#I think I made a - the knights are no longer knights joke that seems funny here..

[graniteknight]

I love calling my nk highschool au just “reverse fantasy au” it makes it special to me..

while I’m on the topic of the reverse fantasy au, I love messing around with the idea of what they would all wear,.. to suit their personalities properly.

For example, Lance would be the kid that ended up with proper posh fashion because he was dressed by his parents.

Meanwhile Macy has pure.. style. (mostly because for this au her family is just incredibly rich instead of being royalty.)

They’re like a bunch of idiots with a lack of actual common style sense and their single braincell.

[astrology-bf]

May DWC Day 2: Embrace

@daily-writing-challenge

(Companion piece to Day 1's prompt, written from the other point of view.)

Ifan Kaleid was not having a good day.

The weight of recent events had taken an equally heavy toll. Every victory was bought at a steep price, and right at the moment where he seemed he might finally be granted a reprieve– 

Don’t think about it.

Ifan allowed himself a few tears in private, and spent longer than he usually did each day in prayer, but otherwise completely buried himself in work. Favors for Aymeric, tasks from Alphinaud, requests from Tataru; anything to keep his mind off the recent past, tense present, and uncertain future. Anything to feel like he was doing something.

Today, however, it seemed his usual sources of distraction had conspired together to deny him that outlet. All three refused him any work, and all three insisted he rest with palpable worry in their eyes and words. 

Rest means time to think. Don’t think about it.

So he’d simply smiled to hide his gritting teeth, then sought out Eloin at the levemetes. Frustratingly, that too proved fruitless - the flood of adventurers in the wake of Ishgard's recent opening had exhausted all but the most trivial or most dangerous assignments. Ifan managed to conceal his disappointment with a loud laugh, then bade the elezen farewell with the intention of stomping off to the Forgotten Knight and getting himself plastered.

As he turned to leave, Ifan locked eyes with an odd, armored man leaning against a nearby wall. He was staring.

Ifan sized the stranger up instinctively. A midlander; roughly his own height, likely a marauder or warrior judging by the ax slung across his back and the dark-plated armor he wore. Definitely easy on the eyes, at least by Ifan’s standards, but otherwise unremarkable save for the fact the man was openly gawking at him. The poor concealment of his fascination was matched only by the fumbling attempt at hiding his stare when he realized Ifan was looking back at him.

…Heh. Cute.

He wasn't sure what compelled him to walk over and introduce himself. The man's awkwardness was endearing, certainly, and Ifan felt a little bad at how embarrassed he looked. Or perhaps Ifan was just so desperate for a distraction that he'd approach a complete stranger for conversation. His name was Ardbert, it turned out. And he had eyes like the sky.

Ifan felt his frustration fade as his attention fixated on his new acquaintance. He could tell from his first glance that the other hyur himself was a man of many travels, but what struck Ifan the most was the weight Ardbert seemed to carry. It was as if he'd taken the mass of the whole world upon his shoulders.

It was an uncomfortably familiar burden. It pained Ifan to see another sharing it, especially as it reminded him of Ysa–

Don’t think about it.

So, entirely on a whim, Ifan teased the warrior. He saw the pall of that weight pull back a bit in Ardbert’s smile, just enough to hint at the man beneath; someone earnest, fun, and full of love. Ifan felt a thrill in his chest ease the pressure constricting it, and so he kept on doing it: teasing him. Sharing stories. Cracking jokes. Ifan watched Ardbert blush, grin, and laugh. And Ifan rewarded the warrior’s own good humor with a mirth he’d almost forgotten how to share, let alone enjoy himself. A mere three drinks ended up turning into several hours of lively conversation.

"No shit?" Ardbert exclaimed, staring in disbelief as Ifan described the grueling tasks he'd been made to undertake to earn the favor of the Company of Heroes. “All that, and the feast was for -you-?”

"Aye. Even today I still wonder if the food was actually worth the trouble!” Ifan laughed as he raised his tankard to his lips, finishing the last of his current drink. “Mm… Still though, I'd do it again just to see the glee on Shamani's face. It’s rather funny how a mere grape vine can spark so much happiness."   

Ardbert chuckled through his grin, gazing across the table at Ifan. The evening rush had largely dispersed, allowing them to lower their voices and enjoy a more sedate discussion. "Seems to be a common thread in these tales of yours; making people happy. I can see why Hydaelyn chose you." he remarked.

…Fuck.

Though the warrior couldn’t possibly have intended it, the mention of the Mothercrystal was sufficient to bring Ifan back to reality. He felt his smile fade a little as he remembered that he wasn’t just another adventurer having a drink with a peer. Ifan hadn’t been one of those for a while now. Despite his efforts, Ardbert seemed to notice the shift in mood.

 "Ah... fuck." he muttered apologetically, rubbing the back of his head and giving Ifan a sheepish look. "Sorry. Didn't mean to spoil–."

"You didn't." Ifan interrupted. He gave Ardbert a firm look. "Trust me. I feel a lot better now than before we started talking, it's more..." He crossed his arms and leaned forward on the table, and his lips twisted as his eyes flicked to the candle sputtering between them. 

Don’t.

He chuckled humorlessly. "...Don't worry about it. We should talk about lighter things, hm?" He said as he looked up at Ardbert with a forced smile.

Ardbert didn't return it. Instead, he reached across the table and grasped Ifan’s hand. The mage blinked. "Ifan,” he said gently. "C'mon. Sitting on a problem just lets it fester. Mind you, I’m not saying you have to share it with me in particular… But I promise not to judge whatever it is that’s bugging you.”

The earnestness in Ardbert's voice made Ifan's breath catch in his throat. His fingers flexed under the warrior's, and he shifted a little where he leaned. Suddenly he felt rather shy.

Don’t you dare.

"I..." he started, looking off to the side rather than meet Ardbert's gaze. He swallowed. There was a trembling silence. "It keeps happening." Ifan said hesitantly."People keep dying or sacrificing themselves, and I just have to watch. I don't know if I'm doing it right. Being... whatever I am. A hero? A weapon? I just–" 

Stop it. Don’t put this on him. 

Ifan caught himself with a sigh. He shook his head, regretting speaking. It was too weighty a problem to expect Ardbert to have any answer for.

But then he felt Ardbert's grip tighten in a squeeze, and Ifan closed his eyes without realizing he was squeezing back. "Well... from where I'm standing..." said Ardbert slowly, "You look like a man to me.”

Ifan opened his eyes. Ardbert was smiling now. The mage couldn’t sustain his frown upon seeing it.

“A good one, at that. Just in a bad place.” Ardbert continued. “Can't say if you're doing all the other stuff right, but... You impress me, Ifan. For whatever that's worth."

There was a long pause. "...It's worth a lot, Ardbert. Thanks." Ifan answered in a thin voice. 

The pair leaned against the bar table together in silence, Ardbert's hand atop Ifan's. Once more, the mage found himself lost in the color of the warrior's eyes.

They’re so bright…

The sound of clattering crockery brought them back to reality. 

Ifan blinked and looked over at the server who'd nearly dropped a stack of plates, while Ardbert noticed that he'd been holding Ifan's hand and withdrew his fingers with an awkward clearing of his throat. "...Gods. What hour is it?" Ardbert asked with a weary laugh that was met by a smile.

"Too late, I think." Ifan replied as he stood upright and stretched. "A few more than three drinks, I daresay. But not a moment of it wasted, if you ask me."

"Likewise." Ardbert said, straightening up himself and rolling a shoulder before downing the last of his own tankard. "Let me walk you home. You said you were staying higher up in the city, right?"

"Walk me home?" Ifan asked, surprised. "You don't have to."

"You're right, I don’t. I'm offering because I want to." Ardbert replied confidently. 

Ifan knew he was lying. It was a poorly concealed excuse to make sure the mage didn't have a chance to mope. "...Alright. Didn't realize you were such a gentleman." Ifan teased. He smirked as Ardbert's cheeks reddened.

"Pff. Tch. Feh..." Ardbert rubbed the back of his head again and issued a series of nonverbal admissions of bashfulness.

Even so, he still smiled.

-----------------

The walk home was quiet, in contrast to the vigor of their earlier conversation. Ifan pointed out a few of the sights on the way to the upper tiers, but otherwise he and Ardbert seemed content to savor each others' company in gentle silence. They took a detour as they ascended to the Pillars, heading to the overlook near Fortemps manor to take advantage of the view offered by a clear night. Only when wind picked up with a faintly bitter chill did either speak again. 

"...Thank you, Ardbert. Really. Tonight has been..." Ifan began, then hummed as he failed to find the words. "Good. It's been good."

"Really good." Ardbert agreed, giving Ifan another smile. "I needed this too, believe it or not. And I'm glad to have met you, Ifan. Even if I've made an utter ass of myself the whole night." he added awkwardly.

Ifan laughed. "You weren't that bad. No more than I usually am." he replied. "But I'll see you around, aye? Take care, Ardbert."

Ardbert nodded. He reached up with a grin, extending his fist towards Ifan for a little bump. "You too. See you around, hero."  

Ifan returned the fistbump with a grin of his own, then turned towards the manor. He took a step, then another, hearing the clicks of Ardbert's boots on the stones as he walked away.

*Clink*. *Clink.* *...*

Ifan was already hesitating in his third step when he noticed the absence of the warrior’s footfalls. He turned… and Ardbert was staring back at him with near perfect synchronicity, as if Ifan was looking through some sort of mirror. Both sported a look of hesitation on their face, as neither seemed to be willing to be the first to leave.

One moment passed. Then two.

Ifan felt himself grinning. Then he was laughing, as was Ardbert. They laughed, pouring each of their frustrations into the raucous melody until both of them were in tears.

"...Nophica's tits..." Ifan cursed and chuckled as he wiped his eyes. "Guess you were right about me being strange."

"No... No. You're alright." Ardbert managed through the aftershocks of his own laughter. He walked forward towards Ifan with a sad, weary smile on his lips. "Bit strange myself. And I reckon we're just both a bit more wound up than we care to admit, yeah?"

Ifan nodded and took a deep breath in an effort to compose himself. He looked up at Ardbert, matching the warrior's expression as his fingers threaded together in front of him. Ardbert's smile widened further as he gazed down at the mage. ThenIfan felt a brush of cool leather on his cheek; Ardbert had raised a hand to sweep aside a few strands of ash brown hair that had fallen in front of Ifan’s eyes, and his knuckles were lingering on his face. Ifan's cheeks burned despite the chill. His eyes went to Ardbert’s lips.

The warrior seemed to snap out of his fancy, blinking at the realization of where his hand was. His own face reddened, and he made to pull away apologetically.

"...Sorry, I--" 

His hand had barely left Ifan's cheek before the mage had closed the gap between them and pressed his lips to Ardbert's. The warrior's apology was lost, and the wide-eyed shock at the sudden contact lingered only moments before instinct took over. Ifan felt Ardbert's hands grip his back as the other hyur returned the kiss, and he let himself relax into the warrior’s arms.

You’re in mourning. You’ll regret this.

Ifan ignored his misgivings and pressed himself up against Ardbert’s bulk. He tasted like the ale they’d been throwing back, of course, but Ifan kissed him until he could commit what was unique about the other man to memory. There was a faint saltiness, like a coastal breeze. A slight hardness, like iron. It amazed him how soft Ardbert’s lips were. The warrior clearly wasn't experienced with kissing, but more than made up for it with enthusiasm; more than that, Ifan found the slight bashfulness that was present even in the most insistent lashes of the Ardbert’s tongue beyond endearing.

Ardbert gasped as their lips parted. His face was flushed a deep scarlet, and Ifan could feel his heart pounding through the fingers that hand unconsciously crept up to caress Ardbert’s neck beneath his gorget. "Ifan…" he breathed.

“Ardbert…” Ifan echoed, gnawing on his lower lip as he gazed up into Ardbert’s eyes.

"Ifan." The warrior repeated, gloves curling into the fabric of Ifan's clothes. Ardbert’s fingers were trembling. "Do you, uh… Mind if we...?" 

After a moment’s pause, Ifan hummed. “It’s funny…” he said, leaning forward for another kiss as he did so. “I was about to ask you the same thing.”

[nights-with-stars]

How Not to ask Someone out in a Hollow

Billy x Belle

The cunning hares are deep in a hollow with Belle leading them out. Nicole gets fed up with watching Billy attempt to ask out The proxy and decides to intervene.

I used the names of the different types of ethereals in this but in case you arn't sure which are what (I didn't until I wrote this) I'll put a brief description if you don't want to go searching for it yourself. Hati: The unarmored dog like ethereals. Alpeca: Humanoid ethereals, missing half their arms and use ranged attacks. Farbauti: Big bulky one that looks almost entirly stone, likes to stomp the ground alot.

~~~

The Cunning Hares trudged through the hollow with Belle controlling Eous leading the way. Anby was as neutral as ever but was visibly worse for wear. Her hair out of place, scuffs on her gear and the occasional bruise here and there. Nekomata wasn’t showing much in the way of damage, but she complained about how long the Mission was taking. Nicole appeared not nearly as beaten up as Anby, but her disgruntled demeanor was on full display.

“So, Manager. What are you up to later?” Billy followed close behind Eous.

“That would be classified information Billy.” She responded playfully, but she also did mean that. Plus she was more concerned with getting them out.

“More proxy stuff then,” He looked around feigning casualness. “What are you doing tomorrow?”

Nicole rolled her eyes as she watched Billy actively distracting their only means of getting out. They’ve already been in for longer than necessary. Their commission was more complicated than they thought and dragged them deeper into the hollow than they would have liked. And yet here she was. Watching Billy unsuccessfully trying to ask out Belle. She would have found it funny if not for the situation they were in.

“Whenever you’re next free, want to go…” Billy hesitates as his systems start overheating. The sound of his cooling systems was very noticeable. He knows what he wants to say but saying it to her was still hard. He thought it would be easier this way, when she isn’t directly face to face with him, but it seems just as hard. Billy realizes he’s paused for too long and quickly tries to finish his sentence. “…to go somewhere cool.” The pitch of his voice increases with every word he says.

“You sure sound like you need to be somewhere cool.” Belle jokes about his clearly overworked cooling system, but then she quickly turns serious. “You aren’t lacking money to get repairs or anything? You’ve been like this for a week now.”

“No, no, no. I’m all good. A Starlight Knight like me has never been better. I just uh…” His bravado breaks as he looks around desperately trying to think of an excuse. “It’s been hotter recently, hasn’t it?” Any attempt he made to ease her concerns was slightly overshadowed by the whirring coming from him intensifying. Belle wasn’t convinced, but she wasn’t going to push the argument any further whilst they were still trying to get out.

Nicole couldn’t tell if she was more frustrated by Billy distracting the Proxy or by his poor attempts at flirting. They weren’t going to get anywhere like this. Both in the hollow and with their feelings. Nicole quickly thought up a scheme in order to do something about this. Maybe she could kill two birds with one stone. She quickly made her way over to catch up to them.

“Hey Billy.” Nicole hides her intentions with a casual conversation. “Did you ever get round to asking about that one movie… what was it?” She trailed off. Billy, having no idea what she was talking about, looks at her confused with a slight tilt to his head. Before he can even speak up Nicole continues. “Hollow Horrors or something like that.”

“Nicole-” Billy is interrupted before he can ruin her perfectly good lie.

“You don’t happen to have that one in stock do you Proxy?” Nicole sends Billy a quick glare before he can say anything that’ll ruin her efforts.

“Oh, I love that one. Yeah, we definitely have it. It’s a bit intense but it’s perfect for late nights with your friends, or if you just want some fun horror.” Belle begins her light synopsis of the film.

“Oh, that’s great.” She grins mischievously. “Billy here was interested in seeing it. Isn’t that right?” Nicole turns to Billy, daring him to disagree with her.

“Right uh... That’s right boss. I did.” He stammers with nerves. In all truth he couldn’t handle horror films. He tried watching some with Anby a few times and every time he did, he would end up staying awake all night paranoid. But he knew better than to disagree with Nicole when she was acting like this.

“You can drop by later and pick it up if you want.” Belle continues to lead the way.

“Well, you see…” Nicole crouches down to get closer to Eous causing Belle to turn around and face her. Nicole lowers her voice conspiratorially, but it’s still easily heard. “Billy is embarrassed to admit it but, he wants to watch it, he’s just easily scared by those sorts of films. You wouldn’t mind watching it with him, would you?” Billy hears this and is nearly indignant at the suggestions before what Nicole is doing fully hits him.

“Why can’t one of you watch it with him?”

“Nekomata and I are Busy, and even if we weren’t Anby has booked the TV for a while.” Nicole shrugs.

“Well then, I don’t mind. I’ll take any excuse to watch it again.” She responds enthusiastically, the prospect of hanging out with Billy more thrilling then watching the movie.

“Hey, wait no I wasn’t-” Billy sputtered as he started to second guess this whole thing. He was quickly interrupted by Nicole pulling him down and wrapping an arm around his shoulder.

“You hear that? She wants to watch it. You can’t disappoint the Proxy like that.” Nicole despite her playful attitude was speaking with full seriousness. He breaks free from Nicoles grasps.

“Yeah, uh. Yeah.” He turns to Eous to get Belle’s attention. “I’ll organize a time with you later.”

“Sure. Let’s get out of this hollow first.” Belle goes back to paying full attention on getting them out. Billy on the other hand escapes to join the back of the group. He didn’t know whether to thank or curse Nicole. Meanwhile Nicole was just happy to not have Billy distracting Belle from getting them out of the hollow. A quick job is a good job, and this job has already gone on for long enough.

~~~

They make their way through the hollow, getting closer to their exit. Only they were so focused on the exit that they missed a rather largegroup of ethereals that the team had managed to wander too close to. It was only when one ethereal, a Hati, launched itself towards Eous did they notice.

Nicole batted the ethereal away from Eous before quickly moving towards the others. Belle ran to find an advantages position. Billy, Nekomata and Anby all quickly got ready to fight as well. Ethereals began to surround the group. A lot more than expected. A mix of Alpeca, Hati and one Farbauti. It’s nothing they couldn’t win but in their current condition, It could be a challenge.

“Anby, Nekomata. Take out those Alpeca. We can’t have them sptting ether at us. Billy, You’re with me.” nicole takes charge, gesturing Billy to follow her towards a group of dog like Hati that surrounded the large armored Farbauti. Belle focused on trying to route their way out, whilst trying her best to avoid getting hurt. Dodging and weaving, in and out of friend and foe alike.

Nekomata runs towards the group of Alpeca ethereals nearby. They all shot concentrated ether towards her. She jumped out of it’s way. Quickly moving closer to gather all their attention. Allowing a chance for Anby to get close. Which she did. One of the ethereals were struck down. Quickly but not so quietly. The group of ethereals turned their attention to Anby now. Who dodged their attacks but not as fast as Nekomata could. Nekomata then quickly took that chance to down an ethereal herself mostly to try and get their attention back. She was more agile so she was confident she could outrun them. Seeing Anby moving slower and less calculated was a big motivator to get their attention off of her.

Across the field Billy and Nicole weren’t fairing so great themselves. Nicole kept the pressure on the large Farbauti, letting Billy focus on the smaller, and quicker Hati that kept trying to surround them. However much she kept firing at it though. The beast didn’t slow down. In fact, it only seemed to get more aggressive the more they attacked it. She barely jumped out of the way of one of its attacks. Exhaustion setting in. How long have they been here? Far too long for her liking. Before she could get her bearing back the large ethereal started to charge towards her.

“Nicole!” Billy quickly tackled her out the way before returning fire at it. “Got any plans boss? I don’t think we’re gonna make it out like this.”

Nicole got up from the ground. She looked towards Anby and Nekomata. They were at least faring better but she wasn’t about to ask them to abandon their fight to help with hers. They had already been fighting so much today. Anby desperately needs a break and Nekomata has taken more damage than she’s willing to let on.

Billy, focusing on the big guy now, didn’t slow down but showed small signs of deterioration. A few stray shots here and there weren’t anything out of the ordinary, but he seemed to be missing more than was normal for him. Nicole charged up her weapon to start Attacking the ethereal again. She hit it but it quickly moved out of the danger zone. Only when it did, a few pieces of it’s armor tore away from it.

“Billy! I need you to stall it.” She shouted as she aimed another shot, this time aiming to not hit it center on but rather more beside it.

“That’s what I’ve been doing boss.” He grunted back as he continued to fire barrages at the ethereal.

Nicole shot again, hitting the floor right beside it. More of its coating flaked away. Just a few more and she might just have a solid spot for Billy to aim. Only as she aimed her shot some more Hati appeared around them again. Billy was torn between crowd control or distracting the big one. He looked towards Nicole. She wasn’t in any immediate danger right now, so he continued to focus on the big guy.

Nicole fired another shot near it. It landed just right and tore away just enough armor that the softer part of the ethereal was exposed.

