#{/First and foremost: an apology. that day i told you i had it done and would send it out that night only to not do that?}

[blindedguilt]

((from @booksofthelibrary ))

The young girl runs up behind the boy and sprays him playfully with a little bit of water. A harmless prank as she giggles before handing him a brand new net that she made for him. A 'R' carved into its handle.

"happy birthday!"

::RIVERSAL

"Waaah...!!" A sharp squeal erupted from the boy at the feeling of cold water on his back, the momentarily cry of shock quickly turning to a string of bright giggles as he flicked back a few drips from his hair towards Daffy. "Oi, you!! I'll get you for that, you know! You better watch your back, miss..."

He could hardly say he was displeased at her betrayal so much as pleased he had someone to play with! His brothers tried, but could never fully get in on his games, whether it be through confusion or other business they had to attend to.

Admittedly, though he would never say it out loud, he secretly felt rather jealous, perhaps even upset at the news of her getting together with Lukhege when he had initially found out. It was frustrating, in a way - he had finally found himself a friend to play with, and for what? ...Yet, even despite those initial worries, he was glad to be further comforted in the thought that he hadn't been forgotten by her presence with him that day.

The once beaming smile faded with the momentary rush of excitement and into curiosity as he was offered the finely crafted net. "Oh...This is..." A soft red creeped up to his cheeks with a sheepish, somewhat awkward look to his smile as he idly turned it over in his hands. It would have seemed forced in a way that he was trying to smile if not for the faint twinging at the corners of his lips threatening to break out into a wide grin. For someone who was usually so excitable, it seemed Riversal in particular had the most trouble accepting gifts - even compared to his younger brother Laum, who, while sheepish, was always capable of clearly showing his gratitude. Riversal, however...

The boy's long coat swayed as he rocked back and forth once on his heels, unable to fully look the other in the eyes as he spoke in a quiet, awkward little peep. "Thank you, Daffy... This is... Nice. Um...! Thank you. Well..."

Promptly, he spun on his heel, took a few awkwardly shuffled steps, and sat with his back turned and his feet spread to either side of the net he held between his legs. Though she couldn't see it, it wasn't hard to guess how red his face must have been as part of the kind gesture.

"...Come back later," He said suddenly, a flatly dismissive, determined tone to his voice, "I have something to think about." One of his tricks, now involving his new present, most like. "Thanks... Again."

His next words, though meant to be spoken in a tease, came off as nothing but a half-hearted suggestion in all his distraction. They were nothing more than a mouthed, near-inaudible whisper as he stared and plucked idly at the strings of the net with his fingers, too deep in thought to even notice the water dripping from his hair, much less to speak. "...Go chat with your boyfriend..."

Whatever could he be plotting? Whoever could he be plotting against? Riversal didn't speak, and sat there deep, deep in thought for a very long time.

"Hah! Got you!!"

...Ah, poor Leonard. It seemed that he had been chosen the unfortunate victim of his prank that evening. From a distance, the small Riversal could be seen standing triumphantly atop his older brother's back like a proud hunter with his prey. Leonard, conversely, would have been near invisible if not for his large form and the striking beige of his coat against the greenery of the forest. The poor hermit laid cruelly fettered on the ground, all that was visible being the blond of the head that laid face-down and the shoulders of both arms spread on either side. The net that had toppled him should have been relatively easy to remove from the foot tangled within it - his brother that stood on his back, however, was not.

"Please, release me at once!" The muffled plea sounded from the ground. With a dramatically boisterous laugh, Riversal's hands found themselves resting smugly atop his hips.

"No! I've got you, now, brother~!"

"Riversal! Please!!" A bit more insistence in his tone, and enough in a voice as deep as his to make the now 11-year-old almost immediately jump out of his skin and straight to the side of his ailing brother.

"Sorry, sorry! I'm sorry!!" Riversal was the one pleading now, his tone as frantic and shaky as his hands as he removed the trap net from Leonard's back. The eldest looked pale as he sat up on his knees, deathly silent in the face of his younger brother's apologies and concerns as to his wellbeing - his eyes were screwed tightly shut. He seemed shaken, with his shortness of breath, Laum noticed with a tiny frown.

...Maybe he was claustrophobic? Poor brother.

[thoughtfullyrainynightmare]

Halloo! ive been reading ur blog and i love it sooo mucch 💌💌💌

can i request for angsty nozel with his wife? so she was a noble and had been busy dealing w her family bussiness. one day she came home late and finding nozel waiting for her. he thinks that shes neglecting her own family and there the argument began. and she accidentally said something sooo hurtful to him due her exhaustion. the ending is up to uuu!

thank you laaura, i hope u live a great life and good luck on your exams! 💟💟💟

Hiyaaa~! ^^

Thank youuu!! ^^ I'm glad to hear that you like my content T^T <3 Oh I love me some hurt-comfort from time to time, so most certainly ^^ You're very welcome, and thank you, I hope the very best for you too!

Pairing: Nozel x f!reader Genre: Hurt-comfort Fanfic type: Oneshot Length: ~1.2k Content/warnings: Wife/reader implies that Nozel would have done better marrying a "numbskull to boss around", reader is a bussiness woman right down to the bone, reader ends up apologizing and comforting Nozel, Nozel is maybe a teeny tiny bit ooc? maybe, hurt-comfort

You were a business woman. Or you considered yourself as one even if the self-given title was a bit misleading considering that you were of noble birth. But you didn’t want to be the kind of a typical noble woman. The text book Noble Lady who didn’t do as much as sit around and order servants around. And gossip.

Hated the gossiping types. Though of course some rumours could be useful in the business world, but that was another thing than maliciously speaking out rumours in order to just make another person’s life difficult. There was discussing events, perhaps even people, and then there was ‘discussing people’.

The latter you hated.

But you, you were someone who was determined to make it in the working world, and had earned the position you held in your family business. You had earned it. Worked for it. And you were going to succeed in it. For your family, your husband, but first and foremost, for yourself.

Actually, you had been a bit surprised to learn that Nozel had harboured feelings for you back in the day, because you had thought that he would have wanted a ‘typical noble wife’ for himself. But instead, he had fallen for you.

He had called you capable, strong, kind and caring; he had called you as someone he would be proud to call a wife and carry the Silva name. These were separated instances of course, but nowadays those discussions linked together in your mind. They made you smile, on most days, because you felt like he understood you.

He was a working man, after all. He was a busy person, too. And so he should understand you, if you were late, and caught up in endless meeting and paperwork. Because he was caught in it too. Which sometimes made married life difficult, but you made it work. You made it work because you loved each other, and cherished the moments you had together even more.

That… was what you expected to come to when you came come that evening.

Not him, standing there with crossed arms in his silk pyjamas and a robe.

“You’re late,” he only said.

“I know, I know, I had a meeting and it went on and on, you know how it’s like. When people can’t get things done and you’re stuck in a circle,” you told him while taking off your outer clothes.

“You’re working even longer than I am these days,” he continued, going somewhere, but not saying it straight.

“I’ll make time for us when I can, I promise.”

He sighed with a frown, which told you about his growing irritation, which in turn made your brows furrow.

“Honey… I’ll try to-“

“You’re not trying enough,” he spoke on top of you making your eyes shoot wide open.

“Ex..cuse me?” You asked, wanting to think that you had heard wrong.

“You’re not making us, our family, the Silvas, into a priority. Instead you value your previous life higher and spend more time with them than here.”

“Of course I spend time with them!” You argued. “Because it’s a part of the business! It’s like telling you that you can’t spend so much time with the knights!”

“I am spending less time with the knights! Because I am here waiting for you!”

“I didn’t ask for it!”

“That’s what married couples are supposed to do! Want to be with each other.”

“Be stuck at home you mean?!”

“I want to see you when I get out of work!”

“Well maybe you should have married a good-for-nothing numbskull that you can boss and show around then.” And that… that was when you heard what you had just said.

You heard it, and… worst of all, you saw it. You saw it in his eyes, the way his eyes widened this time, and how he was biting his molars together to keep himself from saying anything else. To hold his tongue.

His eyes turned to the side, which his posture followed as he turned away to make his way to the window.

It had been a topic of a conversation back, way back, when you had started dating. That he didn’t want someone who’d idly follow his wishes, but would instead be someone who had a mind of her own, who could stand by him. It had been important to him. Because he knew that he could be quite adamant, stern, cold even, and he wanted his wife to be someone who could be there to support him as he tried to unlearn the traits he had picked up while growing up.

And now you were telling him that he didn’t deserve such support. That only someone who would mindlessly follow anyone for the sake of a title would be the only kind of a person, who’d want to be with him. That anyone strong, would look at him and conclude that he was too much work, a rotten piece of work. Damaged goods.

You, essentially, told him that he was unlovable. 

“Nozel I…” you started, taking a few steps closer to him.

“Don’t…” he said but didn’t turn around to look at you. Instead he just looked out of the window into the night.

“I didn’t mean that…”

“It’s fine.”

He wasn’t fine, you knew as much.

“Look I…” you made your way to him and wrapped your arms around his middle, placing your head onto his shoulder. “It’s amazing that you want to see me at the end of the day. I want to see you too, but it’s… I wouldn’t ask you to quit being a knight.”

“I’m not asking you to quit,” he replied with something that was almost a huff. “Just cut back on the hours. Be more present here. Be a family.”

He had a point. Because you were building a new family with him. But it wasn’t as simple as just being an entirely separate family from what you had. You didn’t want that, to just cut out everything from your past. You wanted to have bits from both families.

“I want to have a family with you too, to be a family, but my family is also a part of it. I can devote more or my time to us, but you need to devote more of your time too then.” It sounded like a business deal, but you thought it to be a fair one. Because the common wish for you both was to spend more time together. This would be the way to do it.

There was a pause lingering in the air, for a few seconds, until he finally spoke up.

“Alright. Deal,” there was a hint of a smile in his tone, just a hint. But you’d take it. You’d take that sense of consolation, of acceptance and forgiveness; the tone of moving forward.

But the real consolation came from how he placed his hand on top of yours, and how he sank into the embrace.

You’d make it. Together. In this life.

[beautifulblooms]

How do you think Prince sidon would deal with having a crush on a Hylian and he gave them a romantic gesture of protection. Crush does not realise this. Nobody told them. They thought it was because theyre friends and didnt know this was a part of Zora culture. They end up splitting apart because crush has to go elsewhere, but when they meet up again, crush still has it With them. Crush finds out this time that its a romantic gesture and they apologise to him for not realising, but they offer to continue having it even after they realise because they like him back if hes still interested?

Sidon Having a Crush on a Hylian Reader

Gn! Reader, omfg yes this is an amazing idea, I don’t think I’ve ever had more fun writing out a request, general fluff, I used the idea of the Zora Princess’s armor that Link got but for Sidon instead because well, there’s no more princess

CIS Women and Female Aligned people, please DNI, this story and all of my others are for non-binary, masculine aligned and male readers!

Oh

My

Hylia

First and foremost I mentioned this above but I feel like Sidon would make armor to show his like proposal to (y/n)

Would definitely resemble what he wears, similar style to his waist guard and collar

Luminous stones are imbedded into the metal and while Mipha’s was blue for Link, Sidon might want to make it more personal and choose a fabric color closer to his skin/scales

He makes sure to give it to (y/n) as soon as it’s done

“(Y/n)! I have something for you!”

“Oh Sidon, hi! What’s that?”

“It’s something I made for you, it should fit perfectly”

Not knowing that it was a literal proposal and declaration of his love, (y/n) just put it on and thanked the prince for the gift

Sidon was upset over the fact that there was nothing more than a thank you

He never showed his disappointment outwardly, but it did hurt to be half turned down by the person he hoped to be with for as long as they could be

The next day he was looking around for (y/n) but couldn’t find them

He began asking around to see who might’ve seen you, and heard the worst thing he possibly could’ve

“Yeah I’m pretty sure they were sent off on a mission with a few soldiers”

“I thought I saw them and three of the soldiers walking out of the domain”

“Mhm, (y/n) was heading out to get something, don’t know how long they’ll be gone for”

Hearing three different people confirm (y/n) was nowhere near the domain made Sidon panic

Had he driven them away at his proposal?

Did he cause this?

We’re there really soldiers with them or did they just tell everyone that there would be soldiers accompanying them?

How far were they going?

So many questions raced through his mind

But the one thing he could answer himself was that he caused this, him making the armor was a bad idea, and in the end it drove the love of his life away

That of course isn’t true but he didn’t know any better, they didn’t know any better

On the mission (y/n) began asking questions about the armor, why Sidon made it, what it stood for, things along those lines to the Zoran soldiers accompanying them

“Oh, the armor is made by Zoran heirs to the person they want to marry and mate with.”

“Wait, so it’s a proposal?”

“Of sorts, it’s for Zoran royalty only, a sacred art only they take the time to learn.”

“Oh Hylia I’ve fucked up, we need to finish this quickly, c’mon!”

And so from then on they refused to take more than a week to finish the mission, it was supposed to take a fortnight at minimum

The group made it to their destination the next day, receiving the needed materials and items from the area, and began their trip back home

As soon as the domain came into view, (y/n) started sprinting as fast as they could into the city

They had to find Sidon and apologize

Once crossing the final bridge into their found home, (y/n) asked around to see who knew where Sidon was

“Have you seen Prince Sidon anywhere I need to find him”

“I thought I saw him going to the reservoir, he might still be there”

“Thank you!”

The Hylian once again took off sprinting, this time towards the reservoir

“Sidon! Sidon where are you?!”

(Y/n) screamed as loud as they could into the lake, hoping to find him somewhere swimming in the vast waters

“(Y/n)? What are you doing here, I though you were on a mission?”

“Sidon! I-I was, we just got back, I’m so so sorry for what happened when you gave me this. I had no idea it meant so much to you I didn’t know what it stood for and why you gave it to me, but I do now. And- and I, I love you too, I want to be with you”

He simply stood there, shocked by everything he just had to take in

Processing it all as fast as he could he soon began smiling

“You didn’t know why I gave you the armor, that makes so much sense, why would you know you’re Hylian- who told you?”

“On the mission I asked one of the soldiers why you gave it to me, what it meant and why it was important. And then all of a sudden I felt awful, I just said thank you and left the next morning, I’m sorry Sidon, I can’t make up for what I did but I at least hope you can forgive me.”

“Why wouldn’t I? You’re the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, and I still do, if you’ll accept my proposal…”

“Of course”

[gracieart]

You’re seriously going to take drawing requests from A Court of Thought?!? Someone who routinely lies, gaslights, bullies, and blocks Elriels? You were truly one of my fave people on this platform but watching you pander to Eluciens…whew, the respect I’ve lost.

Hello anon. I seem to have upset another one of you.

First and foremost, I am going to draw whatever I want and I'm not going to apologize to you. Let me just get that out in the air.

And for now, we are just going to ignore how you seem entitled to me, my art, my free time, and what I decide to do so we can quickly address your concern here.

I want to preface this by saying I sat on this ask for hours because I was genuinely so confused where this came from. I literally had no idea what you were referring to. I thought ‘A Court of Thought’ was you trying to criticize me for taking art prompts for A Court of Thorns and Roses and that you were saying I do all those things you mention. Which, as you can imagine, made me very sad.

But it finally dawned on me (after one of my friends pointed it out to me) that you were referring to the comment I replied to from the blog ACourtofThought.

After that realization, your comment started to make sense… for the most part.

Now, I have never once spoken to or even heard of this person before they commented on one of my posts. I know absolutely nothing about them. I’ve never even seen one of their posts. But if what you say is true, then you should know there is no possible way I could have even heard of them before, as I have a long list of anti tags blocked and have a strict no negativity policy on all my blogs. If you knew me at all, or if I was one of your favorite people on this platform, as you claim, then you should know that about me at the very least. I make it very very clear I do not deal with that kind of negativity.

And you know, not everyone in this fandom chooses to surround themselves with negativity. I hope you free yourself from this, truly.

I am not upset that you talked down to me, hurt my feelings, and insulted me. No, I’m mostly upset about the fact that you immediately jumped to the worst conclusions about me. The fact is I simply replied to a nice comment I saw on a post I made. That’s it. You saw that and thought “Wow, this woman is siding with this person I really dislike. And she obviously knows exactly who this person is and why I dislike them so much. So how dare she!”

…That is what you thought, am I wrong?

This is unwarranted and out of context. I am not “pandering” to Eluciens. I was simply asking my very kind mutuals, who happen to like that ship, if they had any prompts they wanted me to draw. And I tagged Elucien in that post so it reached other people. I have so many nice and genuine friends on here who ship all kinds of things, and I want to create something that makes them happy too. Is that a crime?

