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cambion-companion · 1 year

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Only One Bed

What are we gonna doooo? haha love this trope.

Word count: 950

Aemond x reader | fun and getting tangled up with the prince | no content warnings | pre-relationship which leads to awkward hilarity |no more beds! No other options! What a shame

“You said there are no other accommodations?” You said, looking at the small room and singular bed.

“No, my lady. It is the festival season; this is the last available room in a thirty-mile radius at least.” The landlord bowed to you and your companion apologetically.

Aemond looked over at you, his eyebrow raised, a slight quirk upon his lips. “We can always keep searching.”

“We’ve been at it for hours, Aemond.” You shook your head, turning to give the innkeeper several large coins. “Who suggested we come here again?”

“Aegon.”

“Little shit.”

Aemond chuckled, allowing you to enter the bedroom before he followed. “Careful, Y/N, that’s your king you speak of.”

“He’s a royal pain, sending us both here in the middle of the busiest season of the year.”

“You’ll get no argument from me.” The prince’s eye twinkled as he tried to disguise his mirth.

The both of you settled as best you could within the cold room, there was no fireplace, no space for a wardrobe. You set your bag at the foot of the rickety looking bed, your gaze falling upon Aemond who lingered by the doorway.

“I will sleep upon the floor.” He said dutifully, avoiding your gaze.

“Don’t be absurd, Aemond. It’s freezing.” You held up a hand as he opened his mouth to protest. “I won’t be hearing an argument. You are not sleeping on the dirty cold floor.”

“If you insist so vehemently, who am I to decline.” A small smile pulled its way up Aemond’s face as he removed his overcoat and moved to the bedside.

You slipped under the covers, fully clothed still, pulling the blanket up to your chin for warmth. Aemond joined you, the size of the bed forcing the two of you to press against one another.

“You’re very warm.” Despite yourself, you wiggled closer to him.

“Mmm. I have the blood of-.”

“A dragon, yes so I’ve heard.”

“I ride a dragon, have you heard that?” Aemond teased, his voice low.

“Mmhmm.”

“The largest dragon in Westeros.”

“She is the size of an island, yes.”

“Vhagar would be more comfortable than this bed.” Aemond huffed, moving to try and find a comfortable position.

“Less squeaky, too.” You chuckled, turning onto your side to face him. Aemond had his eye already closed, his mouth twitched slightly, you noticed he had left his eyepatch on. “You don’t have to wear that to bed for my sake, you know.”

His violet eye flickered open to meet your gaze. “I would prefer it remain on all the same.”

You lapsed into silence; the candlelight played across Aemond’s relaxed features as he closed his eye once more. You fought the urge to reach across the small distance that separated your faces to brush a strand of silver hair falling against his long nose. Your attention was drawn to his lips, curved and slightly parted as he breathed deep. The dim light flickered along his angular jaw, his high cheekbones and prominent brow.

His lips pursed. “You’re staring.”

“I was not.” You guiltily turned your head to face the ceiling as Aemond spoke.

“I could feel the intensity of it, even with my eye shut.”

Your shoulder brushed against his chest as you repositioned onto your back, your cheeks burning.

“Good night, Y/N.”

“Good night, my prince.”

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

You could hear the steady beating of someone’s heart in your ear, your head rising and falling with their breathing. Warm arms encircled your waist, your fingers were twisted in long silken hair. You hummed in contentment, feeling long legs move against your own as he stirred, pulling you tighter against his body instinctively. As your mind fully regained consciousness you recalled the events of the previous night, sleepy bliss turning to alarm at the dawning realization of how tangled up you were with Aemond.

“Oh, oh no. I am so sorry.” You gasped, trying to wriggle free of his grasp.

“Y/N, that’s my arm.”

You tried hurriedly to extricate yourself from him, your legs were so entwined however, that as the two of you struggled like clumsy wrestlers, you pulled Aemond off the bed with you in a shower of twisted sheets and pillows. Your back made contact with the hard stone floor, the prince’s weight on top of you making it difficult to catch your breath for a couple reasons.

“Good morning to you too.” Aemond’s hair tickled your cheek as he propped himself up on his forearms, hovering over your blushing face. He smirked at your mortified expression. “…It seems we got a little cold last night.”

You let out a strangled laugh, your morning voice groggy. “Help me up, please.” You moved under him helplessly. “Unless you planned to have me pinned here all day.”

“I could think of worse things.” Aemond drank in the way your eyes widened and lips parted for a long moment before he relented, rising and helping you to your feet. “Alas, we have errands to run.”

You had to take a moment to recover, reigning in your swirling emotions, as Aemond prepared to depart.

He glanced over at you from where he was tugging on a boot. “Are you alright, Y/N?”

“Yeah…I’m fine, thank you.” You ran a hand through your tangled hair, picking at the knots. “Only, next time let’s try to not fall off the bed.” Your face blanched as you realized what you’d said. “N-not that there will be a next time.”

Aemond rose, coming to your side and helping untangle a particularly large snarl. “That’s disappointing indeed.” His hot breath tickled the side of your neck, you could feel his gaze intent upon your profile.

“In that case, maybe next time we can have a nicer room.” You chanced a glance at him. His expression was unreadable, but it sent a pleasant tingle from your chest all the way down to your toes.

“Hmm.” Aemond tilted his head at you slightly, his eye crinkling a smile. “I can arrange that.”

#aemond fluff #aemond x reader #aemond x you #aemond x y/n #aemond imagine #aemond drabble #aemond targaryen x reader #aemond targaryen fanfiction #aemond fanfic #aemond targaryen x you #aemond targaryen x y/n #aemond targaryen fluff #prince aemond x reader #hotd aemond x reader #aemond one eye x reader #aemond stannies #pro aemond targaryen #aemond targaryen

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prettynice8 · 4 months

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Kinkmas Day 11: Body marking

Pairing: Yuta Okkotsu x male reader

This guy

Warnings: Kissing, no actual sexy times, in public kind of, very queer reader if yk yk I can say that, you can't but I can, body marking DUH

Word count: 1447

It was a normal day at school, teachers talked about random shit, well teacher, napping in class, training, that one weird emo guy with the chef ass looking outfit staring at you, just girly things.

Yeah, that's weird, you always see that kid staring at you, and it's not like some loser staring at you, it's Yuta Okkotsu, the it girl of this school. Some say he'll surpass Gojo, a special grade in only second year, and you two have only talked a handful of times. So why the fuck would he care about you.

Now some may say that he's looking at something else, but this happens too often to be just that. To be fair, he isn't staring at you with mal intent, or like he's staring into your very soul, just quick little glances, but like a lot.

You think it's a little weird but never give it more thought than that, well that's actually not true at all. You wonder about it quite often actually. Like why is this hot, emo, country crippling guy staring at you so much.

He's also always around when you're training with students, which is rare because you're too delicate to get your hands dirty, but like he's rarely if ever around when other kids are practicing.

Speaking of which, you are sitting down in the grass, watching the first years battle it out with Maki and Panda when, speaking of the devil, Yuta finally makes his move and sits by you.

"Hi," he greeted, a light smile on his lips.

"Hello," You greeted him, smiling back at him as well. It's silent for a while after that, you not really knowing how to talk to someone on such a high pedestal such as him, and he's socially awkward. The silence is finally broken when he gains the courage to speak.

"So, what do you think of the fight?" He asked, clearly uncomfortable.

"I don't really care, I'm only here because Nobara and I were supposed to get coffee after her training." You replied.

"Why aren't you out there?" He asked yet another question, wanting the conversation to keep on going.

"And ruin my hair. I would also have to change my clothes, then change them back, and fight," You droned on, "I mean sure Megumi and Yuji are kinda hot, that might be a good enough reason but not today." You finished flatly.

Yuta was shocked when you said those two were hot, well not that much. He kind of expected you were gay by the way you walked, talked, did everything. Good for him, now he knows for sure.

"And then I could chip a nail which is just super incon-"

"Wait, you're gay?" He cut you off, you look at him like he's the dumbest person on earth, which he kind of is right now.

"DUH!" You shout, all the people training stop, Megumi mid punch from Panda's stomach, at your sudden outburst.

"What was that for?!" Nobara shouted back,

"Well, you see-" you cut him off now, "He asked if I was gay." You said nonchalantly.

Yuji, Megumi, Nobara, Panda, and Maki all give Yuta the same look you did, then they erupt into laughter.

"He might as well have a light up rainbow sign." Yuji said in between bursts of laughter.

"Did you really not know?" Megumi asked, even sneaking in a chuckle or two.

"I-I-I don't know." He stuttered, a little embarrassed having everyone laugh at him. You put your hand on his shoulder, so you don't talk over onto the ground, instantly causing blush to form on his cheeks.

"It's ok Yuta, not all of us can pick up on such clues, unless those clues are ramming into you like a fire truck." Nobara said, causing everyone to laugh more. Yuta starts to get very nervous and almost gets up and walks away, until he sees you genuinely smiling at him.

"Don't worry about it, the important thing is that I'm open for business for you." You stated, the laughter carrying on into your comment, Yuji and Nobara are actually lying on the ground from hilarity. "But be quick, who knows how long it is before I settle with those two." gesturing over to Yuji and Megumi.

Yuji blows a kiss at you, while Megumi looks away, blush creeping onto his face. It's at this point when Yuta starts to laugh too, shocking everyone, but the infectiousness of his laughter bleeds onto everyone else, causing another outburst.

After a while of pointless conversation that doesn't progress the plot, you and Nobara finally go to get coffee. After you two get your drinks and try each other out, you both find a seat and begin to talk.

"That Yuta guy definitely likes you." She stated, like it's some casual thing that everyone knows.

"No, he doesn't, today was like the first day he's actually come to me." You spoke. "Though he does look at me an awful lot."

"You think." She stated bluntly. "Do you like him?"

"I mean I don't know about dating him, but I would totally suck his dick." You answered, you both shared a good laugh from your reply too.

You both make your way to the dorms, saying your goodbyes and exiting into your own respective rooms. It was on your way when you saw Yuta.

"Hiiii!" You hollered, waving your hand at him, much more comfortable now with him. He waves back,

"Hi," he said, walking up to you. You two stop in the middle of the hallway.

"Where have you been?" You asked.

"In my dorm, I came out to see if I could get in a good training session." He answered, "Wanna join?"

"Absolutely not." You stated bluntly.

"Well, it was worth a try." He said, looking a little dejected that you turned him down so quickly, but it wasn't like a date or anything and he half expected you to say no, and then an idea pops into his head.

"Would you like to do something else?" He asked, smiling that sweet innocent smile.

"What were you thinking?" You asked back. He answers by pulling you into a tight broom closet, locking the door behind him, and then pushing you into the wall and kissing you. This isn't exactly what masterminds are made of but not a terrible idea.

You were more surprised about the insane speed in which he did this and not about the kiss itself, which you kindly return when he backs away.

His hands go for your ass, squeezing and groping it. Your hands go to his hair, it feels soft yet also oily.

"Are you sure this is ok?" he asked, not wanting to do something you're not comfortable with, such a bare minimum gentleman. You answer by pulling him back into the kiss, opening your mouth to grant his tongue access, which he gladly accepts.

Your tongues dance together in a sweet embrace, his then seemingly exploring your entire mouth. Your body gets goosebumps from the exchange, your pants also becoming tighter.

He takes parts off from yours, only to place it on your neck. He kisses it, finding your sensitive parts and then gently biting into them, causing you to shriek.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

"Well, please continue." You replied.

Continue he does, fully biting into your neck and then licking the parts he bit. His teeth attacked every square inch of it, biting, kissing, and licking the whole thing.

Your neck becomes littered with hickeys, almost the entire thing red and indented with bite marks, not that you're complaining. You're surprised with how well he's doing, no way he's had experience with his socially awkward ass, he truly is a prodigy.

He shows his genius more when he lifts up your shirt to suck on your nipples, licking over the right one and biting it, while fondling the left one with his hand. The sensations make you even harder, apparently having the same effect on him, as you can feel his hard on through his pants. Your hands tighten in his hair as he starts to bite more aggressively on your left nipple, pulling at the other one.

He goes from your nipples to the rest of your chest. biting and licking at it, blush covering your face from the act. You're so hard that you feel like you could cum right then and there... until this mother fucker stops.

He whispers in your ear, 'If you want more, follow me into my dorm." He then leaves the closet in all of your disheveled glory.

Now you know why he's been staring at you.

THE END

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malk1ns · 4 months

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"Sidgeno taking in a rookie" prompter here - that was delightful, thank you soooooo much!!!!! :D :D if you would like to write anything more in that mini-verse, may I request a) how does Mack handle it when Sid goes into heat? does they politely kick him out of the house for a few days? or does he have to listen to them bone all day? or b) Sid teasing Geno about how the baby obviously has a massive crush on him or c) maybe Mack does walk in on them at some point? all I'm saying is it baffles me how little fandom makes of the potential hilarity/awkwardness of "oh no we can't move till the knot goes down". But no pressure as you've already given us such a gift!!!

thank YOU for an incredible prompt!!! i feel like maybe we could put these in some form of chronological order....

c) mack walks in on them

Sid and Geno are usually pretty discreet. It's not their fault that Mack's going through dynamics puberty, after all—the dynamics counselor with the team said he'd have elevated sensitivity to scents and pheromones for at least a year, but it will eventually settle. Mack can't blame Sid and Geno for not realizing just how sensitive he is—they keep it to their bedroom, and Sid's got pheromone neutralizers plugged into an outlet in every room. Mack's learning to deal with it, doing his best to get to his room and shut the door when Sid starts looking at Geno like that.

