? that I'm your girlfriend now?" you teased, eliciting laughter from the blonde. she nodded, before placing her fingers under your chin and pulling you in for another kiss.

[emeritusemeritus]

Spellbound [Fred Weasley x Ravenclaw!Reader]

Title: Spellbound.

Pairing: Fred Weasley x Ravenclaw!Reader

Timeline: Non-specified, no mention of canonical events but I pictured OOTP as I was writing.

Summary: Sick of how his twin’s devastating crush on you is affecting his Quidditch abilities, George takes matters into his own hands and meddles.

Warnings: Use of a love potion, essentially dubious consent. Pining, crushes, probably minor swearing. Fred’s a love sick puppy. Questionable morality on George’s behalf. Not beta read.

Word count: 2.7k

This was inspired by a lovely Anon request I was sent, original post here. I hope this is what you were looking for, I enjoyed working on this so much! 💙

George Weasley was one half of the infamously disruptive Weasley twins; usually mentioned second and hardly able to be distinguished from his slightly older twin to those that didn't really know him. To those that did, his identifying qualities included being slightly quieter, more patient, more understanding and perhaps more moral... sometimes. Though it was never said aloud, he was the slightly better Quidditch player with a slightly better aim and was arguably more passionate about the game than his twin. He had more focus at least, which was never more obvious than during this season of Quidditch when Fred had been mightily distracted through most of the games, missing bludgers an amateur could have hit and earning more fouls in one season than he had in his entire time on the team. His reason? He had a crush. An almighty crush on you which made him distracted, inattentive, sometimes irritable and almost constantly mopey.

George was perceptive by nature and had picked up on his brother's infatuation not long after it began, noticing that Fred's attention was often pulled away as soon as you'd walk into the great hall or class. Didn't matter that they were in the middle of a conversation or a tactful sale, in you'd walk and out would go Fred's sanity. George couldn't deny that you were pretty, you'd turned his head a few times, not that he'd ever admit that to his brother, but the affect you had on Fred was almost laughable. He was certain he'd seen his brother drool once over you, the hearts in his love-stricken puppy eyes almost making George want to laugh and vomit at the same time.

When he wasn't pining for you in ways George could hardly fathom, Fred was often touchy and sulky at the unrequited nature of his crush. If he saw another bloke talking to you or making you laugh, he'd be insufferable for the rest of the day, shooting daggers at the culprit and threatening under his breath to set off a dung bomb in the unsuspecting lad's dorm.

To make matters worse, you'd started attending Quidditch games regularly when Ron made Keeper in support of your friend and also as support for Hermione so that she wouldn't have to sit alone with her two best friends on the pitch, despite being a Ravenclaw. Many people went to support their friends and as long as they weren’t competing against your house you figured it was fair game to support them. You'd also infrequently started attending practice sessions with Hermione, sitting in the stands or on the side lines where you would spend most of the time studying or drawing. It was a double edged sword for the team if you showed up or not; if you didn't, Fred would mope about and keep checking that you hadn't arrived late during the entire time on the pitch. If you did show, he'd spend the time trying to impress you with comical dives on his broom, outlandish tricks and almost everything exactly fulfilling his actual role to get your attention.

So George came up with a plan. One night when they were restocking the skiving snack boxes and checking on their slow-brewing potions, he'd come up with a plan that was admittedly a little immoral but should surely work. Tensions had risen between the twins after Fred had received another avoidable foul causing them to nearly lose the match and George had walked out of the changing rooms in a huff to start on the restocking, not wanting to hear Fred waxing poetic about how fit you looked in your jumper or how loudly you were cheering for him the few times during the match he'd actually played well.

George was sick of listening to it and it pushed him to a point when his plan seemed to be the only choice.

The next morning George had woken Fred early, dragging his half asleep twin out of bed to get to the Great Hall bright and early, the older of the two still dishevelled from sleep and rubbing his eyes, grumpy to boot.

"Don't see why you're dragging me down at this time, not like they'll run out of food," Fred complained grumpily as he tried to fall into step with George who seemed to be walking at a faster than normal pace down the staircases. About halfway down the staircases, Fred noticed that his jumper was back to front and had fixed it with a huff and a yawn, battling the wool over his wide shoulders.

"Told you, I'm starving," George replied vaguely with a shrug, a small smirk tugging at his lips as he turned away from Fred to conceal it.

They took a seat at the table and once again Fred complained as he saw hardly anyone up yet except for a few Ravenclaws huddled together on the other side, talking in hushed but excited whispers. Fred begrudgingly accepted a glass of pumpkin juice from George and simply looked at the few slices of toast in front of him, his stomach still asleep. So consumed by his tiredness he didn't even notice that George hadn't taken a bite of any food even after five minutes, despite his prior claims of being starving. Fred sat in a gloomy slump at the table, head in his hands and staring down at the table, if his eyes were open at all whereas George kept his eyes trained on the open door in a much more jovial mood.

"Morning," your voice rang out quietly but pleasantly. George had to physically place his hand over his mouth to conceal the laughter that was threatening to burst out of him watching Fred's reaction to your voice. It was like he'd been electrocuted or at least unknowingly stunned as his head shot up, elbow banging on the table as it slid off the edge of the wooden table as his head whipped up to look at your face.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you," you said with a timid smile and a little laugh before taking a seat beside George. You’d usually sit with the other Ravenclaws but as it was so quiet this morning you figured you would sit with the twins.

"You're up early," George says with a smile, offering you the jug of pumpkin juice, which you gladly accepted. Fred had said nothing but his pink cheeks were talking all by themselves, though you didn't seem to notice.

"Wanted to take a long walk around the grounds this morning," you reply after taking a sip of the juice that George had poured for you. "I've been trying to do more exercise lately... it's always so pretty in autumn so it's not as horrible getting up early."

"Why?" Fred says, finally speaking. He regrets it the instant your eyes fall upon him, realising that the word had tumbled out of his mouth before he could even think, his tone a little sharp and defensive, as if it was an unnatural thing to do. "I meant, about the exercise."

"Oh, well I guess it's good for my head," you explained, placing down your cup. "And the waist line, I feel like I put on a stone every term with how good the food is." George chuckles along, finally helping himself to the breakfast food in front of him but you notice that Fred hardly reacts.

"I know what you mean, if it wasn't for Quidditch I'd probably be the size of a troll."

Your laugh renders Fred even more speechless than he already was, so much so that he'd accepted his fate as forever mute at this point.

"Well thank Godric for Quidditch," you say with a smile. Fred doesn't miss the way your gaze suddenly flashes over him, most notably his arms as he lifts the cup to his lips, making him choke into his juice. It was the first time he'd ever noticed your gaze slip over him so obviously.

"Must be tough being a beater, those bludgers must be really heavy," you say, your gaze hardly moving from Fred's arms, up and across his shoulders before slipping down again. He couldn't believe you were looking at him like this, especially when your eyes travelled up to his face and you caught his eyes. You didn't look embarrassed or look away, simply gave him a playful smile before addressing his twin again as he replied to you. Fred was dreaming, he must be.

But the attention didn't stop. Fred didn't know what had changed that morning but he started noticing little things like how you'd catch his eye when you walked into a room, like you were seeking him out, or if he gazed over at you it was only time before you would look in his direction too. He no longer had to pretend that you were cheering the loudest for him at Quidditch matches because you actually were, and noticeably so. You still attended practice sessions infrequently but you no longer kept your head down and in your books, now you were actually watching the team practice, though it appeared you were really only concerned by one half of the beater duo.

George's plan had worked. Fred was in a good mood more consistently, played better during Quidditch as he was actually focused on the game and no longer trying to get your attention as he already had it. Sure he was still grouchy if another male approached you but he didn't feel quite as bad about it when you would seek him out mid conversation, as if you wished it to be him instead.

"I'm gonna ask her out," Fred says one night as they enter their dorm, throwing off his big jumper and leaving it on a pile on the floor beside his bed.

"Maybe you should wait until after this season mate, only two more matches to go if we carry on playing well," George says delicately, taking off his own jumper but instead choosing to fold it onto the chair beside his bed unlike his sloppy twin. He watches as Fred's face scrunches up in displeasure at his words but he doesn't immediately question them, taking time to think about it.

"Yeah maybe," Fred says eventually, reaching don under his bed to pull out the large tray of stock they had stashed, mainly the slicing snack box stuff.

The two of them restocked and replenished the stock they had on hand for a while, completely ignoring all homework before they slipped down to the common room later that night.

"Gonna check the potions," George whispers in Fred's ear before slipping off, leaving him with Lee in the common room.

If Fred noticed anything off about George when he gets back, he doesn’t mention it. But George can feel it, the sense of dread and guilt, exactly what he didn’t want to happen was coming to fruition. He realised then that he’d have to break it to Fred, admit what he’d done.

“You coming mate?” Fred asks, grabbing his quidditch stuff ready to head to the pitch but pauses when he sees George sat on his bed, not making an effort to move. He looks sad, distressed even.

“What’s up? You didn’t eat all those Bertie boys did you?”

“Fred,” George says quietly, eyes slowly rising up until he’s looking into the all too familiar eyes of his twin. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

For the first time in history, Fred and George Weasley weren’t speaking. It was their first proper fall out, first argument and the first time in history that they hadn’t been wandering the corridors of Hogwarts together, causing mayhem or mischief but no one knew why. The tension between the pair was awful for them and everyone around them. Then suddenly, they were back together again even though it was still tense and not at all like it was before, they found their way back to eachother.

“Y/n,” Fred says from behind you, pulling you away from your conversation as the Ravenclaw table, your friends looking on curiously as you turned with a smile to see Fred behind you looking a little nervous.

“Hi Freddie,” you say with a smile, having missed him.

“Can I borrow you?”

You nod, turning to your friends to say bye and got up from the table and followed him out of the Hall, thinking how strange he was acting. He leads you up the staircases with little explanation and manages to sneak you up into his dorm through the portrait hole, something you couldn’t believe he managed to do.

When you walked into his dorm, you saw George sitting on the bed you assumed to be his, the room a little untidy but not awful.

“George?” You say, worried about the sad look on his face. He gives you a little smile and a brief wave as Fred closes the door behind you.

“What’s a matter? What’s going off?” You say, looking between the two. Fred offers you a seat on the nearby bed you assume to be his and he sits beside you, both now looking nervously at George.

“George has something he wants to tell you,” Fred says, casting a rather harsh glare at his brother, tone sharp and resolute. George takes a deep breath, clearing his throat as he looks up at you.

“I,” he manages to get out, but shuts down the moment he opens his mouth, apparently losing all the words he needed.

“It’s okay Georgie,” you say gently, trying to give him confidence.

“No it’s not,” Fred retorts in a much harsher tone. Your head whips round to him and he softens as he looks at you.

“He’s been giving you love potion,” he says, nodding his head towards his guilt stricken twin. Your mouth falls open in disbelief, a frown pulling at your eyebrows as you try your hardest to think of how it was possible.

“But.”

“I didn’t really mean to,” George says weakly but quickly changes his wording when Fred’s glare increased threefold. “Okay I did but not with any malicious intent. He’s bloody obsessed with you and I couldn’t stand the pining anymore, it was insufferable. He wasn’t focusing when you were at Quidditch and I just wanted him to focus again so I thought if you gave him attention back then he’d have his head back in the game and it worked.”

“George!” You say completely outraged, in disbelief that he’d have actually done that. “Stop it right now! It’s not funny.”

He frowns at you briefly, just quick enough for you to see as he looks between you both.

“I haven’t given you any in over a week,” he says curiously, “I ran out last week.”

The room is silent after his reveal as you start to slowly realise that even if you had been given the love potion initially, being without it hadn’t actually changed your feelings of Fred.

“You’re obsessed with me?” You ask, turning to Fred who looks like he wants the ground to swallow him up.

“I wouldn’t have said obsessed… but yeah, I really fancy you,” he says, not quite meeting your eyes. It’s a split second decision that leads you to closing the gap between the two of you, legs touching as you scoot along his bed and slowly lean in to him, trying to gage his reaction. He doesn’t resist in the slightest and finally looks up into your eyes just long enough to realise what’s happening before your eyes close and your lips meet.

George slips out quietly with a pleased look on his face, knowing that everything would be alright in the end. He walks down to the little store room where they brew their potions and he smirks to himself when he sees the still very full cauldron of love potion simmering, the pearlescent pink glow radiating from it.

You’d believed him to easily, both you and Fred. And if he had to take the hit for a little while, it was worth it.

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[starsfic]

Prompt (if taking them] Lady Iron Fan decides to show that she reciprocated Demon Bull King's interest by courtnapping him. The Brotherhood (especially Azure Luon) thinks its a normal kidnapping/act of war.

"You know, my brothers will think this is an act of war."

"Oh, really?" The beautiful woman hummed, setting down the jug and passing over the goblet of wine. DBK was almost charmed, except for the fact that he was still tied to his chair and couldn't pick it up.

No, actually, he was charmed. He had always imagined that he would be the one doing this, excluding the tying to a chair. That was just rude.