What if I told you I’m the exact same person I’ve always been? What if I told you that all the while I’ve been one of your “favorite people on this platform,” I’ve been doodling Elucien for some of my longest friends. Would you still have had any respect for me left to lose if you knew that all along?

I won’t talk about the ships here. If you want to know about that, go see my response to the other ask I answered yesterday.

When I first saw this ask, I’ll admit it upset me very much. So much so that I couldn’t get anything done for most of the day because I was so sad that someone would say something like this to me. But I’ve had a whole day to think about this, and I’ve come to one conclusion: I really don’t think you had much respect for me to begin with if you are so quick to turn around and talk down to me and insult me after I seemingly did something to offend you.

And if I did offend you, you could have easily just unfollowed me and moved on. But… you chose to go out of your way to insult me. Why?

I am sorry you are stuck in a place where you feel like you have to assume the worst of people. I’m sorry you have found yourself surrounded with so much negativity in this fandom. Fandom is a place for people to come together because they enjoy something, and I am truly sorry you’ve fallen into the part of the fandom that doesn’t comprehend that.

I’ll never begin to understand why people can’t see that kindness is so much easier. But at least I have a lovely circle of friends on here I can fall back on. Friends who have different opinions, who ship different things, or like other stuff. Friends who are in a completely different circle, but are the kindest, most compassionate people I’ve ever met.

Anon, I truly wish for you to find that for yourself. Try surrounding yourself with kind people who like different things. You will be so much happier. Trust me. There are so many nice people out there once you step outside your own circle.

[thecameronchronicles]

Like He's Your Own

TW: None. Pure fluffiness. :D

SUMMARY: More of a blurb of what it is like to be in a relationship with Drew when you have a child from a previous relationship. 

WORD COUNT: 640

*Requested* 

Like He’s Your Own

There is an incomparable love when it comes to your child. But there is a rare love that comes from watching someone else love them too. And that is what Drew had done since the minute you introduced him to your son. He wasn’t annoyed by the interruptions whenever you had to place your parental duties over time with him, which happened often. And he didn’t judge you for the relationship ‘failed’ with your son’s father. Instead, he filled the pieces you felt had broken, and had collected them in such a way that he made a piece of art out of what someone else left discarded without care. 

Everything from diapers to tantrums and he seemed to fit the role left vacant from those before him. Even though your son didn’t share a single drop of DNA, you would never know it once they were together. Story times until Drew would usually be the one to fall asleep and fun days out, sometimes even to the set of the Outer Banks or whatever he would be currently filming, had your son wrapped around his shoulders with complete trust and admiration. 

But there was a moment that happened recently that twisted your heart with such love that it was pliable in any capacity following. And it was when Drew spoke on the phone to his own family, describing the mundane plans for the day, which weren’t anything too exciting, and then, the word fell from his lips. 

“Son.” His eyes flashed to you in worry that you would reprimand him for trying to take a title he didn’t deserve, especially when he saw the tears behind your gaze. 

He explained to his kin that he’d call them back in order to console you, as you cried into his chest. As always, he held you close and apologized and confirmed he never wanted to overstep. But as you lifted your eyes to him, he saw that it wasn’t anger or upset looking back at him. It was pure love. You told him as much as you wrapped yourself even deeper against him. He was giving in every way you could imagine-and more. But the way he was with your son, a way you only believed WAS reserved for a parent, maybe even only a mother, was found in him. 

“You ARE my family…” He bowed his head for a moment as if speaking these words were a relief of some kind. “And I love you both so much…” 

“We love you too…” You pressed a soft kiss to his lips before feeling those familiar hands wrap around your upper thighs, the only height your son could reach. Drew was the first to pull away, wiping his tears away as he knelt down to your son. 

“Why are you sad?” Your son asked, that innocent voice twisting your heart sweetly once again. 

“I just love you, buddy…So much…you and your mom…” He reached for your hand as you nodded. 

“Love you too, daddy.” And with this, the moment couldn’t be any more perfect. 

And in the moments that followed, it showed. Even in the instances where an uncertain child acted out on their initial emotions in opposition to understanding the way they could showcase themselves without using tears or slaps, there remained love first and foremost and above all else. And just as he had always done, Drew treated your son just like he was his own, and as far as you were concerned, he was. 

Taglist: @hopebaker @iovdrew @penny4yourthoughts @magnificantmermaid @pickingviolets @lovedetlost @trikigirl271 @my-baexht-ls @slut4starkey @slvtherinseeker @obxiskewl @obxxrxfes @bluesongbird @slut-era

[vickyvicarious]

All the men who worked so hard to keep Lucy alive, and then finally had to put her vampire self down, grieving in different ways today.

The bundle of letters relating to the purchase of the house were with the typescript. Oh, if we had only had them earlier we might have saved poor Lucy! Stop; that way madness lies!

Seward's thoughts are mourning, miserable at the thought of how they could have saved her. How he especially had so many of the most relevant pieces of information, and never noticed. He scolds himself away from such ideas, knowing the toll they will take on his mental health (and how little use they will be). He tries not to speak them aloud.

After a little bit his sobs ceased, and he raised himself with an apology, though he made no disguise of his emotion. He told me that for days and nights past—weary days and sleepless nights—he had been unable to speak with any one, as a man must speak in his time of sorrow.

Arthur wears his grief openly. He cries freely, but confesses that he doesn't feel like he has been able to truly speak with anyone. This is despite him seeking physical comfort from the others previously, so apparently it's mostly the talking that he hasn't felt like he could do. That's blamed on gender here but I wonder if a part of it may be that he knows they were in love with Lucy too, and at least she loved him back, so it may feel inconsiderate/unfair to speak too much about his sorrow with them.

It seemed but poor comfort to so brave and unselfish a soul, and impulsively I bent over and kissed him. The tears rose in his eyes, and there was a momentary choking in his throat; he said quite calmly:—

"Little girl, you will never regret that true-hearted kindness, so long as ever you live!"

Quincey tries to remove himself from the situation and expresses concern over Arthur first and foremost. This fits with how he's been so quiet and always at Arthur's side lately; he thinks of his grief as less important, I think. And yet when Mina extends comfort directly to him, he nearly loses his composure for a moment and has to wrestle it back, showing how much he's suffering too.

"Oh that we had known it before!" he said, "for then we might have reached him in time to save poor Lucy. However, 'the milk that is spilt cries not out afterwards,' as you say. We shall not think of that, but go on our way to the end." Then he fell into a silence that lasted till we entered my own gateway.

Van Helsing's thoughts go down a similar line to Seward's, though probably with a different sort of guilt. More failing in his duty, but at least he had really no way to know these particular details. He tries to move on and focus on the future, but he becomes subdued and lost in thought, probably of Lucy trusting him and asking him for help at the end.

.

Meanwhile, the Harkers:

We women have something of the mother in us that makes us rise above smaller matters when the mother-spirit is invoked;

Mina sets aside her own grief for Lucy to comfort others instead.

Whilst he was speaking, Jonathan had taken my hand. I feared, oh so much, that the appalling nature of our danger was overcoming him when I saw his hand stretch out; but it was life to me to feel its touch—so strong, so self-reliant, so resolute.

...

When the Professor had done speaking my husband looked in my eyes, and I in his; there was no need for speaking between us.

Jonathan didn't know Lucy very much, or at least is focused more on confronting his own trauma. He is driven by determination to kill Dracula and very focused on that for the most part, but does seek/share comfort and support with Mina. Though he seems relieved to leave her behind at the end, probably out of a fear of Dracula targeting her for being the woman he loves/is married to (going after Mina since he knows how much she means to Jonathan is absolutely the kind of revenge Dracula would take for him being alive/opposing him, and Jonathan knows that), before that he and Mina are firmly a team in every step.

[ninjastormhawkkat]

The Fall of Fair City - Chapter 13

Dr. Two Brains had decided to just head to his lair and spend most of the day their just tinkering or repairing some gadgets. He really didn't want to risk the police taking him in out of the blue in public after that stupid broadcast. Neither did he feel like doing any crimes if it was going to confirm people's beliefs that he was responsible for the destruction in that storage unit at his old workplace. It was really a no win situation type day for Two Brains. "So you wouldn't go committing crimes without us boss?" Joey asked, feeling awful at the idea their boss would consider going solo and abandoning them. "Why don't you numbskulls quit talking about what I would and wouldn't do, go make yourselves useful, and stop bothering me about that dumb broadcast!" Dr. Two Brains angrily snapped at his henchmen. Joey and Charlie flinched in fear at their boss's sudden temper. "Um yeah sure. Sorry boss!" Joey hastily apologized. Both men gave a salute before scurrying off and giving the mad scientist his space. Two Brains sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He didn't mean to go off on them like that, but he was in no mood to deal with their bumbling today. Especially with this killer headache that had developed, the pain being felt by both of his brains. Two Brains figured this headache began around sometime this morning and now had gotten more noticeable and potent. Unfortunately due to his mouse genetics, Two Brains could not form the luxury of some pain killers. So he had to stick to some homemade Lavender tea for now which eased the pain somewhat. Taking another sip of tea from his thermos, Two Brains decide to take some alone time and tinker on some gadgets to distract him from the day he was having.

"I'm really glad that not everyone believes that da..I mean Dr. Two Brains is guilty of the destruction." Wordgirl said with elated relief as she and Huggy headed inside Tubing's lab so they could speak in private about Tubing's discovery. Professor Tubing smiled at Wordgirl. "Well despite his villainous nature, there are still a lot of us here, scientists and some other staff members who are still fond of Two Brains. Plus most of us know for a fact that despite what he has done in the past, Steven was always first and foremost a scientist. He would have never destroyed another scientist's work for no good reason." Tubing stated with pride. "But why haven't any of those scientists spoken up and told their side to the police and press?" Wordgirl asked with an agitated frown. Professor Tubing looked at Wordgirl with a solemn and dark look. "It's because they are afraid of Dr. Corngraves even though they won't admit it. Dr. Corngraves has the highest authority out of any of the workers. One poor soul confided with me that Corngraves had basically threatened them with blacklisting should they speak their minds about this event. Sadly most of those people need these jobs to support themselves or their families. They can't afford risks." Wordgirl and Huggy looked very enraged at Tubing's words. "He can't just do that! That's downright bullying and abuse of power!" Wordgirl exclaimed, completely flabbergasted and more disgusted with the man than before. Professor Tubing just nodded in solemn agreement. "Unfortunately with his position. He can do just that and get away with it. The only proof against his actions is just words. While words can be powerful, the unfortunately can't hold up in court." Becky sighed, still peeved but understanding of the situation. "What is Dr. Corngraves' deal? Why keep people quiet and target Dr. Two Brains like this?" "Ah! That is the puzzler isn't it Wordgirl." Tubing exclaimed. "Dr. Corngraves started working here two years ago. Right after Steven's unfortunate accident. So he would have no personal connection with the man like the rest of us would. But ever since coming here, Dr. Corngraves has been a very private man, always working alone on something behind closed doors. He always claimed it was his own personal project, but Bosco and I found something that says otherwise. Some evidence that could explain his attack campaign on Two Brains." Tubing lead the eager and curious heroic duo to his desk. He pulled out a file hidden deep within a drawer. "Yesterday I was just filing some paperwork and was in the secretary's office to hand it over to be recorded." Professor Tubing began to explain as he pulled out some pictures from the file. "Dr. Corngraves was also there looking very impatient. The reason be was that the secretary had stepped away from her desk moments before he and I arrived for her lunch break. It seemed that Dr. Corngraves couldn't wait for her to comeback. He was just leaving when he and I accidentally bumped into each other. I apologized for bumping into him to be respectful. All he responded was with a huff and left, slamming the door behind him. Bosco then noticed I had dropped some of the paperwork and jumped down to get it for me. As she was doing it, I saw another folder laying flat on the floor, some contents were spilled out. I immediately assumed that the folder belonged to Dr. Corngraves and asked Bosco to pick it up as well so I could lay them both on the desk, figuring he must have planned to give this folder to the secretary as well. I only opened the folder to help straighten its contents. I was glad I did so as I discovered something very shocking." Tubing stopped speaking as he pulled out a particular photo. "Does this look familiar to you Wordgirl?" Tubing asked as he handed the photo over to the young heroine for examination. Wordgirl and Huggy both studied the photo. It looked like it was a photo of a photo of a blueprint for a certain machine. One that Becky had scene once before. "This is the same invention that blasted Dr. Two Brains!" @melodythebunny

@dualnaturedscientist

[apollo-gate]

Proposal for Vanessa

Here is Vanessa.

Hope you like it. I had three scenarios go through but this was the only one that came out done and made sense.

Also completely unedited so there will be grammar issues. (Please over look please.)

You look at the ring you got for Vanessa. A part of you wants to take it back. What if she doesn't like the ring.

You pulled a few favors and spent a lot of money for the band to be made from moon ore. It will help Vanessa with more control or that's what you read up on it.

No, she will love it she loves you. She says it every time she sees you. When she holds you.

You want this you want her to know just how much you want us.

Sure a part of you knows about Adrian and what he did. Hell finding out you had more first with her made it more special.

Vanessa sat you down one day and told you why she was with him. She said it was an agreement. An agreement she regrets.

She doesn't regret her children but they pulled away from her when they found out they were getting a divorce.

Now it's time for a fresh start. You will show her she can be happy. You want to give her a reason to smile every day.

Her smile alone makes you swell with happiness and the fact someone took that for granted erks you.

You couldn't exactly plan a big thing because Vanessa is first and foremost private.

So you decided to take her to one of her favorite places.

You grip the ring box tighter. You hope she says yes. You get to the park and look around first "I love you". It couldn't be better.

You then hear thunder in the grey clouds. It should just pass over.

Meanwhile in Vanessa's office across the city.

"You can't be serious." The ambassador nods slowly. Vanessa looks at the time she could make it. "I'll go don't worry."

3 hours later…

You should have known you wouldn't have made it. Mc is going to be so mad. How can you make up for this on your anniversary no less. You tighten your hand into a fist. Next time you're going to just say do it yourself.

By the time you get to the park, it's raining very heavily at this point. You can hardly see. Mc didn't pick up their phone. You don't blame them to be angry and at home, but you weren't going to take that chance.

"Hey." you hear a voice croak out. Oh, no were they crying. You turn and see Mc soaked.

You reach for them without a second thought. They are freezing. "Bunny. Your cold." Their face is pale and their lips are blue. You need to get them warm. "Come here." You pick them up. "Let's go home." Mc isn't coherent enough but they manage to nod.

When you get home you strip them of their clothes and get dry clothes on or try to. You wrap a blanket around them and try to warm them up. You walk into the kitchen and try to make something to eat for the two of you.

By the time you are done, you see Mc start to wake up. You seat near them. "I'm sorry work got so hectic then I needed to visit this dignitary for something that-" Mc kisses you to shut your rambling apology up.

Mc looks into your eyes. You feel better looking into them. Then Mcs eyes widen. "Where is my coat?" You're confused. "It's hanging up why?" Mc doesn't answer they jump off the couch in just underwear and run. They hit the coffee table and fall forward.

You start to get up but they shout "Im ok" as they go to the closet near the door. Mc comes back with a panicked look on their face. They go to their wet clothes and dig in their pockets. Mc starts to get very upset.

You get up and reach out and touch their shoulder. "What's wrong Bunny." Mc looks at you with tears streaming down their face. "I-I wanted to propose to you. I-Lost the ring, it was beautiful and I spent months picking it out for you."

Your eyes begin to tear up. "No, you didn't have to do that. Mc, I love you. No ring matters to me." Mc places their face into your chest. "It's the thought that matters to me." Mc looks up at you "Really?" Mc says in a small voice.

"Yes, bunny." You kiss them. "So do you still want to get married," they ask almost scared of your answer? You bark out a laugh. "Yes, I'd love to get married to you. Plus I don't think I have ever loved someone as much as you Mc." Mc gets a deep blush.

You get Mc to eat and you watch as they eat happily. A thought crossed your mind. "Mc, did you by chance order a package and it did not arrive." Mc nods. "I tried it that way because I didn't have time to pick it up. But it never arrived so I went in person and they gave me another free of charge. Why?"

You remember a package was delivered but forgot about it as you both were on that stupid mission.

You get up from the glass table and walk into your storage area. You see a small box with Mc's name on it. You take it back to the kitchen with you. Mc sees it and rips it open.

Mc then pulls out a ring box. The ring box is a white metal box. Mc moves fast to get on one knee. You're blown away at the ring and at the design mc must-have design it.

