#(i'm publishing this chapter on ao3 in a couple of days. i promise)

[koumeowkami]

🪐 no celestial ; kanallen

— chapter four

"Kanata was a poor little angel that heaven couldn't help. He'd always been a tough one, not trusting anyone but his little brother Nayuta, the only person that ever made him feel love. Growing up by themselves, he did everything in his power to protect his sick brother, things that dirtied his holy hands. "It's for a good cause though", he thought. But it wasn't enough, and Nayuta died soon after.

Kanata's soul was completely spent. He became unable to feel love, and adding to his dirty dealings that soon were found out, he got cast out of heaven. Fallen on Earth with his wings blackened, he felt so lost and empty he thought he could've just died.

But a random encounter with a very annoying, persistent, stupid redhead human boy would've made him discover love again."

2389 words

genre: supernatural, hurt/comfort, angst

warnings: none

previous ✧ next

"...And who the fuck are these people now?"

Kanata's head was spinning. Having to deal with that Suzaku bastard was already plenty enough, he definitely didn't need other nosy people to bother the fuck out of him. He wondered if all humans were like that, unable to mind their own business; at least now he knew why he hated them so much.

"Yeah, um..." the guy stuttered again, probably because Kanata was looking at him as if he was ready to kill, "they're my roommates. I didn't know they were there either, to be honest..."

"I'm sorry, Allen! We were worried about you..." the pink-haired one spoke, joining their hands together, "It looked like you constantly had something on your mind and it was annoying to see" the mushroom-head continued, eyeing Kanata weirdly. He didn't know why and it was getting on his nerves.

"So... do you want to take this stray kitten home? Honestly, I don't want him to get my house dirty."

So he was of those filthy rich guys, huh.

Although he was used to being treated like that, it had always made Kanata's blood boil. Those people represented everything he hated the most: they ruined his and Nayuta's life, never helped them when they needed it despite having all the means to do that; they just watched the twins suffer and pretended they didn't exist. Of fucking course everyone would've been like that on Earth, too. He didn't even know why he was expecting something to begin with.

"Are you pickin' a fight with me!?" he snarled. If that guy thought Kanata was scared of him, he was so damn wrong. He started inching towards him.

"Oh, do you maybe prefer being called a rat?" Mushroom-head provoked him, "Sorry, but I don't take part in such vulgarities. You better do that with people of your kind". He smiled. God, he really wanted to beat the shit out of him.

"HAH!?"

"Hajun, stop being an asshole, will you?" Pink Hair intervened, then turned to Suzaku, "Allen, did you guys meet here?"

"Uh... yeah, a week ago" he scratched the back of his neck, "he has no other place to go, so I was trying to help him. I can feel he's not a bad guy... so guys, please."

The redhead looked at his friends with big puppy eyes, begging them. Kanata couldn't stand that look. He just hated being pitied like that, but something deep inside of him didn't want to stop him anymore. He could've done anything to drive that annoying little bastard away. He could've shown his black wings, could've proven he was an angel in order to scare him, but would've that been enough? Fighting again and again would probably only be a waste of time and energy. But was it really the only reason he was about to admit defeat? Kanata honestly didn't know anymore; his thoughts just turned into a mess whenever he was around that kid. The flames of his soul were desperately trying to burn the ice around Kanata's heart.

"...Are you gonna stop botherin' me if I agree to this?" he started, making Suzaku turn around, "Will you finally leave me alone? I'm so sick of you stickin' to me like that."

"Sure! I told you, the apartment is big" he smiled, "you won't be bothered. We'll make one step at a time."

"Stop actin' like we're gonna become besties or somethin' like that, it makes me gag" Kanata looked away. He feared that if the redhead kept shining just a bit more, he would've turned him into dust. So annoying.

"It seems we agree on something, at least" Mushroom-head spoke again. "If Allen is so desperate about taking the stray kitten home, then I guess I can't say no?" he huffed, "However, I can kick him out whenever I want to if he messes up. It's still my house, after all."

"Come on, Hajun... he doesn't look like the kind of guy who causes problems" Pink Hair said, turning their gaze on Kanata, "Allen is naive, but not enough to let weird people into his own house!"

"Hey, stop treating me like a kid!" Suzaku pouted, again. He looked so damn punchable. "Then that settles it! Thank you guys, I love you!" he hugged the other two so strongly they were gasping for air, then went towards Kanata.

"Don't even think of huggin' me! Who do you think you are!?" Kanata was panicking. He hadn't been close to another being in ages and got so unused to it he didn't know how he was supposed to take it anymore. Fine by him, human interactions never really mattered to him as long as they weren't with his brother, but this somehow got him more nervous than it should have.

"Ah, sorry... I promised not to bother you, didn't I?" the redhead smiled shyly, "I'm pretty sure someday I'll be able to hug you, though!"

"Yeah yeah, sure. Your friends are leavin' us behind, by the way." he pointed towards the park's entrance and started running in that same direction. He could hear a muffled "Oi, wait for me! " from behind him but he didn't look back.

Why the fuck was he even blushing for?

— ☾ —

Kanata couldn't believe his eyes. That apartment was huge, in a massive skyscraper. He had never seen something like that before, being used to the small ruined buildings of the slums back in the Celestial Kingdom; many people there, including the twins, didn't even have a home in the first place. He had missed that warmth.

"If only Nayuta could feel this, too..." he thought. He felt horrible knowing he couldn't share it with his brother, guilty that he had originally planned to rot somewhere in the streets to reach him, since he had nothing to lose anymore. He was still alone, after all; living in the same space of those humans didn't mean anything to him.

"I'm sorry, Nayuta..." he muttered, his voice so quiet no one even heard him. Then, a huge smile in front of him pulled him out of his thoughts.

"We're finally here! Make yourself at home, yeah?"

Mushroom-head interrupted him, "Before making himself at home, I'd like him to take a shower. He stinks" he said while walking to what seemed to be the kitchen, "I'll make dinner in the meantime."

"I don't have other clothes, though..." Kanata said in a small voice. He didn't like how things were turning, as he already knew that the answer would've been -

"Oh, no worries about it! Allen is gonna lend you some!" Pink Hair cheerfully replied with a smile.

"Why me!?"

"Why him!?"

The redhead and Kanata screamed at the same time, the former astounded and the latter clearly pissed. Yeah, things were definitely turning worse than he expected.

"You dummy, Hajun's clothes would be too big on him so you're the only option left." they turned to Suzaku, then glanced at the poor boy, "That is, if he doesn't want to wear some frilly dresses~? He'd be so cute in them, like a little doll-"

"No fucking way!" Kanata was so embarrassed he thought his cheeks were about to explode from how much they were hot. Why the fuck did they enjoy playing with him so much?

"Then it's decided! The bathroom is over there" Pink Hair pointed to a door in the corridor, "See you later~" they said before disappearing in their room.

Suzaku then turned to Kanata, a bit embarrassed himself, "Well, then... I'm gonna bring you some clothes later" he smiled softly. He was blushing a tiny bit, Kanata noticed it immediately. He suddenly got that weird feeling in his chest, the same one he had after meeting the redhead for the first time. And once again, he did his best to ignore it.

"Yeah, um... thanks" he said looking at the floor, "By the way, if you even dare to peep in while I'm showerin', I'll kill you" he went back to his intimidating gaze.

"Whoa, uh... believe me I won't!" the redhead gulped before dashing towards his room. Kanata didn't know if it was because he successfully got scared or he was simply embarrassed. Maybe both.

— ☾ —

"Hey, you don't look bad dressed like that!"

Kanata appeared in the kitchen wearing some black sweatpants and a grey hoodie. Those would look just right on Suzaku, but that bastard was at least 15 centimeters taller than him; this resulted into him looking tiny as hell and he hated it.

"Yeah, you look cute! I mean, my clothes still look a bit big on you but-"

"Stop lookin' at me! I ain't cute at all!" he screeched, stomping towards the nearest chair and sitting. That was the reason why he hated being small. He definitely was not cute, and he felt like dying even more when the redhead said it. For the second fucking time, even.

"Exactly. Now can you all sit, please? Let's have dinner before it gets cold." Mushroom-head sat at the table, showing some food Kanata had never seen before. Not that he used to eat a lot when he was in Heaven, but he had no idea how human food was supposed to taste or look like.

"...The hell is this?" he questioned, while he let the food sit on his tongue, "Never seen this kinda stuff before."

"Please don't talk while you're eating, it's gross" the other guy sighed, "It's samgyeopsal, a Korean dish. I'm Korean, so I cook these traditional dishes often."

"Oh, I just realized I didn't introduce you guys to each other!" the redhead suddenly raised his head from the plate, "Kanata, these are Hajun and Anne", he pointed first towards Mushroom-head, then towards Pink Hair.

Kanata didn't reply. He could care less about their names. Hell, he didn't even bother to call Suzaku by his actual name. They weren't close and surely will never be, so that didn't matter, right?

"Well, Kanata doesn't seem to be the talkative type, does he?" Anne looked at him a little concerned, "He must be really tired. Honestly, I can't wait to go to sleep, too~"

"Yeah, we should hurry up. I'm also kinda sleepy..." Suzaku yawned, rubbing his eyes.

"Uh... where am I supposed to sleep, anyway?" Kanata intervened, at this point craving to be finally left alone and have some time for himself.

The redhead nervously laughed, "Ah... well, about that..."

"You told me I got to have personal space! Do you call sharing a room «to have personal space»!?"

Kanata wasn't mad. He was absolutely fuming, mentally regretting ever saying yes to that dumbass. This was probably one of the most disastrous things that could've happened to him: he already couldn't manage to sleep alone anymore, but having a stranger in the same bed as him sounded even worse. He couldn't believe how the redhead had accepted this thing right away, as if it were normal; he really was way too naive and it irritated him so damn much.

"I'm sorry, okay! I worded it a bit wrong." Suzaku took a step back from him, who looked like he was gonna jump on him at any second. "The apartment is big and you can go wander anywhere you want to, but we only have three bedrooms! And I'm definitely not letting you sleep on the couch." he concluded, looking dead serious for once.

Honestly, Kanata didn't mind sleeping anywhere, as long as he had at least a roof on top of his head. But he got to the conclusion that arguing about this wouldn't have led nowhere, since that guy didn't seem to budge.

"So here's what we're gonna do! I got my sleeping bag here" he proudly showed that weird puffy bag to Kanata, "I'm gonna sleep on the floor with this, while you can use my bed. Sounds good?"

He really couldn't believe what he was hearing. Was he really that determined to stay in his room and still give him some space? To a random kid met in the park, who could've seemed suspicious in any possible way?

What the hell was wrong with this dude.

"Alright..." that was all he could say, a bit taken aback but mostly too tired to think about anything else to say. So he swiftly got on the soft bed covered in red sheets and turned on the opposite side, facing the door. He heard a faint "Good night" but didn't reply. The room fell silent.

He knew he wouldn't have slept as always, but at least he finally got to close his eyes for a while. There was the tiniest bit of comfort in that.

And then, it came back.

The image of his dear brother passing away with a smile on his face, cursing him forever, making him remember that the only thing he ever loved in this shitty world disappeared. The voices would tell him it was his fault. It was his fault he wasn't a good boy and their mommy didn't love them. It was his fault he wasn't a good brother, who couldn't even protect his precious little treasure. It was his fault he was left alone and deserved it.

He didn't even realize he ended up crying in his sleep, calling Nayuta's name.

"Nayuta... miss you..."

Allen was almost falling asleep when he heard some sniffling from over the bed. Slowly and cautiously, he got up and got closer to Kanata, who was talking in his sleep. He couldn't quite register what he was saying, though.

"He must be having a nightmare..." he thought, noticing the kid was shivering while slightly holding out his hand, as if he was trying to reach out to someone. Before he could even process what he wanted to do, he took his hand, but luckily Kanata didn't wake up. Instead, he gradually stopped crying, until he turned into quiet snores.

Allen smiled, hidden by the darkness of his room. He slightly got up from the bed, but the boy's grip on his hand was so strong he just couldn't go anywhere without waking him up. So he just stayed there, laying down a bit far from Kanata not to bother him.

"How am I gonna explain this to him tomorrow?" he asked himself, falling asleep.

[awwyeah107]

Lost and Found (2505 words) by awwyeah107

Chapters: 1/3 Fandom: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien, TOLKIEN J. R. R. - Works & Related Fandoms Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Maedhros & Maglor (Tolkien), Elrond Peredhel & Elros Tar-Minyatur & Maedhros | Maitimo & Maglor | Makalaurë, Elrond Peredhel & Elros Tar-Minyatur & Maedhros | Maitimo, Elrond Peredhel & Elros Tar-Minyatur & Maglor | Makalaurë Characters: Maglor (Tolkien), Maedhros (Tolkien), Elrond Peredhel, Elros Tar-Minyatur, Original Male Character(s) Additional Tags: Second Kinslaying | Sack of Doriath, Post-kinslaying, Murder, Death, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Regret, Guilt, Doriath, Amon Ereb, Trauma, Escape, Rescue, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Thunderstorms, Orcs (Tolkien), Eluréd and Elurín mention, Kidnap Family | Elrond & Elros & Maedhros & Maglor as Family (Tolkien), kidnap fam, Kidnap Dads, no beta we die like…uh…never mind, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it suicidal ideation, okay maybe it’s a little more obvious than that but it’s not extreme, Mild Suicidal Ideation, so many dark tags sheesh, Salt and Light, I promise there’s salt and light even though the first chapter is dark, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Cross-Posted on Silmarillion Writers' Guild (SWG), playlist included!, extremely EXTREMELY minor language warning Summary: In the aftermath of the second kinslaying, Maglor and Maedhros are faced with the disappearance of a pair of twins: Eluréd and Elurín.

