#Marvel th oys

[simeonscott]

"I am the Emissary of Hell, Supaidaman!"

[wlntrsldler]

song challenge with Jamie tartt ! The just friends one please ☺️❤️

just friends | jamie tartt

based on just friends by virginia to vegas

description: you meet jamie tartt at a gala and he can't help but fall for you.

warnings: language-- it's ted lasso, what did you expect? angst! miscommunication! drinking! making out!

length: 4K words

ted lasso requests are open | main masterlist

When your uncle Trent invited you to a "work party," you expected maybe a private room in a restaurant in Tooting, or at most, a cocktail hour on a boat with snooty, businessmen. You did not expect a full-on red carpet gala with paparazzi, and famous footballers, and well, you got the snooty businessmen part right at least.

You knew your uncle had worked with AFC Richmond in the past. You weren't completely out of the loop. You read the book he wrote-- which was marvelous-- and watched a few of the games last season, but you didn't think he stayed in touch with the Richmond crew. Especially not to the point where he's still invited to their annual charity gala with a plus one.

Because of your lack of preparation, you felt severely underprepared for the event. You stood beside the open bar while your uncle walked around and mingled. You made the excuse that you needed some liquid courage to loosen up before you started chatting with folks who could buy half of England if they wanted to.

"Y/N?" You turned around to find a woman dressed in a gorgeous, sparkly dress, smiling at you. She outstretched her hand, which you gladly accepted. "I'm Keeley. Trent has told me so much about you."

"Keeley Jones!" You exclaimed, a smile overtaking your features. "So nice to meet you."

"Likewise," she beamed, "What ya doin' all the way over here? Come on, have you met the boys yet?"

You didn't have a chance to say no before she was pulling you towards a crowd of men dressed to the nines. You saw your uncle talking to one of them and he shot you a comforting smile as you approached.

"Lads, this is Y/N! Trent's niece."

"Nice to meet you, Y/N!" The boy beside your uncle called out, raising his beer bottle in a hello, "Name's Colin."

Then, the one next to you turned his body to introduce himself, "Hello, my name is Sam. It's a pleasure to meet you."

This caused a domino effect where all the men began introducing themselves to you. It was overwhelming, in a good way, but you knew that you would not be able to remember all of their names.

Finally, there were two boys left to introduce themselves. One had a glass of champagne in his hand, grinning brightly as he waited for his turn to speak. The other was wearing sunglasses indoors--prick-- and looked like he would rather be anywhere else but here.

"Hello, Y/N. My name is Jan Maas." The happier of the two grinned at you. "Trent did not tell us you were this pretty."

"Oi, bruv," Isaac, who you learned was the captain of the team, smacked Jan Maas on his arm, "You don't have to say everything that pops into your head all the time."

You blushed, laughing at the two men bickering. "No worries, I appreciate the compliment, Jan Maas."

The circle was hushed as they waited for the last man to speak up. When it became evident that he was not gonna say anything-- again, prick-- Roy spoke up. "And that's Jamie."

Ah. It made sense now. Jamie Tartt. You heard a lot about him from your uncle and from the sports blogs you read last season when you were trying to get caught up on all things AFC Richmond. You knew Jamie Tartt was the real deal. It suddenly wasn't so surprising that he felt like he was too good to engage in conversation with you.

But you would be a liar if you said that you didn't find him attractive. If he put in the effort to be decent, then you'd definitely be crushing on him already. He looked good. His jacket was discarded somewhere. He had the sleeves of his dress shirt rolled up to his elbows with a gold chain peeking out from under the collar. You had to give credit where credit is due.

You awkwardly moved on from the situation and mingled with the boys. You met Rebecca, Coach Beard, and Nate later in the night. As the gala progressed, your ability to function properly in society deteriorated with every free drink from the open bar. Before you knew it, Keeley was hanging off your arm, giggling over a stupid joke that Richard made.

Wiping your tears of laughter from your eyes, you untangled yourself from Keeley, "Okay, I'm gonna go get us some water."

You walked to the bar area, careful not to trip over your own feet. You sighed a breath of relief when you made it to the counter in one piece, "Two waters, please."

You looked to your left and couldn't help but scoff when you saw Jamie beside you. You rolled your eyes, "Prick."

He furrowed his eyebrows, "Are you talking to me?"

It was definitely the alcohol talking. And boy, was it running its mouth. "Yeah, you're bein' a prick."

"I haven't done anythin' to ya," he complained, taking a sip of his water. "What are you callin' me a prick for?"

"Where do I start?" He motioned for you to continue so you did. "First of all, who the hell wears sunnies indoors? There isn't sun in here! And it's nighttime, you don't even need it outside! Oh! And we're in bloody England, when do we ever get sunlight? Sunnies are useless."

He opened his mouth to respond, but you beat him to it, "Second, you didn't have the courtesy to introduce yourself to me. Made Roy do it. Like I get it, you're Mr. Jamie Fucking Tartt. Star Player of AFC Richmond and Golden Boy of the Champions League and gorgeous with amazing hair and I'm just Trent's niece. But would it hurt ya to say hello?"

"Sorry," he mumbled, taken aback by your bluntness. Drunk you could give Jan Maas a run for his money. He couldn't focus on anything else besides the fact that you called him gorgeous.

"'m not done," you continued, taking a deep breath. Ranting about Jamie made you lose your breath, "Lastly, you've been avoiding your teammates, your friends! I literally saw Dani frown! I didn't even think that was possible. You should be ashamed of yourself."

Jamie was stuck staring at you. He hoped you were too drunk to notice the blush on his cheeks. You were wrong about one thing, the sunnies were useful. If he didn't have them on, he was sure you'd notice the way his eyes have been heart-shaped since you first introduced yourself to the group.

He wasn't sure when he stopped being able to talk to pretty girls, but when he saw you approach with Keeley, his knees buckled and suddenly he forgot his own name. He didn't mean to be rude earlier. He wanted to introduce himself but he physically couldn't. By the time he remembered who he was, it was too awkward.

He's spent the rest of the night anxiously replaying the interaction in his head. If he had a sip of liquor, he would, no doubt, yak all over the dance floor so he stayed on the outskirts of the party, dead sober.

Before he could properly apologize for the terrible first impression, you'd already retrieved the two glasses of water from the bartender and began walking toward Keeley.

The day after, Jamie texted Keeley for your number. At first, he tried to play it off as just wanting to apologize to you for being rude the night before, but Keeley could read him like the back of her hand.

She smirked and sent your number over to Jamie.

That's how you found yourself nursing a hangover, cursing whoever texted your phone because it dinged so loud that your headache increased tenfold. When you checked your phone and saw an unknown number, you didn't think much of it at first. You knew you exchanged numbers with a few people last night so it wasn't out of the ordinary to get random texts. But when you saw the follow-up texts, you quickly sobered up.

From: Unknown

"Hi, Y/N. Got your number from Keeley."

From: Unknown

"Just wanted to say sorry for bein a prick yesterday. Promise, I'm not like that."

From: Unknown

"This is Jamie, btw."

From: Unknown

"Jamie Tartt"

From: Unknown

"From Richmond"

You laughed at his texts. Did he seriously think you wouldn't be able to deduce that it was him? You didn't know many Jamies. In fact, he's the only Jamie you knew. Plus, the prick thing gave it away.

To: Jamie Tartt From Richmond

"Figured it was you, Jamie. But thanks for the clarification. - Y/N Y/L/N, Trent Crimm's niece."

That was the start of your friendship with Jamie.

--

"Jamie fucking Tartt!" Your voice boomed throughout the locker room, easily drowning out the hum of conversations that the boys were having. "You're dead!"

A chorus of "oooohs" rang across the room with all the boys patiently waiting to see what Jamie did this time. You and Jamie have been engaged in a month-long prank war. How Jamie managed to be a professional footballer (who is leading the team in goals and plays a large part in the team's 5 game-winning streak) and still have time to meticulously plan pranks was beyond your understanding.

Jamie was halfway done with getting dressed when you walked in. His shirt was still folded neatly in his cubby when he turned around to greet you with a smirk, "Hey, love. Are you wrapped up?"

You couldn't help but let your eyes roam down his chest and his torso. On your scan back up, your eyes stopped at his arms. God, his arms. For the most part, you were able to control your attraction for Jamie, but sometimes, the universe tested you. This was one of those moments.

Jamie bit his lip when he realized you were checking him out. He cleared his throat, breaking you from your trance, "So, you wrapped up and ready to go?"

You remembered why you were pissed at him. "You wrapped my entire car in plastic wrap! How the hell am I going to get home?"

At your explanation, the team chuckled at Jamie's latest prank. You turned around to shoot daggers at all of them. The laughter stopped.

"Someone wrapped your car in plastic wrap?" He faked a shocked face, "That's horrible."

Two can play that game.

"Is that why you invited me to watch training today?" You gasped, acting like your feelings were hurt. You pretended to cry, sniffling as you lowered your head, "Thought you wanted to see me. Whole time you just wanted to prank me."

Jamie's eyes widened. He wrapped his arms around you, pulling you towards his chest as he began to mumble a million apologies, "No, no, Y/N. I did want to see you, promise! I just thought that it would also be fun to pull a prank, but you know I wanted to see you. Always want to see you, love. Please don't cry."

For a while, you forgot you were playing a bit. All you could focus on was that your head was laying on Jamie Tartt's bare chest while his arms were wrapped around you. He was kissing the top of your head and apologizing to you for a stupid prank.

You'd been in these situations before. After a few months of being friends with Jamie, you found that he was extremely touchy and clingy, which you did not expect from him. When he'd come over to hang out and watch movies, he'd end up with his head on your lap while you played with his hair. After games where Richmond won, you'd meet him in the car park when everyone's gone home where he'd run to you, hug you, then spin you around while you giggled and told him to put you down.

But this time was different. You were in front of people who were staring at you. Their hushed whispers, traces of smiles in their voice, brought you back to reality. You pulled away from him, red-cheeked, and stuttering. You saw Bumbercatch from the corner of your eye, sending you a wink.

"Jam," you said, "I'm just kidding. I'm not really upset."

"Oi," he frowned, finally putting a shirt on. "That's not nice. I thought I actually made you upset."

"Well, I am upset because you wrapped my car in plastic wrap." You reminded him. The room started to clear out, the boys bidding you a goodbye as they exited. You waited for Jamie to get his things together before walking out with him. "Can we call it a truce on the pranking?"

"You givin' up?" he raised his eyebrows, "Didn't peg you as a quitter."

"Not giving up," you shoved him lightly, "Just don't want to hurt your feelings again. Seriously, Jamie, you nearly cried and got on your knees when you thought I was upset! Embarrassing for you."

He was about to argue when he saw your teasing smile. He shook his head, blushing. It was embarrassing, really. It was so embarrassing how he was so gone for you. The idea of making you feel bad, even on accident, killed Jamie. He never wants you to be upset.

There was something magnetic about you. No matter how hard he tried-- and he did try-- to stay away from you, or at the very least ignore his romantic feelings towards you, the stronger your pull was. Jamie can't remember the last time he woke up without thinking of you or the last time he went to bed without the thought of you in his dreams.

Ever since the night of the gala, Jamie only fell harder for you. At first, it started out with just finding you attractive. Jan Maas was right, Trent did not mention just how beautiful you were. Even if Trent did try to explain it, Jamie didn't think the English language could do your beauty any justice. As he got to know you, your goofiness, kindness, and gigantic heart, he knew he was a goner.

With you, he could act like a stupid little kid. He can have fun with you, laugh at everything, and do nothing but sit on your couch eating junk food. But he can also be vulnerable with you. He hasn't mentioned all of his past to you, half afraid that you'd run away once you get a deeper look into who he is and what he's gone through, and half nervous that once he lets you in completely, he'll never recover if you ever break his heart.

He wasn't ready to lose you. Not yet. Not ever.

"Let me help you get your car untangled," he offered, opening the door to leave the facility. "Least I can do."

"How the hell did you do this while you were at training? I literally watched you the entire time and you were on the pitch."

"You were watching me?" he asked, looking at you with a glimmer in his eye.

You scrunched your nose, feeling caught. You had a joke ready as a response but it never made its way past your throat. You looked at him, a small smile on your face. You leaned over and placed a hand on his bicep, "Always am."

Jamie gulped, the feeling of your touch making his brain short-circuit. He felt his heart beating out of his chest. He really was pathetic. He backed away from your touch before he could do something he would later regret, "I paid Kenneth to do it while we were trainin'."

Your jaw hung low, a look of disbelief now on your face. Jamie, knowing you too well, sensed that you were about to tackle him and ran away from you. You chased him around the empty car park, with your plastic-wrapped car and his obnoxious sports car as the only inhabitants, while yelling, "I'm going to get you back so good!"

This, you thought, this is a life you could get used to.

--

You shouldn’t have gotten used to it. 

You didn’t know how things changed so quickly. One minute, you were leaning your drunk self on Jamie as you sang a horrible rendition of “When He Sees Me” from The Waitress, the next, he was ignoring your calls and avoiding every event where you’d be in attendance. 

It’s been a week since you last heard from Jamie and you were tired of it. You marched on the pitch, ignoring Roy’s complaints. The boys halted their movements, glancing at each other with worried looks, before staring directly at Jamie. 

“Stop being a fucking prick!” You exclaimed. He huffed, continuing to ignore you. He continued the drills he was doing before you showed up, though none of his teammates joined him. “Tartt!” 

He rolled his eyes, finally stopping to look at you, “What?” 

“Oi! Tartt, Y/L/N, can you settle your lover’s quarrel in the tunnel? We have trainin’!” Roy yelled. 

“Start walking, Tartt,” You weren’t going to let him off the hook that easily. You walked behind him as he made his way to the tunnel behind the coaches. You were really glad today was a closed practice. 

By the time you made it to the tunnel, your initial anger had subsided. You just felt bad. Why did he stop talking to you? Was it something you did? You knew that he was avoiding you given how he just reacted on the pitch. What you didn’t understand was why. 

“What do you want, Y/N?” There was venom in his tone. 

You blinked, not used to that tone from Jamie. “Why’re you bein’ such a prick all of a sudden? What have I done?” 

“Seriously?” he let out a humorless laugh. 

Now it was your turn, “What are you on about? You’re the one who’s been avoiding me and I don’t even know why!” 

“Don’t turn this on me.” He ran his fingers through his hair, messing it up just enough for a few loose stands to fall in front of his face. It took all the strength in the world not to reach over to fix it for him. “You’re the one being cruel and mean. That little prank you pulled.”

“Jamie, what prank?” you took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of your nose with your fingers, “I have no idea what happened! Please do enlighten me!”

“No, I’m not going to recount the most embarrassing moment of my life for your enjoyment.” 

“Enjoyment?!” You yelled, more confused than ever. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” 

“Right,” he shook his head, looking at you. Tears were pooling in his eyes. He bit his bottom lip before continuing, “You don’t remember being in the back seat of the Uber after karaoke where you were playing with my feelings.” 

“I don’t.” 

“Oh, come off it, Y/N,” he sighed. He shut his eyes, blinking away his tears. “You know how I feel about you. Everyone does at this point! Like, I’m so pathetic when it comes to ya. So when you look at me with that look in your eye like you might actually feel the same way as I do and tell me that you want to kiss me, just to remind me that we shouldn’t because we’re just friends, you’re just being plain cruel. It’s mean, Y/N.” 

You were speechless, which Jamie mistook as another rejection. He continued to ramble on. “I’ve been so in love with you since I met you. I’ve never met anyone like you, never felt this way with anyone. And I haven’t really been discreet about it, either. Even fucking Beard have said somethin’ about how I look at ya. The lads haven’t stopped teasin’ me about you since you showed up in my kit at our first home game.” 

“Jam,” you began, out of breath like the wind was just knocked right out of you. “I don’t remember this happening in the car.” 

Jamie finally looked at you, as if the mist of anger dissipated from his vision. He looked at you intently. Your bottom lip was quivering and your eyes were trying to desperately make sense of the situation. 

“Oh, fuck,” he gulped. He scratched the back of his neck with his left hand, rocking on the balls of his feet. “You really don’t remember, huh?” 

You shook your head, “No, I don’t. I blacked out after I sang that last song.” 

“Now, I feel awkward.” 

“Yeah, you should,” you chuckled. You walked closer to him, reaching out to fix his hair. You felt him stop breathing for a second. He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them back up to see you so close to him. So close. You cradled his face in the palm of your hand, letting your thumb run across his cheekbone. “You love me?” 

The tips of his ears turned pink, “Yeah, I do.” 

“Hmmm,” you hummed, inching closer to him. “For the record, I probably did want to kiss you then even though I can’t remember it now because I always want to kiss you.” 

“Oh?” 

“Yeah,” It was your turn to stop breathing. Jamie placed his hands on your waist, pulling you closer to him. “Also probably only said we shouldn’t because I was too scared to lose you, but I don’t want to be just your friend, Jam.” 

“Don’t wanna be just your friend either.” 

“Well, we should probabl-”

“For fuck’s sake,” The two of you jumped apart at Roy’s voice from the pitch. “Just fucking make out already!” 

You both looked at the pitch to see the entire team, coaches and Will included, staring at the both of you in anticipation. Jamie laced your fingers together and led you inside the facility, the sound of groans and boo’s from the team echoing through the tunnel. You laughed heartily at their reaction. As he was leading you to the boot room, Jamie looked over his shoulder and sent you a shy smile. 

He opened the door and turned the lights on with his free hand, never once letting go of yours. Before you could say a thing, Jamie pressed you up against the wall and kissed you like his life depended on it. You sighed into the kiss, tangling your fingers in his hair, and gave it a soft tug. He grunted in approval, slipping his tongue swiftly into your mouth. As things started to get heated, you felt him smile against your lips, causing you to pull back. 

After you’ve separated, he pressed a soft kiss on your lips, looking as content as ever. He gave you one last peck before giving some space between both of your bodies, “So does that mean that you fancy me too?” 

“Jamie, come on,” you pressed your head on his shoulder, unable to stop the blush from your cheeks from spreading, “You know I love you, too.” 

“Yeah, I kinda figured with how you kissed me.”

“Hey!” you protested, glaring at him playfully.

He laughed, tucking a piece of your hair behind your ear. His hands found your waist again. He was drawing shapes with his thumb on the small piece of exposed skin on your stomach. “I love you.” 

“So what does this make us?” 

“Well, you’re my girlfriend now.”

You pushed him away a bit, raising one eyebrow, “I don’t recall being asked to be your girlfriend.” 

“Fine,” he conceded, “I’ll ask, but it’s going to be so over the top and so ridiculous that you’ll regret that you had me ask.” 

You giggled, pulling him closer again, “Don’t think I’ll ever regret that, Jam.” 

He placed his lips on you again, slowly and passionately. When he pulled away, he had a serious look on his face. “You may not be my girlfriend yet, but I am 100% your boyfriend. I am taken. I’ve already been taken for a while, but it’s official now.” 

You grabbed his face in your hands, placing a kiss on his nose, “Of course, boyfriend.” 

[reddragdiva]

let stork strayan!!

talking to a Brazilian who hadn't heard the Australian accent a whole lot marvelling at Nina Oyama's name on Taskmaster Australia being pronounced "Noineroyamah". like, just shove an R that totally doesn't exist in there.

* Take the R off the end of words (fah, bah, cah)

* the "I" sound (as in "I") sounds more like "or" (without the R sound on the end, remember) or "oi" but as if there should be an R there

* if you have a word ending in a vowel and the next word starts with a vowel, you join them with an R sound

* so "Noineroyamah"

* you can drop the "th" sound from "the" if it follows a Z sound, or many other sounds (e.g. "it's innee oven")

* "root" means "fuck", so roads have rowts and networks have rowtahs

* the quick hack for the Australian accent starting from an English accent is talk out your nose and don't move your lips.

* fundamentally, don't work at all hard when talking. if you find yourself putting in effort, elide a few more consonants and add R's to taste

* if you do want to put in effort, you will probably end up sounding like you're putting on an English accent (still out yr nose of course)

* also we pronounce the "j" in "johanna" and most other names that are spelt with a j that everywhere else would be pronounced like a y

absolute shitshow of an accent, the second least euphonious accent in English (south african is still worse). even nuw zullund sounds better.