"Do you think this is an act of war?" Princess Iron Fan said, drawing his attention back. It wasn't hard, considering the fact that she was a gorgeous woman, even more beautiful when she was committing acts of violence.

"I mean, you do have the wrong atmosphere for such a thing." The room was set up with red and lavender furniture and soft candles. A delicious feast had been laid out, and the pink dress she wore was long and flowing, not meant for battle. "But you could be trying to lower my guard with that eyesore of a dress."

Her smile disappeared. "What's wrong with my dress."

Oh no. "I mean, nothing's wrong! I just think you would look good in purple- no, no. That would be wrong. That would dull your eyes." DBK leaned his face up, away from her furrowed brows and the droop of her lips, to think. "My friend, the Six-Eared Macaque, once gave this long lecture about costume design. The color of the fabric is important when accenting features...uh..." To be fair, DBK had kinda tuned out in the middle and most of that lecture had been aimed at Peng, who had ruined a very nice bolt of fabric Wukong had gotten Macaque as a gift. "Your eyes are a wonderful shade of amber and you have gorgeous dark curls..."

"Really?" The anger had faded from her voice now. "What do you think of them?"

"I mean, gold would accent your everything very nicely since it would match your eyes." DBK tried to think of what color would match her best, but now he was thinking of her just in gold jewelry, which was a very nice thought but very distracting. "But your hair is enough of a draw of its own. It would just need a statement piece. Anything else would drown out your beauty in gaudiness- oh! Red! That is what you would look best in-"

A soft laugh broke through his thoughts. DBK looked down to see the princess cover her mouth, but not enough to hide a beautiful smile. When her giggles came to an end, she looked up. "You are very charming, your Majesty. Are you like this to every girl you meet?"

"No. I mean, I've only ever been like that with Wukong, and he was less charmed."

Iron Fan shrugged. "I can't blame you for trying. He's very pretty."

"So are you."

She leaned against the table and smiled at him. "So are you. By the way, your brothers are trying to break down the door."

DBK blinked. Oh yeah. "Should I go talk to them so we can have dinner in peace?"

"No," Iron Fan's magic hummed, and then she had her distinct fan in hand. "It will give me a chance to change. I have a very lovely red dress in my trunk."

He couldn't wait.

[theflyindutchwoman]

Wait, is she touching you? She's touching you, isn't she? Hey, you know what? If she offers you money for sex, I'm gonna win this bet. Look, I am down to do whatever you want. Yeah, you are.

| ANATOMY OF A SCENE - CHENFORD EDITION 4.07 - Fire Fight

What I love about this scene is how unassuming it appears to be : for all intents and purposes, this moment is meant to offset the more serious and dramatic part of the episode. Nothing else. And yet, it hides so many layers… One of them is how it actually gives us an aperçu of Tim and Lucy going undercover together at the end of the season. With the way they flirt here, it makes their practice kiss and all their display even more inevitable. And this is the perfect continuation of Lucy's last UC op, where she flirted with him to pass him the informations she had (and save his life). That their default mode while undercover is to flirt says everything… Those mission really gives them the cover and freedom they need to explore their feelings without revealing their hand. Having Tim go undercover, with Lucy as his handler, is also a perfect role reversal, where the student has become the master. He doesn't once question her expertise : he might protest but it's more out of habit than anything else. It's certainly never out of malice. Now add Tim's baggage when it comes to that line of work… And it brings out another layer. Interestingly though, this side is not explored. The aim here is to ease him into this, without triggering any bad memories the way Lucy's very first op did. This is a short stint, with no high stakes. And this explains why he doesn't protest much when Lucy suggests he goes undercover as Jake in the first place : the fun they have here might have played a part.

Lucy is definitely enjoying this way too much, instantly ragging on Tim's choice of clothes when he shows up at the rendezvous. They haven't even started yet and he looks done already. This is such a good reminder of their first dynamic : grumpy/sunshine. He just can't hide his smile, even in front of her, anymore - like when she recites the UC rules. The walls are down. Also, the fact that she had a jacket ready for him, clearly having expected this to happen, just shows how well she knows him.

But aside from all this fun, there's this undercurrent of tension that rises to the surface when Tim puts the jacket on… or when he lifts his shirt off, showing off his abs… The atmosphere here is so different than when she caught him wearing only a towel at Rachel's place. There is an awareness now that wasn't there yet. And it's even more intense with their close proximity. Or with Lucy having to touch him. It's just so intimate. The looks they exchange… It's electric. It's close to how it felt for a moment at Tim's place… Until he realises that she's placing the mic too high on his chest… Is it distraction? Is it on purpose? Either way, the way she rips off the tape, looking so smug, and his high-pitched scream are hilarious. Her sorry doesn't even sound sorry at all. #sorrynotsorry

And from there, it goes completely unhinged. Only these two would openly flirt and riling the other up while one of them is undercover. Now, to be fair, it started normally, with Lucy coaching Tim. But the second Aston began flirting with him, professionalism went out of the window. Then again, these are the same idiots who were making out 'for work', so maybe it is their definition of professionalism. Tim is trying to remain in-character but Lucy is having the time of her life, listening to their conversation. His smirk when Aston caresses his hand and Lucy comments on it, reminding him of their bet and how he might unwittingly help her win it if their mark keeps this up… They are so flirty here, openly, taking advantage of the situation… And that really lays the groundwork for Vegas. The fact that Lucy is basically whispering in his ear, that he can't see her, brings a certain level of intimacy… And while he is talking to Aston, his reactions are for Lucy. Like his big smile : sure, he is amused by their suspect's behavior, but I have a hard time believing that this isn't Lucy's comments that provoked it. There's such a double meaning to their dialogue… Like when he tells their suspect he is 'down to do whatever [she wants]', with Lucy instantly answering him with her iconic 'yeah you are'… She couldn't have said it in a more lusty tone.

This is all ambiguous, giving them plausible deniability. It allows them to act in a less than professional way, but without any repercussion. Almost as if they're testing the water. And it makes sense that Tim tries to take a step back after this mission, to reclaim some boundaries… Well, for a short while. All of this just comes back in full force when they have to go undercover as a couple… with no going back.

[pyrusinc]

Staff and Line

A free day in P.E. gets a little more interesting when Marinette and Adrien decide to do a bit of friendly sparring.

The spread laid out before her is bountiful, foam swords and flimsy shields, yoyos and plastic batons, a handful of spinning tops, a squishy hammer, and what looks to be a single horseshoe. Truly the arsenal is formidable- and a little silly- all manner of toys and weapons inspired by the various magical personalities of Paris. Marinette glanced across the courtyard at Monsieur D'Agencourt, who was speaking animatedly into a phone and was entirely distracted, the students milling around him as much an afterthought as the "lesson" planned for the day, and she absentmindedly nudged one of the toys with her foot.

The plan for today, their teacher had explained with a handwave, was to practice "sparring." With Heroes' Day just around the corner, Marinette supposed she could understand the excuse to cover what was basically a free period. After all, who in the city hadn't imagined what it would be like to flit around with a miraculous? Sparring was a great way to burn some energy in all fairness, and in Marinette's case specifically the practice was actually quite useful. She eyed the various tools before leaning down to scoop up a plastic baton- she was already more than skilled with her trusty bandalore, so brushing up with a staff in case she and Chat Noir ever needed to swap weapons could be a good idea. She tested the balance of the stick and after finding it to be suitable, decided to run through some of the base stances and swings her partner had taught her. As she felt her muscles loosen up she became aware of someone watching her, and turning around she saw a familiar figure fiddling with a yoyo.

"Oh, hi Adrien. I didn't know you knew how to use one of those." She said brightly, leaning on her stick to test its strength.

Adrien smiled at her as he pulled off the trick he had been setting up for before replying; "I just dabble. I've got a friend whose great with them, though, and I've picked up a bit. Kinda itching to try some of the crazier stuff she's done with them, actually."

"Well..." Marinette tried, "If you want to practice using a yoyo in a weird way, we could try sparring?" She tried to pose the question casually, but internally she was beaming. If he said yes, this would be the perfect opportunity to impress him! She wasn't as skilled with a baton as Chat was, but she was willing to bet she was better than average....

"Oooh, great idea, Marinette! I guess... Whenever you're ready?"

Marinette nodded before swinging cautiously. He stepped out of the way easily, so she tried again, and again, he moved. Speeding things up, she tried for a jab that would just slightly miss him (she didn't want to accidentally hit him, after all) but to her surprise her momentum carried her forward and past where she was aiming- Adrien had actually caught her staff and deflected it! His laughter bubbled through the air behind her, and she couldn't help but smile to herself at the sound. Clearly he was better at this than she'd expected, so maybe a little more pressure was earned? She spun around, counter attacking, and managed to catch him slightly off guard. He managed to hop out of the way, then cast his yoyo out and towards her. She easily batted it away, but instead of it going dead in the air, Adrien managed to preserve its speed and reel it back with a flick of his wrist before sending it out again, this time at a different angle. Again, Marinette knocked it away, and she caught something like excitement in Adrien's eyes. This time when he reeled it back, he lunged forward and converted his momentum into a cobra-like strike with his weapon. The speed was impressive, but Marinette's reaction times were tuned to the trajectory of a yoyo, and once again she deflected- but this time Adrien anticipated it and had continued to move forward with the yoyo, twisting his body and whipping the toy through the air at an incredible velocity.

Marinette dropped to the ground as she heard the line of the yoyo whistle above her. Adrien teetered off balance for a split second, and Marinette tried to capitalize on his poor footing by aiming a jab at his legs, but he must have predicted it because he kicked off the ground in the direction he was facing and landed with a startlingly graceful roll, reeling in his yoyo as he came up to stand.

Marinette blinked. Clearly Adrien is better at this than he gives himself credit for, she thought, standing up and rolling her shoulders. No more holding back.

The pair descended into a whirlwind of flashing plastic and string, twirling and bounding around in what almost seemed like a dance. A few classmates began to watch, impressed at their skill, ooh-ing and ahh-ing as the tide waxed and waned in either's favor. After a minute or two, Adrien swung his yoyo in a wide arc, but in a flash Marinette shot forward, striking her weapon into the air and correctly predicting the trajectory of the attack. The yoyo line swirled around her staff, and hoping to disarm her opponent, she yanked her staff upward with a mighty tug. Too much force- she thought with a grimace as she felt the stick slip from her fingers.

The baton and yoyo sailed through the air, uncoiling and separating before falling in different arcs. Marinette snatched the closer of the two out of the air, the yoyo, as Adrien dropped into a low crouch to catch the staff.

"Well, you're certainly good with a yoyo, but I'm afraid we should probably call it here." Marinette called breathlessly, the familiar exertion of a friendly spar leaving her winded and more at ease than she usually found herself. "Because I guarantee I'm better."

Adrien snickered. "Bold words, princess, but can you back them up?"

Marinette grinned, the taunt igniting the fuse of competition that this duel had been building up, barely registering the fact that had insulted Adrien, or what he had called her in response. Without bothering to reply, she cast her yoyo in a breakaway trapeze before pulling the line taut and sending the yoyo rocketing through the air at a faster speed than any throw her opponent had managed. That was the issue with Adrien's technique, he was decent at managing spin and recovery, and his reaction times were excellent, but he clearly lacked finesse or real practice. Most of his attacks were simply whirling the yoyo in a wide arc and were easy to predict, but Marinette had studied the bandalore extensively. She had spent hours at night practicing with both her Ladybug yoyo and with normal ones just in case the magical properties were removed from her weapon again. She may still have been stunningly clumsy, but her steady hands and beetle-brand determination meant a simple toy transformed into a deadly weapon in her grasp.

If she were thinking maybe she would have remembered that and reigned herself in. As it stood now, though, she was enjoying herself far too much to bother.

The yoyo shot directly at Adrien's chest at a speed even Marinette wouldn't have been able to block in his position, but to her shock he thrust his staff out and hit it dead on, sending the projectile straight up. Marinette flicked her casting hand upward, creating a loop of slack in the line that twirled around the yoyo as it flew along its lazy arc before landing in a laceration. She pulled her hand away and sent the yoyo spinning up before landing it in another trapeze. Adrien regarded her warily, watching the yoyo spin on its line. He could barely react as she rapidly pulled her hands away from each other, sending the yoyo into a series of targeted shots.

Adrien ducked away, barely dodging her eli-hops before rushing towards her as she recast her line. Marinette's eyes widened as he pulled his staff back, ready to strike- he had recognized that she played for space, keeping him at arms length, and had realized that the best place to be to throw her off was inside her yoyo's range. Now, with her yoyo hovering uselessly behind him, Adrien had the advantage. Marinette scrambled away as the staff slashed through where she had just been before retaliating by reeling her yoyo back towards her aw quickly as she could. It shot back to her hand, and its path would send it straight into the back of Adrien's head. She had this in the bag.

But then, as though he had known its exact position without seeing it, he tilted his neck slightly to the side and let the yoyo fling past his ear with an audible whoosh. It hadn't even phased him.