The band is a silver-white color with a tint of almost gold. Then the diamond isn't too big but that doesn't matter but it's a very beautiful diamond. You feel your breath hitch in your throat. You feel overwhelmed.

Mc's eyes shine brighter to you than you have ever seen before. You've never wanted anything more than this in this

"Would you-" You tackle Mc before they can finish the question. "Of course Bunny. I will marry you. Plus you already asked." Mc laughs a little.

Mc puts the ring on your finger slowly and it fits perfectly. You feel something that warms your entire body. Your body is no longer cold. You look at Mc. They oh they didn't have to. You cup Mc's face and kiss them gently.

You want them to know how much you love them and now you can hold them. Without the fear of possibly hurting them. You can't help but cry. They didn't need to. You feel Mc's arms around you. You cling to them. You've never been so happy in your life.

[couldntbedamned]

Goodbye Grey Sky, Hello Blue - 28

Summary: In an alternate universe where trains and zeppelins are still common forms of travel and the internet and cell phones exist, nineteen year old Peter Parker has few options left after he’s swindled out of his inheritance. Unable to pay for college, let alone keep the house left to him by his deceased aunt, he’s running out of time before he’s out on the streets. Desperate, Peter signs his life over to the Bureau of Civic Spousal Selections to take his chances as the selected husband of a complete stranger. After all, he only has to make it through a year and then he can choose to annul.

Dr. Stephen Strange has little interest in marriage, preferring to focus on his career. When his career is threatened by what a nosy board of directors considers a “lack of personal fulfillment and settling down,” he opts to select a spouse through the BCSS and chooses Peter Parker. The young man’s profile he’d briefly skimmed suggests intelligence and compatibility. It’s not ideal, but if after a year it’s not working out, he can always annul the marriage and send Peter on his way.

It’s a marriage neither truly wants, with sharp learning curves for both. It’s either going to be forever or it’s going to go down in flames.

Warnings/AO3 Tags: 18+ MINORS DNI, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - 1950s/Modern Fusion, Doctor Stephen Strange, Jewish Peter Parker, Peter Parker is an Adult, Marriage of Convenience, Marriage Contracts, Government Sanctioned Marriages, Domestic Discipline, Dubiously Consensual Spanking, Spanking, Aftercare, Mildly Dubious Consent, Dubious Morals, Dubious Ethics, Asshole Stephen Strange, Smartass Peter Parker, Passive Aggressive Canned Soup, Two Morons Trying to Try Their Best, Borrowing Characters

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Chapter 28

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The dinner party he dreaded most finally arrived.

He and Peter were cordially invited to dinner at the home of Dr. Reed Richards and his wife Dr. Susan Storm. As the man had been coy about who the other guests would be, Stephen could only brace himself for sharing a table with Dr. Peggy Carter and probably Ms. Rambeau.

They probably wouldn't be able to leave early for dietary reasons, either, since Sue Storm had mentioned on the invitation that she would be cooking a kosher meal. He could only hope that his mobile went off and he'd have to go to the hospital. He could pull the Selecting Spouse card and insist Peter leave with him.

"It'll be okay," Peter said. "It's just a few hours for one night. Then we're done."

"Peter-" he stopped.

"What?" Peter asked as he tied his bow tie.

"If I am less than pleasant this evening, I want you to know that it isn't because of you. I am going to do my best to be polite and civil, but if I am not, I apologize."

"This is really hard for you," Peter said.

"Yes." He motioned helplessly. "I don't want to talk about it; not tonight."

"We don't have to talk about it at all," Peter said. "You're entitled to your privacy, even if legally speaking I'm not."

"No, I think... You deserve to know. Just... just not tonight."

Unlike everyone else Peter had met since moving to Sanctum Heights, Dr. Richards and his family lived in what could only be described as a penthouse. They were on the top floor of the tallest building in the town. He'd seen the Baxter Building, of course, but never gave much thought to the fact that it was first and foremost a living facility. There were seven floors of housing and the first three floors were dedicated to a learning center and daycare for children. Earlier that day when they'd met for their usual tea, cookies, and Winding Road Whispers date, Ava had told him that Dr. Sue Storm both founded and ran the Baxter Foundation's learning center.

"She's an impressive woman," Ava had said. "Absolutely remarkable and very kind."

"I just know that Stephen doesn't like her husband."

"It's complicated," Ava had finally said. "And it's not for me to explain."

Other than that, Ava had given him a run-down on the family and, reluctantly, Dr. Margaret Carter, who Stephen was positive would be there.

"Just breathe," Peter urged Stephen as the lift attendant took them to the top floor.

Whatever he'd been expecting, the Richards-Storm penthouse was not it.

It was light and open with one of the salmon-pink walls dedicated to showcasing a multitude of children's drawings. The teal carpeting was low-piled and in some cases, well-worn from what Peter knew from his time at his Shul's daycare were tracks from tricycles and toy trucks.

The living area featured charcoal grey sofas and armchairs, the backs of all draped with a thick quilt or knitted throw. The corner closest to the living area had a table set up for blocks, coloring, and others activities a curious child might like. Several toys were still on the floor, mere feet away from the trio of toy bins next to the table.

On the opposite side there was a dining area with a table set for six, and further back, Peter could see the kitchen which was open to the rest of the space.

"Welcome!" Sue greeted, striding towards Peter and Stephen with her arms outreached. "I'm so happy to have the two of you here in our home!"

She was a beautiful woman, Peter thought. Her blue eyes were gentle and kind and her blonde hair was styled into an elegant knot at the nape of her neck.

"Thank you for having us," Peter said. It seemed Stephen wasn't quite ready for words just yet.

"You're the first to arrive, even before Richard," Sue told them. "He got pulled into a consultation at work. I'm glad, however, as I'd like to have you look at the kitchen, Peter."

He nodded, surprised. "Okay."

"I hope I haven't made a mess of it, but if I have, please tell me, so I don't make the mistake again."

Much like he'd once done for Ben Grimm and his wife Alicia, Sue showed him how she'd gone about preparing the meal, complete with the kosher certifications on food packaging and pictures of the vegetables she'd selected before she'd prepared them. She even had a receipt from Fleishman's.

"And nothing that's dairy or used for dairy has touched the steak?" Peter asked.

"Nope! And there's no dairy in the meal, either," she assured him. "If anyone wants butter for their bread, I have individually wrapped packets and margarine for you."

Peter grinned, pleased. "Toda al hahavana. Thank you."

"You're so very welcome," Sue said. She looked both happy and relieved. "I've gained a lot of respect for the rules you and Dr. Grimm follow now that I've learned more." She looked back at where Stephen stood. "Would you like a cocktail, Dr. Strange?"

He seemed to shake himself out of some trance. "An old fashioned?"

"Coming right up!"

"And please, call me Stephen," he said.

"Peter? Cocktail?"

"Oh! Oh, no thank you. I'm nineteen," he said.

"Ah. A Shirley Temple, then," Sue said with wink.

"But I-"

"It's a lemon-lime soda spritz with grenadine and a cherry," Stephen said with the closest thing to a smile he'd worn since the invitation had arrived. "There's no alcohol and I think you'll enjoy it."

"Great!"

"Reed was evasive when I asked who else would be joining us," Stephen said to Sue when she brought both he and Peter their drinks. "Am I correct in assuming he's invited her?"

Sue sighed. "I told him to just tell you! Yes, Dr. Carter will be attending, along with my younger brother, Johnny. Reed wanted to ask one of the others as well but I said if he tried to pull something like that I'd find myself mysteriously unavailable to host." She arched a brow at Stephen. "You medical doctors are too stubborn for your own good."

He couldn't exactly argue that point.

"So, Peter, how are you liking Sanctum Heights?"

"I like it here," Peter said. "It's a lot quieter than Midtown, and using a car service took some getting used to, but I like it." Peter, knowing his role, picked up the conversation. "Will you tell me about the Baxter Foundation?"

Judging by Sue's megawatt smile, it had been exactly the right question to ask.

Sue launched into a detailed but engaging explanation of the foundation and its purpose. Peter was fascinated to learn about the educational classes for adults along with programs for those at risk or with special needs in addition to accelerated academic programs.

"And some of the people enrolled in the program live in this building?"

"They do! It helps encourage the building of life skills and community."

"And what classes do you teach?"

"She teaches how to be a wet rag," came a new voice.

Sue sighed and rolled her eyes as the newcomer joined them. "Johnny, these are my guests, Dr. Stephen Strange and his husband Peter. Stephen, Peter, this is my younger brother Johnny Storm."

Sue's brother was tall, blonde, and very handsome. He was maybe only three or four years older than Peter himself.

"Ah, the BCSS couple of the year, to hear others talk of it," Johnny said with an easy smile. "You're pretty young for a selected spouse."

Peter wasn't sure what to say to that so he just sipped more of his Shirley Temple.

"You had a paper in the Van Dyne School of Science Journal around a year ago," Johnny continued, plopping down next to Sue and making himself at home. "I'd have thought someone who was gifted enough to be selected to write for them would be busy with college, not married." He cocked his head and eyed Peter up and down. "Nothing?"

"Was there a question in there?" Peter asked.

Johnny laughed. "Not bad. I think you'll manage dealing with dear old Reed well-enough." He turned his gaze to Sue. "And you thought I'd be the last arrival!"

"How's school?" Stephen asked after Johnny had made himself a drink and brought over another Shirley Temple. "You're attending Metro University, are you not?"

"I am. I'm studying engineering," he said. "It passes the time."

He didn't even feel a pang of envy at Johnny's easy and casual dismissal of something so important as higher education, which surprised him. This time last year college had been his goal but now? Now he didn't know if he'd be able to tolerate it.

The four of them made small talk as Sue put some finishing touches on dinner. Peter's offer to assist were waved away. "You're a guest in my home; absolutely not!"

Johnny wasn't pleasant company, exactly, but he wasn't intolerable. Peter had his suspicions for why the man behaved the way he did but seeing if he was right would have to wait until their host arrived, presumably with the other guest. Peter could deal with it for a few more hours and then he'd be a good little selected spouse and maybe suck on Stephen's cock when they arrived home.

Sue had just encouraged them to all sit down and start dinner when Dr. Richards and Dr. Carter finally arrived.

Stephen quickly went through the proper introductions and Peter could tell how much strain he was under, even if the others couldn't. Deciding he'd be a model guest, he shook hands with Richards ("Call me Reed, please.") and nodded politely at Dr. Carter.

"It's so lovely to meet you, Mr. Strange," she said with a smile. "I was so happy to hear that Stephen found someone."

He was surprised at her accent; he hadn't realized she was English. He assumed she'd be from East Virginia, like Sharon. There was an air of self-importance about her that he didn't care for, but that could have been his bias rearing up on behalf of how much he liked Sharon.

"Thank you."

"You're late," Sue scolded.

Reed winced. "I'm sorry, Sweetheart, it was a pediatric case I was called to consult on and I can't just dash in and out on those."

"I know, Reed. Maybe send a message to my mobile next time, so I can make sure the food is warm."

He smiled sheepishly. "I'll do my best."

The six of them sat to eat and while conversation wasn't stilted, it wasn't exactly easy, either. Peter was proud to note that it wasn't due to Stephen; his selecting spouse had been nothing short of a proper gentleman.

"So Peter," Reed started. "How are you finding married life?"

Stephen ever so slightly stiffened beside him. "I like it," Peter answered. And honestly, at that! "I know some people like to look down on BCSS marriages but I think Stephen and I have been lucky with ours."

"No blow-out arguments?" Johnny asked skeptically.

"No, we communicate like adults," Peter said. "I can't speak for every marriage but we value honesty and respect in ours." He smiled over at Stephen. "If we have a problem we talk through it."

"And Peter has no qualms at all about letting me know when he's displeased with me," Stephen added, returning Peter's smile in a moment that despite the company felt private. "He's more than a match for my sparkling personality."

"I'm glad to hear it," Reed said. The man was sincere about it, too. Peter wasn't sure just what exactly had happened a couple of years ago to set Stephen and Reed at odds, but he had the feeling that it pained Reed.

"Marriage does seem to suite you," Dr. Carter said to Stephen. "I'm happy for you both."

"Thank you," Peter said again before Stephen could speak.

Reed turned his questioning onto Johnny and ah. Peter could see where some of Stephen's annoyance came from. The man probably wasn't trying to be condescending, Peter was sure, but if he'd been in Johnny's spot, he'd want to act out, too. Sue and Peggy spoke about some of the new classes Sue was preparing to offer in the fall and Peter took the opportunity to squeeze Stephen's hand under the table. He didn't like knowing that he was so uncomfortable.

"How are Franklin and Valeria?" Peggy asked.

"Well, their nanny from downstairs hasn't rang inform me they've set the building on fire, so I take that as a sign that they're doing well. They love overnight trips away from the castle tower," Sue said.

"They're the artists, right?" Peter asked, motioning to the wall of children's drawings.

"They are," Sue said warmly. "And they're the race car drivers you see the tracks from," she added with a laugh. "The floor below us is a dedicated play area for all of the children in the building, but Franklin and Val prefer to make their marks on the carpet up here."

"I recognized the tracks in the carpet from when I'd attend after school daycare at Shul," Peter said, grinning.

"That was what, a year ago for you?" Johnny quipped.

"Give or take nine years," Peter said evenly. Below the table Stephen squeezed his hand in warning.

"If you stay together, he'll be like fifty by the time you're thirty," Johnny said, unwilling to let the subject drop. "Doesn't that bother you? You're basically just a kid!"

"Johnny, that's enough!" Sue snapped.

"He's only a few years younger than me," Johnny exclaimed, looking at Sue. "How does this not bother you? If told you I was getting married you'd throw a fit!"

"We're not talking about you," Stephen said sharply. "As for Peter's age I assure you he's far more mature at nineteen than you are at twenty two."

Reed sighed. "Johnny, I can appreciate your concern but it's not our place to question our guests' marriage."

It took everything he had, but Peter bit back the comment he wanted to make.

"So, Stephen," Dr. Carter said in the following silence. "I saw that you put in for time off next month. Do you have anything exciting planned?"

"A trip," Stephen answered.

"We're going to California," Peter added. "I'm really looking forward to it; I've never been to the beach before."

"Where in California?" Sue asked.

"Malibu! Tony and Sharon asked for Stephen to be there when the baby is born," Peter said cheerfully. "I'm exited to finally see a beach but I'm more excited for the baby, obviously."

Silence descended over the dining table. Dr. Carter, previously so relaxed, looked as though she'd just swallowed rocks.

"I thought I'd detected a glow in her that night we ran into the four of you at the restaurant," Sue said cheerfully. "That's wonderful!"

"You're still in contact with her?" Carter asked Stephen.

Was the woman... jealous?

"Considering she's married to my best friend, yes," Stephen said reasonably. "I've known Tony since we were in college. I stood for him in their wedding."

"And you don't think that blurs the line between patient and doctor?" She pressed.

"I've never found it a challenge to keep those boundaries in place" Stephen said pleasantly. "But I do understand that maintaining ethics and a professional code of conduct might prove difficult for others."

Her cheeks went red as she sipped her drink.

Reed was frowning at her, but didn't reprimand Stephen for the set down.

"If you're going to California, you should definitely try surfing," Johnny said, garnering Peter's attention in what was frankly a blatant but effective subject change. "Malibu is great for surfing."

Peter looked to see Stephen's reaction.

"Not a chance," Stephen said. "You'll break your neck."

"Actually my balance is really good. I do well on skateboards."

Stephen sighed in that way that told Peter he was praying for patience.

Peter did his best to keep the conversation light and pleasant after that; Stephen was stressed enough even if his demeanor gave nothing away. Peter knew his husband. Fortunately Sue was happy to talk and Johnny seemed to settle down. Peter still wasn't sure about Reed but he felt a deep dislike for Dr. Carter.

"Have you given any thought about going back to school?" Reed asked him after dinner. They were seated in the living area. Johnny and Dr. Carter had left after dinner, Johnny to return to his dorm before curfew and Dr. Carter for an alleged work meeting.

"Not really," he said. "Some of the classes here sound interesting but as far as college, I don't think so."

"That's a shame," Reed said. "I read your paper in the Van Dyne Science Journal. It showed a lot of promise. How did you get the idea?"

"I read a book on pre-modern medicine and remedies," Peter said. "It talked about poultices, and how various insects were used depending on the condition, like maggots. It wasn't much of a stretch to research more on arachnids."

They talked for nearly half and hour; Peter was amazed that Stephen hadn't dragged him away and made their excuses to leave. But Reed was brilliant and the man seemed delighted to have someone willing and able to keep up with his science talk.