Sometimes, though, they're not careful.

As soon as Mack walks into the house, he groans—it reeks, Sid's little air fresheners doing absolutely nothing to dispel the cloud of horny alpha and seductive omega permeating the entire entryway. He'd been at the mall with Brayden, poking around for Christmas presents for his parents—he was gone for ages, haven't they done anything else this whole afternoon?

Sighing, he hangs his coat on the rack and takes off his shoes, remembering just in time to not just kick them off into the wall—one time catching Sid cleaning off the scuff marks was more than enough guilt for a lifetime. He thinks vaguely about getting a snack, but figures that distracting himself with some television until they're done is the better choice. He's felt even more attuned to Sid and Geno's scents recently, and there's an itch under his skin that he's trying not to worry about too much.

The living room isn't empty.

"Oh god," Mack yelps, freezing in the doorway. "Oh no."

"Fuck," Sid gasps, grabbing at Geno's shoulders to stop himself from tipping back onto the floor.

One of the couches in the living room, the one Geno always claims during movie night and coaxes Sid into cuddling with him on, is angled so that it's half-facing the door into the room. Mack has an unimpeded, perfect view of the way Geno's slouched against the back cushions, arms akimbo, staring up at Sid with heavy-lidded eyes as Sid rides him.

"Oh my god," Sid says frantically, leaning forward and grabbing for a blanket. He and Geno both hiss in discomfort, and Mack cant help it, he looks down at where Geno's dick is—fuck, he's knotted Sid already, and Mack can see where it's stretching Sid wide.

He snaps his eyes away, but Geno catches him looking, and Mack just knows what he must smell like right now, knows there's no way Geno misses his reaction.

Sid's muttering frantically to himself as he drapes the blanket around his naked body, as if that's going to help at all. "Mack, I'm so sorry, just—" he starts.

Mack flees. It's the only sane decision.

Maybe if he opens every window in his bedroom and sticks his head under ice-cold water in the shower, he can shock this boner away and hopefully purge the entire incident from his mind.

b) sid teases geno about mack's crush

"Oh god," Sid groans, tucking his face into Geno's neck. They'd been so careful until today.

It's been an adjustment, having Mack in the house. Of course it was the best choice—the only choice, really—to have their draft prize who also happened to be an omega live somewhere he'd be taken care of properly, with someone who understood—that didn't make it any easier to get used to.

There had been a lot of close calls at first, when Sid was halfway to sliding to his knees in the kitchen when Geno looked at him a certain way before realizing that Mack was just one room away setting the table, or Geno was about to push Sid's thighs apart on the couch when Mack shuffled in with a bowl of popcorn. They'd gotten used to it, though, making sure to get up to their bedroom before starting anything—Sid even set up a bunch of scent-neutralizers, he remembers what it was like at that age.

All that hard work, totally undone because Sid's a week and a half out from his heat and starting to get horny at the drop of a hat, and Geno got too worked up to remember to chivvy them up the stairs.

Mack looked mortified. Poor kid. And of course Sid's been knotted in Geno's lap for the last half-hour, with no signs of it going down any time soon.

Sid can feel Geno chuckle under him, and he can't help but relax, letting his body go heavy against Geno's. Geno slips his hands under the blanket and rubs them soothingly over Sid's back. "He ok," Geno rumbles, pressing a kiss to Sid's forehead. "He's adult, not like he doesn't know. He's have a computer, internet." One hand slides down Sid's back to tease at his hole, where Geno's knot is stretching him, and Sid shivers.

"He's barely an adult, he's practically a baby," he mumbles into Geno's skin, trying to keep focused on the conversation instead of melting at Geno's touch like his instincts want him to. "And even if he's watching porn, that's not the same as walking in on us. I'd be traumatized if I ever saw Mario like this."

Geno laughs outright at that. "No, you see Mario do this, you run up to room and get off," he teases.

He's not wrong. Sid bites down on his neck a little anyway. "Who's to say Mack's not doing the same?" he asks, arching his back a little and pressing against Geno's finger. He should probably go get his levels checked tomorrow, his heat might be early this month. "He's got the world's biggest crush on you, and now he's seen you in action. Probably made his day."

"Sid!" Geno sounds shocked, and Sid grins. Geno talks a big game, but he's a prude at heart, and Sid loves scandalizing him a little bit. "You don't say this, he's kid, like, he's not think—"

"Oh, he absolutely does," Sid says. "I'm surprised you haven't noticed. He's no good at suppressing how he's feeling, and he's got it bad for you. Not that I can blame him."

"Oh, you like too?" Geno says, sounding smug. Sid wants to keep talking, try to figure out with Geno how they should address this with Mack, but Geno's sliding his finger into him, and the pressure is sparking stars in his vision, and they can talk about it later.

a) how does mack handle sid going into heat?

Mack avoids Sid and Geno as much as he can for the next few days.

'As much as he can' isn't all that much, considering they live together and carpool to work most days, and Mack's mom would yell at him if he took the meals Sid made and ate in his bedroom. So he's still around them a ton, but he keeps quiet when possible, and after Sid tries to coax him into conversation the first day, they let him be.

The problem is, the itchiness under Mack's skin hasn't gone away. If anything, it's gotten worse, and Owen's been acting weird around him too, lurking near him in the locker room and looming behind him on the ice when the guys start roughhousing with him.

Mack's heat isn't due until the All-Star break. Rookies always have their heats suppressed until they have a decent amount of time off, they can do it safely now, and it's easier—he has a few months to get used to playing in the show full-time without having to add in a heat on top of it, and he's got ten full days to take advantage of the facilities and recover when he's done before he's back to game play.

But Mack had two heats before the Penguins medical team got him on his shots. He knows what it feels like when he's getting close. It feels like this.

Watching Geno fuck Sid on the couch only made it worse.

Geno's been watching him too. Mack can feel the weight of his attention, the way he's keeping watch in the room. It keeps Mack up at night, intrusive thoughts about what he'd do if he were a little less nervous and Geno was a little more single.

He's moping in his bedroom after dinner five days after The Incident when someone knocks on his door.

Mack considers ignoring it, pretending he had his headphones in, but the manners his mom drilled into his skull won't let him, so he reluctantly gets off his bed and slumps to the door, cracking it open and hoping Sid will accept a brush-off if he smiles big enough.

It's not Sid. Geno pushes his way into Mack's room, barely glancing around before sitting at Mack's desk and staring at him pointedly until Mack sits back down on his bed.

"Um," Mack says, darting a glance at his nightstand and breathing a quiet sigh of relief when the drawer is shut. "What's up?"

Geno purses his lips. "I'm not talk about...before," he says, grimacing a little. Mack watches in surprise as his face turns a dull red. "It's fine, we don't talk about. But, I need to come say to you, it's heat soon for Sid, and I think maybe for you too, after."

Mack swallows. Shit. "I'm not due until break," he says weakly. "They're giving me the—"

"Shots, yes, I know this," Geno says impatiently, waving a hand in dismissal. "Shots not perfect, like, for Sid they not work at all my rookie year. And for you, I think because you're with Sid so much, it's making like...link, maybe. I don't know, it's for doctors, but I can smell. You talk to Dharmesh?"

Mack cannot imagine addressing the stern team physician by his first name. "Not...yet," he says haltingly. "I was hoping maybe it would go away."

Geno sighs. "Podrostki," he mutters. "No, it's not work that way. Look, I think for Sid's heat you're go stay with Jake, maybe, if it's okay. Not good for you, to be here when he's...I think maybe it's worse for you."

Mack thinks back to how being in heat felt, the way he needed so much, and flushes, imagining that same want creeping up on him when he's locked away in his room, listening to Geno give Sid everything he wants down the hall. No, he can't be here for that. "Is Jake okay with that?" is what he says, ducking his head so he doesn't have to meet Geno's too-knowing gaze. What they're dancing around is that Geno knows how Mack feels, maybe has known the whole time, and that it's not just Sid's heat that's accelerating Mack's own.

Mack wonders if it's too late to ask to be sent back to juniors.

"Jake offers," Geno says. "He say, maybe it's good for you to be with betas for a while, especially then—it's hard for the guys, even the ones who know Sid for years, and you're new."

Mack takes a breath. Being around someone who isn't involved in the drama surrounding dynamics sounds like a breath of fresh air, even if Mack's going to be going through all this for himself soon. Maybe a break is exactly what he needs.

"Yeah, okay," he says. "If they're alright with it, that's probably a good idea. I'll go whenever you guys think I need to."

Geno nods and gets to his feet. "It's maybe another few days," he says, pausing before he leaves and clapping a hand on Mack's shoulder. "You good kid. It gets easier, Sid says."

The next morning, Sid's practically in Geno's lap at breakfast, and when Mack walks into the kitchen Sid growls at him, territory-marking in a way that Mack's only read about. Geno looks half-drunk on the flood of pheromones, pulling Sid in close and licking over his bond bite.

Mack runs up to his room and shoves as many clothes as he can manage into his travel bag, hoping that the Guentzels are ready for company sooner than anticipated.

#geno went back to his and sid's bedroom and smelled like mack and that was enough to tip sid into heat WAY early #poor kid. he simply cannot win in this house!!!#rookie houseguest #a/b/o #sidgeno #hockey rpf #my fic #my writing

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jtl-fics · 1 year

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One of the other Time Travel fic ideas that lives in my head rent free STARTS very very sad but then quickly moves onto sheer hilarity. I thought of most of it while listening to New Kings by Sleeping Wolf.

It starts with Wymack’s funeral and all of the Foxes are grown up and off living their professional lives. They’re all gutted that their Exy dad has passed away and it is all sorts of unreal that he’s gone. Abby’s driving them all in the old Fox travel bus to go to the burial as a sort of an ode to their importance in Wymack’s life (he had other teams he was close to but nothing will really compete with his most problematic team, he always loved them the most even if he denied it until his dying breath)

Except, in true time travel/world travel/etc. fashion, they get T-boned on their way to the burial and the ‘Miracle Team’ of Foxes all die there.

And then they wake back up and it’s disorienting because they’re still on a bus but they were pretty sure they were hurt a lot worse than they are now. Then Wymack’s voice is loud and concerned asking everyone is okay.

He looks just like how he did back when they were in college but when they all take a look around, they all also look exactly like they had in college too. Andrew is on the court mandated drugs, Seth is alive, Kevin’s hand is still healing from Riko crushing it, and Neil isn’t there.

Kevin, Dan, and Abby barrel into Wymack and it quickly becomes apparent that this Wymack is also the Wymack who had died 20 years later. Meanwhile Andrew is not handling being back on the drugs well at all, especially when Neil is not around.

He’s freaking out that at this point (the beginning of the spring season) Neil is all alone in Millport. He wants to go right now and get his Junkie and there’s the question of whether or not Neil even remembers because Wymack is pretty sure it takes a hard whack to the head or some sort of shock to remember. Wymack took an errant ball to the head the week after the ‘skiing accident’ that Kevin suffered.

Andrew wants to go right now and he’s fine with re-enacting his first meeting with this Neil if it means he’ll get his Neil back. Wymack promises that they’ll go and they’ll do everything they need to get Neil back. Even if Neil doesn’t remember anything then Andrew will keep him close and keep him safe because FUCK there are so many dangers to Neil’s life again.

Wymack and the rest of the Foxes also work on getting Andrew cleared to start going off of his medicine with the enthusiastic support from Betsy. They won’t put Andrew in Easthaven again but manage to get him into an outpatient program that Abby will oversee once they get Neil because Neil’s the only one that Andrew trusts to be with him and see him like that.

They get to Millport two days after the bus accident and Hernandez had sent Neil’s reel and his belief that Neil was a runaway and Wymack had said he was going to come down at some point to talk with him but the other coach hadn’t really heard from Wymack since then so he’s surprised to have Wymack, Kevin Day and some manic blond show up.

It’s pretty awkward to explain that the Ravens came and offered Neil a full scholarship a week prior to be a sub Striker with the Ravens. That Riko Moriyama himself came and offered it to him. Andrew and Kevin look like they’re going to pass out until Hernandez says that Neil had said no and he’d ran off immediately after and Hernandez hasn’t seen him since he ran away from Riko Moriyama a week prior.

Neil’s in the wind.

He might not even be Neil anymore.

Andrew is catatonic, Kevin is hardly any better, and the rest of the Foxes don’t know if Neil running was better than having Neil as a Raven.

It doesn’t make any sense on why Riko would be offering a place with the Ravens to Neil let alone why he’d offer the Striker position.

It’s Aaron, barely managing to hold Andrew together as his brother refuses to start the rehab until Neil is with him, who offers the idea that they’re not the only ones who came back. Riko had also died, he could have come back and Neil was part of his imagined perfect court he could have gone to get him for that or even just to ruin the chance of Neil being around for the Foxes because the sight of a Moriyama would have sent Neil running.

It’s a month later and Andrew’s ready to drop out of college to start hunting down Neil until a phone call comes and it’s Hernandez letting them know that Neil had shown back up at his house and asked if he could stay for a little bit. Neil was bruised and bloodied but wouldn’t say what had happened to him.

Andrew and Wymack are the two who go this time. Kevin has a history test that he can’t skip and Andrew wants to be in Millport immediately. They come up on coach Hernandez’s house to find Neil climbing out of a side window from a bathroom looking terrible and Andrew is getting ready to smack him in the gut but Neil turns and sees him and, “Drew?” comes out of his mouth before he can think better of it.