Marinette caught the yoyo in a sidewinder and let it spin on her finger as she and Adrien circled each other, her mind whirling as fast as the plastic in her hand. His dodges were impeccable, she realized. What she had at first assumed to be lucky breaks, attacks flying past him a hair's breadth away, weren't accidental or fortunate footwork, Adrien's method of avoiding hits was to expend as little energy as possible dodging by only barely moving out of the way. It was risky, as misjudgment would result in a nasty knock, but it let him counterattack quickly and precisely without putting himself out of position or wasting energy on his own movement. Across from her, Adrien appeared to be running a similar analysis over her fighting style. She would have blushed under the attention if she weren't so carefully considering his movements and- there! That slight nod, she almost missed it in the chaos, but he had been doing it right before each strike. Like clockwork, it heralded this attack, too. Some distant part of her mind registered the habit as vaguely familiar, but she was too engrossed to think about it much more.

Adrien whirled toward her and she dodged and deflected each attack as they came, backing out of his range in anticipation of each lunge. More people gathered around the two of them, but they blurred into the background as Marinette focused on her target. He was getting faster with each strike, more confident in his advance, but Marinette wasn't giving anything up yet. They danced around each other, staff and line whistling through the air, drawing more and more attention. The only sounds in the courtyard were their heavy breathing and the crack of their weapons against each other. The world had faded, and there was nothing but their fight. She struck out at him with a barrage of whirling swings, but instead of shifting to the side like she had expected, Adrien thrust his stick upwards through the path of the yoyo's line, twilling the string around it and yanking it back.

He stole her trick!

The counter completely threw off her balance, and Marinette was pulled forwards towards Adrien and away from her ideal range. He flashed a determined grin at her as he watched her stumble into striking distance, but she flashed him a smirk of her own. If he could use her trick, she would use his: she leaned into the fall as the world tilted on its axis, kicking off the ground with all her strength like she had seen him do earlier. She aimed the palm of her left hand at Adrien's shoulder, and her jump sent her sailing through the air and directly above Adrien's lowered form. She grabbed his shoulder and used it as a springboard, pushing off him and sending herself flying through the air. Higher, higher, higher. She flicked her right hand, and the familiar weight of the yoyo whirled into her palm- expertly wound. Suspended, upside down, behind him... This was it. She cast her yoyo in time with her rising arc and hailed a flurry of eli-strikes directly at Adrien's back. Each one landed true, the first hits of the fight. The impact sent Adrien stumbling as Marinette began to right herself in the air, already brimming with smug satisfaction, but she felt her eyes widen as she started to fall. It was barely there, practically imperceptible against the downward arc of his fall, but she caught it. A tiny nod.

Oh no.

As Adrien fell, he whirled around and sent his staff directly under Marinette's landing position, sliding it into place just as her feet touched the ground. He twisted his grip and spun the baton beneath her foot, sending Marinette crashing to the floor. Stunned, Marinette was weightless once again, but she wasn't out yet. In the fraction of a second she had, she lashed out with one leg and caught the crook of Adrien's arm, ruining his recovery and sending him tumbling down with her.

The two lay there, a panting, sweaty heap on the asphalt for a moment before a rush of sound brought them back to reality. Cheering. Cheering, from all around them as their classmates laughed and whooped and hollered, applauding their fight, evidently shocked that two of the more thoughtful and upstanding students had that kind of fire in them. Marinette stared into the sky before taking a slow breath, the weight of what she had just done setting in. She slowly turned to look at Adrien on the ground beside her. He was nearly unrecognizable, hair mussed, cheek caked in dirt and pebbles, eyes wide in stunned appriciation. The pair stared at each other for a moment longer, before Adrien broke out into the most beautiful, heartfelt laugh, and the tension snapped.

Warmth bloomed through her as she watched him, and Marinette smiled, too.

[lucyfrostblade]

I’ll do a voter fraud (even as the grumblr dude) for anything with depression OR asthma lucy

want a drabble? vote for ratgrundlr and submit your prompt. commit voter fraud once and get two drabbles!!

i don't need to tag spencer bc he sent the ask but credit to spencer of giving me the idea of ivy helping lucy when her asthma's bad

word count: 536

Ivy took the inhaler out of Lucy's pocket, held it up, waited for Lucy to part her lips. It'd became an alarmingly commonplace action in the last few weeks—ever since Lucy waded through a smoke filled room at a party and Ivy found her just outside having an asthma attack.

Not that she particularly needed help in that moment. Lucy felt her chest tighten, heard a slight wheeze when she exhaled. But it'd pass, she knew, no need to bust out the inhaler, and even if she did, she was perfectly capable of using it on her own.

Of course, Ivy disagreed. "Come on, Frosty, we are gonna be going out to to woods soon, I know the pollen fucks up your lungs."

Lucy shook her. "I'm fine, Ivy, really." She ignored the fluttering in her stomach at the display of care.

"I think that would be more believable if you weren't hacking up a lung last time we went outside." Ivy rolled her eyes as she spoke.

There was an easy way to distract Ivy from the topic, Lucy had learned a few days before. She looked down at Ivy's lips, then at the red that blossomed on her checks when Ivy realized where was looking. When she leaned a little closer, closer, closer—

"Why can't anyone actually be ready to leave at the time we are supposed to?"

At the sound of Kipperlilly's voice, Lucy backed away from Ivy, and Ivy did the same. By the time Kipperlilly turned the corner that lead to the start o f the path into the Fair Haven woods, there was a perfectly platonic and perfectly acceptable distance between them.

"Hey! Lucy and I were here on time." Ivy protested.

"Lucy is always here on time. She's not included when I complain about the rest of you." Kipperlilly said.

"Fair, I guess, but you are still missing the fact that I was here before you."

"Do you want a cookie for doing the bare minimum?"

Before the argument could escalate, Oisin, Ruben, and Mary Ann arrived, and Kipperlilly turned her ire to them.

The moment Ivy tossed Lucy her inhaler, Lucy knew she would be hearing about it when she and Kipperlilly were alone.

"Can't have you dying out there." Ivy said, bumping into her shoulder as she walked past her into the Fair Haven Woods.

Normally, Lucy was content to walk in the back of the group, always a few paces behind the rest of the group. Sometimes Ruben or Kipperlilly hung back with her and talked to her. Today though, she aimed for the middle of the pack.

Kipperlilly stuck close to her side. She looked at Lucy every once in a while, waiting for Lucy to fall to the back of the pack so Kipperlilly could pull her aside, Lucy was sure.

Even as her lungs started to burn, Lucy kept up the pace. It was practice, she told herself, for when they'd been real adventurers out in the world. She wasn't trying to avoid telling Kipperlilly exactly why Ivy Embra had her inhaler.

"Did Ivy steal your inhaler? What's her problem?"

Well. At least she wouldn't have to explain the situation to Kipperlilly.

[jourke-rourke]

more of team raza x absolutely terrible gun safety

hey four. are you certain you want to shoot the guy currently holding a giant metal object over your friend's head.

are you certain that shooting him in the back, sending him reeling towards her, is the best way to remove the danger.

bro. I get that you want to have your cool execution-style shot but shooting downwards is an absolutely terrible idea when you have not one but Two (no pun intended) friends on the ground behind him.

also you're gonna spatter them with his blood which is just rude

similarly horrible choice by Two here! Comrade, he is holding a gun practically in your friend's mouth with his finger coiled on the trigger.

do you Really want to shoot him with the electric blast that is makes all his muscles spasm and freeze up?

you could at least wait until his gun is pointed towards you since you are significantly more bulletproof anyways

to be fair Three doesn't actually take that last shot

but to be unfair it's only because he runs out of ammunition. otherwise he 100% would have shot at the guy standing directly between him and five.

who was barely a foot away from her and actively dodging.

idiot

five actually gets a pass for this one because she's seemingly never fired a gun before and is terrified so she's allowed to be a little stupid. as a treat.

that said, for someone who has never fired a gun she is way to confident in her own aim to shoot not once but repeatedly while Two is standing right there

she does not get a pass for this one.

you have no idea how big of a blast that stunner is gonna make

plus the way he was standing made it very likely that he would have fallen backwards, knocking your already-injured friends to the ground. when they are tied up and cannot catch themselves.

what were you thinking.

he wasn't even armed you could've waited for him to come closer

the LEAST excusable in my opinion

not only are you dumb for shooting the Giant Fuckoff Energy Beam within inches of your friend, just trusting that he'll jump out of the way in time

but she is holding a giant metal kill-you stick!

five! swords make for TERRIBLE projectiles!

especially when your friend is right next to it!

plus it was just unnecessary. she was already distracted and facing you, you didn't have to actually fire

however despite five being the one endangering four's life here this one is honestly on him. he's the one who trained her with weapons and clearly did not instill Any common sense 'think before you shoot' type of deal.

if anything this moment should've been a wake-up call for him to go 'oh right. we (the adults) know how to shoot safely and intelligently, but often disregard that because we are the galaxy's deadliest of deadshots and our instincts about what shots we can make are usually right. five is a teenager who has been using guns for less than a week. perhaps i should not be teaching her to copy us.'

[blueraineshadows]

Dark Sacrifice

Dark!Seb x Dark!MC - violence, Dark themes. The game never clarified what Seb sacrificed for that relic, so this is my MC and Seb at the beginning of their Dark paths.

💚☠️💚

Sebastian paced between the columns of the Undercroft, his hands raking through his mop of hair. MC sighed and closed Slytherin's spellbook with a thud. "There doesn't appear to be any other way, the aritfact requires a dark sacrifice," she said grimly. "Shit, Ominis is going to be furious."

"Which is why we aren't going to tell him," Sebastian said, coming to a stop before her. "We keep it to ourselves."

"Isn't that worse? I don't like deceiving him."

"I don't like it either, but I have to do this," he said. His face was set with grim determination. "If you prefer, I won't tell you any details, less for you to keep quiet about that way."

MC took a step towards him. "If you think you're doing this alone, then you are in for a big surprise," she said, folding her arms. "Besides, I have an idea."

He stared at her. "You do?"

A wicked grin flashed on her lips and Sebastian felt the familiar, delicious tug in his loins at the sight. One of these days he was going to have to do something about the way she made him feel. Her beauty reached entirely new levels when that dangerous spark lit her eyes and he couldn't imagine ever being tired of it. He could never say no to that look.

That is how he found himself sneaking out of the castle after dark, which was nothing new to be fair, but tonight they had a sinister purpose. MC had dressed for the occasion in dark clothing suitable for duelling, her trousers tight, his gaze wandered over the slope of her thighs, the curve of her hips. He couldn't afford the distraction tonight, but damn, his fingers ached to explore.

She led him to a rise that dropped off in a sheer cliff. A brisk breeze cut across the open space tugging at their hair and jackets, the shadowed clouds playing peek a boo with a half moon. They paused, crouching low, and MC pointed down over the edge. Sebastian peered down to see a camp, poacher tents surrounding a fire and cloaked figures like shifting shadows about their business. He lifted a curious brow at MC. "So, what's the plan?"

Her head tilted to the side, her lips twisting into a devilish smirk. "I thought we could have our fun with them, blast a few spells like we do, but save one of them." She licked her lips. "The last man standing we bind and take to the catacombs."

Sebastian stared. "You're evil, you know that, right?"

"You wouldn't have it any other way," she said. She reached out to take hold of his hand. He squeezed her fingers in his. "Ready?"

His grin said it all.

Surrounded by the remains of his fellow poaching buddies, the last man wasn't actually standing. He was shuffling backwards on his hands and feet, a jumble of babbling pleas falling from his lips. His wide eyes took in MC as she walked slowly towards him, her high boots crunching on the loose gravel with deliberate cat-like steps. Her wand was aimed at his face and there was not a scrap of mercy on her face. His gaze jumped from her to the boy, the one who seemed to enjoy playing with fire. They looked so young, babies still, but something cold and slippery slid down his spine. He had just watched them tear this camp apart, the scent of charred flesh and ash thick in the air.

He fixed his gaze on the girl, she was a beauty no doubt, she would break hearts this one - he could see it in her eyes. "Please..." The word fell from his lips. She smiled and he froze as she bent to press the tip of her wand to his forehead. The touch of it made him flinch.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," she said softly. "We've got a special job for you."

He sagged in relief, the breath whooshing from him in a shaky sigh. Then a dark chuckle came from the boy as he came up beside her, the fire flames reflecting in both their eyes.

"Don't be fooled by her," the boy said. He gave the girl a look that could only be described as devotion. "She bites, hard."

The catacombs, now cleared of spiders and lit with fire torches, set the scene for this darkest of sacrifices. Sebastian set the relic on a stone slab table while MC levitated the bound poacher into position. His eyes were spinning wildly in their sockets as he tried to figure out what was going on.

"Are you ready?" MC asked. She came up to Sebastian, her hand smoothing over his shoulder. He turned and nodded before pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. "Then I will leave you to it."

"MC," he said, catching her hand as she turned to leave. She looked back at him. "Thank you."

"You owe me one, Sallow," she replied. She gave him a wink before their hands slid apart.