“Aim for the exposed spot!” She shouted towards Billy. He quickly examined the ethereal, finding the spot she was talking about. He raised both guns and kept a close eye on his target. He aimed, and, in a few seconds, shot a barrage of bullets towards it. Those shots were just enough to have the large beats fall to the ground.

The fight wasn’t quite over yet. They still had a few Hati to deal with but that should be easy compared to the big one. Nicole readied herself to finish this fight as did Billy. They quickly got to work taking out ethereal after ethereal. There were still a handful left but Billy’s attention was quickly brought to one in particular. It broke away from the group. He watched it carefully, curious as to why it ran. Only to find it charging right for Eous.

~~~

Belle was so close to finding a way out. So close that she let her guard down. She only noticed when it was far too close to run. And Eous couldn’t do much to fight. Any supplies she’d normally use to help out were already depleted. A feeling of dread set in. Sure, she wasn’t in any physical danger. But what would these guys do without her. Wander aimlessly until their inevitable end. She braced for impact. Maybe she would get lucky, and it wouldn’t rip Eous to shreds. The chances were slim and she knew that. She closed her eyes as the beast approached. Only it never arrived. She opened her eyes after a few seconds, having expected to be ripped to shreds by now. Only to find said ethereal on the ground, slowly fizzling away.

Belle relaxed now. She saw Anby and Nekomata finishing off the last few ethereals. She couldn't see Billy or Nicole yet and began to look around.

“Are you alright?” Billy spoke from directly behind her, more seriously than she was used to. Belle turned to look and saw Billy crouched behind her, one gun still raised from when he just shot down the ethereal.

“I’m fine.” She spoke nearly breathless. Looking up she couldn’t help but notice the stern expression as he scanned around for anymore ethereals. She was glad she wasn’t physically present as she felt her cheeks flush with color. Belle could tell she would be hearing about this from wise later.

“Billy Kid!” Nicole marched up towards him. “How dare you leave me to deal with those ethereals all by myself. We are a team you know!” Nicole scolded him.

“What?” He whined. Any seriousness he held was immediately gone. “I had to save the proxy. How else are we getting home.” He argued back. Nicole crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. She was fully aware of his ulterior motivation when it came to saving Eous but she knew she could not argue against his logic.

“Well, maybe a little warning next time.” She quickly moved to check up with Anby and Nekomata to make sure they were faring well.

“Speaking of getting home.” Belle spoke up again. “We just finished routing our way out and it’s not that far away.”

“Well then. Lead the way my dear proxy.” Billy bowed with a dramatic flair as he waited for Belle to take the lead. She laughs at his antics. Billy’s been like this all day. All week even. She doesn’t have much time to dwell on it though as she begins leading their way out.

~~~

Having successfully led the Cunning Hares through and out of the Hollow, Belle disconnects from Eous and stretches in her chair. She gets up to help Wise with finishing up any loose threads. They had another Commission to get ready for but after how that one went, they would definitely have to let Eous charge a little.

They get some noodles to pass the time, and take them back to Random Play so they can eat in the Staff Area together. The proxy siblings strike up casual conversation as they eat.

“Can’t we just postpone the next commission.” Belle sighed as she leaned back dramatically.

“Unfortunately, the next one is rather time sensitive.” Wise responded calmly. Belle exaggeratedly flopped forward, catching her head with her hand as she leaned on the table. After her dramatic display she began eating again. Belle’s phone chimed. she checked the incoming message. Wise watched as she blushed lightly and sent a quick message back before putting her phone away and eating again. “What did Billy say?”

“He was just trying to organize a time to watch a movie with me.” She answered calmly before stopping mid bite. “Hang on. How’d you know it was Billy?”

“I haven’t seen you get flustered when anyone else messages you.” That comment made her blush even harder.

“I was not.”

“So, you weren’t flustered when he saved you earlier?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” She crossed her arms as her blush grew.

“Come on Belle. Just admit it. You like him.”

“No, I-” She stops as she notices Wise sternly looking at her. Playing dumb and avoiding her feelings was not going to work right now. “I guess I like him a little.” She mumbled as she quickly went back to eating her noodles, almost hiding behind the bowl.

Wise seemed satisfied with her answer and relaxed somewhat. Going back to enjoying his noodles. “When are you going to tell him?” Wise smirked only to be met with Belle’s indignant response. She did not get to enjoy her food in peace as Wise proceeded to poke fun at her until their next commission started.

[obsoleteozymandias]

Heyy, here for that matchup exchange!

A resident evil matchup would be pretty cool, and I’m fine with any gender.

So, first things first, I’m a trans dude that uses he/they pronouns. Sometimes I’ll wear more feminine clothes, but a lot of the time I’m just wearing whatever’s clean. My wardrobe consists mostly of silly t-shirts, the occasional dress shirt, band merch, and just plain black t-shirts. Oh, I own a lot of black clothes. It’s pretty much the only color I wear. I also almost always have a hoodie/sweatpants on too because I’m insecure about my arms and legs.

I have this habit where if something bad happens, I’ll just go quiet for a couple hours. I also get overwhelmed by life so my eyes get all wide and I look like I’m about to cry lol.

That’s what I look like 😭

Anyways, I also have pretty bad depression/anxiety, but I’m fine as long as I take my medication.

Other than all that sad stuff, I’ve been told Im a pretty funny person. I enjoy seeing people smile and laugh because of my jokes. Sometimes im not trying to be funny, it’s just how I am. Like, when something starts to fall (or I think it’s gonna fall) I start to talk to it and maybe kinda yell at it. I also talk to myself a lot when I think im alone. Mostly things like reminding myself to do something or not to do something, but sometimes I’ll have full on conversations about how crazy I sound lol.

I really really like horror related stuff, so that’s something that doesn’t really bother me irl. Like, you could show me a picture of a pretty gruesome wound and I’d just be like “neato” or whatever. I also write—duh— and really like to read in my spare time.

As a lover im pretty affectionate (touch starvation for the win lol) and will bake or cook you anything you could ever want. You mention these cookies that seem really good? I’ve made them for you. You mention that your hungry? Five course meal has just been plated, sit and eat. Im also fiercely protective of people I care about. I won’t hesitate to hit a bitch if they’re being mean to my friends. On the topic of hitting people, it takes a lot to get me angry, and I’m apparently pretty scary when I’m mad. But, instead of arguing or making my anger known, I’ll just go to a room where it’s quiet and I can be alone to play music and calm myself down. I don’t like how I am when I’m angry because I get scared I’ll hurt someone.

Music is also a huge part of my life. I mostly listen to metal (it’s in brand for me if you’ve seen me irl lmao) but I have my guiltily pleasure songs. I also have a somewhat decent (?) singing voice. Idk man. I also dye and cut my hair compulsively because I think it looks cool. I may or may not do it in the middle of the night. I’ll never tell.

Uhh, I think that’s all? Thanks again and I’m sorry this is so long 😭

Bro you are relatable fr. Also thanks for doing this with me :D I love longer descriptions because they give me more to work off of!

== Resident Evil ==>

I match you up with…

Ashley Graham

Okay, I will admit, this is partially because of her skin in the RE4 remake. I won’t lie to you, bro. She’s definitely a scene/punk kid. 

But! That aside, I think the two of you could be an absolute power couple. 

Ashley is most attracted to your loyalty and maturity. She admires that you stand up for what you believe in, including your friends and people you care for. She’s also relieved to know that you aren’t afraid to get physical, since the idea of hitting someone scares her. 

On that note, you’re kind of like her knight-in-shining-armor. You’ll handle anything and everything she can’t stand (ex blood, guts, gore, physical stuff), and she’ll cheer you on from the sidelines. 

And she’ll shower you with kisses and hugs later. She calls your her prince/knight. 

She’s a very affectionate person, and she never hesitates to hug you or call you a cute name. In fact, she finds it delightful that she can be that cheesy around you. She loves that she can be herself around you. 

The two of you are also menaces when it comes to cracking jokes and puns. She’s there to pick up on your gags, and she throws them right back at you. The two of you even spend time together just baking and giggling about nothing important. 

She loves watching you cook and bake. She’ll just sit on the counter and observe you, and sneak in a kiss or two while you’re busy. Especially when you’re busy. You’ve burnt a bit of food because of this. 

Ashley is also a huge fan of music. She’s into pop and indie music, but also rock and, once you introduce her to it, metal. She likes how loud and powerful it feels. 

Ashley will absolutely help you dye and cut your hair - she does it all the time, too! She gets how sometimes emotions can be overwhelming, so you need to just do something expressive. She’ll add matching streaks in the both of your hair, and it's very cute. 

She also loves that the two of you can experiment with fashion together. She’s glad to have a partner who isn’t opposed to wearing some feminine clothing, or who isn’t afraid to express themselves through clothes like she does. 

Overall, you and Ashley are simply made for eachother. You compliment the best in one another everyday, and are a strong couple in my eyes. 

[aminiatureworld]

Disappearance II

Character: Albedo, gn!reader

Word Count: 2,149

Warnings: None

Premise: In which there is an argument and the reader disappears.

Author’s Note: Idk why I’ve characterized Albedo as a slob twice now. I guess I just think he’s the kind of person to become so engrossed in his research he just, never takes care of himself or his surroundings.

Also this was supposed to be two people but I procrastinated terribly so… here we are haha. Part three tomorrow.

Albedo

It was the third time this week that you had managed to spill his lab notes all over the floor, and frankly Albedo wasn’t sure if he could deal with it any longer.

“You’ve got a lot of papers strewn around,” you said, tone light and joking as you crouched to gather all the papers up.

“You’re the one that keeps bumping into things,” Albedo mumbled, crouching next to you to make sure that you put things back in order.

Seeing that you were putting things together haphazardly he snatched up the papers, frowning slightly as he went through the papers. Honestly, how could you mess up his system so much? As much as Albedo appreciated your interest in his work you were a Knight of Favonius, not a scientist, and as such your visits seemed to cause havoc more than anything else.

“Do you want me to help you with that?” You asked, exasperation creeping into your tone.

“No.”

“Are you sure? You seem, stressed. If you want I could pick up the papers on the tables and organize.”

“Don’t!”

“Albedo?” You leaned back slightly, as if surprised. For some reason that only made the alchemist more irritated.

“If you do that, you’ll just be creating more work for me. I’m very busy right now, I don’t have time to go back and fix your mistakes.”

“Mistakes?”

“It’s already enough that you keep spilling things all over the ground.”

“It’s not my fault that you leave your papers everywhere without even trying to keep them organized.”

“They are organized!”

“Well they certainly don’t look organized to me.”

“You just don’t understand. Besides, I’ve managed not to knock everything over.”

“You know, you’re insufferable when you get like this.”

“I’m not any different than usual.”

“I hope you don’t really think that,” you replied, tone clipped.

Standing up you turned towards the door. Though Albedo made a half-hearted call of your name you didn’t react, simply walking out of the room and slamming the door as hard as possible behind you.

Albedo didn’t even think of you the rest of the afternoon. Anger iced over his slight worry, replacing it with a burning sense of resentment. Your sudden departure stung, and, though it was admittedly childish, Albedo found himself determined not to worry about you.

Besides, you were simply an obstacle to his research at this point. Maybe it was better if you went off to cool your head somewhere, then he could finish up his work. That was what usually happened with other people anyways. Apprentices, clients, the occasional wandering alchemist; they all fluttered around him until he couldn’t stand it and then when they inevitably got fed up he’d finish his work. His relationship with you was still new, and though he couldn’t say that you were the same as all those people in his eyes, he really had no reason to think you would react in a different way.

The sun had gone down long before Albedo finally locked up for the night. It had taken him a good forty minutes to reorganize everything that had fallen, though admittedly most of that time was spent in angry silence. Now as Albedo walked down the streets, still busy with night activity, he wondered what might happen when he got home. He certainly wasn’t ready to apologize, even if his tone was a bit curt his words weren’t wrong; but he couldn’t exactly see you apologizing either. It was bound to be a tense evening. One Albedo was certainly not looking forward too.

All the lights were off in the apartment, something that struck Albedo as odd. Walking towards the kitchen he found a piece of paper crumpled up on the kitchen floor, though when he uncrumpled the paper he was met with eraser marks. Letting out a huff of impatience Albedo went to put some water on the stove. So this is how the evening was going to pass; you presumably at a friend’s house, Albedo in stony silence.

“How petty,” Albedo murmured.

He didn’t expect such a show of emotions from you, having come to the conclusion that you were quite the rational sort. Really, this was all too much. He had been in the right after all, even if he had been a bit cold about it. There was no reason to react in such a way. It was this mindset that carried Albedo through the rest of the evening and off to sleep. After all, it was better than the kernel of doubt that rested in the back of his head, that told him he was the one being callous.

You didn’t show up at the apartment or the lab the next day. Albedo buckled down to work, but by midday the irritation and anger that he’d been holding over were replaced by a deep sense of unease. Hurrying home after work he felt panic shoot through him at the sight of your home empty, nothing suggesting anyone had been there in the time he was at work.

It took all of Albedo’s willpower not to run out the door and go look for you. All the anger and irritation he had felt had been thrown out the window, replaced instead with an intense feeling of worry, and of the realization that his actions might bear actual consequences.

Tossing and turning in bed Albedo stared up at the empty ceiling. He had been certain he was in the right, even this morning. You were clumsy, you had been inconsiderate of his work, you were simply stubborn and petty. Now however he replayed your argument, your fight, over and over again. The more he did so the more he became aware of how harshly he’d acted; the more he wished you would simply appear in front of him so he could apologize. He wanted to go after you, wanted to let you know that he genuinely felt bad. And yet he couldn’t bring himself to do so, to go after you. After all, what if you didn’t want to see him? What if he just made things worse? Once more turning in bed Albedo sighed. Tomorrow. Tomorrow he’d see you again. Tomorrow he’d make things better.

There was no sight of you tomorrow either. Albedo stood in his lab in stunned silence, heart hammering in his chest as he contemplated what this could possibly mean. Was this it then? Had he messed up that badly?

Staring around him Albedo noticed all the papers scattered this way and that on the tables and the desks. Seized by a sudden urge he scooped them all up, carrying them over to where he kept his files. A part of him jeered that it was too little too late, but still the alchemist didn’t stop until everything was filed away properly. Turning around to look at his desk he collected the dirty mugs and discarded equipment, putting them in the sink before turning around to pick through the no longer needed papers that still lay sprawled around the room. He didn’t stop for lunch, nor did he go to start back up on the experiment he was currently working on. Instead he kept picking up and putting away and rearranging. It was almost a ritual of some sort, and though it brought little relief, at least it finally brought distraction.

Still that distraction was shattered the minute Albedo stepped outside. The sun was just beginning to dip below the horizon, and the people of Mondstadt were still wandering around, enjoy the cool summer evening. Staring at the people around him, their eyes filled either with purpose or contentment, Albedo realized he couldn’t go home. He couldn’t face the empty apartment again. He thought that his anger would last longer, that he might go a week before feeling as if he burning from the inside out; but now he knew that that had been an arrogant, if somewhat funny, assumption. Turning away from the familiar path home he climbed up the steps of Mondstadt. He knew where he needed to go.

Walking up to the Knights of Favonius Headquarters Albedo was met with the sight of Eula, arms firmly crossed in front of her, faced even colder than usual. Hurrying over to your higher-up Albedo felt uncertainty bloom in his chest. Someone this seemed to bode ill.

“Eula?”

“Ah, the Head Alchemist. What do you wish to say to me?”

“Have you seen my partner?” Albedo paused, somewhat unwilling to reveal what had happened. “They haven’t been home for days, and I wondered if you knew where they might be staying.”

The look on Eula’s face was one of pure disbelief. “You, you don’t know what happened?” Her face shadowed over and she seemed to pull herself up. “If I were your partner, I would declare eternal vengeance for your idiocy. I don’t know what you’ve been doing Head Alchemist, but while you were off doing whatever it is you do, your partner was languishing underground.”

Albedo froze, unsure if he’d truly heard Eula right. The Knight tended to be quite flowery after all with her words. Perhaps this was just a metaphor he couldn’t understand.

“I see that it still hasn’t gotten through your head what happened.” Eula sighed, relaxing slightly. “I sent them off to monitor a few Fatui members, as it seems a group had made their way out of Dragonspine and into Windwail. While doing so they attempted to hide in a small crack in the mountains, but there was a steep drop after that onto the next shelf. Thankfully Amber had also been ordered to scout there, or else who knows how long it might have took to realize they were stuck. I just got the report from them, thankfully there was no lasting trauma.”

“W-where are they?”

“At home I presume. Aren’t you their partner?” Eula tilted her head. “Really, perhaps she should declare a need for vengeance.” And with that the Spindrift Knight walked into the Headquarters, leaving Albedo reeling on the step, heart thudding as if he’d just run a hundred miles.

Albedo practically fell down the steps of Mondstadt, so desperate was he to find you, to make sure you were okay. Eula had said that there was no lasting trauma, but what that meant Albedo was completely unsure of. Had you broken anything? Had you been deprived of oxygen? These thoughts catapulted through Albedo’s brain, constricting his lungs and plunging him into a roil of incoherent emotions.

The sight of you standing in front of his lab cause Albedo to stop in his tracks. For a moment the alchemist was overwhelmed by his emotions, switching between dizzying euphoria, terrible guilt, and unending worry. He took a step forward, then another, walking slowly down the stairs, as if in fear that you might disappear or turn away. However instead of turning away when he reached the end of the steps and made his way towards the fountain you let out a sort of shudder, running towards him and throwing your arms around his neck. Albedo wrapped his arms around you in turn, feeling slightly overwhelmed from the sudden proximity, the sudden feeling of once more being able to feel your skin against his. Letting his head drop onto your shoulder Albedo breathed in deeply, centering himself with your presence, grounding himself in the knowledge that the agony of the previous days was finally over.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled against your shoulder.

“For what?” You whispered back.

“For not listening to you, for blaming you, for being cruel.”

“I’m also sorry.”

“Why? I was in the wrong.”

“Well, I just went off without telling you where I was going. I was going to write a note, but I was so angry I erased it.” You tightened your grasp around Albedo. “I wish I could’ve seen into the future. I never would have done something like that.”

“I don’t care about that,” Albedo ran small circles around the small of your back. “I’m sorry.”

“You already said that.”

“No. I’m sorry for not being there, for not being able to help you; for doing nothing while you…” he stopped, unable to finish the sentence.

Pulling back for a moment you cupped Albedo’s face in your palms, studying his expression. Finally you bent over to press a soft kiss to his lips.

“I forgive you,” you whispered, breath mingling with his.

Albedo leaned into to kiss you once more, finding that his emotions were blocking out any words he might have been able to say. Everything seemed so surreal, as if he’d been stuck in some awful nightmare that only now faded away. And yet this wasn’t a nightmare, this was reality; and Albedo would have to remember that.

For now though, he only wanted to wipe all the fear and conflict away.

[bestiesenpai]

Hocus Pocus - Sukuna

Boil toil and trouble, let's make this cauldron bubble lol gender neutral reader no content warnings! This is a...I guess medieval sort of au lol Sukuna is a knight and there’s kings and queens and blah blah

“(Y/N)!” Shrill voices rang throughout​​ the empty stone walls, the pattering of little feet causing you to break your concentration from the glass vase you were holding over a smoking cauldron. Turning to the heavy wooden doors as they were thrown open, you held the vase in the air as two children scampered into the room and began to tug on your clothes.

“What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?” Laughing breathlessly, you looked down at the royal children that had decided to come spend time with you.

“We want to play!”

“Right now?” Taking a sweeping look over your messy workshop, you felt them begin to try and pull you from the room. “Alright, alright! Just a moment.” There was no stopping the children when they wanted something, especially from you.

Closing your spell books and setting down bubbling beakers, you pushed the kids out of the room, closing the door tightly behind you. Letting them guide you towards their playroom, you took a deep breath, pushing down the slight irritation growing from being pulled away from your work. There’s no way the King and Queen would appreciate you losing your temper or simply saying ‘no’, even if you did have studying to do to become a proper witch and not a simple apprentice.

Walking through the halls of the castle, you shared pleasant smiles with the more senior witches talking amongst themselves. Their robes were the rich and vibrant colors of the kingdom, a stark contrast to your plain black robe and a strong reminder of how far you still needed to go.

Coming upon the playroom, you winced as they threw open the door and made the metal knob bang against the stone wall and shocking the other occupant in the room.

“Sukuna! Sukuna! We got (Y/N) to play too!” They yelled, finally letting go of your robes as they ran to the intrepid knight who looked ridiculously out of place sitting on a tiny chair surrounded by stuffed animals in the light pastel room. He turned to you and you had to bite your lip to keep from laughing at how annoyed he seemed with the whole thing. He was still in his armor, so you figured the children had pulled him away in the middle of his business as well.

“Oh how fun.” Sukuna said, clearly less than enthused about this whole thing. His pink hair was sticking out in all sorts of directions and he ran his hand through it once more, the clinking of his cold and shiny armor differing greatly with the softness that filled the room.