When the clock chimed nine, however, they did take it as a sign to wrap things up.

"Thank you for coming tonight, Stephen," Reed said solemnly. "I apologize for Johnny; he's having a rough time of things at the moment. I know that's not an excuse, but I'm sorry."

"There's no need to apologize for him. I was far more insufferable at his age," Stephen said.

"And thank you for your patience with Peggy; I know it wasn't how you wanted to spend an evening."

Stephen merely nodded.

Reed shook Stephen's hand, then Peter's and after Sue shoved a cookie tin in Peter's hand with a warm "Thank you for a lovely evening! It was so nice getting to know you better." they left.

Stephen said nothing as they drove home. His mind was a twisted bundle of thoughts and though he could tell Peter was working himself up into an anxious mess by the way his knee was bouncing, words of comfort or reassurance failed him.

Peter made for the stairs as soon as the door closed behind them.

"Bed already?" Stephen asked.

Peter turned. "I figured you'd want to head up."

"Actually I want to decompress for a bit," he admitted.

"Alone?"

"I wouldn't say no to your company."

"Are you sure?" Peter asked. "I know blabbed at the dinner party and kept talking with Dr. Richards when I know you don't like him. Then I nearly got into an argument with Johnny and I promise, I was trying not to be a brat and ignore Dr. Carter, but Stephen I really don't like her!"

"I'm not angry with you," he assured him. "My problems with Dr. Richards. Dr. Carter, and every other member of the board are mine, not yours. As for Mr. Storm, he's always been something of a hot head. He's gotten better."

Peter stared at him and Stephen could almost see the pieces slotting into place in his mind.

"You were friends," he said as it clicked. "They used to be your friends and that's why it's so hard, isn't it?"

The best of friends, he thought.

"Yes."

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[clonesimpextra]

A Shattered Peace: Chapter 8

Keldabe Kiss

[previous][next]

Pairing: Commander Wolffe x FemJedi!OC Word Count: 7.3K Chapter Rating: T Chapter Summary: In the aftermath of bliss, Wolffe faces some hard truths. A/N: HI! I'm back, it's here, enjoy! Also available on AO3

The first time Wolffe learned about a Keldabe Kiss was in a training session on Kamino. He was just six years old, biologically twelve, and he and the other command clones were training with helmets for the first time.

Their trainer, Mar-Va Eldar, always went against the wishes of the Kaminoans, choosing to teach them Mandalorian customs alongside their more accepted battle training. Mar-Va taught them some of the Mandalorian language, of course, but he also taught them about honor and respect.

And how to make the best use of a helmet in hand-to-hand combat.

A Keldabe Kiss, Mar-Va told them, was first and foremost a defensive strategy — a headbutt that could help you gain the upper hand against your enemy, especially if that enemy was helmet-less. He had them practice on dummy targets and on training droids, but never on each other.

It was too dangerous, too much of a risk of them getting seriously injured during a training exercise that wasn’t sanctioned by the Kaminoans themselves. The boys followed this rule — for the most part.

But one day during shooting practice, after Fox teased him again about his aim, Wolffe ignored that rule and, as soon as his brother set his blaster down and took off his helmet, landed a Keldabe square to his nose. 

Blood poured down Fox’s face as the training room came to a stand still. Yanking his helmet off and staring at a bloodied Fox, Wolffe immediately regretted what he’d done.

He opened his mouth, an apology on the tip of his tongue, when Mar-Va leveled him with a pointed glare.

Wolffe could do nothing but watch as the trainer leveled him with a pointed glare before taking Fox by the arm and leading him out of the room. “Everyone back to your bunks,” he shouted over his shoulder. “And no detours!”

As everyone filed out of the room, grumbling to each other about having to leave a whole fifteen minutes early, Wolffe shifted on his feet. He didn’t want to follow his brothers, not when he had a sick feeling in his stomach at what he’d done to Fox. Had the annoying, pain the shebs deserved it? Probably. But that didn’t make it right.

So when his brothers turned left, Wolffe went right, toward the medical wing. He walked as fast as he safely could, hoping no Kaminoans would catch him and send him away — or worse. Finally, he caught sight of Mar-Va and Fox and kept a safe distance so he wouldn’t be ordered away by them, too. 

He just wanted to make sure Fox would be alright. That whatever damage Wolffe had done could be undone just as easily. He wasn’t sure he could forgive himself if it couldn’t.

When they arrived at the medical center, Wolffe hung back as Mar-Va guided Fox through the sliding doors. He stood across from the entrance at parade rest, hands loosely clasped behind his back, just like he’d always been taught, and tried to avoid the questioning looks of the other cadets and trainers passing by.

A few moments later, the doors slid open again and Mar-Va stepped out. When his eyes landed on Wolffe, he huffed and shook his head, but, after glancing up and down the now empty hallway, joined him against the wall.

“You should be in your room, Wolf’ika.” He didn’t sound angry or upset, and the use of his nickname made Wolffe relax slightly against the wall.

“I’m the reason Fox’s in there, sir,” he grimaced and looked down, resisting the urge to scuff his boot against the hard floor. Good soldiers didn’t fidget. “I just wanted to make sure he’s OK.”

Mar-Va hummed and Wolffe peered up at him. The older man had his arms crossed, the outline of his clan sigil, a Leonid creature he’d told them the history of once a long time ago, standing out prominently on the shoulder armor he always wore. His dark brown hair, several shades darker than his brown skin, was cut close to his head, but Wolffe could make out a few silver hairs. He wondered suddenly just how old Mar-Va was. What did age mean to someone who wasn’t a clone? 

How long before Wolffe himself had silver hair instead of black?

“Do you know why I didn’t want you and your brothers practicing Keldabes on each other?”

Wolffe blinked, eyebrows creasing at the unexpected question. “Uh,” he hesitated, eyes flicking to the medical center doors and back to his trainer, “because you didn’t want us all ending up in medical?”

Mar-Va laughed, a loud sound in the quiet of the sterile, slowly emptying hallway. “I did tell you that, didn’t I? Ok, two reasons, then.” He shook his head and placed a hand on Wolffe’s shoulder, turning to face him fully. “A Keldabe is meant as a defensive tactic against our enemies. Your brothers should never be your enemies. But a Keldabe can also be used as a sign of trust toward those we care for.”

Wolffe squinted up at Mar-Va, confused. “Why would I want to make someone I care for bleed?”

Mar-Va smiled, a rare sight, even among his command clones. “A Keldabe can be forceful or it can be gentle. It’s up to you how you use it.”

Wolffe looked away, eyes narrowed in thought, and Mar-Va released his shoulder with a pat.

“Go see your brother, Wolf’ika,” he winked down at him. “I’ll keep watch out here.”

Finally allowing himself a small smile, Wolffe hurried across the hall and through the medical center doors. As the door slid closed behind him, he looked around the room. AZ-series medical droids lined one of the walls at their charging station, one missing and hovering around the only occupied bed.

“AZ, I said I’m fine!” Fox whined as the droid poked at his nose.

“You are a command clone, CC-1010, that means you are of the utmost importance. It is in my programming to ensure you recover swiftly and accurately.”

Wolffe rolled his eyes and walked up to the bed. “You could give him some space to breathe, AZ. Pretty sure he needs that to recover, too.”

Fox looked up at him with narrowed eyes, dried blood starting to cake around his nose and mouth, and Wolffe fought back yet another grimace. “What are you doing here?”

“I have to agree with CC-1010, CC-3636,” AZ hovered over to him, his body whirling around on the way. “You should not be in here unless you are injured. Are you injured?”

“No, AZ,” Wolffe sighed, “I’m not.”

“Then you must leave. I have a patient to attend to.”

The droid whirled back around to face Fox, who was still starring at Wolffe but at least was no longer glaring. “AZ, what if I agree to let you check me out and not complain as long as Wol- as long as CC-3636 gets to stay?”

AZ paused, scomp halfway to Fox’s nose, and swiveled his head between the two boys. “Lack of complaint from the patient is preferred for optimal examination results. I suppose this is acceptable and does not go against my programming.”

Fox smirked at Wolffe and nodded at the side of the bed, where there was an empty space.

Wolffe sat, watching as AZ got to work, poking and prodding at Fox’s nose. His brother stayed facing straight ahead, but his eyes glanced over at him.

“It’s not as bad as it looks.”

Wolffe nodded, fist pressing against his thighs. He wanted to apologize, he needed to apologize. He just couldn’t quite get the words out while looking at Fox covered in blood. Knowing he was the one who had put it there.

“It was a shitty thing for you to do, Wolf’ika, but I don’t really blame you.”

Wolffe blinked. Of all the things he thought Fox might say, he wasn’t expecting that. “You don’t?”

“Nah,” Fox shrugged, earning him a reprimand from AZ that he ignored with a wave of his hand. “I was being a pain in the shebs.”

Wolffe laughed quietly. “You were, but … it won’t happen again.”

Fox eyed him and gave a short nod. “I know.”

As they waited for AZ to finish up his examination, Wolffe told Fox about his conversation with Mar-Va in the hall and Fox told him all the things he’d been doing wrong at shooting practice. Wolffe figured he deserved that. 

When AZ finally gave them the all clear to leave, Wolffe jumped off the bed and reached his hand out for Fox’s to help pull him up. Both standing, the brothers stared at each other for a moment before Wolffe clasped one arm in Fox’s, brought his other hand to the back of Fox’s neck, and gently bumped his forehead against his brother’s.

“I promise to never butt you in the head like that again, Fox’ika.”

A sharp sting on the back of his own head made him jerk away to see Fox, still grasping his arm with one hand while the other fell back to his side, smirking at him. “Yeah you better not, you di’kut.”

When they walked out of the med center, Mar-Va was still leaning against the far wall. He gestured Fox ahead of them, falling into place next to Wolffe. There was silence between them before Wolffe looked up at his trainer. He saw the silver hair again, but this time, instead of wondering how long it would be until he had the same colors in his curls, he thought about Fox. And Cody. Bly. Gree. All of his brothers. How much time did they really have? Even without a war?

Mar-Va peered down at him, a question in his eyes, and Wolffe nodded once before speaking only loud enough for his trainer to hear.

“I understand now.”

Mar-Va nodded back, and, without a second thought, Wolffe quickened his pace and joined his brother’s side.

*****

Wolffe had understood, back then. He’d understood the fragility of life — especially a clone’s life — and the importance of trust and loyalty. He’d understood that even when it was hard to put words to those feelings, it was always important to show them. So he had, and he still did. 

But the Keldabes he shared with his brothers were just that — brotherly. Familial in a way that meant they understood and cared for each other when not many others in the galaxy did. A reminder that they were brothers and they would be with one another until the end.

This Keldabe with Amara, though — this pressure of forehead against forehead, breath mixing with breath, hand wrapped in hand felt both the same and exponentially different. This small action, here in the med bay of the Resolute after they’d both nearly died, was everything Wolffe had wanted to say to her for the past weeks, but also not nearly enough.

He wasn’t sure if Amara knew the importance of a Keldabe Kiss like this. If she knew that, for some clones, this was the only emotional connection they’d ever have with anyone.

He wasn’t sure if Amara knew what he was trying to convey with his forehead pressed against hers, his hand cupping her cheek, their noses whispering the faintest touches against each other.

Maybe one of the other clones had told her.

Maybe she’d figured it out after months of watching them.

But he didn’t want to risk her not knowing. Not now.

So maybe he’d tell her himself.

Or maybe he’d just show her.

Because the only thing he did know for certain was that, as nice as this felt, he wanted more.

Slowly, Wolffe pulled back, his hand still keeping a steady hold on Amara’s cheek, and opened his eyes.

She was staring at him already, her dark brown eyes peering into his, a small crease between her brow, almost as if she were worried he’d pull away completely.

He couldn’t have that.

Spreading his fingers across the side of her face, he traced his thumb over her cheekbone, following one of the many paths he’d imagined traversing with his mouth. He brought his hand down to her neck, fingers dancing over the columns and the valleys, wondering what it would feel like to press his face into the curve between it and her shoulder.

When he heard her sigh, felt her breath across the small distance between them, Wolffe flicked his eyes back to hers.

There would be time to make all of his imaginations reality later. Right now, he just wanted to kiss her. And he needed to know if she wanted the same.

He squeezed the hand that was still resting on his chest and tilted his head, a small smile pulling at his lips.

“Can I kiss you, commander?”

The words were quiet. Nothing more than a breath of air from his lips to her ears. But Amara’s eyes widened as if he’d shouted them at her.

Wolffe swallowed around the sudden lump in his throat and let the hand on her neck fall to the side. Had he read the situation wrong? She’d reached for his hand, placed it on her thigh. But he was the one who had pulled her practically on top of him. She hadn’t tried to get away from him, though, hadn’t tensed when their foreheads had met.

He wasn’t used to feeling this much doubt about a decision, but the longer Amara stayed staring at him with panic in her eyes, the more he was convinced that he’d fucked something up here.

 Still staring at him, but also still holding onto his hand, Amara opened her mouth.

“Wolffe, I—”

“Yeah, yeah, Coric, now where is he?” The booming voice of one of his brothers on the other side of the curtain cut through whatever Amara was going to say. 

Wolffe closed his eyes, grimacing when he felt Amara’s hand leave his, the bed shifting as she stood. The sudden absence of her weight against him felt wrong, empty.

When he opened his eyes again, she was standing by the wall with a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes as the curtains pulled back to reveal Sinker, Boost and Comet.

His three brothers stood before them, smirks plastered on their faces, and Wolffe tried to remind himself that he really was happy to see them.

They nodded to Amara, who, Wolffe noticed, was inching further away from the bed, before turning their smirks back to him. “Commanders.”

Wolffe rolled his eyes. “Didn’t Coric tell you I’m supposed to be resting? What do you three want?”

“Yeah,” Sinker scoffed, “I got that message when all your paperwork was sent to me, thank you very much.”

“Besides,” Boost added, moving forward to clap Wolffe on the shoulder before smiling over at Amara, “we just wanted to see how our two favorite commanders were doing.”

Wolffe glanced over at Amara, schooling his features so that neither she nor his brothers would see whatever the fuck it was he was feeling inside.

She relaxed into a more genuine smile at Boost’s words and Wolffe ignored the tightness in his chest at the sight.

“I appreciate the concern, boys, but I’m fine. Wolffe, though,” she looked over in his general direction, eyes not fully meeting his and smile wavering slightly, “I’ll leave you three to keep an eye on him.”

Her leaving was not at all what Wolffe wanted. But as he watched her laugh and apologize at Boost’s complaints about her not sticking around, he couldn’t help but notice that she didn’t just look uncomfortable, she looked sad.

And despite all the complicated emotions roiling through him at their encounter, he knew that he didn’t want her to be sad. The thought that he had made her feel that way was almost more than he could bear.

So when Boost turned to him for back up, Wolffe, his eyes still on Amara even though she wasn’t looking at him, shook his head. “Commander Kora’s been through a lot. Let her get some peace and quiet away from all of us.”

If he hadn’t been watching her so closely, he probably would have missed the small wince that crossed her features at his words. But he had been, and he didn’t, and all he wanted in that moment was to get off the damn bed and pull her against his chest. But he couldn’t. And right now he wasn’t even sure she’d want him to if he could.

“Well,” she said, turning to leave, “I’ll see you boys when we’re back on Coruscant. Try not to give Coric too hard a time, yeah?”

His brothers all grumbled their assent and he caught one last glance from Amara before she disappeared across the room, the distant swish of the sliding door signaling that she was gone.

“So,” Wolffe blinked, turning away from the empty space where Amara had been standing and looking at Sinker, who was staring at him with narrow eyes, arms crossed, “what were you and Commander Kora talking about?

Wolffe shrugged. “She was catching me up on everything I missed.”

“Uh, huh,” Boost laughed, elbowing Comet who, for his part, at least looked a bit embarrassed. “We ran into Captain Rex in the mess and he told us he was the one who caught you up.”

“Two people are capable of doing the same thing, trooper.”

“Calling one of his men ‘trooper’ in the med bay?” Boost whispered, and Wolffe would have swatted him in the back of the head if he thought he could sit up any straighter. “Now I know he’s hiding something.”

“Did you three come here for any reason other than to annoy me?”

“We really did want to check on you, sir.” Comet glared at Boost, and Sinker nodded in the corner. “We lost a lot of brothers on Tibrin, wanted to see for ourselves that you were pulling through alright.”

He sighed, unable to begrudge them that. Rarely as injured as he was now, Wolffe knew what it was like to be on the other end. To need to know for certain that your brothers were OK instead of relying on someone else to pass you the news. Really, Wolffe was just grateful he had any brothers in the 104th left to check on him at all.