The poacher made a muffled sound against his bindings and MC paused, bending down to look at him. "I said I wouldn't hurt you," she soothed. But then a sly smirk appeared. "Him, on the other hand..."

The poacher's gaze slid to Sebastian, understanding settling in. He began to buck against his bindings, but MC just stood and made her way out of the catacombs, leaving the poacher to his fate. As she approached the entrance, the starry night sky visible through the wisps of cloud, she heard the first of the screams.

..........

Note: Thank you for reading, and a huge thank you to all those who have liked, reblogged, followed and left comments. I decided to make the brave step to post my ideas, never imagining I would get much notice. It means the absolute world! 💜 xx

[wildstar25]

Finally starting to iron out in my head how the G'raha Arsay stuff went down in crystal tower... I still need to go through it again to solidify details and any and all of this is subject to change but:

Obviously the whole "contest" thing at the beginning pissed Arsay off, but when G'raha made that dramatic reveal she couldn't help but feel a flutter in her chest. I mean, who doesn't find dropping down from great heights super cool??

She was hoping he'd be a confident, roguish adventurer with a flare for the dramatics... but he was a historian? She shuttered to think she'd have another Urianger-type on her hands.

She was pleasantly surprised when G'raha expressed a thirst for adventure. His enthusiasm was actually quite endearing! She couldn't wait to be friends with him :)

During the downtime between Labyrinth and Syrcus tower, Arsay would pop by the camp from time to time to check on their progress.

G'raha quite often complained how he wished he could be doing something more exciting than offering insight into Allagan history. Yet there he remained.

Arsay of course felt sympathetic and found his sense of responsibly admirable to say the least. His pouty face also seemed to pluck at her heartstrings, as she would take the time to share her recent adventures with him.

One time they sat all through the night by a fire: Arsay described -to the best of her abilities - the Allagan ruins she had traversed deep within the earth (doing her best to avoid the parts about bahamut of course).

G'raha in turn provided her expositional information on the empire's internal and external affairs during the Third Astral Era.

Most of it going over Arsay's head... she was a bit too distracted by that adorable smile he had while speaking, and how the light of the fire bounced off his well toned arms

Before leaving for Revenant's Toll, Arsay strongly implied she wouldn't mind taking G'raha to see the ruins for himself when the exploration of the tower had concluded. G'raha danced around his reply; he was actually quite bashful when it came down to it! She walked away with a pounding in her chest. Excitement over the prospect of another adventuring buddy, surely.

When G'raha opened up to her about how rough his childhood was being bullied for his eye, Arsay in turn shared how she grew up feeling out of place as well; the lalafell children of her island quickly excluding her when she inevitably began to tower over them.

It was the first time since starting her adventure that she told anyone where she came from and how she wasn't raised in a keeper village in the shroud like most assume she would have been.

It was weird for Arsay to be so forthtelling with someone, but it felt nice! She makes note to open up more with her scion friends as well; to be more like herself and less like some stoic hero you'd read about in storybooks.

They bonded over their shared desire to know more about certain parts of themselves -though they didn't outright say that. It was just the vibe of the conversation

G'raha suggested he teach her some miqo'te style archery while they wait for the tower assessment to completed by the ironworks engineers. it was a small gesture, something to pass the time with, but it still made Arsay light up with excitement.

Queue incredibly trope-y & cringe scene of that. Typical fair of

G'raha reached around Arsay to adjust her posture and aim. The slightest blush spread over her cheeks as his hand touched hers.

He stood back as Arsay drew the bow, admiring her strength. He'd yet to see her martial abilities in action, but still it was no surprise at all that she would so quickly have a handle on this new weapon type.

Arsay fired the arrow, a perfect shot. G'raha expected nothing less. Overjoyed, Arsay leapt at G'raha arms outstretched. She wasn't sure why she did that, but it felt right to hug him in that moment.

The two stood there, Arsay's arms wrapped around him, getting lost in each others eyes. For a moment they forgot about their surroundings and the happenings that transpired that day. An indescribable force seemed to draw their faces closer and closer.

Just as they were about to kiss, Briggs and Wedge come calling for them.

They quickly push apart, both incredibly reluctant to admit what had almost happened. Arsay couldn't believe what had come over her.

G'raha gets dragged into some conversation about Allagan tech. He watches Arsay wander off from the corner of his eye as Cid begins to breakdown potential schematics for a machine that could open up a void gate. He wished desperately that he could follow her, but he was needed here.

Upon hearing the news the device was ready to go, Arsay returned to Saint Coinach's Find once more.

She greeted G'raha as she should any other friend and leaves it at that. There are bigger fish to fry now, after all.

Arsay happily accepted G'raha's company in WoD. It was so important to him, she'd never even think of saying no.

This will be just the first of many quests they tackle together, Arsay hoped as they entered through the void

Arsay wanted so badly to tell him her feelings before the tower door closed on G'raha. Say that she'll miss him and the adventures they could have had together. It wouldn't be of any use, it's not as if she could shake his resolve to seal himself in for gods know how long. He goes on about her heroics and bravery, if only he could recognize the same in himself.

Everyone vows they'll have those doors open in their lifetime. She was not fond of making empty promises, but she had to hope. If not for herself, than for him.

As he walked away Arsay yells to him, "I'll see you wake, G'raha, with enough stories to fill two Syrcus towers!"

G'raha smiled back over his shoulder. The doors closed between them.

Arsay walked away knowing she'd never forget him.

[lost-between-letters]

New Year's Eve

Pairing: Dean Winchester X Reader (she/her)

Word Count: 1,075

Warning: again, spoiler warning for around 8x13

Summary: New Year's Eve with the Winchesters

A/N: happy New Year!!! As always it's unedited because I have no time management (don't judge me on the title I am not creative enough lol)

This was the first New Year's Eve Y/N spent with the Winchesters and she was surprised how... quiet it was.

At least from Dean she would have expected some sort of party or bar prowl for the last night of the traumatising year behind them. To be fair, a top secret bunker of a even top secret-er elite society wasn't exactly the best place to host a big event.

Still, just sitting around and chatting in the common room, all crammed up on one huge sofa felt weird. Not unpleasant, don't get her wrong, just unusual. Sam had declared the day "case free" and Dean hadn't even tried to fight it. If she wasn't pretty sure they hadn't left the bunker in three days, Y/N would have feared that someone drugged them.

"Dude, gimme some rest, I was high on pain medication and sleep deprivation!" Sam complained and shoved Y/N playfully.

She kicked him right back and let her feet rest on his lap from there. "You're always high on pain medication and sleep deprivation."

"She's got a point," Dean said, a big grin plastered to his face, "We have to patch you up far too much."

"Shut up, both of you."

It would have been adorable how Sam was pouting if he wasn't laughing so much as well. Y/N hadn't seen these boys so smiley in ever - which was really depressing now that she was thinking of it. Which was her cue to put away the champagne for later as while she liked being giggly-tipsy, emotional drunk wasn't on the agenda for tonight.

The brothers were still bickering when she came back from the kitchen with a glass of water and two new bottles of beer (she was awesome, she knew). "Don't get stabbed then next time."

"Don't pass out next time," Sam retorted, a gleeful glint in his eyes as he saw Dean's scowl.

Who totally wasn't scowling from the glare he shot Y/N's way as she started to laugh. The girl the glare was directed at, sat down next to him unimpressed and handed him the bottle. Suddenly, Dean was much happier. "You're a sweetheart, you know that?"

"Only reason I keep putting up with you," she assured him.

Naturally, Dean had to wrap his arm around her shoulders and lean down to her conspirationally. The shiver than ran down her back was purely due to the gust of wind that had made its way through the vents. Nothing else. And the blush was the champagne's fault.

"I stand by my point by the way," Sam stated.

It was a pleasant if slightly confusing distraction from whatever Y/N's mind was preoccupied with.

"...What?" At least Dean was as confused as herself.

Sam put on his Cheshire grin and pointed at the two of them. "There is no way that either of you is better at Mario Kart than me."

"Guess you have to prove it then, library boy," Y/N challenged him, already getting up to turn on the TV and playstation.

Epic battling and lots of screaming followed. Things were said and regretted deeply, Dean threw a pillow at Sam, Sam aimed it back at Dean and hit Y/N straight in the face. Luckily, her enraged scream startled the older Winchester enough to fall off a cliff.

... A sentence that unfortunately would make sense in any other situation of their lives as well.

Due to the Winchesters' and Y/N's competitive personalities, the games soon got pretty intense and for everyone's sake, they moved on to two on two so at least one was always there to negotiate. Or well, rile one of them up. Fun with the Winchesters.

"Guys, it's almost midnight!" Y/N realised with a shock as she looked at the towering clock in the corner of the room.

Had they been playing for so long? Whoops.

"One more round," Sam's eyes were glued to the TV still, adamant on winning this time.

Meanwhile, Dean signed his downfall but actually looking up, checking the clock and finding out himself that Y/N was right. "Ah fuck, let's get going then."

Sam was still celebrating by the time they were topside again and setting up the fireworks. Y/N swore that these two got more childish the older they got. Not that she was particularly complaining.

Dean apparently was not as amused as her though. "Okay big boy, if you're so much better it's your turn to light the fireworks then."

"Jerk," Sam stated but got to work. Smart boy.

And then they were counting down to midnight, Sam checking his watch to make sure they were actually on time. It was filled with laughter and absolutely no feeling for actual time as the boys were counting approximately two times faster than Y/N.

While Sam was getting to work on the lint and lit a match, reaching the last ten seconds, Dean's arm wrapped around her once more. This time, it was her waist he was holding onto and Y/N felt herself being pulled to his front. Close enough that she could feel the warmth of his breath fan over her eyelashes.

"Wanna be my New Year's kiss, Sweetheart?" Dean's voice was confident as always but his eyes were flying all over her face.

With a shot of boldness, Y/N locked her fingers in the nape of his neck and pushed him down to her level. Kiss now, freak out later.

"Happy New Year!"

Sam's voice and the explosions of the fireworks faded into the background as Dean's lips met hers. They were soft and warm to the touch, a tingle of electricity running down her back as he went straight for her bottom lip to nibble at it. It made Y/N gasp in surprise which gave Dean the chance to slip his tongue in and turn the kiss in a much more interesting direction. She grinned into the kiss and returned it with the same enthusiasm and angled his head for better access.

Only Sam's groaned "fucking finally" broke them apart. Y/N doubted that she would have ever let go willingly.

Dean on the other hand didn't seem to be half as bothered by the presence of his little brother and took his sweet time with pulling away. When he did though, there was a more than smug grin plastered to his kiss swollen lips.

"Happy New Year, Y/N," he whispered and nudged her nose with his.

General Taglist: @immrbrightsideeee @fandomfoodiedancer

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[ameliterature]

CONGRATS!!!🎉✨For the celebration asks: the dead poets play laser tag HC. You can do anything you like with it, but for some ideas, any thoughts on who wins, loses first, gets distracted/accidentally injured, teams up or switches sides? <3

daslkdjlak Thank you!! I love this prompt!!

Ahahah ok so they actually randomly draw the teams so it's fair

so the teams are:

meeks, neil, cameron, charlie, stick

vs

todd, pitts, knox, ginny, chris

Stick was literally just working there part time and they needed an extra player lmaooo

almost immediately Stick snipes Knox because Knox isn't used to laser guns hahah, but he also died in honor protecting ginny and chris

at first cameron and charlie are constantly fighting about the strategy but neil and meeks used them as bait and sniped pitts trying to target them, it was bittersweet when meeks sniped pitts but chris immediately avenged him "sorry meeksie"

So uhm

Todd was hiding and camping the whole time. He's great at running away so he's always moving and camping

He almost yelps when he sees ginny all defeated because chris sacrificed herself as stick aimed at ginny. Ginny was able to escape crying as chris literally said "it's literally just a light, im not dead" "sometimes i can still hear her voice"

now it's just neil, cameron, charlie, stick vs todd and ginny

luckily todd got lucky as stick passed by their hiding spot and pointed his laser at him "aw dang, you're the first guy to ever get me haha"

Todd's happy for now but as stick walked away, ginny and todd celebrating, neil appears from behind them

"Hey Todd" Neil smiled and ginny pushed todd away "RUN"

Ginny and Neil have a semi epic foot chase around the area, their shirts glowing in the dark and their blue and green vests zipping everywhere

Todd was able to hide but he also did spot Cameron and Charlie making out in one of the hiding spots.

Instead of commenting, he sniped charlie in the chest. "Wha--NOOOO"

Cameron turns around and sees todd and he gets shot too. "CAMERON NOOOO" "charlie, you died first" "HE WAS SO YOUNG" "charlie, we have to get out now" "I DIDNT EVEN GET TO SAY I LOVED HIM--" Cameron cuts him off with a kiss and Todd bolts

So at the end of their foot chase, Ginny and Neil are cornered and ginny points her laser at neil

"This can all end peacefully, you can rejoin chris in heaven!" Neil shouts

"I'm still here!" chris said from outside.