The children paid him no mind, rushing further into the room and grabbing toys and throwing them into the middle of the room. Talking animatedly amongst themselves, you used the opportunity to slowly walk over to Sukuna.

“So, what were you doing when they got you?” You whispered, taking a seat next to him in another tiny chair.

“Fucking training.” Nudging the sword at his side, Sukuna let out a gruff sound. “As you know, a war might be brewing in the East and-”

“There’s always a war brewing.”

“Exactly!” Throwing his hands in the air, Sukuna missed the way you chuckled softly. “I don’t have time to entertain these brats, I don’t even know why they had me join!”

“I don’t understand how your fellow knights let you get away from them.” Sukuna was one of the castle's best knights after all, having been praised countless times by the King himself and bestowed with many medals and honors.

“They thought it was a joke! Thought it was funny to see the brats pulling me away and I couldn’t say anything.” He scoffed with a roll of his eyes.

“Well, it is a little funny to think about. The Great Sukuna defeated and captured by two eight year olds.”

He rolled his eyes, but you could see the small upward curve of his lips even though he tried to hide it. You were pleased to notice him relaxing a bit, willing to converse with you as the kids ran around, completely forgetting the two of you were even there. Sukuna was usually so stiff around you, talking in short sentences and barely looking in your direction; always preoccupied with the thought of battle.

“(Y/N)! Caspian won’t let me play with this thing!”

“I had it first!” You turned to see them fighting over one of the vials from your room, recklessly pulling it back and forth and nudging the cork out of place. The shimmering purple liquid sloshed inside, threatening to drip out of the glass and splash all over the two of them. Jumping up, you ran over to the kids before they could open the bottle by mistake and cause a disaster.

“Caspian! Give that to me now!” You yelled after pulling them away from each other. The boy shook his head, holding it away from you. You groaned, taking a deep breath before kneeling to him, holding your hand out. “Caspain, please, it’s very important that I get that back.”

“Kid, just hand it over.” No longer having the patience to deal with this, Sukuna got up from his seat, taking long strides over to you. He grabbed the boy’s wrist as gently as he knew how, attempting to yank the vial out of his hand, but Caspain tightened his grip.

“No, it’s mine!” A small struggle ensued between the two with Caspian pushing and squirming to try and get away and Sukuna attempting to be as merciful as possible to try and get the vial.

“It’s not yours and you know it. Return it.” Sukuna was growing more annoyed by the second. He could easily overpower this kid and end this silly squabble but if he was too rough there were sure to be consequences.

“Be careful, don’t spill it!” Standing off to the side, your eyes were focused on the vial, anxiety rising every time it was yanked from one side to the other. Your cries went ignored, drowned out by them shouting at one another.

“Here!” Pulling the cork out, Caspian hurled the vial right at Sukuna’s face, coating him in the liquid. The glass clattered to the ground, quickly getting crushed into tiny shards as Sukuna stumbled in shock.

“What the-” Wiping furiously at his face, Sukuna could hardly open his eyes. The liquid evaporated on his skin, leaving behind a tingling burn.

“Caspian!” You exclaimed, glaring at the boy and running to Sukuna. The pungent odor of the potion burned your nostrils and forced tears to well in your eyes.

“What is this stuff?” Biting back the swear that desperately wanted to come out, Sukuna looked blindly around the room.

“It’s- well-”

“Out with it!” Sukuna barked, shoving you away. He felt like he was going to vomit, head swimming as he fell to his knees.

“Sukuna has kitty ears!” Caspian’s sister, Caroline, shouted in surprise.

“No I don’t!”

“Yes you do!” She pushed but it went unheard, overshadowed by the pained scream that ripped out of Sukuna’s chest. Writhing on the ground for what felt like ages, the pain slowly subsided and he was left breathing raggedly.

“Hello?” Opening his eyes, Sukuna was shrouded in darkness. Fabric covered his face and body; they were his clothes, he could smell that much, but he had no idea where he was.

“Sukuna? Are you okay?” Tiptoeing over to him, you nudged the armor now sitting on the ground in the shape of what used to be Sukuna’s body. Tiny claws tapped against the metal and a pink haired cat's head popped out of the top opening.

“(Y/N)?”

“Oh my god.” You placed a hand against your chest in shock, watching in horror as Sukuna wrestled himself out of his armor, angrily cursing his new height without really looking at himself.

“Kitty!” Caroline yelled, immediately crowding him and trying to pick him up. Keeping her at arm's length, you scooped up Sukuna’s new cat form into your arms and held him tightly to you.

“Kitty?!” Sukuna yelled, looking down at his body being cradled by you. “(Y/N), what the hell happened?!”

“Uhm, well it seems Caspian threw a metamorphosis potion at you...” Trailing off, you winced as Sukuna let out a growing hiss.

“Is that why I’m a fucking cat right now?” You nodded pitifully and he groaned. “Fucking brats.” Giving the two of them a look, Sukuna pushed himself up on shaky arms and crawled up onto your shoulder, digging his claws slightly into you as he settled around your neck. “The King and Queen will be furious to know what you’ve done.”

“(Y/N) can fix it!” Caroline shouted, trying to save them both from getting in trouble.

“Um, I guess I-”

“No, no they can’t.” Sukuna cut you off, sitting up a little straighter and letting a smug grin overtake his face. “You know (Y/N) is only an apprentice, do you really think they can fix this?” Letting a pause fall over the conversation, Sukuna tilted his head, his ears tickling your cheek. “You know how hard magic is to control, what if no one can turn me back to a human? Your parents will be enraged knowing they lost their best warrior to a pair of little brats.”

“Okay!” Slapping his hands over his ears, Caspian stomped his feet a few times. “We’ll fix it! What do we have to do?”

“There’s a list of ingredients I need to reverse this spell.” Pulling out the pen and pad of paper you were required to always have on hand, you scribbled down a few random items without thinking too hard about it. “Go get me these by the end of the day and we’ll have human Sukuna back in no time!”

“Let’s go!” Grabbing her brother's hand, Caroline ran from the room, ripping the paper from your grasp as she went. The door to the playroom banged against the wall again as they exited and left you and Sukuna alone.

“Well now that they’re occupied for a bit, go ahead and change me back, (Y/N).” Jumping onto the ground, Sukuna shook his head side to side and sat on the ground, his long tail swishing back and forth lazily.

“About that…” Wringing your hands together painfully tight, you could barely look at Sukuna.

“What?” His eyes narrowed, sensing your hesitation.

“I just, well I-”

“Out with it!” A loud hiss spurred you into speaking, along with Sukuna arching his back angrily.

“I can’t do it! That potion the kids took was a fluke to begin with, I’m surprised it even changed you into a cat and didn’t just burn your eyebrows off!” God it felt embarrassing admitting that Sukuna had essentially been right when he was calling the kids bluff. There wasn’t much more you could do on your own other than light a candle with your mind and make paperclips levitate.

“Okay, it’s not that bad. We can get one of your seniors to do it.” Starting toward the door, Sukuna let out a shriek when you scooped him up.

“No, we can’t do that! They’ll never let me live it down!” Holding him tightly, you felt his claws dig into your arms and hands. “L-let me figure it out, please!”

“You just said you couldn’t do it, why would I let you ‘figure it out’ when I can get changed back within a few minutes?”

“Please, just let me try! I have to prove myself!”

“Is this really the time for that? There’s a war-”

“Sukuna, there’s always a war! That’s all you ever talk about!” Yanking his claws out of the skin of your arm, you huffed and tried to calm the burning of your cheeks. “Just give me until the end of the day, please? I can fix you by the end of the day.”

Breathing heavily as well, Sukuna raked his eyes over you. There wasn’t much he knew about you other than you were another fledging witch scouted by the kingdom and that this was the most you’d ever spoken to each other directly and not in a group setting. It wasn’t just Sukuna who was stiff in conversations, it was you as well.

“Fine.” Worming his way out of your hold and back onto the ground, Sukuna swiped at his face a few times to fix the fur around his eyes. “If I’m not a human by nightfall, I’m going to your mentor.”

“Deal.” Nodding your head in agreement, you gestured toward the door. “Shall we go back to my study?”

“Lead the way.” Falling into step next to you, Sukuna walked down the halls to a part of the castle he never really visited. While he was marveling at some of the magic happening behind doorways, you were worrying your lip and praying with every step you took that you could actually find a way to turn him back.

“Nice little shop you got here.” Sukuna commented upon coming to your study. Truly it was nothing more than a glorified broom closet, just enough space for a bookshelf, cauldron, a few shelves and a tiny desk shoved in the corner piled high with a mountain of notes you’d scribbled down late at night.

“Thanks.” Your room looked like all the other beginner witch's rooms, but it felt nice for Sukuna to compliment it all the same. Clearing off a space on the small table beside your cauldron for Sukuna to sit on, you went to the bookshelf to try and find a spell to turn him back.

Taking sneaking glances at you, Sukuna went up to the edge of the cauldron, sniffing the vapors that rose from the bubbling liquid. Curling his lip in disgust at the pungent odor, he hopped off the table. Too engrossed in your books, you set down​​ a few on the spot he’d previously been occupying.

“(Y/N), what’re these papers on your desk?” Glancing over, Sukuna had leapt onto the furniture, gently swiping his paw at some papers and making them slide from the messy stack they were in.

“Just some notes from my lessons, I have a test coming up in a potions class and I really can’t afford to fail.” Shaking your head bitterly at the upcoming deadline, you turned your attention back to the book in your hand.

Glancing over a few, Sukuna found that you were correct, there were scribbles on pages and in the margins of textbooks cramming all possible information into them.

“What’s this…?” Catching the first few letters of his name on a paper that was crinkled up and folded several times, Sukuna felt his curiosity grow greater and greater.

Struggling to open it with his new appendages, Sukuna eventually got it open. At first, he wasn’t sure where to look, there were love hearts dotting nearly every letter and a hundred exclamation points. As he read and deciphered the words on the page, he started to laugh to himself. The person who you’d been passing notes to was gushing about another knight named Okkotsu and his kind demeanor all while teasing you for liking none other than Sukuna.

“So (Y/N), you have a crush on me?” He asked loudly, just barely catching the slightest hesitation in your body at his question.

“What’re you talking about?” Fighting to keep your face neutral, you sprinkled a blue powder into the cauldron.

“This note here says you’ve had a crush on me since you arrived at the palace and I’m pretty confident this is your handwriting.” Sukuna could practically see your heart begin to race the longer he spoke and a grin overtook his face.

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Nervously clearing your throat, you shook your head and closed the book in your hand. Taking a glance at him, your face fell slightly at seeing his paw holding the note open.

“Really? No clue at all? Maybe I should read it out loud and jog your memory.” If Sukuna’s smile got any bigger it would rip his cheeks apart. “Now where should I begin? How about this line, ‘Sukuna is so sexy when he does training in the evening! I love that he never wears a shirt, you can see all his tattoos!’”

“Shut up!” Throwing the remaining objects in your hand onto the table, you lunged towards him and the note. Cackling with laughter, Sukuna snatched the paper into his mouth and leaped off the desk, running circles around you in the room.

“I’m so sexy, you want me to kiss you!” He teased you mercilessly as you chased after him, reciting every embarrassing word you wrote. “You love my morning voice when I pass by you at breakfast!”

“Sukuna! Stop it!” Your entire body was on fire the longer he went and frustrated tears welled in your eyes. It was bad enough you had a crush on the most popular knight in the kingdom but to have him know about it so deeply was another blow to your ego entirely. Grabbing your wand out of a robe pocket, you let out a small shout and pointed it at him, hoping that was enough to get him to stop.

And surprisingly it was; Sukuna suddenly froze all movement, hanging in the air above the cauldron that he was trying to leap over. Stomping over to him, you ripped the note out of his mouth and tore it to shreds, letting the pieces flutter to the ground at your feet. Glaring at Sukuna with glassy eyes, you mumbled a short incantation and released him from the spell, making him plop into the cauldron below.

Sukuna let out incomprehensible screams of terror as he splashed around in the cauldron, struggling to grab any sort of footing on the side and pull himself out.

“(Y/N)! G-get me out of here!” Coughing at the liquid entering his mouth, Sukuna hooked an arm around the edge of the cauldron and tried to pull himself up only to be burned by the hot metal.

“I’ll think about it!” Crossing your arms, you kept your back turned to him. His mocking words rang in your head over and over, nearly drowning out his frantic cries. Quickly growing tired of the noise, you grabbed him by the back of the neck and yanked him from the cauldron, letting him fall to the ground in a sopping wet mess of fur.

“Took you long enough!” Sukuna sputtered, shaking himself violently to try and dry off. Unable to fully look at him, you slammed open the book you’d had open before and leaned over it, blocking out the world around you and forcing the words on the page into your head.

“(Y/N), do you have a towel around here?” Your head nearly turned on instinct to answer Sukunas question, a small twitch in your neck almost giving way to a full turn. “Oh c’mon, don’t ignore me.” His paw swiped the back of your leg and you shook him off.

“(Y/N), stop being a baby.” Touching you again, Sukuna grunted and rolled his eyes when you fully stepped away from him. “(Y/N)! I’m freezing down here with this wet fur, quit fucking around.”

“Find one yourself.” You snapped at him, storming over to your desk and plopping down on the chair. Out of the corner of your eye you could see Sukuna weighing his options, looking between you and the door behind him. You could almost see the gears turning in his head as he debated on what to say.

“If I apologize, will that make you feel better?” He asked, earning a snort from you and making a smirk pass briefly on his face. “The Great Sukuna doesn’t apologize often, so listen closely, okay?”

“I won’t hold my breath.” Rolling your eyes, you relaxed the tight crease in your brow and let your back straighten up a little, no longer hunching over the desk. Clearing his throat dramatically, Sukuna padded over with wet paws and stopped before your chair.

“I’m sorry I teased you about having a crush on me, but in my defense who wouldn’t be hopelessly in love with me?”

“Is that really your apology?” Biting your lip to stop a burgeoning smile, you forced your eyes back on your paper.

“What do you want me to say? Oh (Y/N), please forgive me for learning about your everlasting love for me, I’ll conquer a hundred enemy fortresses if that’s what it’ll take!” Swaying side to side dramatically, Sukuna laughed as he made a chuckle force it’s way past your lips.

“Fine, I guess I’ll forgive you.” Rolling your eyes once more, you did a quick wave of your hand and a sharp gust of wind went over Sukuna, drying his fur in an instant.

“Just like new.” Walking in a few circles, Sukuna surveyed his body and without warning, jumped into your lap, making space for himself and looking over the book you were reading.

“Make yourself comfortable.” Adjusting in your chair, you had to move Sukunas bobbing head out of the way several times to continue to read. “Sukuna, do you even know how to read this?” The book was written in strange symbols only able to be read and understood by those imbued magical prowess.

“No, but it’s pretty interesting to look at.” Shrugging his shoulder, he let his chin rest on the edge of the pages. Quietly reading over the book, you had to shuffle Sukuna in your lap a few times, adjusting him over and over again until you were practically cradling him with one arm and turning pages with the other.

“I could get used to this.” Sukuna yawned loudly, a purr rumbling from his chest. You didn’t have the heart to tell him that his heavy, muscular feline form had made your arm fall asleep and become completely dead to the world.

A few minutes later and a soft snoring filtered out of Sukuna, a gentle sound to fill the room bathed in warm afternoon sun. The tiny window above your desk showed a sliver of the outside world, overgrown trees skirting the edge of the window pane and attempting to obstruct your view of distant mountain ranges.

Forcing deep breaths through your nose, you couldn’t stave off the drowsiness creeping into your body as well. Every blink made your eyelids heavier and the words on the page began to blur together until you couldn’t fight sleep anymore and let your head lean against the chair, joining Sukuna in a light afternoon nap.

It was you that woke up first, thirty minutes later and with a foggy mind. Surprisingly, Sukuna hadn’t woken up from the sound of a door slamming closed across the hall, still sleeping soundly as ever in your arms.

Looking over him, you noticed the markings across his face and body, tattoos that carried over from his human form. Tracing your finger along his face, you were enraptured by the soft fur that met your touch and continued along his body. Fully petting the length of Sukuna’s body, you prodded his soft, relaxed stomach and scratched gently with the tip of your nail.

“That feels nice.” He mumbled, barely awake and cuddling deeper into your side. Despite feeling embarrassed at being caught you kept going, expanding upwards and rubbing along his ribs and chest.

“Sukuna you’re so cute as a cat, are you sure you want to change back?”

“As much as I love being pet like this, I have a duty to my kingdom.” Stretching his legs out, Sukuna grunted like he was going to get up but gave up halfway, flopping back and letting out a soft sigh.

“You don’t seem to be in any rush to get back.” You chuckled, scratching behind his ears and smiling widely when he began to purr.

“Well…” Pushing his head against your hand, Sukuna shrugged. “They’ll be fine without me for a little bit.”

There was a pregnant pause before he spoke again,  filled with his loud purring and soft breathing. “You know, I haven’t slept this well in ages. Always too busy with training or going to battle.” Blinking his eyes slowly, Sukuna peered up at you. “Maybe I should become a witch like you, (Y/N), then I could relax like this all the time.”

“You’re kidding; me, relax? I’m constantly on edge, there’s so much pressure to break my back for the kingdom and become the strongest sorcerer.” Slumping against the chair, your head lolled back and you stared at the dark stone ceiling. “I’d love to trade places with you Sukuna, I want to know what it’s like to be so strong and confident all the time.”

“It’s pretty great, I won’t lie.” He mumbled under his breath and you laughed, jostling him around as you straightened up your spine.

“You’ll have to teach me sometime, okay?” Standing up and opening your arms, you haphazardly placed Sukuna on the desk and walked over to the cauldron, cracking the bones in your back and looking over the ingredients you’d put in so far. “Now, let’s turn you back into a human.”

“(Y/N).” Sukuna said your name slowly, hopping from the desk to the table by the cauldron and slinking past forgotten vials to settle close at your side. “Mind if I watch?”

“Why?” It wasn’t that you didn’t want him to but unless Sukuna was suddenly granted the gift of magic the recipe you were following would be of no use to him.

“I want to know what it’s like to be the smartest in the room.” Sukuna grinned at you, bumping his nose against your arm a few times.

“Shut up.” A light flush went over your face and warmed your cheeks, and a slightly impish smile pushed your cheeks up. The compliment warmed your heart just as much, making it beat faster in your chest.

“Shut up and take notes? Got it.” Nodding curtly, Sukuna squinted his eyes and stared intensely at your hands. Laughing wholeheartedly at how serious he looked, you did a dramatic wave of your hand and picked up a spellbook.

“Alright, watch and learn.”

Whether or not Sukuna was actually learning anything or truly paying attention was lost on you, but it was certainly fun having him so focused on you and your actions. Humming and nodding like he understood when you mumbled to yourself, Sukuna was acting just like you had when you first arrived at the palace with bright eyes and an eager mind.

“Try this.” Pouring a mixture into a jar, you tilted it back for Sukuna to drink from.

“Fucking disgusting!” Wrenching himself away, Sukuna spit the bright yellow liquid onto the ground and watched it sizzle. “Are you trying to poison me now?”

“Wha- but I was so sure that was the right one!” Scrapping the jar, you returned to the book. “Maybe I need spider legs after all…”

“You need me to go out into the garden and catch you some?” Still reeling from the rancid taste in his mouth, Sukuna glanced out the window. The light in the sky was beginning to wind down, it was almost dinner time and his stomach was starting to growl.

“No, I-”

“(Y/N)!” An all too familiar voice shouted your name and you got flashbacks to just a few hours before when your door was slammed open and two children ran inside.

“Oh great, the royal brats.” Snarling at the kids, Sukuna leapt up and onto your shoulder, curling himself around your neck and burrowing into the collar of your robes. Flinching away from him, Caroline and Caspian hesitantly showed you what was clenched tightly in their small hands.

“We got all the stuff on the list!” Caroline showed hers first, a handful of daisies and a small chunk of amethyst.

“Caroline was too much of a baby to get the other stuff.” Caspian huffed, extending his palm out and showcasing the dead spiders and newt eyeballs.

“I can’t believe it, you two actually listened for once.” You marveled at the ingredients, quickly snatching them up and sorting them out on the table.

“Took you long enough.” Sukuna huffed. “Now go get my clothes from that stupid playroom!”

“Okay!” And away the two of them went, rushing down the hall with echoing footsteps. Flipping pages in a book you’d cast aside, you read it over and put in all the ingredients they had brought.

“This spell really is the one to turn you back to a human. God, I feel like an idiot, the answer was right in front of me!” Kicking yourself internally, you looked at your stash of ingredients; you had all the things the kids had brought you already at your disposal.

Right as Sukuna was about to speak, his clattering armor and underclothes made an appearance in the room, clattering to the ground as the kids struggled to carry it all inside. Laying out his clothes for him, you poured the new potion into a glass.