What follows is an explanation of what happened. Why he ran. Where he’d been the last month. One of Riko’s thugs hit him pretty hard to get him to agree to sign on as a Raven and that knocked Neil’s memories back into his head. He needed to get away from Riko and he had no idea that he wasn’t the only one who had come back so he’d thought he had time before the Foxes came to Millport. He went off and he killed Drake first and foremost and then set a trap for the worst of his father’s men, including Lola that left 6 dead and one alive only long enough to beg for mercy that Neil didn’t have for the woman who would play tic-tac-toe with a dashboard lighter on his arms.

Andrew cannot be separated from Neil after that. They make plans that Neil will be completing his high school education in Palmetto. Neil is 18 so he can transfer himself out and Neil’s address is Abby’s house but he doesn’t spend a single night there aside from the time spent getting Andrew off of his drugs.

The Foxes finish out their season quite well after their accident. Most of the graduating players and Seth are confused by the changes in their teammates after the crash, especially why everyone is so visibly relieved when some skinny kid from Arizona comes in and why the terrifying freshman has clung onto him so fiercely.

The Foxes have plans for the next year. There’s no need for them to ‘come together’ the way they had the first time because even Seth has chilled out now that Kevin is doing more than just bitching that they’re not enough (he’s had years to actually get good at coaching).

They’re going to make the world recognize them again.

#New Kings AU #Fic Ideas #AFTG #AFTG fic #All for the Game #Palmetto State Foxes #Time Travel Fic #Andreil #long post #David Wymack #In a Masterpost

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blurredcolour · 24 days

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So I’ve been doing some thinking, none of it very chaste and much of it illogical, and not a bit of it remotely profound but hear me out:

If we were to assume that the Trust Universe shared the same multi-verse as Parting Gifts…

…that would mean we’ve got two men in the 100th, Brady and Bucky, who (at least for a time in the case of Egan) kept it in their pants while being very generous to their crushes.

Which brings me to the entirely inane conclusion that such a fact makes these two particular men at Thorpe Abbots really eager for the damn showers to clear out for some alone time. One reminiscing of honeyed stateside indulgences and the other of more recent stargazing.

And I just wanna imagine the hilarity of running into each other just when they plot and plan and scheme for the showers to be all theirs.

Marina!!!! I still am not over how you dropped this in my inbox in the middle of the night 🫠

Mature/explicit answer under the cut - 18+ only

I feel like Brady had the shower routine down first. After all he’d been fighting his urges with his sweetheart for weeks and then was wrenched from her arms and drowning in memories.

And slipping into the tiled space at odd hours worked great in Nebraska, in Utah. All the other boys were happily getting their rocks off in warm-blooded women while he’d relegated himself to his fist from the start. Ah that damn Catholic self-deprivation!!!

While Egan favours a one-handed style, I see Brady preferring to get both hands in on the action? Leaving no part of his nether reaches neglected, particularly those remarkable balls.

When he’s alone, he’s alright at being quiet, he has yet to discover just how loud you can make him. That’s a treat for his victorious return stateside after the war 😉

But after arrival at Thorpe Abbotts, there’s new ground to learn, and then all of a sudden that womanizer Egan with his voracious appetite isn’t just taking what he wants, he’s trying to take over Brady’s sanctuary?!

He’s on his way to a mid-evening shower, a time that’s rarely been a conflict before, only to see all 6’2” of Egan casting surreptitious glances about and not at all subtly sliding into the shower hut before the thunk of the lock sounds.

A major pivot is required and utilizing his knowledge of the Major, Brady settles on morning trips down memory lane. Those days he’s not on missions, when everyone else is at breakfast and Egan’s either in the air, operations room, or still in bed - that’s how he avoids what would surely be an awkward encounter for them both.

Would be rather adorable to see their bright red cheeks and ears though….🤭

#answered asks #trust universe #ladies who brady #thinking brady thots #thinking bucky thoughts

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rosanna-writer · 5 months

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Rosé Flowing with your Chosen Family

Summary: Role-Reversal AU. After accepting the mating bond, there's only one thing left on Rhysand Cursebreaker's agenda: introducing his human brothers to his mate, Feyre Archeron, High Lady of the Night Court. When Cassian and Azriel meet Feyre's Inner Circle, it might just be the longest family dinner of Rhys's life. Warnings: None Pairings: Background Feysand, Nessian if you squint Word Count: ~3.6k

Based on this prompt from @sjmkinkmeme: "Just good'ol family fluff. In which Rhysand Cursebreaker brings his brothers, Cassian and Azriel, to meet his mate, Feyre Archeron, High Lady of the Night Court, friends and family in the City of Velaris. Hilarity and shenanigans ensue."

Since it's almost Thanksgiving, I figured I'd finally get this awkward family dinner one-shot out of my drafts! You can find it below or here on AO3.

Rhysand picked up the second half of the Book of Breathings, the final result of so many months of scheming and a plan that had gone off without a hitch. Feyre would be delighted—not that Rhys would ever fail a task she assigned him as her emissary to the mortal lands.

Maybe she'd even show her appreciation in bed when he got back.

He tore this thoughts from Feyre and looked up at his brothers watching him with interest. They didn't say anything because they didn't have to; Rhys knew they were wondering what was next now that he had the book.

"You heard the queens," he said, "so it's your choice, whether you want to stay here or come with me."

"Come with you to Prythian?" Azriel said, as if he couldn't quite believe it.

"I understand if you'd rather stay here, but I think you'll be safer in the Night Court. My home is your home, and there are people there I'd like you to meet," Rhys said.

For Rhys, the Night Court had felt like the home he was always looking for, but that might not be the same for Cassian and Azriel. When he tried to think about his first days in Prythian, tried to put himself in their shoes, it felt like a lifetime away to Rhys. He'd been another person—Cauldron, another species—when he'd gone Under the Mountain.

"Like who?" Cassian said.

Rhys smiled in that way that always preceded one of those dramatic reveals he was so partial to. "For starters, I'd like you to meet my mate."

Rhys only got a glimpse of Cassian's grin before he was folded into another one of his brother's bear hugs. "You bastard, why didn't you tell us you had a mate?" Cassian said.

"I only just accepted the bond. Things have been…up in the air," Rhys said.

It was a bit of an understatement, and he planned to tell his brothers everything eventually. The bond had snapped for Feyre on the balcony just after they were freed from Under the Mountain—she'd grabbed him and winnowed him straight to Night. Rhys had hated her then. But so much had changed in the months since, and he'd just accepted the bond the other day.

Cassian let him go, and Azriel clapped him on the back next. "Who is she?" Az said.

Rhys's grin only got wider. "Feyre Archeron, the High Lady of the Night Court," he said, her name like a prayer on his lips.

Azriel cocked his head as if he hadn't heard correctly. "I thought she was your boss?" he said.

Rhys had been coming to the mortal lands not just to see his brothers, but also as Feyre's emissary. He'd asked her to allow him to handle this himself, and she'd given him all the space he asked for, no matter how much it worried her when being on opposite sides of the Wall dimmed their bond. His brothers hadn't met Feyre yet. The Night Court might be Rhys's home, but to them, the Queen of Night was still the wicked female parents told their children would eat them if they misbehaved, a demon and a nightmare.

Hardly the sort of person you'd want as a sister-in-law.

"I'm still her emissary," Rhys said. And since accepting the bond, everything had been such a whirlwind that he and Feyre hadn't discussed what being mated would mean for his place in the Night Court.

Azriel just raised an eyebrow at that.

"Well congratulations anyway," Cassian said, a little unsure.

"Thank you," Rhys said quietly, unsure how to express his relief that his brothers seemed more concerned about a potential power differential than the way a mating bond was just more evidence that he was no longer human like them. It meant everything that nothing had changed between them, even after he'd died and come back to life as High Fae. "Are you coming or not? If so, I can tell you more as you pack."

Cassian and Azriel looked at each other, a silent understanding passing between them, before they both nodded. Rhys relaxed. If his brothers had wanted to stay here, Feyre's soldiers would have kept them safe. But he'd breathe easier with both of them behind Velaris's wards.

And beyond that, he'd missed them.

Once their bags were packed, Rhys winnowed his brothers directly to the living room of the townhouse. The instant they arrived, Feyre's voice floated down the stairs. "Rhys!" she called, too relieved that she sensed his arrival to use her daemati abilities. "Did you get the Book?"

She appeared at the top of the stairs, dressed in one of Rhys's sweaters and a pair of paint-stained leggings. Her braided hair hung over one shoulder. The effect was decidedly un-High-Lady-like.

At the sight of two men flanking Rhys, she froze halfway down the stairs, eyes wide. "Are these your brothers?" she added, more quietly.

She should have known that Rhys might want them to come to Velaris after all the business with the mortal queens. But still, she'd thought he'd at least have warned her. Rhys spoke of his brothers with nothing but love and admiration, and she desperately wanted them to like her. Feyre might not admit it until the end of her immortal life, but she was nervous. She didn't want Rhys's family to look at her like she was a monster, just like everyone else did.

The one with the longer hair—Cassian, if she remembered correctly—just winked at her and said, "Come on, Feyre. We don't bite. Unless you ask us to."

Rhys slid his hands into his pockets, the way he did when he was nervous, too. "The last I heard, Cassian, no one has ever taken you up on that offer," he said. The other one, Azriel, just snorted at that.

Despite having been in the Night Court less than a minute, they were obviously comfortable. It gave Feyre the confidence to say, "I'm glad an appreciation for affirmative consent is a family value."

That actually coaxed a rare smile from Azriel, but Feyre didn't notice as she descended the rest of the stairs. Her attention was all on Rhys.

Perhaps it was the mating bond still being fresh, but after having him gone for just a few hours, the urge to launch herself into his arms was strong. Instead, she forced herself to focus and added, "But you did get the Book, right?"

Rhys smirked. "Of course I got the Book. Have you ever known me not to deliver?" he said.

In truth, she hadn't. But before Feyre could say anything, Rhys was kissing her, probably pressing a bit closer and dragging it out a bit longer than he should in front of family she'd just met.

When they broke apart, Feyre refused to look embarrassed. It took every last scrap of grace she could muster—and as a High Lady, that was quite a lot—not to blush furiously. "It's nice to meet you both," she said, then turned to Rhys and added, "I can take the Book to Amren while you show them around."

"Only if you promise to hurry back," Rhys murmured, fingers brushing hers as he handed her the Book.

Feyre's voice dropped lower. "Hurry back to you? Always."

Cassian's cough sounded mysteriously like the word "gross." Azriel chuckled. Normally, Rhys stayed out of his brother's minds, but he pushed past their shields and said, Behave.

Based on their expressions, Feyre could tell that Rhys had said something to his brothers mind-to-mind, but she decided she didn't want to know what it was. She pulled on a coat and tucked the Book securely under it. With her hand on the doorknob, she turned back to Rhys and added, a note of command in her voice, "We're having a family dinner tonight at the House of Wind. I expect all three of you there."

A family dinner meant everyone would be there. "Then let the games begin, Feyre darling," Rhys purred.

Once the door shut behind her, Cassian mussed Rhys's hair. "Look at you, Rhysie. A mated male," he said, as Rhys batted his hand away and attempted to smooth his hair back down.

"It is good to see you happy, though," Azriel said quietly.

"More importantly," Cassian said, draping an arm around Rhys's shoulder, "has she got a sister?"

His brothers would be in the same room as the Archeron sisters within a few hours—Mother save them all.

Rhys ducked out from under Cassian's arm and indicated the guest rooms up the stairs with a jerk of his head. "Two, plus a cousin who might as well be a sister, too," he said.

When Mor's family caught her with another girl and cast her out of the Hewn City, the Archerons opened their home to their cousin. Mor had told Rhys her story during his first week here, when Feyre had declared she was calling in their bargain, and it had helped him stop being terrified out of his mind of the Night Court. Mor was like him—Rhys had gone Under the Mountain for the love of another male.

After showing his brothers to their rooms, Rhys told them about it, as well as everything else. Feyre had winnowed him here after everything Under the Mountain, so overcome that she'd just blurted out that they were mates. By the end of that first week, they weren't friends, but he hadn't hated her anymore. Then his relationship with Tamlin had broken down in the aftermath of it all, and Feyre had offered him a soft place to land. Working as her emissary, preparing to fight Hybern—it had given him a purpose when he'd been adrift.

Determined to give him all the space and time he needed, she hadn't mentioned the bond since that first day. And yet she'd still breathed life back into him when his time Under the Mountain had left him a half-dead shell of a male. It was only a matter of time before he'd accepted the the bond. During his trips back to the mortal lands, his brothers had heard pieces of the story. But now they knew all of it.

It was a while before Feyre returned, far longer than it should have taken her just to winnow to Amren's apartment and back. Rhys supposed she must have been corralling her Inner Circle and that maybe she'd wanted to give him some time alone with his brothers.

"I'll need to fly you to the House of Wind," she said when she returned and found the three of them in the living room. "We should leave now since it'll be two trips."

"Fly?" Cass and Az said in unison.

Feyre smiled and let her wings shoot out from her back. The twin looks of surprise she got in response made her wonder if Rhys hadn't told his brothers that he could form wings of his own. He hadn't gotten around to learning to use them yet.

"What are you going to do, carry me up there?" Cassian said.

Feyre shrugged. "No one else is going to do it."

"Are you sure you can—"

Before Cassian could finish that sentence, Feyre hooked one arm around his legs and the other around his back and scooped him off the floor. "Is this alright, or would you rather I sling you over my shoulders?"