"YEAH AND DEAD, BE QUIET." and neil shoots his laser while ginny was distracted from chris' joke

"Aw man! Babe you distracted me!" "when did i not??"

So now it was just Neil and Todd roaming the arena, the many hiding spots seeming quiet.

"Tooooddd, you know if we don't finish this in 5 minutes, it's a draw right?" Neil teased before he heard sniffling

He saw Todd tucked away under some dimly glowing stairs

"T-todd? Hey... are you ok?"

"I... I dunno why i feel so scared. you're not gonna shoot me now, are you?"

"No, not yet, not until you feel better." Todd then threw himself over neil and Neil's already flushed face became hotter. No one knew of his crush on Todd (except everyone did know except for todd), even if this laser tag game was his idea, he didnt think it would lead to todd clinging on to him desperately.

"thank you neil." todd said, lifting his head slightly, meeting neil's gaze. his eyes were searching his own, their faces so close...

"Todd.. I..." Neil gulped as Todd's parted lips got closer to his.

BZZZZZ "Blue TEAM WINS"

Neil looks down at his now-unlit vest before looking back at todd. Todd's laser was right at his sensor too. Sneaky.

"Looks like we won." Todd smirked, making neil swoon over his expression. He didnt have time to feel betrayed at all.

"Y-yeah... You won." Neil mumured.

Todd helped him up and they walked back outside into the brightly lit lobby.

Todd's team hugged him and patted his back while Neil's team:

"Damn it, see, I knew Neil would blow it!" Charlie sulked.

"Hey at least I wasn't the one who was making out with my roommate"

"Bet you wish you were." Charlie commented before Todd appeared.

"Hahahah Suck it, Neil!" Todd said playfully.

"hahah yeah, suck it, Neil." Charlie sneered at Neil before Neil politely strangled him.

As they took a picture, Todd and Neil were arm in arm, red and sweaty, Neil smiled in the memory of what could've happened in that dim room. Little did Neil know Todd was going to confess to him later in their dorm.

[helloalycia]

The Wrong Lifetime – Four // Wanda Maximoff

chapter three | story masterlist | main masterlist | wattpad | chapter five

author’s note: I hope you all don’t mind the slow burn because it’s like my favourite thing and i promise things will get spicy soon 😂

Since my rather abrupt revelation about Wanda, I found myself racked with guilt.

Not because she was a girl – I couldn't help my feelings in that sense – but because she was my brother's fiancé. And every time he came to me, gushing about how great of a date they had or how much he was falling for her, the guilt hit me like a sharp pain in the chest, because I understood what he was saying. I felt the same.

And it didn't help when they would occasionally go on dates in front of me, and all I could feel was an unexplainable jealousy in the pit of my stomach. I had no right to feel like this when she was an engaged woman. Her naturally flirtatious personality was simply that: a personality. And even though we'd had a genuinely lovely day a week ago when she invited me to her home, it was no reason for me to think of her in such a way.

The next date on Y/B/N and Wanda's journey to marriage was at our house in the garden. I wasn't actually aware of it until I saw them sat on some garden furniture.

My mum wanted me to help her with some gardening and I found her kneeling by some plant pots, a fair distance away from Wanda and my brother. As I approached her, I glanced in the couple's direction, seeing them sat opposite one another and enjoying a selection of finger foods and tea. They were far away enough to have privacy, but close enough for me to make out their expressions.

"For goodness sake, Y/N," my mother said when I kneeled down beside her to help. "Do you have to wear those horrendous trousers?"

I rolled my eyes, sitting on the ground comfortably. "I'm curious, mother. Do you like anything that I do?"

She gave me a disapproving glance. "I'm only looking out for you, dear. That outfit is very... unladylike."

"Well, they're comfortable," I quipped, before grabbing a spade and getting to work.

"So are dresses," she pointed out, continuing repotting her plants. "And they're prettier, too."

"Considering I have to wear a dress all the time and that I'm in the comfort of my own home, I'm going to pretend you didn't just make me feel bad for wearing these."

She didn't say anything, but I could tell she wasn't happy. I didn't mind wearing dresses, but I would be lying if I said trousers weren't more comfortable. The only time I could wear them was at home when doing chores or simply lounging around. I'd make the most of it whilst I could, no matter what comments my mother made.

I wasn't afraid to get my hands dirty as I helped her repot the plants before digging into the soil and planting some seeds she'd bought this morning. My mother, despite adoring gardening, hated getting messy, so you can imagine the look on her face when I got soil all over my clothes.

"I wish you would act like a lady sometimes," she mumbled to herself, but I didn't let it faze me. It was all I heard, so I was used to it.

Laughter sounded from behind us and I risked glancing back, seeing Wanda laughing at something Y/B/N said. I rolled my eyes subconsciously before looking back to what I was doing. My fingernails dug into the soil with irritation, directed at them and also myself. Though, despite my irritation, I still had an urge to glance back at Wanda, and when I did she was looking my way this time. A mere glance on her part, but she directed a smile my way before looking to my brother again.

I'd like to say that was it, but I continued to steal glances of her as I worked alongside my mum, taking what I could get as I admired her from afar.

She looked stunning today, as she always did. Her long curls were left out, flowing over her shoulders and pretty green dress; I wasn't close enough to be able to tell, but I was sure that her dress complimented her eyes. A dark forest green colour with golden flecks, matching the deep green of her dress. Or so I assumed.

"They seem like they're getting on well," my mum said at one point, earning my attention. She was talking about Y/B/N and Wanda as she continued, "They make such a lovely couple."

I swallowed hard, nodding lamely. "They sure do, mum."

She gave me a sideways glance. "You know, your brother will be married soon and then it will be your turn."

I groaned quietly, knowing where this was going. There was no point trying to stop her because once she started, that was it.

"You can't just keep locking yourself in your room and writing stories," she was saying, but I attempted to tune her out which sometimes felt impossible since she had no off button and her shrill voice always managed to break through my bubble. "You have to find a husband. An actual person who you can marry and who can take care of you."

"I can take care of myself."

"Y/N, you know that's not what I mean..." but I stopped listening as she got started going on another ramble about the benefits of having a husband.

Instead, my eyes darted around the garden until they naturally gravitated towards Wanda. It was definitely the wrong time to get distracted by her though, since she seemed to be sucking some food off her thumb. As she did, her eyes found mine and she took that as her opportunity to wink in my direction playfully, hiding a smile as her thumb remained between her teeth. Y/B/N didn't seem to notice, as he was looking the other way, and I felt my cheeks heating up as I looked away quickly, remembering my dream.

She's going to marry your brother. She's going to marry your brother. She's going to marry your brother.

A stupid mantra that didn't work, but I attempted to drill it into my brain anyway.

"...and it would be nice to be able to do all the wedding stuff for you next time around," my mum continued to ramble, unaware of my flustered self.

The image of Wanda sucking her thumb was permanently engraved in my head and I struggled to wish it away. No more staring for today, I told myself, before getting lost in gardening again.

After ten more minutes of nonstop nattering about finding a husband for me, my mother excused herself to refill the watering can. I was grateful for her momentary absence, appreciating the silence and lack of guilt-tripping. Until I heard footsteps behind me shortly after, making me groan loudly.

"I'm not finding a husband right now!" I snapped, unable to take it any longer. But when I spun around to give her a piece of my mind, my mouth hung open like a fish out of water.

"I'd sure hope not," Wanda answered with a stifled laugh. "Then I'd have to share your company with somebody else."

Closing my mouth and standing up, I cleared my throat. "Sorry. I thought you were my mum."

She nodded, eyes roaming my whole body for a second, making me nervous under her stare. I hadn't actually seen her since my inappropriate dream and it was growing increasingly difficult to be so close to her without thinking about it.

"I figured. I just wanted to say hi," she said, expression softening as she met my eyes.

I was right about the dress bringing her eyes out more. A forest green colour, as I'd predicted.

"Hi," I said, giving her a small, nervous smile. "Erm, how is your date going?"

She shrugged, raising her hand to hold her forearm comfortably. "It's okay. It's wonderful out here, I'll give him that."

Relaxing into the conversation, my awkwardness fading already, I smiled in agreement. "Yeah, it is pretty."

A smirk appeared on her lips. "Yeah. So are the gardeners."

Admittedly, it took me a few seconds longer than it should have to realise she was talking about me. When I did, I felt a heat creeping up my neck and to my face and looked to the grass to distract myself. See, when she did stuff like that, it made me question a hell of a lot.

She chuckled. "So, gardening. Another dislike of yours?"

I shook my head, risking looking back up to her. "No, actually. I don't mind it. I'm just not a fan when it gives my mother an opportunity to discuss marriage."

Wanda's interested was piqued as she quirked a brow. "Oh? Your mother has suitors for you?"

I squeezed my eyes shut at the possibility, shaking my head. "I'd rather not ask, Wanda."

She let out a short laugh. "You've got time anyway. At least until Y/B/N and I are married."

I hoped she didn't see the involuntary wince I did at the mention of that. "Honestly, I'm not even thinking about that now... I'm nowhere near ready for that."

"Would you not want to get married?" she asked curiously, tilting her head to the side.

I sighed, looking around, unable to keep my eyes still. "I don't know, I guess? Eventually? But to somebody I love, not some arranged marriage just for the sake of it." My words sank in quite quickly and I straightened up, instantly looking to Wanda with apologetic eyes. "Bloody hell, that is not what I meant to say–"

"It's fine," she reassured me with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "I get it. And, well, you're not wrong."

I smiled halfheartedly, the guilt at my previous words still present. I could honestly say that I wasn't aiming that comment at her, but I wouldn't blame her if she took it that way.

"It's important to fall in love with the person you marry," she said, gaze locked on mine. "You have to learn about them, who they are. Their likes, their dislikes. Their personality. If they have a sense of humour or if they're as dry as cardboard. If they're into you as much as you're into them."

Nodding slowly, I wasn't sure what to say. My mouth went dry the longer she watched me, eyes dancing with an emotion I couldn't recognise. Then her eyes fell to my lips and my knees began to shake subtly, wanting to give in because of how confused I was.

"Y/N, dear, don't dirty Wanda's dress with your muddy hands!" my mum called, breaking the strange silence that had built between the brunette and I.

Stepping back with realisation (and grateful for the interruption), I wiped my hands on my shirt subconsciously, making a further mess of my already mud-stained clothes. "Sorry."

When I looked up, Wanda was chewing on her lip, eyes doing a once over on me yet again. It was moments like this when I couldn't tell if she was teasing me or if she actually had an interest in me, maybe, like that.

"Wanda, honey, let's get you inside," my mum spoke, approaching the two of us and looking to her.

Nodding, Wanda glanced at me once more, shooting me a sweet smile, before being led away by my mum. I breathed out slowly, knowing it was wrong of me to feel this way about her. But it was hard not to fall for her when she had so much about her that was interesting.

Her passion for art, her teasing, playful attitude, her sense of humour... and then there were the physical aspects, like her beaming smile, her luxuriant brown hair and her entrancing hazel eyes. She was literally perfect and my brother was one lucky man. For once in my life, I was actually jealous of something he had that I didn't.

"Y/N!"

Speaking of the devil...

"Y/B/N, hey," I said with a smile as he approached me with an extra jump in his step. "What's up?"

Grin on his lips, he smacked my arm. "Did you see, Wanda? Didn't she look stunning?"

The guilt was cutting real deep. "She did."

"I think I'm in love," he gushed, eyes rolling backwards with delight. "She's perfect, Y/N, you don't get it."

"I can imagine...," I mumbled, but he barely noticed, too lovestruck to realise.

"Every date I've been on with her has been amazing," he continued. "If we weren't already engaged, I would've proposed!"

I raised my eyebrows with surprise, definitely not expecting this. He'd made his attraction to her known since the moment we'd met her, constantly talking about how gorgeous she was, but he'd never sounded happier than he did now.

"Mum adores her," he said with a content smile. "Dad would probably marry her if we was thirty years younger. And you–" He looked to me gratefully. "You're making an effort and I appreciate it."

Oh, God, the guilt was overwhelming.

"Everything is going perfectly," he finished with a sigh. "I just– I can't wait to marry her, Y/N."

I smiled for his sake, but my insides were shrivelling up and failing me. I was a horrible person, wasn't I? What kind of monster falls for her brother's fiancé? Me. I'm the monster. But not anymore. I couldn't let this get out of hand. I had to do better.

I promised myself I'd do better.

—

Doing better was going well, I'd like to think. I mean, it had only been two weeks, so I couldn't guarantee, but I was no longer having... thoughts... about the Maximoff in question.

Yes, there was that familiar inkling of jealousy tugging away in my stomach whenever Y/B/N would talk about her, but I think I was getting better at ignoring it. I had convinced myself that my feelings towards Wanda were not true but merely a schoolgirl crush (which I wasn't allowed to have, but still) and that I'd get over it after some time.

I'd liked, maybe two girls in my life before her. The first being when I was a child, about five, and a girl in my class did something different to her hair. If I remember correctly, she always had one ponytail that sat at the back of her neck, then one day, she came in with two braids down her head and it really wasn't a massive change, but five year old me developed a huge crush on her. That was when I learnt that a girl liking a girl was not only forbidden, but viewed as a sin.