“Turn around children, I don’t want you to see something you shouldn’t.” With a chorus of giggles behind you, you even covered your eyes as you held the glass to Sukuna’s lips. “Try and jump onto the ground after you drink it all, I don’t want you breaking the table.”

“Got it.” Sukuna was better prepared for the transformation this time, swallowing all of the potion and gritting his teeth at the discomfort coursing through him. When you felt the glass was empty, you turned around to give him privacy.

Holding your breath and crossing your fingers, every fiber of your being was hoping and praying that Sukuna returned to normal. You heard clothing rustle and armor clanking, but you didn’t open your eyes until a heavy human hand landed on your shoulder.

“I’m back!” Sukuna cheered, flexing the muscles in his body and tightening the various straps on his clothing. He’d forgon putting his armor back on, opting to wear just the loose green tunic and pants that he had on underneath.

“We did it!” The children cheered as well, clapping and smiling.

“You two were the whole cause of this mess! You should be cheering for (Y/N) for saving you from a punishment.”

“Thanks (Y/N)!”

“Yeah, you’re the best!” Giving you brief and crushing hugs, the two youths ran from the room, probably off to find other mischief to get into. Letting out a relieved sigh, you began to clean up the table.

“Nice work, (Y/N).” Patting you on the back, Sukuna attempted to help you by gathering all the empty vials.

“It would have been better if I’d just checked that book to begin with. I thought I wrote down those ingredients for them at random, but turns out the answer was so glaringly obvious that of course I missed it.” While it felt good to turn Sukuna back into a human, the knowledge that this could have been done a lot sooner weighed heavily on your mind.

“Don’t beat yourself up about it.” Returning his hand to your back, Sukuna let it rest a bit heavier. “You’re still learning, you’re bound to mess up here and there. But hey, you turned me back in the end!” Smiling at you, Sukuna gave you a half hug, not caring if he crushed you against his chiseled physique.

“Sukuna, that was so nice of you to say, thank you.” Hugging him back, your heart felt like it was going to burst.

“You think so? I’ve been practicing ever since my commanders told me to be softer to the new recruits and give them words of encouragement.”

“Well it’s certainly paid off.” The heat from his body transferred onto yours, making it obvious when you pulled away from each other that your whole body was slowly being set on fire from the sweet words melting your brain.

Cleaning up was quick with Sukuna’s help and before you knew it your workspace was just as messy as before all of this had happened and there was the familiar chatter of other witches walking down the halls towards dinner.

“I guess I’ll see you around.” It was bittersweet knowing Sukuna was leaving to the same place you were but going to sit at completely different places, on opposite sides of the dining hall. You desperately wanted to ask to eat with him, to extend the moment you two were having, but your social rank prevented you from being the one to make the first move.

“What do you mean? Aren’t you going to eat dinner?” Grabbing the door, Sukuna slowly pulled it open, ignoring the shocked looks from passersby as he started to make his exit.

“I am but-”

“Then c’mon, let's go.” With half his body already out the door, Sukuna paused when he saw you weren’t making any move. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, go on without me.”

“I want to go with you.” Quirking a brow, Sukuna swayed on his feet for another moment before getting fed up with waiting and grabbing onto your sleeve, yanking you from your room and into the hall.

All eyes were on you and you knew there would be a lot of questions hurled your way sooner or later about what was going on with the two of you. Someone as high ranking as Sukuna wasn’t seen with new recruits, especially not coming out of their workspaces.

“Now let’s go, I’m fucking starving.” Sliding a hand up to the collar of your robes, Sukuna held a fistful in his hand and made you walk with him down the hall.

“Sukuna, you don’t have to be friendly with me anymore, I already held my end of the deal.”

“Why should I stop? I liked hanging out with you, (Y/N). Unless you don’t want to hang out with me anymore.” His grip softened a little and you grasped his wrist.

“No, I do! I-I really do! It’s just, you’re such a high rank and-”

“So what?”

“So, it’s not really heard of for us to mingle!”

“What’re you talking about, I mingle with witches all the time!”

“Yeah but they’re more senior than I am.” Letting out a sharp grunt, Sukuna stopped abruptly and turned you to face him.

“Fine. (Y/N), as your superior I order you to have dinner with me. Happy now?” Without waiting for an answer, Sukuna began to walk again. “And if you give me any more shit, I’ll make you run up a hundred mountains when I train you.”

“You want to train me?” Sure, witches received some physical training but a majority of your learning was focused on magic.

“I think it’s only fair since I learned a bit of magic today.” Getting into the line to enter the dining hall, Sukuna finally released your collar.

“I’d like to learn from you.” Giving him a bashful smile, you were mentally clearing your schedule in preparation for the day.

“You might fall even more in love with me, I can’t wait to read the notes you pass around about me afterwards.”

“God, you’ll never let me live that down will you?” Slapping your hands over your face, you felt the urge to bang your head against the wall.

“Never.” Laughing at your misfortune, Sukuna nudged you forward and into the dining hall. “Now go get some food, I’ll save my biggest fan a seat next to me at my usual table.” Leaving you all alone and dying of embarrassment, Sukuna walked to a group of other knights, his loud and boisterous voice easily carrying over the others in the room.

Gathering all the pieces of your dinner, you looked out at the massive dining hall, crammed with knights, witches and other civil servants just trying to make it. Scanning over the tables, you could see gaggles of knights but not the one you wanted to see.

“(Y/N)!” Just as you’d given up searching and turned away, Sukuna yelled your name, somehow cutting through all the noise. Looking over your shoulder you saw Sukuna standing on a table and waving at you once you made eye contact. The seat next to him was completely empty, a space big enough for you to sit and eat at.

“C-coming!” You yelled back, unsure if he even heard you until you received a big thumbs up and Sukuna jumped off the table. With scalding cheeks, you gripped your plate tighter and rushed over to the table, eager to spend more time with your new friend.

[ssson-of-sparda]

Fathers Do Cry (DMC Vergil one shot)

Summary: Vergil remembers his last Father's Day with Sparda and doesn't really realise how similar to him he has become.

Tags: Father's Day special / DADGIL! / Vergil acting like a dad to Nero

Author’s note: I woke up this morning suddenly inspired. Doesn't happen very often so enjoy ;) ps: I just love Dadgil!

***

His big blue eyes staring without blinking, the child was observing his father sitting by the fireplace in the parlour. Full of admiration, he was detailing all the features of his serious face, all the details of his confident posture and all the different luxurious fabrics that made his purple finery and as he did, he repeated to himself, wished, prayed, that someday, one day, he would grow up to be just like him.          “Aren’t you going to speak, Vergil?” The father’s powerful voice asked as he finally acknowledged the boy’s presence with a small amused smile, wondering what brilliant thoughts were occupying his eldest son’s sharp mind this time.            “I made this for you, father.” With a solemnity that didn’t suit a five-years-old but that somehow fitted Vergil’s young yet wise spirit and his will to be perfect son in the eyes of Sparda, the boy handed a paper sheet to his father.         “ And what would that be?” The man said as he took his son’s gift. “It’s father’s day so … I made you a poem… or tried to.” The adorable embarrassment tensing the child’s traits in funny grimaces made the father's smile wider but Vergil, suddenly too preoccupied with the blue paint stuck under his fingernails, didn’t notice it as he didn’t notice the paternal pride and the love shining in his eyes.               “I thought your mother wanted you and your brother to make a gift together this year.” “ You know Dante” Vergil sighed. “He has no artistic talent whatsoever. He wanted to make you a wooden sword to play with us.”    “ That’s actually a very good idea.”  Vergil frowned; suddenly worried that Sparda would not like his gift and preferred Dante’s – if he had made one of course. “Except when the sword looks like two twigs glued together. You should have seen this, father. It looked ri.di.cu.lous.” Sparda laughed at his son’s attitude, finding amusement in this sibling rivalry. “Why don’t you read me your poem then?”              “ I learnt it by heart actually. The paper is for you to remember this day by … and also because I wanted to illustrate it. Look.” Vergil approached his father, seized the poem from his big hands and climbed on his lap to show him the delicate aquarelle he had painted around the lines. “Impressive. Did your mother help you with this?” Vergil shook his head. “No, I did it on my own. I used a book I saw in that old man’s house I often go to as a reference.”       “ The old academic that lives down the hill? I thought you found him boring.” Vergil shook his head again, furiously this time and with a serious frown. “That’s Dante. Me, I really like him. He teaches me a lot of things. And he has lots of books. It’s incredible.”

Sparda ruffled his son’s silver hair whose hairdo was always made in order to somehow mimic his, thinking what a promising young boy Vergil was. Maybe more promising than Dante to be honest – though he knew he shouldn’t think that.   But there was something that Vergil had that Dante lacked. Perhaps rationality beyond his age … or some kind of maturity … wisdom maybe? He couldn’t really pinpoint what it was exactly. All he knew is that it was something unique and special, just like his son, something that made Sparda certain that one day his eldest would grow up to be a great man, a man greater than him, a man worthy of the Yamato and capable of handling its burdening power.

“Can I recite my poem now?” Sparda smiled at the sparkle in Vergil’s eyes. “Sure.” The boy quickly took back his previous position in front his father, cleared his throat, put his hands behind his back and stuck out his chest.

Sparda listened to every word, fascinated and amazed by his little one’s talent and profoundly moved by all the love, all the meticulousness and the time he put in each line and in each word. “Oh Vergil. The world is not yet ready for someone like you.” The father said as he let a tear roll down his cheek. “Why are you crying, father?” Vergil worried. “Because fathers cry, my son.”

That day was the last time Vergil truly celebrated Father’s day for a few weeks later he had no father, no one to make poems to, no one to admire by the fireplace. Just a memory that he feared would sooner or later fade but that he would cling to dearly for as long as he could.

“Why don’t we bring flowers to Daddy’s statue in the park today?” Eva asked when Vergil was six, when Vergil was seven, when Vergil was eight only to be welcome by a heavy silence that was no longer hiding brilliant thoughts but a painful sadness. But each time he did as Eva suggested, maybe more for her than for him, maybe because he still loved and admired Sparda even if he had left him, maybe because he thought that his father might see him and smile from wherever he was now, the same way he had smiled when he had read him his poem on his last father’s day.

And that’s certainly why, more than three decades later, he was back in this park, on this very special day with a bouquet of purple peonies he had bought on his way here and a memory that never faded. A memory he could still recite.

"Whether the sun shines or the sky cries,                 Whether the day breaks or the night wakes,       My father always as a rampart stands Protecting my house with his bare hands.

He is strong, he is brave                 And the day he always saves.     A knight in cockroach armor     To scare my terror away."

Vergil scoffed at the lines, at the way they rolled off his tongue, finding them funny and childish and not worthy of a Blake or a Fielding at all unlike what he thought when he wrote them as a child. The over-confidence of youth probably.

“Did you just come up with that?” Vergil turned around to see Nero walking towards him with a smirk. A surprise but not a bad one. “Cause the rhyming sucks a little. I expected more of you.”                “ And I suppose you’re an expert in poetry now?”         “ I may read have read one of your books.” He said as he tapped the pocket of his marine blue coat hiding Vergil's most sacred book with pride. “You still have it I see.”     “Hey! It’s a real page turner! Can’t get my nose out of it.” Vergil had a crooked smile, understanding perfectly what his son meant.

Son? Even a year after this reveal he still couldn’t believe this boy before him, the one he had lived such a terrifying yet incredible adventure with, was his own flesh and blood.

A sigh almost escaped Vergil’s lips. How did he make such a fine young man? Someone so selfless, so generous, so loving when he was nothing like that.              “ What are you doing here, Nero?” He asked, trying not to think more about this.      “ Well it’s father’s day, no? So … I made you something… or tried to.” The embarrassed grimace Nero suddenly made made Vergil’s smile grew larger but Nero, too worried to keep the gift covered with the pieces of newspapers he had taped together, didn’t see it as he didn’t see the paternal pride and the love shining in his father’s blue eyes. The same paternal pride Sparda had displayed when Vergil was a little child with a small paper in his hands.  “Thank you Nero.” The man said as he gently took the present from his son's hands, wondering what it was even though the long shape didn’t leave much place for imagination.

He cautiously unwrapped the thing, already feeling a happiness he hadn’t felt in years warming his heart. And when he saw a katana-like wooden sword that purposely looked like Yamato he couldn’t help but smile and let a tiny drop of water blur his blue eyes. “It was Dante’s idea. Though he might have suggested gluing two sticks together.” Nero said as he scratched his head. “It looks amazing.” Vergil’s honesty was like a knife in Nero’s chest but in a good way. It was as if all the stress and all the stupid fear he had felt while making this toy sword had been stabbed away. He felt relieved, joyful even that his always so stern father was genuinely grateful and seemed to appreciate his gift. “That way, you won’t have to tear my arm apart again cause look, you have two now.” Nero tried to joke but his words just erased the smile on Vergil’s face.

“There is not a single day I don't regret what I did to you.” This was Vergil’s way to say he was sorry. Nero was certain of it. He didn’t need to know his father that well to know it. After all, he was somewhat the same. “Hey, it’s in the past. Plus it grew back, so no harm done.” He winked, trying to ease the atmosphere with a bad pun worthy of Dante even though there was a time he would have ripped Vergil’s chest open for what he had done. And a part of him knew he would never forget and maybe never fully forgive what happened.               But right now he was just happy to have a family, to have a father and to finally be able to celebrate a day he has so long hated.  “ This world doesn’t deserve you, son.” Vergil solemnly declared. He had never called Nero that way and that name felt strange yet beautiful to both of them. It made the son and the father smile in ways they never thought they would smile at each other. “ Damn, are you crying old man? I thought devils never cry.” Nero suddenly harrumphed when he finally noticed the water growing in his father's eyes.                   “ Well, fathers do cry." Vergil declared as he allowed a tear of joy and pride to fall along his pale cheek. The first in a very very long time but one he will never regret or brush away. "Father do cry.” He repeated with a glance at the statue of his father behind him.

[rokhal]

Marlene and the Moon Knight system’s codependent trashfire of a romance

Marlene Alraune has been Moon Knight’s primary love interest since she found Marc Spector lying dead in the Temple of Konshu in Doug Moench’s original solo run, and they are passionately in love in a way that’s really fucked-up once you actually think about it. Marlene has taken it upon herself to “fix” the man she found in the temple, and she seems to perceive his DID (edit: OSDD) as a personal failure on her part.

In Moon Knight (1980), Steven Grant is the primary civilian identity, the guy who runs the finances and owns the house, the guy who goes to sleep and wakes up in the morning, the guy every girl would kill to have, the guy whom Marlene makes passionate love to at every opportunity. Jake Lockley is like Steven Grant’s weird unpolished half-brother who stores his car at their house, Moon Knight is Frenchie’s buddy and Jake’s partner and Steven’s pet project, and Marc Spector is taking a break from life. Only Steven Grant is in a relationship with Marlene.

Steven and the other alters are very up-front about their identity with Marlene and the house-hold staff. Jake Lockley’s friends, and Frenchie, they allow to call them by the name they were first introduced by, but to Marlene, the cook, and the butler, they insist on being called by whoever is fronting at the moment. With Frenchie, this is a privilege; with Crawley and Gena, likely both a favor and a distancing tactic. Though Marlene is outwardly accepting of Steven’s alters (including Marc), she is clearly frustrated by his DID.

Workplace sexual harassment aside, Marlene’s disapproval does seem to make an impression on Jake. And Steven -- it should be noted that in Moench’s run, Steven, Marc, Jake, and Moon Knight all share the same memory and may be frequently co-conscious, to the extent that they refer to the collective of the four of them as “I.” So what Marlene says to Jake, she also says to Steven. And Jake +/- Steven walks back “I’m Jake now” with “I should’ve been an actor.” Defensive, denying the reality of his own experience.

Steven does this a lot when Marlene asks him about his mental health.

“It’s no longer funny, Steven,” she says, but we never see Steven joking about his identity. He makes light of it, but he always makes sure to give the people he trusts the right name for who he is at the moment. “You’ve got to be honest with me,” she says, when he is being honest, about his experiential truth that he could very well have chosen to hide from her.

This is the closest he gets to joking about his nature.

Marlene’s denial would be irritating, not dangerous, if not for Steven, Moon Knight, and Marc’s insecurities. And there are many. Marc, of course, lives (or doesn’t live) with the guilt of having been a professional war criminal. Moon Knight basically only ever interacts with Frenchie, who calls him Marc, and feels the responsibility to work off all Marc’s guilt and also feels his own guilt at putting his life in danger and potentially taking Steven away from Marlene if he got himself killed. Steven, like Moon Knight, feels the pressure to make up for Marc’s mistakes, and despite being the socially-acceptable face of the system, his only close relationship is Marlene.

Steven ascribes to her immense power over his mental stability and his grasp on morality.

And Marlene drives wedges between Steven and his headmates.

“I know you’re all right, Steven -- It’s just Marc Spector I worry about...Jake...even Moon Knight. ...Sometimes I think you won’t be able to keep them all under control -- that they’ll do something to spoil what we’ve made of you.”

Marlene is pushing Steven toward the unhealthy and untenable position of keeping absolute control over his headmates at all times. This is never a goal he has expressed any interest in before now. Because Steven lacks the self-confidence to push back at Marlene, her remarks haunt him, and he begins to mistrust the other parts of himself. Which is fucking miserable.

Marlene clearly considers herself responsible for Steven’s mental health and Marc’s redemption, and so do Steven and Marc. Which is absolutely stupid and terrible, but Marc is an emotionally-stunted ex-mercenary and Marlene is like twenty. It happens. This explains why Marlene can’t just accept Steven/Marc/Jake/MK for the totality of who they are: she considers their disorder to be a personal failing. (She may also be jealous of Steven’s alters for taking up Steven’s limited time; like the other inhabitants of Grant Manor, she appears to have no other friends.)

Marlene means well, but she and Steven need therapy. And they both desperately need to get out more.

[chosenimagines]

Move in love (Kendall Knight)

Universe: (D) Big Time Rush Summary: Reader moves to L.A. to become a famous actress and lives with her big brother and his friends Used Prompts: - Warnings: - Language: English

Request: Yes/No

Requested by JulzLovDraco4Eva (from Wattpad) The request was so long that I don’t want to put you guys through this.

Requests [Open]

A/N: My requests are open on Wattpad and Tumblr

🖊️    🖊️    🖊️  

️____________________________________________

The conversations of the people passing by mixed into a single, loud noise. I pulled my suitcase over the dirty floor of the airport. Tired and totally annoyed, I walked myself and my luggage through the free space between the travelers. It had taken six hours instead of three and a half hours to fly from Minnesota to L.A. I had been on the road for nine damn hours and I just couldn't do it anymore! I always found travelling to be incredibly strenuous. In Minnesota it was already 9 pm, but not in stupid L.A! 

It was 7 pm - theoretically time for dinner. That's why I wouldn't escape the hustle and bustle that I would be exposed to as soon as I found my brother in this hustle and bustle. After all, it was "too early" to lay down. Once again I stopped moaning. That had become my signature move today! Searching, I looked around - without result. Where was he? He had promised me that he would pick me up directly in the entrance hall as soon as I landed. Well... Maybe he had forgotten me! I picked up my travel bag again, took the handle of my suitcase and continued my way through the hall. Probably my brother was chilling with his friends - or his so called second family - by the pool. I couldn't blame him! It was quite hot in Los Angeles today, which you could only endure in the water. I would be alone- "Hey, little sister!" "LOGAN!" A dull bang accompanies my scream. I had dropped my travel bag. Logan embraced me. "You didn't seriously think I had forgotten you!" he chuckled softly. But the accusation resonated in his voice. "Maybe for a tiny moment...", I murmured. "You are unbelievable! That I missed you, Stupid.", Logan indignantly said, and I grinned at him as I gave him a slap in the back of the head. "And how he missed you! Logan has counted the days until you move!" Involuntarily, my fingers clawed into Logan's shirt. Kendall! Kendall Knight was here. At the airport. To pick me up. Mein Herz beat at an incredible speed. God help me! Why does this happen every time? every. cursed. be. I hated it! I hated that feeling because they were connected to a thought! He didn't feel the same... I quickly pushed this thought aside, because tears rose in my eyes. Today was not a day to cry, because today began a new phase of my life, which I was already incredibly looking forward to!

"Don't look so angry! I promise you will like the surprise." Who believes it! I rolled my eyes. "The last time you told me that, I was doused with paint and ended up in the newspaper, James.", I replied. James shook his head laughing. "You should get over it! Plus, we've all planned it, so you don't have to be afraid of color." Suspiciously, I look around and changed the subject. "What do we do in a park?", I demanded to know. "Because we picnic, stupid!" I would recognize this voice among thousands. "Katie, I missed you the most of all!" I said as I embraced her during the boys' protests. "Not true! You missed Kendall more." Inconspicuously, I cuddled them. Her big brother was not far from us. Katie knew about my feelings, but she liked to play on risk, whereby it was only calculable risks. I gave her a brief, evil eye, while she just grinned at me. Katie liked that I liked Kendall and she dropped obvious clues before Kendall. "Sit down, Y/N!", Mrs Knight offered me. We took a seat on the ceiling and started to whose. I got a feeling of homeliness! It was almost like we were in Minnesota.