"Shit Feyre, what the hell do you eat in the Night Court?"

According to the rumors, younglings, but it didn't seem like the time to mention that. Feyre thought she might have frightened him, but Cassian seemed positively delighted that she could carry a man as large as him with so little effort.

"You'll find out in a few minutes," she said.

Feyre carried Cassian the last few steps to the door, then shot into the air once they were outside. To Cassian's credit, he didn't even squeeze his eyes shut during takeoff.

Now that it was just the two of them with no one else in earshot, Feyre said, "If you're considering giving me a speech about how you'll kill me if I ever upset Rhys, you don't have to bother. I already know."

Cassian snorted. "Rhysie might be a little scrawny, but he can handle himself."

If Cassian thought Rhys looked scrawny now, he should have seen his brother when he'd left the Spring Court for good. Now he looked the healthiest Feyre had ever seen him.

"Good. Anyone who marries into my family needs to be able to."

"What makes you say that?"

As if on cue, they reached the balcony to the House of Wind. "You'll know why by the end of dinner."

Her sisters were already waiting there. Elain had chosen a soft blue gown and kept her wings hidden; ever the gracious hostess, she'd probably been careful to look as unassuming as possible when meeting Rhys's human family for the first time. Nesta, however, was still in her fighting leathers, wings out as always.

As she set Cassian down, Feyre gave them a look clearly telling them to be nice. She didn't bother using her daemati powers—she and her sisters could communicate plenty with just a single glance.

And with that, she turned back to retrieve Azriel next. Rhys had told her that Az was the only member of his family with manners, and Feyre could see why. Azriel made polite conversation about Velaris and even started to thank her for flying him when they reached the House of Wind.

But they both went silent at the sight of Nesta and Cassian grappling on the balcony.

Feyre set Azriel down with a sigh. This could mean one of two things: either Cassian had immediately said something that set Nesta off (certainly possible) or the two of them were getting along swimmingly (equally likely).

Down the bond, Feyre said to Rhys, I know I said I'd fly you here, but we have a situation. You should winnow.

"Nesta!" Feyre said, shaking her head. Elain gave her a sympathetic look, and Feyre could've sworn she heard Mor and Amren snickering together in the corner. "Must you?"

Both Cassian and Nesta froze mid-grapple at the sound of Feyre's voice and turned to look at her. Nesta used the moment of distraction to roll over and pin Cassian to the stone floor.

Just then, Rhys winnowed above the balcony and dropped smoothly into place next to Feyre. "I suppose this is the situation you mentioned?" he said.

Nesta stood up, moving with her usual grace. "There is no situation," she said coolly. "I think I've proven my point."

She held out a hand to help Cassian up, so Feyre concluded this was a sign her sister had decided she liked him. Based on the pulse of relief down the bond, Rhys had come to the same conclusion.

Which was fortunate—with the way Cassian looked at Nesta as he took her hand, his eyes might as well have been replaced by hearts.

Rhys and Feyre locked eyes as a simultaneous Oh no crossed both sides of the bond. There would be more sparring from Cassian and Nesta in the future, and they'd all be lucky if they left the House of Wind standing at the end of it.

"Anyway, these are my sisters Nesta and Elain, my cousin Morrigan, and my second-in-command Amren. And this is Rhys's brother Azriel," Feyre said.

Elain stepped forward, extending her hand. "It's so good to finally meet you," she said with genuine warmth. "Rhys talks about you often."

"Talks about me positively, I hope," Az said with a wry smile, taking Elain's hand. "It's nice to meet you, too."

Elain being her usual charming self set Feyre's mind at ease—Mother bless her spymaster of a sister, who could drag secrets out of anyone with just a few smiles. Maybe they could actually get through this dinner without sending Rhys's brothers running away in fear.

"Is there a reason we can't continue this conversation over dinner? I'm starving," Mor said.

"As if I'd ever get between you and food," Feyre said. Mor stuck her tongue out, and Feyre hissed at her cousin.

As they walked towards the dining room, Rhys and Feyre reached for each other's hands at the same time. With the mating bond still so fresh, the urge to touch each other at all times was still strong. The only thing that had cleared Rhys's head enough to leave for the mortal lands without Feyre had been sparring with—or if he was being honest, getting a sound thrashing from—Nesta that morning.

The eight of them took their seats, a few significant glances between Feyre, Rhys, and Elain communicating their agreement to make sure Cassian and Nesta were seated as far from each other as possible. Mor caught sight of it and smirked into her wineglass.

The food was relatively plain—Feyre hadn't wanted to ask the cooks to put something elaborate together at the last minute. And yet Cassian was blatantly sniffing at his forkful of chicken. Azriel kicked him under the table.

Rhys gave his brother a sympathetic look. "It was hard for me to trust the food when I first came to Prythian, but I assure you it will be the best you've ever tasted," he said.

Feyre pushed her own food around on her plate uncomfortably. She'd forgotten the human superstitions about eating fae food, even though Rhys had told her all about how hesitant he'd been to touch it during those first days in the Spring Court. Cauldron, she'd just gone and invited them to dinner.

Rhys squeezed her hand under the table. It's fine, he said down the bond, giving her another one of those smiles that made her heart flip.

"I never thought we'd find someone whose table manners were worse than Amren's," Nesta said from the other side of the table.

Cassian grinned, holding her gaze the entire time he bit into the slice of chicken, chewed, and swallowed. Nesta's lips curled back into a snarl.

Mor quietly filled a glass of wine and slid it to Feyre.

"Criticizing my table manners? That's bold coming from an Illyrian," Amren drawled.

Feyre stilled, instinctively looking to Rhys. His brothers had already been brave just to come to Prythian and eat their food, and she did not want to explain exactly why Amren wouldn't touch her plate, at least not on Cassian and Azriel's first night here. It had been difficult enough to get Amren to forgo the blood just this once.

"Might I remind you that I'm also Illyrian?" Elain said, a little tartly. It had always been a point of contention with her—she might not have been a natural-born warrior like her sisters, but her mother hadn't allowed her to get out of training to fight.

"Elain's right," Mor said. "It's not Illyrians who are the uncivilized ones, it's the males. We had five centuries of peace until Rhys came along."

"And just had to drag two more with him," Nesta muttered darkly.

Feyre shot Nesta another warning look, ready to remind her sister that Rhys had brought his brothers to the Night Court for their own protection. Nesta just shrugged as if to say "I have a point, don't I?"

Yet again proving he was the only one of Rhys's brothers with manners, Azriel steered the conversation to safer ground, saying, "Your top advisors are all female? That would be unheard of in the mortal lands."

The wave of pride that Rhys sent down the bond was so strong that Feyre blushed and ducked her head, a little overwhelmed. "Far too many courts have no female advisors at all. I dreamed of something better, and when I became High Lady, I made sure things changed," she said.

So had her sisters, who were dreamers just like her. After taking command of her armies, Nesta had ensured female Illyrians received ample opportunities to train as warriors, and it had been Elain who turned the library in the House of Wind into a place of refuge run by priestesses in need of it.

"It's not exactly what I expected when I first arrived here, either," Rhys said.

Nesta started to say something, but Elain cut her off with a glare and said, sweet but pointed, "I'm glad we were able to change your mind."

"Speak for yourself," Nesta muttered.

Cassian's eyes gleamed, bright with interest, as if he were sizing up an opponent. Nesta stared back without blinking.

Before she had a chance to start growling, Azriel said, "Have you always been able to fly?"

It was all the opening Elain needed to direct the conversation to an anecdote about Feyre crashing face-first into a tree when she'd been learning to fly as a child. And in turn, Cassian seemed to get into Nesta's good graces by telling a story about hitting Rhys in the face with a snowball several times in quick succession.

At the sound of her family's laughter, Feyre found herself relaxing. By the end of the meal, it seemed they'd actually managed not to scare off the humans or offend them, and they'd even dodged any awkward questions about exactly why Amren hadn't touched her food. Perhaps…this dinner might not have been anything close to the disaster that she feared.

Or at least, it seemed that way until their plates were clear, and as they all stood to go, Mor grinned and said, "Why don't we take Cassian and Azriel to Rita's?"

#acotar #rhysand acotar #feyre archeron #i've been sitting on this prompt for an embarrassingly long time

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youhideastar · 2 months

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WujiWatch: CQL Rewatch Episode 7

(This one is LONG but there’s so much to talk about in this episode!!)

When I rewatch The Untamed, I usually fast forward past the scenes with Wen Ruohan (because they are boring) and Jin Guangshan (because I deal with condescending asshats enough at work, I don’t need to spend my leisure time with them). But this time I didn’t skip the Jin Guangshan scene that takes place after Wei Wuxian has punched Jin Zixuan in his very punchable face, and boy, that was a good decision, because there’s a LOT going on there. (Starting with the hilarity of Jin Guangshan saying with a straight face that “Marriage is a very serious thing.” Because no one takes marriage seriously like Jin Guangshan.)

First thing is that Lan Qiren appears, during the meeting, to actually like Jin Guangshan—but I can’t help but notice that Jin Guangshan is pointedly not invited to the meeting about the Yin Iron afterward. Lan Yi and Lan Xichen say that all five of the major sects are in on the secret of the Yin Iron, and Lan Qiren checks in with both Nie Mingjue and Jiang Fengmian about it… but not Jin Guangshan. I don’t disagree with their choice – I just think it’s interesting how obvious they are about not trusting him. (Jiang Fengmian doesn’t ask where “Jin-xiong” is either, I note.) (Also also: does Lan Qiren actually like Jin Guangshan, or is he displaying a heretofore unknown talent for subterfuge?)

Second thing: what is up with Jiang Fengmian saying at that meeting that he wants to cancel the engagement because “both” of the kids don’t want it? Does he really not know that his daughter is in love with Jin Zixuan? Or does he know perfectly well, but takes this excuse to break the engagement anyway? If the former, that’s pretty clueless of him—and, plus, he could have asked!! If the latter… that’s cold if it’s for political reasons, or high-handed if he’s doing it for Jiang Yanli’s own good, but I don’t necessarily disapprove. Breaking the engagement because Jiang Yanli deserves better than a douchebag with poor impulse control who insults her in public would be one of the few Jiang Fengmian decisions I could wholeheartedly endorse. And I also think he’s entitled to do it for political reasons.

Jiang Yanli may be a weak cultivator, but she is an extremely hot commodity in the marriage market. Of the five major sects, only Yunmeng Jiang has a daughter of the main family. Thus, Jiang Yanli is the only possible equal-status match for Nie Mingjue, Nie Huaisang, Jin Zixuan, Lan Xichen, Lan Wangji, or Wen Xu. For anyone on that list, they either marry Jiang Yanli, or they marry down. (Yes, if you’re Hanguang-jun and the resurrected Yiling Patriarch, you can marry a dude, but nothing about the worldbuilding suggests that that is on the normal menu of options.)

Thus, Yu Ziyuan’s decision to marry Jiang Yanli to Jin Zixuan based on her personal relationship with his mom—rather than reserving her daughter’s very valuable hand for whoever can offer the most advantageous alliance—is a huge windfall for Lanling Jin Sect; if the Jin heir doesn’t properly appreciate that, Jiang Fengmian is perfectly within his rights to say, “Your funeral, asshole. I could marry my daughter to any one of a hundred other guys—some of whom outrank you—and they’d be grateful for the chance.” And this is also why Jin Guangshan fights for the engagement so hard (and tries so hard to resurrect it during the Post-Sunshot Banquet of Awkwardness): in one move, he could enhance the power of his own sect and force literally every other sect into a lower-status alliance, but that prize is slipping out of his fingertips because his son is putting his wittle feelings over the political realities.

(If only Jin Guangshan had another son who he could count on to always prioritize political realities over pesky emotional attachments…)

This is also important because, when Wei Wuxian later apologizes to Jiang Yanli for breaking her engagement, and Jiang Yanli tells him he had nothing to do with it—that’s the absolute truth. I’ve seen that moment spoken about in fandom as if it’s an example of Jiang Yanli being a doormat or letting Wei Wuxian get away with something, but I think that’s a misread. It’s Jiang Fengmian who takes unilateral and decisive action to break that engagement, despite his wife, daughter, and son’s objections. Wei Wuxian created the excuse for Jiang Fengmian and Jin Guangshan to meet, but beyond that, his influence is nil. Jiang Yanli is right to remind him of that.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Qixi lantern scene – so beautiful, so iconic, such terrible coloring (thank you, gif makers, from the bottom of my heart, for making this scene look so good on my dash – it must be a lot of work!!). The thing that pinged me this time is that after Lan Wangji finishes raptly gazing at Wei Wuxian making his idealistic promise, Lan Wangji then… looks down at the bag of Yin Iron. That made me blink, because (a) that seems random and (b) how did Lan Wangji get the Yin Iron pouch? The last time we saw it, Lan Qiren had it.

I think these two questions are actually the same question. From the fact that Lan Wangji now has the pouch, we can infer that Lan Qiren gave it to him. Why and when would that have happened? They must have already had the meeting where Lan Qiren instructs Lan Wangji to use this piece of the Yin Iron to find the others. So when Lan Wangji hears Wei Wuxian wish to live with a clear conscience, he looks down at the Yin Iron in his own hand because he’s thinking, Should I tell him? Should I ask him to come along with me? Meaning, Should I treat him as my cultivation partner? As my zhiji? Ultimately, he decides not to; ultimately, that decision doesn’t mean shit, because Wei Wuxian is determined to treat him that way.