The second girl I liked was in my Literature class in secondary school. She was probably the first person I'd fallen for in a way that was considered more than a simple crush. Something about her way with words was so attractive to me, as was the cute smile she'd send my way whenever she'd be my partner for an assignment. I never told her how I felt for she only ever treated me as a friend and the last thing I wanted was to bring shame to my family for liking girls.

Those instances, and the fact that I regularly found myself admiring women in a way I found incapable with men, made me realise I was different and I always would be. And so, the chatter about finding a husband and getting married always scared me because I was afraid that I'd be stuck in a place that I would never get to be myself in. Even though that was the reality of most women anyway.

So, in addition to the fact that it was wrong of me to like women (though it felt anything but) and that the woman I liked now was my brother's fiancé, I convinced myself it was just a mere crush I had on Wanda. She was a pretty girl with an attractive personality and that was it.

Or so I thought.

"Go get your brother, Y/N," my mum said one evening. "He's in his study. Dinner is almost ready."

I nodded and headed to my brother's study across the hall. He was sat at his desk, focusing on something specific that he was writing and barely acknowledging my presence. I glanced around the room, taking in the bookshelves filled with manuscripts, both published and unpublished, and notebooks of ideas piled on desks.

I wasn't jealous of this place, I really wasn't. And I wasn't jealous of my brother either, even when he got credit for things I'd written. I was just angry and hurt that I couldn't have the some privileges he got, such as his own personal study to write whatever he pleased.

"Dinner's almost ready," I called to him from the doorway. "C'mon."

He didn't turn around as he answered, "I'll be with you, one second."

Curious to what had captured his attention, I pushed myself from the doorway and approached his desk. He had a lamp turned on, the yellow light lighting the page he was scribbling on. I peeked over his shoulder and saw him pause from writing, stuck in thought. It gave me the chance to read some words and I tried not to laugh.

"Oh my god, is that a love letter?"

Surprised at my presence, he covered the page with his elbows and leaned on them, looking to me with red cheeks.

"What? No, that's... no," he stumbled out, shaking his head.

Stifled smile on my lips, I looked to him with humoured eyes. "You have to let me read it."

He shook his head frantically, trying to play it cool. "I don't think I can do that."

Well, now I was really curious.

"C'mon, I've read pretty much everything you've ever written," I told him, perching myself on the edge of his desk. "Just a little read and I'll drop it."

Pondering my words, he slowly began to straighten up, uncovering the page. With a sigh of submission, he nodded to it, wordlessly giving me permission to look. I grinned, grabbing the page and holding it to the light so I could read it.

It was mostly ramblings – unfinished sentences, phrases, clauses – but it was all about a certain someone, a love letter as I predicted. It talked about this person's body and lips and humour and fingers and because I was so caught up in teasing my brother, I failed to realise that I was reading about Wanda. At least until it mentioned her accent.

My smile faded when I saw the way he wrote about her, with such passion and ferocity and– he was seriously in love with her. And it may or may not have stung a little because everything he'd written was accurate and I felt the same way. Well, not the in love bit, but pretty much everything else.

"So? Is it bad?" he asked nervously, and I lowered the page to see he was waiting for a verdict. "It's messy, I know. I was just journaling and then it kind of happened."

"It's sweet," I told him truthfully, offering him a reassuring smile.

His shoulders relaxed as I put the page back on the desk before him. "Thank you, Y/N." He paused, before glancing up at me sheepishly. "Now that you're here, you may as well tell me if there's anything I can do to improve."

I raised my eyebrows. "Why? Are you planning on giving this to her?"

He shook his head instantly. "No, oh God, no. That would be severely humiliating. I just thought you could help me for me. You always make my writing better."

I snickered, shaking my head with amusement. Behind the scenes was where I thrived apparently.

"Quickly," I told him as he held out the paper to me. "Mum is waiting for us."

He nodded obediently and I took the paper from his grasp, getting another look at it. Skimming it with my eyes yet again, I found the first criticism and pointed to it so he could see.

"This bit here," I said gently. "You talk about her eyes and say they're magnetic."

"Is that not good?" he asked with a frown.

"It is, it is," I said politely, not wanting to offend him. "But that's all you've written. You want to give the reader a reason to believe you. Why are they magnetic? What about them do you find yourself attracted to?"

He nodded, seeming to get it. Leaning back in his seat, he had a think. I waited patiently, curious to what he would come up with, but then he sighed defeatedly and looked to me.

"What would you write?" he asked, and I smiled with disbelief. It always ended up like this. Me helping him, challenging him with a thought, then him ending up using what I say.

"Okay, let me think," I said, crossing my arms and staring ahead. "Wanda's eyes."

"Here," Y/B/N said, making a gesture to placing something invisible on my head. When I quirked a brow of confusion, he added, "It's your thinking cap."

I rolled my eyes but laughed quietly at his stupidity, then tried to think about what to describe Wanda's eyes as.

It wasn't difficult to imagine them despite having not seen them in a few days. They were always bright, animated, lively. Whether it was green, blue or brown, they were irresistible and as my brother wrote, they were magnetic.

I breathed out, speaking from the heart without thinking. "When Wanda Maximoff looks into your eyes it's like she holds all of the elements in a single gaze. At times, they're greener than the earth itself, captivating and tranquil and daring you to look away. But then they're also bluer than the brightest of skies and darkest of oceans, deep and and liberating and easy for you to get swallowed up in."

A smile fell on my lips at the thought. She truly was something.

I continued slowly, "In the light, you can make out golden flecks, like the first sliver of the sun in Spring. It's hopeful and guiding and fills you with warmth. But what isn't obvious upon first glance is how tempestuous they are, like air itself. She's got a passion behind her eyes that is scary at first, but when you get to know her, you realise that it's a storm worth raging."

It went quiet when I finished and I zoned back into reality, Wanda's eyes blinking away from my mind in an instant. I pursed my lips and looked to Y/B/N with mild concern, realising just how much I'd rambled. He raised his eyebrows with surprise, staring at me.

"Y/N, that was amazing! How did you think of that?" he asked in bewilderment.

I shrugged, feeling my face heat up with embarrassment. "I don't know. I just thought about a random set of hazel eyes and applied my thoughts to it."

He smiled, impressed. "Amazing. I love it."

Grabbing a pen, he began to write furiously on the page and I stood up, dusting myself off.

"You sure that's not going to her?" I asked, still feeling fuzzy from what I'd said and hoping she'd never see it.

"Very sure," he promised, not looking up. "It's just for me."

I studied him judgementally. "Okay, well, maybe get rid of that part about her breasts then. It's a little creepy."

He looked up to me with a boyish grin. "I'm only a man, Y/N. Can you blame me?"

I rolled my eyes, shuddering at what he was implying. The mere implication of a thought of him and Wanda... nope, I didn't want to go there.

"I'll see you at dinner," I said, pointing a thumb over my shoulder. "Try to hurry, yeah?"

"Yes, I'll be right with you," he assured me, his hand moving in a flurry as he wrote. "Just writing what you said so I don't forget. Could be good for a future book, who knows?"

I forced a smile, humming in agreement. "Right. Well, I'll see you at the table."

He nodded and I left his room, letting out a deep breath. Just another day in the Y/L/N household.

—

Popping into town for errands was surprisingly not a task I found boring. If anything, I preferred it, using it as a chance to get away from my mother's incessant marriage-related conversations and my father's constant praising for anything Y/B/N did. Nowadays, it was also a way to escape anything wedding-related, which was a plus.

This time, I was only nipping out to return a book to the library, but my mum caught me before leaving and asked me to deliver some letters to the post office since I was already heading that way. Happy to prolong this outing as much as possible, I accepted the errand and headed to the post office after returning my book.

When I was there, an advertisement caught my eye. A chalkboard outside the store displayed a deal the train station were doing. I probably would have ignored it if it weren't for the mention of Blackpool.

2 FOR 1 ON BLACKPOOL TRAIN TICKETS THIS WEEKEND

Remembering my conversation with Wanda, I realised I hadn't actually followed up with her on my promise of taking her there to paint. She probably didn't even remember, since it was a while ago when we spoke of it, but the idea of going there with her made me excited. Was it stupid to get the tickets? Probably. But did I go inside and get them? Of course.

It was only when I got home did I realise how silly it was. Would she even want to go? What if she made an excuse to get out of it? Oh, this whole thing was stupid. I was overthinking it. Friends went on day trips all the time, it's wasn't a big deal.

To my surprise, when I poked my head into the living room to tell my mum I'd posted her letters, Wanda was sat on the couch with her. They were drinking some tea and having scones, chatting away. I'd called my mum before noticing, so when they looked my way, I clumsily entered and straightened up to make myself look presentable.

"Sorry, I didn't know you had company," I apologised with an awkward smile, eyes flickering to a smiling Wanda before looking to my mum. "I just wanted to let you know that I dropped the letters off by the post office."

"Perfect, Y/N, thank you," she said in response, before looking to the setup before her. "You can join us if you'd like."

I was quick to smile gratefully, though shook my head. "It's okay, you guys enjoy. I'll just be in my room if you need me."

My mum shrugged, sipping her tea, and Wanda watched me with a small smile, nodding in greeting, before looking away. I licked my lips uncomfortably before backing out the room and heading upstairs.

I was working on yet another manuscript that wouldn't see the light of day at my desk when I heard a knock on my door about an hour later.

"Come in!" I called, not looking up.

The door opened and I finished my train of thought before turning around, surprised to see Wanda walking into my room.

"Oh, hi," I got out suddenly, words falling from my mouth without me thinking first.

She smiled softly, stopping before me. "Hey. I'm heading home now, but I just wanted to say goodbye."

I stared at her, forgetting how to speak because she was wearing a lovely floral dress that complimented her figure perfectly.

"Oh, and I thought you might like these," she added before forgetting, then held out a box towards me.

Recovering from my initial stupor, I reached out and accepted the box, realising they were chocolates.

"I got them for your mum, but she said she's not a fan of hazelnut," she explained, and I looked up to see her looking elsewhere with a nervous smile on her lips. "You don't have to have them of course. I can just... eat them myself."

An amused smile tugged at my lips as I quirked a brow. "You'd eat them all yourself?"

She was very much aware of how silly she sounded, but she was adamant on appearing confident, so she nodded with certainty. "Yes... apparently I would."

Lighthearted laughter escaped my lips as I set the box to the side. She was trying to stand her ground, but then she sighed and began to laugh, too. My heart fluttered in my chest at the sound and I appreciated the crinkle by her eyes when her smile widened.

"Thank you," I said, settling on a smile as I watched her with amusement.

She nodded, smile of her own still present, before pointing behind her. "I'll, erm, go now."

When she turned to leave, I felt inclined to say, "Wait!"

She paused, turning around patiently, and I knew there was no going back now. Standing up, I grabbed my purse from the side and pulled out the train tickets.

"When I was out today, I saw that the train station were doing this deal on tickets to Blackpool," I started, hoping she couldn't see my hands trembling slightly. "And I remembered that I promised to take you so you could see the water." I closed my eyes, praying that this wouldn't be a mistake, before opening them and looking to Wanda. "We can go, if you'd still like to." 

She raised her eyebrows, eyes glued to the tickets in my hand. No words were being said and my heart thumped in my chest with the realisation that I may have done something insanely stupid. Before I could even think to apologise, a grin spread across her face and her dazzling blue eyes met mine, freezing me in place.

"Are you serious? Y/N, I'd love to!" she exclaimed, then proceeded to launch herself onto me, arms wrapping tightly around my neck.

I gulped as she did, not expecting that reaction, but returned the hug by folding my arms around her waist loosely. She smelt really good, which was probably wrong of me to note, and I enjoyed the feeling of her so close to me, also wrong of me to note.

"Okay, well, the tickets are for this weekend," I said, desperately trying not to stammer when she pulled away. "I can meet you at the station in the morning. Eight."

Her eyes danced with excitement as she accepted the ticket I held out to her. I reminded myself that this was just a friendly day trip and nothing more.

"Eight," she confirmed, attempting to stifle her eagerness by biting her lip and nodding.

I swallowed hard, trying ever-so-hard not to let my gaze drop to her lips. Because then I'd think about kissing her and that was definitely not what I should be thinking about my soon-to-be sister-in-law.

Oh, God, I was screwed.

[kerie-prince]

change of pace

Fred Weasley x Slytherin!reader

requested: (@pinkdevile) hey bae, can i request a one shot or headcanon about fred being whipped by one of ron classmates that is a non-pureblood slytherin and kind of prodigy in magic and how would he react to her being a typical dry slytherin and being a prodigy and good at everything?

summary: What happens when a red lion who lives in the moment falls for a green snake with plans for her future? Romance, of course.

a/n: stereotypical, yes but i had fun writing this :) also, i know my posting schedule keeps changing, so sorry about that 🥺 i got lots of requests (thank you guys SO much!) and i'm trying to not make them all sound the same. i'm looking up synonyms and all that stuff lol

(gif cred)

You were the least Slytherin person in your house. But maybe that's made you even more of a Slytherin. Your traits were that of a typical member of the house of snakes. No, you weren't a rude bitch; you had ambition that rivaled that of a Gryffindor and it wasn't even one of their traits. You aimed for the stars and your pride proved that you could do that and more. You are the best witch of your class, and maybe even your school.