“How are you three holding up?” he asked, glancing between them to check for signs of any obvious injuries even though he knew Coric would have spotted them if there were.

Sinker waved off his concerns. “We’re fine, Wolffe, nothing a few bacta patches didn’t heal up over night.”

Wolffe nodded, relaxing back into the bed for the first time since he’d woken up a few hours earlier. 

“Alright, then. Coric won’t let me look at a datapad,” he raised his voice on the last part and heard a loud HA echo through the room, “so why don’t you, all of you, give me a rundown of the 104th’s status. Rex did as much as he could, but he didn’t know everything.”

Boost snorted beside him. “I thought Commander Kora gave you that rundown?” he cocked an eyebrow, turning to look at Comet and Sinker, too. “Or maybe she gave you a different kind of rundo- OW, HEY!”

Boost rubbed at the back of his head and glared at Comet, who was glaring back at him, his hand falling back to his side. “Don’t talk about the commanders that way.”

“Oh come on,” Boost grumbled. “You know I respect Commander Kora,” he glanced quickly at Wolffe, who was leveling his own glare at his currently least favorite brother, “and you, sir. I respect you both.”

Wolffe grunted, motioning for Sinker to start talking. But as his brothers filled him in on the past nearly two standard rotations since the explosion, he couldn’t keep his mind from wandering back to Amara.

Boost had been more right than any of them knew — not that Wolffe would ever tell him that. Maker only knew what he’d do with that kind of information.

Truthfully, Wolffe was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he’d almost kissed his co-commander. But every time a thrill shot through him at the reminder of the way she’d felt leaning against his body, her mouth so close to his, he also remembered the panic in her eyes when he’d asked if he could kiss her.

He had been so close to having the thing he’d spent the past months wanting. He’d thought Amara had wanted it, too.

Maybe that panic was her realizing she didn’t.

As he forced himself to tune back in to his brothers’ reports, Wolffe ignored the uncomfortable weight on his chest that filled him when he thought of never again being as close to Amara as he had been today.

But maybe that was for the best. They were fighting a war, after all. They didn’t have the same luxuries as civilians or senators who would cheer them on or drag them down so long as they never had to stand where they stood.

Maybe Amara’s panic should have been his, too.

*****

“You’re body’s still healing, commander!” Coric yelled as Wolffe walked toward the med bay doors the next evening. “Do anything too strenuous and you’ll have to wait until we’re back on Coruscant to get it healed!”

Wolffe rolled his eyes, even though the medic couldn’t see. “Then it’s a good thing we arrive tomorrow anyway!”

Coric mumbled something after him, but the sliding doors cut him off, much to Wolffe’s relief.

He might have only been conscious for one of the two days he’d spent in the med bay, but staying still had never been one of his strengths and he’d quickly grown antsy in that too clean, too bright environment.

It didn’t help that it had been one rotation since he’d seen Amara. And despite his best efforts to push their last encounter out of his mind and focus on literally anything else, he kept hearing the way she’d said his name, kept seeing her eyes widen when he’d asked if he could kiss her.

He didn’t know if he was angry, or hurt, or confused, or a combination of all of that and more. He didn’t even know if he had a right to feel anything about it at all.

As he walked away from the med bay and down the familiar yet unfamiliar halls of the Resolute, Wolffe let himself think — really think — about what he wanted.

As a clone, all he’d ever known to expect from his life was war. He wasn’t meant to look to the future, wasn’t meant to look further than the next battle, and then on to the next, and the next, and so on until either the war ended or he died. 

That was the life of a clone. That was their purpose.

But something had changed in Wolffe’s mind over the past months. He still saw the war as his ultimate mission, but it was no longer his sole purpose. At least, it didn’t feel like it when he was around his Jedi.

General Plo Koon had taken every thought Wolffe ever had about his place in the galaxy and turned it upside down. He respected Wolffe, respected all of the clones, and Wolffe would be lying if he said that some days he didn’t find himself fighting for his general much more than he fought for the Republic.

And Amara . . . She respected him and his brothers, too. But there was something more, something different about her presence in his life that made Wolffe pause and look around.

Even if he took away how the very thought of her made his heart pound, how a single look could send his blood rushing south, how the sound of her voice reverberated through his very bones — even if he took all of that away, he was fairly certain she’d still have left an impression on him that would never fade.

It wasn’t just the way she viewed the clones — as people deserving of more than what they were given. That, Wolffe could chalk up to her just being a decent person. No, it was more.

After a few months of being around his co-commander in varying situations, both in battle and in the quiet moments in between, Wolffe could say with absolute certainty that Jedi Knight Amara Kora was one of the few people he’d met who consistently tried to do good in a galaxy that didn’t always remember what it was fighting for.

Wolffe could understand that desire, could understand the need to know that despite every awful thing you might be forced to do, at the end of the line, there would be an outcome that would sit right with your soul.

Wolffe wasn’t sure if he actually believed that would be the case. But he knew that when he looked at Amara, when he saw her fight for everything she believed in and against everything she knew was wrong — even if that wrongness was inside herself —, he knew he wanted to fight, too.

And that was a connection he didn’t think could ever be broken. Even if she didn’t return his feelings.

Feeling significantly lighter than he had all day, he turned down a hallway he was fairly certain would lead to the briefing rooms. Rex and the boys had done there best to catch him up on everything, but there were still things — especially the status of the incoming clones meant to replace those lost at Tibrin, and the reports on Tibrin themselves — he wanted to check himself.

His side stung a bit with every step, and his neck ached — both results of the damage done to his body in the explosion — but a few hours at the holo-table wouldn’t hurt him. Much, anyway.

“Yes, Master, I understand.”

Wolffe came to a halt outside one of the briefing rooms as the sound of a voice drifted into the hallway. But it wasn’t just any voice. It was Amara’s, and it was followed closely by one that sounded like General Plo’s.

“We’ll speak about this again when you return.” The general’s voice was gravelly through what must have been a holo call, but Wolffe could still hear a hint of concern. “And Amara,” he paused, and Wolffe shifted against the wall, trying not to alert either of them to his presence, “don’t let this weigh on your mind. Get some rest. You’ve earned it.”

Don’t let what weigh on her mind? 

Wolffe’s own concern was slowly increasing. He knew Amara had been worried about what happened on Tibrin, but was that what the general was referring to? Panic, quick and nearly all consuming, flashed through Wolffe’s mind as he imagined for the first time what might actually happen if anyone found out about what had almost happened in the med bay. And on Tibrin. And what would probably almost happen again if he walked into that room.

Would Amara really tell her former master — Wolffe’s general — about that? He didn’t know the protocol for clones who had relationships with their commanding officers, but he could guess that it would lead to nothing good. And yet, he had still been willing to risk it, only mere minutes ago. 

Was he so sure now? Why hadn’t he thought of this before?

A sound so soft he was sure no one was meant to hear it came from inside the room and made Wolffe swallow his worry.

Crying. It almost sounded like Amara was crying.

When he turned into the room, Amara was standing at the holo-table, one hand gripping the edge while the over covered her mouth. Her eyes were closed and she hadn’t seen him yet, apparently hadn’t even sensed his presence. Quickly, before she became aware of him, Wolffe searched what he could see of her face from across the room and found a single tear marking a trail down her cheek. 

Any thought of reconsidering his actions was thrown out the door when he saw that tear. He stepped fully inside the room, letting the door slide closed behind him. He saw Amara startle, and turned away from her slightly. Despite his uncertainty about where they stood, Wolffe did know Amara. And he knew he was probably the last person she would want to see her crying.

As he looked around the room, he was struck by how similar this setting was to the one not long ago, aboard the Triumphant. Before Tibrin. Before everything, and nothing at all, had changed. 

How had they ended up here again? The last time they had been in a briefing room together had been the start of a new level of their friendship, a new level of trust and certainty in one another. Would this be the same? 

When he finally turned back, Amara was watching him with cautious eyes. And that, too, was so similar to the way she had watched him when they first met that he couldn’t help the smile that crept up his face. Despite all his concerns, it was genuine.

“This feels familiar.”

Amara let out a short laugh and offered a small smile back, but Wolffe could see the same tension he’d seen the day before still weighing over her.

“You always seem to find me in the best circumstances.”

Wolffe shrugged and walked the short distance from the door to the table. Standing not quite across from her, he could see more clearly the weariness in her eyes, across her face. Even in the midst of battle, even when standing over the bodies of their lost men, he’d never seen her look like this. It was more than exhaustion, more than sadness. It was confusion and panic and uncertainty, mixed together with everything else that came along with post-battle defeat.

Wolffe knew that look a little too well. He saw it more often than not in the mirror.

He didn’t like seeing it reflected at him in the face of the woman he cared so deeply, maybe too deeply, for.

“Amara,” he emphasized her name, knowing she would know what it meant that he was calling her this and not ‘commander’, “what’s wrong?”

He could see the hesitation in her eyes — in the way she pursed her lips and looked down at the table, tapped her fingers on the surface.

Not many people who knew him would say that Wolffe was a patient man. His brothers would probably laugh if anyone so much as suggested it. But, again, Wolffe knew the hesitation, the battle, the desire to say something you couldn’t find the words for.

Wolffe wasn’t always a patient man. But he’d be patient for this. For her. Because she deserved it. Because she’d been patient with him, always.

So instead of sighing, instead of pacing around the room or demanding an answer, Wolffe waited. He put a hand flat on the table, just within Amara’s line of sight, and waited.

He didn’t have to wait for long.

Soon, he saw her eye his hand. Saw her grip on the edge of the table loosen ever so slightly. Finally, she sighed and dragged her eyes up to his as he tried to convey every ounce of patience he had for her in a single look.

“I wanted to say yes, in the med bay yesterday,” she cleared her throat. “I- I wanted you to kiss me. I’ve wanted it for a long time, actually.”

Wolffe couldn’t help the rush of relief that coursed through his body at her words. He hadn’t misjudged the situation, her actions, then — Amara had wanted it just as much as he did. For a moment, a single moment, Wolffe forgot about his worries. If Amara wanted to kiss him, any consequences could go straight to hell for all he cared.

But then he saw the strain still evident in Amara’s gaze, remembered how she’d pulled back from him, remembered the tears in her voice and on her cheek. Something still wasn’t right. 

Keeping his eyes on her, he asked the question he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted the answer to, but that he knew he needed.

“Then why did you pull away?”

Amara hesitated for only a moment this time before answering.

“Because you called me ‘commander’.”

Wolffe blinked, still confused, trying to understand if he heard her correctly. What did that have to do with anything?

“You are a commander, Amara,” he said with a short laugh, unsure where any of this was heading.

“That’s the problem, I’m not—” she stopped herself and sighed, ran a hand across her forehead before continuing. “I’m not just a commander. I’m your commander. I have a responsibility, not just to this battalion, but to you.”

Wolffe bristled at her words, could feel his perfectly held patience wearing thinner and thinner by the second. Nothing she was saying made sense. 

Or maybe, a small part of his mind whispered, it does and you just don’t want it to.

He shook his head, ignoring the warning.

“I’m your commander, too,” he narrowed his eyes and took a step closer. “You’re not the only one around here with responsibilities, Amara.”

He watched as she looked up at the ceiling and resisted the urge to grab her hand, to say more than he should. To turn around and walk out of the room and pretend none of this had ever happened before she had a chance to also say more that he didn’t want to hear.

“On paper, we’re equals, but we both know that’s not how it really it is, Wolffe. As a Jedi, I outrank you. I’ll always outrank you, and I hate that’s how it is. I want things with you, I do, but—”

“So you don’t think I can make my own decisions?” His was voice was low, rougher than he meant, and he saw the change reflected in the tilt of Amara’s head.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“What did you mean, then?” Wolffe tried to ignore the fact that the little voice in the back of him mind was slowly going louder. That it was taking his words and turning them into something much too close to begging. Still, he continued.

“If you think I can make my own decisions, then why is it so hard for you to believe me when I say that I have wanted to kiss you since the first day I met you?”

“I,” Amara hesitated, fingers tapping on the table again, and, this time, Wolffe did grab her hand. She stopped, gaze flicking between his face and their hands but not moving away. “I haven’t given you a lot of space lately and—”

“You think I want space?” He stepped closer, the distance between them no larger than the breath he could feel on his neck as she looked up at him. And just like that, the voice quieted. There was nothing wrong with this, with them, with whatever the hell they might want. 

“What, exactly, about Tibrin or the med bay made you think I wanted space, hm?”

Wolffe curled his fingers around Amara’s hand, traced his thumb across her knuckles, and followed the tilt of her head with his own, gaze never leaving hers.

“If you want space,” he whispered, gentle, an offering, “tell me. I’ll leave right now and I won’t bother you and we can be just commanders again, just friends. But you have to tell me what you want.”

For a moment, Wolffe felt Amara’s grasp around his hand tighten, saw hesitation balanced on a thin line in her eyes. 

It was a moment that didn’t last long enough.

She slid her hand out from under his and took a step back, leaving Wolffe as the one gripping the edge of the table now. 

“This isn’t about what I want.”

Shaking his head for what felt like the tenth time, Wolffe very nearly growled in frustration. How many more times were they going to have to go over this?

“You know what I want, Amara, and you all but told me what you want, so what is this about? Please, enlighten me.”

“I’m leaving the 104th!”

The words crashed around Wolffe, stopping every retort building in his chest, narrowing his focus to just the woman in front of him and the implications of what she’d just said. 

He couldn’t have heard her correctly. 

Leaving the 104th? There was no 104th without Amara Korra, just as there’d be none without Plo Koon. The absence of one would fundamentally shift the meaning of the other. 

Without Amara challenging every strategy, every decision, there would be no balance to the team, no balance to the training.

Without her, there would be no balance to Wolffe.

He stared at her and some distant part of his brain was aware that his mouth was hanging open, that he’d been trying to say something but the words couldn’t get past the confusion and the slowly growing lump in his throat.

“At the debriefing yesterday, Master Yoda suggested that it might be time for me to lead my own battalion.” Amara’s voice was small, soft, fragile for the first time in all the months he’d known her, “I discuss it with the council when we arrive on Coruscant.”

Tomorrow. She’d be discussing it with the council the next day. And then what? Then she’d leave? She’d be assigned to a new team. New soldiers. New clones. A new commander.

Wolffe swallowed against that particular thought, tasting the acid bite of jealousy all the way down to his stomach where it settled in an atmosphere of self-pity. He was at least aware enough of his emotions to understand what it was he felt.

But understanding didn’t mean he had to like it.

And it sure as hell didn’t mean he had to be kind about it.

“Wolffe, I don’t want—”

“You came to see me after the debrief.”

Amara stilled at his interruption and Wolffe tried to remember if he’d ever interrupted her like this before, off the battlefield. At the moment, he couldn’t really bring himself to care.

She nodded and he copied her movement before running a hand across his mouth, pacing himself before he said something else he’d regret.

“You told me … a lot. Why didn’t you tell me that?”

His words weren’t harsh — at least, he didn’t think they were. And it was fair enough to wonder why Amara had waited so long to tell him. Why she had let them get closer, let them almost enter somewhere they couldn’t come back from, when she knew she’d just be leaving anyway.

Still, she winced, and Wolffe almost wished he could take it back.

Almost.

“I was still processing it.” 

She took half a step forward and Wolffe leaned back, crossing his arms over his chest. She stopped and looked away, and Wolffe almost wished he could take that back, too.

Almost.

“I didn’t know how to accept it myself, much less tell you.”

“Why were you so worried about telling me?” 

The words were out of his mouth before he really knew what he was saying. He didn’t want to be mean. He didn’t want to be cold. But something heavy was weighing on his chest, cascading through his body and making him wary of everything around him. The sooner this was over with, the sooner Amara left him alone, the better.

“This a good thing, right? A new battalion. It’s what you’ve been training for.”

Wolffe pretended he didn’t notice her fists clinching at her side, her lips betraying the smallest quiver, her eyes narrowing and tightening around the edges. But of course he noticed. All he saw was her.

He stayed facing her, wouldn’t betray his hurt and his anger by turning away or looking down, but moved his gaze to just above her head. If he looked at the wall behind her instead of directly at her face, maybe he would start to feel better. Maybe he wouldn’t be tempted to say anything else that could hurt her.

“You know there’s more to it than that,” Amara’s voice shook and Wolffe clinched his own fists tighter against his chest. 

“I thought I did.”

“This is not … Wolffe, I—”

“I came here to catch up on what I missed while I was unconscious. I didn’t mean to run into you.”