I think the fandom has gotten used to dismissing the Yin Iron subplot as contrived and irrelevant, mostly because it’s not in the novel. I think that’s a mistake. The quest for the Yin Iron is inextricably bound up with Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian’s growing intimacy – just think of all the great Wangxian moments that wouldn’t exist without it, from the forehead ribbon tied around the wrists to the gorgeous scene of Wei Wuxian gazing in wonder at Lan Wangji as the petals cascade down around him in Tanzhou. Indeed, it’s the quest for the Yin Iron that underlies and makes possible the most significant structural difference between the novel and the show: that, in the drama, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian are friends. The fact that the Yin Iron appears prominently in the Qixi lantern scene—that, in fact, the first thing Lan Wangji does after realizing Oh shit, I love him is to look at the Yin Iron—is no accident. It’s a MacGuffin, sure, but it’s a MacGuffin you ignore at your peril.

#wujiwatch #cql #the untamed #meta

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ineffectualdemon · 1 year

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Cumplane is the funniest Scum Villian ship to do a Buddy Daddy AU with

Moshang is too easy. Especially if you have Shen Yuan filling Kyu's role its nearly a one to one slot in place. Very easy to do but too close to Buddy Daddies canon so kinda redundant

Cumplane tho

Cumplane as assassins who accidentally adopt a child and have to learn how to take care of themselves and a child

Hilarity

They would be so fucking bad at it and both of them are awkward as fuck

Yes, worse than Kazuki and Rei are in the actual show

It goes without saying that Binghe is the one who gets adopted by the dysfunctional pair and I can't tell who is funnier in Kyu's role: Yue Qingyuan or Shen Jiu

Either way it would be fucking priceless as they are a trash fire but a trash fire who would do its best to take care of a small child

#svsss #buddy daddies #cumplane #shang qinghua #shen qingqiu #shen yuan

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callmearcturus · 2 years

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that art reminds me i was spitballing a dumb AU in which That Fucking Puppet wasn't a factor in anyone's goddamn lives, right, so Bro would be Weird but not a monster

because like the idea of Dave being raised by a weird fetish pornographer who collects cinderblocks like its his fetish is so funny to me. like, a Bro who cares about Dave but is supremely awkward and kinda weird sort of would explain so much about dave.

with shit like

john: hey are you gonna play this game with us this weekend dave: nah cant gonna be in vegas john: you're going to VEGAS? oh wow! are you going to the casinos? can you see celine dion and the tigers or whatever? dave: eh maybe but theres a trade con thing going on there so its bro's work john: oh okay that makes sense

(later...) john: yeah he can't play bc his bro has a work trip to vegas rose: Ah, the adult film industry expo next month. john: the WHAT jade: uh rose why do you just know that?

and the hilarity of Dave getting gradually more thorough versions of The Talk at like ages 8 then 10 then 14 because it's a small apartment and this is Bro's job and Dave's GONNA see shit periodically so might as well educate him on what the fuck it means

dave knowing he's queer by age, like 9 and Bro like "awesome lil dude, what kind? don't know yet? right well if you wanna let me know later that's cool." and fistbumps

also Dave not getting the Training From Hell but still learning swords. like, his first is just a bokken and he has a deal with Bro that if he can land a hit on Bro, he can have a real sword. so he keeps trying, sneaking up on Bro, but it literally never fucking works, Bro just flashsteps to the side or catches it.

also Bro teaching Dave to sew

and someone in the discord brought up the idea of dave and rose still being twins and i was like:

wait hang on if they are somehow actually still siblings hang on i gotta rochelle lalonde wanting kids ambrose strider donating some sperm to a bank for the cash when he was in undergrad her finding him later like "hi, i wound up with two, do you want one" and him like "......................... yeah sure"

but they don't tell the kids at first, but decide to make it into a stupid game, Mom Lalonde sends Bro purposefully blurry polaroids of Rose and is like "okay hide these but not super well okay" and Bro is like "tight, sure," and they set up this Mystery for the twins to solve

it's all stupid but fun okay

#there are two wolves in me #one says i cannot fukcing stand bro strider as a character #the other says lmao this would be hilarious tho #whomstve

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delimeful · 1 year

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to know that song (and all its words) (6)

warnings: brief moment of panic, mentions of unhealthy sleeping habits

It was a good thing he’d brought them to the washroom near the end of the tour, because the humans seemed dead-set on taking advantage of their newly-discovered facilities.

He didn’t begrudge them that. If he’d been stuck without access to any hygiene stations, he’d probably be just as enthusiastic to finally get clean.

Unfortunately, since Square was being gently cajoled into participating in the impromptu grooming session, there were no unoccupied humans left to keep Virgil from traversing the halls unsupervised and messing with the control room to regain control of his ship. As such, he wasn’t allowed to leave the room until they finished.

He’d protested this, since literally all he wanted to do was go to sleep, but Square wasn’t having it. They’d shot him a narrow-eyed look that was probably meant to be intimidating for Humans but actually came across to Virgil as an expression of awkward friendliness. The fact that the glare was partially due to the vision reduction from Noisy stealing their lenses right off their face only added to the hilarity.

By that point, he’d basically accepted his fate. Honestly, he wouldn’t have let a hostage run around unsupervised, either. It was annoying that now of all times they would choose to be better at hostage-keeping, but whatever.

Resigned, he swept his arm to the side in defeat, and then when all three Humans turned to look in that direction, he clarified the gesture verbally: “Fine, have it your way. I’ll stay here.”

Really, the phrase associated with that motion would have been something more like, “You’ve washed away my protests,” hence the sweeping tide gesture, but ‘wash’ also had the cleanliness meaning— they were in a washroom— and Virgil didn’t want to confuse them.

The rumors about Humans partaking in a ‘survival of the fittest’ sort of society seemed to hold less water than he’d thought: Square was the apparent leader of the group, and their vision impairment was severe, going by how much jumpier they were without their lenses. Virgil had originally planned to pace circles to keep himself awake (being asleep near a Human once was more than enough for him, thanks), but each loop only seemed to increase Square’s (stress-anxiety-danger) tension, their head twitching around to follow Virgil’s movements around the room with sudden jerks that made some primal part of his brain think predator.

Wow, astute, he thought back to himself sarcastically, and then decided that now was as good a time as any to bathe, a task that completely coincidentally meant he’d stay in one stationary, easy-to-keep-track-of spot.

His dustbox had the bonus of being mounted high up along the wall, too, the distance soothing his nerves and giving him a better vantage point on the Humans.

Seeing as they’d all just watched him easily haul himself up the rigid grips set into the wall with an intent, direct fascination, he felt no qualms about studying their own grooming session out of the corner of his vision.

They’d shed a fair amount of what Virgil was assuming was Human-style clothing, but not all of it, either because he was still in the room or because Humans had complex modesty standards. The cloth had already gotten all soaked during their impromptu celebration, so it didn’t matter much regardless.

The first few moments were quiet, dedicated to simply scrubbing themselves free of grime, and also fiddling with the pressure knobs for a bizarre amount of time until they were satisfied. The proper level of water pressure for comfortably cleaning a Human was apparently strong enough that Virgil would have gotten internal bruising just from stepping under it, because of course it was.

Despite the shine of oil to it, their hair didn’t seem to have any hydrophobic qualities, because they only had to dunk their heads under the spigots’ spray a time or two for even the longer pieces to go damp and slick against their heads. It made them look oddly mild, the flattened-down effect almost reminding Virgil of smooth feathers and pressed-back antennae. Like they were trusting him or something.

Stupid. He fluffed up a bit, pushing the thought away, and then surveyed the small ditch he’d dug into the cleansing powder, deeming the wallow deep enough to settle in.

From there, it was a simple, mindless routine to start shuffling his limbs and torso down through the dust, working the thin silver dirt through his feathers thoroughly.

There was a sharp inhale, and then a burst of noise from the Humans, and when he hurriedly glanced over, they were all looking directly at him.

He almost froze, not close enough to feel out their emotions, but he’d picked up on some Human body language trends at this point, and the current display didn’t actually seem that threatening. Noisy had a hand clapped over his mouth, barely covering the way he was grinning, and Heartfelt was making some sort of high-pitched squeal, eyes as wide as tree rings. Even Square had reclaimed their lenses briefly to see what they were reacting so strongly to. Their lips upturned slightly at the sight of him.

… Nope, he wasn’t going to unpack all of that.

Instead, Virgil gestured rudely at them and wriggled so that he sunk deeper into the dust, only his eyes and the top of his head visible over the edge of the box.

Heartfelt’s noise reached a level of pitch beyond his hearing, Noisy bursting into gleeful Human chatter, and Square ended up having to drag both of their companions’ attention away with a few pointed sentences.

The three of them had moved to sit at some point in the process, and now Heartfelt scooted across the smooth floor to position themself directly in front of Noisy, leaning backwards into his lap with a meaningful, almost imploring stare.

Noisy laughed, already continuing on with his long-winded rambling, and buried his hands in Heartfelt’s hair.

Virgil very carefully didn’t jolt, still peering down at them from his box, but the motions of narrow fingers carefully working through the tangled bits, rearranging the hair until it lay smooth and undisturbed— it was undeniably a sort of preening.

Heartfelt made grabby hands at Square, beckoning them over without moving their head, and Square rolled their eyes upwards but shuffled over anyhow. As soon as they got in range, they, too, were pulled into place in front of Heartfelt, creating a makeshift grooming line.

Square’s hair was longer, more matted at the ends, but Heartfelt worked at each knot dedicatedly until they could carefully card their fingers through sections of it without resistance.

The patch of hair along their heads was so small, compared to the all-over insulation on most mammalian species with fur. Virgil hadn’t been able to discern the purpose of it, still didn’t see how the neatening of it would help in terms of surviving a deathworld.

Even from a distance, he could see the way the motions relaxed them anyhow. He was no stranger to the mental and social effects of communal preening. He’d just never expected to see it displayed by Humans, of all creatures.

A memory of waking up to Heartfelt curled around him flickered to the front of his mind, and for the first time, he considered it not from the angle of a beast guarding prey, but a sallfish drawn towards a shining bit of metal, or maybe the head of a flower irresistibly following the path of the sun’s light.

The way they clung to each other in moments of stress and boredom alike… It all pointed towards a desire for casual contact, indicating the kind of social, touch-oriented behavior that was completely antithetical for most deathworlders.

... Maybe Humans and Ampen had more in common than he’d imagined.

By the time the Humans were finally done with the washroom, Virgil was cleaner than he'd been in ages.

He'd had enough spare time to thoroughly cover every over-oiled feather with dust, scrub every bit of old dead skin from his body, and tug a few of his more damaged or loose feathers free for good measure.

He’d also made the mistake of trying to shake off the last of the bathing dust with the help of the air dryer in the corner. The Humans had recognized something familiar in its function, especially Noisy, who immediately stuck his head under the motorized fan to dry his sodden hair off.

Once they’d finished with that, Virgil was at the point of practically nipping at their heels to get them into the hall so he could go to sleep already, only to be stalled by Square stopping in the middle of the hallway. Virgil just barely held back the urge to chuff-growl, the way he would when corralling annoying baby cousins back to their nestpile back home.

(Stars below and seas above, he really was tired.)

Square made a cough-rumble noise in the back of their throat for attention, and then said something in that carefully measured cadence, which was normal. They gestured down the hall in the opposite direction, where the nav area was, which was also normal.

Noisy and Heartfelt exchanged a charged sideways glance, their combined aether lighting up with (stubbornness-frustration-determination) intention a heartsbeat before they charged Square, one of them grabbing onto either shoulder, and hauled their leader clear off their feet. Which was, for the record, extremely abnormal.

Square let out an honest-to-starshine yelp, a comically out-of-character high-pitched noise that Virgil would have laughed his feathers off at, if he wasn’t too busy witnessing a mutiny.

He skittered after the two of them as they dragged Square off down the hall, his mind going white-hot with panic. Why was this happening? What had gone so terribly wrong, for them to attack one of their own? What was he supposed to do?

Even weighed down, the Humans and their damnable long legs easily outstripped any Ampen, and Virgil was falling significantly behind by the time they finally vanished into an actual room.

He scrambled to follow, the echoes of every mutiny horror story he’d ever heard about ringing in his ears, accompanied by visions of bodies flung out of ejection chutes or stuffed into cold storage.

When he burst through the doorway after them, heaving for air, he was greeted instead with the sight of… all three of them piled on their blanket nest?

More specifically, Square had been unceremoniously bundled into the deepest divot in the nest, and the other two had flopped down directly on top of them, keeping them trapped in the galaxy’s softest prison.

They had all looked up at his arrival with startled eyes, and for once, Virgil didn’t have the energy to feel the usual shock of apprehension that came with being stared at by Humans.

(This may or may not have been due to the fact that his stress had already reached the highest level it could hit. His body mass may or may not have been composed of at least 50% overextended feathers and fluff at that point, too.)

“What,” he started, paused as Common failed to provide words that would encompass his strung-out bewilderment, and ultimately resorted to waving his arms in an encompassing circle at the bunch of them. “What!!!”

“Oh, shit,” Noisy said, utilizing one of the few words he’d annoying Virgil into sharing. He was radiating sheepishness, confirming that the perpetrators had totally forgotten about their whole entire hostage like dumbasses.

Square grumbled something at them, and Heartfelt obligingly shifted a padded blanket out of the way so Virgil could properly see the Human’s face. Going by the slightly-pinched expression, that wasn’t precisely what Square had requested.

“No danger, only idiots,” Square told him succinctly. “They are demanding that I sleep, but I have work to perform.”