"Too early...", I murmured. I rubbed my eyes. "Way too early!" Tired, I leaned against Carlos. James and Logan giggled softly while Carlos clumsy patted my head. "If you want to work as an actress, you should get used to earlier times of the day. You can ask Camille!" said Logan. He grinned broadly at me. "Who is Camille?", I nuzzled as I broke away from Carlos' shoulder and the five of us entered Roque Records. I threw at Logan a quick glance. I could have sworn that his cheeks turned pink. "She's my girlfriend!", he said quickly. His pace also accelerated, causing trouble for us to keep up with him. I may had hit a nerve! Now I decided to stick with that, but it was far from over! Logan could be sure that I wanted to know everything about Camille and wanted to know him. He hadn't mentioned a girl he liked. According to his reaction, she had to be special- "Who is she, what does she want here AND WHY IS THERE A STRANGER IN MY STUDIO?!" That had to be Gustavo Roque and the guys hadn't exaggerated! But Gustavo really had to be experienced for yourself. An unique personality... "Gustavo, don't get upset, because she's not a stranger!", Kendall began cautiously. His attempt to appease him had no effect. But nothing changed in the facial expressions of the producer. I would probably have to leave, sooner than I thought. "WHO is she then?!" "My little sister.", Logan interfered. At first Gustavo got the words stuck in his throat. Then Gustavo's assistant Kelly interfered, if I hopefully remembered the name correctly. "And of course your sister can stay here today!", she promised with a certain tone. Then she shook my hand. "I'm looking forward to meeting you! I'm Kelly." I smiled. "Y/N." After a short handshake, Kelly shied away from the four of them into the studio. "We have to start now!" Startled, the boys ran away. This made me laugh and I followed Kelly to listen to the rehearsal.

Someone behind me cleared their throat. Frightened, I winced and whirled around. Kendall! I didn't expect him. I had believed that he had gone with Logan, James and Carlos. Without saying a word, I stared at him. I had to look stupid! Still, I couldn't move. Kendall had a strange effect on me! It was like that to have feelings for someone. "Sorry, Y/N! I didn't mean to scare you. But..." Kendall's voice was lost. Again he cleared himself. "Can we talk for a moment?", he wanted to know. I nodded incapacitated to put out a single word. Kendall pulled out a stool from under the sound mixer and told me to sit down. "Thank you!" He himself took a seat on the black leather couch opposite me. "I noticed that you were watching me during the rehearsal and I want to know why? Did I sing crooked or was I not in time? Was I that bad?" Horrified, I opened my eyes. How did Kendall come up with the idea?! That was completely absurd! Simply absurd! I loved nothing more than listening to Big Time Rush sing. I really couldn't think of anything better than listening to these four guys sing! Especially Kendall. Kendall's voice was the most beautiful of all. "Are you serious? Please tell me this is a joke! If so, it wasn't funny. You were in time and your voice is just beautiful! How did you come up with this idiotic idea?", it burst out of me. "You looked at me all the time and I thought it was because I'm so bad." "Even if you were bad, I wouldn't even notice it because you're the most perfect person I know and my feelings for you romanticize everything about you anyway!" Silence. The room was filled with silence. Only in my head there was noise! The thoughts overturned and tried to drown each other out. The voices agreed on one thing! I immediately wanted to sink into the ground. "And I already believed you can't stand me. But that makes everything easier, because I like you too. And very much so!" Were my ears broken? "Come again?" Now Kendall seemed to be unsettled. Nevertheless, he repeated what had told me. "Thank God! I already thought I had to leave the country", I said. Kendall laughed. "Please, don't do that! Otherwise, it might make the following a little more difficult." Confused, I looked at him. What did that mean? "Y/N Mitchell, do you want to be my girlfriend?" "Stupid question, Knight! What girl wouldn't like that to be?" Again he laughed. "There is only one who gets this opportunity." When had we come so close to each other? There was no longer any space between us. Kendall's fingers gently brushed over my heated cheeks. "And I really hope she says yes but I am still waiting for an answer. Slowly I'm scared!" I stood on the tips of my toes and breathed a kiss on his cheek. "You don't have to be afraid, because I say yes."

[absolutepokemontrash]

The undatables as uncles need more love, so... What if L!MC and the rest of the children just go to the castle or purgatory Hall for a few days because the Bros got tired or just need a day of rest. Idk this makes no sense

Yes, more uncle shennaniganery!

A Day at the Demon Lord’s Castle

Masterlist

It was Demon-Flu season, and no demon in the House of Lamentation was spared from its sniffly wrath. It started with Belphegor waking up and sneezing right next to Beel, and it was all downhill from there.

Notice how I said “demon”, the dear little Half-Demons were all fine thanks to the efforts of M!MC who for some reason had bought a bunch of plague doctor masks the week prior.

“Why... why did you buy these?” L!MC asked, their voice muffled by the badly fitting mask.

“I saw em’ in a store window and I decided I wanted them.”

Three out of four of the Brat Brigade (plus the cat) were on their way to the Demon Lord’s castle to stay until the house’s little epidemic passed. Lord Diavolo had oh so graciously asked (begged) to be allowed to host the kids for a while.

What could go wrong?

Many things could go wrong.

For one, the first thing A!MC saw when they first arrived, was a rat. Not one of the gross scary ones, but one of the absolutely adorable ones that turns you into the ‘gently holds’ meme.

“I’m going to call you Templeton!” “*squeak*” “Yay!”

Barbatos of course came to greet the guests, and explained that they have a little... issue with rats at that moment. Butler-dad assured them it wouldn’t be a problem, just if the children saw any of the vermin running around to tell him and he’d dispose of them.

Templeton the rat was promptly hidden in one of A!MC’s pockets.

The Purgatory Hall crew was there as well, apparently Solomon decided to make brunch and Purgatory Hall’s kitchen exploded.

Lord Diavolo finally makes his entrance and declares that everyone should unpack and relax, his gorgeous/terrifying castle was their gorgeous/terrifying castle.

“So,” L!MC rested their head on their hand and rotated the knight in their free hand as they stared half vacantly at the chess board. “Did you take care of the snake in the labyrinth, Dia?”

Diavolo lit up when he heard his seldom used nickname. “Well, Henry 1.0 isn’t exactly bothering anyone down there at the moment, and I don’t think Levi is equipped to deal with a fifty foot long untamed snake.”

L!MC smirked and placed their knight down. “Yeah, at least not right now.”

The moment L!MC removed their hand from the knight, Diavolo moved his bishop and took their queen. Shit.

“Aw man...” L!MC mumbled, after a cursory look at the board, the poor thing realized that they had been screwed for the last five turns and Diavolo was just prolonging the match.

“Don’t feel too bad, L!MC.” Diavolo gave them a pat on the head. “Lucifer can’t beat me in chess either.”

“Hmph.” They wouldn’t admit it but... that did make them feel a little better.

“That reminds me, I have a favour to ask of you.” L!MC almost outwardly drooped at the mention of... ugh... a task. “Do you mind reviewing some dad-jokes with me to make sure they are suitably dad-like?”

“...what?” Quickly remembering they were in the presence of honest to God (poor choice of words... uh... Grandfather?) royalty, L!MC straightened their posture and tried their best to look respectfully curious instead of completely and utterly confused. “Pardon?”

“M!MC and several others have said I have ‘dad vibes’, so I’m leaning into it!” Diavolo smiled so brightly if L!MC hadn’t been the child of the Morning Star they may have been blinded. “My father wasn’t one for jokes, so I’d like to run these by you before I say them to others.”

Suppressing a snort of laughter, L!MC nodded. “Go for it, I’m all ears.”

Diavolo pulled out quite the long list and began to read out loud... L!MC quickly realized that this may take longer than expected. “Okay, to begin: I’m afraid for the calendar, it’s days are numbered.”

“Oh not-that-good-Lord...” L!MC muttered under their breath.

The dad jokes continued, some were funny, some were absolutely awful, some sounded like they were made for children in the Victorian era... overall, it was a good- holy shit that took over two hours...

“Finally,” Diavolo squinted at the last joke. “I went to the liquor store and they asked for my ID, while I fumbled for my wallet, my Blockbuster card fell out, the cashier said ‘nevermind’.”

L!MC furrowed their brows. “What’s a Blockbuster?”

“That was what I was hoping you’d explain to me... is it a dad requirement to get a card for that establishment..?”

“Mmmm...” L!MC pursed their lips. “Probably not. I mean, Lucifer doesn’t have one.”

“That’s true...” Diavolo looked at the clock, then stood up and began to shoo L!MC out the door. “Look at me, taking up all your time that you should be spending with your friends. Thank you for your help, L!MC, now don’t let me keep you any longer!”

Giggling slightly, L!MC shot a wave over their shoulder as they left the room. “Bye dad! See you later!”

They were half way down the hallway when they realized their verbal slip-up.

“Oh.” L!MC’s face burned with embarrassment. “Shit.”

Dad-volo was totally delighted and very cool about it, don’t worry.

M!MC and Bean the cat were hanging out with the angels in the very pretty royal gardens when that mess was going down.

Luke was being absolutely adorable and was snuggling Bean while he and Simeon looked at the pretty plants.

In traditional M!MC fashion, they were engaging in an average game of ‘lightly tease the chihuahua’.

“It’s just... you’re so small.” M!MC took the opportunity to rest their arm on Luke’s head as he stopped to observe a colour changing flower bush. “How many years have you been this height? 100? 200?”

M!MC had taken the news that Luke was older than them in stride, finding new opportunities to make the little angel do his adorable angy face. They were obviously succeeding in their jerkwad-endeavours as Luke pushed their arm off and fixed his now smushed hat.

“You be quiet! I’m perfectly average height for an angel my age.” Luke huffed, petting the cat, who hissed at M!MC. The stupid cat absolutely hated them for some reason, it brought L!MC never ending joy to bring the cat into their shared room and watch it hiss and swipe at them. L!MC should really show some more respect for their older cousin!

“Are angels normally the size of a fifth grader?” M!MC snickered. “Is Simeon considered a freak for his height?”

“No, M!MC, I am not.” Simeon chuckled. “Rest assured, Luke will grow.”

“Yeah! And I’m sure I’ll be taller than you!” Luke added.

M!MC smirked deviously and pinched Luke’s cheek. “Well, I’ll have to take advantage of your smallness and baby face while I still can!”

“Hey! Stop that!” Luke tried to swat their hands away, but M!MC had inherited their father’s reflexes and his penchant for being a little shit every once and a while, so Luke’s swatting only resulted in more pinches.

“Never!” M!MC teased. “Surrender to your smallness!”

“No!”

Luke took off deeper into the garden, surprisingly quickly considering he was holding a cat that was hellbent on clawing M!MC’s eyes out. M!MC laughed and gave chase.

“Luuuuuuuke! Come back! I promise I’ll be nice!” M!MC lied right through their teeth like the little heathen they were, as they ran down the path they noticed that they couldn’t see Luke up ahead anymore, nor could they hear him yelling for Simeon to make them quit their teasing.

“Heheh...” M!MC wheezed as they stopped to catch their breath. “Luke c’mon, don’t be a baby. It’s real immature to hide like that!”

There was no response, which made M!MC just a little nervous, just a smidge. The plants had changed from pretty flowers and gorgeous trees to a much darker clump of vines and twisting branches. It all seemed to be the same plant, M!MC noted as they scanned the area for any sign of Luke and the cat, or Simeon for that matter.

“Luke? Bean? Come on! Haul your asses over here, this isn’t funny any-” M!MC paused and looked down as something coiled around their left leg. “-more?”

The vine tightened and yanked them backwards, M!MC fell right to the ground and clawed at the path to stop them getting pulled into the brush. Another vine wrapped around their right leg, any resistance that digging their nails into the ground was nullified as both vines yanked M!MC into the bushes.

Well, this was a nightmare of epic proportions. The vines continued to wrap around the helpless half demon until they were completely unable to move. As M!MC looked around frantically, they made eye contact with an all too familiar pair of blue eyes. Ah! There was Luke!

“Mmmph!” Only Luke’s eyes were visible, but the eyes are the gateway to the soul or whatever, and M!MC took an educated guess and decided that Luke’s soul wasn’t too happy with them.

“Mmth! Mmth!” M!MC tried to speak, but their mouth was covered by the vines. The two would have to communicate with their eyes only.

‘This is your fault!’

‘How the fuck is this MY fault?’

‘If you hadn’t teased me this never would have happened!’

‘Grow thicker skin, you chihuahua!’

‘Fuck you!’

Listen, Luke probably wasn’t capable of trying to communicate a swear word, but it was incredibly funny for M!MC to think about.

“M!MC? Luke?” Simeon stepped into their limited field of vision. “Where are you two? This plant is carnivorous.”

Oh... lovely. That was good to know.

“Mmemph!”

“MFTH!” Luke and M!MC tried to call out to Simeon, only for the vines to wrap around them even tighter. Wow, what a way to go... strangled by a plant... ugh. L!MC would never let them live that down...

“Hm,” Simeon looked down at the vine that was coiling around his leg. “What a bother.”

Quick as lightning, Simeon grabbed the vine and sent a burst of shining gold magic shooting through it. The magic quickly spread to the rest of the plant and the moment the magic slammed into M!MC they nearly passed out from the searing pain that shot through their entire body.

They clamped their eyes shut and clenched their teeth to stop them from rattling as they felt the massive wave of Celestial magic wash over them. It was weirdly warm, like a hug from a friend, but it wasn’t a pleasant sensation, at least not to M!MC.

The plant let out an otherworldly scream as it threw Luke, Bean, and M!MC back onto the path at Simeon’s feet.

Luke picked Bean back up and dusted off his clothes like he didn’t have a care in the world. M!MC lay on the ground, if you listened closely you could hear them sizzle a bit. Nothing like being nearly strangled by a plant and then roasted by holy ‘fuck you’ magic.

“I’m glad you’re both okay,” Simeon pulled Luke into a hug and helped M!MC off the ground. “Did I ah... use to much magic?”

M!MC half-scowled at their saviour and wiped down their outfit. “Yeah. A little too much.”

“My bad,” Simeon ruffled M!MC’s hair. “I hope this serves as a learning experience for you two, Luke, don’t run off like that, and M!MC,”

The half demon nearly jumped in fear and surprise as Simeon swivelled to look at them. The smile on his face was far from comforting. “Don’t tease poor Luke too much, okay?”

“Uh... uh huh.” M!MC quickly nodded.

“Good! Now let’s head back, I think we’ve all had enough of the Royal Gardens.”

As the group returned, they passed a very red in the face L!MC and wondered what exactly went down in the time they were gone.

It’s common knowledge that Barbatos hates rats, it’s also common knowledge that A!MC is the embodiment of a ray of sunshine.

What does this lead to, you may be asking, well...

A!MC and their dear rat Templeton needed to hide from the politely homicidal Barbatos.

“Sh!” A!MC whispered into their pocket, the rat responded with an indignant squeak.

The Demon Lord’s Castle was absolutely massive, and trying to navigate it without a map was akin to wandering around an ancient pyramid filled with death traps. A!MC and their dear companion were wandering the place without a map and trying to hide from a butler that had the power to see into the future. The two fugitives were at a clear disadvantage.

A!MC had managed to stumble into an area that had paintings and statues completely everywhere, it was then they realized they were completely lost.

While quietly perusing the room, A!MC took notice of quite the lovely portrait of a woman. She had long flowing locks of golden hair and the most gorgeous captivating eyes... A!MC nearly shrieked when the woman’s eyes snapped to their’s and her face contorted into a scowl.

“Do I know you?” The woman asked, A!MC gulped and shook their head.

“N-no ma’am, I don’t think we’ve met...” A!MC mumbled before sticking out their hand for a handshake. The painting woman stared down at their outstretched hand, very unimpressed. “I’m A!MC, it’s nice to meet you.”

The half demon offered their cutest smile, their dad had lovingly taken the time to coach them in the art of being so darn tootin’ adorable that everyone would fall over themselves to get A!MC to like them. The moment the woman registered the smile, her scowl returned for a brief moment, then vanished entirely.

“Oh,” The woman smiled sweetly. “I do think I know you, do you mind coming a bit closer so I can see you better?”

Suffering from a complete inability to detect red flags, A!MC happily moved closer.

“Ah, just as I suspected. You look like Asmodeus.”

“You know my dad?” A!MC asked.

“Yes,” The woman’s eyes narrowed. “I know him quite well.”

A!MC was suddenly knocked off balance as a massive gust of wind shoved them closer to the painting. They frantically clawed at the stone ground as Templeton squeaked and squirmed in their pocket.

“Your father is the reason I’m stuck in this painting,” The woman explained coldly as A!MC tried to scramble away. “He escaped the labyrinth twice, but I don’t plan on letting you escape.”

“I-uh- m-muh-my dad’s probably really sorry about whatever he did! There’s no need to be rash!” A!MC stuttered.

“Yeah, no.” The woman huffed. “He had his chance to fix things. I’m getting even.”

“Not right now you’re not.”

A!MC swivelled their head around to see Barbatos calmly holding out a pair of scissors.

“Now Helene, I’d recommend releasing the child before I’m forced to take drastic measures.” Barbatos clicked the scissors together twice, and Helene paled. The wind pushing A!MC towards the painting dissipated and the half demon ran and hid behind the butler.

“Th-thank you...” A!MC mumbled.

“It’s not a problem, A!MC. Now I believe it would be a wise choice to move to another room.”

The two, (plus the hidden rat) ended up in the kitchen. A!MC shifted nervously as Barbatos began prepping lunch.

“Is there something you need to tell me?” Barbatos asked suddenly, A!MC straightened their posture and nodded.

“I um... promise you won’t be mad...” A!MC mumbled.

“I can assure you, I won’t be too upset.”

“I made a friend.” A!MC took Templeton out of their pocket and held him closely to their chest, Barbatos’s calm smile froze on his face. “He’s really sweet, please don’t kill him!”

“...A!MC.” Barbatos began slowly. “I’m not mad... just make sure it doesn’t escape and run rampant... now... please get it out of my kitchen.”

“Yes sir! Thank you sir!” A!MC turned and sprinted to their room.

Ugh... Barbatos, haven’t you ever watched Ratatouille? The rat can cook dammit!

When Luke went in to bake with his second dad he was very confused as to why Barbatos looked like he was having war flashbacks.

Huh... weird right? Anyway...

Good ol’ weird uncle Solomon suggested that after dinner everyone should get together and watch a movie.

L!MC and Solomon suggested that they watch The Conjuring and that idea got immediately shot down.

M!MC brought up that the most “family get-together” movie they could think of was Star Wars.

So they watched A New Hope.

“We could be watching the Conjuring right now.” L!MC murmured as they watched Luke Skywalker fumble his way to Obi Wan Kenobi.

“Yeah.” Solomon whispered back. “You know, I met Ed and Lorraine Warren.”

“Cool,” L!MC smiled. “My ren took me to their house once, when I went in to see all the haunted objects all the demons inside wanted to hang out with me.”

“Huh,” Solomon snickered. “Did they think you were Lucifer?”

“Yep. It was funny, Annabelle’s a pretty big asshole though.”

“I’d be an asshole too if I were stuck in a raggedy Anne doll since the 60s and not allowed to leave.”

“Both of you sh!” M!MC hissed, they threw some popcorn over their shoulder, which L!MC threw right back.

A while into the movie, M!MC elbowed Solomon and pointed at one of the aliens. “That’s you.”

“I’m so hurt…” Solomon pouted.

“And that’s you.” L!MC pointed at a stormtrooper that had just gotten shot with a blaster. M!MC scoffed and rolled their eyes.

“I’m not some dumb stormtrooper.”

“Yeah, you’re a little short for a stormtrooper.”

“HEY!”

“SHHHHHHH!” A!MC and Luke turned and started throwing their own popcorn…

The mess that they all had to vacuum after the movie was much more terrifying than The Conjuring ever could have been.

So, after a few days, Lucifer called to say that everyone was back to normal and the last remnants of the Demon-Flu were gone.

Yay! The kids could go back to their really overcrowded house!

The goodbyes were something to behold.

“Goodbye everyone! Come back sometime soon!” Diavolo waved from the doorway.

“Bye, Lord Diavolo!” L!MC smiled brightly and returned the wave. M!MC snickered and nudged them.

“That’s a pretty cold way to say goodbye to your dad-”

“Shut up…” L!MC growled.

“L!MC, what are they talking about?” Lucifer asked.

“Nothing!”

M!MC looked like they were weighing the pros and cons of surviving the conversation, then shrugged.

“M!MC, no, you have so much to live for!” A!MC pleaded.

“L!MC called Lord Diavolo dad!”