STOYVE: g'day, norce tits. wanna root? KORLIE: or do nah y' smooth talk'n bahst'd! (two minutes later) STOYVE: *urp* what torme'za footy on KORLIE: or love him or love him!

[kudosmyhero]

Marvel Team-Up #51: The Trial of the Wraith!

Read Date: February 26, 2023 Cover Date: November 1976 ● Writer: Bill Mantlo ● Penciler: Sal Buscema ● Inker: Mike Esposito ● Colorist: Janice Cohen ● Letterer: Irv Watanabe ● Editor: Archie Goodwin ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● toss Phillip in the slammer and throw away th key ● I suppose having Matt and/or Foggy in this trial might be one crossover too many? naaaah, bring it! where are my avocados? ● heheh, next best thing--J. Jonah Jameson ● oi, Peter, did you get special permission to allow cameras in the courtroom? ● squeeeee Matt is here after all! Via a 70s version of Zoom, anyway ● oo, Peter is mighty tired of JJJ:

● uh oh, while the helmet can block Phillip's alpha waves, it's less effective against delta waves ● Phillip takes over the mind of one of the guys controlling the alpha jammer and has him disconnect it ● That's Captain DeWolff, Dr. Strange ● Phillips starts a mindstrike on everyone in the courtroom, but then Brian steps on a live wire that sends a shock through him ● O_O that's mildly terrifying…

● looks like Phillip now has the power of Wraith as well and doesn't need to act via his catatonic son ● psst, Spidey, if you're trying to sneak up on someone, don't start yammering before you get to them. it worked this time, because comics, but seriously… silence is sometimes your friend ● oh, Hellcat became an Avenger? cool! I only know about her from the Jessica Jones Netflix show, so ● Nick Fury makes a cameo as well ● even though Phillip's body has been subdued, his mind now fully inhabits his son's body ● Floor Monster ● wherever Nick Fury is, via his monitor it looks like everyone is battling empty air ● snorts of all the stuff going on, JJJ is outraged that Spider-Man is in a court of law. Ah, Jonah, don't ever change. ● time for Dr. Strange to try to heal Brian… ● of course it works, and Brian wakes up ● they made Matt very blond in this panel… ● oo, Professor Xavier! ● yes, toss Phillip in jail, throw away the key ● I think this issue is the weakest of the four. They could have almost ended it at three issues. Not bad, just… didn't pack the same punch as the first few. ● 👏👏👏

Synopsis: Dr. Strange, Iron Man, and Jean DeWolff all take part in the trial of Phillip and Brian DeWolff for their vigilante justice as the Wraith. Originally arriving as Peter Parker on assignment, Peter -- disgusted by Jameson's trivializing the trial as a way to sell newspapers -- leaves Jameson to take pictures himself. Peter then changes into Spider-Man to attend the trial. The trial is interrupted when Phillip manages to use his powers to make Brian attack the court. However, with the aid of Spider-Man and Iron Man, Dr. Strange is able to subdue the Wraith and use his magical powers to mystically remove the bullet from Brian's brain, releasing him from Phillip's control. After key witnesses are brought in, the court deliberates and finds that Brian is innocent of the crimes, while Phillip is found guilty. Following the verdict, as Phillip is taken away, we find out that the jury is secretly telepaths themselves. Meanwhile, not far away, the Hulk bounding towards the city… (https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Marvel_Team-Up_Vol_1_51)

Fan Art: Jean DeWolff by rms19

Accompanying Podcast: ● Untold Talks of Spider-Man - episode 09

[m-jelly]

Hi!! So I was scrolling through Facebook and came across a pic of levi as a king! Idk if this has been requested but one of king levi and maid reader? Where he falls for her, but he’s also still his stoic stern self and she’s more on the shy nice side ? 🤧🥲

Ahhhh! <3 I love King Levi or royal Levi. I've written a royal Levi or in that nature a few times on Ao3 and I keep intending to write more like it! He's so spicy and hot as one <3 I'm happy to write so much more of him as a royal.

The King and his maid

Pairing: Levi x Reader

Genre and tags: King Levi, Maid reader, forbidden romance, falling in love, romance chasing, push and pull, Kings and Queens AU, happy ending.

Concept: King Levi notices a new maid in his palace, you. Levi gets you to work closer to him and slowly falls for you. As his feelings build, he acts in spontaneous ways around you that get your heart racing. The reader doesn't wasn't want to cross the line of master-servant, but with Levi's enticing words and romantic acts, he makes it hard for her to stick to her teachings and follow her heart.

Levi noticed you for the first time when he stormed down the hallway in his royal uniform, and the coat resting on his shoulders billowing behind him slightly. You had been busy arranging flowers in a vase in the hall. Levi never notice women before because he wasn't interested in dating and marriage, but he noticed you. The flowers you'd picked were white lilies, which his mother loved.

Levi had stopped in the hall and walked away from Erwin filling him in on a meeting. He felt this magnet drawing himself to you. You had a small slight smile that made you appear delicate and pretty like a snowdrop poking out of thick winter snow. He reached over and lightly touched some of your hair bonnet.

You jumped thinking that something was on your hair, then turned to face your King for the first time. You gasped, then bowed. "Your majesty!"

"Raise your head."

"Yes, your majesty." You lifted your head and looked Levi in the eye. You blushed slowly as you slowly took in Levi. You couldn't believe how handsome he was. His eyes were piercing and steel blue, but there was a slight softness to them. His jawline was strong and so kissable. You noticed a scar going over his right eye down to his lip, which meant his eye colour was a white blue. You thought he was beautiful, yet he was so stoic and regal.

As you were marvelling Levi, he was admiring you. You were so cute and yet you held this beauty too. You pulled off all concepts of beauty to him. All he could think about was teasing you badly just so he could see how you would react to him. Your bonnet and loose hair drew so much attention to your pretty face and eyes. Levi thought your eyes were so bright and wonderous.

Levi looked at the flowers and lightly touched them. "Who gave you permission to put these flowers here?"

You went white. "I umm." You fiddled with your apron as nerves seeped in. You'd heard nothing but warnings and bad things about Levi, so this was terrifying to you. "I didn't g-get permission. I noticed that the palace seemed a little umm."

Levi folded his arms. "A little what?"

You nibbled your lip. "It's nothing, your majesty. I shall take them away."

Levi slammed his hand against the wall by the flowers. He watched you jump and step back from him. "Tch, oi brat? I asked you a question and you'll answer it. Don't act like you can't shit. Answer."

You gulped hard as you feared punishment. You'd been beaten by past masters, so you assumed Levi would be worse. "I believed the palace seemed cold and empty, so I thought some flowers would add some life to the place." You bowed deeply to him. "Forgive me for acting on my own, your majesty. I will accept any punishment you see fit."

"I'm not going to punish you. I just wanted to know why the flowers." He lightly touched the flowers. "These were my mother's favourite when she was alive."

You stood up and smiled. "Really?"

He nodded and smiled a little as he thought of his mother. "This made my day." He looked to you. "Thank you."

You blushed hard making yourself look adorable to Levi. You bowed to him as you felt relief and overjoyed. "It's an honour, your majesty."

Levi hummed. "I have a meeting to go to. Once it's over, I would like you to bring me tea and something baked by you. You have an hour."

You nodded. "Yes, your majesty. I will get it for you."

Levi watched you hurry off down the hall, but you were so quiet in your movements. He hummed and smiled a little in amusement. He turned away, then walked over to Erwin. "How long has she been working here?"

Erwin let out a long sigh as he thought. "I believe she's been here for two months. We rescued her from her old master. The Lord who had her punished all his workers harshly. You'll see the back of her hands have scars."

Levi's eye twitched as he felt anger in him. He couldn't stand violence against staff. Soldiers and knights needed physical discipline, but not staff. He'd never whip the hands of his soldiers and knights either, so what happened to you was inhumane. He felt the need to protect you and keep you close, even though he didn't know you well. He believed those flowers were a sign from his mother.

Levi stopped in front of the doors to the meeting. "Move her to my close staff. I want her serving me."

Erwin made a note in his book. "I will move her to your personal staff."

"Also, increase the number of flowers in the palace." He looked down the hall at your flowers. "She was right, it adds warmth."

Levi went to his meeting with some stuck up and power-hungry men. He countered them all and gave them warnings. Levi was making big changes in the world and a lot of people didn't like it. Kuchel wasn't a royal, but Levi's father was. The King didn't marry, but he often went to see Kuchel and Kuchel alone for sex. The King got her pregnant, but he didn't get to see Levi to term because he died of his age and bad health. Erwin hunted Levi down and dragged him to the palace and made him King.

The kingdom had suffered over the years due to selfish rich people, but when Levi was crowned with Erwin, Mike and Hange around him he changed things. The poor were listened to and helped. He helped them so much, that crime was reduced and people didn't have to become sex workers. Sex workers disappeared, education was improved, living conditions were improved, the rich were taxed more and healthcare was free. The four of them were changing things for the better, but it also meant that a lot of rich people were angry at them.

Levi had pushed for equal rights for everyone. He even pushed for worker rights, so people like you wouldn't be beaten for just doing your job. It was a slow process, but he was determined. He wanted to make things better. He needed to stop more kids from living the life he had. He was desperate to change things. He didn't care that the more he did, the more he was seen as a stoic and stern King.

He sat in his large study and went over his papers. He looked up as you walked in with a tray in hand. He watched you with keen eyes as you approached his desk, then placed the tray on the side of his desk where he had nothing on it. He glanced at your hands and saw the scars Erwin had mentioned and felt his heart sting in his chest. He couldn't understand why anyone would hurt you, because you were pretty, graceful and great at your job.

He looked to the little tart on his plate. "You make this?"

You poured him a cup of tea. "Yes. You requested that I make you something."

He cut it with his fork, then took a bite. "This is excellent. You're talented, brat."

You blushed a little. "Brat?"

He looked up at you. "I don't mean anything bad by the term. Tch, sorry."

You smiled a little at him. "It's okay."

He took his tea. "Besides, I don't know your name, so I gave you a nickname."

You introduced yourself and bowed. "Pleasure to meet you, your majesty."

Levi sipped his tea and hummed in delight as the delicate flavours spread through his mouth. "This is a great cup of tea."

"I'm honoured you like it."

He looked up at you. "You'll be my personal maid from now on."

You blushed. "I'm sorry your majesty, but did you just say I'd be your personal maid?"

"Yes." He moved his papers. "Try not to be so terrified of me, got it?"

You hummed a laugh. "Yes, your majesty."

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

Levi had gotten you to warm up to him over the weeks together. He'd made sure that you were at his side, always. The only time you weren't together were going to the bathroom and going to bed. You waited on him hand and foot, but he didn't expect or demand much. You were more like a comfort blanket to him. You were providing him with company and he liked that company. The more you were around him, the more he couldn't see his life without you.

His mind shifted in thoughts about you when you had a day off. He'd forgotten he'd given you the day off, so he was wondering where you'd run off to. He stormed through his halls looking for you. Everyone who came across Levi, quickly ran away when they felt his frustration oozing off him.

He spotted you in a wonderful form fitting dress with your hair up nicely. He'd never seen you out of a maid outfit and your hair had always been covered up, so seeing you like this sparked something inside him. He ran ahead of your path and hid in the hall as you walked and talked with Jean.

Levi reached out and grabbed your upper arm, then yanked you into the hall and pinned you against the wall. He slammed his forearm against the wall by your head. He glared at Jean when Jean said your name. Levi stared him down. "Tch, keep moving."

Jean inhaled sharply, then bowed. "Y-yes your majesty."

Levi looked to you and saw your chest heaving in the tight dress and corset. He slowly dragged his eyes up your body to your cute blushing face. "Tch, mind explaining to me why my personal maid is not in uniform and walking around with another man?"

You gulped hard as you body shivered in delight. Levi's gaze might be harsh to some, but to you there was something darkly attractive about it. The heat and scent coming from this man was intoxicating. You wanted to nuzzle his neck and just inhale. You wanted to wrap your arms around this man and hold him tightly.

"Oi brat?" He watched you flinch a little, like he was breaking your thoughts. "I asked you a question."

You blushed a little. "Well, your majesty, I am a little confused. You see, I am very certain today was my day off. However, if it isn't, then I will change right away."

Levi stared at you for a while and slowly remembered him giving you the day off. His cheeks slowly became red hot from embarrassment. "Tch, damn it brat, you should have reminded me!"

You held back a laugh at how cute this strong scary man really was in private. "I did. I reminded you yesterday."

He shook his head. "That doesn't matter. What matters is you were with Jean."

"We were leaving the servant quarters at the same time."

Levi sighed as he felt a little stupid. He tapped his forhead against the wall next to your head. "Why did you have to a day off?"

You turned your head and looked at Levi's sad and troubled face. "Sorry?" He didn't reply, meaning he was just speaking his thoughts loudly.

Levi moved his other hand and placed it on the wall by your hip as his other arm remainded against the wall by your head. "What am I going to do without you?"

You smiled at him, then reached up and cupped the side of his face away from you. "Your majesty?" You ran your thumb over his cheek and felt him lean into your touch. "Levi."

Levi snapped out of his thoughts when he heard you say his name for the first time. He lifted his head and looked at you. "Sorry, I was lost in my own thoughts."

You hummed a laugh making his heart flutter. "Don't be sorry. There is nothing wrong with voicing your thoughts."

Levi eyed your cute face, then slammed his hands against the wall either side of your head. "The things you do to me."

You blushed. "I'm sorry? What do you mean?"

He stepped right up to you so his chest almost touched yours. He ran his hands down the wall and moved them with the curves of his body. His hands were close to touching you, but they never did touch you. He leaned close to your neck. His lips almost touched your skin. His hot breath made your hair stand on end. Your body cried in desperation for him to touch you. Levi was aching with need, but he didn't want to scare you off by touching you. His father was known for sleeping around, so he didn't want you to think he was using you. Levi wanted you, he wanted you for life and only you.

Levi sighed and moaned. "How I long to touch you and love you."

You shivered as pleasure ran through your body. "Your majesty."

"Say my name again, please."

You nibbled your lip. "I could get into trouble."

He pulled from your neck, then leaned close to you so your lips were close to touching. "No one is watching or listening. Please." He pulled back a little so the both of you could gaze at each other. He whispered your name. "Only when we're alone."

You gulped hard and felt your lips tingle. "Levi."

Levi smiled at you making your heart hammer in your chest at just how handsome he was. "Why does my name so sound good on your lips?"

You lowered your head as your status came to mind. "I'm just a maid."

"You're more than that to me."

You looked into Levi's eyes. "Don't say things that give me hope."

"What kind of man do you think I am?" He frowned a little. "Do you think I am a copy of my father?"

You gasped and panicked at Levi taking your words the wrong way. "No, no you are nothing like him. You are warm, wonderful, kind and sweet. You a good man." You reached up and lightly touched the scar on his cheek. "You're so handsome with kissable lips and a jawline desperate to be nibbled on." You pulled back and covered your mouth with both hands when you realised what you'd said. "I should not have said that. I'm just a maid and I spoke to the King in such a friendly manner."

Levi pulled your hands from your mouth and held them. "Kissable lips and a jawline desperate to be nibbled on. What if I want you to kiss me and nibble on my jawline?"

You blushed a little. "I would like to, but I'm just a maid."

"Forget out titles. Fuck our status." He sighed. "You might be sad you are a maid, but it's also shitty being a King. We're both judged for everything we do. I hate it. What if I want to grab my maid I've admired and had feelings for, for months and want to kiss her?"

"You've had feelings for me?"

He nodded. "For so long. You make me feel so at peace. You make me feel relaxed, safe and happy. Without you with me, I get so lonely and cold. You make me a better man and I so desperately want to make you happy."

You cupped the back of his neck and pulled him close. You pressed your lips against his and felt a fire burst within you. You pulled back and blushed. "Forgive me. I was just so compelled and moved by your words."

Levi pressed you against the wall with his body. He held your hip and cupped the side of your face. He angled his head and pressed his lips against yours. He lightly nipped your lip as if he was begging you to open your mouth. He smiled when you opened and sort out a deeper kiss. You both shyly moved your tongue together. You both felt the spark when it happened, meaning that you both had to continue. Levi led the kiss and dominated you as you shyly kissed him back. You clung to Levi's chest as you felt your body shaking in pleasure. The more Levi kissed you, the more he wanted you. However, he knew he needed to stop before he took it too far and chased you off.

Levi pulled back and panted. He eyed your red lips from him kissing you so roughly and passionately. "I will never use you. Never. I care for you. To me, you are not some maid. You are my sweet brat who makes me smile, laugh and feel normal. I hope that you feel somewhat the same about me. If you do, I want to chase what we have."

You tapped your forehead against his shoulder. "I desire you so much. It's not curiosity, or perverted. I desire you to be mine. I long to be with you. I hate my status and it makes me sad that I am seen as such a low citizen of society. I can't help who I fall for."

Levi cupped your face and lifted your head so you'd look at him. "I don't care what others say. I will protect you from everyone. If you say yes to being with me, then I will change things. I will remove you as a maid and make it clear to others that you are my lover, my partner and my equal."

You welled up a little at his touching words. "I'm yours, Levi."

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

Levi stood in the middle of a group of men at the ball as they talked to him about politics. Levi was bored out of his mind and wanted to so desperately have you back. You had excused yourself for a moment and as soon as you left Levi, he was surrounded by ass kissers. You were his rock through everything.

After he kissed you in the hall, he'd done exactly as promised. You had become his lover, your status was changed and your role was to help him. You ran the palace and became the head of all the staff. He was so proud of you and his staff. You had been worried you wouldn't be accepted, but because you were so friendly with the staff and they had all seen the tension growing between you and Levi, they seemed overjoyed when you announced your romantic status.

You had filled in the role of palace manager perfectly. You had turned the palace into a bright, beautiful and welcoming place. The staff were taken care of, loved and happy. The garden was in full bloom and the place felt warm. Laughter filled the halls and Levi's status of being this dark and cold King changed. People started to see him for the caring King he really was because of your efforts in the palace, and your social guidance with him.

Levi lit up when he saw you moving through the crowd in your wonderful and elegant. Most women had turned up in big puffy dresses, but you'd gone for a flowing dress that looking like fabric underwater. He could not stop staring at you as you moved closer to him.

People started to notice the King staring at someone. Everyone's eyes started scanning the room to see who had stolen the King's heart. Rumours were strong over this kingdom with what type of woman he was in love with, what type of woman he was openly in love with and acted a little like a teen in love in front of others.

You stopped in front of Levi and sighed. "Sorry I was a while. I came into contact with a few noblewomen."

He gently cupped the side of your face. "Tch, they hurt you? They say shit they shouldn't have?"

You looked Levi in the eyes and smiled. You leaned into his touch and hummed. "I'm alright. You don't need to worry so much. Hange taught me a lot in how to deal with noblewomen." You turned your head and kissed his hand. "I'm back now."

Levi moved his hand to the back of your head, then pulled you against him and gave you a protective hug. "I'm proud of you, but if anyone causes you issues, you can come to me and I'll break them."

You sighed. "Sometimes I think I shouldn't be with you, but then you make me feel so happy and safe. I can never stop loving you."

"Tch, damn brat making me blush." He looked to the group of waiting men. "What? Can't a man hold his lover?"

You looked at the group of men, then you blushed. You turned and bowed to them and said your name. "Pleasure to meet you."

Levi held your chin and lifted your head up. "You shouldn't bow to them. You are my partner. You'll be my Queen someday."

You blushed a little as you gazed at him. "Really?"

He nodded. "Of course. I've told you before brat, I cannot see my life without you. When you're gone, everything gets cold and lonely."

You smiled, then gently took his hand in yours. "I look forward to being your Queen."

He kissed the back of your hand. "I know just the flowers for the occasion. The ones that led me to you."