It was a dismissal, and they both knew it. Even Wolffe could hear the sharp edges in his tone and he hated himself for it. He didn’t want to hurt Amara. He knew he didn’t want to. Every muscle in his body ached to reach a hand out to her, to say all the words she need to hear that would make this easier.

But it would only be easier for her, wouldn’t it? For him, it would still hurt like hell. For him, it would still feel like a punch to the face — a Keldabe Kiss from an enemy, not a friend. And for this one moment, Wolffe was tired of making things easier for someone else and never for himself.

Maybe Amara, and that small, quiet part of his mind, had been on to something, after all.

And if Amara was leaving the 104th, then he supposed now was as good a time as any to start separating himself from her … he could do that. Right now, he could do that.

Even if she was looking at him in a way he hadn’t seen since that day in the hangar, months ago, when he’d offended her, hurt her, with more words he hadn’t meant. He’d sworn then that he would do anything to prevent that look again. 

But things changed. Just like they always did. And he’d been a fool to think this would be any different. Because the only real difference between that day in the hangar and now, the difference that made this all the worse, was that this time they actually knew each other. They knew what they both wanted, and it was something neither of them could give.

Distantly, Wolffe registered Amara open and close her mouth several times before she finally cleared her throat.

“I guess I’ll leave you to it, then.”

Wolffe nodded once, curt and impersonal, the kind of nod he gave on the field, during training, to people he barely knew. He kept his eyes on the wall, and when she moved past him toward the door he tried to ignore how his body reacted to the smell that was uniquely hers. Too clean for a ship full of men. Too warm and lingering for the cold vacuum of space. 

He heard the door slide open behind him and grimaced at the ache somewhere in the pit of his stomach when he swore he could feel her look back towards him.

“This isn’t easy for me, either, Wolffe.”

He turned, mouth open to say what, he wasn’t sure, just as the door slid closed, sealing him off from the person he didn’t want to see right now and the only one he wanted to talk to. 

It would have been funny if it wasn’t so damn typical.

Wolffe looked around the empty room, the painful hammering of his heart loud to his ears in the sudden silence. His eyes flicked to the spot on the edge of the holo-table where, only moments earlier, Amara’s fingers had danced across, so jittery and tempting. He placed his hand over the space, some part of him wondering if he could still feel her there.

He couldn’t.

He wondered if he ever would again.

[archersxartxblog]

the start master post

Chapter ten is up now. and it is longer then I meant it to be. so I hope it's all good. took me a bit longer then normally to get it all done. but there we go. I know normally past the chapter in the post with a read more. but...um Fifteen pages is pushing it for that. so it might be best if you just read this chapter on A3O. I will put the first little bit here for you guys to read.

-

Chapter 10

Emmet,

I’m sorry about this, but I wasn’t able to contact you through your X-trans all day. I assume you’ve just been busy.

Normally I would have just emailed this to you but I figured you’d want to see the contents in full, so I’m having one of my assistants drop it off to you at Gear Station. You’ll see why once you receive them I’m sure.

This letter was lying on my desk this morning, not quite sure where it came from or who this Professor Laventon is. In it, there was some rather interesting stuff that I think you’ll like, if the person in the picture is who I think it is. 

I know it’s not exactly what you’re probably looking for, but at least this proves that he’s okay. And maybe you can use this to get some of the media off your back.

Though I thought he’d only been missing for three years? Do you have Nephews I don’t know about?

Anyway, I’m going to be looking into some of this a bit more, would like to know who this Professor Laventon is; maybe I can get in contact with him and find out more.

I’ll let you know if I find anything useful.

Don’t be a stranger.

Professor Aurea Juniper

To whom it may concern 

I hope my colleague Professor Juniper was able to track you down fairly quickly despite the little information we have to go off of. And I apologize for any unnecessary stress this all might have caused.

You don’t know me, But my name is Professor Laventon and I am currently working for the Galaxy team expedition to complete the first Hisui Pokedex. 

I’ve come to understand that some members of your family have gone missing both several years ago and fairly recently.

About a month or so ago, the Pearl clan, one of the two clans located here in Hisui, came across two young boys in a blizzard. Their ages I’d guess to be between nine and eleven.

After speaking to them both myself, and gathering a bit of information on them. I do believe these boys might be your missing Nephews. First and foremost I wish to let you know that they are both Safe and have been living with their father in the Coronet highlands, whom I believe might almost be another missing member of your family. A brother perhaps?

Their father, Ingo has been living with the Pearl clan for the past three years after being found with a major head injury, he is currently serving as a Warden to one of the Nobles of Hisui; and has been suffering from amnesia for the past few years. Reason he has not been able to reach out until now.

I don’t expect you to believe me based on my words alone, so enclosed is a picture I have taken of the three of them in my lab so you can confirm. 

Please, if I am right, and these are your missing family members, reach out to my Colleague Professor Juniper so that you can get in touch with me; and I will do my best to try and secure you passage to Hisui to reunite with your family…if that is what you wish.

Thank you for your time

And hope to hear from you soon.

Professor Laventon

“Ingo.” He whispered his brother’s name as he felt hot tears slowly slip down his face. It had been three years since he last saw this brother’s face. Three long, Hard years. 

The picture looked like it could have been taken only a few days ago, the picture still looking shiny and new; with no signs of any kind of weathering. Yet just looking at it, at the people in the picture; something in the back of his mind told him that this had been taken a very, verrrry long time ago.

“Hisui.”

The word came out a whisper feeling both familiar and forgien to him. Like something he had learned as a kid and not spoken about for years.

Slowly he stood, grabbing the photo and letter before shoving them into the pocket of his white coat.

Wiping his eyes quickly, the Subway boss quickly made his way out of his shared office and stopped the depot agent he spotted. “I am Emmet. Tell the others I am taking the rest of the day off. Please manage yourselves accordingly.”

Before the agent could even begin to reply Emmet was already on his way out the door, sending a quick message to Eleas to meet him at his and Ingo’s shared apartment.

—

Emmet pulled the ridiculous hood of his tunic further up over his head, holding it in place as he and his family made their way across the open landscape of the Icelands; as they made their way towards the Pearl clan settlement.

A train would make this journey so much more pleasant, he couldn't help but think, even enjoyable. A shame there were no trains in Hisui.

Though really the journey wasn't so bad compared to the trek to the highlands, if you chose to ignore the biting wind that hit them the moment they had been past the cliffs. and the snow drifts that would swallow his boots with every few steps, forcing Miss Lady Sneasler to have to pull him free. And the ice that would send his brother tumbling back to the ground every few feet, causing their dad to try and catch him.

Nevermind, the journey was worse than the journey to the highlands; or at the very least just as bad. 

They should really see about getting some trains out here, or at the very least a ride pokemon. 

Emmet had seen Akari riding around on a large white Stanlter looking pokemon. He wondered if any of their pokemon could evolve into something they could ride on. If not, maybe they could catch something like that.

"Looks like we're getting close to the settlement." Their father called out, his voice easily cutting through the icy wind. Emmet's shoulders sagged in relief at this and somewhere to his right he could hear Ingo voice similar feelings. "We'll head right for my…our hut and warm up a bit by the fire, maybe have a cup of tea before we head to the main tent. The meeting won't start until the others arrive."

The thought of getting out of the snow was enough to reignite the fire in Emmet’s furnace, as his pace started to quicken towards the settlement. Or he would have had someone not grabbed the back of his tunic, effectively holding him back. 

At first he had thought it was his brother, it wouldn’t be the first time Ingo had grabbed him like that because he had become too excited. But a quick glance to his right revealed his brother lying on his back on the ground after having fallen again, making no move this time to get up. Seeming to just accept his fate and remain on the ground. 

This left only one person and upon looking a little further back, passed his hood, he saw his father with a tight grip on his shirt; his usual frown pulled a little further down with concern. “Please try not to become Uncoupled from me.” the man said with a bit of worry clear in his voice as he hauled Emmet back towards him, the action made easier by the ice under their feet. “Let us move with speed, but not Haste, Emmet.”

With a sigh, Emmet gave a nod and let his engines cool once more as his dad released the back of his shirt and offered him one of his hands; which Emmet gladly took. Once Emmet’s hand was firmly in his grasp did he turn his attention over to his oldest, who was still lying on the ground and staring up at the sky. 

“Common, Ingo, right your tracks so we can continue along our route.” their father laughed as he leaned into the boy’s view and offered his other hand. “You shouldn’t give up simply because the route is difficult. Link up with us, so this three car train can depart.”

“Sne!”

“Right, Four Car-train. Apologies, Lady Sneasler.”

“Do I have to?” Ingo whined slightly, even as he reached up and took his dad’s hand; groaning as he sat himself up. 

��Yes.” their dad answered, giving Ingo’s arm a small tug upward, as he and Lady Sneasler forced the boy to his feet once more; holding him there until he found his footing “You’ll get sick if you lay in the ice and snow for too long.” Once they were sure the older twin wasn’t about to fall again, he let his arm relax but kept the hold of the boy’s hand. “Now, are we ready to depart?”

“Yeah.” Ingo sighed from the other side of their father, and Emmet gave a curt nod, wanting to get moving. 

“Alright then. Let us set forth. All aboard!” 

It was still slow going as they moved across the ice, as they now had to make sure that if someone slipped that it wouldn’t take the whole train down. But the moment they were back on a well worn footpath things started to pick up a bit more speed, though still not as fast as Emmet would have liked; his locomotive slowed by the cars coupled behind it. 

The second they were close enough to the settlement one of the guards ran up to greet them as they neared the settlement, a swinub running up alongside him and sniffed at their legs to check for Zoroarks. Or at least that was what his dad told him they were doing. Though Emmet was sure they would have been able to spot a Zoroark a mile away; as their black fur would have stood out against the white snow. “Warden Ingo! Lady Sneasler! Good to see you all made it. You're the second Warden to arrive. Elder Cabala and Ursaluna arrived just yesterday.”

Their father gave a nod in greeting, unable to to tip his hat as he normally did with his hands currently being held onto by the twins. “Yes, we made sure to schedule an early departure; though we had a few delays in getting here as not all of us seem equipped for the ice and snow.” Then his frown became a little deeper as seemed to catch on to something the guard had said. “Is Warden Gaeric not here yet? I thought he’d at least be the first one seeing as he is stationed in the icelands.”

“Oh, Warden Gaeric was here earlier but he went with the hunting party.”

“I see.”

“Shall I inform Lady Irida that you and your family have arrived?”

“If you wouldn’t mind. We will be in my hut if she needs me.”

Throughout the whole conversation Emmet had been trying hard not to seem rude but couldn’t help his fidgeting a bit as his father talked with the guard; he’d honestly been dreading it the moment he saw them approach. All he wanted to do right now was go inside, take his boots off and warm up; and this guard just had to come over and chat his dad up.But before he could get too fidgety they were moving again.

Emmet sighed in relief as they finally entered the tent, practically collapsing on the raised wooden flooring as he kicked off his boots; shivering slightly as his damp feet met the cool air of the hut. His brother managed to remain on his feet long enough to release his pokemon, getting Litwick to light a fire in the hearth; before collapsing on the bed that made up the bottom bunk. 

Emmet also took the cue to release his own Pokemon, only letting out Tynamo and Joltik as Scyther was a little too big for the tent and would be bothered by the cold. It wasn’t long after that before their dad’s Gliscor also joined them as well.

“Please put any wet clothing next to the hearth to dry.” their dad called out from the door, slowly pulling his own black, much more modern looking boots off. “I don’t want either of you getting sick while we’re here.”

Quickly Emmet grabbed his boots from where they had fallen, bringing them over to the fire and setting them down; and after a moment of consideration he pulled off his tunic as well and set it down as well, neatly folding. It was nowhere as wet as his boots but it had still gotten pretty covered in snow on the way here. It was just better to remain in the thick black underlayer as the tunic dried rather than continue to wear it and let the water soak through. Ingo on the other hand took a bit of prodding before he finally pulled his tunic off and set it by the fire. His being almost soaked through from the amount of times he’d fallen on the ice; almost to the point that their father was tempted to ring it out to try and squeeze the water out of it.

Once that was all taken care of, their father quickly set to work on making tea out of the dried berries and leaves he had stored away in the tent for days like these. Pulling out the extra clay cups he had stored away that, a well over a month ago, had been meant for company and saw very little use; now seeing regular use for the twins.

“So what’s this Warden’s meeting about?” Ingo broke the silence as they waited for the water to boil, his pokemon coming to sit next to him by the hearth.

They hadn’t been told much about the Warden’s meeting before leaving, that they would be heading back to the Pearl clan settlement and remaining there for a Fortnight before heading back to the highlands. So about two weeks. Which explained why they had been collecting and preserving food all week.

Emmet had honestly assumed the meeting was going to be something along the lines of the Gym leader meetings their Uncle Drayden had dragged them to almost every year. Though those had been hosted in fancy hotels and were in a different city every year. Mostly they ended up having to wait in the hotel room for the meeting to end, and they never lasted more than a weekend.

“The Warden’s meetings take place every two months, where the Wardens of the pearl clan and their Nobles gather to discuss the happenings all over Hisui with Lady Irida.” their father started to explain as he got everything set up for tea. “It takes place over several days, and there is a large dinner before the meeting starts, and then a large Boon fire in the settlement once it’s finished.” He removed the kettle from the hearth once it had finished boiling. “For the past few meetings The Galaxy team has been the main talking point, and I’m sure they will be brought up once more this month as well. Though I get the feeling the focus may be shifted to the recent string of frenzied nobles.”

Emmet and his brother looked at each other at this. This was the first time they had heard about frenzied nobles, whatever it was, it didn’t sound good.

Luckily their father seemed to pick up on their confusion and worry as he handed them each a cup of the warm liquid. “Right, you both arrived just after the Lord of the Hollow was quelled.”

The Warden took a deep breath, breathing in the warm scent wafting up from his own cup as he tried to find the words. “Over the past several months, around the time that Akari arrived, strange lightning has been seen coming from the rift in the sky above Mt Coronet; striking the noble pokemon. Causing them to overflow with tremendous power and go into an uncontrollable frenzy.” their father let out a shaky sigh as he spoke. “The first was Lord Kleavor, followed closely by Lady Lilligrant, then the newly appointed Lord Arcanine was hit the moment he evolved. Lord Electrode was the last to be struck… I am very glad you two missed out on that last one as many have gotten hurt due to these frenzies, both people and Pokemon.”

“Miss Lady Sneasler isn’t at risk, Right?” Emmet spoke up, his smile dropping as he thought about the possibility of something like that happening to Miss Lady Sneasler. The Nobles they had been told were already pretty strong, and if the others were anything like Lady Sneasler then they were no doubt verrrry strong indeed. 

During their time living with their Uncle, they had heard of the many legends of the Unova region; as their Uncle believed that such stories should never be forgotten, such as the story of the great dragon and tales of the swords. But they had also heard stories from outside of Unova, and this lightning causing the Noble Pokemon to become powerful but uncontrollable sounded a lot like the Mega evolution from Kalos; where pokemon were flooded with power but it ultimately caused them some harm in the end.

But his father just smiled and shook his head, taking a seat next to them. “No, it seems that the Nobles that work closely with humans such as Lady Sneasler have for the most part been spared. At least for now but the looks of it.” he took a slight sip from his cup, tapping at its surface with one of his fingers nervously. “What is worrying is that if this trend continues the next Noble could end up being the one under Warden Gaeric’s care. Lord Avalugg, who is a very Large Avalugg. The damage that could be caused if such a pokemon were to become frenzied...”

“But you said Lord Electrode was quelled…so that means the frenzy can be stopped. Right?” Ingo questioned, glancing from their dad to his brother as if to make sure he’d gotten the information correct.

“That’s correct.” their dad nodded. “Akari, in fact, was the one who discovered the way to quell them back when Lord Kleavor. Or so I’ve been told. By making a special balm out of their favorite foods.” 

“Then it’s simple, we make the balms ahead of time just encase and then if Lord Avalugg gets frenzied then he can be calmed right then and there.” Ingo shrugged, a smile clear in his voice; sounding as proud as about this as he was about any of his battle strategies. “Better to have them on hand and not need them than to need them and not have them.”

“Yep. and Ingo and I can help quell him. Akari will not need to bother.”

A look of horror came over their father’s face as the man took a sip from his tea, only to be left sputtered and coughing a moment later. 

“No!” The Warden finally managed to get out, through his coughing; doing his best looking them both in the eye. “No!” he repeated as he finally caught his breath. “No! You are not!”

“But-” Emmet tried to argue but his father cut him off giving him a stern look that reminded him greatly of his Uncle. 