Years later, another pair of twins—this time under the Fëanorians’ care—are missing: Elrond and Elros.

[3 chapters, posted over 3 consecutive days.]

Link to Chapter 1 on Archive of Our Own (AO3)

Link to Chapter 1 on FanFiction.net

Link to Chapter 1 on Silmarillion Writers' Guild

***

I am so very, VERY excited to be publishing my first Tolkien fanfiction ever! :D That is, my first Tolkien fanfic to be shared...not the first one I ever wrote...you get the idea XD

It's been a labor of love, and I'm so happy to share it. First chapter is very angsty, the other two are angsty but have some hurt/comfort to go along with them. (Chapters 2 and 3 coming in the next couple days.)

@darkfrozenabyss this is the fic I was telling you about probably, oh, months ago at this point XD the one with kidnap fam!

@thegreenleavesofspring I may have mentioned this to you at some point—I know I included a snippet of it in this ask game I did with myself at the beginning of this year. I wanted to tag you because hey, look, I did a thing! A Tolkien fic, even! :D

[demdifferentstories-29]

20 Questions Game

Thanks for the tag, @bronzeagepizzeria <3

How many works do you have on AO3?

68!

2. What's your total AO3 words count?

734,052

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Currently, I really only write Doctor Who aside from a handful of other one-offs I've written, but I literally have at least a hundred WIPs/ideas in my drafts.

Fandoms that I have tons of ideas for are Broadchurch and Jessica Jones (TV series), which I hope to get around to publishing. But I have a fair bit of range hiding away haha.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

In descending order:

Broken-Hearted (cross-over with Broadchurch; multi-chapter; completed)

Braids (one-shot)

Desperate Measures (multi-chapter; completed)

Exes and Ohs (one-shot)

A Lesson in Romantic (AU; multi-chapter; completed)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Pretty much as soon as I can! I appreciate engagement so much and I want to make that known to commenters. Plus, I love a bit of banter and discussion where prompted - it's a delight!

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Oooo, boy. Probably Happy Together? Or maybe the first chapter of Sunburn? Violet Hill was also pretty sad. I love me some dark, heavy stories that fuck up my beloved blorbos.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Although I haven't updated in it in quite a while, I've written a fair bit of the sequels for the A Lesson in Romance universe, and, boy, have I made those two have a (mostly) happy life together.

In terms of published stories, I think Study Buddies would take the cake or one of the many TentooRose pieces I've done. The former is very classic, high school sweetheart vibes with just enough angst dashed in, and I tend to keep the latter sweet, fluffy and horny.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I received some very intense 'constructive' criticism whilst writing A Lesson in Romance - like I'm talking extremely long paragraphs pretty much deconstructing my writing and questioning my content. I was young at the time, it was my first multi-chapter Doctor Who fic, and the fact that this person also pretty much outright told me how I should write my story pissed me off a bit, so I, in the most polite way possible, asked them to stop reading my story and leaving these comments.

Aside from that? I've really only had one sort of bad comment since then, but I opted to not reply.

9. Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Oh, you know I do ;) I currently only write F/M; have explored M/M in the past so I'm down to write queer smut if the inspiration ever strikes.

I'm not really a fan of overly kinky stuff that is, say, explicit/specific (e.g. BDSM), but I don't mind stuff that is vaguely/lightly kinky (i.e. I tend to include voyeurism in my stories, but it's generally accidental). I mostly write either very horny or emotional, intimate stuff - I'm a sucker for the feelings associated with the couple.

It honestly depends on what kind of story I'm writing! But as of recent, I've been mostly producing first-time, emotion-heavy smut with a good serving of horniness/wantonness to build up the tension.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I've written two - Broken-Hearted and Fobwatched (if you've been waiting for an update, I promise I think of her often... I'll revive her one day). I'd say BH is crazier, as it does entwine itself with the Human Nature storyline from Doctor Who, but Fobwatched has also had some pretty wacky moments!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, and I really hope not! I have, admittedly, been a bit fearful of it in recent months.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Again, not to my knowledge! But I'm always open to that conversation if people are interested.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Back when I wrote band/music fanfiction (please forgive me for my crimes), I had started drafting out a fic with someone, but it never went anywhere and we didn't communicate very well either :,)

However, I have been beta-ing the lovely @quite-right-too's fic Dona Nobis Pacem, which has been a lovely collaboration <3 I'm so proud of Cody's work and highly recommend you read it if you haven't!

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

It would probably be DoctorRose! I've never really been more enthralled with a ship before, and the fact that the special interest is still going strong three years on is a pretty good sign. I also tend to come back to Ellie and Alec from Broadchurch quite often.

In the past, I was a hardcore Reylo fan, and I've always enjoyed random, niche ships within my realm of interests (i.e. Evey and V from V For Vendetta; Jackson and Lisa from Red Eye; an array of ships from my horror movies because I love being delusional).

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Look, I'm quite stubborn in my belief that, ultimately, I will finish all my drafts, but I can say that the drafts from when I first started writing Doctor Who fanfiction have been quite difficult to work on because my writing has changed so much since then!

There are also maybe a WIP or two that I have written purely for myself and will never publish. I will probably take these to my deathbed lol.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Hm, I've always been complimented for character accuracy, which I do think I have down pact - writing characters like Ten and Rose have gradually become more comfortable for me over the years and I feel like I know them quite well by this point, which is really surprising considering I've never done a proper rewatch of the show since finishing it aside from some scenes/particular episodes!

I've also always been very anal about detail in my stories - I love including the most unnecessary shit in my work!! Do you need to know what Rose had for breakfast? No. Are you gonna know anyway? YES!!! I just love making my stories feel as organic and lifelike as possible.

I've been working really hard on scenery recently, which I've been getting compliments on! I have aphantasia, so this is something I've put a lot of energy and focus into as I've come to realise it's pretty important for readers lol.

And, not to brag, but I do think I write some pretty banging smut. It's taken ten or so years of practice, but I got there in the end.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Eh, I feel I'm not super great at coming up with like... proper action/plot. Like I can do circumstances and events quite alright, but coming up with something like... say, escaping from a villain/bad situation, I've always felt pretty shit at accomplishing. However, I always try to improve.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I only speak English, so it's a bit daunting! But I just use Google Translate and consult others where possible. And, as Niyati has mentioned in her own post, I recently used her technique of writing from the non-speaker's perspective and it's been a welcome addition to my skills! Shout out, girlie <3

19. First fandom you wrote for?

It would've been 5SOS, but those fics are long gone - I deleted them from Wattpad, and the iPod that the original drafts are on doesn't work, unfortunately.

I also wrote about other bands that I listen to - Asking Alexandria, Of Mice & Men, You Me At Six, Pierce the Veil, and Bring Me The Horizon. I still have most of the drafts, but I deleted all but four of them from the internet lol (the ones that were deleted were unfinished works).

I don't write about these people anymore as I did come to realise, Wait a minute, it's kinda weird and gross to write about these people like this lol (no hate on anyone who does). But I'm always down to chat about my sordid past haha.

20. Favourite fic you've ever written?

I would have to say "Come, gentle night, come" as it's probably the most amount of effort I put into writing. I think it's my best smut and cherish it deeply!

Tagging: @quite-right-too, @deardiary17, @insomniac-101, @metacrisisdoctor

[arwainian]

The F@tT Fic Marathon: 1-20

Last night, instead of forcing myself through more homework reading that I didn't particularly care for, I decided to undertake a very stupid quest that will make me happy. I'm gonna (attempt) to read every single work in the Friends at the Table ao3 tag, in publishing order! and document it here so that I can recommend the hidden gems from deep in the archive to my fatt mutuals

So far I have read the twenty fics listed above. Nearly all of them are of a quality worth reading, but I have a couple special ones to shout out specifically:

Mira and Pattern Magic by spamyoucantswim - this is the very first fic in the tag, published a full 7 months before any other fatt fic shows up! and its an oc fic! MaPM has a really distinct character voice, and I really enjoyed the way that pattern magic is interpreted within, almost like if OCD logic actually worked

Friends Adjacent to a Table by thickestgoosenog - this is the first smut fic to make an appearance in the tag, but I'm not really recommending it for it's pornographic value. I am reccing it because Fero's narration is laugh out loud funny, in a way that made me say "Fero oh no" out loud to my empty room. just... go read it.

A Righteous Man by LuckyDiceKirby - published on the same day as the above is an in-universe excerpts of the biography of Attar Rose written by Orth, and in-universe media is like one of my favorite fanfic genres. this also serves as a double shoutout to LuckyDiceKirby for writing FIVE out of the first 20 fatt fanfics on ao3! that's 25%!

The Orchard by gogollescent - post-finale, Aria Joie and Mako and... like several internet ghosts? meet up. a fic about grief and closure and regrets and also FIGHTING WITH SWORDS. this by far the longest fic in the first 20! standing at over 10k words, its technically unfinished, with a theoretical third chapter promised in the end notes back 7 years ago. Even technically unfinished i still found its prose fantastic, and its absolutely worth the read if you love the counter/weight gang. i can't reccommend this enough

words read: 37,058

works remaining: 1,878

[scienceoftheidiot]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 💗

I was also tagged by @royaidaydreams to do this, so thanks so, so much, to both of you 🥺❤️🥰

I've been trying to make a fic rec post for other people's fics for weeks and I find it quite hard to chose, so doing it for my own stuff 😅 is going to be quite hard too 😅

Let's try though - I didn't put original stuff on there, just fanfics. I have some of my original stuff on AO3 in English, though !

1. In the old Alexandria (Ripper Street)

Mimi comes back to London, a couple of years after the turn of the century.

This is the first fic I ever posted on AO3 (the older ones were posted after but dated to when they were written - and posted elsewhere). The Ripper Street finale had wrecked me, and I needed to give some softness to the survivors. Hence, this is only for people who have seen the whole 5 seasons (but please watch them. Please please).

2. Keep Afloat (Ripper Street)

Little flashbacks, mostly around Edmund, from before S1. Filling in the blanks with more misery ! Yay !!

It's not mentionned that I am forced to share only finished stories, right? 😅 But this is a collection of flashbacks, so more or less, each chapter can be read independently. And there's no end, since the end is the start of the show, so... It's one of these fics that I sometimes re read, and one of the few where I actually find what I wrote good. Special mention to the chapter between Edmund and Emily. (This is NOT. a feel good fic).

3. Snow, snow... (Daredevil (Karedevil))

Matt tries to carry on through a blizzard, but the snow and his mind wandering to old memories won't let him.

I wanted to put a DD fic in here, but I didn't know which one to chose. This one has many characters and bittersweet memories, and this is what I like.

4. Bro's Night Out (FMA)

Hughes is sent to East City for work, but decided to arrive early (or... very late...) to meet his friend. Who is working. A lot. And has no time for silly things. And doesn't hold his drink.

It's hard to chose in a fandom I'm currently deeply obsessed with, so I chose those one, because I think I got the banter right, and it was fun to write.

5. My own worst friend and my own closest enemy (FMA (Royai))

One circle, one Roy Mustang on each side, one accidental transmutation, one occasion to be humbled and learn.

This one is still ongoing but @qs63 and I are having such a blast writing it that it's already in my top 5. Even if people didn't like it (which they do !!! That's even more awesome, thanks to all who read !!), I would have put it there because I just love it and love all the brainstorming we're having over it. 🥰

Bonus :

All the hope that I lost, you have found (FMA (Royai))

This is a WIP and a BIG one. That I plan on finishing this summer.

When I published Everyone learns faster on fire , I thought I would not come back to this theme (Roy stays blind after the Promised Day). Exceeeeept... That first fic wasn't very realistic. So I took this premices again and turned them around. The Army wouldn't keep a blind officer, so Roy's dismissed. And as soon as I started writing that, the rest of the fic events just fell like dominos. In the end, that fic has Royai, politics, Ishval, Team Mustang, and stuff that I will not disclose there because spoilers. All of this of course swimming in lots and lots of angst - but not only. I try to have it balance with sweet and even funny (I hope) moments. I'm having a lot of fun writing it and I can't wait to finish it !

[bonefall]

sorry I;m new and it's a lot to catch up on but can you briefly explain your better call mapleshade au?

Sure thing! As long as you don't mind that I'm gonna hijack your ask to answer a few other meta things at the same time! @katiek101 Rounding up your replies over here.

Btw never be afraid to just ask me questions about stuff, I need to update my Masterpost because I haven't added to it in a couple weeks but I'm always willing to just link people to stuff when asked!