[utterlyhopeful-fics]

Midnight Magic

A/N: Wrote a smutty part 2 to accompany you lovely folks! 🥰🥰

MASTERLIST

Henry Cavill x Reader

Also, if I keep tagging you and you’re not interested or want to be tagged; please let know!

Word Count: 1855k 

Warnings: MUCH PROMISED FLUFF, dirty talk, implied smut, foreplay, kissing, language, teasing

***********************************************

Y/N wasn’t someone to demand attention but tonight was a different story entirely. Whether it be the holiday magic in the air or the sheer happiness exuding from her beaming smile, they’d never know for sure.  She glazed into the fireplace awaiting the arrival of her midnight kiss to show up. The embers flickered uncontrollably creating a spellbinding illusion of comfort. The cerulean blue hue of her dress was majestically magnificent, custom designed to perfection leaving little to the imagination. Paired with a sexy high slit revealed the majority of her right leg; just enough access.

This New Year’s Eve Henry had the peculiar notion to get dressed up as if they were enjoying the evening out. Y/N almost died of happiness then and there seeing the childish reflection in her husband’s hypnotic orbs. 2020 was one helluva year and though it brought them closer than ever as a couple, Y/N wasn’t blind to the hardships occurring throughout the world.  

His loins stirred excitedly as lust glazed over his features growing semi-hard. The only barrier holding them from going at it like teenagers. He licked his lips in anticipation eager to have his wife all to himself. No lavish parties or parades of people to entertain this year, just the lot of them, alone and horny. He continued admiring her from afar pouring two flutes of champagne for the pair.

“You look positively scrumptious this evening, Mrs. Cavill.”

Henry silently crept from behind sneaking up unsuspectingly slow. Goosebumps riddled her gorgeous skin rippling in masses. His breath ticked the tiny, delicate hair adorning her neck shooting a pleasurable surge to her limbs. Both endlessly love drunk on one another. His sensational touch alone kicked every sense into overdrive, heightened every emotion he emitted. Y/N reached back entangling her fingers with his newly deemed ‘quarantine curls’ she’d loved to tug on. Small bites traced down her neck leaving small marks in his wake of destruction.

“May I add how delectable you are in a tuxedo, Hen? My god, my poor ovaries must be working overtime.”

A salacious smirk broke out on his lips eyeing her lustfully.

“You haven’t the finest clue what I want to do to you right now, my love.”

Her hips grinded back on their on accord knocking the air from his lungs. All his remaining blood rushed to the tip of his cock as his belly stirred in playful chaos. They swayed back and forth to the melody playing in the background both reflecting on their last year together.

Henry lined himself up with the shell of her ear wrapping his bulky arm firmly around her waist drawing her as close as possible.

“I’m truly astounded this is our 12th year celebrating as a couple.”

Y/N smiled thinking back when they first met. The year was 2008, Henry was a newly promoted regular to a Showtime series called The Tudors. Y/N was a brilliant writer, the brains behind the complex operation. Henry considered her the beauty and brains; Y/N hated when he talked down about himself saying she’d never once doubted the man who became a wonderful husband and even better daddy.

One unparticular day he’d spotted her struggling to balance a pretty hefty pile of scripts and tumbled right into him. Luckily, his super-size and strength kicked in just in time catching the eye of the attractive stranger. In that moment, Henry knew there was something about this woman he craved to figure out. He was just the lucky bastard on the reciprocating end.

“And thank god your parents volunteered to take the kiddos for the evening. Some private adult time is just what the doctor ordered. We owe them BIG time.”

Y/N winked leading him to decipher the meaning behind her blanket statements. She stepped from his grasp breaking his hold on her. He whined at the loss causing Y/N to eye him curiously.

Oh, you little tease.

Henry’s frisky nature broke through lighting the atmosphere around them. Due to the ongoing pandemic and what not, Henry and Y/N found themselves in wintry London at their main hub of a home. Henry’s roots were deep-rooted and his plea so passionate as she agreed to move across the world with him. Their lives halted for the better allowing the family to spend more time than usual as a unit. Though initially hectic and overwhelming, they were secretly thankful for these little moments with their four children. It was a time they so dearly valued at their imaginative ages.

“Oh, I bet my pops could sense the sexual tension oozing off you, darling. You smell mouthwatering.”

“Hush! Besides it is completely natural to pursue a sexual relationship with my husband outside of our children. Gotta keep you coming back for more…”

“Oh sweets, you have no earthly idea how bad I want to fuck you every day of my existence. You are absolutely divine and somehow all mine.”

“I can’t take all the credit. Nobody’s ever made me cum the way you managed to figure out. You play me like a damn instrument.”

“With pleasure.”

“Ugh, you’re insatiable.”

“Oh, come on. Your sex drive is just as insane as mine. Admit it!”

Y/N bit the inside of her lip collecting her thoughts. Henry pried and teased her ribs forcing her to his whims.

“Fine, fine, you win! I’m a ravenous feign when it comes to you. You’d think having kids would cool my jets but then I see these gorgeous faces I birthed and it’s like I reset. Poof, just like that.”

“Well you’re a phenomenal Mum and quite the MILF too.”

Henry inhaled her perfumed scent taking a long sip of bubbly; anything to keep him from combusting.

“Let’s toast, love. We must.”

“My my, how time flies when you’re having fun.”

Her manicured fingers reached for the chilled glass looking up at Henry and his three-month-old beard. She rose her glass slightly higher in preparation for his speech. Her eyes gleamed with pride as she admired her husband.

“Thank you for loving me, Henry. Seriously, you changed my life in so many profound ways.”

The sap in him was beginning to show as his eyes watered with unshed tears; “My love, it is I who should be thanking for you the unending shower of love and affection. You are the beautiful mother of our four wonderous kids who are the absolute lights of my life because of you. You’re a woman worthy of many praises than my silly ramblings. Cheers to you and for another adventure of a year!”

She swatted his chest immediately shutting him up; “Don’t say that! I am just as equally lucky to have found someone who gets me for …me. It’s a wonderful feeling to have you by my side even if I did have to kiss a few frogs.”

“No doubt I the best possible selection.”

Y/N played along jesting back; “I wouldn’t go that far, maybe the easiest?”

Gob smacked Henry’s wit was rapid fire; “If memory serves, you were there too. And just as ravenous.”

“I was about to get nailed by an insanely hot British man. Can you blame me?”

“One look from you and I was a bloody puddle. I had to recite rugby players to keep from losing my shit.”

No matter life’s challenges the past years of their lives, their resolution to stay equals and lovers was stronger than ever. A sinful glow overcame Y/N as she stared directly up at him; “Cheers to you fucking me stupid then?”

“As you wish.”

She refused to glance away maintaining his smoldering gaze; her Y/C eyes screamed sex. His pupils dilated just as his heart speed up voraciously. Both subconsciously tilted their heads oppositely neither daring to move first, unwilling to yield. Y/N challenged his masculinity testing him. Many words could be used to describe Y/N but priss wasn’t one of them.  

“Oi, you are a true keeper.”  

Y/N checked the matching wrist watch completing her outfit; “T-minus 15 seconds until 2021 is here.”

Still unbreaking of her gaze, Henry stayed silent taking in the beauty of his wife. He could stare at her for the rest of his god given days and die a spectacularly happy man.

10,9,8

“Oh Hen, another marvelous journey with you. Can’t wait to see what 2021 has in store for us.”

7,6

She stared down at his inviting pout unable to look away nor did she truly want to.

“Maybe thinking about another baby?”

Her eyes bulged from her skull as shock illuminated from her pores.

“You’re joshing me?”

His lack of response was more than confirmation enough.

5,4

“There’s something so ridiculously sexy about you being pregnant. I always knew I wanted kids but with you, oh with you I want to have as many as humanly possible. Our very own football team.”

Confusion stamped her features at his terminology. Sometimes Henry forgot they were from different countries.

“Football as in soccer. You know the game with the checkered ba—”

Y/N cut him off; “Jeez baby, save your mansplaining. I’ve been on this side of the pond long enough to understand your oh so clever references.”

3,2

The pros and cons bounced around in her head, doubt never far behind but the mischievous joy coming off him was tantalizing; “Let’s do it.”

2,1

Cheers rang ecstatically from the television as fireworks commanded their attention but they only had eyes for one another. Henry closed the gap kissing her feverishly. He was forever seared into her brain ruined for all other men. Lost in the moment, Y/N barely had time to set her glass down untrusting of her own balance anymore. Henry followed shortly behind. Now with her newfound freedom, Y/N wrapped her arms around his neck locking him in place. His questioning tone was almost cause for concern before his façade shattered.

“Really? I do so enjoy seeing you round with my babe. So, fucking irresistible.”

Henry’s jacket was long removed strewn over the couch. That left him standing only in his tight button up and trousers. Y/N merely leaned back his direction bringing his attention towards the zipper aligning her spine. Henry chuckled undoing her dress too easily watching the zipper flair apart. He couldn’t resist admiring the flex of her muscles and how striking she was. Tugging the material over the curvy hips, Y/N noticed Henry was far too overdressed.

“Take off your clothes, now.”

“You bossin me round, babe?”

His muscular tush ignited in minimal pain as her hand connected with his ass whipping rather harshly. A small red welt appeared instantly. Henry stood shocked as Y/N’s smug smile decorated her face.

“You really shouldn’t push me. I don’t like my authority questioned.”