“No Buts. Neither of you are going near there if Lord Avalugg should be frenzied, Almight Sinnoh forbid that ever happens.” Their father gave them both a pointed look, his voice more stern then it had ever been with them. 

“But Avalugg is an Ice type and Litiwck has a type advantage, and Akari-” Ingo had managed to get a few more words in edgewise but he was shut down almost just as fast.

“I’m not happy about Akari being sent out to do this either, Akari is also Sixteen and not under my care. You both are ten and you are my sons. The answer is no. Is this understood?” 

Both brothers went silent, and gave a meek nod in return.

Slowly the fight seemed to drain out of their father, the fierce stern look slowly melting away to be replaced by a deep set of worry as his shoulders fell. “I don’t mean to get angry or to frighten, but what you are suggesting is far too dangerous for either of you. Litwick’s fire abilities could only protect you for so long.” he explained, standing up and moving to sit in between the twins, pulling them to his sides in an awkward kind of hug. 

“I’ve seen the kind of damage these nobles can do to a person up close when Akari quelled Electrode. I know, she is only a few years older than you both, but those few years have given her a bit more experience that you two simply don’t have yet.” their father’s voice shook as he spoke, and for a moment Emmet wondered if the man was about to cry. “She is also a few years away from becoming an adult, you two on the other hand have yet to reach adolescents; her body is just a bit more resilient than yours. A serious injury for her could be a fatel one to you two. I don’t want to see either of you hurt or worse.” 

His hold on them became slightly tighter as he took a shuddering breath, and Emmet wrapped his arms around the man feeling guilty for having caused this; his brother mirroring him on the other side. 

“Please, Promise me that you both will complete your safety checks, and avoid crossing such yellow lines in the future. You both arrived at this station heavily injured, I don’t plan on letting that happen again.” their father was practically crushing them to his sides. 

Emmet looked over at his brother, and gave him a slow nod, willing his twin to speak for them both as he didn’t trust his own monotone voice with the words.

“We Promise, dad.” his brother said, voice clearly displaying the sincerity in those few words as he buried his face into their father’s tunic.

“Thank you.” he gave them one last squeeze before letting them go. “Leave the concerns of the Nobles to us Wardens.” (you the link at the top of the page to read the rest)

[ahopkins1965]



 

What does it mean to make amends with God and others?

            Hello Everyone!! I hope that everyone is having a good day today.  I would like to start this off by asking a very important question.  What does it mean to make amends with God and others?  An amends is when someone apologizes for a wrongdoing and change the behavior afterwards.  For instance, when a person commits a wrongdoing, a person is supposed to confer with God first and foremost.  Afterwards, repent for your sins and forgive yourself in the process.  Afterwards, you are supposed to apologize with anyone that you have done wrong to.  Saying I am sorry is really not enough.  You have to change your behavior for the better.

 An example of this is when I told my family members about my brother’s problems, without asking him first.  Some would say that I am a backbiter or a two faced person.  I did not have any business telling my brother’s problems to others.  This is because my brother is getting ready to have a total of 4 children.  I have told him that selling drugs will not pay the bills.  He will have to get a job and keep it for the rest of his life.

 



 

 To be honest, I do not have any children because I know that I can barely take care of myself.  Therefore, I would prefer not to have sex with any woman, until we get married.  I would prefer to have a friendship with everyone, man or woman.  This is what I am supposed to do for the rest of my life.  An amends is when you are supposed to admit to your mistake, ask for forgiveness, rectify the wrong, and eventually change the behavior.  It takes a very long time to modify a specific behavior, and change it for the better.  I know that in my case, my family members are not the forgiving type of people.

 I have to ask God to intervene in this matter.  There are a few of my friends, who would rather not have anything to do with you.  When that happens, that is it and it is final with some people.  Some people do not know how to make amends with anyone, or with God the Father.  I also want to inform everyone that I have a brother right now that I really have not spoken to in 24 years.  It hurts me because he does not want anything to do with me.  It is his fault for calling me a female dog at my Great Grandmother’s funeral on August 19, 1994.

 It hurts me because I have to be the better person by apologizing to my brother for fighting him.  He did not understand that my Great Grandmother raised me, while my mother was being treated for Post-Partum Depression.  It also hurt me when my own father died.  I was not notified about him or his death.  I asked my Aunt, where was I during the time my father died?



 

 I am hurt and devastated because I have not had a chance to resolve any of my active issues with anyone.  Currently, I am puzzled because I have not had a chance to resolve any of my active issues with everyone in my personal life.  I have a cousin who fought me for 9 years.  I am not at the liberty of mentioning his name because of confidentiality issues.  We fought each other as children and teenagers over petty issues.  My biological father is his father’s cousin.  My best friend is really my cousin because our fathers were brothers.  My family members do not really know it.  My own biological father was a light skin man.  I thought my father was fair skinned just like me.  It is going to take God to help me to resolve all of my active issues with each other.  For the moment, my brothers and sisters are not speaking to each other right now.  Please pray for me and my family members because we are not speaking to each other anymore.  Thank you for reading my blog.

 

Anthony Hopkins





[growthpeacelove]

Something switched

I got the ick perhaps. I saw him for who he truly is. That the second I set boundaries he is pulling back and punishing me? I basically let him know - my friendships comes first and I’m still thinking about what went down. I did my best to explain and I even apologized not even knowing the whole story and his part. How he kept pestering my friend. I finally also sat down with my feelings about everything he said and the way he seemed to disengage and was there for his own needs. He doesn’t care to get to know me. It’s heartbreaking but hey that’s how one learns. I realized he was also selfish. In so many ways. He is my emotional getaway car and that’s it. I had a great time so I don’t regret it but I also looked past so much. So much love bombing and just never really thinking about it because I was excited for this new chapter. I was also very available and excitable and I deserve someone who cherishes that and likes to draw that out. So when I set a line I was told that moving forward the way we hung out is now changing. That the

Form and frequency might change.

That. Broke my heart a bit. Actually a lot. It feels like punishment because he knows I like him. We had one disagreement - one opportunity to disagree and his first thought was to pull back and let me know that things are changing.

So I replied

My friendship with her comes first and we are trying to navigate this new relationship we have with each other. That is where we are at. I don’t mind seeing you in the coming days and I want to be clear about what I am comfortable with.

I am still learning to set boundaries and speak up for myself and not be flexible to your needs only. I want to make sure I check in with myself and how I actually feel about everything.

So we can spend time together when we are both interested in that. Like I said I wanted to make sure we are on good terms moving forward after last night.

God I am so proud of myself. I flipped the table right back. You want to pull back? Guess what? I CAN DO THE SAME THING. I have no regrets. At my event I was the belle of the ball and I realized damn I am so cool.

I am so quirky with my own ticks and sense of humor

I am friends with so many people and I can get deep with all of them

I am so compassionate and generous

When I care - I really care. I mean I love that about myself and I am still navigating how I go about it. However that much I know is that I am a great friend first and foremost.

I am getting more firm about my boundaries and I’m deciding when things make me uncomfortable.

Growing pains is a bitch and I know I am capable of so much love and I deserve love and support

I am fascinating - let’s be real. A triple threat in so many ways. My passion for entertainment and all that comes with it. Boundless joy and happiness and excitement! All this and all my success and my growth at 24!

I may be in search for love in the wrong places but I am really here for all of it. The lessons to be learned - the growth to be made. AlhamdilAllah

The support I give myself in all the different ways - life coaching and therapy and being brave and putting myself out there and all of this - being silly and goofy and also firm.

AlhamdilAllah for everything.

I am learning that I cannot be there emotionally for everyone and I must take heed to my own desires and actions and wants. My wants are not silly and have only helped me to evolve in so many ways.

I’m a catch Omg. Everyone can see it in how I just put my all into everything especially getting attention. I had them wrapped around my finger. For everything that has happened - I don’t regret it. Like I said - dating is data and guess what - I’m a data scientist now!!

I don’t care for people who are not able to open themselves

However I do know that who I am deep down - not everyone is worthy of that - so I will keep refining my approach and be a lot more assertive.

I am so grateful for the life I have built.

I have done so well for myself and damn even for my age. Fuck yea. I deserve everything I want. Including the delusions!

Also let’s be real - who doesn’t love me? Okay I can name many and guess what - they aren’t even those who I give a fuck about moving forward. I’m moving through pain and anxiety with a renewed sense of self. I am going to continue trying my best. Learning and growing. I am an executive and I am also many things. How human of me to be in these pivotal growing pains and pushing through and really setting myself for success. AlhamdilAllah.

I am on my journey to connect with Allah on my own terms.

I am weird and quirky that’s for sure and cool and fun - I am also self conscious and clearly desire so much more. I have a naive sense of self and a bit - a lot of impulsive behavior and yet working on it. Trying to live a colorful life that brings ME joy.

AlhamdilAllah for everything. Truly. I also may just take a break from all these distractions that are men. And honestly this may be the best time. I travel today and I am going to a new country! First time up North! I will be speaking to all different folks. I am also excited thinking about how much I will learn and how successful it will all be!

AlhamdilAllah for everything! everything is a lesson and while I was sad about how things are turning out - I am grateful for how they did! I deserve someone who wants to make me happy and add joy to my life and is actually considering a life with me. Meaningless flings don’t do it. They never have. As I get more serious and I become more disciplined I know I am worthy of all that this universe has to offer.

I have come to realize that yes I am getting better at modifying my behavior and standing up for myself. God I am really growing. These times are uncomfortable and also how unbelievably privileged I am to experience it all with where I am. AlhamdilAllah AlhamdilAllah AlhamdilAllah!

All this to say - it’s been a whirlwind - this life of mine. I say it’s a tornado because there is an eye in the middle of it and I am seeing so many things.

AlhamdilAllah for all that is happening.

[sukuna-slut]

teacher’s pet - pt. 1

yan!sukuna x reader x yan!gojou

as you fall deeper into an unusual relationship with the king of curses, your favourite teacher becomes increasingly worried for your safety.

warnings

mild depictions of injury, abuse of power, infantilisation, noncon

rating - teen

word count - 1558

What was happening? As a Jujutsu sorcerer, you had lived by the affirmation that you would not regret death once it came upon you, but you never prepared for the possibility that death would sneak up on you when you least expected it. Before stupid Itadori crashed into your world like a bull in a china shop, you were Tokyo Jujutsu Technical High School’s most promising student. That freaky Okkotsu kid had that super-powerful Cursed Spirit living inside him which automatically made him Special Grade, but with your extraordinary natural talent for jujutsu, you were sure to one day reach his level if you just worked hard enough. Gojou-sensei had said it himself, you were a rare talent. You still had so much further to go, so much more to achieve, so why were you now bleeding out in some random alleyway with nothing to show for your sorry life but a few empty words of praise?

Your opponent let out a rumbling peal of laughter. ‘Oh yes, I love that one… you know, of all the expressions people show me before I kill them, anger is my favourite.’

Even with the tattoos crawling up his arms and extra eyes blinking on his face clearly marking him as Ryouma Sukuna, you couldn’t help but hate Itadori for once again ruining everything. Gritting your teeth, you ground your twitching palms into the cold asphalt in an attempt to push yourself up, but your elbows gave out, making Sukuna laugh even harder.

‘I’m not… done yet,’ you spat, blood spilling down your chin in direct betrayal to your words.

‘Yes, you are.’ 

Sukuna turned to leave and you attempted to will away the black spots clouding your vision. Despite your pride, you wondered when your life was going to flash before your eyes like it was supposed to.

‘Such a waste… you might’ve had a chance if you’d tried a little harder,’ he murmured with a slight chuckle. ‘A small chance, but who knows.’

Huh?

The shock you felt at his words momentarily numbed the pulsing pain in every muscle of your body, giving you the strength to prop yourself up on one elbow.

‘What… do you mean?’ you forced out.

‘Hm?’

He turned his head with a slight raise of his eyebrows, as if he hadn’t expected you to still be alive.

‘My technique was perfect,’ you insisted.

Itadori’s features morphed into a derisive smirk unbefitting of the cheerful boy.

‘Who told you that? That irritating teacher of yours, no doubt,’ Sukuna laughed. ‘So much untapped potential… if only they taught you how to really use your powers, you could even rival dear Itadori.’

Your eyes widened. You had potential to match Itadori, the vessel of the most powerful Cursed Spirit in existence? Sukuna was turning away again but you couldn’t let him leave, you had to stop him. Ignoring the screams of your body, you pushed your weight back until your butt rested on your heels, your arms stretched out in front of you in a deep bow.

‘Teach me!’ you begged with every bit of energy you had left.

Sukuna paused where he stood, turning to regard you with an expression of utter shock. It was only there for a moment though, melting as soon as it had appeared into raucous laughter.

‘You want me… to teach you?’ he managed between cackles. ‘Interesting! Maybe you’re worth keeping alive a little longer.’

He took slow steps towards you before crouching to lift your chin between his thumb and forefinger to gaze into your teary eyes, silently pleading for his help. You were barely holding onto life at this point, yet he seemed to be in no hurry, a grin stretched wide across Itadori’s face.

‘A teacher, huh?’

The last thing you saw before you blacked out was Sukuna’s extra eyes and tattoos melting back into his skin, his malicious expression replaced with your classmate frantically calling your name.

Gojou Satoru was livid. Staring at the swirling mahogany of his desk, he forced his bloodlust down to a simmer and fixed his face into a painful smile with which he regarded the snivelling boy before him.

‘You lost control,’ he accused, ‘a mistake which nearly caused the death of your classmate. What do you have to say for yourself?’

As Itadori began blubbering apologies, Gojou’s mind returned to the sight of you lying in a hospital bed, a mess of wires and bandages around the gaping wound in your stomach that nearly cost you your life. The image of you, his bratty little (YN) looking so defeated made his blood boil with the desire to tear whoever was responsible to shreds. Unfortunately, the perpetrator was the very student he had insisted on keeping alive. Was it worth the risk? What if losing you was the risk?

You came into his life bright-eyed and brimming with terrifying reserves of untapped potential. Whether or not you were aware of just how much power you possessed, you had an inexplicable desire to distinguish yourself which reminded Gojou of himself at your age. While others were irritated by your brashness, he found himself growing fond of his latest protege. He liked to think that he was the only one who truly understood you. When he informed you of exactly how exceptional you truly were, your face lit up with such fervent excitement, he couldn’t bring himself to be ashamed of the sudden increased blood flow to his nether regions in that moment. He ended up complimenting you whenever possible during his private sessions with you just to see that face again. He loved the way you lapped up his praise like a cute little dog, he loved how you treated his word like gospel… eventually, he came to terms with the realisation that he just loved you.

Even so, you scared him sometimes. At first he had lived to see you shine whenever you discovered a new ability with his help, but with every milestone, he felt you edging further and further away from him. At that rate, you would surely become a Grade One Sorcerer, and then… you’d have all these responsibilities, responsibilities he honestly wasn’t sure if you could handle with your weak constitution, responsibilities that would lead you away from him.

So he altered your training program a little. Taught you to unknowingly hinder your own abilities, just enough so you’d still need him by your side. Maybe it was underhanded, but you were the purest thing in his life and he wasn’t about to let you leave him so easily. But his selfishness had backfired. With your stoppered abilities, you were unable to defend yourself against Sukuna, and because of him…

Gojou buried his face in his hands.

‘Sensei?’ Itadori asked nervously.

He shook his head, donning a carefree smile.

‘You shouldn’t apologise, Itadori. After all, I’m the one who miscalculated when I assumed you would be able to sustain Sukuna’s growing power.’

‘Am I going to be executed?’ Itadori’s face turned sheet white.

Gojou had considered killing the boy himself when he first saw your beaten body. Itadori’s hold against the ancient Curse had been gradually slipping ever since he ate the fourth finger, but he had been so consumed with capturing Sukuna, that he failed to see the situation for the disaster it was.

However, logic soon overruled his desire to destroy anyone and anything that hurt you. The inconvenient truth was, they had no hope of stopping Sukuna without Itadori’s body. But in order to mitigate the risk…

‘No, you won’t be executed. But you will be detained, at least until we figure out a better solution. For the time being, your responsibility will be reduced to being a vessel for Sukuna, nothing more.’

Itadori hung his head but did not protest.

It had been a whole week since you were discharged from hospital, yet Gojou-sensei still refused to let you train. Before, when his presence had been fleeting due to his foremost duty as the strongest sorcerer calling him away every other day, you had craved his attention, but now you wished he’d just disappear.

‘(YN)-chan, you should be resting!’

You had barely taken seven steps down the hallway before he intercepted you and corralled you back to your room, gripping your upper arms firmly as if he were redirecting a wandering child.