What is the Better Call Mapleshade AU?

I summarized it in this reblog, which also contains @nightly-ruse design for BCM Mapleshade!

"Mapleshade is able to get into StarClan through a very slim ruling out of sympathy for the loss of her kits. She’s a prosecutor/defense attorney motivated by her own desire to be highly revered, playing as a literal “devil’s advocate“ against the awful choices we see StarClan make in canon.

In contrast to StarClan being the ‘council of well-meaning angels‘ who cause bad outcomes, Mapleshade is a self-concerned demon who makes good ones. Because of that, she looks somewhat out of place. An opposer for StarClan, a devil for a good cause.

The AU was born out of some joking with “Snowbird Anon” (hence the name #Better Call Mapleshade AU) and then evolved into an actual premise because my followers are literally the coolest"

It is separate from the #Bonefall Rewrite, but was inspired by aspects of it, namely a trial scene that is going to happen in Darkstar's Commandment.

though to be fair, I am considering just absorbing it into the rewrite. but for now they are still two separate, but related concepts

Do you plan to write/publish any aspects of the Bonefall Rewrite? Where would it be posted if so?

I WISH. Unfortunately I'm chronically unable to finish anything and only motivated by talking directly to people (I actually write first drafts of college essays in discord DMs). In a perfect world I would love to make full multi-chapter fics of the Super Edition rewrites such as Darkstar's Commandment and Firestar's Quietus, though.

Maybe one day, if I can speak to a psychiatrist! **laughs in undiagnosed neurodivergence**.

SO for now, everything is notes! Notes notes notes and rough drafts. The things I AM able to finish. If I ever wrote out anything, I would upload it to AO3. I promise I would make a post if that ever happens.

THE CURRENT NOTES I'M EDITING: Darkstar's Commandment, a follow-up story to Mapleshade's Vengeance, following Darkstar as she establishes the law about protecting kittens.

Blackstar, Russetfur, Rowanclaw

I powered through all of the "History Has Its Eyes On You" series in like 3 days between bus rides! I really like the take on them being a complicated couple (I keep thinking of that line, "their nests were as close as could be without being close at all") and my favorite story was the one where Russetfur went to bury Smokepaw.

Things are really different in my take, though! I see Blackstar as exclusively MLM and Russetfur is his WLW bestie. If Russet has children, they'll be honor dammed and raised by someone else.

I think you will quite like what I'm planning for Russetfur's death. It's a moment of deep pain for Blackstar that makes him relapse into some old, bad habits, leaving him wide open for Sol's influence.

Blackstar's sister Fernshade is going to have surviving children with Wolfstep (Ivytail is one of them, who eventually has Gullswoop), and I'm considering giving Flintfang a kitten or two as well. So there won't be a need for Blackstar to have kids anyway, besides, I like the idea that he's sort of Ivytail's embarrassing uncle, in a ShadowClan way where he's super intimidating to other clans.

And so Rowanclaw won't be part of that family... he is a son of Brokenstar. Same litter as Littlecloud, from Newtspeck. He will be bonding heavily with Tawnypelt over a shared experience of inheriting something VERY heavy.

Firestar's Quest with Brokenstar Details

The good deets are in this ask over here, but I really need to sit down and make a draft of it sometime soon. I'm held up on Darkstar's Commandment first, lmao

In a nutshell, Brokenstar was actually a nature spirit the whole time, the ghost of the 5th tree at Fourtrees. After the exile, the oak tree was blighted, fell over, and cracked on the highstone. It broke in the shape of Broken's tail; an omen of the curse that would befall them, revenge for the greatest sin of the clans.

This is (Brokenstar's Cataclysm)

After his death, he reconnects to these memories. In order for his restless spirit to finally be given peace, SkyClan must be resurrected. Runningnose enlists Firestar to help because he's such a little goody-goody two shoes and could never let an ancient wrong go unrighted. Hilarity ensues.

This is (Firestar's Quietus)

[sarsaparillaswords]

10, 20 & 30 for the Ao3 Wrapped questions!

10. What work was the quickest to write?

I have a confession...I only have one fic published* but I wanted to participate in the meme anyway... so technically that one was the "quickest" but it took me 11 months...😭 The gift fic I'm writing for the Locked Tomb Holiday Exchange is going much faster, and yes, I will finish on time! I promise! And then that one will have been the quickest!

20. Which work of yours have you reread the most?

that one poem I wrote at the end of high school when I was worried that I'd basically peaked at that point and then it turned out to be weirdly prophetic

OK OK I had to do like 4 editing passes for each chapter of Quoth the Maiden but I'm not ready to re-read that one in its finished form yet. does that count? It was like

rough draft with holes

fill in holes and mark the stuff that annoyed me

fix the stuff that annoyed me and mark more things over and over

proof-read

30. Biggest surprise while writing this year?

There's a bit in chapter 1 where Harrow tries to trip "the stranger" (Gideon) with her staff and a few moments later Gideon says:

“You caught me off-guard. It’s not every day that a beautiful woman tries to get between my legs.”

That line was a total surprise! It looks like I planned the trip attack to justify the line but it was the other way around. I wrote the trip move based on a description of a real staff move that my husband told me about** and then the little Gideon in my head went heh heh heh and gave me the line above.

* My name is on a couple things that were written by other people, because I did some art in Big Bangs and RBBs. I moved my art stuff into a separate pseud to avoid confusion.

** I make no guarantees about accurately describing a fighting move that I half-remembered from a second-hand description.

Ao3 Wrapped Questions

[empressofthesunwriter]

Kick the cat out of the bag!

Warning: If you like Adrien Agreste/Chat Noir you should turn back because I'm salty at this boy and the creators of this show and I won't hold back.

If you feel the same, enjoy with me this trip down the salty road.

Chapter 3: The first entry: The Nightingale doesn't sing

Author Note: Hi, guys, I finished this chapter early than I thought, and I was like: “Well, why not just publish it?”. So here we are. Also, I want to state that this is a rare case, normally my schedule is very hectic and messy, so don’t expect to have every three days a chapter. My goal is to do an upload once a week. Also after I counted the votes you all seemed to like Kickat so the blog is now called that and I changed it the previous chapter. The name Kickat came from my dear reader DSpaceZ from AO3 so all credits to them! Thank you for the amazing name friend. Also if you have time check their own salt story about Adrien/Chat! I promise you it’s fantastic! With that, I wish you happy reading! :D

"So are you ready for this?", asked Luka holding your phone in his hands.

You nodded, sitting comfortably on your desk chair, and took a deep breath to calm your nerves.

It was afternoon, after school, and after your nightly discussion.

It was time to get started on the Kickat -Blog. You would be lying if you said you weren't nervous. 

Would anyone even take note of your guy's blog with the Ladyblog being so famous and so full of LadyNoir? You could only hope that there were still some people left with critical thinking skills and would realize what you and Luka had.  

You needed a lot of people on your side to fulfill your goal.

With a last little prayer that anything would turn out in your guy's favour, you gave Luka the signal to start recording. He gave you a thumbs-up in return and you started to talk.

"Hello all citizens of Paris.", you started with a greeting. "You don't know me or me you, but we all live in this beautiful city together. My name is [Y/N] [L/N] or you can call me Harmony. Behind the camera is my best friend Luka Couffaine. We will not hide, because we’re not scared. You can talk and write to us without a problem because we know the truth is on our side. Which truth do you ask? Well, yesterday I saw, took pictures, and recorded something and showed it to my partner which broke not only my trust and faith in one of our heroes his too. The hero in question is Chat Noir. Yes, you heard right, Chat Noir. We will post the photos with the time stamps and the video after this one, so you can see for yourself what kind of hero he is. Spoiler-Alert: he isn't one and we all have to help Ladybug to get a partner that she deserves. But we will leave you first to the proofs."

Luka stopped the recording. Then he sits down beside you on your desk chair. You already were turned around to face your computer and took wordless from him your phone. You upload the photos and both videos to your newly created blog and let out a shuddering breath.

There you have done it.

Now you had to wait.

Alya Cèsaire could say for herself that she was the most informed, most up-to-date on anything Ladybug and Chat Noir-related.

Not only because she was nearly always there when an Akuma battle took place, no, but she also had dozens or so alerts installed on any social media platform if some lucky civilian took a great video or photo of Paris superhero couple.

She always gave them credits of course when she posted them under her Ladyblog.

Sometimes she had a feeling people battle against each other to have a place in her blog. Well, it was the most famous and the most popular! And also the only one, but she ignored this little detail. So the moment you created your blog and posted the photos and videos she was one of the first to see it, thanks to her alerts.

Since she had nothing better to do than to wait for Marinette to change into the Ladybug costume so her friend could play the role in Clara Nightingales’ music video, she turned to Alix, Juleka, Rose, and Mylène and waved her phone around.

“Hey, guy’s I got a new scoop. Want to watch it with me, while we wait for Marinette?”

“Oh, what is it about?”, asked Rose eager and moved beside her.

The other girls followed her lead and looked at Alya phone screen.

“It’s from a new blog.”, started Alya. “It’s called Kickat. Mmh, that’s a bit of a strange name.”

“Sounds like someone is angry at Chat Noir if you ask me.”, said Alix interested.

“Why would anybody be angry at Chat Noir?”, asked Mylène confused. He was such a good hero!

Rose and Alya nodded, meanwhile Juleka stared at the thumbnail and recognize your face.

“That’s [Y/N].”, she mumbled to herself.

The other girls looked at her surprised.

“You know the chick?”, asked Alya to clarify.

“She is my brother’s best friend.”

“And?”, came it from Alix. She had a feeling that there was more.

“Well, [Y/N] hates injustice and any kind of hate against people that exist. One time a guy hit on me and before Luka or I could say to shove it, [Y/N] just straight up punched him in the face and told him she would castrate him if he doesn’t leave me alone. She broke his chin and he needed two new teeth’s.”, told them Juleka and you could see in her eyes the deep respect she holds for you.

Alix lets out a whistle and grins. She liked people who weren’t afraid to act to help someone even with a fist.

Alya, Rose, and Mylène had big eyes. You were sure a person not to mess with, this was clear.

“Okay, she smashes the faces of pervy sexually harassing guys, which is awesome.”, said Alya. This was a good point in her book. “But why are you telling us this?”

Juleka looked serious into Alya’s eyes.

“If she named her blog Kickat and it was under one of your alerts, then Chat Noir did something horrifying.”

Needlessly to say that shocked the other girls.

“Why is no one responding to the blog?”, you asked Luka nervous.

You were walking around your room in circles and tried to not get crazy. Dear heaven, if your concerns turned true and no one would realize what a piece of shit Adrien was even with the photos and video?

Luka was sitting on your bed and watched you walking around.

“Harmony, give it some time. I needed it too after I saw it. That’s a lot to take in.”, he reminded you.

Suddenly you both heard your computer beep.

There!

Someone had sent your blog a message.

Like an Akuma was after you, you run to your desk chair to sit in and check the message. You blinked, not believing, who messaged you.

“Luka.”, you called him over in trance. “The Ladyblog messaged me.”

“What did she write?”, he asked couriers.

You read for him aloud: “Hi girl, this is Alya from the Ladyblog as you can see. I saw the photos and watched the video. I even have here Juleka with me, who confirms that you wouldn’t play this kind of prank, but I need to ask because I just can’t believe it. Is this real?”

“She is really asking that?”, wonders Luka. “If Jules is with her she should take her word.”

“You forget we are talking also to an avid LadyNoir shipper.”, you reminded him.

Grimly you began to tip in a message to Alya.

Yes, hi Alya from the Ladyblog. I wish this was a prank but it is 100% true. You can even ask my parents who drowned if you are still unsure!

Sorry, Harmony, can I call you that? Anyway sorry, I can’t imagine how you or your parents feel, but if this is true…then Chat Noir is the worst hero ever!

Yes, you can call me Harmony. Alya he is. Please think about it. Have you seen him actually doing his job right? Or is he only making fun and bothering Ladybug with his flirting?

For a few minutes, there weren’t any new messages, you worried that Alya wouldn’t believe you, till you saw a new message.

Girl, me and my friends have a meltdown right here! After you wrote that we checked my Ladyblog and…well, what we saw now, wasn’t a good kind hero, but a sexually harassing bastard who couldn’t careless for us and Paris! My friend Alix is ready to fist fight him and my other friends Rose and Mylène are crying for Ladybug. Juleka seems like she is planning a murder. And I feel sick that I supported LadyNoir at all. Good, I’m the worst journalist ever. It’s like I, we had all the time a blindfold on!

You let out a breath and thanked god. She and her friends saw the truth. With the Ladyblog on your side, you would get all of Paris to see reasons.

I had the same feeling Alya, don’t worry. I just ask you to help get rid of Chat Noir as a hero. He needs to lose his ring and Ladybug needs a better partner.

Don’t worry I will feature your video and photos on my blog and clean it from Chat Noir. But first I need to stop this music video shoot! TTYL!

You blinked surprised.

“Music video shoot?”, you said out loud.

“What is it, [Y/N]?”, wanted to know Luka.

You just pointed at your messages. Luka read them and then nodded.