Mammon erupted into hysterical laughter while Asmo giggled and half heartedly patted L!MC on the head. Lucifer was not impressed.

“You know,” L!MC sighed. “I’m moving out. Lord Diavolo can I come live here?”

“L!MC, come back.” Lucifer trailed after his very embarrassed spawn.

A!MC pulled on their dad’s sleeve and cleared their throat.

“Yes sweetie?”

“D-dad, do you have a vehement hatred and or fear of rats?”

“Um-”

“Meet Templeton, he’s adorable and my friend.”

————————

Author’s note, The next part of the main series is coming next week… or this week… idk how long things take.

(Probably this week)

[storiesforallfandoms]

my lady ~ geralt of rivia

word count: 1615

request?: yes!

“hello, could you write something where geralt gets really jealous because someone (jaskier or a random) flirts with the reader and he shows her who she belongs to? rough smut please!”

description: while travelling with a group to slay a monster, a pretentious king to be tries to flirt with geralt’s lady, leading to the witcher becoming very jealous

pairing: geralt of rivia x female!reader

warnings: swearing, smut

masterlist

You loved to travel with Geralt. You liked to see him in action, slaying monsters, but you also loved to be there to help him relax after a long day of fighting. After the ballad written by the exhausting Bard that had latched himself on to Geralt, many started coming to the Witcher to ask for help with finding and slaying monsters. This led to you, Geralt, and Jaskier becoming part of a group travelling to find some sort of monster that had been terrorizing kingdom after kingdom for nearly a whole year.

The king that was leading the team, a young man who had recently been put into the power, was determined to find this monster and to kill it himself. Apparently doing so would result in a great reputation for him. But his men insisted on looking to Geralt for help, which was definitely a much better idea than to wander aimlessly looking for a creature that they didn’t even know what it was.

Despite the constant urging of the king to keep going, the group decided to stop for the night to get some rest. They set up their tents and a small fire while one of the king’s men went to find some meat to roast over the fire. Geralt was sat next to you, his golden eyes glaring at the egocentric king.

“He’s going to get himself killed,” Geralt muttered. “Him and his men. What kind of reputation will he have then?”

“The one he deserves,” you responded. “The best we can hope for is he puts up some kind of fight instead of dying like a pussy.”

This brought a slight smile to Geralt’s face. “You could kill a monster twice his size quicker and easier than he could. He’d probably shit himself and run away before being eaten.”

You giggled. “I don’t think a monster would want a feast that tastes like shit. Probably would just rip him to shreds and leave his remains for his men to find. That would be a legacy for him.”

Geralt actually laughed at this, which caused you to laugh as well. Your laughter was noticed by the king, and the moment you both realized he had saw you, you quickly stopped.

“What are you two laughing about?” he demanded.

“Just reminiscing on old tales we’ve been told,” Geralt responded. “Have you ever heard of the one about the king who didn’t know how to fight?”

“Geralt,” you warned softly.

The king and Geralt held a prolonged staring contest as the king lowered himself to sit across from the two of you in front of the fire.

“I have not,” he responded. “What is so funny about that? A king should know how to fight.”

“Well, that is the thing,” Geralt explained. “This king claimed that he knew how to fight, and was willing to prove it however he could. He fought many a knight and always won, but he didn’t take that as a real victory. He was sure that they were throwing the fights as not to upset him. He said he wanted a real challenge, so he and some of his men went into the woods looking for the fiercest, most dangerous monster they could find.”

The king was on the edge of his feet, engrossed in Geralt’s fake story. You had to hold back a giggle at the anticipation on his face.

“Did they find one?” the king asked. “What happened? Did the king slay the beast?”

“No,” Geralt responded, plainly. “They found the monstrous beast, but the king insisted on fighting it alone. Hours later, his men realized he still had not returned, so they went looking for him. All they found were his remains, which smelled like shit.”

You buried your head in Geralt’s shoulder to muffle your laughter. Geralt smirked at the king, who looked shocked at the ending of the story.

“I don’t think that’s a very funny story,” he huffed. “Quite morbid actually.”

“It is what men like him deserve,” Geralt told him. “A man should not boast about things he is unable to do, and certainly should not drag his men into battles that they will surely lose.”

The king was now glaring at Geralt. You were sure he was starting to realize that Geralt’s story had been a joke in his expense all along, and you weren’t sure how the king would react upon realizing this.

His eyes drifted to you. You shuffled uncomfortably, looping one arm through Geralt’s and holding him tightly.

“You are quite beautiful, my lady,” he said. His voice was more calm than you expected, and you weren’t sure if that scared you more or not.

You gave him a small smile and softly responded, “Thank you, Your Grace.”

“It is such a shame that your beauty is wasted on a man like the Witcher here.”

Geralt tensed against you. You squeezed his arm again, trying to calm him down. You refused to meet the king’s eye as he stood and approached the two of you.

“I do mean it, my lady,” he said as he lowered himself to be level with you. You looked down at the ground to avoid his gaze. “Ever since I laid my eyes on you, I have been infatuated with your beauty. I have never met a woman quite as beautiful as you. If you’d let me, I would love to shower you with anything and everything you could ever want.”

You flinched as you felt his hand softly caress your face. This was enough for Geralt, who stood quickly and drew his sword. The king’s men came to attention then, surrounding Geralt with their weapons pointed towards him. The king was still in front of you, stupidly waiting for your answer.

You glared at him before responded, “Get the fuck out of my face.”

His face fell then, quickly turning to anger as he stood to address his men. “Just a misunderstanding, gentlemen. You may leave the Witcher and his wench alone.”

The king’s men stood down, but still kept a watchful eye on Geralt as they retreated towards their tents. Once they, along with the king, were gone, Geralt took hold of your arm and roughly pulled you to a stand. He dragged you towards the tent the two of you were sharing. You struggled to keep up, occasionally stumbling.

When you reached the tent, Geralt closed the flaps behind you and ensured that no one would be able to see through them. He turned to you and immediately attached his lips to yours, kissing you roughly. His hands traveled over your body, starting at your ass and running slowly up your back, causing you to shiver. When he reached the top of your dress, he roughly pulled at it, ripping the fabric and letting it drop to pool around your feet.

“You could’ve just asked me to take it off,” you said as Geralt guided you to floor, laying you down in front of him.

“Would’ve taken too long,” he responded as he threw his weapons to the side and took his pants off. “You have enough clothes to be able to change in the morning, I’ll buy you a new dress once we finish this stupid mission.”

Before you could respond, Geralt shoved himself into you, causing you to gasp. Usually, he gave you enough time to adjust to his size, but he seemed as though this time was less for pleasure and more as though he had something to prove.

His thrusts were immediately rough. You couldn’t help but cry out in pleasure as his hips would meet yours, the loud sound of skin slapping against skin ringing out through the tent.

“That’s right,” he muttered into your ear as his lips attacked your neck. “Let that pretentious little prick know who you belong to.”

You cried out Geralt’s name as you felt yourself nearing your climax already. Your legs were shaking and your eyes were rolling back into your head as you felt yourself orgasm. Feeling your walls clench around him caused Geralt to moan as he buried his head in your shoulder.

His rough thrusts began to speed up, and that’s how you knew he was nearing his climax as well. Finally, his thrusts became sloppy and you felt his warm seed filling you. You both moaned together as Geralt rode out his orgasm. He slipped himself out of you and rolled next to you, wrapping his arms around you and holding you to him.

“You really did not like the way the king spoke to me, huh?” you teased.

Geralt made a face. “My lady. That little prick has some balls to say that shit in front of me. I wanted to slice his head clean off of his neck.”

“I have a feeling he very rarely hears the word no,” you noted. “You know I would never leave you, let alone for someone like him, right?”

Geralt’s hold on you tightened as he kissed your forehead. “I know you wouldn’t, but that doesn’t mean the way he spoke to you doesn’t make me angry.”

“I know,” you told him. “If it helps you feel better, just remember that we probably won’t have to deal with him for much longer once we find this monster.”

A smile spread across Geralt’s lips. “That really helps. I hope I’m the one to find his remains. It would bring me the most joy I’ve ever felt.”

You giggled and cuddled into Geralt’s side. Your body ached from the sex, but you weren’t exactly complaining. You listened to Geralt’s steady breathing as it lulled you to sleep.

[abluescarfonwaston]

The wolves all go out of there way to bring home a few books every winter. Just whatever they can find and fit in their bags. They won't ever be able to replace the library they lost during the sacking but the slowly growing collection does give then something else to do during the long winter nights.

It also becomes a bit of a competition- as it always does between them - to bring the best book, the book with the most interesting story of how they acquired it, and the most Valuable book (the definition of which changes every year).

Lambert makes it his goal every year to bring the most indecent romance novels he can. I'm talking novels labeled Erotic. I'm talking Porn with just enough plot to get published. Sometimes the others will try to one up him by bringing something even steamier. No one has ever beaten Lambert though.

Much to Vesemir horror the new library is a majority erotic novels (which they do try to hide from Ciri when she arrives).

One year Lambert brings home a story about a wandering knight and his faithful squire. He likes to read excepts to the wolves to get back at them for insulting his cooking, ripping the fancy blanket he won last year, beating him at qwent. Any opportunity really.

And the first few chapters are them going to brothels and wooing ladies. the standard stuff.

But then. Then they start sharing beds and brothels and the other partners just. fall away and they're Only with each other.

Lambert LOVES reading this to Geralt especially cause it can Actually make Geralt blush and run from the room. He's NEVER managed that with Geralt. Fuck YEAH.

And Geralts Dying. Because he recognized the prose during the First Chapter. and the pen name the writer used.

Dandelion.

Jaskier had written a gay romance novel about the two of them. Chocked full of the squires effusive praise for the ‘knight’.

And then one day Lambert stops reading it. Seems even shorter than normal with everyone.

"Lambert you wanna stop being a prick and read your dumb gay romance novel to us? Promise to only throw food at you this time." Eskel said.

"No. that was a shitty Fucking book and I hate it."

"Oh did the gays die again? Lambert you know they won't get published if they have a happy ending. Just rip the last pages out like always."

"No! The knight went and rode off into he Fucking sunset with that damn princess! Left the squire behind without a Fucking word!!!! I hate that Fucking knight and wanna rip his Fucking dick off!"

"Oh. Huh. Well they didn't die for once. happy ending."

"It's not a happy ending Eskel how -

"The knight and the princess were Fated to be together Lambert! all the foreshadowing was there!"

"The princess treated him like a moron! The squire Actually knew him and cared about him!"

"The squire caused him nothing but problems Lambert! Of Course he went with the princess who loved him and could give him the peaceful life he craved! Not every damn bi man has to end up with the guy Lambert!"

Eskel and Lambert continued their Screaming match. Vesemir appear to be regretting his every life decision. Ciri popped in the earplugs and continued reading her book. Geralt stared into his ale, frozen.

"What happens to the squire Lambert?" Geralt asked his drink quietly.

"THATS THE WORST PART. HE SMILES AND SENDS THEM OFF. LIKE HE ALWAYS KNEW IT WOULD HAPPEN AND WAS HAPPY FOR THEM. AND YOU CAN JUST TELL HOW HEARTBROKEN THE MOTHERFUCKER IS AND WERE SUPPOSED TO BE HAPPY WITH THAT."

"This is why we told you not to bring gay novels Lambert. You always get upset with how they end."

"It's not Fucking fair."

Geralt’s chair screeches against the stone as he stands up - an oddity since they all Hate that noise and actively avoid making it.

"Where are you going?" Eskel questioned as he stroad to the door.

"I need to talk to Jaskier."   

"And how do you intend to do that? Gonna ride down the mountain in a Fucking blizzard Geralt?"

"I." The door slammed closed behind him.

"Should." Ciri started. "One of us check on him?"

"No." They all said in unison.

(They did all at some point check on him)

Ciri was first. with a timid and then assertive knock on his door before she entered. Crawling into his arms and burrowing into his chest.

"We can go find him as soon as the snow melts. Okay?"

"I don't think he'd be very excited to see me." He mourned tucking her closer and burying his nose in her hair.

"It's Jaskier." She said simply about a man she only knew from their stories. "He's always excited to see you."

"You going to Brood all winter or do you actually want to figure out how to apologize wolf?" Eskel asked dragging him to the courtyard for a spar.

"There's nothing I can do. He'll never forgive me."

"Oh like he'd Never forgive you for the Djinn? Or for ripping his favorite doublet? Or telling him his singing sucked?" Eskel landed a hard jab. "And what happened every one of those times he'd Never forgive you?"

"That's different." He said returning the blow.

"Uh huh. Guess we'd better make sure you've got a damn good apology ready then?" Eskel smiled easily like he knew the punchline to a very funny joke. "Tell me what happened."

So he did.

Vesemir eased into the spring water across from him with a groan. He wondered how long he had before Vesemir started making fun of how long he spent in the bath again. Longer than if it was Eskel or Lambert at least.

They sat there and a question curdled in his belly until it forced its way out.

"How are we supposed to not get attached?"

"I think we're well past that point lad."

"But How? I can't. All these years and I still can't." He buried his head in his hands so he couldn't see how he'd failed Vesemir yet again.

"If I knew I'd tell you Geralt." Vesemir said, exhausted.

He glanced up and was Viscerally reminded how much Vesemir had lost over the long centuries of his life.

How he'd seen the school founded and fall. How he'd known every child who'd walked these halls and died in them.

How he knew exactly how many had died in the raid.

He remembered how Vesemir had fallen to pieces when the last Witcher he'd ever teach, Leo, had died.

And he remembered how Vesemir put himself back together for them.

"I can't. I can't Vesemir." If Ciri or Eksel or Lambert or Vesemir or Jaskier died. "I'm not as strong as you. I Can't."

"You will. You are." Vesemir squeezed his shoulder as he stood. "Make it worth the loss Geralt."

He sunk into the hot water and wondered how it could be.

He was half asleep when the door Slammed open and only had half a second before Lambert was cannon-balling into his chest.

"FIXED IT!"

He breathed through the pain. "Fix my ribs ass."

"You're fine whiny old man." Lambert shoved a book under his nose. the scent of barely dried ink filling his nostrils. "Read it!"

"Just tell me what happened. I'm not reading your handwriting in the dark." He said shoving it back.

"It's better than yours!" It wasn't. "The knight gets his head out of his ass and tells the squire he loves him and they go on countless more adventures." he puffed up proudly.

"And the princess? what happens to her?"

Lambert scowled at him. "Who gives a fuck about the princess?"

‘I do.’ He thought. "The knight does." He said.

"Ugh. uh. she meets another princess and they go ride off into there own sunset. okay? Happy you ungrateful prick?"

He smiled in a way that made Lambert gag. "I think that's a much better ending Lambert."

"Of course it is!" He preened from atop Geralt. Toes digging into his abdomen painfully.

"Now get out of my room or I'll throw you into the snow bank Lambert."

Lambert tried to call him on the threat so he made to make good on it. Lambert dashed from the room with a crass gesture.

That did sound like a better ending. He gripped his medallion and hoped that in the spring they'd get that ending.

An ending that lead into a very very happy beginning of something new.

[mrpenguinpants-alter-ego]

Kaeya: Comfort HCs

Hi, new side blog until tumblr get’s fixed. Yes I know this is a double re-post but I don’t think this one made it into tags. Hopefully and I pray with all my heart, this works. Please see my pinned post for further details 

WOW IF THE TIMING OF THIS ASK ISN’T SPOT ON BECAUSE GOD DO I NEED COMFORT. Childe won’t come home and I’ve never been this hollow before ;-; I suck at writing Kaeya but Cryo boy please.

I try to keep these gender-neutral and only use “you” as the “pronoun” but if I happen to slip up, please let me know 💕

Kaeya: Comfort HCs

The Ludi Harpastum was a festival that Mondstadt celebrated every year. A full 15 days of games for children to enjoy with carnivals of songs and other excitements. Restaurants would display their finest dishes while taverns, like the Dawn Winery and The Cat’s Tail, would roll out plenty of cider and wine for the adults. Bards from all over Teyvat would come to sing their wonderful poems, indulge in liveliness that was Mondstadt during these 15 days. So why did you seem so down lately? It was a question the Calvary Captain pondered as he saw you shuffle away from the festivities.

Were you overworked perhaps? Jean had been running around trying to prepare for the festival but even she had a smile on, excited for the Ludi Harpastum and what was to come. Though, in your defense, Jean was just that kind of person. He had noticed that you looked more and more out of it as the days passed. As if you were going through the motions from trying to appease the children to helping out wherever you could. He quickly racked his brain for any signs that something was wrong leading up to the festival, but he couldn’t recall anything specific. He sent a small mental apology to Jean and the other knights but his attention was on something more important now.

At first, he’ll take his approach discretely. If it’s just nerves from getting the festival sorted out then it’s not something he needs to sit you down and talk you through. That might just add more to your stress if you knew how worried he got. He’ll slip a couple check ins with you to see how you’re faring outside of the public eye, or making sure that your work load is manageable, anything to maybe ease whatever it was that was getting you down. If it is just nerves he’ll gently but jokingly let you know that if you have any troubles you can always come to him. If you remark that everything that you needed to do for the festival was already taken care of he’ll laugh it off. Jean sure is working hard huh?

If it really does seem that you’re slipping apart and leaving you to your own devices is not helping you, his worry for you overtakes his professional role of boundaries and he’ll confront you. Not as the Calvary Captain making sure the festival goes smoothly but as Kaeya whose is concerned for your safety and health. If you don’t want to get into specific’s that’s all right with him, just so long as you aren’t alone with your thoughts. He’ll initiate by gently lacing your fingers together and but then it’s up to you on how you want things to go.

During the day, the Captain side of him will appear laid back and fondly tease you. Anything to see you smile or even lightly embarrass you. But at night when it’s just the two of you together, you’ll both settle into the quiet atmosphere but he’ll hold you just a little tighter. Spend just a second longer in your embrace. All silent cues that you mean a lot to him.

If Jean or Amber asks where he’s been lately he’ll gladly tell a bald-faced lie. Making remarks that a couple of pyro slimes seemed to get into the wine barrels and made it their home. Amber is suspicious of him but he’s the Calvary Captain so she’ll let it go but she’s watching him. Jean is concerned but he’ll wave it off and give a small nod towards your form in the distance. She immediately understands and if you or him need anything to let her know. Really, Jean works way too hard.

He won’t pry, everyone has their own secrets and issues, plus on the very slim chance you find out he was digging into your business, you might never trust him again. You never bothered him with his origins or his methods so it’s only fair he does the same to you. While he likes tricking and putting other’s in danger to justify the means, you’re someone important to him. He’ll only do something like that if it’s to ensure your safety or you’re pushed to the breaking limit. You might hate him for looking through your privacy but at the end of the day, if it makes you happier he’ll do it.

He’ll leave little signs that he’s concerned for you and that he’s here if you need him. If you’ve been sleeping more often, be it from overwork or sadness, you’ll wake up with a white fur cloak wrapped around you. He’ll make up some joke that a cat snagged it off him, and it just happened to climb in through your window, snuggled up to you, and than ran away without the cloak. That’s just how funny nature works. Cats sure are tricky things huh?

If you’re reaching break point he will corner you and ask what’s wrong. You might brush him off or get mad at him in the morning but Kaeya believes that the end justifies the means. He knows that somethings you just want to deal with alone, his entire backstory and family issues are like that, but it pains him deep inside to see you so upset. He doesn’t want to feel that same helplessness again, especially to someone he cares deeply about, so he’ll do anything in his power to ease your heart.

While he prefers to do things independently if it’s something he can’t help with, he’ll take Jean up on her offer. Just to check up on you and see if her calming presence is enough to make you feel calm just for a moment. When he does see you slowly start to get better it makes him happy. He might get a bit more affectionate but really he’s just relieved that you’re alright now.

[saiki-in-jsl]

[heads in hands]

Kubokai Cinderella AU very possible.

[hands in heads]

Saiki as fairy god father.

[holds back tears]

I’m gonna talk about this right now. Ready? Go.

Cinderella Kubokai AU

Look, everyone, when I said Cinderella Kubokai AU, I think your automatic thinking would be; “Oh! Kaidou Shun would be Cinderella right?”

Wrong. In fact, we’re going to toss the idea of Cinderella out the window right now but keep the foundations of it: Local villager marries royalty with the help of magic.

Presenting: Prince Kaidou Shun.

Prince Kaidou has problem interacting with girls, he thinks they’re cute and all, he thinks they’re flattering, but whenever he encounters one all he can think is; “Just like my sister!”

Like seriously, even when the woman is nothing like his sister, he’d still think that. It’s like his automatic assumption when he doesn’t feel romantic feelings towards them.

Anyway his strict but concerned mother decides, “Yeah, Plan D, let’s hold a Royal ball.” You wouldn’t want to know what the previous plans were (nothing harmful, just embarrassing).

Now here’s the twist; Saiki Kusuo, the fairy god father, isn’t actually with Kuboyasu. In fact, there is no evil family members involved (if you don’t count the fact that, yes, Kuboyasu comes from a line of bandits).