‘I should be training!’ you protested, noticing with no small amount of irritation the way his lips drew tight. ‘I’m almost fully healed, the nurse said I could participate in moderate physical activity the day after I was discharged. It’s been a week, Gojou-sensei! When are you going to stop treating me like a- mmh!’

Suddenly, your lips were captured in a suffocating kiss. Gojou-sensei wasted no time pushing his tongue between your unprepared lips, the wet muscle surprising you with its coldness as it invaded your mouth. At some point, his hold on you had tightened to the point of being painful.

‘S-sensei!’ you exclaimed, shoving him back.

His blindfold prevented you from gauging the full extent of his emotions, your teacher raising a hand to his parted lips as if shocked by his own actions. Before he could regain his composure, you bolted down the hallway, your only goal to get as far away from your attacker as possible.

[emwritesfootball]

Sneaking Around | Mason Mount

Love your writing can you please write a piece about working for the England squad and you and mason mount end up dating and sneaking round sleeping together

Word Count: 614

Warnings: made this a lil angsty, my apologies xx

- - -

You didn’t have time for boys.

That was your first and foremost rule when Gareth Southgate had called you personally and hired you to work the latest stint of England matches. He’d said that this was a trial basis but if all the good things he’d heard about you were true, he’d be offering you a year-by-year contract with the team at the end of these friendlies.

You didn’t have time for boys. Until you met him.

Mason Mount.

Of course you'd heard of him. As someone in your line of work, it was impossible not to know who he was. He was enigmatic, capturing your attention right away when he’d sauntered over and introduced himself personally. You hated how shy and awkward you became at that moment, hoping he didn’t see it.

He didn’t seem to mind, finding you endearing - something he’d told you more than once. He openly flirted with you and you tried hard not to flirt back but you were unsuccessful, drawn in by his personality and kind smile.

You didn’t mind that he seemed to find you wherever you went, making conversation and making you laugh. You’d told him you weren’t interested in dating anyone you worked with - or for, in this case - and Mason told you he understood.

It was you that broke your own rule, finding him in the tunnels after a particularly difficult match that saw England lose on a bad referee call. He didn’t even have time to process what was happening as you dragged him down for a kiss.

Kissing him was addictive. Neither of you could get enough of each other, sneaking around your coworkers and his teammates to make out in random places.

It wasn’t until after the next win that the two of you slept together. Mason scored the game-winning goal for England and it had been hard to maintain professional composure as Wembley erupted in deafening cheers. He was the last to leave the changing room and you’d been sent to make sure he was okay, closing and locking the door behind you before you congratulated him properly.

There was still two weeks left of international duty, which meant your trial run was over soon. You started to juggle your personal and professional life that had somehow managed to intertwine themselves, especially now that you and Mason had escalated from secret make-out sessions to sex. Sometimes, you snuck into his room and other times he just found you at work the next day and fucked you in a broom closet.

“I can’t believe I have to go back to Chelsea after the match tomorrow,” he murmured in-between kisses. The two of you had found a secluded area after training to get more alone time, and he was ruining it by talking about the future.

“Shut up,” you said, kissing him deeply. “We’re not talking about that.”

Mason pulled away, his eyes searching yours. “Will you be here next time?”

“Will you get called up next time?” You retorted, hating that you’d touched on one of his fears he’d told you a week ago, but it had to be done. You couldn’t go getting attached now.

Your name was a tortured whisper on his lips as he reached out, brushing his thumb reverently over your cheek. “I don’t want our last bit of time together to be us fighting, okay? Let’s just enjoy what we’ve got right now, and hope we see each other again next time.”

Neither of you did much talking after that, not wanting to waste more time on words. You poured everything you had into the kiss, hoping that this wasn’t the last time you’d see him.

There will not be a second part to this

[dokifluffs]

Someone Touching You | Sakusa, Kuroo, Atsumu

Pairing: Sakusa X Reader (female), Kuroo X Reader (female), and Atsumu X Reader (female) ft. Osamu

Genre: fluffyy, protective 🤩

Request: “Hi👉👈 I would like to request Sakusa, Kuroo and Atsumu's reaction to someone trying to touch or feel their s/o up on the metro. It's ok if you don't want to write it.” - anon

Author’s Note: oooo yessss, i love protective tropes. Thanks for requesting! Hope you enjoy!! Also, requests are still open~~ tehe

Warning: Language in Atsumu’s 

Sakusa: 

First, props to you for even somehow getting him to ride the metro

The trains and metros in Japan were infamously known to be crowded to the point where officers would squeeze and shove people in

And the one the two of you needed to take this morning was fully crowded. You apologized profusely to Sakusa since it was your fault that the two of you missed the usual one you two took

You were running late and Sakusa, though very tempted, didn’t leave to get to school before you did

This time, it wasn’t too crowded where officers had to shove and push people in but there was very little space for everyone to stand comfortably without someone else’s body pressed against yours

You held his gloved hand and faced him as he wallowed in the corner facing the wall and door, anticipating for the trip to end

Sakusa felt lightheaded and sick to his stomach, feeling worse when his mind filled with the thought that he was breathing the same air as tens of others all around him even though he wore his mask

He felt so exposed despite his gloves and mask but he felt grounded whenever you squeezed his fingers

He absolutely hated crowds and to be such close proximity to people who weren’t clean or disinfected absolutely disgusted him

It didn’t help that as the metro zipped by at its speed, it made everyone sway back and forth, left and right

He groaned to himself, trying to think of anything, listening to the electric voice whenever a stop was approaching, anticipating when he would hear your stop but thankfully according to the voice, it was next

It felt so close yet so far away at the same time, he dreaded it

You stood close beside him, your body pressed lightly into his but you made sure to give him as much room as you could, even if it meant you pushing yourself back into other people

You tried to cheer him up, repeatedly telling him the two of you were a couple minutes away and then you two would finally get to school

As you counted the minutes down for him, your hand around his froze, the calm words you tried to use to was him got stuck in your throat

You felt goosebumps rise all over you, your body tensing at the feeling of a grasp roaming your bottom. It wasn’t your hand and there was no way it was Sakusa’s

You looked behind to find an older, bigger man with a devilish glint in his eyes, his gaze never leaving yours

He knew what he was doing and he wouldn’t stop

Calming himself down the best he could, Sakusa thought rationally of how this happened to him and he needed to just focus on getting to school since he would be going into the world in the future 

He needed to remember the feeling of your hand in his since you wouldn’t always be there or be beside him to hold his hand to reassure him

Sakusa actually felt comfort in holding your hand- it was like the one thing that kept him sane on the ride

He opened his eyes, finally, and turned his head when you paused announcing the minutes to him, his eyes meeting yours

He felt a cold chill shoot down his back when he saw the fear in your eyes as they watered, your lips quivering

You couldn’t speak a word but your eyes told him so much

You were pleading for help and he didn’t even notice until you stopped your ministrations

He pulled you close, away from the dirty man and shot him a menacing glare with his eyes

The other only looked away, minding his own business as if he wasn’t harassing you

He stood you in the corner he faced before, holding onto the bar at the top of the metro while the other wrapped around your waist as you let out a breath of relief into his chest

You were the one person he allowed to touch him. He suppressed the disgust and fear he had for germs and focused on you

He felt a wash of guilt wash over him at his selfishness for trying to end his own suffering when he should have also looked out for you too

Coming to a rough and screeching stop at the station, he stepped the two of you out and away from everyone, holding your hand firmly in his at a fast pace toward school

“Are you okay?” He asked, first and foremost as he pulled out a plastic baggie with a second mask, exchanging the one he had on with the new one, feeling more comfortable and finally like he could breathe

“Yeah, thank you, and I’m sorry I made us late. You had to suffer... i know how much you hate crowds.”

“Y/N, don’t be sorry. Yes it was painful and disgusting but I should have done more for you... if I did, that man wouldn’t have touched you,” he sighed apologetically

“It was only for a little bit, but I’m sorry too. I’ll make sure to be on time from now on so we can sit in our usual empty metro,” You have his hand a squeeze

“Good. And as payback, I’ll make sure every bit of us is clean after school and practice, especially where that sick man touched you,” he said, his eyes dead serious as the two of you arrived barely on time at school

Kuroo: 

You held onto Kuroo’s hand as he held one of the handle’s dangling from the top of the metro to make sure the two of you wouldn’t fall whenever the metro rocked on the tracks or whenever it came to an unpleasant stop

You happily held onto the bag of goodies Kuroo had gotten for you but also you got for yourself after the two of you spent the day at the museum of Science in Tokyo

You surprised Kuroo with tickets after you heard him mention it a couple times, wanting to go and to spend the day with you there

So you fulfilled his wishes, making it a reality

“Did you have fun?” You looked up to Kuroo with his bigger bag hanging from the wrist that held the safety handle

“Of course I did, thank you,” he smiled down to you, pressing a kiss to your forehead

The metro zipped through the city, approaching the second to last stop before the two of you were to get off to head back to his place

Coming to a screeching stop, the metro arrived at the second to last stop. Kuroo’s grip on your hand got firmer, to make sure you didn’t fly off into others

The car the two of you were in was pretty full already with space between everyone around but at this stop, only a few got off where handfuls more got in, forcing you to press your body into Kuroo’s, not that you minded, but it also made others press themselves into you

It was pretty late into the afternoon and Kuroo had a rough idea about dinner but said he would make some plants with his dad when he got home later

Just then, in the busy cart, Kuroo’s phone began to vibrate in his jacket pocket. Letting the handle go for a brief moment, he reached into his pocket to fish out the device, answering the call with his dad

He didn’t let go of your hand but instead held the phone to his ear, wrapping his arm holding the phone around one of the many bars that stood from the floor to ceiling of the cart to take his call

You stayed put, making sure not to push into others around you

You could overhear parts of the conversation, hearing it was with his father and discussions about the day and etc

The metro went over a bump in the tracks making everyone suddenly stumble around but thankfully Kuroo held your hand, glancing down to see if you were okay, going back to his call with his dad after you gave him a smile

But you didn’t even notice the lingering hand that rested on your lower back until it moved down your body, slipping into the pants you wore

The said hand began to squeeze your cheeks roughly, another hand resting on your side

You couldn’t bring yourself to look back but you stepped closer to Kuroo as much as you could until your head was practically resting on his chest, purposefully showing how close you were with him and how you were holding his hand

But the person with the hands paid no attention, focused on your body

You urged Kuroo to look at you squeezing his hand only for him to squeeze back as if you were squeezing his hand in the first place as a loving gesture

He continued on the phone and the hands were going lower, getting dangerously close to somewhere you absolutely did not want to be touched by anyone

With your free, hand, you tugged on his shirt and even tried to call out to get him to just look at you but your voice was stuck in your throat having never been in this situation

But someone who must’ve been listening to your wishes must’ve heard you: Kuroo’s phone lost service making the phone call with his father end

“Oops, oh well, it was my da- Y/N, what’s wro-“ He was cut off and he felt his vein appear in his forehead looking back to the older man feeling you up form behind, tears watering in your eyes as you desperately looked up to him

“What the hell do you think you’re doing to her?” Kuroo’s voice was strong and purposefully raised, getting the attention of everyone around to see, their eyes looking to the man’s hand that was close to your body but no longer as Kuroo swapped places with you, standing you in the corner away from others

Whispers from others and even comments of disapproval filled the cramped cart

You sighed, relieved it was over, holding onto the back of his shirt in your hand as his arm held the dangling handle once again while the other was stretched out, his palm to you, protecting you

He was disgusted with the man who laughed it off as if he did nothing

Fortunately, the hell ride was no longer as the metro came to a stop

He kept an annoyed and angry glare on the older man til he looked away as the two of you stepped off the metro, making sure to have you walk in front of him

“I’m so sorry, Y/N. I should have noticed.” He tucked a strand of hair behind your ear, you still clearly shaken up over that

“But he can’t touch you anymore, I won’t let anyone else touch you like that ever again.” He leaned down to press a kiss to your cheek. “Let’s go home, okay? My dad has to stay late for work so he said we could do whatever we wanted for dinner,” he tried to lighten the mood but it was like a giant thorn in his side

The day was so nice and for it to end like that, for that to happen to you right under his nose

He shook his head in disapproval of himself as the two of you walked, you listing out suggestions of what you would like for dinner while also listing some for him

He promised to himself and to you, never again would he let that happen to you ever again

Atsumu: ft. Osamu

The station was crammed with many people, mostly men in their business attire as they waited for the metro to arrive

A warm breeze blew through the old station as you waited patiently by yourself for your boyfriend, Atsumu, and his twin brother, Osamu

But you were waiting for their metro to arrive

You spent the day at home today with a little cold and decided not to go to school for the day to avoid spreading it to the others

This left Atsumu to disappointedly walk with just his brother to school this morning but he survived, even though he bombarded your phone with tens of messages whenever he could

But you decided to pay them a visit so you could at least see your boyfriend and friend at least once

Atsumu wasn’t too much of the clingy type but he did enjoy your presence which he got used to when the two of you grew closer and closer

He actually wanted you to stay home to rest more when you told him you were feeling better- good enough to wait for them at the station

But you insisted and he wouldn’t object. It was your body: if you thought you felt good enough, who was he to tell you what you could or couldn’t do?

You stood beside a vending machine toward the end of the station to avoid being in others’ way since you weren’t going to be boarding any of them

Your phone vibrated in your hand every now and then getting updates from Atsumu about how many stations away or how many minutes were left before they would get there

You got to the station quite a while ago, not realizing how early you got here and how brief the walk from your house to here was

Many of the people in the station were men, which made you a little wary but you felt better since you were at the side

“5 min,” Atsumu texted, just as a metro zipped by, filling the station with who just got off

You leaned against the cold vending machine filled with various drinks, contemplating yourself on whether you should get one or maybe two to hold for the twins before they arrived

You were so concentrated on the drinks in the vending machine beside you, you hadn’t seen the two businessmen that now stood beside you

“What would you like, sweetie?” One of the large men’s asked, his voice smelled of tobacco filled your senses but the worst was how close his face was in proximity to yours

“Uh, nothing, thank you,” You stood straighter, pressing yourself as close as you physically could to the machine and watching your phone in hopes Atsumu and Osamu’s metro would arrive soon

“Are you sure? I could get you anything you want. You’d like that, right?” He asked as the two men stayed there, their bellies large and bulging in their suit shirts

“No, really, please go away,” you mustered as much courage as you could into your words, readying Atsumu’s contact to call him in case anything were to happen

“Don’t be like that, honey. We’ve had a long day, won’t you… entertain us?” The other one said, his body not as big as the first one but just a few inches taller than you

The two of them acted like a wall, knowing well what they were doing and how they were making you feel, not feeling a single ounce of guilt from it and proceeded

The shorter one began to feel up your waist, trying his best to go under your clothes but you held the edge of your clothes down as firmly as you could, pressing it into your body. You tried to push and kick them away as you could, not giving into what they wanted but they were too strong

As you tried to call for help, to anyone in the station, the taller one covered a hand over your mouth but also almost completely over your nose that made it hard to breathe

“You’re so noisy,” his voice low with a threatening look in his eye. “Come on, can’t you just-“

The man was cut off and the two of them were harshly shoved to the ground, struggling to stand back up as you caught your breath

Two bodies in their red Inarizaki Volleyball club jackets stood before you, their backs to you as they kept their eyes, glaring at the two men on the ground

“Why- I- who do you think you are?” The tall one pointed to the two of them as he did his best to hoist the shorter one up from the ground

People began to gather around all the commotion

“Us? Who the fuck do ya think you two are?” Atsumu’s blood boiled as he began to roll up his sleeves, balling his hands into fists

Atsumu couldn’t care less of who saw what was happening, all he could feel was his anger but the men seeing him approaching made them frantic, scurrying to gather their belongings and get away

But seeing he was acting on his emotions, Osamu grabbed a hold of the collar of Atsumu’s jacket to pull him back, though he could have easily escaped his brother’s grasp

“They’re gone, leave them be.” Osamu’s voice relaxed back down to his persona

When they were far off into the distance, they turned back to you

“Are you okay?” Osamu asked calmly as Atsumu was still grumbling, wanting to do more to who he called “pigs”

“Yeah, thank you,” you gave the two a reassuring smile to which Osamu nodded, but Atsumu was still heated

The two picked up their belongings, fixing their clothes and hair before Atsumu took you by your hand firm in his but it wasn’t enough for him. He draped his arm around your shoulder securely, still mumbling about those two men but chilled off as the three of you walking toward your house to drop you off, Osamu on your other side 

~~~~~ Thanks for reading! Masterlist for more! Please do not repost anywhere else!

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