“Right, I forgot. Jules told me Clara Nightingale is searching today for extras and a Ladybug for her new music video. She is there with her friends to play as extras.”

“Well, sounds like to me that no music video is going to be made.”

As Marinette came out of the closet where she put on the duplication of her superhero suit the last thing she expected to see and hear were people with phones in their hands, who were talking over each other. Some were crying, others shouting and Alya stood grimly beside Clara Nightingale, who gripped Alya’s phone in her hands hard. Adrien, in his Chat Noir costume, seemed also to be confused about what was going on.

“What’s up?”, she asked her other friends.

“Oh, Marinette it’s terrible!”, cried Rose and hugged her tight. Stunned she patted the back of her friend. “Chat Noir is so…so…mean!”

“You mean, he is a number one bastard and sexual abuser.”, corrected Alix with crossed arms and an angry look on her face.

Marinette swore her brain just paused for a second. What was she hearing?

“Look at this Marinette, please.”, sniffled Mylène and hold her phone out to her.

“Yeah, this will clear things up quickly and we can go cat hunting.”, mumble Juleka with a dangerous glimmer in her eyes that Marinette had never seen.

“Juleka!”, shouted Rose.

“Don’t shout at her, she is right. The fucker needs at least a good kick in the nuts for all the shit he did!”, cursed Alix.

Before Marinette could even look at the video Mylène wanted to show her or decipher Alix’s words Clara called out to her.

The singer had given Alya her phone back and Adrien was now standing beside her. He seemed still to be as confused as herself.

“Marinette, please come here, I have to clear something with Adrien and you there.”

So still confused Marinette got up the stage and felt Alya pat her back as she passed her. What was that for?

Clara took Adrien’s and one of her hands and looked at them both sadly.

“I’m sorry you two and to Mister Agreste but I won’t make this video under this new progress.”

“New progress?”, parroted Adrien and Marinette together. If she wasn’t so lost, she would have swooned at how synchro she and Adrien were.

It seemed like the universe didn’t want that she finally understood what was going on because Mayor Bourgeois walked back in with a stack of papers and a smug Chloe by his side.

“I'm sorry. My administrative staff just realized you never submitted permit A38 as stipulated in the circular B65 that one can only get at counter C, third floor of City Hall, which is, alas, closed for renovations until August, which means you don't have a permit to shoot...anywhere in France, including Paris.”, said Mayor Bourgeois and handed Clara the stack of papers.

Clara just looked him straight into the eyes and rhymed: “Don’t worry, Mister Mayor, sir, I was about to go. I would never shoot a video for such an enormous asshole. Chat Noir can go to hell, for all I care. I’m just sorry for Ladybug, the poor dear.”

Nobody couldn’t tell if the Mayor and Chloe were that shocked because Clara didn’t even fight back or because she cursed, but Marinette was sure shocked hearing the normal sweet Clara cursing out her superhero partner.

Even Adrien seemed shocked.

“Miss Clara, what do you mean?”, asked the boy sweetly.

It wasn’t Clara who responded to him, but a woman in line for the extras.

“She means that stunt Chat Noir pulled yesterday or should I say didn’t pull.”

Others talked too.

“I never realized what a lazy bum he was!”

“You mean how we never realized that he abuses Ladybug?! I think that is more important!”

“Hey, I drowned yesterday, and not that it isn’t terrible how he treats Ladybug, but I did die and maybe I didn’t need to die if he was doing his job!”

“He never does his job because he thinks with his dick, Karen!”

“Yeah! God, I feel disgusted that I even shipped LadyNoir!”

“It is disgusting even shipping real people! How come we never realized that?”

“An Akuma?”

“If that is so then Papillion is an even bigger dick than I already thought!”

More and more voices got louder and Marinette felt sick. What was going on? Why was anybody so angry at Chat Noir?

Sure, she was angry at him sometimes too but…no she can’t think about it, she can’t lose her nerves, she has to be careful because of the Akumas.

Don’t think about it.

Don’t think about it!

Please, don’t think about it!

Paris comes first, you last!

Don’t forget that.

Marinette feels how someone, Alya, wraps an arm around her shoulders and leads her down the stage.

“C’mere, girl, we will tell you what happened. But we need you to first get you out of the costume.”

So she followed.

You and Luka stared in awe at the growing number on your blog and how anybody seemed to agree with you.

It was a fantastic feeling!

“It’s working, Luka, it’s really working!”, you said and you both hugged each other happy.

The first entry was a success!

And now the real battle began.

Next

[grasslandgirl]

What’s your plan when you finish noble pining au? Is it going to be like a chapter a week situation? Are you even a no wips published person or is noble pining getting special treatment? Is it even going to be called noble pining or are you going to come up with a different title?👀

so genuinely anon, getting asks about noble pining makes my day SO bright it brings me joy unlike anything else <33 so thank you thank you thank you

What’s your plan when you finish noble pining au? Is it going to be like a chapter a week situation?

yes! currently the plan for when i finish writing noble pining is to try and post a chapter a week! which will take. a very long time lmao bc im currently at 18 chapters with at least a few more to go after the one im writing rn jskfbvkfb but yeah you'll definitely hear about it when i finish and start posting because the plan is to post a chap every week !!

Are you even a no wips published person or is noble pining getting special treatment?

i actually do try to finish wips before posting as a general rule- there are a couple exceptions ive posted as i've written, but more often than not when i post chaps on a wip before ive finished the whole thing i tend not to finish writing or posting it at all, which i don't love bc then i have unfinished wips hanging out on my ao3 </3 having the promise of getting to post my work and getting to share it and get feedback about it is a big motivator for me, so even when i know a wip is gonna be a multichap, i usually wait until the whole thing is done before posting

and especially with noble pining, because it's so long and involved, a large part of my process especially when i'm blocked is to go back and edit and read back through old chapters- updating and changing things that warrant it and getting inspo for later chapters, and i like having the freedom of being able to do that without having to worry about updating already posted chapters!

Is it even going to be called noble pining or are you going to come up with a different title?👀

the plan was always for "noble pining" to be a working title for the fic lmao, it was something i came up with ages ago when i was first talking about the idea with casey and got tired of typing out "the princess adaine guards fabian and gorgug fic" and came up with noble pining as a stopgap working title until i came up with something more formal lmao, and that's still the plan- i'm considering between a couple formal titles right now, but when i eventually do post it ill probably still call it noble pining as well as the actual title i decide on, because i recognize it'll probably be a little confusing to refer to it solely by another name when ive been blogging about it as noble pining for so long (honestly i never expected to get back so much interest and so many asks about noble pining! i always thought of it as my silly little niche passion project, and so to receive so much interest and excitement about it is truly so lovely and heartening to hear!)

anon again thank you so much for sending in this ask !!!!!!! it's so exciting and lovely and heartwarming to know that there is interest about noble pining out there from people other than y handful of friends i've bullied into letting me talk about it, and i'm thrilled to answer any asks or questions you guys have about it while i work on it !!!

[andypantsx3]

hello!!! tysm for the fic advice, it really really helped!! im in the process of tryna fix up my blog layout and such, may i ask what your first fic was? or what was your first published work and how was it? the feedback, how'd u feel & stuff? i have multiple fics/ideas written down already and i just fr need to post them atp 😭

IM SO SORRY IF THIS FEELS LIKE AN INTERVIEW!! i promise i don't wanna intrude, and you definitely don't need to answer at all!!

Not at all, I’m happy to answer!!

The first thing I ever posted was my fic savvy, which is an aged-up fic about a reader in the UA business course trying to wrangle Bakugou into cooperating on a senior project, and falling in love along the way lol. I only had an ao3 for maybe the first 6 months of my fanfic writing career, so I think at least my first 7 fics were published there exclusively, before I eventually backfllled them here when I finally made a tumblr.

I can say that on ao3, everyone was very kind to me. I would get like one to two very nice comments and a handful of kudos per chapter at the beginning. It's so addicting, realizing people like your work, even if I knew it was unpolished. I would save people's comments in my inbox and read them over and over throughout the day (still do lol. If you're nice to me, I will hold onto your words literally forever). I cannot even properly describe how heady the feeling of appreciation from other people is. It really stays with you forever and ever, and makes you want to grow and learn and be better and keep delivering for those people who were kind to you.

I really like the variety of comments people give on ao3--they range from compliments, to theories about the next chapter, to personal anecdotes about aspects of the chapter, to pages-long analysis of your writing, to strings of emojis, to clarification questions, to well-wishes for your health and safety. It always makes it fun to log back onto ao3 and not be able to anticipate what kind of conversation people will be having with you.

The "negative" experiences I've had on ao3 were mostly invited by my own errors--writing my fic cover shot which is kind of exclusive of readers with darker skin tones, which I was rightly called out for failing to note. And also failing to properly note threats of violence in the first chapter of my fic statistically significant, and accidentally triggering one of my readers, which I still think about and deeply regret to this day.

I also asked for constructive feedback, which I might actually advise against for the first little bit that you are writing. Actually almost none of the concrit that I have received has been actual concrit.

In general, concrit is supposed to recognize the goal of your writing and help you achieve it. But most of the concrit that I have received has been people suggesting their own plotlines and character interpretations, and sometimes that has been phrased as, "Bakugou would never do [X thing you made him do]" or "I don't like that you made them say I love you to each other after just a couple months of knowing each other"--because while I'm sure those comments come from a place of wanting to be helpful, they're super subjective, and don't actually help me write the fic I want to write. And also they can make you feel like an idiot who doesn't understand characters or love or life as well as the next person might.

In general, though, people were very lovely and said that they thought my first few fics were good for first works, and that gave me the encouragement to keep writing!!

I don't know what it might have been like to post my works on tumblr at the same time too, although people have been generally very nice on tumblr as well. I really enjoy the community aspect of tumblr beyond anything, the opportunity to follow and get to know the sorts of people who read my fics!!

I think the one thing that you have to be prepared for when you post on tumblr is salty anons. While asking for no concrit on ao3 should be enough to ward off any more "negative" feedback, I've found tumblr to be just a liiiiiittle bit more hostile in recent months. I think this year especially, people are meaner than ever on the internet lol. I've answered 3 or 4 mean anons publicly in the last 8 months alone, but there are several more I've just chosen to block and delete.

There is almost no way for you to anticipate what kind of thing you will write or say that will upset someone on here, so if I had any advice for you (or past me) it's that you have to anticipate some bad with the good. Tumblr is just a different audience and a different kind of social media where you're judged a little bit more as a person than a writer. But know that the good is totally worth the bad!! The opportunity to really get to know people and make friends on here is the absolute best thing about the fandom.

Anyway I hope this helps and I hope this didn't scare you off!! Being a fic author has been the absolute best thing these past couple years and I totally want you to have the same experience too!!

[adventureofthedancinggirl]

WIP Update 04.05.2024

I've been mostly offline recently because there's been a lot going on, but since we're officially done with the first quarter of the year (how did that happen?) I thought that now would be a good time to post an update so I can track my works in progress.

Here are the fics I've been working on lately:

1) See You After

(tdbk, post-war, epistolary fic, slow burn, healing, hurt/comfort with moments of humor)

Status: In progress on AO3, published WC is 50,642 words. Chapter 45 wrapped up Part II: "Rebuilding the bridges that were burned".

There are still some things I'm figuring out for the timeline of Part III, and specific details, but I have the first couple of chapters and some of the major scenes set.

I actually spent quite a bit of time writing/revising a certain set of chapters that are in Part IV instead, because I was in the mood for angst. Aiming to resume regular updates by the middle of this month.

2) Everything's Upside Down (unless I'm in your arms)

(tdbk, established relationship, 3rd year, fluff, literal sleeping together, aspec shouto & katsuki) see this post for the tentative summary

Status: Not posted yet. Draft is almost complete (currently ~10k words)

This turned out to be way longer than I thought it was going to be, but I'm having a lot of fun with it. I think I just really needed this blend of fluff and snarkiness after all the emotional stuff I've been writing lately.

Since the aspec aspect turned out to be an important part of this fic, I was hoping to post this for Ace Day (Apr. 6) but we'll see. I haven't decided if I want to split it into a couple of chapters or just post it all at once, so I guess that will be the deciding factor.

3) Post-it Promises

This fic popped up out of nowhere and took up several unexpected late-night writing sessions two weeks ago. All I'm going to say for now is that it's another tdbk fic (is anyone actually surprised?), set in the future when they're pro heroes and living together. It seems like it's turning into a 2-part thing but we'll see.

Status: drafting whenever the mood strikes. I have scattered notes and a rough outline, but already wrote a full draft of the final scene.

Also, the YT algorithm recently reminded me that the 8bit dorm video exists, so that's been my background music for the past few nights. This particular screenshot is somewhat relevant to "Everything's Upside Down":

[mpregfrance]

Hypermobile François anon once again!

Y'know the thing I appreciate most about your fanfiction is the realism that's put into the trauma and addiction. You write it incredibly well and hats off to you for that.