“Noooo,” the other two moaned in sync, apparently recognizing enough of the explanation to protest.

“It is vitals,” Square continued as though they weren’t there, radiating a stubborn dignity that was completely undercut by the fact that they’d just accidentally mixed up the Common word for ‘important’ with the one for ‘pulse’. “Additionally, you need sleep, you sleep in a separate room, and you cannot be without guard.”

Going by their aether, Square was extremely smug about this perfect counter argument. Noisy and Heartfelt both turned to give Virgil that same deeply imploring stare from earlier, which was so ridiculous that it somehow looped back around to feeling authentic.

Virgil considered the fact that Square’s sleeping shifts were both much less frequent and significantly shorter than the others’.

He also considered the fact that this was the same Human that was in charge of navigating their course through the hazardous outer reaches of space.

Finally, he considered the fact that he was really, truly, extremely tired.

“Good luck escaping them,” he said, and turned to promptly clamber up the tallest piece of workout equipment in the room, snagging a small blanket along the way.

He perched himself on top of a secure bit of shelving and immediately flopped into his curled up sleeping position, too exhausted to overthink the situation.

Down below, there were two victorious cheers, and one betrayed groan.

Despite all of Square’s protests, Virgil swore he could feel the distinct sensation of wry fondness filling the room in the few moments before he was out like a light.

#sanders sides fic #ts virgil #ts patton #ts logan #ts roman #space au #tktsaaiw #to know that song and all its words #wibar #ampen virgil #my writing #writing

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jeskoholic · 9 months

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A Little Piece of You Chapter 19: One-Eyed Owl

This is a chapter from an on-going series. If you missed out on the previous entries, you can check my masterlist.

Previous chapter: Black Swan

Word count: 5,453

Tags: Male OC X Mina, Nurse Room, College Sweethearts TW: Mentions of Blood

Enjoy

---

“Noona, I’m home. Are you here?” Yoon Jae-in’s voice announced, echoing across the seemingly empty apartment. He had just finished swapping his shoes for the indoor slip-ons, wrapping his hand further on the paper bag that he had with him. “There’s something that I’d like for you to see. Are you busy?”

Jae-in checked the small walk-in shelf of his noona’s shoe closet and found that her slip-ons were not present there. It was an immediate sign that she was not out for work and is lost somewhere in the apartment with him on that night. It was still early in the evening as well; a couple of minutes before seven PM was the perfect time for Jae-in to rush towards the local cake shop to get something for his beloved older sister.

Soon enough, soft and muffled food steps rustled over the carpeted floor followed by the figure of Bae Joohyun emerging from the bathroom. Unlike the usual presence of her being seen with all her breath-taking visuals to boot, Yoon Jae-in’s step sister wore a sleeveless green top and black shorts with her hair wrapped in plastic. She was also wearing a rejuvenating face mask over her beautiful visual, apparently attempting to keep it in place by walking in a rather awkward, back-inclined manner. The sight was hilarious for sure, but Jae-in always expected something to this degree anyway so it was pretty normal for him.

“This is such a wrong timing, Jae-in,” she said as she eyed her younger brother through the holes of the mask, speaking in an oddly muffled manner. In a matter hilarity, Jae-in found it strange how her neck was held so stiff as if she had a neck brace, all just to prevent her hair dressing and the mask from falling off. “I’m in the middle of my skincare as well as my hair spa. Can’t this wait a bit later?”

“I brought you a cake. I figured you needed a break of some form, so I got the sweet part of that break in this paper bag, noona.”

Just like that, Joohyun craned her neck and straightened up her body, apparently disregarding the attempt to hold her mask up high. Fortunately, it really did not fall off of any sorts and it stuck on her face.

“But it seems that you’re busy so I figured maybe—“

“I’m not busy,” she snapped. “Don’t you dare open that without me; this would not take that long to remove. Plus, I can do this later anyway. How come you didn’t mention getting some sweet stuff? I could have cooked dinner earlier so we can eat that sooner.”

Of course; she’s always like that. Noona does not always get these kinds of food because of her strict diet so I have to make every event special whenever we get these.

“Ah about that, don’t worry about it. I am actually in the mood to cook tonight and my school works have turned themselves down for the week, so my schedule is free. I’ll just make do of what we have at the fridge. You can relax your face for a bit, noona. I’ll take care of dinner for both of us.”

Even through the mask, Jae-in could clearly see Joohyun’s expression as her eyes widened in surprise.

“Oh wow, now that’s new! I certainly did not expect that from you. Well then, if you put it that way, it’s hard to decline. Go ahead and break a leg.”

“Of course noona, anything for my beautiful sister,” he said as he placed his bag over the couch. “I’ll make it light just so the cake won’t take too much space for you. I’ll consider how it would affect you, noona, especially with the cake here having to think about.”

Joohyun paused on the spot and gently tilted her head to the side.

“What is with you today, Yoon Jae-in? You seem to be in a really good mood. Did something amazing happen back at university, hmmm? I’m not complaining; it’s just… unusual. I like it though. Keep it up.”

“Ah, it’s really nothing noona. Maybe it’s just that I got all my dues done and also yeah, I’m in a good mood. So if I were you…”

Yoon Jae-in carefully walked towards the dining table, placed the bagful of cake over the surface and went behind his older sister. Gently, he softly ran his fingers over the wrap on his sister’s head before and moved to give a soft massage towards her neck and exposed shoulders. He gave a soft jolt towards her, startling Joohyun from where she stood before he poked the side of her waist.

“Yah…! I’m ticklish, stop it!”

“I’m just saying noona; relax for now because I got you covered. Don’t worry about me. Tonight, I’ll be serving you.”

“Aish, you stupid little bean; I love it when you’re being all thoughtful like this. You should go home every night on a good mood, but then again the sweets could get a dent on my waist here. Don’t burn the meat, okay?”

Joohyun, too, passed Jae-in as she finally headed back towards the bathroom once again. However, before she could make go past him completely, she made sure to poke Jae-in in the same manner that he did to her; a sharp-nailed index finger poking squarely on the side of his waist. That earned a good smile from Jae-in as he watched his step sister disappear towards the doors of their own bathroom.

Surely, his uplifted mood was caused by something that happened earlier that day. It was not even supposed to make sense on that regard and to the degree that he was actually experiencing, but he cannot control what he was supposed to feel. It was just that he was really, really happy. Having to cook for Irene was perhaps one of the good by-products of that uplifted mood.

BZZT

Right after Joohyun went back to the bathroom, Jae-in was about to head back towards his room to change clothes when he felt his phone vibrate on his pocket for the first time on that night. He hastily moved to fish it out, with his head hard-wired to check on it quickly only to disregard the moment that the notification was nothing of significant interest to him. That was already on the subconscious when he began to read the small bar right above the UI of his phone.

Instagram: Yoon Jae-in, your friend Ning Yizhuo posted for the first time after a while.

Ningning…?

I thought she’s inactive on these kinds of stuff. I recall her not being too fond of it.

I wonder what’s she’s up to as she barely has any social media presence of any kind.

Reflexively, he opened the application through the notification tab and sure enough Ningning’s first post after what he thought was months showed, glaring on his phone’s screen for him to see.

It was a simple post of Ningning’s selca with three different photos taken on what he assumed was her bedroom. She had different expressions throughout the three posts, but with each of the photos it caught the background of her bed and pillows; all quoted with the caption: ‘hello there, the angel from my nightmare’.

However, Jae-in’s eyes was quick to notice something that stood out on the all-peach mattress as well as the rest of the neatly arranged pillows. It was one glaring brown horse plushie that rested next to them, leaning on the bed’s headrest and showed itself on the camera ever so slightly. Clearly, even if it was so far he was sure to recognize the horse plushie that was there, for it was the very same horse plushie that he won and gave to Ningning when they went off to the arcade during Valentine’s Day.

“Wow, she actually kept that. That’s amazing,” he muttered to himself.

Yoon Jae-in then went on off to double tap the post, liking Ningning’s recent IG post before anyone else, and then left his phone at the dining table; intending to head back to his room and change his clothes for the night of cooking waiting for him.

---DAYS LATER---

As usual, I kept my normal pace consistent throughout that week to the point that it was almost close to the weekend again. I have no complaints whatsoever. This whole school-house routine with the occasional walk around courtesy of Shinwon and Dawn were starting to get really comfortable. The added factor that Joohyun-noona surprised me with a model kit for me to build, as a show of gratitude from all the small sweet treats and help I’ve been giving her for the past days, not only have I kept my attention glued onto heading home, I was actually looking forward to it. It was a very progressive hobby too; with how meticulous it looks, there’s no way that I’ll be able to do that in one month to say the least.

One Friday, I had to shelve that model since I had to work on a project due on the following week, paired with a classmate. I was heading off towards the large gymnasium/auditorium complex of NLIU to meet her and fetch a thumb drive from her as we agreed previously. Apparently, this classmate was a representative of the school’s basketball varsity team and surely this was the only reasonable time that we could meet each other without trouble on her schedule. Since the gymnasium was located up on the second floor of the building next to the library, I had to walk up a couple of stairs to go there. However, as I was nearing the peak of the flight, close towards the gate heading to the gym inside, my phone gave off another vibration because of an incoming notification.

1 New Message from: Kyungsoo

I immediately halted my pace at the moment that I reached the top, along with that was opening the rather unexpected chat from Doh Kyungsoo. However, I had a hint on what it was supposed to contain; it was pretty much the same chat that he’s been messaging me about for weeks now up until this point.

Kyungsoo: This might work out this time, Jae-in. We’re planning to head back to Skylight and get some drinks. I wonder if you want to go this time around. Hongseok’s taking care of everything again.

I knew it. Honestly, I still have no real intention to join them considering, well, I have a lot of stuff to do back home. However, despite me being silent on United Kwangya, Kyungsoo was the one who kept on messaging me for the invites; persistently asking if there was a possibility of me joining them regardless if I repeatedly decline or not. A part of me already wanted to go, this time for old time’s sake.

I’d lie if I’d say that I didn’t miss any of them one bit.

Kyungsoo: I don’t want you to say that I baited you in, but I’m sure you wanted to know. Soyeon’s actually joining us.

Oh…

Wow.

The timing is really strange.

If this particular hang out went on like how the rest of them have been doing it for the past weeks or so, I might have gone with them.

I don’t know… I’m sure that Soyeon showing up probably means that she’s ready to go back to the group as well, but a part of me was not yet ready to see her face to face. I think the same goes for her as well, especially knowing that I was the one who ‘broke-up’ with her, so to speak. Then again, this might be the chance for us to talk again and settle with being friends…

Still, the timing is so off. I really don’t feel like going now, knowing she’s there.

It’s not yet the time.

I’ll go ahead and see her soon, just not now. At this point if I would go, it would be just like forcing me to see her. I don’t want that to happen.

Jae-in: Sorry man, I got plans. Thank you for the invite, and I appreciate it as always.

Kyungsoo: No worries. Message me in case you change your mind.

Jae-in: I’ll do that in case there are changes. See you around man.

I knew that maybe Kyungsoo replied another message after what I had just sent him, but then I figured I already told him everything that I had to say so I just pocketed my phone again with no other thoughts ahead of me. With that, I beckoned myself inside the huge, high-ceilinged gymnasium of NLIU to meet this rather athletic group mate of mine, with the noise of the bouncing balls as well as the periodical shouts and grunts from the athletes greeting my eardrums as I moved to enter.

The NLIU Gymnasium was the large, dome-like establishment that stood a couple of metres away from the university library, with a spacious façade as soon as I exited the small entrance hallway. Bleachers lined its perimeter, surrounding the well-polished basketball court along with a curtained stage at the far left. The court seemed to be split in half at the moment, with two sport divisions practicing on each of the half-courts at the same time. To the right were the jersey-wearing young guys who were busy practising their dribbling techniques around various traffic cones. On my left were people dressed in minimal body gear as they practised fencing on wooden swords. The combination of the athletes as well as the noise coming from the common student standing by the gymnasium definitely made the environment lively.

I just don’t know how on earth I am supposed to find her in all of this. I can only see guys around here. Should I call her?

“Yoon Jae-in; I’m here,” I heard a voice call my name as if I just thought about that loud. I turned my head as I walked on the small pathway separating the main court line and the wall by a couple of metres, and immediately saw a short-haired girl dressed in matching red jerseys. She jogged towards me with a basketball on one hand and a thumb drive clearly on the other; her tied hair bounced carefully as she treaded the path heading to where I stopped and eventually stood upon.

“Hey, I’m sorry that I had to ask you to come here,” she breathed as soon as she was in front of me. Only now did I realize that she had a coach’s whistle draped around her neck and her forehead had beads of sweat. “I’m worried that I might not notice you. Good thing it was you whom I saw first as soon as I looked at the entrance by chance.”

“That’s fine. You seem to be really busy. Are you training with these guys?” I asked her as I took the drive from her.

“Ah, no; actually I’m the one training them. I’m actually in charge of training new varsity members so I really can’t just get out for a bit.”

“You train them? Wow, that’s amazing. I better get going then.”

“No it’s fine… if you want; you can stay for a bit. Anyway, I already did the necessary components for the reports and I compiled them there. You’re way better on writing than me, so I think you could provide a better and more coherent output than I would.”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s a pair’s work after all. I got this. Thank you for working hard, Ryujin. I think I need to go so that you can go back there and continue.”

“Alright; just message me if there’s anything else that you need.”