And it was this reputation that caught the attention of someone who is quite the polar opposite. You were calm and collected. He was a wild card and unpredictable. Fred Weasley had his eyes on you and was going crazy for you. It all started when one day, he was with his friends and brothers in the Great Hall during lunch when you had walked up to Ron and Harry, “Hey Ron, were my notes able to help you?”

“Yeah, loads. Thank you, Y/N.” Lee was in the middle of a conversation with his best friends when he noticed Fred wasn't responding to anything he was saying. “Mate, you okay?” When you walked to your table, Fred scooted closer to his younger brother, “Dearest brother, how are you?”

“What do you want?” Ron saw right through him. He knew when Fred wanted something from him, just like now.

“Well I’m offended that you would assume something,” Fred held a hand over his chest with a fake offended look on his face, “can’t a person ask about the well being of his baby brother?” Ron had a deadpan expression and Harry was laughing at Fred’s exaggeration. “Fair enough. Who was that?”

“Who? Y/N? She’s in mine and Harry’s class, why?” Ron had taken a large bite from his turkey leg.

“What’s she like?” Fred inquired. Ron thought about it for a minute, “Dunno, she’s pretty quiet.”

“If I didn't know any better, I’d say that Freddie here fancies someone,” George teased. The surrounding friends laugh and point towards Fred. “I don’t fancy anyone. I’m just asking a simple question.”

Hermione and Ginny later joined the group. “What’s all this fuss about?” Hermione questioned.

“Fred’s asking about Y/L/N,” Harry caught Hermione up to speed. “Why? You’re not thinking of doing anything to her, are you?” Hermione started to scold the older boy.

“Why is it that you lot always think I’m up to no good,” Fred sighed.

“Because you’ve never been up to any good,” Ginny teased her older brother. Fred rolled his eyes and turned back to try and find you at your table. You had a couple of friends with you and a small book in your hand as you ate. Fred was determined to get your attention somehow.

✿✿✿✿✿✿

You sat in the library by yourself. You had spent the majority of the afternoon grading first years’ papers for Snape’s class and working with Hermione and Katie on a project for Ancient Runes. Giving up your weekends to study wasn't all that bad. The feeling of being on top was rewarding.

It was funny; your parents had stopped caring about your grades all together because they already knew what they were going to read. Not that they weren't supportive or proud of you. At family gatherings on your father’s side, he loved seeing the looks on his relatives’ faces when he boasted that you were the best student at Hogwarts.

But they have told you on many occasions that it wouldn't kill you to have at least one E. They wanted you to be able to have a normal teen life and have fun. Go to parties, get in trouble every now and then. You assured them that you were fine and all and even believed it yourself. You never had interest in breaking the pattern you had set.

The library was nearing its closing time and you packed your things. When you walked out the grand doors, a tall figure came in front of you and nearly knocked down all the books you carried. His hands caught whatever you couldn't hold before it hit the floor.

“Sorry about that,” you looked up at the towering boy. Your breath slightly hitched at the sight of his attractive face. His cheekbones were defined and his skin looked soft. You didn’t realize that you were staring, nor that he was also staring at you as well. Finally, he spoke up and handed you the book he was holding for you. “I believe this is for you.”

His mouth moved, but you were so distracted that it didn't occur to you he had actually said anything until you saw him looking at you expectedly. “Oh, thank you.” You started heading towards the dungeons when he jogged towards and stopped in front of you. “Aren’t you in the same class as Ron?”

“Yes, how did you know that?”

“I saw you talk to him the other day,” he told you. “I’m Fred.” He reached to shake your hands but then pulled it back when he remembered that your hands were full at the moment.

Ah, so this is Fred you thought. You've heard of him, who hasn't? Years of being at Hogwarts, tales of him and his equally devilish brother creating havoc around campus have traveled from one student to another. How you two had never seen one another until this point was surprising. It’s not like Hogwarts was a large school, but it wasn't small either.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Y/N.” You nodded your head towards him to replace a handshake. Ten seconds of silence caused you to walk past him and return to the path to the dungeons. “W-wait!” Fred called out.

He stood in front of you once again, one of his hands positioned in front of you to block you from walking past him again. “Would you like to get a butterbeer tomorrow?”

If there was anything you didn't like, it was being put on the spot. And another thing? Your routine being disturbed. Your Sunday was all planned out. Helping Sprout with her greenhouse to earn extra house points, tutoring some younger years, and getting a head start on your homework that wasn't even due for another week.

“I’m sorry, but no.” You gave him an apologetic smile as you walked away. Once again, he ran in front of you but this time merged with you and actually caused all of your books to fall.

“Merlin, I’m so sorry,” he bent down to help you pick them up. Fred usually isn't this clumsy or nervous. He usually charms his way through anything, but he was becoming like putty out of nowhere. “Okay, well what about Honeydukes next Saturday?”

“Sorry, but no again.” You started walking away for the nth time and turned around to look at him for the last time, “Please don’t follow me again.” And you were gone. But did this mean that Fred gave up on any chance he had? No. Far from it. If anything, it gave him reason to want to try harder.

He walked all the way to the Gryffindor house and luckily found Hermione studying in the common room with Pavarti and Lavender. There was a spot open next to her and when Ginny was about to take the spot, Fred grabbed her arm and pulled her away to steal the seat.

“Um, excuse you, I was going to sit–”

“Tell me everything you can about Y/N,” Fred interrupted his sister.

✿✿✿✿✿✿

He had tried to learn as much as he could about you. Fred learned that you had the top grades. Much like Harry did, you had learned the Patronus Charm before not only before your own class, but even Fred’s charms class. Your dad's a wizard, and your mum's a muggle. But most importantly, you were a picture perfect student, and although you didn't have any apparent hobbies, you picked up just about everything with ease.

A couple of weeks had passed and every other day, Fred had made any type of excuse to come see you.

‘Oh, my next class is in this direction’ It wasn't.

‘I like that book, too!’ You were, in fact, not holding a book but your personal journal.

‘Funny running into you here!’ It was in the Great Hall during breakfast.

Now, you didn't hate these interactions. They didn't do anything to your routine, and they were actually cute attempts to get your attention. But you didn't think you had any time for anything else. Or anyone else.

“You should give him a chance, Y/N/N. Live a little. I think the top student can take a bit of time for herself at least once,” your friend Millicent advised. Astoria agreed with her, “He’s cute~.” You slightly blushed in your book and pushed their arms away.

“I’ve never been on a date before,” you whispered. The two girls looked at each other confused before turning back to look at you. “Huh?”

“I’ve never been on a date before!” You flinched when you realized your voice was louder than intended. Your friends laughed when you looked towards the Gryffindor table to make sure Fred didn't hear you. He was talking to his friends, so that meant he didn't. Only he did, but felt your eyes on him so he pretended he didn't.

“So this is the perfect reason to go out with him! Go ask him out,” Millie pushed. She was persistently tapping on your arm until you eventually stood up. You took a deep breath to gather confidence and walked towards the table of red and gold.

When Fred's eyes met yours, you turned around and walked out of the Hall. He stood up from his seat and chased after you. He kept bumping into people, including Filch in the hallways. Filch yelled for him to stop, but of course Fred ignored him and kept going.

Momentarily, he lost you in the crowd of mixed color robes until he saw you sitting by yourself on a bench under a tree. He walked towards your direction and asked you with his eyes if he could take the seat next to you. You scooted down more to let the tall boy sit down.

Neither of you said anything for a few moments. You fiddled with your fingers on your lap and he stared up at the sky. “Nice day, innit?” Fred started the conversation. “Yes, it is.”

“Good weather to go walking around Hogsmeade” Fred tried one last attempt in asking you out.

“It would be,” you accepted.

He let out a sigh in defeat, “I know I ask a lot, but maybe just this once– wait, what did you say?” You looked up at him and smiled for the first time. His heart skipped a beat and the butterflies fluttered about inside.

“I’ll go with you.” He was so excited that he jumped up and did an air punch of victory. You laughed to yourself and when he looked at you, you had an eyebrow raised. He blushed in embarrassment and scratched the back of his neck. “I’ll see you tomorrow then?”

“Promptly at 2 in the afternoon in front of the Slytherin dorms. Don’t be late,” you stood up with confidence. You walked back to the Hall to tell your friends, cheeks warmed and ears blushing. “So?” Astoria asked.

“It’s just a date, that's it,” you sounded nonchalant about it, but the smile on your face said differently. You were excited for your day with Fred and for all, unpredictable adventures to come.

A much needed change of pace.

—

requests open!

[galaxy-mermaid-musi]

@sebsterianart @givethispromptatry .... So I have time now and ideas for a continuation...

Part 2

"Whatcha reading?"

Alex looked up from her pile of books, "It's a book of curses. The higher ups have given me free reign of the company library in order to figure out how to reverse the spell... It's a start."

Ronald leaned back, "Any luck?"

"Not yet."

A grin crossed his face. "What if the cure is true love's kiss?"

She rolled her eyes, "That's only in fairy tales, Ronald."

"Fair enough." He said, "Then what about the demon... David? You said you fought him before- enough to be on a first name basis- So you probably know him well enough to get an idea of what kind of curse he'd cast."

She put down the book and put her head in her arms, "He's the last person I want in my head right now. I'll...I'll figure it out! Okay?"

"Okay! I'm just trying to help." He shifted topics, "And then there's the bosses. Most of the people at work think I'm working the same way I used to. I mean, I know why I want to get my memories back, but why do they want my memories back?"

"It's a distraction. I'm a distraction. If they don't have us figure it out now, then you'd probably go off and try to figure it out on your own. Without permission for this section of the library, the options left to you are limited and dangerous."

"Hm. Maybe." He tapped the table, "Why do they keep us working together if they think you'll be such a distraction?"

"I don't know? Because it's my mistake to fix or because they think it'll help jog your memory? Either way."

"...You keep saying the incident was your mistake, but-"

She slammed her book shut. "It was! I should've known he was up to something. I shouldn't have hesitated!"

"-but, I was there too. I made the choice to push you out of the way. I mean honestly I must have hesitated too if he finished the spell before he aimed it! It's not your fault."

She grabbed the next book in the stack, opening it to a random page, "It doesn't matter. I just want to fix it and move on."

He started to reach toward her, but his phone went off.

"What is it now?"

"I-uh- So some of our coworkers invited me out for drinks." He pulled back his hand to scratch at his neck.

She didn't look up, "Then go."

"You should come too! You deserve a break after working this hard."

A pained look crossed her face. "It's not my scene. I'd just end up standing in a corner all night."

He was about to insist, but froze.

---

"It's just a party! Come on, you never go out!" He insisted, practically dragging Alex with him.

She sighed, "Fine, but only because I want to see why you like them so much."

He had a great time! Talking to people, drinking, flirting a little.

She had been having a good time... at least until he left her to herself in a room of people she barely knew.

He'd see her in the corner every now and then and feel bad. Just not bad enough to cut his own night short.

The only reason she didn't leave early was because he was her ride.

---

Ronald blinked and saw Alex staring at him.

"It's not that inconceivable that I wouldn't want to be there you know."

He shook his head, "No, you're right. I wouldn't want it to end up like last time."

"....Last time?" She examined his face, "You remembered something?"

He nodded, "Yeah. I remember being a jerk who invited you out and didn't even bother to make sure you had fun."

"It wasn't-" she shook her head, "No. Okay. That one was your fault.... I see why you like being there, but I hate crowds. Especially when the crowd is mostly drunk."

"I don't know if I ever told you, but I'm sorry."

"It's fine. Go have fun."

He shook his head. "I'm not going."

"Why not? Just because I'm not going doesn't mean you have to stay here."

He started stacking the books, "True, but you still need a break. I get the feeling that if I go, you'll be here all night."

"You don't have to do this." She sighed, sliding the books she'd already read into a separate stack.

"That sounds like I guessed right. Besides, I dragged you to whatever I wanted to have fun doing. So it's only fair that you drag me to something you like."

"One condition."

He smiled, "Anything."

"We talk about the past during it."

He shrugged, "Sure. You gave me an overview already."

"But an overview didn't jog your memory. Me being uncomfortable with a familiar situation did. So-"

"So maybe it's got something to do with the emotional side of things?"

"Exactly! It won't cover everything, but if you remember enough then maybe the holes will fill themselves in!"

He smiled, "It's a start then!"

[shadowsinger11]

Golden Snitches And Old Wounds

Pairing: James Potter x Insecure Reader

Word count: 2787

Request: Hi! I hope you and your loved ones are safe and well. I wanted to ask you if your requests open. If so can i request a james potter imagine with a very self conscious reader? Thank you!