I love how when you read between the lines, for lack of better words, you can usually see the trauma responses and how their personalities are fundamentally changed by what they have gone through. It brings up genuine emotion in my very being whenever I read your work (Specifically, Boys Don't Cry)

thank you so, so much, again!! <3 thoughtful comments like these put such a smile on my face and lift me up more than you'd ever know :^) like, my day is made. or my entire month. after a weeks-long dry spell, i've felt really motivated to write in the last couple days, as much as i can between constant housework and other demands.

anyway, thank you so much for your support. i know these topics can be a turn off nowadays, it seems like a lot of fanfic readers or readers in general just wants to 'consume' media that's pure and sanitized. as i mentioned in response to a comment on ao3, i don't believe in good vs bad in fiction (with rare exceptions, of course) and i think we should let go of certain moral standards when reading stories that are meant to entertain. too much pearl-clutching. i also believe we should encourage tasteful explorations of taboo. again with certain exceptions. like, it's very clear that these behaviors aren't being encouraged just because the author is discussing them!!

punk dad arthur's entire existence is just layer after layer of trauma responses, and teacher fran has her share of those traits. have i been in their shoes? in some ways, yeah. in others, no. but it doesn't matter as long as the issue at hand is depicted respectfully.

sometimes i write from experience. i am an addict, but his story is so different from mine. i've been abused, but not in that exact way. sometimes i write about situations i have never and likely will never be confronted with. fiction is supposed to be creative, imagine how boring it'd be if people only told stories from their own perspective?

like all writers (i hope) i do seek to evoke genuine emotion, but i think sometimes i'm too descriptive. not in terms of detail - what i mean is i find recently that i have a bad habit of explaining everything for my audience. i'd like to instead leave more unsaid and allow the subtext to speak for itself.

i'm working on some independent projects as well as my fanfic WIPs. i feel a bit guilty for promising another chapter of BDC almost immediately when i published the last one, but i assure you it's on it's way sooner rather than later. i'll (of course) be updating my main 4 that are up on ao3, potentially continuing something i put on hiatus, and strongly considering participating in the upcoming rarepair week as well.

i've rambled yet again. apologies for that but i guess i just really crave feedback and questions and critique and any form of interaction really. don't be a stranger xx

[margridarnauds]

Hello, I'm a fan of the musical Marie Antoinette. I'm enjoying your fanfic. Maybe you don't write the "A Brace of Snakes" series anymore? I'm love your writing and waiting because I'm curious about the following. (It's okay to read English, but I'm not used to writing, so I used a translator. If my sentence is rude, forgive me.)

You're not bothering me at all! (And the English translator actually worked very well.) Thank you very much, I'm incredibly honored that you love it so much!

It's still going to be updated! I love those two too much to not do anything with them -- With Brace, I have the entire plot mostly sketched out, right up to the ending (the ending is actually already written -- it was one of the first scenes I wrote), and I have some vague plans for that universe up until about the 1830s or thereabouts. The fic as it stands on AO3 is currently at about 9,396 words -- The WIP in my GDocs is currently standing at about 19,940, about 58 pages, and I have about 2-3 other fics set in that universe that are also pretty big and that have never been published. There's a lot of work to be done, and there are a couple of older fics of mine that I also owe endings to now that I'm writing regularly again, but it's in a really good place. Margrid and Orléans are really, really important to me as a ship (I love my parents, even and especially when they fight and nearly tear down the country during their very bad, public breakup -- the recent Korean proshot nearly BROKE ME during the trial scene); they're probably still one of my biggest ships and I can't really see a time where I'm not writing for them in some way or another, and Brace was actually really good for me since it let me get out a lot of how I thought that dynamic worked and how it happened.

The next chapter's been tricky to write because we're going to see them taking a big step forward, and then we start going into the timeline of the musical and the Affair of the Diamond Necklace in the chapter after it, so I want to make sure it's really well developed and well written before I publish it.

Incidentally, if you ever want to talk to me about the musical -- any part of the musical, not just about them -- feel free to message me; I promise I don't bite and I'm always willing to talk.

An excerpt from the planned sixth chapter, as an apology for the wait:

“You know,” Hébert says, conversationally, as if he’s discussing some droll fact like that the sun is bright that day or he secretly has three testicles, “I’m a nice fellow.”  

Margrid doesn’t laugh. 

Margrid doesn’t snort. 

Margrid cackles, in a way that she can only compare to a rabid monkey, if she’d ever been allowed to see a rabid monkey in person. (Agnés said no when she asked, crushing her heart which, when she thinks about it now, really was good preparation for the rest of her childhood.) 

“I’m serious!” Hébert continues. 

“I know!” Margrid wipes the tears off of her eyes. “That’s why I’m laughing.” 

 The man can go barely five seconds without eyeing her up like a dog eyeing a piece of meat in a butcher’s window, but, hey, he’s nice. He can’t let her get so much as a word in edgewise without trying to tell her what she really thinks, but, hey, he’s nice. 

 “Consider this:” Hébert wags a finger, like that will make her take him seriously, “I’d be willing to take you on, even after Orléans has had his fun with you.” 

That sobers her up, though not for the reasons he wants it to. “Orléans? What about him?” 

Hébert looks out into the street, waiting, a bit like a turtle poking its head out of its shell, to see whether anyone’s watching, and then leans over to her, hissing, “Don’t play stupid.” 

“No, that’s your job,” Margrid replies. 

“Everyone knows you’re fucking him.”  

She cackles. “Orléans? Him?” 

“He has a reputation.” “Don’t I know it! I can’t go two days without hearing something new.” 

“Margrid-” 

“Hey!” Margrid brandishes the cantine towards him. She doesn’t think that a man’s ever been killed via a canteen hitting them in the face, but there’s no better time to try. “I’m not fucking him. And I’m not going to fuck him.” “So long as you remember that.” Hébert mutters as he walks off. 

“Oh, fuck off.” She returns to her water, only to find, as she tilts it to her lips again for one last sip, that it’s totally drained. Fucking Hébert. She doesn’t know how it’s his fault, but it is. 

Orléans. Everyone thinks she’s fucking- She doesn’t like him.

[sxveme-2]

blueberry pancakes // bucky barnes

MASTERLIST

Description: A single mother. Juggling being a mom, a full time pediatrician, and a difficult ex who believed now would be the best time to finally be a father. A soldier ripped out of time. Ex-assassin turned superhero. Learning how to balance a new domestic life with handling demons of his past, while facing the trials of the future. a love story began over something as simple as chocolate chip pancakes with hidden blueberries.

Disclaimer: I do not own any original Marvel characters! All canon plots and canon characters belong to Marvel Comics and Marvel Studios. This is an original work. You may not publish it anywhere else

Status: Unedited

Note: Takes place after endgame. I have elected to ignore Tony's death and Steve's leaving. Did not happen. Quick Reminder! My works are only published here, AO3 and on Wattpad, thank you.

Chapter Twenty Three: The One When They're Alone

Warnings: N/A

Word Count: 4040

     Lily knew was never a huge fan of Christmas. The only reason she put the amount of effort she did into it was for Hunter. He loved the holiday. As a child, it was usually one of the only days that his father would be home the whole day. But it was one of Lily's least favourites, because her parents weren't typically home for Christmas. Usually, Lily and her siblings would find themselves up at their grandparents. She wasn't complaining, she loved her grandparents, and she knew her parents wanted to be home, but their work was essentially them constantly travelling. And then further in her future, Scott may have been there for Hunter, but he was not there for Lily. He was seemingly at his worst during the holidays...and she just happened to be the one on the receiving end of his anger.

Lily hadn't seen Bucky get angry yet. It sat in the back of her mind like a looming threat, and she wondered if the past few months had simply been a facade. That in reality, he was no different. Did she think it was true? No, no she didn't think he would ever hurt her. But she had suffered such trauma from Scott that she just...she was never too sure.

"Your turn, doll," Bucky smiled, picking up two boxes that were very clearly wrapped by Rose, seeing as the girl was sending a knowing nod at her older sister, "Yeah yeah Rose wrapped them, my attempt was sad."

Lily laughed and kissed the man's cheek before turning to his presents that sat in her lap. She picked up the first one, it was long and rectangular, not too large either. Raising her eyebrow, she carefully unwrapped the box, revealing a lovely leather case with her name scripted on the top of it. Looking over at him, she pursed her lips before lifting the black lid, feeling the tears prick at her forest green eyes. She stared down at the silver necklace, running her hands over the scripted letter that hung from the chain. It was a small pendant, simple and discreet. But it was something that made Lily's heart grow three times its size. A simple B hung from the chain.

"Buck..." she whispered, looking up at him with glazed and teary eyes, "It's lovely." she cooed, leaning forward and pressing a kiss to his lips before lifting it from the white pillow it rested on.

"Let me." Bucky chuckled, taking the piece of jewelry and moving her blonde hair across her shoulder. She turned her back to him and shivered at his metal hand brushing against the back of her neck as he clasped the necklace together.

"Alright open the other one." Gen said excitedly, earning a head tilt from the blonde. Bucky chuckled lowly from behind her and Lily readjusted herself in her seat, carefully unwrapping the next box.

As she opened the lid of the next box, her confusion only grew. Inside the box laid a single white envelope with her name written. Reaching in and pulling out the box, Lily furrowed her eyebrows. Opening the envelope, her heart only continued to grow. Inside sat a picture of a cabin, covered in snow and decorated with lovely garland. The cabin was built of logs, and had a fire burning on the inside. The snow was so perfectly landscaped it almost seemed fake, but she knew it was just a picturesque image taken to lure people in for what she figured would be a vacation. In the bottom, a handwritten note was written out in Bucky's hand writing, with a simple few words summing up exactly what it was.

"Just the two of us." He repeated aloud, hand resting on the small of her back, tracing gentle patterns, "It's Steve's cabin. Y'know with him retired now, he doesn't exactly have a lot to do. But he said it's ours for as long as we want it." he continued, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"It's perfect, Buck," she whispered, a gentle chuckle lacing her voice as she turned and placed a kiss to his forehead, "Absolutely perfect."

-----

And it was. Bucky and Lily had decided to take Steve up on his offer the weekend of Valentine's Day. The couple had reached three months together officially, and she figured it would be nice for them to experience the romantic weekend alone together. No kids, no sisters, no work, no distractions. Bucky had promised her that there would be no interruptions, and that it was just going to be the two of them. He made an emphasis on the whole 'no work' part, and Lily would be sure to hold him to it.

Turning off the car, Bucky turned to look at Lily with a kind and loving smile on his face, "Alright doll, we've arrived."

Lily glanced out the window and smiled at the snowy landscape. It was February so the cold wasn't unbearable, but it wasn't exactly a comfortable temperature either. Lily was a Long Island native, so Northern New York weather wasn't exactly her favourite thing. It dipped down quite low and she would have to estimate it sat at about minus ten celsius currently. Either way, she was just grateful for the time alone with Bucky. It had felt like ages since the two didn't have something going on around them. Whether it be Bucky's work, or Lily's. Not to mention, Rose was nearing her due date and constantly stressed about the arrival of her baby, while also finding somewhere to live that wasn't Lily's.

"That drive felt like hours," Lily teased, leaning over and nudging Bucky's arm, "I'm just glad you didn't fall asleep on me old man." she quipped, popping open her door and stepping out from the car.

"You have been hanging out with Sam way too much," Bucky chuckled, following the blondes suit, "You're starting to sound like him."

"Well the man is a comedic genius, I should be taking pointers." She hummed, picking up her bag from the back seat and hauling it over her shoulder, rounding the car to meet Bucky.

"Don't tell him that, it'll inflate his ego even bigger than it is." Bucky chuckled, walking over and quickly grabbing her by the waist.

The blonde let out a bright laugh, curling over in his arms and stumbling along the snow. Bucky's chuckle filled her ears like a sweet song as the two stumbled back towards the log cabin belonging to their friend. His lips found her cheek and peppered loving pecks along it, causing her giggles to evolve into small squeaks as she fumbled to pull out the keys. When she found them, it didn't take long for the blonde to unlock the door and peel herself from the supersoldiers arms. Dropping her bag and tugging the grey knit hat off of her hair, Lily turned to look back at the man who stood in front of the door. Placing her hands on her hips, she admired him for a moment. Nothing was on her mind. Just him.

The way his eyes sunk a bit deeper into his face due to the years of struggle and trauma. The way he had let his beard grow out a bit, not fully a beard but a thicker stubble. Were his shoulders always so broad? Lily admired the way his arm flexed when he removed his own hat, swallowing deeply. But the biggest thing that stood out to her was the way he looked at her. That deep thought sort of gaze, as if he were doing the same thing she was. Admiring everything about the other. No exterior factors playing any games, just the two of them. Alone. He looked at her so lovingly, watching her every move intently and studying the way she acted. He was so in tune with everything about Lily that she began to blush, and he was merely looking at her, neither had spoken.

"What're you staring at, Barnes?" she quipped, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothin', Osborne." he retorted, closing the door and sliding his jacket off before turning back towards her, a smirk evident on his lips.