Henry’s mood shifted at her use of roleplay knowing he was in for a well and good night. Henry stripped removing his boxer briefs last. Y/N strutted towards her bedside dresser pulling out a pair of metal handcuffs. Dangling them in front of him, she grinned bashfully; “You’re going to sit your ass on that bed and I’m going to tie you up now. Got it?”

~~~~~~~~~

Tags:  @thedeadhearted @giveusbackourbucky @henry-cavill-obsessed  @onlyhenrys @omgkatinka @thereisa8ella @threeminutesoflife @homewreckingwreck @gemini0410 @maan14@bluegalaxyprime @sofiebstar @whyyykitkat @encounterthepast  @readermia @ly-canthropewrites @scorpionchild81 @henrythickcavill @snowbellexx @stephartrave @agniavateira  @cap-barnes​ @henryfanfics101  @mary-ann84 @westcoast-nightowl @poledancingdinos​  @justaboringadult @peakygroupie  @nalathefirefly​ @vikingsbifrost​ @bloodyinspiredfuck​ @moderapoppins​ @cooldiva1234​ @icedcoffeeismythang​ @titty-teetee​ @summersong69​ @kaatelyyynn​ @missursulacalmet​ @michelehansel​ @iloveyouyen​ @shyshu​ @star017​ @raynosaurus-rex @radkesgirl83​ @starrynite7114​  @wheretheriversrunintothesea​ @i-love-scott-mccall​  @darkbooksarwin​ @ellieseymour70​ @designerwriterchic​ @studywithrosie01​ @dangerouslovefanfic​ @lebguardians​ @crazybutconfidentaf​ @hen-cavill​  @cavill-sass​ @oh-for-fic-sake​ @icedbottles​ @buckysgoldenheart​ @brexrif​ @gryffindorwriter​ @laketaj24​ @foxyjwls007​ @lawsofthejungle​ @henrycavillfanpage​ @kaboogie21​ @fangirl199812​ @gothicninibalor​ @qualitynightkoala​ @strictlybuckybarnes​ @toomanyfandomsshreya​@hersilencescreams-blog​ @viking-raider​ @sesamepancakes​  @madbaddic7ed​ @fuckoffbard​ @funfickgirl22​ @inlovewithhisblueeyes​ @wolvesandhoundshowltogether​ @hoeforhenry​ @henrycavills-babe​ @abschaffer2​ @loving-this​ @one-of-those-fanfiction-blogs​ @lovelycavills​

[mari-writes]

🏐🖐❤️

Bokuto is… preoccupied with Akaashi’s hands. 

The entire Fukurodani boy’s volleyball team knows it, though they’re not exactly sure what to make of it. 

Bokuto talks about how long they are. How slender yet strong. When they first compare hands, palms held up flat against each other, he marvels, so distracted that he doesn’t even notice the younger teen’s cheeks turning pink.

He tells Akaashi to take care of them. Offers to help him stretch each of them before practice and matches, taking them in his own, slightly thicker fingers reverently, as if they were made of glass. 

Akaashi is helpless to refuse. He doesn’t want to turn down his star, or seem ungrateful. Secretly, he’s dying inside, feelings he is sure are unrequited bubbling to the surface every time skin meets skin. 

He knows Bokuto’s gestures are innocent in nature, even though sometimes they don’t look that way. He just hopes the rest of the team knows it.

(They don’t.)

Today, Bokuto finds Akaashi in a corner, bouncing up and down to get warm and fiddling with his fingers. Winter had started to creep up on them; the gym is cold and the heaters have not yet kicked in.

Bokuto reaches out immediately, and Akaashi flinches, but doesn’t pull away (of course not). “Akaashi! Your hands are like icicles!” He cries, sounding as if Akaashi was dying. “You won’t be able to set very well with cold hands!”

“I know, Bokuto-san, that’s why I’m—”

Akaashi breaks off as the other boy brings the digits up to his lips, delicately huffing warm air over the flesh. Calloused hands hold securely to Akaashi’s wrists as chapped (yet somehow, still very soft) lips graze his knuckles. 

Well. If Akaashi wasn’t warm before, he is now. His entire body is suddenly boiling. He sucks in a breath, praying his knees won’t give out. 

Akaashi can feel their teammates’ eyes on them and pointedly avoids turning in their direction. “Th-thank you, Bokuto-san. You don’t have to.” But Akaashi still doesn’t pull away. In fact, he doesn’t think he can at this point. 

“Of course I have to!” Bokuto grins, eyes squinting closed in that very specific way that charms Akaashi every time. “You’re my setter! I have to help you!”

Not “our” setter, Akaashi thinks, he said “my” setter. What does that mean? Is it just Bokuto’s naivety that keeps him from realize how that sounds, and his obvious preoccupation with his hands? Does he know what he’s doing to Akaashi right now, in front of their team?

“Ah, well, thank you.” Finally, he slips his fingers out from the cocoon of Bokuto’s warmth. “I appreciate it. But let’s get started on drills, okay? That will warm everyone up just fine.”

A small pout forms on the older boy’s mouth, just for a moment, but he recovers quickly. He nods. “Good idea, Akaashi! Let’s go!” 

It takes a few moments for Akaashi to recover. When he finally turns he finds Yuki nearby, looking half-smug, half exasperated. “Don’t,” he mutters to her dangerously, “don’t even start.”

A week later, the team is gathered in the club room for a small holiday party before winter break. Akaashi, who had only had time in his busy schedule to make a plate of cookies for his team to share, is surprised when a small package is tossed into his lap.

“Open it!” Bokuto demands, smile wide and bright. And how can Akaashi say no to that? Inside the hastily wrapped paper is a pair of midnight blue fingerless gloves.

“Your hands are always freezing,” Bokuto says, scooting so they’re seated shoulder-to-shoulder. Akaashi tries to ignore the thrill that shoots through his body at the contact. “These will keep them warm, even when you have to do homework or use your phone. You could even set with them, probably! At least during practice!”

Akaashi bites his lip, wiling himself to calm down. “They’re nice,” he says quietly, and dares a glance at the other boy. Bokuto’s golden eyes snap to his. “Thank you, Bokuto-san.”

“Oi!” Konoha cries from the other side of the room. “Stop being all cute and cozy over there! Hurry, we’re about to cut the Christmas cake!”

Sighing, Akaashi pockets the gloves and stands. “Right.” He turns to Bokuto, who is still sitting. “C’mon,” he says, and with a strange surge of confidence, reaches out to help the other boy up. 

Bokuto looks at his hands, then up at Akaashi, his golden eyes shining with some sort of reverent wonder. Finally, he smiles and accepts.

Their hands linger, staying cupped in each other’s for a few moments before separating. 

Akaashi might be imagining things. Maybe it’s just wishful thinking, but it seemed like Bokuto was hesitant to let go.

He smiles. Maybe he'll find out someday. For now, he's content to wait. Meanwhile, he'll let Bokuto take care of his hands as much as he likes.

// The End

Thanks for reading! 🥰🙏 This was originally going to be funnier with a dose of suggestive themes but it turned super fluffy. Hope you enjoyed nonetheless! 

[obeyme-kaidii-writes]

Alone (1/2)

Leviathan x gn!MC

Words - 8616 (total)

Content Warnings - implied/reference self harm, self harm scars, LOTS of angst, kinda Yandere Levi, setting healthy relationship boundaries, happy ending

Prompt/Inspiration - none

Summary -  You and Levi are the perfect couple. But after what should have been an amazing date, things start to unravel.

AO3

Chapter 1 - Before

You and Levi had been a couple officially for a few months now, and as far as you were concerned he was the best boyfriend you could have ever asked for. He always included you in what he was doing, he made a point to find things you could enjoy together, and he was always up for cuddles when you were alone even if he was focusing on something else. Things had been going so well in fact, that he had even started designing a special...sexy…Lord of Shadows and Henry cosplay for you both to wear.

He had really impressed you with how quickly he had opened up to you too. Sure he was still a stuttering, blushing mess - but he didn’t let that stop him from giving or receiving affection. So long as you were alone in his room that is, and promised not to mention how red his face was, or ask about whatever that was that was suddenly poking you in the back. Doing anything besides holding pinkies (pinkies, not hands) in public was still sure to make his brain short circuit, but he was trying hard to work through that so that he could take you on more dates in the Devildom.

This particular weekend, you had decided to spend it camped out in his room. From the moment classes ended on Friday (he even made the effort to attend in person classes that day so as to not waste any time waiting for you), to the moment you left for school on Monday: you were all his and he had your undivided attention.

As you reclined in his tub, reading a new manga he had recommended, Levi was resting his head on your stomach with his arms wrapped around your middle. It was Sunday afternoon and he was all too aware of how little time he had left with you before you’d have to leave and go back to your room before school on Monday.

The feeling of your fingers absentmindedly combing through his hair was absolutely heavenly to him and he just did not want this moment to end. He couldn’t think of a time when he had been more at peace. He had spent so many days for so long a nervous ball of anxiety, but with you here now? It felt like he could finally breathe. For once, he wasn’t worried what others had thought of him or afraid of making himself look stupid. It was abundantly clear how much you loved him, and how much you cherished the time you spent together. He trusted you completely.

“Hey, it’s almost dinner time you know.”

You had closed the manga and looked down at Levi as he cuddled close to you.

“What do you say we go out and get something to eat?”

He turned his head slightly so he could glare at you. Did you seriously think he wanted to move right now? Much less leave his room? Or even the house for that matter?

The sight of Levi trying to glare at you from under his bangs while snuggled around your waist, covered in a Ruri-chan blanket made you giggle. Did he even know how cute he was? Probably not. He did things like this unconsciously, especially when he was pouting, that just made you want to hold him close and never let go. He was just so, so cute.

Sitting up, you leaned over so that you could kiss Levi on the head. You stayed bent over like that, with one of your arms around his back hugging him and the other gently stroking his scalp as you continued to play with his hair.

“I want to take you on a date Levi. Please?”

Now that made him blush. He couldn’t say no to you when you asked him so sweetly like that. The idea that you wanted to go out with him, intentionally, so that other people would see you together warmed his heart. Insecurity still plagued him, so these little reminders that you were in fact choosing him and were not ashamed of having a yucky, otaku like himself as your boyfriend did wonders for his self esteem.

“Fine,” he mumbled into your stomach, giving you a firm squeeze.

“Um, sweetheart, you kinda have to let go if we are gonna leave.”

Levi groaned at your nagging, but made no move to release you. So you did the only thing you knew how to do when he was being childish - you tickled him.

Or at least you tried. But he was expecting this, and no sooner had you begun to move your hand to his side, than he began digging his fingers into your own, causing you to squeal and throw yourself backwards onto his nest of pillows in an attempt to escape. Since you had been laying in his tub with him, there really was nowhere else to go.

“Ok ok ok, I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” you screamed in between gasping breaths. Levi was hovering above you now with the most mischievous look on his face, and he finally ceased his assault, allowing you to catch your breath.

“That’s what you get, normie,” he smirked at you, relishing in his victory.

“Then maybe you can teach me how it’s done, senpai?”

Levi froze, his cheeks flushing the darkest shade of red you had perhaps ever seen, while his smirk was replaced by a look of pure surprise and shock. You took advantage of this of course, to loop your arms around his neck and pull him into a gentle kiss. It only took him a moment to close his eyes and return the gesture, but you soon pulled away.

“C’mon. Let’s go. I’m hungry.” you gave him one small peck on the tip of his nose. He slowly nodded his head in agreement, keeping his eyes closed as he was far too embarrassed to look at you right now from this close. It really wasn’t fair how you could just...break him...like that sometimes. But he’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy it.

————

“So where are you taking me?”

You and Levi had been walking through the streets of the Devildom for what felt like forever (it was only 15 minutes), and he was getting tired. As much as he loves you and wanted to make you happy, even he had his limits. And he was quickly approaching his limit for physical-outdoor activity.

“We are almost there. I promise. You’re gonna love it.”

He really doubted that. He loved spending time with you and watching you smile, but that was more about the company he was keeping rather than the activity itself. The odds of him finding enjoyment in the restaurant you were leading him to right now were slim to none.

As you turned another corner, it didn’t take Levi long to notice the elegant building on the street in front of him, decorated in authentic, Japanese style. His eyes went wide, and you could feel his pace quicken as he tugged at your pinky to get a closer look. You laughed as you followed after him, happy that your surprise had been a success.

Levi was marveling at the building in front of him - an honest to goodness perfect replica of a traditional, human realm, Japanese tea house. When did this get here? And how did he not know about it? And how did you find it?

“It just opened today,” you offered, “and I had some help from Asmo and Mammon to keep it a secret from you. You have no idea how hard it was to make sure you wouldn’t see any of their flyers or advertising.”

Levi looked at you, pure unadulterated love in his eyes. You were so incredibly perfect. He knew he was weird, and how enthusiastic and single minded about his interests he could get - but you never discouraged him. In fact, right now you were giving him permission to geek his little otaku heart out. He would never be able to express to you the depth of his gratitude for that.

Not wasting any time, Levi adjusted his grip on your hand so that he was holding it properly (it was the least he could do for you, after all), and led you inside.

————

Sitting at your table inside the tea house, you had taken out your DDD and were browsing Devilgram, checking up on the rest of the boys, whom you hadn’t seen much of all weekend. Levi had gone to the bathroom a while ago, and you assumed he was now taking photos of every single detail from the sinks, to the light fixtures, to the doorknobs, considering how long he had been gone.

As you scrolled, one particular photo caught your eye and you had to do a double take.

It featured a small building with a gently sloping roof, wooden posts holding it up to form a covered wrap around porch, and wide sliding doors on one side. It was a building that looked awfully familiar. The same building in fact, that you were currently sitting in.

Tapping on the photo to get a better look, you immediately realized two things -

the image was posted by none other than Mammon and

It was posted less than a minute ago

Just as you had pieced together what exactly was happening, a commotion caught your attention near the building's entrance. Hesitantly, you turned around, trying not to be too obvious, and stole a glance at the group of very out of place demons that had arrived.

Unfortunately, it didn’t matter how subtle you may have thought you were, Mammon noticed you instantly. You swore he had some sort of radar or heightened sense that let him track you down and pick you out of a crowd. He may have been your best friend, but dear god, did he not know how to mind his own business.

“Oi! They’re over here!”

Mammon’s voice rang out as he hurried towards you, his brothers trailing behind him.

“What are you doing here?” you hissed, as he sat down next to you.

“Hey! What’s that for? I came to check on ya is all.”

“And you had to bring your entire family?!”

“Not like I had much choice. Once they figured out where I was goin’ there was no stoppin’ ‘em,” he pouted.

You heaved a sigh, admitting defeat. Mammon was right. You knew him well enough to know he’d never intentionally bring his brothers along to crash your date. It wasn’t out of the question for him to show up unannounced, but he did not like sharing your attention anymore than Levi did.

As the group settled down around the table and began chatting and ordering food, you realized that Levi had yet to return. Surely he’d be done by now, you thought. The bathroom might have been interesting, but there was no way there were that many things to photograph.

“I’ll be right back. Please try to behave,” you pleaded. Asmo gave you a look of mock indignation, and you rolled your eyes at him in response. Yeah, there was no way they were going to behave.

————

Levi had just left the bathroom, and was heading back to the table to join you when he heard the voices of his brothers disrupting the peace and quiet of the tea house. This was not happening. This could NOT be happening. But as Levi looked up from his DDD towards your table, he was forced to accept the fact that this was, most definitely, happening.

He stopped in his tracks and just glared at his brothers. How did they know you were here?! This had to have been Mammon’s fault, he was sure of it. He remembered that you had told him that Mammon had helped keep the surprise a secret, so he grew only more certain that his idiot brother had done this on purpose because he just couldn’t let you be happy without him.

But his anger soon turned inward as we continued to watch you chat with his brothers. You didn’t seem to be bothered by their arrival. It looked like you were laughing and smiling and having a good time. If only he hadn’t left you alone. Why did he take so long in the bathroom? As much as he wanted to continue blaming Mammon, he knew that if he had returned sooner, he would be the one sitting next to you right now and making you laugh.

As Levi continued to reflect on the time he had spent with you at the tea house, he started to realize just how terrible of a date he had been. He barely paid you any attention. Instead he had rambled endlessly about the decorations, and furniture, and costumes the servers wore. He had started listing all his favorite anime scenes that had occurred in tea houses, and explaining the origins of certain treats and the ways they were used in manga to create romantic scenes. He hadn’t talked with you at all.

The guilt felt crushing, leaving Levi with an unpleasant tightness in his chest as he continued to think about all the ways he had failed you today, and he wondered just how happy you could possibly be spending time with someone like him. How many other times had he ignored you this weekend? Or even before that? He couldn’t remember, which only made him feel worse. You looked so happy right now as his brothers fawned over you. Did you ever look that happy with him?

Levi couldn’t take it anymore, and retreated back into the narrow hallway that led to the bathroom to escape from the stares he was certain he was now attracting. He had been so selfish today. And thoughtless. You must be sick of him by now. A good boyfriend would have done something for you in return and taken you somewhere special. They wouldn’t have let you spoil them and completely ignore you as they were consumed with their own stupid obsessions.

“There you are. I was wondering what happened to you.”

The soft, gentle sound of your voice interrupted his thoughts, and Levi lifted his head to face you.

“Levi? Babe, what’s wrong?” you knit your eyebrows in concern at the gloomy expression that had darkened his face. Something had happened in the time you had been apart, it was like someone had knocked the wind out of his sails.

“Hmm? Oh nothing,” Levi forced a smile and wiped his eyes on the arm of his shirt, “I’m just fine. See? I think I’ve been outside too long is all. Not used to all this fresh air.”

He gave you a weak laugh, that you suppose had been intended to convince you he was alright, but in reality all it did was confirm your suspicions. You weren’t going to pry the truth out of him here though, not while you were in public, and certainly not while his brothers were only a couple yards away and could interrupt you at any moment.

“Alright, I understand. I’m feeling kinda tired now too. So why don’t we go ahead and head back?”

You noticed Levi glancing over your shoulder, “Don’t worry about them. Lucifer’s there. He’ll pay,” you said, smiling softly as you took his hand and gave it a comforting squeeze. Levi nodded in acknowledgement as the two of you headed for home.

————

It was late in the evening now, and you had been back in Levi’s room for a few hours. He hadn’t said anything to you the entire way home, or even after you had returned with him to his room. You knew he wasn’t ignoring you though - if anything he was paying even more attention to you than usual and wasn’t satisfied unless there was no visible space between the two of you.

Currently, you were laying in his tub together while his head rested on your chest. You were stroking his hair with one hand, and caressing the arm he had wrapped around your waist with the other.

You had tried a few times to get him to open up to you since arriving home, but the most you could get from him were a few noncommittal hums or sometimes he’d simply hug you closer. So you had settled for just cuddling with him for now and doing what you could to remind him of your presence, hoping that was enough to interrupt his dark thoughts.

The truth was, Levi hadn’t heard a single thing you said to him after you had started heading for home. He heard your voice yes, but he couldn’t process what you were saying so the occasional hum was really all he could offer in response. Every time you had tried to speak to him and he couldn’t answer he hated himself a little bit more. And he also hated the fact that you probably thought he was ignoring you right now. He wasn’t trying to. He knew he had messed up enough on the date earlier, and who knows how often he had messed up before that, he really didn’t want to mess up anymore.

Occasionally he’d feel you press a kiss to his forehead, and he’d wonder why you were being so sweet to him. He didn’t deserve it. You were far too bright and kind and lovely to be with a dark, twisted otaku like him.

But even as his thoughts turned against him, he knew he could never give you up. It didn’t matter if he thought it was in your best interest to be with anyone else. He didn’t want you to leave him, and with each passing moment he grew more fearful that you would one day soon realize just how much of a socially awkward loser he was, and never come back.

————

The following morning, you awoke just before your alarm. You had fallen asleep at some point during the night while holding Levi, and your body was incredibly stiff from maintaining that position. Levi was still next to you, but he was facing the other direction now, using your arm as a pillow. Since his arm was no longer around your waist, you decided now was the time to carefully climb out of the tub to enjoy a nice hot shower in his bathroom.

When Levi woke up, he immediately noticed that your warmth was missing from next to him. He was seized by panic as he shot up, frantically glancing around his room for any trace of you. He knew it. You were going to leave. You left. Of course you did.

He was almost in tears when you emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a robe, drying off your hair with your towel.

“Good morning Levi,” you greeted him as you walked over to your bag to pick out some clothes, completely oblivious to the situation you had walked in on.

Suddenly you felt his arms wrap around you from behind as he hugged you and pressed his face into your shoulder. You were still here. You hadn’t left yet.

“Don’t go,” he mumbled.

“Go? I’m not going anywhere. I’m just getting dressed for school,” you tried to laugh it off, slightly confused as to what he could be getting at and wondering if maybe he had a nightmare that had left him with some lingering feelings.

“I know. Don’t.”

“Levi, I have to go to school. I’m an exchange student. Lucifer would kill me.”

“You can stay here. Take online classes with me. You don’t have to go.”

At that you turned around to get a better look at him, trying to see if you could glean anything about what was behind his behavior from his expression. The look on his face was not one you recognized. He looked...scared? But not the normal scared like he had seen a ghost. This was almost like panic. His eyes were wide and pleading, darting back and forth as he scanned your face for any sign that you were going to change your mind and stay.

DING

Your DDD went off and you moved to grab it when Levi caught your wrist, firmly.

“Please. Don’t,” was all he said.

“Levi, c’mon, I really need to check my messages. It’s probably Lucifer reminding me I have breakfast duty today and….”

“NO!”