Warnings: Suggestive themes, references to anxiety and depression

A/N: I actually like how this one turned out. It's way sadder than intended but I hope you enjoy! If you want to be tagged, let me know! Requests are open!

Masterlist

Lily and you were sitting on a bench right on top of one of the twelve colorful towers around the massively wide pitch, waving your Gryffindor flags in excitement.

The scene before you represented a blur of scarlet and green and you struggled to spot your boyfriend of two years, James Potter, among the fourteen players. 

His leather-gloved hands gripped the handle of his broom tightly as he was swiftly avoiding bludgers and students, rushing to catch the quaffle.

"Potter, on your left!"

On instinct, James drifted to the right a mere second before his head managed to collide with a bludger. The boy kept soaring high up in the clear spring sky, eyes focused forward.

"Brilliant! Potter tossed the quaffle into the ring!" the speaker roared, "The score is 120:120. Will Gryffindor's Chaser be able to score another goal and give their Seeker an opportunity to catch the snitch?"

"Oh, I sure hope he does," you muttered, sitting on the edge of your seat, eyes focused on the Gryffindor Chaser.

The commentator excitedly shouted, "Robertson passes the quaffle to Smith, he passes it to Potter- no! It was stolen from Taylor, that Slytherin son of a-"

"Joshua!"

"Sorry, professor," the boy sheepishly smiled at McGonagall though he wasn't sorry at all, and returned to retelling the match. "Potter's caught the quaffle! He's swooping down, the three Slytherin Chasers on his tail…"

Over the noise you heard Lily exclaim, "What's he doing! He's getting further away from the ring."

"I don't know, I think he's trying to get rid of the Slytherins, distract them maybe?" you shrugged. You really hoped James was doing this for a reason but yet again, when has he ever thought things through?

Meanwhile you noticed Sirius, a Beater of the team, covering his buddy, making sure to guide the bludgers in the direction of team Slytherin. You had no idea if those two had planned this beforehand or if Padfoot was just improvising.

"A bludger knocked Taylor off his broom!" Joshua happily announced. "That's the moment for Potter to strike!"

And exactly then James swiftly turned around and sped up towards his aim. He threw the quaffle with all his might, the ball piercing the air and going right through the ring.

"Yes!! He did it! What a brilliant attack!" the commentator screamed. Lily and you squealed and clapped, cheering him on. "Now it's up to the Gryffindor Seeker to catch the Golden snitch and that'll be the end!"

James tried to spot you in the audience and when he did, his grin grew even wider. He threw a wink your way but he didn't have much time to celebrate because his task now was to make sure Slytherins didn't score another goal and maybe get another 10 points himself while he was at it. He drifted between teammates and opponents, the summer wind ruffling his hair. He prevented numerous attacks from the opposite team, winning a good couple of minutes where the score was even and Gryffindor had a chance to win.

"Where the hell is the Seeker!" Lily groaned, "It's a matter of time until Slytherin strikes a goal."

You understood her frustration but had faith. You always supported your boyfriend and his team during matches regardless of which house they were up against. You were aware of how much stamina James had, especially when it came to Quidditch, and even more so now that he could almost graze the win with his fingertips.

Suddenly, the Seeker emerged from the depths, a small ball shining in his grasp.

"He's caught the snitch! Williams got the Golden snitch, Gryffindor wins!" Joshua roared, rising to his feet.

The air shook with the screams and cheers of Gryffindors and Gryffindor supporters. Some students hugged each other, squealing in euphoria, others whined and screamed in frustration. The audience turned into a sea of scarlet flags, the iconic lion on display for everyone to see. Professor McGonagall smiled, something rare for a woman as stern and serious as her. The atmosphere buzzed with excitement.

Lily and you high-fived and rushed down the stairs, impatient to greet the boys. When you ran along the pitch, the team was already surrounded by fans and you saw Sirius carrying James on his shoulders, their other teammates doing the same with Williams. Slytherins were quick to exit the scene, muttering curses and complaints.

"Not trying to steal my boyfriend, I hope?" you asked Sirius and laughed.

"Boyfriend?" he feigned being shocked, "Why didn't you tell me there was someone else, James?"

James only rolled his eyes and his friend let him down. Potter walked up to you, standing tall in all his red leather glory. His chest heaved with every breath he took, his spiky hair was disheveled beyond recognition and his uniform was wrinkled and covered in dirt. He was a mess but still managed to look so perfect in your eyes, he was absolutely irresistible.

"Did you enjoy the show, babe?" he smirked as he placed his gloved hands around your waist, pulling you close. You giggled and pecked his nose, "Indeed I did. You're such a show-off."

"But you love me nonetheless," he mumbled, out of breath, and leaned in but you pulled away before he got to kiss you.

"I suggest you shower first, you're quite sweaty."

He frowned and pouted his lips but couldn't help but grin, caressing your cheek. You were staring into his hazel eyes and when they focused on yours, your cheeks turned the same color as his uniform. James was incredibly confident, charming and charismatic and he never failed to make your heart flutter every time you caught him glance at you.

He seemed perfect to you and your expression suddenly darkened when poisonous thoughts clouded your mind. He was perfect, but what about me?

Before James had the chance to ask what was wrong, his friends pulled him aside, "The coach wants to talk to us." He couldn't do anything except for giving you a sad smile and a wave as he left.

A tap on your shoulder snapped you out of your trance.

"Let's go to lunch, I'm starving."

You nodded and followed Lily out of the now empty pitch.

Prodding your salad with a fork, you were still processing your thoughts from earlier, replaying them over and over in your head. You couldn't get rid of the image of James. You were smitten by his messy hair, goofy smile, the way his uniform clung tightly to his body, highlighting his broad shoulders and strong biceps. His physique looked way more impressive and massive and the sight made you lick your lips.

Your daydreaming was interrupted when the doors of the Great Hall opened wide, the winning team walking through. The Quidditch players were greeted with loud cheers and clapping which some of the teachers joined too. Even in just his plain Gryffindor cloak James managed to look astonishingly handsome and he did it so effortlessly. His black robes were flailing freely behind him as he made his way over to you and sat down on your right.

"Clean and fresh just for you," he smirked and pressed his lips to yours, lingering for a bit more than you expected. After that, you proceeded to eat your meal while he placed a steak, some salad, sauce and other different kinds of food on his plate.

"You did an amazing job up there, really."

He smiled, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice, "Did you ever doubt me?"

Ah, that cockiness. It might have sometimes gotten on your nerves but it was a part of what made your boyfriend unique and you adored it. You laughed, trying to cover up how flushed he had made you, "Absolutely never, Potter. You're one of a kind."

"So are you."

His compliment caught you somehow unprepared and you slightly froze. You looked at him only to find him already staring at you with such loving eyes, it made you shift in your seat.

"What?" you giggled, dumbfounded.

"Thank you for being there. It really matters to me," he gave your hand a light squeeze.

Seriously, what did you do to deserve this guy.

He's amazing in so many ways, I just can't compare.

You noticed students sending you dirty glances from across the hall and you wished you could shrink in your seat. You lowered your gaze and silently finished your meal.

"Seriously, what's the difference between Felix Felicis and liquid luck? The professor crossed off "liquid luck" and replaced it with Felix Felicis! That's not fucking fair," you groaned, checking your graded essay. You were pretty sure you'd get an Outstanding but you only got Exceeds Expectations which you were slightly pissed about.

Lying on your boyfriend's bed, you were rambling on and on about school work, earning occasional chuckles from James as he was getting changed.

"I mean, Remus always gets the best grades, how on earth does he do that! I swear, he's like a walking encyclop-"

Your words got stuck in your throat at the sight of a half-naked James. His shoulders, toned arms, back and abs were on display while he paced around the room, trying to find his sweater. His muscles flexed under his flesh with every move and you could feel your mouth begin to water.

Once James found the clothing, he turned around. He grinned when he saw your blushing face and didn't miss the opportunity to put on a show for you - he slowly put on his sweater, his jeans falling low around his waist when he raised his arms above his head.

James wasn't only caring, loving and talented. He was also extremely hot. A kind soul wrapped in a pretty package.

Your mind started to wander and you thought about all the girls and boys who would die to be in your place; to be able to date the infamous Marauder and see him shirtless all the time like you got to. You knew many people envied your relationship and you tried not to care that much but you still somehow did. You always did.

"Are you alright, love? You're doing that again."

"I-uh… what?" you stuttered, embarrassed.

James, now dressed, sat in front of you on the bed, the mattress dipping under his weight, "You tend to space out from time to time, you stop listening to me. What's on your mind?"

You shook your head and started to rearrange your books, attempting to appear busy, "Yeah, I do that sometimes, sorry. It's nothing though, I just get lost in my thoughts."

James was eyeing up and down your stiff figure and his heart stung when you lied. One of the things he despised most was being lied to and it hurt him immensely when you did. He knew you meant well but he wanted you to trust him and talk to him like he did.

The boy abruptly but gently grabbed your trembling hands and you froze.

"Talk to me," he pleaded, looking into your eyes for a sign, any sign to reveal how you were feeling on the inside.

Your nervous smile faded and you dropped your gaze to where his hands held yours.

The room was ghostly quiet and you felt trapped, unable to run away or escape the situation.

You opened your mouth to speak but your lower lip quivered and no words came out. James simply stood there, patiently waiting for you to say something while soothingly rubbing his thumbs over your knuckles. After taking a deep breath, you choked out.

"Why do you like me?"

He seemed slightly confused but his expression remained calm, "What do you mean?"

You chewed on your lip, considering how to proceed. He deserved honesty and he was genuinely worried so it wasn't fair to keep secrets from him.

"It's just… I am…" you sighed, frustrated. "You're amazing, James. People love you. You're smart, athletic, outgoing and your personality lights up the room. You charisma is undeniable."

You stopped to inhale again, your throat tightening as tears blurred your vision. Your voice was shaking and so were your hands. James only listened. "You're an exceptional person yet you're with me. I-I don't get it. You could choose someone more impressive, someone whose abilities can compare to yours… Someone who's not me."

A tear rolled down your cheek and it pierced through James' heart like a burning blade. He brought your hands up to his face and softly pressed his lips to your knuckles. James let you cry it out first before he dared to speak, knowing you needed this moment to simply let yourself feel before anything else. There was time for figuring things out, but it was not now.

You sobbed and he reached to brush a piece of hair behind your ear, "I've got issues, James. I'm hard to deal with. I struggle with many things and I'm afraid I'm just being a burden to you."

James immediately pulled you into his embrace, arms wrapping around you as you hugged your knees. He rested his chin on top of your head which was leaned on his chest. The boy could not believe a person as breathtaking as you would think so lowly of themselves. You both stood there for awhile, not talking at all. James needed time to take it all in just like you needed time to calm down.

"What makes you think like that?" he hesitantly whispered, voice trembling.

You stared off into the distance, tired eyes unseeing. 

"I don't know. I just do. I've always been looked at as if I'm a disease, as if I'm wrong to feel happy," you muttered, using your sleeve to wipe your nose. "Something's wrong with me and I have no idea what. I'm just scared... and exhausted."

You heard James sob.

"How long have you been feeling like this for?"

You swallowed and took a breath, "Years."

James' arms tightened around you, sheltering you from the cold world. You took peace in the vulnerability, you had no strength to hide or pretend, you were free to simply exist.

"At some point I gave up on happiness. That was until I met you," you explained. "You gave me hope and though it was painful and risky for me, I decided to trust you. You never let me down but I'll always be afraid you'll leave me for someone less troubled than me. Like most people did."

"Then I'll always be here to remind you that I'm not going anywhere. I'll be by your side to help you."

You held onto his sweater, scared to let him go, "Thank you."

James rubbed your back up and down and pressed a kiss to your head, "You wanted to know why I love you?"

You hummed, turning to him.

He took a look at your bloodshot eyes and tear-stained face and he fell in love even more.

"I love you because of your pure soul. No one has ever treated me with such sincerity. You always support me, guide me and ground me when my head's up in the clouds. I'm far from perfect, I'm flawed just like everyone else. But you don't only make me a better person, you make me want to be better. For you."

A few tears rolled down your cheeks, this time from gratitude and love.

"I'm amazed at how torn you are, but still willing to give a part of yourself to those who need it. Your kindness knows no limits and I admire that in you. You might hate the hurt, damaged side of yourself, but I find its rawness to be astonishing. Because I love you. All of you."

Warmth spread throughout your body and for the first time you felt truly safe.

James slowly kissed your chapped lips. He stood still, just letting the moment take place. You savoured the feeling of his lips on yours and were surprised to feel something wet drip on your cheek. When you pulled away, you saw his glossy eyes.

"I love you too," you replied softly and nestled back into his lap. James hugged you, relieved to finally know what was going on with you. He vowed to himself to help you in any way he could and to constantly remind you that you're not fighting your battle on your own. You, on the other hand, were way calmer as well. It was refreshing to be understood and accepted, to not be judged or blamed for a change. You didn't have to act a role or lie. You let down your defences and let the rotten wound inside you bleed. And you smiled.

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