Saiki Kusuo actually lives in the castle with Kaidou because his older brother is the royal advisor, Kaidou’s personal tutor, and the occasional inventor.

Instead of hair clips, Kusuo wears special earrings that keep his powers in check. Most of his abilities are still identical to his psychic abilities, but they are labeled as magic.

He, along with Nendou Riki (a knight that came from a family of knights), act as Kaidou’s friends but also bodyguards.

Anyway, Kaidou’s distressed because he doesn’t exactly want to have a ball. Sure, he likes them generally, he gets to wear nice clothes, dance, act all princely (that part isn’t much fun, but ehh) but this ball is different.

Kusuo doesn’t care for things like these, but he does grow sympathetic after two hours of Kaidou complaining, so he forms a plan;

During the ball, Kusuo would sneak Kaidou out the castle and pretend to be the prince. Since Kusuo’s skilled at turning down women, he thinks it’ll be an easy (though annoying) night for him.

Kaidou agrees, but the problem is; even though Kusuo is able to replicate Kaidou’s identity, his earrings would still remain. They’re specially made for him, so it practically works as a collar on a dog.

They manage to solve that problem by making a pair of earrings that sorta looks like Kusuo’s, if not a little weirder in color and shape, and Kaidou will wear it throughout the day on the night of the ball. Like that, his family would easily be fooled.

Ball arrives and the plan goes accordingly (when asked, Kaidou says he liked Kusuo’s earrings so much that he got a pair to match), so Kusuo sneaks Kaidou out the castle.

“I’ll have outside help look after you, so don’t worry. Unless your life is in immediate danger, they won’t appear so you can relax.” Kusuo has already morphed himself to appear like Kaidou and the boy thinks that it’s insanely creepy.

Here the story splits into 2; Kusuo’s adventure and Kaidou’s adventure. I’ll talk about Kaidou’s then Kusuo’s in a different post (maybe).

Kaidou enjoys a nightly walk in the village in his almost too big hooded coat, taking in the homely scenery. Everything feels...softer, their wooden walls seem much more welcoming than the stoned ones in the castle.

Of course, the number one rule in the village is to not go out at night for too long, because you never know when-

“Hey,” Kuboyasu, the bandit, has made an entrance! What will he do? A. Fall in love. B. Fall in love. C. Fall in love. D. Attempt to rob Kaidou.

You guessed it! D.

“Give me everything you have, including those earrings.” Kuboyasu says, and it’s a bit too dark to make out the face he’s making, but Kaidou thinks the darkness literally enhances the threatening look. Though, the man doesn’t even have a weapon.

Unless he’s going to rip Kaidou apart with his bare hands.

Then Kaidou starts bawling, but not the loud screaming kind, it was the soft sniffling one. The kind that basically meant; “Why me?”

Kuboyasu does a double take because he doesn’t know what to do when his victim starts sniffling soft sobs. He was never taught what to do.

“Oh- Uh- Okay. Sorry. Don’t...cry...” Kuboyasu may be a thief, but he ain’t an asshole. He awkwardly pats Kaidou on the shoulder. “I was just joking! It’s not safe to be out in the dark like this so I was just trying to...” He feels bad.

Okay, new plan, he thinks, I’ll just take the pretty boy with me, let him stay in my home then take his things and take off.

Because actually, Kuboyasu doesn’t exactly live in this village. Him and his gang are littered around, staying in places, because they heard about the ball and thought they could raid a few carriages when they arrive. Some of them did manage to achieve their goal and were about to stay a bit longer just to relax before heading off again.

“I thought jokes were supposed to be funny,” Kaidou frowned, already calming down, and wow does this boy have a tongue. Kuboyasu’s only a little bit less guilty now.

“Do you want to stay at my place till the sun comes up? It’s the least I could do to apologize.”

Kaidou thinks about it. Wow! Sleeping in a commoner’s home! Exciting!

He agrees.

Now guess what happens.

Kuboyasu: A. Falls in love. B. Falls in love. C. Falls in love. D. Steals Kaidou’s things and take off.

You guessed it! It’s A, B, C!

Kuboyasu has never met a guy so...cute? Light? Kaidou was like a flower, dancing in the wind.

From the way his eyes lit up to see a regular looking home to the way he oo’ed and ah’ed and everything Kuboyasu stole had.

It was endearing.

So endearing, Kuboyasu couldn’t help but let Kaidou be for the rest of the night.

Anyway, Kuboyasu isn’t exactly stupid, but he thought he might’ve picked up a sort of...forest spirit?

It wasn’t common knowledge that magic existed, but Kuboyasu has been to places, seen many things, so he thinks Kaidou could be a deity. Kaidou even looks like one. Blue hair, pale skin, red eyes.

It doesn’t register that Kaidou was a prince, because somehow that seemed more unlikely. Somehow.

Maybe he’s a little stupid.

Kuboyasu asks Kaidou if he really is a spirit and Kaidou’s like, “Yeah, yeah, duh!”

So Kuboyasu thinks he’s blessed and decides he’ll stay in the village to just...take care of Kaidou because he thinks that’s his responsibility now.

And remember Kusuo saying he had helpers to keep Kaidou safe? Well said helpers only reinforced the idea that Kaidou could be a spirit because for every trouble he gets into, he somehow always gets out of it by “himself”.

Also, if you’re wondering why Kaidou couldn’t go home yet, I’ll answer that in Kusuo’s side of the story. (I’ll also wrap up the story then, maybe.)

Which I’ll do, later, after I sleep. G’night.

(Basically the whole idea is that; Kuboyasu is trying to be a better person so Kaidou will bless him more, while Kaidou takes advantage of this misunderstanding to learn about the outside world first hand. Slowburn. Maybe.)

[forzalando]

Lessons | George Weasley | Pt. 2

Pairing: George Weasley x F!Reader AU: Royalty!AU Word Count: 3.2k (approximately, OOPS) Warnings: mentions of sibling d*ath, a very rude knight grabbing the reader, mentions of bruising on reader, reader sl*pping aforementioned knight, aggressive language and behavior

A/N: hello friends! here is part 2 to this George Royalty!AU! I actually quite like this two-parter. the easy banter between George and the Reader is adorable, if I do say so myself! I hope you all enjoy :) thank you for your continued support and love!

Summary: After the tragic loss of his twin brother, George Weasley finds himself using his talents to secure a job as the new Potions Master and Healer for the Royal Family. Unbeknownst to you, he takes a particular liking to you knowing that you have more in common than you realize. When a chance encounter results in the promise of more time together, both George and Y/N deal with intense nerves and several revelations. 

here is part one in case you missed it! 

***

“Luna, I think I might be sick,” you groaned, reaching for your stomach full of fluttery nonsense.

You heard her lilting giggle from across your bedroom as she pressed the wrinkles from your dress. Amidst the commotion of the morning, you took a moment to silently hope that George liked the color purple.

“You’re not sick, Y/N, you’re nervous. If you don’t calm yourself down I don’t think you’ll be able to walk to his workshop!”

“Nervous? This can’t be nerves, I’ve been nervous loads of times and it’s never been like this.”

“Well, when’s the last time you were nervous to spend time with a boy? Or a man?”

“I…never? I don’t think I’ve ever been nervous because of someone.”

Luna smiled cheekily as she handed you your dress, a look you knew far too well.

“Not even Professor Lupin?” She asked while laughing at the stunned look on your face.

“Oh god, Luna, I thought we would never mention that again. He was my tutor, it was a schoolgirl crush, end of story.”

“Alright, alright, no more mentioning Professor Lupin!”

She helped you slip on your dress and stood back while you admired yourself in your mirror. Something was missing, and Luna knew exactly what it was as she handed you the dainty, single pearl necklace your brother Aiden had gifted you for your most recent birthday.

“There. Now you look perfect. Plus, that beautiful necklace will have Mr. Weasley’s eyes wandering to your decolletage every time you lean forward.”

“LUNA!” you scolded, though you couldn’t help the laugh that escaped with your shout.

A moment passed before you turned around and grasped Luna’s hand in your own. She could sense that your demeanor had shifted a bit, and a serious tone replaced the previous lighthearted one in your room.

“Luna, how…how did you feel when you first met Neville? Did you feel like this? Am I being crazy?”

“Oh, I don’t think you’re being crazy at all. It wasn’t an instant connection, if that’s what you mean, but the moment I realized what we had was special, I felt that I might take flight with the way my stomach and heart fluttered at the sight of him.”

You noticed her hand leave your grasp to trace the wedding ring on her left hand; she and Neville had been married last spring and although you had been to many royal weddings, theirs outshone them all.

“Neville knows George quite well, you know. He sees him all the time while working in the garden, says he’s one of the nicest people he’s ever met. Quite funny, too.”

Smiling fondly, you turned back to your mirror and smoothed your dress one last time.

“I’d better be going,” you said softly, the beat of your heart growing faster every second.

“I’ll be right here when you get back, waiting for you to tell me everything,” Luna said smiling. She pushed you softly towards your chamber door and with a newfound determination, you walked briskly towards the East Wing, careful to keep an eye out for anymore trip wire.

You had almost reached your destination when you felt someone grasp your arm from behind.

“Excuse me – ” you began to say, but you were cut off when the stranger turned you around.

“Sir Cormac, I hope you have a very good reason for putting your hands on me.”

His grip tightened as he pulled you further into the corridor, grumbling under his breath about something you couldn’t make out.

“Sir Cormac,” you shouted. “I’ll ask you again what you think you’re doing putting your hands on me.”

“I know it’s you leaving that wire around for me to trip on. I saw you laughing yesterday and I see the way you look at me with disgust and disdain. I deserve to be treated with respect for serving your family as diligently as I do.”

You shoved his hand off of you and promptly smacked him across his cheek.

“How dare you speak to me that way? I’m not the one making a fool out of you, but I wish that I were. You are vile, and I would rather face Lord Riddle’s army on my own than rely on you for whatever protection you may think you provide me and my family. I suggest you walk away and resign from your position, because you won’t like the outcome if I tell my Father what transpired here today.”

“Why you little – ” he started to say as he lunged forward, but a shout from down the hall interrupted him.

“Sir Cormac! I believe it would be in your best interest to step away from the Princess, immediately.”

You smiled as you recognized the voice and then internally scolded yourself. You were never one to want or need a savior, but the sound of George Weasley coming to your aid didn’t seem quite so bad at all.

“This is none of your business, Weasley,” Cormac sneered as he kept his gaze on you.

“I do believe it is, Sir. The bruise forming on the Princess’s arm is my concern as a Healer, and seeing as there’s no one else around, I’m quite certain it’s from you.”

George stepped forward when Cormac made no indication of leaving, but you put a hand on his chest to hold him back.

“I’ve got it George, but thank you.”

You turned your attention back to Cormac, bile rising in your throat just having to look at his face.

“I won’t repeat myself, Sir Cormac, and due to your hesitation, my offer has changed. Mr. Weasley will be escorting me to my Father’s chambers and he can decide your punishment.”

George moved closer to you and told himself it was for your protection, but the nagging voice in the back of his head told him otherwise.

You gently took his arm and began walking briskly away from Sir Cormac, satisfied with the final look you caught of the red handprint on his cheek.

“Are you alright?” George asked softly. “I didn’t mean to offend you by trying to help, I just know how he can be and I – ”

“Please don’t apologize, I’m…I’m quite glad you came to my rescue, Mr. Weasley.”

“Have you forgotten my name already, Your Highness?”

You shuddered at the formality and George burst into laughter, the sound of which made the fluttering from this morning come back tenfold.

“My apologies, George,” you emphasized.

Soon, you reached your Father’s study and relayed your encounter with whom, he thought to be, one of his most trusted knights. You excused yourself quite quickly after your Father thanked George for “coming to your rescue”, as he so aptly put it, and you would have to have been blind to miss the wink your Father gave you at the sight of George following you like you were the Sun and he was a mere satellite.

“I guess I’ll have to find a new target,” George mused as the two of you walked down the corridor together.

You stopped abruptly, causing George to crash into you roughly, but he had no time to react before you screeched.

“It’s been YOU? You’re the infamous castle prankster? All this time I’ve been trying to figure it out and I had absolutely no idea.”

“Well, you didn’t really know I existed until yesterday, did you?” He teased.

Although his tone was lighthearted, you couldn’t help but look down in embarrassment. You were ashamed that you hadn’t tried harder to meet him before your chance encounter, if not to thank him for helping your Mother but to comfort someone who you knew was still facing the same sorrows as you. It was the thought of confronting that grief that selfishly held you back, but that excuse didn’t make it any less difficult to deal with.

“Hey, Y/N, I was only joking. We wouldn’t have met any other way, our paths hadn’t ever intertwined.”

“I know you’re right but I should have made more of an effort. I wanted to, after I heard about your brother, because I thought maybe you might want someone to talk to who can relate, but I wasn’t ready to talk about Clara.”

George stayed silent, sensing you had more to say after your pause. You fiddled nervously with your necklace, wondering if Luna had magic powers as you watched him struggle miserably to avert his gaze from your chest.

“Actually,” you began thoughtfully, “yesterday was the first time I’ve spoken about her since she passed. Of course, people ask how I’m doing or my Mother, Father, or siblings will reminisce, but I never…I never bring her up on my own.”

“That’s how it was at first for me. My family is very close, and I know they all loved Fred just as much as me, but it was different. I lost my twin, my best friend, my other half, and when they started healing and moving on, I stayed stagnant. It took me so much longer than my siblings and my parents, but once you take that first step it gets easier.”

You smiled and reached for George’s hand, praying that your palms weren’t as sweaty as you thought they might be.

“George and Fred…a nice ring to it, I think. I’m sure you got up to all kinds of mischief together.”

“Oh, no one ever called us George and Fred. It was always Fred and George,” he said with a chuckle.

“Well, I may be biased, but I think it sounds better my way.”

Feeling bold, you winked at him before slightly tugging his hand toward his workshop, eager to start your lessons and spend the day locked away with just George.

If you had turned around only slightly, you would have seen George’s cheeks flushed as red as his hair and a dopey smile on his handsome face.

The door to George’s workshop swung upon with ease, and you gazed with wonder upon the many cauldrons, ingredients, and tools laid out on the nearest table.

“Welcome to Potions 101,” George bellowed comically. “Today, we’ll be making a remedy for nausea to start out simple. I brewed my own batch earlier this morning, and everything you need to make yours, including instructions, is right here on this table. When you have finished, we’ll compare yours to mine.”

“So I just…get started?” You questioned.

“Exactly. My Mum always told me that the best way to learn is get thrown right into it. I’ll be sitting right here if you have any questions, but I’m not going to assist you in anyway unless absolutely necessary.”

You furrowed your brows as George sat down in an armchair across the room. While you weren’t sure exactly how he was going to teach you, you definitely weren’t expecting him to sit in silence while you stumbled your way through his chicken scratch directions.

After thirty minutes of no noise except for the roaring fire underneath your cauldron, you huffed and hoped it sounded as annoyed as you felt.

“Is there something bothering you, Y/N?” George smirked.

“Well, yes. How come you aren’t speaking to me?”

“I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to. You’re here to learn and conversation is distracting.”

“I thought we could, I don’t know, get to know each other. I mean, if I have to brew remedies for stomach problems in silence every day I might lose my mind and it’ll be entirely your fault.”

You heard George chuckling and looked up to find him looking at you, eyes alight with a playful glint.

“Ms. Y/L/N, did you have an ulterior motive when you asked me to teach you? Did you maybe just…want to spend time with me?”

“That is very bold of you to assume, George,” you stammered, accidentally dropping far more peppermint than needed into your bubbling cauldron.

George remained silent, the teasing look still on his face as you scrambled to save your mixture. Since it was impossible to separate liquids, you angrily sat down and blew a stray hair out of your eye with an aggravated sigh.

Now that your face was covered by the cauldron, you felt more inclined to answer George’s question.

“What if I did have an ulterior motive? Would that…would that change what’s happening here? Are you the Potions Master teaching an eager student? Or…or is this something else?”

You heard no response except for approaching footsteps. George stopped in front of you, taking your hand and pulling you from your seated position.

“I have a confession to make,” he said quietly. “I know we officially met yesterday, but I’ve known who you are for quite a while now. Not just in the “you’re the Princess of the Kingdom I live in” way but, I’ve been…watching you I guess I could say.”

You raised an eyebrow, eager to hear how he would explain that away.

“Not creepily watching you, no, not at all, I just…I saw you one day in the gardens. I knew who you were but I wasn’t sure if I could approach you, you’re the Princess, and then I saw you talking to Neville. You were so kind and treated him like a friend, like an equal. When you left I asked him about you and he told me how you and your family weren’t like other Royals. He told me about your sister and how he was so sad that he hadn’t seen you genuinely smile since she passed and I felt, I felt connected to you.”

He paused and tentatively reached for your face with his other hand. You gladly accepted and placed your own on top of his, relishing in the way his calloused fingers delicately traced your cheek.

“Before Fred died, our business was…unconventional, I guess you could say. We sold gag gifts, joke items, pranking seminars, anything to do with causing mischief, in the surrounding villages. It was wonderful and we got to do something we loved and were passionate about, together, but when he died that passion died with me. Until I came here, and I saw the way your eyes lit up when one of your little brothers chased the other with a spider or jumped out from behind a pillar to scare one of the castle staff. You didn’t smile, but I saw the twinkle in your eyes and it made me want to explore that part of myself again, if only to make you laugh.”

“George,” you whispered, “I don’t…I don’t know what to say.”

“I know, I know, it’s creepy. I’m creepy. I shouldn’t have said anything – “

“George!” You cried, interrupting him. “I think you’re incredibly sweet.”

“You…you do?”

“You spent your free time setting up things in the castle to make me laugh for the most selfless reason I can think of, why would I not think you’re sweet?”

“I thought you would think I was absolutely mad but, I just wanted to do whatever I could because I could see and relate to how you were feeling. It wasn’t entirely selfless, I admit, it helped me too.”

“Well, I’m glad that it did. You could have talked to me, you know. I don’t bite and I would hope that you realized my parents don’t believe in castle hierarchy.”

“I realized it straight away but…you made me nervous. Every time I thought I had the courage to say something I felt as if I’d throw up everywhere. Honestly, some of the times you knocked on my workshop door I was in here, I just didn’t know how to talk to you.”

You burst out laughing at his admission, trying to picture George Weasley hiding behind his bookshelves of potions or in a broom cupboard because he was too nervous to speak to you.

“That’s how I felt this morning,” you said quietly. “I woke up and thought I must be sick, but Luna informed me it was just nerves.”

“You were nervous? Over me?”

“Well, you are quite handsome. And maybe I was worried I wouldn’t be any good at making nausea remedies which, as it turns out, I’m not.”

“Eh, you just need a bit of practice. I say you come here every day, twice a day until you can make every potion, draught, remedy, herbal supplement, and tonic in existence.”

You tilted your head back to laugh, and when you looked back up at George you became irritatingly aware of how close your faces were.

“I think there’s something else I’d like to practice…” you whispered as you leaned in.

Your lips brushed his, softly, delicately, like butterfly wings, just long enough that if anyone had looked away, they would have missed it.

You backed off slowly, worried that you had misread this entire situation, but the instant you leaned away George grabbed your face with his hands and kissed you with such fervor you stumbled backward. Your hands snaked around his neck to hold yourself steady and his nose bumped yours clumsily as you navigated the unfamiliarity of one another.

He tasted of peppermint and tea, like the flames of a fire that currently roared to life in your stomach and your chest. He was soft and rough, warm and inviting, and your senses could only know George. George. George. His name, a mantra in your mind as your fingers tangled in his messy hair and he let out a breathy moan.

“George,” you whispered against his lips, breathing deeply to ease the burning ache in your lungs.

He opened his eyes slowly, pupils blown and searching for your own. You must have looked a sight, and the thought of anyone walking in to your current predicament caused laughter to erupt from you.

“What’s so funny, love?” He asked with a small smile.

“I was just thinking about what might happen if someone walked in at this very moment.”

George ran quickly to the door and locked it while you stood laughing at his distress. A look of annoyance was clear on his face as he staggered back to you, confirming that your kiss had affected him just as much as it had affected you.

“Oh come on, George, it’s not like you’d be banished from the Kingdom. You’d just have to explain to my parents why you were snogging my face off without asking their permission to court me first.”

Now that you said it aloud, you could understand his fear.

“Well,” he breathed out as he slid an arm around your waist, “now that I’m certain there can be no interruptions, what do you say we get back to practicing?”

“You’re absolutely right, George,” you said cheekily as you turned away from him. “I do believe I have a nausea remedy to restart.”

“Aye, that you do.”