Levi cut you off, tightening his grip on your wrist. Why didn’t you understand? He wasn’t ready for you to go yet. He wouldn’t be able to handle it if you did. And he just knew that the minute he let you out that you would never come back. You’d meet up with his brothers and hang out with them and just forget about him altogether and never want to see him again. He was nothing compared to them, and he knew it, and if you left you were bound to figure that out too. He hadn’t even made things up with you for the ruined date yesterday, he couldn’t let you leave until he knew you understood just how sorry he was.

“Levi.”

You tried your best to keep your tone firm and even, but the truth was you were scared right now. He may not have realized it yet, but Levi had shifted into his demon form, and his tail was thrashing wildly behind him. He didn’t really seem to be looking at you either, his eyes looked absolutely panicked now and it was like you were staring at a wild animal, not the precious otaku you had come to love. You hadn’t seen him like this since the TSL trivia battle.

“Levi. You need to let me go. You’re hurting my wrist.”

It wasn’t quite a command, so it hadn’t invoked your pact, but something about your tone of voice snapped Levi out of his daze. He released you immediately, as if he had been burned, and he looked absolutely horrified as realization dawned on him.

You breathed a sigh of relief, “Hey. I really have to go get ready now. We can talk after school. Ok?”

Levi gave you a weak nod, refusing to make eye contact. He kept his eyes locked on a single spot on the floor, as he listened to the sound of you grabbing your bag and exiting his room. Shame. That’s all he felt right now. Soul crushing, humiliating, white hot shame.

He crumpled to the floor, clawing desperately at his chest as wave after wave of panic and anxiety crashed over him. It was only then that he became aware that had shifted into his demonic form, and he let out a strangled cry as the tears began to flow.

What had he done? What the hell had he done?

CONTINUED IN PART TWO HERE

[blue-bird-kny]

Belated Birthday Special!🥳

Only I would be late to my own birthday special lol, BUT my birthday was yesterday and I planned to post this self-indulgent gift with some of my fav characters for both myself and you all so here it is! Please enjoy this little birthday gift (Even if your birthday is far away)!~Amanda

Warning: This one had a bit of everything; Slight NSFW, tons fluff, and a dash of Angst.

(2.2K+ words)

Muichiro:

Your eyes fluttered open, mind still groggy with sleep while the sun's rays peaked passed the horizon outside. Absentmindedly, your fingers crawled to the opposite side of the bed looking for the warmth of your boyfriend. “What the hell..?” the bed was empty on the other side, the sheets already cold. Your brows furrowed as your bleary eyes scanned the room, there was zero trace of your boyfriend. “Muichiro is never up before me…” you muttered before noticing a small piece of parchment paper torn on his bedside table.

‘I’ll be back later’

A dry laugh escaped your lips, “What else was I expecting?” you groaned  “Today will be just like last year” you pushed yourself out of bed dreading the rest of the day.

The day dragged on without a word from your boyfriend. Every once in a while you’d receive a merry “Happy Birthday” from your friends. You appreciated it, but every time you heard those two words your chest tightened a bit more. “He’s forgotten every year so get over it!” you reminded yourself. Three birthdays have passed since you started dating Muichiro and each year was the same. Every year you grew more hopeful, sure that that was going to be the year things would change, but to know avail.

“I’m home” you called as you kicked off your shoes. Off in another room, you could hear the sound of someone frantically moving objects. “Muichiro?” you warily called, inching closer to the noise while gripping the hilt of your blade. Your breath hitched and your eyes welled with tears, “Oh Muichrio”

Muichiro stood awkwardly with his long tresses tied back in a loose bun (a look you adored), clutching a bouquet of daffodils. “Here” he thrust the flowers into your trembling fingers. Suddenly, you wrapped him in a tight embrace. You spent some time tucked into each other, Muichiro rubbing soothing circles into your back. “I thought you forgot” you cried pulling away, you couldn’t help but play with the strands of hair that weren’t pulled back. He smiled guiltily, “I didn’t say anything since I wanted it to be a surprise”

Truthfully, Muichiro felt awful about always forgetting your special day. Once the seasons changed, he reminded himself everyday of your birthday, a constant countdown he never allowed himself to ignore or forget. He was scared; he didn’t want you to give  up on him, but it wasn’t fair that you always had to be the one waiting to see if he remembered something important.

“This is also for you” Muichiro looked away bashfully, handing over a gold box. Carefully, you opened the lid “It’s gorgeous” you marveled, delicately tracing the unique pattern of the sapphire stones. “I’m sorry if I ruined our day by ignoring you, I wanted to make sure I had everything to make things perfect” he faced the floor while he spoke. You brought his face towards your, hovering just by his lips. “Muichiro you could never ruin today, you only make things better” you passionately kissed his smooth lips, ingraining this moment to memory. 

Muichiro isn’t perfect, but there isn’t a single other person you’d want to spend the rest of your life with.

Rengoku:

You sprung out of bed before the sun even breathed its first breath of the day, beaming as you stretched the grogginess away. The snores of your spirited boyfriend rumbled beside you, his slumped form invading the space you once occupied. It took everything in your power to not laugh at Rengoku’s overgrown form sprawled out, his limbs bent in directions that could not possibly be comfortable.

You spent the early hours quietly finishing the house chores; Rengoku had been so busy lately that you’d feel awful waking him up even if it was your birthday. All you wanted was to spend the day alone with your beloved, making up for all the conversations, hugs, and kisses you two had missed with his busy schedule. Just as you finished washing last night's dishes, a pair of muscular arms coiled around your waist, his face buried into the crook of your neck. “Princess why are you up so early?” god his morning voice would be the death of you, “Figured I’d let you sleep a little” you whispered.

Rengoku hummed, the vibration of his voice shaking you to your core. His unruly bedhead tickled your skin as he trailed his nose along the length of your neck, his plush lips ghosting over your skin “Rengoku we haven't even had breakfast” your voice was unsteady, warmth already spreading throughout your body at his small ministrations. “I can think of something I wanna eat” he teased, nipping at your earlobe with just enough pressure to have you holding your breath.

Your body was flipped against the counter, Rengoku wasted no time spreading your legs to nuzzle his thick thigh between them. His eyes were wild, fully aware of the effect he was having on you, it only fueled his lust. “Princess it's your day, let me show you how much I love you” he ground your clothed mound against his thigh, just brushing that special spot inside you. You mewled lightly, your body tensing at the sensation. “Bed or couch?” you asked breathlessly. His chuckled deep, a devilish smirk matching the glint in his eyes as he reached for the hem of your shirt

“Why not both? Beside, I thought we could  start right here”

Inosuke: 

“Why is Y/n out with that tall freak again?” Inosuke grumbled for the third time, pouting childishly on the floor with his arms crossed. “It’s Y/n’s birthday and we are throwing a surprise party” Tanjiro reminded, carrying the cake he had learned to bake from his mother, “Don’t be rude to Uzui-san either, we had to beg him to take Y/n with him on his mission so that we could do all this”.

You’d been gone since yesterday morning and the idea that you’d spent the night near another man made Inosuke’s skin crawl. Clingy wasn’t exactly what you’d call Inosuke, but possessive? When that switch was flipped he became full of jealousy. “Maybe Y/n-chan spent the night wrapped in his huge arms, I’m sure she’d like that for her birthday” Zenistu taunted Inosuke as he put up decorations. “Shut it, Achoo!” Inosuke pelted a rock, hitting the poor boy square in the forehead. “That's not even close to my name” Zenitsu cried, rubbing the sore spot on his face that was sure to swell.

Truthfully Inosuke didn’t know how to handle your birthday; he’s never celebrated one of his own so he was super misinformed on the whole situation. Tanjiro had to explain it to him and still he didn’t know what gift to get you or how to act.

Night had already fallen when you returned home, you stood outside thanking the Hashira, still unaware of the party waiting inside, “Thank you Uzui-san for asking me to come with you, I learned a lot”. Uzui grinned while picking you up high off the ground in a bone crushing hug, “Don’t worry about it Y/n! Your a dear to have around, I’d have to ask you to come along again soon” “I’d be more than welcome to it”

Inosuke, who had refused to go inside with the others for your ‘protection’, jumped at the familiar sound of your voice-- he’d never say it aloud but he missed you. He froze when he spotted you being held by Uzui, fury bubbling up from his stomach. He marched over with his fist clenched, “Oi!” he shouted. You didn’t even notice Inosuke’s hostility as you detach yourself from the big man, jumping straight into Inosuke. Uzui held a knowing smirk, “Don’t worry little piggy, I return her safe and sound” Inosuke narrowed his eyes as he held you to his side. Uzui turned to leave waving his hand as a farewell, “Happy Birthday Y/n!” “Thanks?” you never mentioned it was your birthday.

“Come on Inosuke, let's go inside!” you pulled the stubborn boy along, throwing the door open only to be met with a rowdy group yelling “Surprise!”

The party was phenomenal, the room was filled with so much joy and laugher, something you all desperately needed. Your smile refused to fall from your cheeks, even as you lay in bed “Today was really great” you reminisced, talking to the back that was facing away from you. Inosuke couldn’t shake the image of you with Uzui, damn Zenitsu for opening his stupid mouth. Inosuke turned to face you finally, your eyes drooping from sleep already. Inosuke made a rash decision as he stared at your adorable face, gathering you in his bare arms. “Oh!” you yelped in surprise, Inosuke wasn’t really one to initiate cuddles but you weren’t complaining.

“You’re really comfortable” you breathed into his chest, his natural scent filling your senses. “My arms are a hell of a lot better than those giants” you paused, finally understanding what was going on. “Uzui is a great friend and mentor, but I don’t love anyone more than you. I never could” Inosuke clung onto every whisper of a word, holding you tighter as the seconds passed. You sat up and placed a small peck on the tip on his nose, scooching right back into his warm hold. “Good night Inosuke” you cooed, closing your eyes.

“Happy birthday Y/n”

Shinobu: (Ugh she needs more love)

Believe it or not, Shinobu was big on birthdays, especially yours. She remembers how she loved to celebrate with her sister and the other girls at the Estate, so she wanted the day to go as smoothly as possible. She planned a wonderful picnic in the garden and had even prepared the food for the special occasion.

“I’m ready!” you called gleefully, showing off your gorgeous new lavender sundress Shinobu had gifted you. “I knew purple was your color” Shinobu complimented, admiring the way the dress showed off your curves. “Let’s get going, I’d hate for the day to be a waste. I cleared my schedule just for you, you know” She teased, her hand caressing your flushed cheeks--Oh how she loved that look.

You walked hand in hand, Shinobu carrying the basket of goods while you excitedly rambled on about whatever came to mind. You two barely made it past the Estate gates when a group of medics holding stretchers of wounded soldiers came rushing toward you. Your smile faded as Shinobu’s hand left yours, already giving order to the medics, following them inside. “Shinobu?” you called quietly, “They need my help but I promise this won't be long” she smiled apologetically.

It couldn’t be helped; they needed her more than your silly lunch date did, but who had you forsaken that it had to happen on your birthday of all days. Shoulders slouched, you carried the abandoned basket off the ground, “I’ll just wait in her office, she promised” you wishfully thought.

You bitterly stabbed the fruit in your bowl, the fruit that was meant for your date, and shoved into your mouth. The sun was beginning to set and you still hadn't seen your girlfriend, you’d passed the time by eating the snacks one by one; alone. The commotion of working medics hasn't ceased for hours and slowly you’d lost complete hope of a more exciting day. Your back was beginning to ach from the stiff chair, yet you still waited patiently. Shinobu’s office was filled with piles of paper and books, so there was nothing left to do but stare out the window and eat.

The sound of the door sliding open pulled you from your thoughts, “Awww you didn’t leave me any food?” Shinobu greeted jokingly, sensing your frustration a mile away. You stabbed another piece of fruit, aggressively eating away at the sweet food. “I know you're upset, but I really didn’t mean for this to happen” she defended, feeling miserable about the whole ordeal. You softened, it really wasn’t Shinobu’s fault. “Sorry” you mumbled, staring at the roof. You didn’t bother looking down at the sound of her feet shuffling towards you.

You weren’t expecting to feel Shinobu’s full weight on your lap as she straddled your hips, her hand grasping your chin, pulling you down to face her. “I’m sorry I ruined your birthday, Beautiful,” she soothed, one hand combing through you hair while the other played with your bottom lip, “Please let me make it up to you” her sultry voice rung through your ears, her pink lips making their way across your jawline and down to that spot Shinobu lives to exploit. “Mmmmm” you whined loudly as she started sucking and lapping, working the tender skin till a reddish bruise formed.

The hand embedded in your hair pulled slightly, making sure to run her long nails against your scalp at each tug, eliciting another loud moan from your parted lips. “Shhhh Beautiful, if you're too loud I’ll make you wait till we get to the room later. I can only be so giving”. You knew better than that-then to believe that this would end once you two walked out of those office doors. As if reading your thoughts, Shinobu slid herself down your thighs and onto the floor, never ceasing to make eye contact, “I’ll work you for all you’ve got while we’re here” you bit your lip impatiently as you watched her pull your legs apart by your knees.

Shinobu definitely kept this promise, and gifted you with even more once you two made it the room.

Masterlist

Shinobu may have been a tad OOC but idc, she deserves all the love she wants and I’m willing to give it to her. I hope you all enjoyed it, thank you and stay safe~Amanda

[diddlesanddoodles]

Dumpling ch. 23

Whether he knew it or not, Keral had left her with a great gift.

“...I don’t think ya were ‘is true target.”

Those words were as freeing as rusty shackles being cut from her wrists and she felt as though she could happily burst into song. For months it seemed as though her entire being had been weighed down by her nightmares and the memory of the catacombs and for the passed week, the image of that man. Then all at once it was no longer a great weight, but a feather she could easily dust off her shoulder. She had faith that Keral would track him down and Maevis, now having a sense of the deviant’s magic, would know if another assault was coming. He couldn’t touch her.

Oh, what a marvelous feeling it was.

Sawyer noticed the change in her immediately when it came time to start gathering Nenani’s things and preparing for her to be released.

“I take it whatever Keral had to say was good news?” she asked, rolling Nenani’s dress up her arms so as to better help the girl slip into it. Nenani nodded fervently as she pulled on her slippers and then raised her arms. Sawyer tugged the wool dress down over the girl and gave the hem a good pull before standing. “Usually, folks leave conversations with him frustrated and pissed off.”

“He’s nicer than he acts,” Nenani replied, smiling so hard it almost hurt. “Farris is like that too.”

“Oh, I know,” Sawyer said with a knowing smile and then laughed. “Farris scared the ever living piss out of me when I fist came to live here.”

Nenani grinned. “He says he does that to all the humans.”

“See, Yaesha didn’t both to tell me that I needed to keep my marker on me at all times, so when I went to go ask if he had any dried mugwort, Farris thought I was trying to steal it and it was like the market all over again. He put me in a cage and did his big bad giant ‘gonna throw ya in the fuckin’ stew’ thing. Only got things cleared up once Yaesha came looking for me. He had the decency to apologize, though. But Gods I really thought he was gonna eat me.”

“He did that with me too,” she replied. “Put me in a cage.”

“And you showed up during the feast right?” Sawyer asked with a pitying smile. “Oh, I bet those kitchens looked a proper fright with all the butchering they must’ve been doing.”

“Oh yeah.”

“And I bet them boys had a field day with ya too,” she said.  

“Yale did, yeah.”

They waited on a table underneath the large window looking over the main room of the infirmary. It was cold outside and there was even frost along the window’s edge, but the sky was clear and they were pleasantly warm. When Yale finally showed up to take her home, she was almost giddy with relief. All through her recovery, Farris was the only one Yaesha permitted to visit her and his visits were few as the rebuilding of the kitchens was underway and took up most of everyone’s time. When the dark hair giant stepped into the infirmary, Nenani jumped to her feet and raised her arms above her head, waving like an idiot.

“YALE!” She cried excitedly from across the room, not even caring that the volume made her head ache.

Yale caught sight of her from the doorway and grinned widely, waving his arms above his head and mimicking her movements. “DUMPLIN’!”

Yaesha was very displeased at their volume and hissed at Yale, swatting at him disapprovingly. “If you don’t mind, sir! I do have other patients still recovering!”

“Sorry!” Yale quipped, clearly not sorry in the least, and happily scampered past the physician towards the table. Nenani was surprised when that instead of picking her up, he knelt down until he was eye level with both humans, his chin resting on the table top. His copper eyes sparkled as he took in the sight of Nenani. “Ready to go?”

Instead of answering him, Nenani sprinted over and with open arms latched onto his head. She nuzzled her face into the thick brush of his hair. Yale chuckled, it was a warm and pleasant sound. “Suppose that’s a yes, then?”

“Mm-hm,” she replied. Pulling away slowly, Yale looked to Sawyer who was watching them with a warm smile.

“You two are cute,” she said. “Now, before you go whisking her off, I’ve got some things to go over with you.”

Yale’s exuberant grin faded and he stood up. “Oh? Ah, right then.”

Sawyer grabbed up the satchel sitting at her feet and walked over to the pair. “These are some tonics and medicine for when she feels tender headed or dizzy. And some tinctures to help her sleep. She’s still recovering so she’ll be more fatigued then normal until she regains her strength. Don’t let her do anything too strenuous like climbing table legs or walking the bulkheads.”

“We didn’t let her do any ‘a the sort before!” Yale laughed. He looked down at Nenani and winked. “Guess we’re just gonna have t’ wrap ya in silk and set ya on a shelf fer a week or two, Dumplin’.”

She frowned. “But I’ve practically been doing that this whole time!”

Sawyer laughed, holding the bag out for Yale who carefully took it in one hand and slipped it onto his apron pocket. “I formally release her to your questionably responsible hands, Yale. She’s free to go.”

“Thanks, Sawyer. I – Oi! Wait a minute!”

Sawyer was still laughing as she walked away. “Take her home, Yale.”

Yale grumbled as though he wanted to protest, but his attention was draw down towards Nenani. She was pulling at his tunic. “Can we go now?”

“Okay,” he smiled, easing his hands around her and slowly applying pressure as though gauging whether or not he was hurting her. Once was assured she would break apart like cracked glass, he lifted her up and set her into the crook of his arm. “Really itchin’ to leave this place aren’tcha?”

She gestured for him to move in closer and he obediently bent his head down. When he was close enough, she whispered up to him, “It’s really boring in here.”

“Ah, well that won’t do,” he grinned. “Let’s go find some excitement, then.”

………………………………..

“Just a warnin’ to ya now, Dumplin’,” Yale said as he navigated the corridors. “Avery’s gonna wanna show off his scars. He’s very proud of ‘em.”

“Did you get hurt any?” she asked him.

“Me? Nah,” Yale replied flippantly. “Just fell on my arse a few times. Bart got himself a few nasty ones though. Gjerk almost lost an ear. Ah, but don’t look so down, Dumplin’. We’re all alive and that’s somethin’ to be grateful fer. Could’a been a whole lot worse than it was.”

A silence feel between them as a melancholy fell over Yale’s eyes. He turned left through an open door and ahead of them lied a set of stairs leading downward. The passage was gloomy and Yale paused just before the first step.

“Really thought we lost ya,” he said softly, copper eyes staring back at her mournfully. “No one had any idea where ya were in all the commotion. There was so much debris. We were diggin’ through the ruble in the kitchen when Lolly told us Maevis had ya and ya were alive, but hurt bad. Then Yaesha wouldn’t let anyone see ya...”

She leaned into him affectionately, burying her face into the fabric of his tunic. He smelled like thyme and fresh baked bread. “I’m okay now, though.”

He huffed a small humorless laugh, bringing her up closer to nuzzle her lightly. He closed his eyes and sighed. “I dunno what I’d ‘a done if we’d really lost ya. I promised ye I wouldn’t let anythin’ bad happen to ya and I here I go already breakin’ it.”

There was something inherently wrong seeing Yale so upset and she decided that she didn’t like it. So she slapped him on the nose.

“Ah! Oi, what was that fer?” He blinked at her in confusion. “That...actually smarted a bit.”  

“I’m alright though, so there’s noting to be sad about,” she told him flatly. “So stop that.”

He eyed her with an incredulous smirked at her. “Are ye...are ye orderin’ me to stop mopin’?”

She grinned back him. “Yes.”

“Seven hells, she startin’ to sounds like Farris,” he muttered, but she was glad to see his cheeky grin again. “Lolly’s gonna have a right apoplexy.”  

“If it makes you feel better,” she offered, “I promise not to fight anymore giant lizards.”

Yale laughed at that. A real laugh like she was use to hearing and it brightened her spirits greatly.  

“Aye,” he said with a breathy chuckle. “I’ll be holdin’ ya to that now, Dumplin’.”

At the bottom of the steps, recognition hit and she suddenly knew where they were. Yale stepped of the last stair of the servant entrance and into what remained of the kitchens. It was bare now, all the ruble and debris from the attack had been cleared, but so had everything else. The tables, the tools, and all the food. All of it was gone. The fractured remnants of shelve were bare and in their absence one could fully make out just how much damage had been done. The hard stone floor was shattered with whole chunks missing and the rest covered in cracks that spider-webbed from impact sites. The green door to Farris’s spice pantry was broken with only pieces of the door remaining, hanging limply on their hinges. The windows were broken out and the stone archway was nothing but a gaping hole with wooden scaffolding now supporting what remained of the wall. The repairs had begun, but there was so much more to be done yet.  

She stared in horrified awe of it.

“Depressin’ ain’t it?” Yale asked. “Took a whole slew of us three days to clear it out. Th’ masons are saying it’ll be a few more days before they get the wall and doorway fixed. The floor will be a bit longer since the cement has to set proper. By the end of this month we’ll be back in workin’ order.”

“How are you suppose to cook without a kitchen?” she asked. “Where are you even sleeping?”

“We’re managing alright with the braziers and some good ol’ ingenuity,” Yale explained as he left the ruins of the kitchen and out into the courtyard. “We took over one ‘a Verhn’s old storage huts and set up the cots in there. Little cramped, but it’ll do fer now.”

There was a fine frost across the yard and even a week after the event, Nenani could still see the ruin left behind. The stone walls surrounding them were marred with long gashes from hideous claws and great furrows had been reaped into the earth, plowing up the grass and stones. At the center was a dark spot, a center of charred and burnt earth.

Yale caught her staring. “Aye, that’s what’s left of the bastard. Well, they cleaned up the bones, but other than that...that’s all that’s left.”

Nenani felt chilled and she was not convinced it was because of the weather.