I nodded in response before watching the ever-so athletic Shin Ryujin jog her way back towards the dribbling guys, but not before dribbling the ball she held on her hand as well. I can’t help but be amused with how amazing she actually was despite being really timid on class. I never thought that she’d be the one teaching these younger dudes.

I immediately pocketed the drive as I walked, heading towards the same hallway I entered from to exit the gym for good. However, I was way too occupied on pocketing the drive that it fell out of my grasp and slid across the gym’s slippery and polished floor. Panicking, I rushed to fish it up, of which I eventually did, but as soon as I raised my head…

I saw a wooden pole hit the lower eyelid of my right eye, missing my main eye by mere millimetres before I stumbled, fell to the ground, and pain filled the right side of my face as everything went into a mess.

---

It was an instant that Yoon Jae-in was singly teleported out of the gymnasium, as he even could not recall what really happened after his eye got hit. There was a brunt force that pushed him back followed by a sensation that felt like a punch on the face. He held on his cheek for as long as he could remember with the eventual commotion that surrounded him. Whatever happened was sure to be of a huge impact to him, considering he felt almost four to five people that help him up and carefully assisted him to the university’s emergency clinic.

Now, as he sat down on a reclined chair, things only began to register to his mind as the school nurse carefully bandaged his right eye. Spots of his own blood were clearly seen botched on the white fabric of his shirt, all the way down towards his arm. The small makeshift room he was brought in was sight; it was more akin to a dentist’s room more than anything else.

“Mr Yoon Jae-in, are you feeling alright now?” the school nurse asked him, Nurse Joy, while she carefully applied a piece of cotton over his wound. “Please keep your eye closed. This might sting a bit, so please hold it in.”

“Was the hit bad, ma’am?” Jae-in nervously asked, quite nervous at his first time being inside the school clinic on a major accident. “I… sort of black out after I got hit but I don’t remember passing out… everything felt vague.”

“You got hit by a fencing stick, Jae-in. It was so close that it hit your eyelid instead, missing your eye by a close margin. The blood stains you’re seeing on your clothes as well as your hands are the result of a small tear; it did graze a bit off of your skin but it’s nothing to worry about. I’m trying to disinfect the wound now and I’ll apply a bandage later so that the bruise that formed under your eye won’t be too obvious.”

“W-would I still be able to see…?”

To his surprise, Nurse Joy chuckled.

“Of course, Jae-in; don’t worry about that. Like I said, the stick barely missed your eye and hit your upper cheek instead, but grazing a bit of your skin in the process. It’s fortunate that, despite the damage, it’s just a minor thing that would heal given time. Now, for the meantime…”

She picked up a small ice-pack from the table nearby, placed it on Jae-in’s cheek and moved his hand to press on it. There was an immediate cooling sensation that spread towards his impacted region.

“Please hold that for a while. I’ll be back in about five minutes, okay? I’ll just need to run a quick errand. Just continue to press it carefully on the bruise until I get back,” she said, removing her gloves and disposing it on the bin below.

Jae-in barely even have any time to nod when Nurse Joy exited through the door in front of him. Even with the split-second frame of the door being open, he could have sworn he saw a couple of people standing in front of the door. One of them had a huge chance to be the person who accidentally shanked him.

He bore no grudges against whoever they were, for that matter. It was just that he was there when the even unfolded on an unfortunately timed matter. Luckily, throughout that ruckus of a commotion, even with his mind temporarily in shambles after that incident, he managed to keep hold of the drive Ryujin gave him previously, and now it was settling comfortably on the deepest corner of his pants’ pockets.

The underlying concern now was how bad his face actually looked like. It was a powerful and painful impact, judging by the feedback he was receiving even with just moving the pack with the smallest distance. There were no mirrors whatsoever inside the clinic, at least from the room where he was staying at, that he can actually check how bad his face looks like. It does feel painful, but what concerns him the most was how his sister would react to that once she’d see it. The way she would react to it might even be worse than how Jae-in faced the incident himself. She might assume a lot of things, which primarily would include him getting into a fight. With how protective she is towards his younger brother, there’s a huge chance that she might get really mad seeing him with a bruise under his right eye before he could even explain what really happened.

Yoon Jae-in awkwardly sat there tapping the ice pack against his face gently, allowing some of the condensed ice to trail down his cheek while he waited for the return of Nurse Joy. It was almost around five minutes that passed, with him carefully pressing the pack against his face in constant progression when the clinic’s door finally opened up.

“Nurse Joy, I think there’s a—“

And then, the world seemingly turned itself over.

The voice was already familiar the first time he heard it enter the room. There’s no denying that the soft, almost elegant an innocent-like aura belonged to a person he met on a couple of interesting situations, and that day seemed to be the most interesting of them all.

Myoui Mina continued to enter the secluded clinic room in a slower manner the moment she recognized who was seated on the chair. Gone were the specs that Jae-in previously saw her wear, of which he can now see the pure and captivating beauty of her presence. She was dressed in a simple jacket-shirt-jeans combination, along with a small bag slung over her shoulder, but her pure aura lifted her outfit in a completely different level.

“M-Mina…? That’s you, right…?” Jae-in asked in disbelief. “What are you doing here?”

“Yoon Jae-in… I-I’m… I came here to run an errand for Nurse Joy. I did not expect to see you here.”

Mina fully entered the room and moved to close the door, but not before carefully checking the outer premises first.

“What happened to you?” she asked wit concern, eyeing the bruise that formed in Jae-in’s face as well as the ice pack that he was pressing against it. “Did you get in a fight?”

“Oh this…? It’s just an accident at the gym. I got shanked by a wooden sword and it luckily missed my eye and hit my cheek instead.”

“Is that true? Oh no, that must be really painful… d-did you get that treated already…?”

“Y-yeah, N-nurse Joy actually…”

To his surprise, Mina actually placed her bag beside the open table and quickly rummaged through the shelves searching for something. Moments later, she withdrew her hands holding a new pair of disposable gloves.

“Are you allowed to do that…?”

“I… I can take a look at it if you like,” she said in that similar soft voice of hers. “I used to be a voluntary intern here so… so I know a bit in treating those kinds of things.”

“Really…? Well, sure thing… I mean, it’s better if you’re going to check it instead of just me alone.”

“I promise I won’t make it worse,” she assured as she rolled up her sleeves and wore both the gloves over her slender hands. She then took a step closer to where Jae-in was seated and reached for the ice pack. “Can I have that…?”

Nervously, he let Mina take the ice pack from him and sat still. Despite only having one eye to see, It was more than enough for him to appreciate the details of Mina’s face as she moved closer, carefully eyeing the bruise on Yoon Jae-in’s cheek. She then moved the pack out of the way in order for her to gently caress the impacted area with her gloved hand.

“I think you’ve been pressing too hard on it,” she remarked. “It might give your skin more trouble than it already has. Here, let me demonstrate how you should do it.”

Mina unexpectedly fished Jae-in’s free arm from below and placed on the ice pack before holding it herself, all while she took the nearby stool and eventually sat on it. Myoui Mina and Yoon Jae-in sat opposite each other, with the young woman pressing the ice carefully against his skin while she held on to his hand.

Perhaps it was the silence that could be blamed for the rather awkward and wordless moments that followed after that. Jae-in’s heartbeat, his cheeks, his ears, everything was flaring up with just the simple act of Mina helping him compress and treat the injury as it is. It was certainly quite an unexpected turn for her to be the one to show up there, let alone be the one helping him on his injury in probably the sweetest manner ever. Not to mention, Mina’s face was so close to his that he could easily make up the details better than when he first saw her back at the library nor the cafeteria.

The silence was deafening, with only the source of noise coming from the periodical hallway noises from the outside of the clinic itself. Mina did not even notice that her pressing became softer and softer as the minutes went by. She could only blame it all on Jae-in, for as soon as their eyes met in that quiet room, she suddenly felt conscious of what she looked like. There was no real bit of thought she involved on that instance; just seeing Jae-in there made her concerned all of a sudden. Now, their face was so close that even she was starting to feel how awkward it was…

What is happening?

I don’t even know if my face is wet with water droplets or because of sweat.

“Am I interrupting something?” the voice of Nurse Joy said from the door. Apparently neither Jae-in nor Mina noticed that it even opened in the first place. That alone brought them back at the clinic after their minds mutually flew for a couple of minutes, maybe there was a little startle in there as well.

“N-nurse Joy… s-sorry,” Mina scrambled to get herself back on her feet, ultimately leaving Jae-in to hold on the cold press against his face. “I thought you were here and… it just so happened that I knew him to so I just—“

“It is fine, Mina-chan; there’s nothing to worry about. I just did not expect to see you here. You’ve never volunteered for an entire semester now, but it’s nice to see you take care of people again… interesting even, that you actually knew each other too…” she said with a teasing smile.

“I… I just happened to know him t-too…”

“In that case, do you mind if I leave him on your care then? I went back here in a rush because I’m dealing with another emergency case. Is that okay with you?”

“Y-yes… I’ll t-take care of him… I’ll manage…”

“Thank you so much, Mina! On that note, I’ll leave you two be. Just inform me if he’s going off so that I can make an incident report as well as an excuse slip. I’ll just be out so just approach me when you two are… done, you know?”

Mina deliberately ignored the odd tone and bowed in courtesy before Nurse Joy finally left the door, effectively having both herself and Yoon Jae-in in the company of each other again like before. The young man still had the cold press on his face, blushing for things he didn’t even know the reason for as he sat there with Mina. The entire atmosphere was starting to be awkwardly different and the only way he could think about was to bring the conversation down to the ground to lay out the comfort again.

“It’s crazy how we seem to meet on unfortunate circumstances,” Jae-in teased as soon as Mina moved to wipe the accumulated water from his face. “Last time that I saw you, I thought I would be standing still for lunch. Before that, I bumped into all your books.”

“Ah, I thought I was the only one who noticed. It’s interesting how I bump into you a lot these days as well. Also, I think the small graze on your eyelid is doing well now; it’s stopped from bleeding but it still has a bit of a swell. T-the problem is just the bruise on your eye. We’ve done enough compressing that it would be good for the meantime, but if you go out walking like that it would look as if you just got into a fight,” Mina said, examining the soft bruise of Jae-in on his face, unintentionally bringing her face closer to his once more. “But I think I have a solution for that.”

She immediately withdrew and went back towards the same shelve that she fished the gloves from, and then she emerged later holding a pack of what looked like medical eye-patches. Mina quickly fished a piece and stretched it out before proceeding to the waiting figure of Yoon Jae-in. He knew what was about to come but he was busy being frozen on the spot, still processing what was really going on with everything around him.

“Wear this for now. It might not conceal everything but at least you’ll not walk around looking like someone just punched you,” she began, and then carefully wrapped the strap around Jae-in’s head and eventually settling the patch on his bad eye. “You just need to routinely take care of that so that it would heal the quickest time.”

“T-thank you, Mina… this would be a huge help for me…” he replied.

However, the moment that Jae-in opened his eyes, Mina was busy writing something on a piece of paper before eventually handing it to him casually.

“Umm… what’s this for?”

“Please message or call me on this number… Nurse Joy put me in charge of you so I’d… I’d like to check on how you’re doing as well… that way I can instruct you how to treat your bruise better… I also included my social profile there in case you’re more into that…”

Oh wow…

That’s… that’s very thoughtful of her. Oh my god

“This is amazing Mina… you sure that Engineering was the right path that you took? You’d definitely be a good doctor, you know.”

Mina chuckled.

“Heh… it’s a tough choice but this is just a volunteer work for me… I guess it just so happened that I saw you here and I felt compelled to treat your injury and all… let’s just go with that. Umm… since we’re pretty much done here, I’ll just clean up so we can go on ahead and Nurse Joy could deal with the formalities now, shall we? I really… I really don’t want to deal with any of her thoughts in case that she’s having the wrong idea on what’s taking us so long in here….”

“Okay, okay… thank you. I promise I’ll message you about this and update you accordingly. I already feel better knowing I have a personal doctor. It’s not often that you bump into someone and they end up doing a huge favour for you twice, you know.”

With that, Mina responded on his statement with a very gummy smile. Jae-in already prepared to stand when Mina began to speak once again.

“Well, if you want to get even just by a bit… allow me to escort you back to your class. That way, I can be assured that you’ve arrived well knowing how you can only see half of what you’re used to.”

“Sounds like a plan. Let’s do that then.”

---

Next Chapter: Angel with a Shotgun

#kpop series #kpop story #kpop fluff #aespa ningning #twice mina #itzy ryujin #red velvet joy #kpop fanfic

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istadris · 9 months

Text

Oh no, here comes another plotbunny (that anyone wanting to use or adapt is free to do so):

The Bros and Peach are fighting Bowser and Jr, it's an usual day in the Mushroom World.

Except this time some Magic Artifact is involved, and the chaos of the battle causes a Weird Reaction, which opens a dimensional portal sucking everyone in, drops the entire group in Brooklyn, New York City.

And on top of that causes everyone to be shape shifted : because of the power-ups they were using, Mario is turned into a raccoon, Luigi into a fox, and Peach into a cat (not animal suit : actual animals, although they still retain their sentience and speech on top of animal instincts).

And Bowser and Jr into humans.

After the first shock has passed, a commotion ensues, which Bowser insists wasn't his fault (it totally was : in his defence, he's used to get his way by yelling rudely into anyone standing in his way and torching them if they don't comply, and he didn't realise it wouldn't work as well coming from a half-naked, burly human with no fire powers and a bunch of wild animals surrounding him), and the group is separated : Luigi and Jr disappear who knows where (probably Manhattan) while Peach and Mario manage to stay with Bowser.