Pursing her lips into a smile, Lily ran forward and jumped up onto the man, wrapping her legs around his torso. Her arms snuck around his neck, while his found underneath her thighs. Their lips hovered mere centimetres from the others, breathing in the others' existence before finally connecting. It was cheesy and cliche but she felt fireworks deep within her stomach. The two moved together like ocean waves joining together, creating a large body of water. Lily's hands tangled themselves into the short strands on the top of his head and Bucky stumbled his way to the couch. He bent over and laid her gently on the leather couch. She hummed softly at the feeling of a yarn blanket tickling at her neck as he hovered above her. Both of their faces were flushed from the cold outside and the passionate moment they had just shared. Bucky's steel blue eyes stared down at her and he reached over the couch. Furrowing her eyebrows, Lily watched as he pulled out a black old fashioned camera.

"Surprised you know how to work one of those things, old man." she teased, covering her face with her chilled hands.

"Oh don't get smart with me now, doll," he purred, moving her hands with his metal one, "you'll regret it later." the man winked, quickly snapping a photo of the woman before tossing the camera onto the table.

"Is that a threat or a promise." Lily returned, a smirk evident on her lips.

"Well...I did tell Steve he'll probably want to hire a deep cleaning service after we're done." He chuckled, resting his weight on his heels.

"James Barnes!"

-----

Lily hummed gently to herself to the song that played through the small kitchen in the cabin. Saving All My Love For You by Whitney Houston was her background noise of choice as she put together a romantic dinner for her and Bucky to commemorate their first night there. The lyrics left her mouth in a soft tone as she chopped up cucumbers for the salad, her hips swaying gently to the music. Bucky had stepped out to the grocery store in town to pick up a few things they had left back at the house, and Lily wanted to surprise him. She had packed a dress that her and Gen had found at a vintage shop in Manhattan, it was 40's inspired, with a deep forest green colour, a bow at the collar with a keyhole that exposed a bit of her collarbone, and hit just below her knee. It had short sleeves, and made her feel like she should be on the dance floor of The Cotton Club in Harlem during the 1940's. She had attempted the classic pin curls of the time but...they were subpar.

Glancing behind her, Lily stirred the marinara sauce as the chicken baked in the oven. But the lights of the car made her stomach drop. She was hoping the snow would slow him down enough for her to finish dinner and have it ready for him when he got home. Pouting to herself, Lily returned to her chopping. Well, as much as she wanted her plan to fully execute itself, she tried her best. Not to mention, he had shown himself to be a fast driver. Her voice continued to sing out the lyrics to Whitney, as she checked on the chicken. She popped her head up briefly when she heard the crunching of snow grow closer to the door. She stood, and brushed off the soft dress she wore as she waited.

"The snow is crazy, doll, I swear," Bucky's voice called, "but I got the snacks you wanted. I also rented a few movi- woah."

A blush flooded the blonde's face as she locked eyes with the man across from her. He was covered in snow and carrying four different grocery bags. But they fell from his fists as he stared at her longer. Insecurities washed over Lily at his silence and she crossed her arms over her stomach, that familiar queasy feeling returning. Her eyes shifted to stare down at her feet as she shuffled on the hardwood floor, waiting for him to say something, or anything at that.

She didn't even hear him take off his jacket, his boots, or anything. She didn't even hear him walk over to her. But she did feel the way his arms slipped around her waist, hands playing along her stomach as the music changed into the 40's love songs she had put in the queue. The gentle sounds of guitar played as Aubrey Hepburn's melodic tone filled the kitchen. Moon River began to play, and Bucky nuzzled his face into the crook of Lily's neck. Her eyes fluttered shut as he swayed behind her, his grip moving her with him. The food long forgotten about, Lily turned to face him, arms wrapping around his neck. Their foreheads met one anothers, eyes shut as they continued to sway back and forth in the kitchen. With the snow falling outside, and the delectable smells filling the cabin, Lily felt like she was in a dream. Any worry she had ever felt leaving her as the moment consumed her.

His lips ghosted hers as the song came to an end, but his grip didn't waver. The two continued with their dance, seconds turning to minutes as time seemed to cease to exist. The only thing both felt was the bodies of each other. His hands gripping her waist, rubbing circles through the silky material of her dress. The smoky musk of him filling her senses acting as though it were a drug, sending her into a state of euphoria. She knew they weren't a conventional couple, but it were these moments that reminded her that they could be. The couple that went on walks on the beach, or walked the dog through central park. Or danced in the kitchen at 3 in the morning. Went on ice cream dates, with or without Hunter. Spent time talking and telling the other just what went on in their heads. Growing together as separate people with a shared love.

But the fire alarm pulled her back from her daydreams, and reality smacked Lily in the face.

"Oh my god the chicken!" She exclaimed, pulling away from Bucky's strong grip as she grabbed her oven mitts and pulled open the oven, a puff of smoke wafting into her face.

Bucky laughed gently as Lily scrambled around, trying to salvage the rest of the meal she had planned. When she saw the sauce and chicken however, her heart sunk down to the floor. Groaning, the blonde placed her elbows on the counter and her face in her hands. She shook her head and felt the heartbreak spread through her at her failed evening attempt.

"If it makes you feel better," Bucky cooed, lifting his girlfriends chin to look at him, "I bought your favourite pizza, and rented your favourite movie...and just so happened to pick up your favourite ice cream," he grinned, wiggling his eyebrows, "and as hot as you look in this dress...why don't we just get into pyjamas and watch a few movies and veg out."

Lily smiled sadly at him and nodded, "I like that plan. I should have known that trying to cook alone would be a disaster."

"I give it an A for effort."

"Oh whatever, metal man."

-----

Lily groaned as she stretched her arms above her head, before rubbing the heel of her hand into her eyes. Peeling the lids apart, the bright sun sent a shock through her system. Collecting her barings, Lily realized her and Bucky had fallen asleep on the couch. She had to admit, it was a pretty comfy couch. It was made of leather and had deep sides with the tufted coverings, and small cashmere blankets that were not at all big enough to cover anyone. But the two had grabbed a few spare from the closet before they settled in for their movie night. Glancing down, Bucky's head rested on her stomach, the man still sound asleep. She admired the calmness in his face, the stress lines faded and smoothed out as he rested. Reaching behind her, she grabbed ahold of the camera he had brought and quickly snapped a photo, admiring his gentle snores. She ran her fingers through his hair and tilted her head to the side. Lily had known Bucky was handsome, hell, the first time she saw him she knew it.

He had chiseled cheekbones, a sharp jawline that was covered with stubble. His cheeks hollowed slightly, and his eyes creased at the edges. His nose was straight with a slight bump to it, and it fit his face shape perfectly. His eyes were hooded and even closed, held stories that she couldn't imagine. While asleep, they were less noticeable, but there were creases in the centre of his forehead, and Lily's stomach did a flip. His breathing was still that of a deep sleep, and she couldn't help but trace the contours of his face. The aged lines that each told a tale of his life. The rough patches of hair that prickled at the blonde's still hands as she continued to admire him.

Moments later, he began to stir from between her legs, causing Lily to giggle slightly as his nose scrunched. His eyes seemed to force themselves open at the noise, and the same feeling she got from the bright light seemed to hit Bucky as well. Her soft coos caused a groan to emit from the man's throat as he burrowed his face deeper into her stomach, pulling the blankets further over them both. Shaking her head, Lily pulled herself up from underneath the large man, or at least tried to. His weight was on a certain part of her body that just held her in one place. Throwing her head back, Lily shook her head before looking back down at him.

"Buck, c'mon, let's get up." She sighed, ruffling the messy curls on his head.

"Five more minutes." He whined, pulling her closer by her hips.

"No. I'm a mother, I know what five more minutes means," she laughed, "and we are not spending all day on the couch. Lets go skate on the lake today, love."

Bucky shot up, eyes wide at her request, "No. No, I refuse."

Furrowing her eyebrows, Lily crossed her slightly cramped legs, "...and why do you refuse, Mr. Barnes?"

Bucky scratched the back of his neck as he avoided the intense gaze that Lily was sending his way. Lowering her eyes, the blonde crawled forward and took his face into her hands. They locked eyes and for a moment, she thought about kissing him. But she figured it would be better to figure out why he was so against going skating. Then it clicked, and she realized just why he was so against it. Pursing her lips to keep from smiling, Lily leaned back onto her heels.

"Bucky...do you not know how to skate?" She wondered, cocking an eyebrow at him.

"...Do not tell Steve or Sam they will be on my ass about it." Bucky quickly said, taking his girlfriends hands into his own.

"I won't, I won't, but I'm invoking the 'It's Valentine's Day' card. Because it's Valentines Day, and it will be romantic," she grinned, tucking a stray hair behind her ear, "plus, I'll teach you how to skate. It's not that hard I promise. I saw they have skates down at the lake so c'mon, gotta get a good pair."

"You're gonna be the death of me, doll."

"That's what I'm here for."

-----

He wasn't lying when he said he didn't know how to skate. Lily skated gracefully out onto the ice, waiting for Bucky to lace up his skates. It had been a while since she had skated, seeing as it wasn't something she did commonly. She used to go all the time with Gen back in Long Island when they were younger, but eventually they stopped. But her muscle memory kicked in as she twirled and skated around the ice. She dodged children and couples as she warmed up her body. Only to spot Bucky hesitantly staring at the ice in front of him. Lily made her way back towards him, stretching her mitt covered hand out towards him.

"It's not going to bite, Buck," Lily smiled softly, moving a bit closer, "C'mon. I'll be here the whole time." she reassured, gripping his hand as he curled it into hers.

The moment he stepped onto the ice, both ended up falling. Him from a lack of balance, and her from the fact he fell. Bucky groaned while Lily laughed, pushing herself off the ground and placing her hands on her hips. He had flopped his arms out and let his head fall against the ice, a clearly forced pained look on his features. Rolling her eyes, Lily gripped his hand and yanked, attempting to pull him back up onto his feet. The thing is, he was a supersoldier, she was a doctor. She had strength, hell, she pushed out a child. But you see, Bucky was, once again, a supersoldier. Dropping his arm, and crossing her own over her chest, Lily glared down at him.

"I won't cook dinner for a week if you don't help me get you up." Lily threatened, arching her brow.

Opening his eyes, Bucky mirrored her expression, "Is that a threat or a promise?" He teased, resulting in a handful of snow to be thrown at him. A low laugh escaped from his chest as Bucky heaved himself up, gripping onto Lily for support.

"Wow you're such a comedian." She quipped, rolling her eyes and gripping onto his forearms.

The two skated for a few hours. Two to be exact. Bucky had essentially latched onto Lily's waist the entire time. She skated around, dragging him behind her as he bent over and hugged himself to her back, arms tightly wound around her waist. At one point, he did let go and try to stand on his own. He lasted about...five minutes. After that, Lily had to offer her back as support for the poor man so he didn't go tumbling face first into the ice. The entire time was spent laughing and stumbling, as well as Lily trying her hardest to just get him to stand. Sadly, she didn't have much luck. He continued to grip onto her even when they were heading back towards the edge to leave and take off their skates. It was endearing, but Lily had hoped to get somewhere with it. Still, she had a good time. And seeing The Winter Soldier be genuinely afraid to fall made Lily's heart swell. Seeing that more vulnerable side of him made Lily sure they were moving in a good direction in their relationship.

As the two neared the cabin, Lily saw a familiar car parked on the road across from where they were staring. She didn't think too much of it as they walked into the cabin, ridding of their coats and winter gear they had layered on, to face the bone chilling cold that had taken over the outdoors. Both then dropped onto the couch with cups of tea and coffee, Lily had the tea, and Bucky the coffee. His arm draped around her, drawing patterns into her knit sweater covered arm.

But the peace didn't last long.

A knock on the door surprised Lily and Bucky. They both stopped talking about their ideal vacations, and turned to look at the door. Lily placed her tea down and stood to her feet, making her way over towards the wooden piece. Her eyebrows were furrowed and she glanced over at Bucky before she pulled the door open. Her jaw went slack and mind went blank when she saw the person. Because she knew the reason he would be here.

"Hey Lily...is Bucky here?"

[bethagain]

End of Year Creative Wrap-Up

Thank you @fadagaski for the tag! It's been a heck of a year, once again. I am literally going to have to go look on AO3 to see if I published anything this year.

...I'm back. It appears that yes, I did. So, ok, here goes.

And if anyone else would like to do this, too, please do and tag me so I can read it!

What is your favourite thing you created? Which work are you proudest of? I think I'm most fond of Honest Work, which is part of a little series that, while technically Mandalorian fanfic, is really about moving on when a chapter in one's life comes to an end. I feel like I succeeded in creating an interesting place, conveying realistic emotion, and giving a sense of momentum even without a typical plot structure. And people seemed to enjoy reading it.