“Can we go?” she asked in a small, disquieted voice. Without a word, Yale was moving away and they left the courtyard behind.

“Sorry,” he said. “That was probably hard to see so soon after. Ye alright?”

“Mm-hm,” She nodded, rubbing her temples and pressing into Yale’s warmth. In her head, she could still see the milky white orbs of it’s eyes staring into her.

  …………………………………

She could smell the cook fires before she saw them. That, and whatever they were preparing, sent wafts of perfumed mist through the air and Nenani’s mouth watered. She hoped there would be bread. They passed several footman and servants, but none paid them any mind as they entered the cook camp. The storage hut was larger than Nenani would have thought and a length of tawny canvas had been strung from the side and secured with stakes at the bottom, creating a make shift lean to which held the surviving lipper barrels. Another large canvas tent was settle on the other side of hut. Bart and Avery were both at a table near the largest fire, brandishing cleavers and hacking up the skinned carcasses of several sheep. Saen was at the cook fire, tending to a large cauldron that bubbled and boiled, leaking plumes of steam into the air. On the other side of the camp, a brazier had been set up and what looked like a giant oversized metal bowl had been set just above and heated by the fire beneath. But they had put it upside down so the curve of the bowl pointed towards the sky. It was there that she could see both Quinn and Kol. Kol was working a wad of dough between his hands, passing it hastily back and forth and stretching it out into a large flat disk so thin that light passed through it. Once he seemed satisfied with it, he slapped it onto the hot surface of the bowl. The dough immediately shrank inwards, bubbling some, and crisping up. In a matter of seconds, Quinn was using a long poker to stab at it and pull it off, chucking it into a basket with many more similar flat breads. Both Gjerk and Herit were pealing rhotas outside the door to the hut and she could see one of Gjerk’s ears had a sizable notch in it. Farris was no where to be seen.

“Oi! Fellas, look what I brought ya!” Yale hollered as he approached, lifting Nenani up above his head. The sudden increase in height startled her and bit down on a cry of surprise, grabbing at his writs for extra security. From all over camp, heads lifted from the focus of their tasks. Saen immediately left his spot by the cauldron and sprinted to meet them. He held out the long spoon which he had been using to stir the stew with and offered it Yale who looked at it confused.

“What?”

“You take this,” Saen instructed and almost as a compulsory reaction, Yale did so without issue. With his hands now free, Saen reached out and plucked Nenani from his fellow’s grasp and turned to walk back into the camp. “...and I’ll just be takin’ the lil’un fer a bit.”  

“Oi now-!” Saen seemed very pleased with himself and only grinned wider as he poked Nenani’s side, eliciting a yelp that slipped into a fit of giggles as she tried to guard herself from the attacking fingers. The giant released his captive onto the table, keeping a grip on her for a second longer to make sure she had her footing before letting her go.

“Good t’be seein’ ya up and about, lass,” Bart said, adjusting his apron. “Ye can hardly even tell ya were almost snapped in two by a rabid wyvern.”

“Oi, Dumplin’, look here,” Avery said, a mischievous glimmer in his eye. He rolled up his sleeve up to his shoulder to reveal three long gashed across his bicep, long scabbed over. “Battle scars.”

“Bah, that ain’t nothin!” Bart snorted and rolled his own sleeve up, just to his elbow. Three similar gashes marred his forearm and the hair from the damaged skin had not yet grown back, making them appear more severe. Avery scowled at the butcher, slowly rolling his sleeve back down.

“Oh, I got one too!” Nenani said, pulling her collar down over her shoulder to expose the long slash. There was still slight bruising around it and the scar was an intense red in stark contrast to her pale skin. Despite it’s unsightly appearance, Sawyer and Yaesha both declared it to be healing just as it should. But at the sight of it, Avery sucked air between his teeth and Bart glowered. Both Saen and Yale were also looking at it with an oddly angry expression. Nenani frowned at their reaction.

“What?” she asked defensively and pointed to the red mark with a frown. “Battle scar.”

That seemed to bring them back and Bart laughed.

“Yer right, lass. That’s worthy of being called a battle scar,” the butcher conceded and then smiling, winked. “Just try not t’be so proud of it, eh?”

Saen barked a laugh at the absurdity of it all. “I’d show ya mine, but it’s not in a place fer polite society.”

Yale walked up behind the cook and smacked him on top of the head with the flat part of the spoon, the sound of it making a loud THWAK.

“SON-OF-A-!” Saen doubled over clutching his head. Laughing, Yale slipped the offending spoon into Saen’s hand. “Fuckin’...piece a….”

“No one wants t’see yer hairy arse, Saen,” he replied with a sly grin. He looked to Bart. “So where’s Farris? Figured he’d be here to welcome her back.”

Bart, having gone back to breaking down the sheep carcasses, only shrugged. “Couldn’t tell ya. He got a note a bit ago and went off. No mentionin’ of where he was goin’ or when he’d be back.” He eyed Yale knowingly. “But ya can be sure he expects this all to be finished by the time he gets back.”

“Aye. Will do. Has anyone started on the duxelle yet?”

“Herit’s still lookin’ fer the garlic,” Bart answered and then gestured to Nenani when Yale would have picked her up. “Ye can leave the lass with us fer a bit. It’s warmer over here besides.”

“Speakin’ of warm,” Quinn said, appearing behind Bart. Grinning, he held something up, held aloft between his hands. “Got somethin’ fer ya, Dumplin’.”

It was her quilt, the one Lolly and Ginger had made her. Somehow it managed to survive the chaos of the attack without even a single tear. The baker held it delicately between his hands as he came up to her and with one fluid motion, wrapped the surprisingly warm quilt around her. It smelled of bread and spices and Nenani wrapped it tightly around her, relishing in it and making a pleased hum. The heat sank into her sore body and eased the dull pain from her many bruises.

“And since I know fer a fact the food in the infirmary is right shit,” Quinn said, reaching into his apron pocket and pulling out a small portion of the flat bread he and Kol had been making. “Give this a try. Since we can’t use the ovens, we’re trynin’ out an Ibronian flat bread recipe.”

It was warm and soft with the underside hard and crispy from where it had adhered to the hot metal it had been baked on. The top was sprinkled with salt and an herb Nenani did not recognize. She bit into it and she immediately started salivating. The herb was lemony and sharp, but not overpowering and had a mellow pleasant finish. She took another, larger bite, cheeks stuffed as she happily chewed. “Mmmmmm...”

Quinn grinned and looked back across the camp towards Kol, giving him a thumbs up and calling back to him, “We got the Dumplin’s approval.”

And suddenly it was as though the passed week and a half had not happened at all. There were jokes and jeers as they all went about their work and the good humor continued on through the afternoon.

She felt warm and she felt safe and that was all she had ever wanted.

………………………………..

Night finally fell and the cook fires were extinguished. Everyone gathered inside the hut and sat in their cots to eat their supper, a simple affair of flat bread and hunks of hard cheese and ale. Still, there was still no sign of Farris.

“I wonder what’s keepin’ ‘im,” Kol mumbled around a mouthful of cheese.

“There’s no tellin’,” Bart replied, peering into it mug. “My guess is it’s somethin’ to do with the rebuildin’.”

“Maybe they’ll expand the kitchen,” Avery suggested. “We could do with more storage.”

“Be nice,” Yale agreed, breaking off a small chunk of cheese and handing it to Nenani who sat on his knee, still wrapped up in her quilt. “Maybe re-do the barracks.”

“I wouldn’t be hopin’ too much fer any ‘a that, lads,” Bart cautioned. “My guess is the treasury is balking at the cost and is tryin’ to cut corners.”

Quinn scowled. “Yer probably right too. Remember Thame’s face when Farris sent ‘im the cost breakdown fer the wedding feast? Bastard just about fainted.”

As Nenani chewed on her cheese, she became aware of a strange sound. It started as a low keen and was so soft she was not certain if she had actually heard it until it stopped. A few moments later, it started up again and she tilted her head, trying to pick up the sounds better.

“Ye alright?” asked Yale. Nenani blinked and shook her head as though to shake the low keen from her ears. “Yer head hurtin’ ya?”

“No,” she replied, squinted at nothing in particular. “Well, not very much. It’s just...I hear something funny...”

“Hm? Hearin’ something funny?” They were all quiet and the only sound was the crackling of the fire in the brazier set in the center of the hut. But then, the keen started up again. It seemed to carry on the wind, coming from everywhere and nowhere.

“That!” Nenano said excitedly, looking at everyone’s faces. “Can you hear that?”

There were several nods and murmurs of affirmation as they all strained their ears to pick up the noise. From his cot, Bart perked up as sudden recognition hit him.

“I know what that is,” Bart said grim faced. “Those are funeral horns.”

[queen-scribbles]

Kiss #33 for Emiri? :-D

33. In a Dream (this got long enough I’m half tempted to post it as a normal fic. But that would mean giving it a title. :P Happy Valentine’s Day?)

—

It was Hiravias who spilled the beans. Which, really, she should have seen coming.

She’d always figured it would be him(on purpose) or Edér(by accident), so part of her wondered why it was even a shock when it happened. And it happened, of course, in typical Hiravias fashion–blunt and indelicate.

Kana had just finished thanking her(again) for her helping with locating the Tanvii ora Toa, and her encouragement in the aftermath. He refused to let her downplay her kindness. “It was not an easy request to grant, and involved great risk. Truly, it takes a special person to do so with such alacrity, even for a friend. I marvel that you considered me worth the risk.”

“‘Course she did,” Hiravias interjected, popping a walnut in his mouth and chewing noisily as he continued, “she likes you.”

All the air left Emiri’s lungs(she did appreciate the daggers both Aloth and Edér were glaring at Hiravias, even if he seemed unfazed) and her face heated in the heavy silence that followed.

Kana cocked his head, brow furrowed in confusion. “What?”

“Oh, for the love of Wael,” Hiravias huffed. “Our Watcher is smitten. Twitter-pated.” He batted the lashes of his good eye in an exaggerated fashion. “Head over heels. In love. With you, and I, at least, am tired of you being the only one of us dumb enough to miss that fact. Hound’s fuckin’ teeth, Edér figured it out!”

She bolted. It seemed the only route of escape, of not having to deal with the stunned expression on Kana’s face. She wasn’t sure how far she ran into the woods surrounding their campsite. Enough to be alone as she plunked down on a fallen tree and buried her head in her hands. Stupid, stupid, stupid. She should’ve hidden it better(could she have hidden it better?). Now things would be awkward, even just their friendship would take ages to rebuild–if they could at all. It was hard to come back from something like this–

“Emiri?”

Oh, Berath, if I could melt into the ground that would be great. She tensed and hunched further over but otherwise didn’t react to Kana’s arrival.

He chuckled softly and sat next to her on the log. “If you wish me to leave, simply say the word.”

She almost did. No. Stay. “How’d you find me so fast?”

“You left a fairly obvious trail,” he said, gently untangling a twig from the hair around her halo. “And you glow more brightly with… strong emotion.”

“Oh.” Right.

They sat in silence for several long moments before Kana spoke again. “Why did you never say anything?”

This being Kana, there was no censure, only curiosity, behind the question. Emiri still fumbled with a response. 

“I… I was scared,” she finally mumbled, hands tangling in her lap and unable to meet his eye. “I didn’t want to risk our friendship, b’cause that’s special to me aside from… anything else, and I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable if… if you don’t feel the same.”

There was a heavy pause as Kana took a breath, let it out. “…And if I do?”

Her gaze stayed firmly on her lap, hands curling and uncurling, heart pounding as she admitted, “I never… let myself think about that.” Hurts too much; dwelling on what you don’t have….

His hand slipped into her field of vision, fingers intertwining with her own.  “Perhaps you should start.”

Her head shot up, eyes wide, and her heart skipped a beat. “Kana, I…”

With his other hand he reached over to brush her hair out of her face, dislodging a couple more small twigs as he did.

“Don’t play with me,” she whispered, voice shaking, as his hand came to rest on her cheek. “Not about this.”

Kana shook his head. “Your heart is a precious thing, Emiri,” he said gently, “and it would take a bigger fool than I to treat it otherwise.”

His thumb rubbed a gentle arc against her skin and all the gods save her, she could barely breathe. Kana’s fingers pressed the back of her neck in a subtle encouragement that was wholly unnecessary. Emiri was already leaning forward to meet the intended kiss.

It was everything she’d dreamed it would be and more. He was tender and engaged; clearly alright with this development but willing to let her set the pace. Emiri leaned into the kiss more, wordlessly conveying her enthusiasm, and tightened her grip on his hand.

Kana chuckled and squeezed back, briefly deepening the kiss before breaking it off. “Hiravias was right,” he said softly, breath warm against her cheek. “I’ve been very stupid.”

Emiri’s laugh was breathless, giddy. “Lucky for you, I’m a very forgiving person.”

He laughed and kissed her again. “Lucky for me, indeed.”

—

Emiri woke with a start, and was trying to reorient herself when the Mercy jolted on rough seas half a heartbeat later. Whatever caused the drop, it was enough to toss her from her bed, and she yelped as her funny bone and the still-tender stump from her halo smacked the cabin floor.

Ow…. She sat up, blinking back tears at both the physical pain and losing her dream. It was such a good one, too, she thought remorsefully, sweeping hair out of her eyes and briefly touching her lips. 

“Oi! You alright in there, Cap?” Serafen’s voice filtered through the door.  “Couldn’t avoid that last wave trough, and the stern got th’ worst of it.”

“I’m fine,” she called back to assure him, voice wobbling as she tried to calm her racing yet melancholy heart. 

“Good to ‘ear, Cap. I’m sure it won’t t happen again,” Serafen returned after a pause.

As she picked herself up and crawled back in bed, Emiri wondered if he could sense just how badly she’d been lying.

Kiss Prompts

[shinidamachu]

The One With The Fantasy Type Thing - Part II

Summary: I wrote Part I of this story months ago and people on Fanfiction.Net asked me for a sequel with Kagome’s fantasy (which I was already going to do, anyway) so here we go.

Word Count: 3610  Genre: get down and dirty  Fandom: InuYasha  Pairing: Inukag  Format: oneshot  AO3 Link: 🌹  Fanfic.Net Link: 🌹

“It’s not like I don’t want to do it!” InuYasha explained again — maybe for the fourth time that afternoon — and she rolled her eyes for what he was absolutely sure it was the ninth. Since the night before, the subject has been a hard impasse between them.

“Geez, I didn’t ask you to do anything!” Without wasting any more time, Kagome resumed the boring task of pick up, fold and then put the freshly dry clothes in the basket he held. “See, that’s why I didn’t want to tell you in the first place! I knew you would totally freak out.”

“I ain’t freakin’ out.” Doe-eyes turned upward at the obvious lie. Tenth time, now.

“Just let it go, okay? It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Not that big of a deal?” He couldn’t keep his tone from raising. “How is it not that big of a deal? You want to have se-”

“Hello, Mrs. Ishida!” Kagome greeted the elderly woman he had been too overwhelmed to noticed with a shaky smile. “B-beautiful day, isn’t it?”

“Miko-Sama.” The woman bowed respectfully and restarted walking. Kagome waited for a safe distance to speak again, the mortified pallor of her cheeks giving way to vivid rubor.

“Do you think she heard us?”

“I think she is way past the whole hearing thing.”

She playfully punched his arm.

“I’m serious!”

“So am I.”

Kagome took a deep breath and when the words came out, they sounded just a little bit higher than a whisper.

“Supposing I had actually asked you to do it, there would be nothing to worry about. I can handle myself.” One more fabric was set in the basket. “I did defeat Naraku, after all.”

“Oi, don’t act like you did it all by yourself!”

“I’m a priestess in the full strength of my spiritual powers.” She proceeded, like he hadn’t even spoken.

“Now you’re just bragging.”

“And if worst comes to worst, I can always use the beads.” His wife caressed the rosary for emphasis.

In spite of knowing she was joking and the fiery sensation her proximity caused on him, InuYasha put up a grumpy face.

“Great! Now I’m just dying to do it!”

Kagome chuckled.

“Then forget about it.”

“Why do you even want to do it?” That woman would never stop surprising him, would she? Every time he thought he had her figured out, she found a different way to catch him off guard.

“Because…” Kagome took the basket off his hands and placed it on the ground. Arms tangled around his neck, she stood on her tiptoes while InuYasha automatically involved her waist. “I have loved you as a human…” She smacked a kiss on his left cheek. “I have loved you as a half demon…” Another peck on right one. “And if you let me, I want to love each and every part of you.”

Before they could get interrupted by another passer-by, for the briefest of moments, their lips met. Kagome smiled at him like she hasn’t just lighted his entire body up with the innocent gesture.

She always had a way of making him feel the luckiest, most loved moron alive.

Damn it all.

“Fine, let’s try.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, but if you ever feel that I’m going too far…” InuYasha didn’t need to finish.

“Deal!”

His shaking hands propped awkwardly on her waist as he tried to reciprocate the kiss over the crescent concern eroding the edges of his stomach. Kagome pressed her lips on his with urgency and traced down his nude upper body to find destination at the knot of his hakama. She untied it with all the expertise their private moments had granted her, letting a hand slide inside. InuYasha’s eyes opened wide, his pulse resounded through his ears, blocking everything else. Vainly wondering if she could hear it too, he watched her frown then pull away. Her hand retracted as well, a feeble smile on her face.

“Having second thoughts?” It was more of a statement than a question. She blinked to observe him and even in the dancing candle light it felt like Kagome stared at his soul.

“Let’s just keep going, alright?” Her skepticism lingered on as she considered him for a moment, then she was sucking on his neck, moving against InuYasha in a torturous friction. Kagome guided his hand underneath her loosened yukata, encouraging him to caress the smooth skin of her breast.

Paralyzed, all he managed to do was worry about his claws. Have they always been that sharp? It was known that if InuYasha sticked to the plan, allowing his youkai half to surface, they would grow even longer. And her skin was so delicate...

Kagome exhaled heavily, the hot air tickling his throat.

“You know we don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with, don’t you?” He let his hand fall to the side as she backed down to face him, sincerity overflowing from every feature and kindness from every word. “The whole point of doing this is that both of us can enjoy. If you feel obligated to do it just because I-”

“It’s not about that. I mean, it is a little. How can I ever deny you anything when you’ve given me so much already?”

“You don’t owe me anything, stupid.”

He knew she meant it. It was never like that with them. Reciprocity wasn’t demanded, it just flowed to and from each other when the “I’m sorrys” weren’t enough or the “thank yous” were superfluous.

But he also knew himself and there was no way he would miss out an opportunity to compensate her nonetheless, jumping on every chance to make her as happy as she made him.

“Truth is… It’s hard to let go. Protecting you comes easily to me and doing this goes against each instinct I have. If I lose control, I…”

InuYasha looked away. With Tessaiga abandoned in the living room to better serve their purposes and his feelings so rawly spilled in the open, InuYasha felt more naked than he actually was.

Her hand found his chin, pushing his attention back to her as gentle as a sweet dream.

“I trust you. Don’t you think it’s time for you to do the same?”

“Maybe you’re right.” He muttered, realizing the only way to ensure he would never hurt her was learning to tame the beast inside to his will. It wasn’t something that could be done by being evasive.

“Maybe? Of course I’m right!” Her ever positive attitude plucked a smile out of him, which she then reciprocated with her own. “Besides... you didn’t seem that worried last night.”

Indeed, she still had the small purple bruises to prove it.

“Keh, that was different. I was… distracted.”

“Fine, then all we need to do is distract you again.” Suddenly her lips parted in silent exclamation, eyes glowing with mischief. “And I know just how!” Kagome hasted off his lap, not bothering to explain a thing. It wasn’t until she was half way through the room that she turned, smirked and lifted a commanding finger at him. “Stay.”

InuYasha narrowed his eyes.

Content, she walked out the door, leaving him stranded, confused and semi erect.

InuYasha’s ears twitched towards every sound she made, trying to compensate for what he couldn’t see. Footsteps, fabric flapping around and falling to the ground. More footsteps. He realized what his wife was up to only a second before she graced his vision again.

His head tilted to the right on its own and a wail — which irritatingly enough validated her prior dog joke — fell off his lips.

Kagome stood there, looking every bit the personification of his wildest dreams.

Her dark locks contrasted the white garment, which hugged her curves in a loose temptation. The lower green garb ended shortly after her ass, providing a neat view of her fair legs — memories of the night prior, when InuYasha had them up as he thrusted into her with everything he had, invaded his mind.

Sneaky wench.

Kagome started crossing her way back to him. She didn’t get too far.

InuYasha had her pinned to the cold, rough ground before she could even notice he had left the futon.

“That’s cheating.”

“That’s being creative.”

She grabbed the tresses on each side of his head and pulled him down to her lips. This time, he allowed himself to relish the marvelous feeling of her tongue touching his, demanding passage.

Her scent — which InuYasha has been determined to ignore since she had climbed onto his lap earlier — was now an undeniable presence, taking him by the hand, letting him know just how much she was ready for him, making him forget all the reasons why they shouldn’t be doing this.

A pair of hands impatiently tried to remove his hakama. InuYasha did the best he could to help her, kicking the damn thing off all the way. He broke the kiss to sink himself in her neck, giving the mark from the last night a twin. Kagome sighed in sheer approval, wandering fingers finding his erection to caress it with slow strokes and InuYasha hissed past his clenched teeth.

Soon enough, the unsettling energy he manages to keep sealed for the majority of time cracked against him wave after wave and rather than fight it, InuYasha embraced the pulsation that coursed through his body for once, letting it wake his most primitive parts.

Oddly, the transformation felt almost natural — as if his fangs were always meant to be that elongate and his claws that lengthy — the only anomaly being the sensation of watching himself from afar and yet experience everything amplified to the highest.

Now that this form wasn’t casting his conscience away like it used to, InuYasha was comfortable. He wasn’t himself and at the same time he was. It was confusing and exciting. Frightening and new. Definitively better than becoming human, when he didn’t feel like himself at all.

“InuYasha?” Her ministrations had ceased, giving place to a wicked ache.

Her bust rose and fell underneath his weigh — nothing but fragile woven and repressed tension between them — and InuYasha dragged his red eyes to hers, waiting for a reaction. Kagome reached for his cheek, softly tracing what doubtlessly was a violet stripe.

"You can still back down anytime." The resonance of his voice still bewildered him after every sound he made, keen fangs making difficult to talk. Kagome freed his face of her touch.

"No way."

InuYasha clutched her chin and lifted it slightly towards him, their noses brushing.