***

taglist: @thoseofgreatambition @theboywhocriedlupin @theseuscmander @fortisfiliae @carolinesbookworld @starssayhello @finnofamerica @swellwriting @themarauderstheoutsidersandpeggy @marauderskeeper @wildfire-whizbangs @woakiees @claclary @love-peachh also tagging some mutuals who maybe might want to read! if you do not, PLEASE let me know and I apologize profusely!: @ickle-ronniekins @hollands-weasley @weasleytwinswheezes @theweasleysredhair @sleep-i-ness @barnesjamcs

[procrastinatorimagines]

Family

Fandom: Chicago PD / One Chicago

Character/s: Antonio Dawson x Reader

Warning/s: kidnapping

Word Count: 4,407

Request:  Hi there, can I get an Antonio Dawson x reader, please? Along the lines of Antonio and reader work together and started dating a while after his divorce and his kids love you (more than their own mum who has been mistreating them esp. since she started dating some guy). Laura's bf is in some shady stuff and Diego gets kidnapped (or hurt) and when they find him, he screams for him mummy and daddy and Laura moves forward but he pushes past her and runs for reader & Antonio. TQ x

Note: this got away from me a little but I never liked Laura, not after the way she treated Sylvie, and I just really miss Antonio, so here you go!

“You can’t move it like that,” Diego told you, watching as you picked up your knight tentatively, glancing up at him before you played each move to see his reaction, usually he just laughed. 

“Can’t I?” You replied, looking back at the board and the piece in your hand, hovering over the square you thought you could put it on. No matter how many times you played against Diego, you never even got close to winning.

“No, you definitely can’t,” he informed you with a smile, shifting in his seat so that he could lean over the chess board and take a better look at what you were doing.

“Huh,” you clicked your tongue, thinking, “well, what if I do this?” You moved your piece back to where it had been, moving it one space to the side and two up. He nodded and you grinned triumphantly, a look which only lasted a few seconds.

“I mean you can, but then I can do this,” he took your piece with ease and added it to his growing pile as you glanced back at the measly two pawns you’d managed to take from him, or, more accurately, that he had sacrificed. “See?” He made a show of it when he plucked the piece from the board and you heard Eva laughing behind you.

“Funny homework?” You asked, looking back to where she sat at the dining table, chewing her pen with books spread around her. 

“Oh yeah, it’s my homework that I’m laughing at,” she joked, earning a small cushion tossed in her general direction. “Hey!” She yelled as it hit her shoulder, throwing it straight back as she laughed, “I’m just saying, how many games has it been now? I’d say quit while you’re ahead, but maybe you should quit before you’re too far behind?” 

“Y/N’s already too far behind,” Diego added and you look between the two of them with fake shock and hurt.

“Antonio!” You called, putting on a whiny voice as you leaned back to look through the kitchen door at your boyfriend who was facing away from you tooking dinner, “Antonio your kids are bullying me!”

“Constructive critism!” Diego yelled back as his dad headed into the main room, wooden spoon in hand as he pointed it at the both of them. 

“Hey, hey, hey,” he started and Diego and Eva tried to suppress their smiles, but instead of even pretending to come to your defense he said, “does she deserve it?” You blinked at him as the siblings burst out laughing and Antonio winked at you.

“Traitor,” you gasped, but soon all of you were laughing as Antonio told you dinner was about to be ready. You and Diego paused your game and you helped the kids set the table. 

You and Antonio had been dating since soon after his divorce, but it had been a while before he introduced you properly to his children. Technically, you’d already met both of them, having been brought into Intelligence around the same time as Adam. After you’d started seeing each other you’d kept it on the down-low, and you’d never dreamed of pushing Antonio about it, he was going through a messy divorce and he had to put his kids first. 

It was a rocky start, but when Antonio had found out that Laura had not only already introduced her new boyfriend to Eva and Diego, but had left them with him on multiple occasions, he didn’t see the point in keeping your relationship a secret anymore. 

They’d warmed up to you pretty quickly, even if Laura never had, and setting the table with them now, as you did whenever you came over for dinner with them, you fell in sync like it’d always been that way. Previously, you’d have left after dinner, but you’d started spending the night with the kids around more and more, often going so far as to spend the weekend with them. 

The kids were happy about, much to yours and Antonio’s delight, especially when you’d started making pancakes for them Saturday mornings, it’d become tradition. When Diego had first mentioned it to Laura, however, it hadn’t gone down well. Apparently, she didn’t like a woman she barely knew watching her kids, and she definitely didn’t like Antonio pointing out that her boyfriend, Todd, had been doing the same thing, and at least he’d introduced you to her first. 

It had put a bit of a strain on your relationship for a while, you remembered as Antonio brought out dinner, but sat here now, you couldn’t have been more glad that you’d both decided to stick it out. 

“It looks amazing,” you told him as he took his seat, the smell of rice and chicken in the air as you all filled up your plates. 

“Yeah, thanks dad,” both children chorused their thanks as they tucked in, Diego bulldozing food into his mouth like he hadn’t eaten all day. Eva rolled her eyes at her younger brother, but you just smiled, appreciating the normalcy of a family dinner like this, with the man you loved. You weren’t their mother, you knew that, but these kinds of nights made you realise just how much you loved them.

“Oh dad after this-” Diego started through a mouth full of food, stopping and swallowing it with a pointed look from Antonio, “sorry, but after this you should watch me finish beating Y/N at chess yet again.” 

Antonio chuckled and you shook your head. “I’d love to, but don’t you have homework to finish first?” Diego shook his head, mouth full of food again.

“Finished it,” he said at last, Antonio glancing at you quickly to check if he was telling the truth, you gave him a slight nod. “Yeah we had less today because it’s the science fair on Monday,” he explained and Antonio did his best to hide the look on his face that showed he’d forgotten.

“Right of course, that came by quickly,” he said, “what time was that again?” Chances were, he’d be stuck on at work. You knew how much Antonio loved his job, but it was things like this that made him miss the steady hours of the State’s Attourney’s office. 

“It’s okay, I know you have to work, mom and Todd said they could make it,” Diego tried to reassure him but you could tell he was disappointed. 

“I’ll try,” Antonio promised anyway, most likely remembering the parent teacher night that Laura had brought Todd to without telling him, causing several of the teachers to think he was, in fact, Diego’s actual dad. 

“Are you going to come Y/N?” Diego turned to you hopefully, “if you can, of course.” God you could never say no to that face, not that you’d want to right now, it warmed your heart that Diego was including you in this, that he actually wanted you there.

“I’ll try my best, wouldn’t want to miss it,” you replied, patting his shoulder as he smiled at you. Eva looked at you with a look of appreciation; no matter what she said, she was protective of her brother, and she’d been at the age where she actually knew what was going on throughout the divorce. 

It had taken her much longer to warm up to you than her younger brother, mostly because of how attached to you he’d seemed to get, and she’d always worried you’d leave and hurt him, and her dad. 

You finished the rest of dinner with relatively unimportant chatter, Eva explained her homework for the night and you offered to help her with it while Antonio asked for Diego’s help tidying up after dinner. You weren’t spending the entire weekend with them, you had to be back at your apartment for some maintenance work on Sunday, but you promised you’d still be making pancakes for them in the morning. Even though Eva protested that she was getting too grown up for funny shaped pancakes, that turned around very quickly when Antonio suggested she not eat them then.

The rest of the night went by happily, Diego beat you at chess, obviously, and by the time you’d helped Eva with her homework the kids had gone up to their respective rooms. 

“I’m glad he wants you there,” Antonio said, unprompted as you snuggled up to him on the sofa to watch some mindless television before bed. You moved your head so that your chin was resting on his shoulder as you looked up at his face. He smiled as he looked back at you.

“Yeah?” You were too, but your mind had kept wandering to the fact that Laura was going to be there, obviously, she was his mother afterall, but you knew she wasn’t going to be happy to see you. It was Diego’s night, and you didn’t want to do anything to ruin it.

“Of course,” he replied, kissing you sweetly, “you’re family now if you hadn’t realised.” The way he was looking at you made you melt, so full of love as he put his arm around you, drawing you closer. 

“I love you,” you told him, the only response you thought worthy of his statement.

“I love you too,” he kissed you on the head as you snuggled back into his side, how had you gotten so lucky?

-

Monday came by quickly, and mercifully you and Antonio had managed to head out early, having done all you could do on the case you were working until the morning. You were still going to be late to the fair, but Laura and Todd would already be there, and you knew Diego wouldn’t be disappointed, he’d just be glad you’d both managed to show. 

While you knew you’d have to deal with Laura tonight, you hadn’t expected her to be waiting in the parking lot, practically marching over to the car before Antonio had even finished putting it into park. She made it to you just as you were climbing out the car, sharing a look of confusion with one another. 

“Where is he?” She demanded, no greeting or politeness as she looked in the car and then back at Antonio.

“Who?” Antonio asked, just as confused as you were.

“What do you mean who? Diego, your son,” Laura snapped, clearly exasperated, concern covering her face. 

“He’s supposed to be inside,” you told her, earning a deadly glare as she focused her attention back on Antonio, clearly not wanting you to have any input in this. 

“Well he isn’t,” she replied. What did she mean? You were both late, and he had volunteered to set up before the parents arrived so he never should have even left the school.

“Okay, Laura, you need to take a breath and explain what the hell is going on,” Antonio said, his calm starting to slip, “why would we know where Diego is? We came straight from the district and as far as we knew, Diego was supposed to be inside.”

Laura swallowed hard, concern turning to fear, but she didn’t reply. You headed around to the other side of the car. “Laura,” you said with force, putting a hand on her shoulder to try and snap her out of it, “from the beginning.”

Antonio ran his hands through his hair, taking a deep breath as Laura explained what she knew. “I got here a little late, about five minutes, but when I got in his stall hadn’t been set up, I asked the teachers and they told me that his dad had picked him up straight after school and he hadn’t come back.”

“What? Laura I swear that wasn’t me, I’ve been at the district all day,” Antonio swore, looking back to the entrance of the school. You reached into the inside coat pocket of your jacket for your badge, having a dreadful feeling you were going to need it before too long. 

“Then who took him?!” Laura practically yelled, earning looks from the other parents as they headed in to the fair. “Not again...” she mumbled as Antonio checked his phone for any missed calls, you and Laura doing the same before you headed inside.

Laura pointed you both in the direction of the teacher she had spoken with. “Mr Wright,” Antonio got his attention, pulling out his badge when he tried to tell him that he was busy talking to other parents at the minute. 

“Is everything okay?” The man asked, excusing himself from the conversation. He was a bit of a younger teacher, you remembered Diego telling you that it was his first year, the old physics teacher retiring before Summer.

“Antonio Dawson,” he introduced himself quickly, “I’m looking for my son,” he told him, Wright looking to you before his eyes went to Laura, apparently clocking something as he looked back at Antonio.

“Your son?” He questioned and Antonio nodded. “No, no, Diego?” 

“Yes, Diego, Diego Dawson,” Antonio said impatiently and the teacher, at least, looked equal parts confused and guilty. 

“But his father picked him up,” Mr Wright tried, “I mean- he said he was his father.”

“And you took his word for it?” Laura demanded and Mr Wright looked to her puzzled.

“Well, yes, I mean I’d seen him with Diego before, and you Ms. Dawson, he came to the parents evening just last month, I had no reason to...” he trailed off, clearly apologetic as Antonio practically whirled on Laura.

“Todd?” You had to put your hand on his arm, reminding him that you were in a very public place and you were already drawing attention to yourselves. 

“Why would he?-” She wondered, “that doesn’t make any sense, Todd wouldn’t do something like that.”

“Isn’t he supposed to be here tonight?” You realised, cutting in to what was clearly about to turn into a heated argument, Antonio already getting angry, and rightfully so, at the whole situation.

“Yeah, he said something came up so he couldn’t make it,” Laura said finally, “but he wouldn’t do anything to Diego,” you knew she was saying that more to herself than anyone else as you let Mr. Wright get back to the fair. 

“’Something’? What is ‘something’ Laura?” Antonio demanded, getting his phone out to try and call Diego, but it told him that the line was disconnected. 

“I don’t- I don’t know, he didn’t say!” She fumbled, trying to call Todd too.

Both their phones had been disconnected.

“This can’t have been him, whatever this is,” she tried to reason but neither you or Antonio looked a little convinced.

“Then how do you explain all of this?” He snapped back, barging past her towards the entrace, you hot on his heels as you dialed the only number that could help you now, Hank Voight’s. 

Laura followed quickly, still trying to wrap her head around the whole situation as Antonio made her get into the back of the car. Laura tried Eva, but she didn’t pick up, so you decided to head back to the house, where she was supposed to be studying. 

“Hey Serg, yeah we have a situation,” you filled him in on what had just happened as Antonio peeled out of the car park, barely acknowledging Laura as he drove, anger and worry making him grip the steering wheel until his knuckles went white. 

Voight said he’d call the rest of the team as you put it on speaker, and you’d all meet at Antonio’s ASAP, this had become top priority now.

Kim and Adam had arrived first, Eva had been plugged into her laptop and missed the call, but she was okay. Antonio breathed a sigh of relief as he ran up the steps to meet his daughter at the door. The tears she had clearly tried to clear from her face told you she’d been at least partially filled in as the rest of Intelligence arrived. 

“Everyone, gather around,” Voight called everyone into the living room as you took Antonio’s hand, giving it a squeeze for support as Voight continued, “Diego Dawson is our priority right now, we need to find him, so far all we know is Todd Richards, Laura’s boyfriend, was seen taking him out of school at around 4 claiming to be his father, so, where would he take Diego?”

“Wait, Todd did this?” Eva interrupted, listening from the other room as she walking.

“We think so,” Antonio told her honestly, “but we’re going to find him sweetie,” Laura went to comfort her daughter but Eva pulled back, barely even looking at her as she leans into Antonio. Laura turns to where they are stood, clearly hurt but not entirely surprised, still looking guilt about the fact that her boyfriend was most likely responsible.

Antonio hugged his daughter as you filled the rest of the unit in about what you knew about Todd, which wasn’t much honestly. “Okay, well what does Todd do for a living? Who are his friends?” Jay asked, mostly looking to Antonio and Laura.

“Er, construction, he runs a construction company, his friends are mostly his workers,” Laura informed you all.

“He working on anything at the moment?” Kev asked and Laura shrugged a little.

“Sort of,” she replied vaguely.

“What does that mean?” Antonio asked, sending a reluctant Eva out the room with a uniform while you all worked.

“He had a project in the works, but something was up with it, I think an investor pulled out, that might have been where he was supposed to be today,” Laura explained the best she could.

“So he didn’t have enough money? Or any?” You guessed as a map was passed to the unit so Laura could point out the spot.

“They were going under,” she admitted, pulling at a thread of her shirt subconsciously. If they were going under... they’d need money.

“Random?” Hailey guessed, saying what you were all thinking.

“But why? Why take my son?” Laura sounded so lost, but you knew why, and it had nothing to do with her. No doubt she’d told Todd all about her divorce, Antonio, the unit, he must have seen an opportunity to make real cash, but it was hardly very premeditated.

“Look, this was all quick, and so far seems pretty unplanned to me, so he won’t be at some unknown location, he’ll do somewhere familiar, somewhere he feels safe,” you voiced your theory as you stared at the map.

“If construction was halted he’s probably holed up there, it’s his home ground, he’ll be comfortable there and his crew are probably in on it too,” Vanessa continued as Laura sobbed. 

Antonio was trying to hold it together Diego, and Eva, but you could tell this who situation was getting to be too much, Diego being snatched by Pulpo was bad enough, but by someone who was supposed to be trustworthy? You didn’t know what he would do to Todd when you found him, so you were going to make sure you were by his side, just in case.

“Well, whatever he was thinking it wasn’t smart, he hasn’t called to make demands yet and he had to know that cops look out for their own, taking a detective’s son is a deadly game,” Voight said.

“He’s desperate,” Antonio added, “might even be hesitating now he’s actually past the point of no return, wondering what’s going to happen to him if he makes that call.” Nothing good, that much you knew.

“So we head to the site, stake it out, if he’s there, we move in carefully, grab Diego, he’s not going to want to hurt him, he’s his only security in this situation,” Voight decided and Laura pointed with a shaky finger to the spot on the map where the construction site was. 

Hailey got a quick call from the district, confirming that both Todd and Diego’s phones had last pinged within a mile or so of that location, it had to be where they were. 

Laura tried to apologise as you all suited up to leave but Antonio didn’t want to hear it right now, they could talk about Todd when their son was safe. You’d been pretty new to the unit when Diego had been taken by Pulpo, but you remembered the grief Laura had given him about it around the divorce, knew how Antonio had blamed himself. Diego had to be okay, you thought, strapping on your vest and double checking your gun, he had to be.

-

You didn’t say much to Antonio during the drive, but you kept your hand in his all the way, reminding him that you were there with him no matter what. Laura and Eva had insisted on coming, so they’d been positioned with some uniforms outside the perimeter what was now being set up.

“Ready?” Voight asked, more to Antonio and even you than anyone else. You were trying to be as there for Antonio as you could be, and that meant staying calm and steady, but damn it if you weren’t scared for Diego, you loved that kid, you loved the family you were making with them, and you were terrified that something might go wrong. 

“Le’ts get my son back,” Antonio addressed the unit, you were more than ready to risk their lives for one of their own, as were you, as you double checked your weapon yet again.

Before long you were moving stealthily into positions along the site, keeping your eyes out for movement, careful not to attract attention to yourselves. You ad Antonio stopped by a window, carefully looking in to assess the situation, signaling to the others when you spotted movement inside. Heat sensors put about 5 men in this building, the offices for the site it seemed, and one of the figures was definitely smaller than the others, Diego.

Hank positioned himself with you and Antonio by the main door, Diego looked to be in the back, but the order was still as few bullets as possible. Hailey and Jay had taken the back entrace and the others were ready to get anyone who managed to get away, but the look on Antonio’s face told you that that wouldn’t be a problem.

Voight signaled a three second countdown on his fingers as you gripped your gun tighter, your heart thumping in your ears as you tried to steady your breathing. Nothing could go wrong. 

Antonio was more than happy to kick the door in when Voight got down to zero, “hit it,” he told the others over comms, and you were in. They’d got speedy approval from a judge before the op, but extenuating circumstances would have to be a good enough explanation as the door came off the hinges in splinters. Either the door wasn’t very strong, Antonio was very angry, or a little of both. 

Needless to say, the men, who had clearly not thought this all the way through, were startled by your sudden entrace, most dropping any weapons they had pretty quickly when they saw your guns and badges. They tried to run, but quickly saw this wasn’t a fight they were going to win.

Todd tried to keep his gun up the longest, and honestly you thought that Antonio was hoping he’d do as much. Antonio disarmed the panicking man with ease, knocking him onto the ground and jamming his gun in his face. 

“You thought you could take my kid!” He yelled, practically spitting on the man in anger. You took a step forward to stop him but Voight grabbed your arm lightly, stopping you. But you the second hit into his face with the back of Antonio’s gun, you were shoving past Voight and grabbing your boyfriend. 

When Antonio tried to resist you said into his ear: “Diego’s here, he’s all that matters, don’t let him see you like this,” you pulled his gun from his hand carefully and he let you, standing up as Jay and Hailey cuffed Todd and the others. 

You and Antonio ran to the back room as Voight was signalling an all clear. Pulling open the door you saw Diego sat on the floor, hands, feet and mouth covered in ducktape. Carefully, Antonio freed his son, who immediately rushed into his arms, shaking as his tears wet his father’s shoulder. 

“Oh my boy, oh I got you, I’m so sorry, you’re okay,” Antonio soothed as you breathed a sigh of relief, not realising how tense you yourself had been at the situation.

“We got him,” you said into your comms, not being able to take your eyes off father and son being reunited. You headed back to drag out the perps as Antonio lifted Diego still in his arms, and carried him outside. 

“Diego!” Eva and Laura were already running to him, Laura not even acknowledging Todd as she ran to her son. Antonio puts Diego down so he can see his family as you hauled the last of the kidnappers into squad cars. 

Just as you shut the door you felt something slam into your back, nearly toppling over as you turned to see Diego wrapping his arms around you. You bent down so that you were at his level, glancing back to see a shocked looking Laura, arms still out slightly to catch him as he’d run past her to you.

Pulling Diego into a hug he let out a sob, Antonio and Eva heading over to where you both were. “You’re okay, I got you,” you whispered to him, trying not to look at Laura as you did. You felt a little guilty, sure, but he’d come to you, and you weren’t about to send him away, not when you loved him this much.

“Hey,” Antonio ruffled Diego’s hair as you stood up, wiping his tears with your thumb. 

The four of you together, after the day you’d just had, made you start to well up a little as you blinked away tears, glad everyone was back together. 

“Can we go home?” Diego asked and Antonio agreed, “you’re coming too right?” 

“Always,” you told him, putting your arm around Eva as you took Antonio’s hand. Antonio put his hand on Diego’s shoulder, keeping him close as he led you all back to the car.

“Let’s go home,” Antonio agreed and despite all the time you’d spend at that house, for the first time, it really was your home, your family.