Is there anything you are proud of that you achieved this year? Grogu's Day Out was a good accomplishment for me in terms of writing craft. It was written for a fic exchange and I struggled with it for quite a while, even getting 5,000 words in to a (very different) early draft before I figured out how to get the right tone. I'm proud that 1) I realized the first version wasn't working, 2) I had the courage to set it aside and start again, and 3) the comments on the final version suggest that I succeeded in making people smile. Did you explore anything new this year? (A new way to be creative, a trope you didn’t write before, or an idea you hadn’t thought of earlier, etc.) I don't think so. I thought about trying to take up drawing, just to see what would happen if I gave it a real go. But then I didn't actually do that. Which work gave you the most difficulty?  What was your biggest creative challenge this year? See above re proudest achievement! Also, more recently, finding ways to get past the writer's block that comes with the wearing-off of a fandom obsession and also the pandemic blues. Shout-out to @dankfarrikdrabbles for providing fun prompts to write to. Which work brought you the most joy? Oh, all of them! And also all the marvelous things written by my mutuals and fandom friends! Which of your works do you think people should check out? It depends on what you're interested in. And probably what kind of mood you're in, too, because I've got silly stuff and pensive stuff and sad stuff and and and. I would love if anyone wants to visit me on AO3 and see if there's something you think you'd like to read. For 2021 it was all Mandalorian stuff, with word counts ranging from about 200 to 7,500. Do you have creative plans for next year?  Is there anything exciting you’re currently working on? Not really? As usual, I have some original fic ideas kicking around, but I'm not going to make any promises that I don't know I can keep. Ficwise, we'll see what catches my eye. I'll be happy if I can finish a couple of new stories and entertain a few more readers in 2022. Last, any words of wisdom or anything else you would like to share? Wisdom? I may have acquired some wisdom in RL, but creatively I'm still flailing around and probably always will be. At least the flailing is fun!

[impracticaldemon]

Mirafreed Week 2017 Fanfiction Ch.3—First Steps: Beyond Kisses

Story ~ First Steps and Beyond Prompts: Day 5—Lipstick; Day 6—Children

Words: ~ 5000 (Chapter 3) | AO3 | Fanfiction.net | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2

Summary:  This story takes place between the Battle for Fairy Tail and the Oracion Seis Arc, as timelines permit. Chapter 3 follows Freed’s proposal for the two of them to find a home together and the difficulties of two complicated mages trying to forge an intimate relationship.  Angst, relationship development, sexy fluff (and a certain amount of frustration). 

Rated: T+ for Chapters 1 & 2, M for Chapter 3 (to be safe); Chapter 4 will be M

Chapter 3: Beyond Kisses

[I]—Tea and Kisses

As expected, the gossip mill churned with great fervour when it became known that Mirajane and Freed were actively looking for an apartment together. Eventually, there was even a small article about it in the Sorcerer's Weekly, featuring pictures of Mirajane dressed in everything from a skimpy bikini to a floor-length ball gown. The only picture of Freed was from the fashion show in which he'd involuntarily participated, and while he looked elegant enough, the editor seemed to have deliberately chosen the one shot where the angle made his slight smile look more like a leer.

"Well, maybe that was the only photo that the show organizers would allow them to publish," said Mirajane, as they read the article together at their regular date for morning tea. Her voice was light, and she even sounded amused, but Freed knew his lady too well. The over-tight grip on her mug and the angry gleam in her blue eyes was more indicative of her mood.

"Perhaps," Freed agreed. "But we both doubt it, so why pretend? The door is closed and I promise not to repeat anything you have to say about the magazine's editors beyond these four walls."

Mirajane gave him a fond smile, the dangerous spark fading from her eyes.

"I've learned to keep my temper… and sometimes it's easier to keep it if I don't let go of it even in private. For one thing, getting angry around Elfman always sets him off, which seldom works out well. He's very protective, as you may have noticed. But somehow when you tell me to get angry and say exactly what I'm thinking, I no longer feel especially angry."

"That's too bad," Freed commented. "You are not only lovely when you're angry, but also very witty—in a scathing, flay-your-opponent-alive kind of way. By the way, I see that you've finally found a lipstick that is dark enough to match those roses Droy created for you. The colour suits you very well."

He picked up the small cake that she had set down in her annoyance at seeing the photos, broke off a piece, and fed it to her. It was a deliberately sensual—rather than romantic—gesture, and he was pleased to see that Mira's eyes focussed on the way that he licked the crumbs from his fingertips afterward, instead of returning to the magazine.

"You're trying to seduce me, aren't you?" she said softly, the moment she had swallowed the bit of cake.

Freed picked up her hand and traced the line of the vein on her wrist with his thumb.

"Yes, I told you that I would—try, that is."

"You also said you'd be patient." She met his eyes as though to challenge his lack of patience, but her slight shiver when his fingers continued to stroke the soft skin just below her palm detracted somewhat from her protest.

Her green-haired lover—in the more old-fashioned sense of the word, at least for now—smiled in a way that made her bite her lower lip. Somehow, they had gone from discussing an annoying piece of unwanted publicity to… this.

"I said that I can be patient," Freed told her, his thumb still tracing those oddly electric patterns on her inner wrist. "And if I thought that I was bothering you now—in a negative way—then I would be patient. Moreover, I have been patient."

Mirajane was always both irritated and captivated by the way that Freed could make her feel young and rather inexperienced at times like these. In fact, she was young—barely into her early twenties, although she managed to maintain an appearance of wisdom and maturity that fooled even those who knew better—and she was inexperienced in terms of serious relationships. As a teenager she'd been wild and decidedly dangerous to those around her; after her sister had died, she'd reformed into a sexy but untouchable sister-mother figure to the majority of the guild and perhaps Magnolia as a whole.

"I did agree to look for a place together," she ventured, trying vainly to ignore her flushed cheeks and the warmth she could feel spreading outward from where Freed was touching her. "And we'd only been seeing each other for three months at the time!"

"Yes, and I am very happy about that. However, I have come to the conclusion that we are both too domestic—and likely too particular—to find what we want in the apartments and smaller places that we've been looking at."

"What do you mean?"

Before answering the question, Freed leaned forward and pressed his lips against Mira's. It began as a simple kiss, but her lips had already been slightly parted and he took ruthless advantage of that to explore her mouth with his tongue, so that the kiss quickly became deeper and oddly more intense than in the past. Freed's hand slid further up Mira's arm and she felt the strange electric feeling travel with it, as if there were more than mere finger-tips and nerve-endings involved. A few minutes passed, and then Freed felt Mira start to tense. Without being in any way abrupt, he gently ended the kiss and slowly leaned back, folding his hands together so as to resist any further temptation. For now.

"Thank you," Freed said quietly.

Mirajane didn't respond at first. She was staring down at the table as though fascinated by the well-polished wood. Then she shook her head and looked up. Her whole face felt warm and was probably red.

"That was… different. Why?"

"Power—I think. You don't entirely believe me, but I have done my best to… mute things a little. While we got used to each other. I suppose that magic calls to magic—we can both sense spell energy after all—and ours is somewhat aligned. The effect is becoming more pronounced as we become more comfortable together; I don't know why. I noticed it a couple of months ago."

"I didn't."

"I can't fully explain it. I suggest that I am more open to you than you are to me—which is only reasonable in the circumstances. I have hurt you and your family."

"Then I still need to move past the past—so to speak." Mira did not look wholly convinced. After all, she was the one who had originally convinced Freed that his actions on Laxus' behalf had not destroyed their relationship as friends and guild mates.

"Mira…" Freed hesitated. He didn't want to lose her. Reluctantly, he tried to put into words the idea that had come to him over the past few weeks. "You've let me become close to you. Now you've agreed to live with me—if we can find the right place. But I feel as though I'm fighting a constant, silent battle. You really don't like to acknowledge your demon powers, and I won't let you forget them."

"I thought we already talked about that." Mirajane shifted uncomfortably.

"We did. But you are going out with me despite how you feel, not because you are comfortable with your powers. I believe you'll get there—you are already less anxious—but until you can tell yourself that's it's alright and you won't hurt anyone by mistake, you're going to… hold back with me."

Once again, Mira fidgeted. She was intelligent and capable of honest self-analysis; Freed's argument had some merit.

"What does this have to do with getting an apartment?"

Freed had to resist the urge to pace.

"As I said before, oddly enough, demon powers or not, we're both rather domestic creatures." He smiled wryly. "Evergreen and Bickslow are both far more exotic beings than I am, when it comes to creating a space that is a home—not to mention knowing how to cook or tidy. And if you tell me that Elfman has a desire to create gourmet meals then I'll believe you, but I'd be surprised. Or does he have a flair for interior design of which I was unaware?"

That drew a reluctant smile from Mirajane. She nodded in agreement with Freed's assessment.

"In comparison to our families," Freed continued, "you and I secretly want a rather traditional place, with an excellent kitchen, room to entertain, enough space for both guests and our own interests…"

Mirajane laughed out loud. "And a garden and a koi pond?"

"And a fenced yard for the children."

Mira turned noticeably pink again. "It's a little too soon to talk about that," she said in a low voice.

"I agree. That or even the rest of it, maybe, but I think the image is there in our heads already and that's why the apartments and so on aren't satisfying to look at." Freed tilted his head at her. "Since I seem to be pressing my luck anyway, I will complete my analysis. I think you are conflicted: the idea of throwing yourself whole-heartedly into creating your own home and family makes you want more than a utilitarian place to live; however, the idea of being closely involved with me on a day-to-day basis still scares you."

"I'm not afraid of you, Freed!"

"I know." Freed sighed. "I don't think that fear of me—in the obvious sense—is the problem. Either way, I apologize for upsetting you. Besides, I may be completely wrong, and we just haven't found the right place yet."

He rose, took one of Mirajane's hands back, and bowed.

"Freed…" For some reason, Mirajane felt her irritation with the man dissolve again. The strength in his hands and the way that he somehow conveyed both restrained power and the desire for intimacy almost made her shiver again.

"I have reason to believe that Elfman will be out this evening," said Freed in a light tone. "Although it is incredibly presumptuous to invite myself over, may I join you for dinner this evening? If you think that the guild can do without you for an hour or two?"

"I wish Elf wasn't so fascinated by Evergreen," Mirajane replied rather petulantly. When Freed remained silent, she added: "Yes, I'd be happy make dinner for you this evening, even though it is a strange request from a person as consistently polite as you are. I'll find somebody to look after things here."

"Thank you, Mira. I'll see you later, then."

[II]—Intimate Discussions

Freed surveyed the Strauss family home with a slightly sardonic expression. Mirajane and her siblings had been in Magnolia since she was thirteen, during which time they had lived for the most part at the guildhall. The house was fairly new; or more precisely, they hadn't had it for long. Mirajane had bought it about a year ago, when earnings from her modelling jobs had begun to add up. It wasn't especially large, but it was located in what realtors referred to as a "desirable location": an older neighbourhood close to the center of town with full-grown trees and more space between houses than could be found anywhere else. There was a small but pretty garden, and the yard was fenced, although there was no koi pond.

Smiling at the pond idea, Freed walked up the short flight of stairs to the front door, which opened at his approach. Mirajane was wearing a short summer dress in some kind of soft material, and her feet were bare. Freed was pleased that he'd judged correctly: he'd left his usual coat and boots at home in favour of black trousers and a wine-coloured vest over a white dress shirt with the collar unbuttoned and the cuffs loosely folded up. He was gratified to see Mira's eyes widen with surprised approval.

"Come in, Freed… And you needn't look so smug; I freely admit that I like your outfit."

"That isn't going to stop me from looking smug, Mira," her guest replied, kissing her cheek and taking his shoes off inside the door. "After all, I get to have dinner—alone—with you, and you like the clothes I chose for the evening. What man wouldn't feel smug?"

"A more polite man might conceal his smugness," Mirajane suggested, her blue eyes twinkling a little.

"Alas, it isn't exactly politeness I have in mind this evening." Freed pulled his hostess against him in a tight embrace and kissed her firmly on the lips.

"Or food?" Mirajane said with a slight gasp a minute or two later.

"Food would be very welcome," Freed demurred. "I merely wanted to advise you of my intentions ahead of time, so that there was no misunderstanding."

"You didn't even bring flowers or, or anything!"

"True. I invited myself to dinner and brought no gifts. That way, you can't accuse me of trying to bribe you or make you feel guilty or indebted."

Mirajane smacked him lightly on the upper arm and tried to look affronted. "I assure you that I don't feel either guilty or indebted when a dinner guest brings me a small gift or a bottle of wine or something of that kind."

"Ah, but you still have my flowers," Freed pointed out.

"Yes, and although they continue to look lovely—I assume you put some kind of arcane runes on them—I think it's time for new ones! Or are you short of money?"

Mirajane immediately reddened and looked flustered, since she knew that Freed had been working hard to repay the guild and the town of Magnolia for the repairs necessary to both after the battle for Fairy Tail. Freed ignored her consternation, however.

"I am not short of money. Since I denied myself the pleasure of your company for over three months, and have remained busy in the—almost—four months that we've been seeing each other, I am entirely free of debt and then some. However,"—he spoke over Mirajane's attempt to apologize for her question—"I do intend to buy you new flowers, just as soon as we decide on a home together. In the meantime, the original roses serve to remind you of our discussion on the matter."

Mirajane stopped trying to cut in. Instead, she frowned slightly, and tried to shift away so that she could look up at him. When his arms didn't move, and proved as yielding as steel bars, the best she could do was resist the desire to snuggle in closer. It was annoyingly difficult not to.

"I don't need the reminder," she told him at last.

"Excellent. Then let's talk about it over dinner, shall we?"