He waited, but Kagome showed no fear. Instead, she offered him a grin — the one she knew was his undoing —, her gaze defying him to do the very naughty things he was already planning to.

The youkai smashed her mouth with his own, stealing her breath away his sole purpose as their tongues gravitate towards one another. Fingers in his hair, Kagome clung to him, eager for more. InuYasha held her still and right when she thought he would give her what she wanted, he nibbled her lower lip and deliberately stretched it to the limit — not so hard to cause pain, just enough to let her know what she got herself into.

She moaned, her eyes half-lidded. Opening a devilish smile, InuYasha ripped off the piece of clothing that separated their chests, earning a gasp from the arching woman underneath him. The sound echoed through the room and right then they were the only people in the world.

Her breasts immediately got captured into the intense care of his palms and he went back to kissing her swollen lips. Kagome’s hands were everywhere, a constant distraction mapping his body and making his cock twitch at the minimum sign of approximation.

Using his nose to lift her chin, exposing her throat to him, InuYasha ran his tongue from there all the way down to the narrow valley between her boobs, avoiding the pieces of woven that somehow survived his claws and leaving behind a hot trail of saliva. He covered a nipple with his mouth, not at all surprised when the whole area got promptly decorated with goosebumps. It was so damn easy to cause them. Kagome held him there — writhing, wailing — as InuYasha took the nipple on his teeth, biting it slightly. What wouldn’t he give then to see her expression and whisper filthy things in her ear? Her head, however, was thrown back in pleasure and besides his mouth was currently occupied. In the end he decided it was just as good.

It didn’t take long for his wife to retaliate — she went straight for his ears —, but InuYasha was one step ahead. Gripping Kagome’s hands before she could achieve her goal, he nailed them above her head and undid the red tie that completed the improvised uniform to knot her wrists with it. He couldn’t have her talented fingers wandering free and risking ending things too soon.

It was true the measure could only restrain her movements to an extent, but InuYasha had no doubt she was gonna behave. In fact, he looked forward to making sure of that.

Kagome, however, willingly succumbed to his commands. Her surrender came in a heavy exhalation and she bit the veery lip he had nibbled on to hide a grin. It was impossible not to grin back. Redirectioning his attention to her breasts, he picked up where he left off, circling her nipple with his tongue and using his hands to lift her skirt up.

A growl reverberated through the room when InuYasha pushed himself right against her damp folds and he realized, with contained amaze, that it was coming from him. No wonder her scent was so strong — apparently his wench decided to repeat the mischief from the night before, trading the strange underwear that used to cover her most intimate parts in the past to nothing at all. ‘An improvement’, she had told him and InuYasha couldn’t agree more. Searching for friction, he rubbed his lenght across her again, making sure to brush over her clit.

“InuYasha, now!”, she cried, and in a regular day that would have been all it would take for him to obey, gladly giving her whatever she desired, for how long she needed until she was satisfied, but this time he wanted her to beg for it. InuYasha relentlessly moved his hips, scraping his claws down her belly, then back up as he watched his wife with a cocked eyebrow. If a youkai was what she wanted, a youkai she shall get. “Please!”

Only then he thrusted into her.

It was such a powerful feeling, whenever he became them, and InuYasha knew in that moment his youkai self wouldn’t content itself with little — after all those years of restrain, he had no idea how starving it was until it had a bite. Now there was no stopping it.

InuYasha pulled back leisurely, slamming in once more with a hard push. Then another, then another — always spaced, always hitting just the right spot — causing their heated bodies to swing on the floor.

“F-faster!” Kagome whispered, choppy moans escaping her clenched teeth. InuYasha laughed and grasped her waist, increasing his pace to an frenetic rhythm.

“Like this?”

“Yes! Yes, just like that!”

He went on for several minutes, building her climax until she was dangerously over the edge... then returned to slow, tough assaults, starting it all again, knowing her release would be even more intense if he did.

“InuYasha!” She protested, but he ignored her, focusing on going deeper and biting her ear. Palms on the floor on each side of her head, InuYasha pierced his claws to it for support when the time came to accelerate things again. And accelerate he did.

Kagome was a nook of pure ecstasy. Her legs tangled around his hips, urging him to keep moving while still trapping him there. InuYasha speeded up, feeling himself getting closer and closer. Finally, her muscles tightened and she screamed at the same time he let it all go with a ravenous groan.

Once the high worn out, InuYasha reluctantly pulled out of her and ripped off the tie on her wrists. Kagome lowered her arms, immediately massaging the marks it had left. The sigh of relief she made as she did so spoke directly to his throbbing cock. As anticipated, he was still hard as a rock.

“I ain’t done with you yet.” InuYasha murmured in her ear, smiling when she held her breath. “On all fours.” He ordered, giving her space to obey. Getting rid of the remaining rags hanging from her shoulders, Kagome started to get in position without a question.

The green material still covered most of her rear, but what he saw was more than enough to make his hand slip to his cock, stroking in anticipation as he waited. The last thing he remembered was Kagome looking back at him with a convidative smile, then the fabric of her skirt was tearing to pieces under his claws and he was grazing his tongue up her thigh, cleaning the juice that dropped down.

Getting to her center, InuYasha paid a long lick to her walls, tasting himself, making his wife tremble and whimper. He aligned at her entrance and, wasting no time, took what was his.

With renewed appetite, he shoved himself inside her moving as fast as his body allowed. There was something about having her that way — skin glistening with sweat, hair slicking on her back, his cock getting in and out of her — that brought a nasty smile to his lips.

Oh, if the villagers could see their precious miko now, getting fucked hard and good by the half demon. Part of him wanted them to know just how hot she was for him. Part of him wanted to make her scream so loud that she would wake them all up and let them know it herself.

The combined sound of their moans and flesh hitting flesh was making him insane. His hands left the grope on her ass to grab her boob and pull her hair, leaving him free to suck on her neck and thrust harder. Kagome gasped in approval.

“Touch yourself.” Demanded InuYasha, his breath so close it blew a few strands of her hair. He liberated her from his embrace in order to let her do as she was told. And she did. Turning back to catch a last glimpse of him, Kagome lowered her upper body until her cheek was laid on the floor and one of the arms she had used for support disappeared underneath her body.

Never ceasing his moviments, InuYasha took the opportunity to run his claws up and down her spine as she shivered compulsively, getting louder by the minute, his name the only distingable word falling off her mouth.

Then Kagome tightened around him, reduced to a shaking pile of mess as he rode her orgasm, searching to amplify his own. His arm snaked around her waist and he rolled his hips once, twice, until finally erupting inside her one more time.

InuYasha pulled out — quivering a bit himself — and his wife crawled away, the sight almost getting him going again.

“InuYasha?” It was like her voice had just woke him up from an wonderful dream, promptly returning him to his senses. “You’re alright?”

He blinked.

“‘Course.” InuYasha answered with a smile, until the realization of everything they had just done slowly made it fade. “You?” “My knees are a little sore, but other than that… I’ve never been better.” Kagome giggled and laid on the floor, looking beyond satisfied. That didn’t diminished his guilt. InuYasha rushed to her.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” He repeated, planting kisses on the hurting spot between one apology and the other.”

“Hey now, It’s okay.” She reassured, hands petting his hair. “It was totally worth it.”

“Crazy woman.”

“Oh, don’t act like you didn’t enjoy it.”

Before InuYasha got the chance to reply, he noticed the absolute chaos of shreds that circluded them. He grabbed the closest one. Destroying them had felt like such a good idea at the time.

“Damnit!” Kagome looked at him as if he was a boy who had just broken his favorite toy. Which he had.

“I can sew a new one, you know?”

He considered it for a while, then shook his head, conformed.

“Don’t bother. I’ll just ruin it too.” InuYasha threw the fabric away and kissed her forehead. “Besides... as fun as this was, in the end of the day I’d rather have you wearing nothing at all.”

“I’m fine with that.” Kagome said, lifting her head so she could catch his lips with hers. He reciprocated while sneaking his arms behind her back and knees, picking her up and taking her to their futon.

After covering a sleepy Kagome with the first blanket he could find — the woman always gets chilly somehow — he joined her, trying to figure out how he had got so damn lucky. InuYasha used to think about Kagome as an anchor, always keeping him centered. Now he had learned she was more like a lantern, lightening the way, guiding him through the dark. There was nothing he couldn’t do with her by his side.

Watching the serene expression on her face as she slept, he was taken by an unconditional truth. A truth she had proved to him over and over. A truth he had known since forever, and yet a truth that amazed him whenever he was faced with it.

“You really love me, huh?”

“What gave me away?”

A/N: thank you so much for reading it! I can't tell you guys how much it means to me. Oh and don't forget to let me know what you think.

Also, tagging: @keichanz @xfangheartx @mcornilliac @petri808 and @xxracheyxx because they seemed to have enjoyed the first one.

[nackshot]

NACKSHOT ANSWERS.

@parasightcd​  said: An unfortunate soul who thought of Fyuga as nothing more than a dumb, stupid child and thought it wise to try to rob the MARVELOUS MARV ended up losing not only both his hands, but one of his legs, too. By some miracle (and probably shock), he's still alive, but that confident look on his face was gone and he's now staring down the barrel of Marv's gun, begging for mercy.

Staring down at the Mobian bear that had moments ago thought he was hot shit, Nack felt nothing. Even with sweat staining his face and their whimpering like that of a beaten dog, the Tralian Outbacker could only scoff. His disgust for these shitheads that cowered at his feet made even the globe itself quake. Each of them thought that they were worth a damn, and yet this happened each time: they fought, they fell, and dread crawled on their spine as their heart raced far too fast for their chest to contain.

Nack snickered. At the very least, at least he could enjoy this one before they died.

“Ya shouldn’t’ve fucked wit’ me, mate,” growled Nack, his steel-toed boots trampling the grass underfoot whilst his victim shivered. Their poor eyes widened as the sharpshooter knelt down towards them and jammed the barrel of his revolver in their mouth, his growl now that of a playful coo. “We could’a had LOADS’A fun wit’ each other, but you just HAD t’go an’ have a death wish. I was ALSO expectin' a man wit' some BALLS ‘tween those legs, but I guess THAT was too much t’ask. Have fun pissin' ya’self, ya dill — at least it’ll be th' sole proof that you ACTUALLY lived a life!”

Ruthless, ambitious, and uncaring about anyone but himself; they never stood a chance. As the bear attempted to spit the gun out and maybe fight for their survival, Nack merely patted their head and winked. Then, without breaking an icy eye contact, he pulled the trigger on his weapon, its chamber spinning as a bullet cut through the other Mobian’s mouth before piercing into the soil beneath them. For a moment it seemed as though their death would have some dignity, but Nack, grinning, spat on their face and stomped their chest with the heel of his boot as he gave a pleased sigh.

Looking now at his little Fyu-Fyu, he wiped the blood clean off his revolver, holstered it at his side, and only had one thing left to say.

“Oi! A free, fresh, STEAMIN’ corpse right here fer ya! Daddy Nack’s ALWAYS got’cha covered with a meal! I wasn’t too sure ‘bout this little partnership, but just lookit’cha; yer ALREADY provin' t’me that ya might be worth all this trouble after all!”

[mirage-05]

A New Mage in Sabertooth

Okay guys so… we talked about Rin a lot, we talked about how she’s the youngest mage in Sabertooth, same age as Wendy… But I didn’t mention how she was accepted into the guild XD So here you have her story! This takes place during and after the Eclipse Gates arc. Trinity “Rin” Eucliffe is my OC. As before, the fanfic is a product of our RPs with @eleanor-devil​ , who also provided the fanart ^*^ Comments and feedback are highly appreciated!! ——— ‘I hate my luck!’ It was the first thought in the girl’s head, although she had arrived to the past on the same day as Future Rogue, she had had trouble finding the Sabertooth members as she initially planned. The security around the hotels of each participating guild in the Grand Magic Games was really tight and from what Rin had been able to understand, on the day she had arrived, the previous Master was still in power… not that she knew much about him except that he wasn’t a good person, so she decided to wait for the best moment to reach the members… mainly, the White Dragon Slayer. Through hiding and sneaking, Rin had watched most of the events of the Grand Magic Games play out while she tried to devise a plan to get close to the headquarters of Sabertooth… she had even watched the battle of the Twin Dragon Slayers of Sabertooth against Natsu and Gajeel of Fairy Tail… and then the day of the finals arrived, the one day she had decided to sneak into the Domus Flau and watched the event until the very end, including her father’s - well okay she knew he wasn’t her father here, not really - unexpected surrender, thus leading to Fairy Tail’s victory. And now here she was, trying to escape baby dragons that came from god knows where! 'I just wanted to talk to him, is that too much to ask??!’ Apparently it was. Rin shot another attack at the dragons chasing her but it only hit one, the girl sweated, she wasn’t going anywhere like this. She suddenly was forced into a halt when more dragons appeared in front of her “Crap!” Time came to a stop for the little girl. All her training, the new techniques she had learned through all those seven years… they all accounted for nothing as Rin kept staring at the dragons and the light beams that were starting to form around their mouths. Was this it then…? Was she supposed to just die here, like her life meant nothing at all? Not even remotely close to accomplish what she came here for, and it hadn’t been even a week… No matter how much she prepared, how much she learned to fight, she wasn’t ready for something like this. She was going to die on her birth date, and not even one person would know who she was, what her dreams were… Lost in her disappointed thoughts, it didn’t register to the kid that there were hurried footsteps reaching her. Not until she heard an urgent voice. “Kid, duck!” She didn’t need to be told twice. Out of pure instinct, Rin fell to the floor, raising her arms over her head and closing her eyes tight, just as a blinding white light surrounded the whole area. When she dared to raise her head again, the little dragons were no more, although the roars and screeches told her that she wasn’t completely out of danger. “Hey, kid are you okay?” Now realizing that the voice sounded… very, very familiar… Rin raised her head to meet a pair of indigo eyes, and her own green ones widened as an incredulous look took over her expression. He was standing in front of her, looking mighty and protective as his shadow completely covered the girl’s body, his eyes penetrating into her own, although there was a frown on his bruised face. The wind blew and Rin’s blonde hair moved along with it. 'Dad…?' 

His voice again snapped her out of her thoughts. “Why are you staring at me like that, kid?" 

But before she could even answer, a piercing roar soared through the skies and she saw Sting’s expression turn into a startled one as he quickly made his way to the girl. Rin only had time to see a giant dark red dragon flying in their direction as Sting put her under his arm, holding her by her waist and tightly against his own before leaping into the fastest run of his life.

"Is that a giant dragon!?” Rin exclaimed, panicking at how close the creature was to them. 

“Undoubtedly!” she could hear the panic in his voice.

“Why is it following us??”

“Uuuh…” Oh no, she knew that tone, she saw him looking behind them as he continued running. “I… might’ve pissed it off?”

 His answer was so casual that Rin thought she had heard it wrong. “You what?!?” They turned into a corner and Sting’s face enlightened.

“Oi Rogue!!” Rogue…? Where…?! “What the hell are you doing standing there?!”

It could’ve been an almost comical scene - the black haired man just a few paces ahead turning to face them, his expression first of a relief, then of shock when he saw they didn’t come… alone. “You brought it here?!” 

What was almost weirder was that despite being bruised, despite looking like he had just been trampled by horses (or well, apparently dragons), Sting was laughing. 

But the girl’s gaze was locked on the Shadow Dragon Slayer. Rogue… he didn’t entirely look like the man she once called uncle though, not really. He lacked the features that had defined her uncle once… this was undoubtedly the Rogue from the past.

Noticing her glare on him, the Shadow Dragon Slayer finally noticed the kid and did a double take. “What… are you nuts?!? Why did you bring a kid here?!” 

“She had to tag along,” Sting set the girl down quickly before taking an offensive stance. “Kid - run away - or take cover - do something but just stay out of the way!”

Without giving the Twins much of a break, the two huge dragons went in for an attack.

Despite not trusting at all the past self of the Shadow Dragon Slayer, Rin couldn’t help but see, as she found safe a hiding spot, how amazing and in synch the so called Twin Dragon Slayers were with each other; she had to admit that it was an amazing sight to see. Back in her timeline…the Twins were no more, having separated for reasons unknown to the girl as it had happened when she was just a toddler and thus held no memory of it, although they were still in the same guild…

Whatever the reasons…they would lead to that fateful and horrible day.

When suddenly and mysteriously the two dragons disappeared, apparently along with the other five that were terrorizing Crocus, Rin was taken by the two Dragons Slayers into a safe place… and despite Sting bidding her goodbye, Rin had promised to herself that she would find another way, not just to see him again but to be wherever he was. 

…

That promise soon beared fruits, when a few days later the blonde girl managed to sneak inside the Mercurius Palace where she found out all the guilds that had participated in the Games were celebrating, having been invited by the king himself.

She made sure that nobody was in the dressing rooms and then sneaked inside one of them, stealing one of the smallest dresses she could find and some extra jewelry; it wasn’t anything big, Rin wasn’t used to that many fancy parties and she preferred to dress in clothes that allowed her to move freely but this was all to see and find her father again, she would do anything that was needed.

Now perfectly blended with the mood of the party, Rin made her way towards the ballroom… but eventually figured out that she had no idea where the ballroom was…

That, coupled with the fact that Rin was feeling uneasy in that dress despite her own pep talk - she would give anything for her outfit now -, made it so that she wasn’t looking at where she was going for a moment. She bumped into someone - no, two people! - walking right in front of her and after some squealing, was horrified to see them falling to the ground.

“Oh! Oh god I’m so sorry!” She quickly mumbled, kneeling down beside them to help. “It’s my fault, I wasn’t watching where I was going…!”

It was then that the two girls finally looked up at her. A silence followed, albeit a short one. 

“Hello,” the blue haired girl said sincerely, a soft smile already on her lips. She didn’t look any older than herself. “Nothing to worry. Are you new here? My name is Wendy. Wendy Marvell.”

“And my name is Cheria Blendy.” The pink haired girl also said. “Nice to meet you, umm…?”

Wendy? The name sounded familiar somehow, but the girl couldn’t remember why. Instead, she just smiled to them as well. “My name is Trinity…” she caught herself before she went too far. “…just Trinity. Nice to meet you too.”

“Trinity huh?” the pink haired girl grinned. “That’s cool but not a very common name now is it?”

“Cheria,” Wendy scolded her friend, earning a confused look from the Wind God Slayer. “Don’t be rude…!”

“But I wasn’t rude!” Rin giggled at the two girls, she hadn’t taken it the wrong way at all, she was actually used to people finding her full name a bit… out of the ordinary.

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” answered the blonde girl “You can call me Rin if you want to.” Then she looked around confused before sweat dropping and looking back at the two girls. “Um… do you know where the ballroom is…? I think I might be lost…”

“Oh we’re heading there too! We just went to the bathroom.” Both girls took Rin’s hands in their own and led her towards the giant room where the party was being held, the blonde girl was mesmerized by all the decorations and lights, she had never seen such a beautiful place. Then she looked at the table full of food and… her eyes shone brighter than the diamonds on everyone’s jewelry.

“Strawberries!!” Before Cheria and Wendy knew it, the blonde girl was stuffing two plates full of strawberries and her mouth as well, the two young mages couldn’t help but laugh at the sight, it was clear what Rin’s favorite food was. Then yet another familiar voice reached the girl’s ears.

“Wait!” Rin turned her head towards the center of the ballroom, she saw not only Sting and the remaining Sabertooth members but also three other women whom Rin recognized from photos as two members of the Fairy Tail guild and… one member of Sabertooth that she never got to meet personally, Yukino-san. She noticed how Yukino was holding her dress and her back turned to Sting, as if she had intentions to leave. “I’m sorry… I didn’t realize you were here. Master and Milady have gone missing… we’re going to start over, we’re gonna remake Sabertooth from the ground up!” Rin blinked confused, what was happening?

Even more surprising were Sting’s words and what seemed to be a sincere apology “We were…far from kind to you. But…I want to build a guild that treasures its comrades!” It was surprising for the ball attendants because they had never seen any Sabertooth members (or yet alone, a Master of said guild) be humbled like that, but for Rin, well, this was the first time she had seen an… ashamed look on her father’s face, younger or not. 

Rin noticed Yukino finally turning around to face the members but she didn’t stare too long at the blond, her brown eyes drifting back to the floor. “Why are you telling me this..?" 

Sting’s ashamed look was then replaced with a firm one as he said “Because I would like you to come back… although that’s probably too much to ask.” Wait, so Yukino-san wasn’t a member of Sabertooth? What was going on here? What had happened between them? Rin was sure that, at least according to her father, Yukino-san had always been part of the Sabertooth family..

Rin wanted to ask about that to her new friends but just then, an argument broke out… first between Sting and Kagura from Mermaid Heel but soon drawing every other strong guild in Fiore, a competition about which guild should accept Yukino as their newest member.

When even the other Masters got involved, Wendy couldn’t hide her anxiety anymore. “What should we do?!” she asked to no one in particular, watching the scene unfold with worry in her eyes.

Cheria, on the other hand, had an amused look on her face. “That’s love for you.” Then she turned to the blond girl. “That reminds me, Rin, which guild do you belong to?”

The girl smiled brightly, not even hesitating. “I’m from Sabertooth.”

“Huuuuh??” Both of the girls couldn’t help but exclaim as total silence fell upon those around them too. Then, at the same time, murmurings began to spread like wildfire. Did they hear it right?! Had the almighty Sabertooth accepted a child mage?!