Bowser is torn between hilarity at his enemy's pitiful state, absolute anguish at his son's disappearance, maniacal glee at finally having Peach within his grasp, and utter confusion at the human world.

His first reflex is to grab Peach, kick Mario and walk away, but Peach firmly puts her foot (paw) down : not only is she not going to stand for such behavior, but neither she or Bowser know how to navigate the human world, so whether the Koopa-turned-human likes it or not, they need Mario.

They also discover during this interaction that yes, Peach and Mario still retain their speech...but only Bowser can understand them. It's a very awkward moment when they realise it (both for the trio and the random passerbyes watching the scene).

Meanwhile Luigi has managed to stick with Junior. Or rather, Junior has grabbed him and claimed to have captured him as a future hostage for when they meet again with his Pa and Mama Peach and that stupid Mario ! And as the Koopa Prince, he demands that his prisonner finds him food and get him home! Not that he's scared! Luigi just nods and immediately decides he will maim anyone touching that kid.

I can't decide if this would take place in the movie verse, involving the Bros' family, or if I stick to my personal headcanon of gameverse!Bros having being on their own for years before the Mushroom Kingdom.

But now everyone is Lost in New York, Bowser quickly gets labelled around the block as a crazy punk dude with a feral raccoon pet, Peach gets "rescued" at least twice by well meaning old ladies who think the street isn't for such a pretty, well bred kitty, Mario discovers a guilty pleasure for dumpster diving, Junior is a brat who gets in every fight imaginable and Luigi is the only one actually working on trying to get home.

#super mario bros #miscellaneous mario madness #I'm working on something so much more angsty but metamorphosis hijinks are too good to pass #lost in new york au

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viviennevermillion · 2 years

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Kaeya Alberich is a terrible wingman

notes: chaos ensues. as it should. I should write more fics about character's being the reader's wingman because the sheer hilarity of situations a very dedicated friend can cause for a poor crushing soul is amazing

contains: diluc x gn!reader, kaeya as reader's self-proclaimed wingman, platonic kaeya x gn!reader

warnings: none

"Why, for the love of all that is holy, are you even so invested in my non-existent love life?", you pouted as Cavalry Captain Kaeya dragged you one step closer to Angel's Share.

"Well, see it as me doing you a favor", he shrugged with a grin on his face, "besides, at the latest at your wedding he'll have to get along with me again."

You raised an eyebrow. "And you really see no better options to bury your family feud than sending me, a poor innocent bystander who has done nothing wrong ever in their life, to the front lines to suffer miserably?" Kaeya chuckled at your hyperbole and linked his arm with yours joyfully.

"You do know you should just talk it out right?", you let out a sigh and shook your head. "I've found significant others make an excellent conversation starter", Kaeya insisted and you got the feeling he was just doing this for his own amusement. Actually that was exactly what he was doing. The streets were already pretty empty compared to Mondstadt's usual crowded market places and Kaeya had bribed you to accompany him to Angel's Share to see Diluc. With the threat 'If you don't make a move I might just have to tell him myself' he had sealed your fate and you could only pray to the archons that Kaeya would not deliberately make things awkward.

"I don't even like taverns", you whined and pulled your jacket tighter around you. "For someone who hates taverns you come here pretty often....and all that just to see my dear brother", Kaeya winked and you rolled your eyes. "You know that's not the main reason I come here. Venti also knows of my....", your voice quieted down and you hesitated, ".....feelings.....for Diluc and I come here to watch him so he doesn't spill my secrets after too much wine or GOD FORBID turns them into a musical number." Kaeya laughed. "I would love to see that."

Glad to see you're having fun with this, Kaeya...

Opening the door to the tavern, the two of you were met with the laughter and loud voices of drunk citizens, the smell of wine and the ethereal view of Diluc in a high ponytail and a short-sleeved shirt pouring drinks behind the counter of the bar. Your eyes fell on him and his presence seemed to immediately drown out your noisy and annoying environment. Enough so, that you accidentally bumped into a drunk customer who cursed at you under his breath and stumbled out of the door. You glared at Kaeya who was snickering about the whole ordeal.

"Well you certainly seem in high spirits", Diluc noticed and nodded towards Kaeya. "Yeah, today was a great day and I thought I'd celebrate it by coming here with my good friend, y/n", he gestured towards you and then towards his adoptive brother, "Diluc." "We literally know eachother-"

"Pay no mind to him", Diluc gave you a polite smile and offered the menu to you, "would you like to drink or eat something?" Kaeya nudged you with his leg and you remembered what he told you. "I'd like to have a grape juice", you said, not noticing you were nervously tapping with your fingers on the counter. Order a grape juice, Kaeya had said, Diluc loves that stuff.

And just as promised, Diluc seemed delighted by your answer. "I'm glad to see someone else appreciate grape juice as I do", he smiled and your heart skipped a beat, "it's my favorite. We actually have high-quality grape juice for a reduced price on our menu right now. I'll make it for you right away." Diluc prepared your juice and Kaeya's eyes fell onto the notice board on the wall, more specifically an ad that Angel's Share was looking for part-timers and new staff. "Actually, y/n here was interested in helping out at the tavern!", Kaeya announced and you stared at him in shock.

"Oh? Well that is a surprise", Diluc remarked curiously. "Slow down Kaeya, I haven't even sent an application or anything", you hissed. "That won't be necessary", Diluc said, "we're already aquainted and I'm sure you'd make a good addition to the team. If you still want to work here, that is. Angel's Share has been getting more crowded recently and we could use the help, even if it's just for a while." You sighed. How could you turn down that offer. You gave Kaeya another angry glare while Diluc was busy taking an order from a customer.

"If you want to, I can show you around a bit today", Diluc offered and turned to you again, "you won't have to do anything yet, but I could explain the tasks our staff does here and show you the kitchen and the wine cellar." "Yes, sure, I'd love that", you replied, not sure what you had gotten yourself into. Diluc seemed very professional and you were sure that's all there was to this encounter.

Kaeya stayed at the bar and said goodbye to you for now with an enthusiastic thumbs up as you followed Diluc to the backrooms of the tavern. He introduced you to the few kitchen staff members and showed you how some of the food was made, even letting you try some samples for free. Mainly being a bar, Angel's Share didn't actually offer a lot of food but there were a few nicely prepared appetizers and soups on the menu.

The wine cellar was way bigger than you had imagined and there was a plate with a couple of fresh grapes standing on a small table by the door for the employees. Diluc gestured for you to take some before also taking some for himself.

Given that most of Angel Share's business was selling drinks and promoting the wine and juice of the Dawn Winery, there weren't actually that many staff-only rooms to visit. The last on your list was the utensil closet. It was a small, dark room and as soon as both of you had stepped in it you became nervous at how close you were to Diluc. Meanwhile Diluc just kept on explaining what things to use for what tasks. You were trying to pay attention to the words he said instead of how nice his voice sounded when the door fell shut behind you due to a gust of wind.

Hold on a minute....a gust of wind? You internally cursed the very likely scenario that Kaeya had dragged the tone-deaf bard into this whole ordeal. You could practically hear the knight's amused voice in your head, lecturing you that at least it wasn't a musical number. Diluc switched places with you to try and open the door again. It did not work. "I'm sorry, this one's been a bit rusty for a while now, I should have hired someone to do some necessary repairs on this door already", he sighed and seemed genuinely sorry for this awkward situation.

He was so close.... Your heart was beating rapidly in your chest and the silence wasn't making things better. "This isn't good...I hope we get out of here soon enough", Diluc mumbled, still fidgeting with the door. "I hope it's not because of me" you said before you could stop yourself. "Oh?", Diluc looked at you surprised, "no, don't worry, I just need to get back to work as the customers would get impatient and angry otherwise. That's not good for the business. Your...." He cleared his throat. "Your company is quite enjoyable usually", he admitted.

You had spent some time with Diluc before. For a while, he had been nothing but an aquaintance, maybe even a friend, to you. You had sometimes taken walks or eaten together at Good Hunter when you happened to meet in the city and talked about whatever came to mind. Diluc, despite hating idle chit-chat, turned out to be an excellent conversation partner and he grew to appreciate that your interactions were more than simple small-talk. Conversing with you was so much easier than with a lot of people that he found himself actually regretting that he may have made you think that he disliked your talks when he expressed his distaste for small-talk. Things had changed when one day you noticed how much you missed his company when you hadn't seen him in a while. How beautiful his smile was, even though he seemed to smile so rarely. How he always made sure you were okay and told you to get home safely. Before you knew it you had fallen head over heels in love with Diluc.

You didn't notice you were staring at his lips the whole time. Your gaze quickly returned to his eyes and his hand brushed against yours. "I haven't seen you around a lot lately, are you doing alright?", Diluc inquired, as caring about your well-being as ever. You nodded and the two of you went back to silence. "We....I suppose we could have dinner again sometime?", Diluc asked. "I would like that", you smiled at him. "I-", he seemed as though he wanted to say something but quickly stopped himself.

"Was there something you wanted to say?", you asked and Diluc put a hand in his neck. "Well....I guess it's just....I found myself missing your company quite a bit. I'm glad we have the opportunity to work together now." Oh yeah, the work thing. You almost forgot about that. But your heart was beating even faster when you learnt that Diluc had actually missed you. That he wanted to be around you.

You both looked at each other like you just wanted to close the distance and confirm you felt the same. But Diluc was so hesitant about letting someone in and he sometimes felt like he was far away from you even if you were in the same room. Even if the room was a tiny closet at Angel's Share. "Honestly, I was a little worried I had done or said something that made you distance yourself from me", he confessed. "No, no, nothing of the sort", you immediately confirmed, "there were just some things I had to sort out, don't worry about it."

"If you want to talk about it, I'll listen", he offered and there was almost something pleading in his voice. Like he was hoping for a chance that you'd tell him you loved him. And you knew Diluc wouldn't judge you for the way you felt about him. Nor would he let it affect the friendship you had. "I guess I....", you hesitated and Diluc patiently waited for you to continue. "I've been....feeling some things that weren't there before", you said quietly, your voice was trembling a little. If Diluc was nervous, he sure didn't let any of it show. "What kind of feelings?", he just asked softly, trying to reassure you that there was nothing you couldn't talk about with him.

"I-", you wanted to tell him but there was so much fear inside you as well. Fear of being hurt by his rejection. Of not being able to find as much joy in seeing him as you did now. Fear of having to let him go. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it, I won't pressure you", he gently took your hand in his and ran his thumb over your fingers, "just know I'm here for you if anything is troubling you."

You nodded and noticed Diluc was even closer now. There was a caring, loving gaze in his eyes but also a bit of sadness. As if something he longed for was so close and yet he just couldn't reach it. Your eyes wandered to his lips again in the hopes he would notice and understand. Diluc hadn't let go of your hand yet. "Y/n?", he asked quietly. "Yes?", you squeezed his hand a little. He paused for what felt like an eternity, unsure whether to take a step he couldn't take back.

"May I kiss you?", he whispered and you gently pulled him closer and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. Diluc kissed back gently and cupped your cheek. He was so careful with you, as if he had waited ages to do this and was scared of losing it all now that he had finally bridged the distance between you. You deepened the kiss and buried your hands in his red hair, Diluc kissing back equally as passionate. You could feel the emotion he poured into the kiss. Like he never wanted to let you go. The fear of being alone again.

When you parted, as much as Diluc hated to admit it, he feared that you weren't as serious about this as he was. He had seen people take things like kissing somebody lightly, something fun they did because they felt like it, not intending to make it last. He didn't know anything about what these things meant to you. Maybe he was wrong about your feelings...

All his doubts were gone when you wrapped your arms tightly around him and hugged him. With your head rested against his chest you closed your eyes and sighed. "This was about time", you whispered and took his hand into your own, pressing a kiss to it. "It sure was", Diluc quietly chuckled and held you close. He kissed your forehead and buried his face in your neck so you wouldn't be able to see his flustered expression. "I'm yours now though", he whispered quietly and kissed you once again. "As am I", you confirmed and brushed a strand of his hair out of his face.

Diluc smiled at you gently. "Did anyone ever tell you that you have the kindest smile in all of Mondstadt?", you said quietly, lost in thought. "Now you did", he replied but you did notice his voice crack slightly, "thank you.....I appreciate it..." He reached for the door handle again and much to his surprise it opened fairly easy now.

Kaeya and Venti sat at the bar counter, giving you two innocent smiles before excusing themselves for the night and leaving the tavern. "Kaeya is a terrible wingman", you sighed and buried your face in your hands. Diluc chuckled. "As much as I hate to admit it, this time the outcome wasn't that bad. I should close up the tavern soon. It's getting late." You nodded as he gestured for you to wait at the counter. Sitting down on one of the stools you watched Diluc slowly bringing his work day to an end.

After the last customers had left he walked up to you and placed his hand upon your own. "Do you want me to take you home? Or would you like to join me at Dawn Winery for tonight? I.... don't really want to let go of you yet", he admitted, wondering if you could see how his cheeks were heating up. You pressed a kiss to his forehead and jumped down from the stool right into Dilucs arms. "I wouldn't mind that", you smiled at him and pulled him close again, looking forward to falling asleep with your head resting on his chest like this. "Diluc?" "What is it?", his voice sounded a little tired but so soft and caring. "I love you", you whispered and Diluc tightened his embrace around you. He kissed you once again. "I do too", he whispered back before your lips met his.

#genshin impact #diluc x reader #diluc ragnvindr #diluc ragnvindr x reader #genshin impact x reader #diluc x you

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