"You're still trying to get me into bed, aren't you?"

"Yes. I believe that came up during the same discussion. But in perfect seriousness, if you want me to desist, you just need to ask."

Mirajane huffed, but didn't say anything more, so Freed let go of her and followed her into the kitchen. The food smelled wonderful, and it was clear that dessert was baking in the oven.

"I was going to suggest that we eat in here," Mirajane said, "but it's a little warm, I'm afraid. Not that either of us seems to mind the heat much. At least, I don't, and I assume you don't since you normally wear a coat on all occasions."

Freed regarded the good-sized kitchen with its comfortable eating area. It was appropriate to the suggestion he wanted to make over dinner.

"I can create a slightly cooler area that won't be affected by the heat from the cooking, if you don't mind setting the table."

"Showing off?" Mirajane teased.

"No, just being practical."

A short time later, they were eating Mira's wonderful dinner in perfect comfort, only the tiniest distortion indicating the location of Freed's magic. Soft music accompanied dinner, issuing from a shimmering lacrima crystal that was itself a piece of art.

"Alright Freed, you've managed to get things more or less the way you want them, I suspect, so what is it that you want to discuss?" Mirajane fixed her guest with a wary gaze.

Freed finished his mouthful of food without haste.

"I think that we should live here," he said simply. "You have already chosen this place, and I like it very much, so why not?"

Mirajane looked startled and then upset.

"But… Elf lives here and I'm not going to tell him to leave! You can't expect me to!"

Freed nodded his understanding.

"Of course I don't expect you to tell him to leave, but have you considered how he feels? I know you are very close, but he may appreciate his own freedom, you know. Especially if he has his own, ah, interests to pursue. It should have occurred to me sooner, but he's the one who should have an apartment, not us. I can assure you that Evergreen is not in a hurry to settle down."

"Thank goodness," muttered Mirajane.

Freed ignored the interpolation.

"More wine?"

"No thank you!" Then Mirajane discovered that her glass was empty, and with a sense of capitulation, she handed it to Freed. "Alright… That is, yes please."

He filled the glass in silence, along with his own.

"If Elfman dislikes the idea—if he would rather stay here—then I'll come up with something else," he promised, once Mirajane had sipped at her wine.

"I… suspect that won't be necessary," she admitted. "He was as resistant as he could be when I bought the place—which isn't saying much, but I know I overrode his preference to stay at the guildhall. And if I present it to him as something that I want, so that any money I give him up front is just a small thing compared to the rent I'd otherwise have to pay…"

"I'm still surprised you went looking at apartments with me, given that you had this lovely house," Freed told her.

She grinned at him. "You caught me at a weak emotional moment—it had been a trying day."

"Of course."

"And I liked your idea of living together."

"In concept or in reality?"

"Both. I promise."

"Then you will consider my idea?"

"I'll speak to Elfman about it tomorrow. He said he'd likely be home late tonight."

"He will be." Freed spoke with some certainty. Evergreen might not be wholly reconciled to the idea of her team leader being involved with "Little Miss Perfect" (her words, of course), but she was fond enough of Freed—and loyal enough—not to stand in his way. Besides, she liked to torment Elfman without having to admit to herself that she wanted to spend time with him.

"I see." Mirajane frowned, but forbore to cast further aspersions on the Raijinshū's capricious female team member.

She cleared the dinner dishes and took dessert out of the oven to cool. Freed watched her patiently as she made coffee for herself and tea for him, understanding her need for space and occupation while she mulled things over. She liked his idea, he thought. And if they wanted a bigger place someday—since the house only had three bedrooms—they could worry about it then. He knew Mirajane very well, and she would want children sooner rather than later.

Meanwhile, he had more immediate hopes and dreams, but he had already pushed the limits of acceptable behaviour. He allowed himself to be guided into the cosy living room, and sipped his tea while Mirajane described her most recent modelling assignment, and the sleazy photographer who had needed reminding that she was a Fairy Tail mage. Freed smiled appreciatively at the end result, but added the photographer's name to a short mental list of people with whom to have pointed discussions.

"I only have half your attention!" Mirajane protested at that point.

"You have my full attention," replied Freed with perfect truth.

He rose from the armchair to which he'd been directed and set down his plate and cup. His long green hair had been tied back into a low ponytail but his bangs still fell around his face—and over his right eye—as usual. Mirajane caught her breath and then hurried to stand up. Every now and then, she found herself partially mesmerized by how he looked and it was annoying that it seemed to be happening more often lately. She had expected the effect to lessen as she got to know him better. It gave her insight into the effect that she had on others, since his style of beauty was not unlike her own, but that didn't help her to feel less shallow—or less vulnerable.

"You're leaving already?" she asked, puzzled and relieved and disappointed.

"You are holding me at a distance. I am trying my utmost to become closer to you. It isn't an ideal situation. As you reminded me, I promised to be patient."

"But…" Mirajane frowned. Every way she looked at it, he was correct. She was holding him at a distance even though she wanted to be with him. It did suggest that she was afraid. She didn't like—the realization finally crystallized—she truly didn't like not being in control of how she felt.

Despite his best intentions, Freed couldn't resist the somehow woebegone expression on Mirajane's lovely face. She looked bewildered and he had some idea why. He put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her forehead.

"You'll sort it out. The thing is… I don't really want to seduce you. I don't even want to find out if that's possible. I want to hold you, and touch your skin, and make love to you—because that's what we both want. Shared love, shared responsibility, shared vulnerability. For people with power I think it generally comes down to that."

He could tell that the words made sense to her. Her slim hands reached up to brush the hair out of his face and he reflexively closed his eyes. His right eye was… troubling… to look at. When she leaned into him, arms now around his neck to balance herself, he let go of her shoulders and allowed his hands to rest lightly on her hips. He was surprised when she kissed his neck rather his lips, but kept his eyes closed, enjoying the sensation.

"Stay for a bit longer, please. I'm sure that your patience hasn't entirely run out, has it?"

"No—ah, no, it hasn't run out. Yes, if you want me to stay I will."

They sat on the couch after that, or rather, Freed sat on the couch and pulled Mirajane onto his lap. He put his arms around her but otherwise left her to choose what to do next. She continued to kiss his neck, and then his ears and finally what she could she see of his shoulders. Somehow he managed to stay still throughout, although he could hear his heart hammering in his chest. He felt his whole body tense when her fingers unbuttoned his vest and most of his shirt, but other than shifting to accommodate reactions that he couldn't possibly help, he didn't move.

His eyes were closed, partly to give his lover a strange semblance of privacy, partly because he thought that if he could see then his control might slip beyond recall. Soft hands traced the muscles and bones of his chest and warm lips trailed along his left collarbone. Unlike Mirajane, he had no difficulty at all in feeling the quasi-electrical sensation of magical power rising along his skin. When surprisingly sharp teeth marked his shoulder he gasped out loud and then gently took Mira's face between his hands.

"That… Wait." He pressed his forehead against hers in an attempt to recover enough breath—and wits—to speak coherently. Her hands remained pressed against his ribs, but she didn't move. Finally, he opened his eyes and smiled ruefully at her. "Well."

"I know I didn't hurt you," Mirajane told him, expression torn between concern and amusement. Her cheeks were flushed, but mostly she appeared to be smug.

"No, not at all." The rapidly darkening bruise on his left shoulder might suggest otherwise, but Freed felt no pain. At least, not there; elsewhere, his clothing was very much too tight and he was distinctly uncomfortable.

"I never really realized that people could blush with their whole bodies," Mirajane mused thoughtfully.

"Mmm. More blood in the capillaries. Shows up more if you have fair skin, too."

"You have nice skin."

"Thank you. So do you."

"You should know, since you've seen most of it; I've modelled all sorts of swimsuits. You, on the other hand, are almost always overdressed." Mirajane's tone was teasing, but Freed could also hear the warring emotions underneath: desire and fear, although the fear was much less pronounced than it had been.

"I find myself overdressed right now, but I suppose that's not the same."

The flush on her cheeks darkened and she looked away. "… No, not quite the same."

"Have you concluded that you can wrap me around your little finger with a few well-placed kisses?" Freed asked, turning her face back toward his.

"Not exactly," Mirajane responded slowly, meeting his eyes—which was saying something, since he could tell that both were visible. "But I'll admit that you've somehow managed to convince me that we should have our own home."

"I thought I'd already convinced you of that?"

"Yes… in a general way. But now I realize that we need our own place because we really need more privacy."

"Ah."

"Not that I didn't already understand that we need more privacy but—look, can you just drop this?"

"Sure."

"And stop looking so smug!"

Freed raised an eyebrow.

"The woman I'm in love with is sitting in my lap and just half undressed me. It's difficult not to feel a least a little smug. Besides, that is very much the pot calling the kettle black, wouldn't you say?"

"My pots are all steel-coloured."

"So's my kettle." Suddenly Freed blinked and looked alarmed. "… Mira…!"

With characteristic stubbornness—at least, Erza would have called it that, if nobody else—Mirajane had twisted so that she was kneeling across Freed's legs, her white hair concealing her face as she used lips and teeth to put a second, matching bruise on Freed's right shoulder. The slight hoarseness in his voice didn't escape her sharp ears, and she was pleased with the effect. Suddenly strong hands grasped her upper arms and pulled her upright, so that they were facing each other again.

"This isn't a game," Freed told her flatly. "Or at least, not one that we can safely play right now. Do you understand? I want you to touch me because you want to: not to establish dominance, not because you're afraid, not because you have something to prove."

There was a long, long silence after that.

"I understand," Mirajane said eventually, very quietly.

"I'm sorry if I startled you," Freed immediately apologized. He had already relaxed his grip on her arms.

"Why is this so complicated? Honestly, it's not like this in the books."

"Those would be the books with the half-naked men and women on the covers?"

Mirajane giggled, suddenly sounding a lot more like herself. Freed relaxed a little.

"Yes… Erza and Cana get them—okay, and I do too—and we trade them around. Cana always gets the more explicit ones, and well… there's not much of a plot…"

Fairy Tail's fair-haired girl (so to speak) smirked and reddened again, but without being especially embarrassed. Freed, on the other hand, clapped his hands over his ears.

"I don't want to know about it. Not if it involves Erza. Otherwise I'll say the wrong thing at the wrong time and who knows what will happen."

"Oh? More afraid of her than of me?"

"Yes: you actually care about me and I'd like to think that you would hesitate to damage me too severely if I accidentally embarrassed you."

Mirajane rolled her eyes, and then smiled.

"I care quite a lot, to be honest. So I guess you have a point." She hesitated, then added: "It may take a little while for me to sort things out with Elf and make sure it's okay. He'll grumble a lot about me living with you, even though he's kind of got his head around things more, now."

"I think you'll find him fairly tractable at the present time. He, ah, doesn't have much of a leg to stand on, you know, from a moralistic point of view."

"… I'd rather not think about that, but I suppose it's true. All I was going to say, though, is that if we wait to have this place entirely to ourselves then it could be a few days or a few weeks."

"True," Freed said neutrally.

"And the man I love is sitting here partly-undressed and rather dishevelled and it seems a shame to waste the opportunity."

"Really?" The man in question could feel his heart beat accelerate again, as Mirajane began to run a hand gently down his neck and along his collarbone. Her other hand was working on the last two buttons of his shirt, which she had liberated from his trousers.

"Yes. I don't get to see you dishevelled very often, Freed. It's rather disturbingly attractive."

"Probably because you know that it's only with you."

"That could be true." Mirajane finally managed to undo the last of the shirt buttons, and she paused to admire her handiwork before running both hands along Freed's flat stomach and up across his ribs. "Or maybe I'm just infatuated."

"I don't think it's infatuation. Lust maybe. Love and lust together aren't a bad thing, you know."

"I'm relieved to hear it. There are a lot of conflicting messages out there, though. So I might still get a little anxious from time to time…"

"I can live with that," Freed said. "I never expected things to be simple. I just wanted a chance to resolve the complications."

He shifted his legs onto the couch and settled himself more comfortably against the soft armrest. Then he pulled Mira down against his chest and ran his hands down her back and over her hips, brushing his fingertips across the tops of her bare legs. When that seemed to be acceptable, he brought his hands back to her face and smiled.

"So it's okay to tell me to stop, right?"

"I know. I'm not a child."

"I am in no way treating you like a child," Freed pointed out.

Mirajane kissed him, lightly at first and then more emphatically. "True," she said, once they were both rather out of breath.

"The only other thing I was going to add," murmured Freed, "is that unless you do tell me to stop sooner rather than later, I would prefer to go somewhere with a door."

"Just in case of jealous lovers, brothers, that kind of thing?"

"No. For that kind of thing, I recommend magic wards. For a basic sense of privacy, a door is sufficient."

Mirajane laughed and managed to snuggle closer. "Let's just stay here for a bit, okay? Then we'll see."

[To be continued… in Chapter 4]

Note:  Reviews and comments (even short ones) would be much appreciated. I enjoyed writing this chapter, which sets the stage for the next (and concluding) chapter. Unfortunately, I was unable to put everything together in as short a time as I'd hoped (i.e., during Mirafreed Week itself).