Suddenly the whole fight in the ballroom came to a stop, all eyes were on the blonde girl who had on her face a huge grin but was kind of blushing at having the whole attention on her now… well… what she said wasn’t exactly a lie… she had just forgotten that she wasn’t in her own reality anymore!

"U-Um…” Yukino’s brown eyes were on the girl, approaching her a little. “Is that… true…?”

Rin felt her heart skip a beat at the presence of the celestial mage right in front of her, not that the woman’s presence was intimidating or anything of the sort, on the contrary it was very comforting but the thing was… Rin had grown up admiring the woman and now here she was just a few steps away from her…

“Yes!” the girl didn’t hesitate to answer, green eyes shining. “I just don’t have my guildmark yet but that will be applied when we are back…!”

Yukino blinked, surprise overcoming her as her eyes turned to face the new Guild Master of Sabertooth. “Sting-sama…?”

Sting felt his throat grow dry and he had to gulp before he had the courage to answer. “Y-Yeah..um…it was something… recent…” The blond could feel the perplexed looks of his fellow guildmates burning right through his back, but in all honesty… he was actually going along with the lie to win the Celestial Mage back, if that meant to accept a little girl into the guild despite barely knowing her and not knowing what her magic was at all… well… so be it.

Rin silently sighed a breath of relief… everything would come crashing down if Sting didn’t back her up then. A range of emotions played on the silver haired woman’s face, she was clearly not able what to make out of this. But then she turned back to the girl with a soft smile. “Well, I’m happy for you, umm…” 

“Rin,” the girl replied immediately, still a little breathless seeing her hero in person.

“Rin,” the Celestial Mage repeated. “I hope you will enjoy your time in the guild.”

“Are you part of Sabertooth as well?” the girl immediately asked the question burning in her mind, and the barely contained curiosity in her voice turned Yukino’s smile bitter.

“No, not quite I’m afraid.” Then she turned back to face Sting who was watching her with a… well, almost desperate look, her gaze turning serious. “And I’m glad the guild is apparently more… tolerant, Master. But this is not an easy decision that I intend to rush. Now I would like to enjoy the party as it is.” Then she turned to the representatives of the respective strong guilds of Fiore, slightly bowing to them. “Thank you very much for your offers too.”

With that, the   of the spectacle started dying down, everyone deciding to give the girl a break. “Huh… that was unexpected.” Erza, one of those closely watching the exchange said. “Way to go Master Sting.”

“Yeah. Right.” Needless to say, not very proud of the outcome… the White Dragon Slayer spent most of the rest of the ball pouting.

The night continued but the surprises weren’t over, everyone was surprised when suddenly Natsu appeared in the ballroom dressed in none other than the king’s clothes, even wearing his crown! Despite the demands of the real King Toma for the Dragon Slayer to give back his crown, Natsu laughed and declared everyone as his subordinates from now on.

Of course that all turned out to be a joke in the end.

The next day soon came and the participating guilds started to leave Crocus little by little to return to their respective guilds. Despite most of the members having left early in the morning, the four remaining representatives of Sabertooth were all recovering from a massive hangover (including the new Master who aside from pouting decided that he should drink to forget), therefore they only had their things all packed when it was almost evening. What Sting didn’t expect (or remember actually) was to see the same blonde girl from the day before… apparently waiting for the guild members at the train station.

“Hi everyone!” the girl greeted all of the members cheerfully, while she received… nothing but blank stares. She had only a small backpack that was half-slung over her shoulder, which seemed to be… heavier than what she could reasonably carry.

“Uuuh…” Sting didn’t know where to start. It was mesmerizing how this kid could talk to all of them like she had known them for a while… well, she probably wouldn’t be so relaxed around them if she knew how they were back… a few days ago. “What… are you doing here kid?”

“It’s Rin.” the girl said in all honesty and she tilted her head to the side.“What else? I’m coming with you back to the guild, of course.”

The Master put his two fingers between the bridge of his nose, he really didn’t need this with his growing headache… not to mention the fast approaching train ride, which he didn’t want to think about. “No, you’re really not.”

“I’m afraid I am.” the girl sounded so cheerful and proud of herself. “It would raise questions if Sabertooth left its… most recent member behind, y'know.”

“If my memory serves right… you did accept her as a member.” Rufus, as always, really wasn’t helping things.

“I second that, I heard it loud and clear.” And of course Orga wasn’t helping either… “Or did you only say yes because of Yukino?? Cuz that’s low Sting…”

Sting turned to give a big glare at the Lightning God Slayer, if looks could kill… “That…! Ugh… just shut up and get on the train!” And he was stomping off to inside the transportation, sitting near a window with a clear pout as he crossed his arms over his chest. Rogue resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

“Yes, he is pouting because she isn’t coming back with us.” And he quickly followed to inside of the train. Orga walked to the little girl and patted her on the head.

“Sorry kid, Master’s word is final.” The other members soon followed to inside the transportation, one by one leaving the young girl behind. Sting was already feeling sick as soon as the announcement of the train’s departure sounded loud and clear, the doors were already closed and locked while he tried to relax into the seat but…

“Hey!” The blond nearly jumped out of his seat when the young, cheerful voice reached his ears again, coming right from behind him.

The new Master rounded on the girl, who still had that big smile on her face. Was she even for real?! Why couldn’t the brat take a hint already? “Get off!” he hissed, the frown on his face as deep as the girl’s annoying smile. 

The child shrugged, totally unfazed. “This is a public transportation and I have my ticket.” Which was a lie but well… the guild members weren’t authorized to check on it. “So you can’t expect me to just walk off now, can you?”

“Then find another compartment!” The train’s whistle blew. “This one is reserved for Sabertooth members!”

“Oh, then I’m on the correct one. Yaaay me!”

“Why you lit-” Sting’s words were cut off immediately as the train started to move down the track… His skin immediately turning to a shade of green, the blond brought both hands to his mouth, trying not to puke whatever he ate all over the train car. The hangover really wasn’t helping, either.

To his further chagrin, the girl took out a paper bag from her backpack. “Here, use this.”

Orga was apparently impressed. “Clever thinking, kid. Do you get sick often too?” Sting groaned, but not out of the motion sickness. He wanted to tell his green haired friend off for getting… almost friendly with the kid. And the girl just shrugged again.

“Nah, not me. But I knew someone who got sick all the time.” Then she looked pointedly at the Master. “You’re welcome.”

Another groan. “Get… lost…”

Rin shrugged yet again. “Fine, if you want to dirty all of your clothes with your puke, I can live with that.” She was about to put back the paper bag inside her backpack but Sting’s hand was faster than her own and snatched it away, putting the bag right against his mouth. Funny enough at the same time, Rogue practically flew from his seat and forced the window open as the same motion sickness was getting to him. Rufus and Orga could only grimace at the… greenish moisture that was coming from the Dragon Slayer’s stomachs.

“So let’s talk about my guildmark! I want it on my ankle and um… white… no pink! I love pink so it’s gotta be that color!”

“Uh… kid I don’t think it’s the best time to be talking about that stuff…” Orga winced again as he heard another big “blergh” coming from both the Dragon Slayers. “He isn’t in the best shape right now.”

“Oh, he will be fine.” She was more than used to that kind of motion sickness.

“You… aren’t…” and green skin emerged again, but Sting managed to suppress it this time. “…joining… the guild…!”

“Hmm… so mister green hair was right, you only said I could so you could win that lady back. You’re so rude!” She faked a pout. “What will the lady think if she does come back and doesn’t see me there? She will never believe you ever again!" 

"Touchè.” mumbled the Memory-Make mage with a teasing grin.

Sting pretty much growled at that, this wasn’t something he needed to be reminded of, no matter if the girl had a point or not. Good god what he wouldn’t give to take back time… he didn’t want to accept this brat into the guild to begin with, now, with every passing second he was regretting having said yes at the ball more and more. 

“Oh by the way I’m definitely gonna need a place to stay,” the girl continued, putting a finger under her chin - she obviously loved to talk. “I mean I have some money but I don’t think it will be enough for a rent - until I start going on jobs of course. Hey, with which one of you can I go on to missions?”

All she received were blank stares, god they were even having trouble keeping up with the speed of her talk. And yet the girl still didn’t seem to be fazed as she continued on. “Oh and are there a lot more members in our guild?!”

“Can… you…” Sting pulled the paper bag back down a little, closing his eyes for a moment in a bid of patience. “…just keep your… mouth… shut… for a moment?” He was tired, he was sick and yet his brain was working on full drive, formulating plans on how to ditch this kid once they reached their station. And then put tons of security in front of the guild just in case. At this point he didn’t really care what other guilds would think of them. Or rather really, he kinda wished he was the old Sting, jerk extraordinaire.

“Oh come ooon, I can’t really be annoying you too much.” No one bothered to answer that particular statement. “But okay, you know what? Just to humor you, I’m gonna do this the proper way.” Rin cleared her throat and put on her best angelic face, complete with puppy eyes. “Can I please join Sabertooth, Master?”

The answer was a loud and clear “No.” as expected but the girl obviously wasn’t going to give up that easily.

“Please…”

“No…”

“Please.”

“No.”

“Pleeeease!”

“No!”

“Please, please, please, please, please,” she continued saying the word non-stop, so much so that at some point the members were all covering their ears just so not to hear it. Meanwhile Sting continued answering to each of her pleas with a big denial, louder each time and whenever he wasn’t busy filling the now damp paper bag with more green moisture.

“SHUT UP BOTH OF YOU!” Rogue yelled while he was still hanging over the window. Lector sweatdropped while he munched on his shared food with Frosch.

“This is going to be a long ride, yes.”

“Fro thinks so too!”

And indeed it was the biggest hour and a half of the members’ lives, as the constant bickering between Rin and Sting continued without any of them ceasing - again except when the Master was puking at the paper bag or out of the window. When the train finally announced the arrival to Black Hills, every single member was ready to jump out of the transportation and race for their lives back into the guild.

“Come on,” the girl was somehow still fully energetic, so much so that she could barely stand still on her ground. “I challenge any of you for a race to the guild!” Well Sabertooth wasn’t a guild that could be easily missed, with the huge tiger statues adorning the building.

Seeing that his best friend was about to open his mouth, Rogue interrupted with a death glare. “Oppose her, start another bickering match… and I swear I will kill you.” 

Before anyone could say anything this time, there was a brief flash of light and the girl was standing directly in front of Sting in a protective pose, glaring daggers at the Shadow Dragon Slayer. Rogue raised an eyebrow. “That’s a manner of speech kid.” Then he looked back up at the blond, clearly amused. “Seems like you have a protector here.” 

The White Dragon Slayer just simply picked the girl from the collar of her jacket and shifted her to a side. “Yeah well, I don’t need one.”

“Come on Sting, how bad could things be if we accepted her?” Rogue continued. “Fairy Tail has Wendy, Lamia has Cheria…”

“I didn’t ask for your approval!” The black haired man was a bit taken aback by the sudden hostility in her voice. But then Rin turned with hopeful eyes towards Sting.

There was a big moment of silence.

“Okay, fine, enough already! You can come back to the guild with us!” As if he had another chance… “Just stop talking for a while… please…” he could dig his head into a pool of ice right now if that meant to end his pounding headache.

“Yaaay!!!” And with that, the little girl flung her arms around the blond’s middle in a tight hug.

“I don’t remember saying you could hug me…” Sting grumbled. 

He only saw the girl grinning hugely for a minute before she jumped back and then hit him on the arm, open-palmed. “Tag, you’re it!” Without giving him another chance to reply, she took off in a high-speed sprint, leaving the guild members just… staring behind her back.

“What… did we just get ourselves into…?”

“It’s Sting-kun’s fault, yes!”

“Fro thinks so too!”

[yeahgen]

❄️

christmas/winter meme | ❄️play  in  the  snow  with  my  muse  

one.

Pow!

The snowball gets him in the back of the head before its remnants trickle down his collar, nearly making Fudou choke on his bottle of amazake. Hissing at the cold, the tantou tugs at his hoodie while glaring behind him. “Hey, what’s the big idea!?”

‘Not my fault you were spacing out.’

‘Here, I’ll give you another chance.’

“Yag–” Fudou cuts off mid-cry to duck out of the way of a second snowball, then grabs a handful of snow to make one of his own. “Take that!”

Yagen turns his head sideways so the projectile flies by harmlessly, then curves his lips into a smirk. ‘Alright guys, you know what to do.’

“Yeah!”

“Leave it to us, Yagen-nii!”

“You’re outnumbered, Fudou!”

“Th-this isn’t fair!” Fudou cries before being buried under the  avalanche of an Awataguchi assault.

An hour later, he’s still grumbling at the kotatsu when Yagen pushes a cup of tea at him across the table. ‘Feeling warmer now?’

“Feelin’ drier at least.”

‘Dry is good,’ Yagen peers at him softly before brushing his fingers past Fudou’s cheeks. ‘You’ll warm up faster that way.’

Fudou snorts. “Who’s th’ one that nearly froze me to death in the firs’ place?!”

‘Can’t get warm without starting out cold,’ Yagen’s tone is flippant, his motions smooth as he settles squarely behind the other and hugs him around the waist.

“Oi, you’re freezin’!”

‘Not for long~’

“Leggo! Eh, your icicle hands–!!”

‘Maaaake me.’

“Don’t think I can’t!” They tussle, but Fudou has the disadvantage with his legs still under the kotatsu. In the end, he falls back exhausted into Yagen’s lap, blinking back tears from the other’s surprise tickle attack.

“That wasn’t fair.”

‘Nope.’

“Jeeeeerk,” he huffs and goes to wipe his eyes, but the other catches them by the wrists. “Eh?”

‘I got it,’ Yagen murmurs, then leans in to kiss the droplets away.

“Wh–what are you–” Fudou blusters.

‘Well, I couldn’t use my hands when they were holding yours, could I?’ Yagen teases before letting him go. ‘It was worth it just to see the expression on your face.’

Fudou turns an angry shade of tomato red. “You–”

‘You’ve warmed up by now, right?’ Yagen pipes up helpfully.

“Yagen!”

‘Hahaha…!’ 

I love you, Fudou Yukimitsu. More than anything else in the world.

two.

Nom.

‘Hm. Doesn’t taste like anything after all.’

“Yagen, did ya just eat a snowflake.”

‘A few, actually.’

“Aren’t they just frozen water?” Fudou mutters. He’s sure he’s heard Yagen explain about the science of snow before to his brothers once upon a time. “It’s not gonna taste like much.”

‘Just checking.’ The spectacled tantou puts his hands in his pockets and leans back against the back of the bench, staring up at the skies. ‘After hearing about all these gifts, I’m starting to question the reality of this place.’

“The cold’s real ‘nough.”

‘Hah, true.’

“Fudou-nii!” 

Both of them look up at the sound of a voice to see Oshima toddling towards them, nearly staggering beneath a giant ball of snow in his arms. Behind him are Goto and Sato, each hugging snowballs of their own. “Come help us build a snowman!”

“What, did you guys get all tha’ by yourselves?” Fudou tuts at the view, feeling an odd mixture of amusement and pride. “Nice job.”

Oshima beams at him. “Yeah!”

“Yagen, wanna help out?” Fudou tosses back as he takes the giant snowball from the smaller tantou’s arms.

Yagen smiles and shakes his head. It’s rare for Fudou to spend time with all his brothers, after all. ‘I’ll just–’

“C’mon, Yagen-nii!”

“Yeah, Yagen-nii should help out too! You’re taller!”

“We can build lots of snowmen together!”

The excited cries of the Yukimitsu brothers drown him out. Oshima, now with hands free, runs forward and simply grabs him by the hand. “You gotta help us find stuff fo’ their faces!”

Let it be said that Yagen Toushirou was never one to refuse requests from a younger brother. And thus, the five of them ended up building an entire family of snowmen that afternoon, one for each of their siblings there in the city. 

At the end of it all, Yagen and Fudou stand side by side, marveling at the view while the younger Yukimitsu brothers run around their creations like a festival float.

“Mm, that one over there’s not bad lookin’,” Fudou nods sagely towards a certain snowman wearing glasses over its nose. Yagen exhales, smirking at the snowman with the sliced top of a pineapple sticking out of his head like hair. 

‘I’d say the one next to it looks even better.’ 

They exchange glances, then break out into laughter. Fudou’s the first to hug him, but Yagen gets the kiss–a small one snuck on a cheek, then a soft whisper by an ear.

‘I love you, Fudou Yukimitsu. More than anything else in the world.’

three.

Crunch.

He stops at the top of the hill, digging his skis into the snow. From this height, the research team and their platform look like ants. Fudou squints behind his goggles, but fails to pick Yagen out from the other mass of white labcoats.

Instead, he hears the familiar crackle in his earpiece before the scientist speaks. ‘All systems go. How are you doing from your end, Fudou?’

“S’fine. View’s great.”

‘That’d be the special ultraviolet guard we put on the goggles. They’re anti-fog and anti-glare, better than anything else on the market.’

“Yeah, I bet.” He’d just tossed out a comment, but trust Yagen to hyper-focus on the details as always. “So whaddya want me to do this time?”

‘Sit back and enjoy the show. These are automatic skiis, we’re supposed to test if they can take you down the slopes unaided.’

“Uh-huh. And if I fall?”

‘You won’t,’ Yagen’s voice is flush with certainty. ‘The R&D team’s designed this with a million self-balancing sensors in mind–and besides, you’re not that bad of a skiier.’

“Right. So these for those rich lazy folks or somethin’?” Fudou tests the skiis by balancing on one foot. Amazingly, the skii rights itself in the snow before he ever gets close to tipping over. He’s more used to handling prototype weapons and other nasty gadgets, so fooling around with a toy seems…odd.

‘Sort of. They’re going to be marketed to the disabled elite so they can get back to doing the things they love. No one’s ever invested into the field because everyone’s looking for miracle cures instead, but the company figures we can do both.’

“Your company’s got a whole lotta pies t’finger, huh.”

‘Haha, something like that. Anyways, I’ll make sure you’re not bored on the way down, so have fun!’

“Sure thing, doc.” And as usual, Fudou waits for the countdown before he pushes off the mountain. Again, it takes him time to adjust to new tech–the automatic skiis seem to take over as his legs and feet, directing him to the smoothest path down the mountain. Whenever he tries to go a different route, the skiis relinquish control, but he doesn’t stay there long before they bring him back to smoother snow instead. 

About a third of the way down the hill, Yagen sends a giant boulder after him. It’s around the same time ramps start showing up in the slopes, so Fudou simply glides over one that takes him airborne in a 360 degree flip that lands him behind the careening projectile. Built in lasers disintegrate the massive ball to dust before it can crash onto the researchers below. 

After that come other obstacles: pop-up trees, falling objects, a storm of snowballs pelting him from the side; with the skiis keeping him on his feet, he only has to focus on speed and evasion to avoid the lot, working the slopes like a decades-old pro. By the time he reaches the bottom of the hill, Yagen’s the first the clap him on the back and offer him a detailed breakdown of all his adventures on the mountain. Then he sends him back up the lift for another run. And another and another, because all good tests bear repeated trials. Besides, it’s not much work when gravity’s on his side, right?

By the end of Run 21, he’s called to take a break and sinks into the chair prepared for him. Two assistants help him take off his skiis while Yagen plods over in his snowboots, tablet in hand. ‘It’s really amazing, these results,’ he prattles on. ‘Especially in relation to your stamina! Fudou, you only exhibited a 0.8% decrease in speed dodging that boulder this run compared to the first!’

“Yeah well, I probably used th’ energy kickin’ it to pieces in the run before that,” Fudou shrugs. “How’d ya get so many boulders, anyways?” Each trial saw a new ball of death–sometimes two and finally three–hurtling down the hill to crush him.

‘Recycled waste,’ Yagen says briskly, and then brightens as he spots a promising new trend of data. ‘It looks like we’ve uncovered a notable design flaw in the boards. R&D will be happy that we’ve caught it.’

“Uh-huh.” Fudou waits for Yagen to stop gloating over the research, but when time stretches on, he gets impatient and tugs on the scientist’s sleeve. “So…we done now?”

Yagen blinks, then checks his watch. ‘Yeah, you’re free to go. Good job today as always.’

That’s it? He rubs his nose (still sore from the cold) and tugs at Yagen’s sleeve, scowling slightly.

‘What?’ his partner spares him a glance.

“Ya gonna say anythin’ else?” he asks.

The scientist tilts his head to one side, then grins. ‘Your nose is red.’

Fudou wrinkles it in protest. “Tell me somethin’ I don’t know.”

‘You snore when you sleep.’

“So do you.”

‘You’re pretty.’

“Tch, compliments won’t getcha anythin’.”

‘It sounds like you just want attention.’ Bemused, Yagen moves to pet him on the head, gloved hand running through spiky purple hair. ‘Be good, I’ll play with you after work.’

“Yagen,” Something in Fudou bristles at the words, and it shows in the way he bares his teeth. 

Almost feral, Yagen thinks, and wonders how much he’s really tamed out of the stray he took in from the streets. But he indulges him anyways and leans in to plant a kiss on his forehead. ‘Alright now, don’t get mad. I know it’s been a long day. Let’s have dinner out tonight, hm? My treat.’

“It’s always your treat,” his boyfriend arches an eyebrow, unimpressed.

‘Not when I make you cook,’ Yagen shoots back. ‘And I won’t tonight, because I love you, Fudou Yukimitsu,’

‘…more than anything else in the world.’

His best, his precious, and most cost-efficient test subject boyfriend. Really, who would complain with such a two-for-one deal?

[ichorcrowns]

                        SHE STIFLED LAUGHS AS LONG AS SHE COULD WITH THE PHONE IN HER HAND.      her knee hurt worse than it had in a long time, but only because she was actually   making progress   in her rehab on it. it had been a long road to recovery for the welshwoman, but to finally be making progress was a delightful thing. her range of motion was improving and pain came along with the gain. this was absolutely   normal   in an injury. that didn’t make it feel any better, though, knowing it was okay. the phone she stared at as she sat outside physio played a compilation of funny and cute   dog videos   that never failed to make her laugh. tegan sat waiting for her ride who was late per usual, but thankfully the videos helped not only pass the time, but distract her from the throbbing pain in a most crucial joint. 

                        the brunette nearly snorted at a pug licking the air in an attempt to get a drink of water pouring from an outside spout, but the poor pup was only licking at   the shadow   of the water. unknowingly to her, a young man sat down beside her on the bench. a loud laugh that forced her head back in joy was the only thing that alerted him to her. the twenty–four year old cleared her throat and tucked a lock of chestnut colored hair behind her ear.      “   oi, sorry ‘bout that. dogs are   marvelous   creatures. when laughter is th’ best medicine, they never fail to provide that,   ”      tegan paused the video on her phone before extending a hand to the blonde man.      “   i’m   tegan, by th’ way.   ”

♡   —   @JOLLYNEPHILIM  //  CLOSED !