#back due to popular demand

[eliasbouchard]

are you surprised? it’s god of war edits again

[haikyuusbookclub]

[moongothic]

The reason I ended that Crocodad AU where he finds Baby Robin-post where I did was because I actually just don't know what would happen next, where things would go from there. Let's talk about that.

Also apologies in advance, this post got obscenely long. Again. I don't know how this keeps on happening.

(If you wanted the minimum context without having to read the whole OG post, just scroll down to the Plot Section and read until the end from there)

But just to give a minor recap: They're in the tombs of Alubarna, Cobra's dead and the second the guards notice their king has gone missing they're going go searching for him. So there's no time to mess around, Crocodile and Robin need to leave as soon as possible before they're discovered, otherwise they'll risk getting reported to the World Government for assasinating Cobra and boy howdy Croc's not going to be a Shichibukai for long if that happens. The two are there to just get what they want. Crocodile wants Pluton. And the Poneglyph says its in Wano Country

What the hell are either of these two going to do? In this scenario?

'Cause on one hand, there's Robin, who could be scared shitless of Crocodile and unsure what to do next.

If Robin tells him, will Crocodile kill her because he doesn't need her anymore? Because he got what he wanted?

Or might he lash out at her and kill her because the weapon isn't in Alabasta as he had assumed?

But if she refuses to tell him, he'll kill her anyways, won't he?

She can't run away from him anyways, he'd catch her in seconds.

Should she lie and give him a fake location nearby in the hopes of creating an opportunity for her to escape?

But even if she managed to escape, she'd be back on the run from the Government all over again, fighting for her life, all alone.

(Minor note but it's worth pointing out that Robin probably wouldn't know about Wano's takeover, she might not know who Kaidou is, let alone what the Yonkou are, or where Wano even is. Like we know it's a bombshell of information, but Robin wouldn't know where on The Scale of Bad News it'd land, and that could also add to her fear of telling the truth)

Like I think those would be the kinds of thoughts that would run through Robin's mind, and even I can't tell what she'd do.

And on the other hook, we have Mr Murderdile. How the fuck would he even react to whatever Robin would do?

I mean I don't think he'd actually kill Robin if she told him the truth about what the Poneglyph says. I do think he would Fucking Furious and deeply hurt if she'd refuse to tell him, if she'd lie or tried to flee, as these would be acts of betrayal and we know Crocodile would not take that well. Would he kill her for betraying him? Possibly? Since he could see her as a threat to his son's life (the priority), I don't fucking know man. That could very much turn into like a "Doflamingo killing Rocinante" moment for Crocodile in this AU.

But what the fuck would he do if he found out Pluton was in Wano?

Mind you, by this point the country would've been freshly taken over by Kaidou, and it's only been 2-5 years since Crocodile would've had his ass kicked by Whitebeard in the New World. Like that trauma would be Quite Fresh in his mind. I don't think Crocodile would be stupid enough to try to go to Wano. It'd be stupid fucking dangerous, and surely he'd know that. And not just in the "he could get killed by Kaidou" kind of way, but because surely Crocodile would realize Kaidou was sitting on top of Pluton as they spoke. Even if he didn't know about it yet, if Kaidou found out about Pluton being directly beneath his gigantic ass, it would be Fucking Bad. And thus going to the island with the only person on the planet who could reveal the exact location of the weapon would be a stupid ass move. (Of course, without the heir of the Kozuki Clan Pluton can't be released and Momo has just been yeeted into the future, so even if they did go they wouldn't be able to open the borders of Wano, but unless the Alabastan Poneglyph explained that then neither Robin or Crocodile would understand that)

So if Crocodile's only goal in life at this moment had been obtaining an Ancient Weapon so he could nuke the World Government and then go be with his son (since nothing in the world could threaten his child anymore and force Crocodile to keep his distance to keep him safe)... And he found out he was far, far too weak to even obtain that weapon... What would Crocodile do? Knowing he wouldn't be able to do what he wanted, that he wouldn't get to be with his son ever again?

(Mind you. There is a whole discussion to be had about whether or not Crocodile was suicidal during Impel Down/Marineford and if his petty revenge against Whitebeard was a borderline suicide mission. Because unironically I think there's like a 40-50% chance that could be the case. And I'm pointing this out because if Crocodile was canonically suicidal after failing to take over Alabasta, how would this scenario in this AU be different? Aside from the obvious time commitment, and the way Crocodile's traumas would be much more fresh at this point compared to canon)

Like. What can he do anymore? What's there left for him to do?

Fall into absolute despair and give up? Allow the royal guards to find and capture him, and let the WG throw him in jail for assassinating King Cobra for no reason? Or just kill himself on the spot because what would it matter, he'd die eventually anyways? God knows, even if he wanted to keep on opposing the WG, between the Dragodile Divorce (and however the fuck that might've played out) and Crocodile probably not approving of Dragon's methods for revolution (too idealistic, soft, and slow), ditching his Warlord-status and fully joining the Revolutionary Army wouldn't suit Crocodile either. He's a pirate, not some hero of justice. And he's never going to be strong enough to defeat the WG himself, all alone. That's what the Ancient Weapon was for to begin with.

So, what would he do now, when his final option had been crossed out, labeled impossible. Would death be the easy way out, and at least give him the peace of mind knowing his son could never be linked back to him and put into danger because of him?

But what would happen to Robin?

If Crocodile allowed himself to become captured and go to jail, Robin would be doomed too. Between his hatred of the Government and Robin being an innocent child, surely he didn't want the Government to get their hands on her, they'd just put her to death. But what else could he do? Tell her to run? Leave her to fend for herself all over again? Alone? Would he have it in him to tell her that?

Or would Crocodile's anger and spite at the Government be more powerful than his despair? Would he rather flee with Robin for now and figure things out later, when they're not in some ancient tombs with the corpse of a king where they could be found out any second and be in far deeper shit than they're already in?

And I think this is where we circle back to what Robin would do, first. Because even if Robin told Crocodile the truth, there's still multiple ways she could do that, and depending on how Robin went about it, that could influence Crocodile's reaction too, couldn't it?

If the two hadn't become too fond of each other yet, and Robin very calmly told Crocodile Pluton was in Wano, I think he could just become kind of catatonic in shock and horror, falling into despair. Maybe without saying a word he'd just walk out of the tombs straight to the guards without ever looking back. Abandoning Robin and leaving her running for her life again, alone.

But Robin is at this point a 12 year old child***

The sheer intensity of this situation could become too much for her. And if she had become fond of Crocodile, if despite everything she still wanted to stay with him because he had been the only source of safety she had had in three years... what if she just burst into tears, and told Crocodile she was afraid of him and what he might do to her because he might not like what the Poneglyph said? What would Crocodile do then? How would Crocodile react to that? To this child being not just brutally honest, but emotionally vulnerable and showing him that she WANTED to trust him? If Crocodile had been emotionally flipflopping between trying to remain emotionally unavailable to Robin because he didn't trust her, and trying to be caring (partially because he was intentionally trying to manipulate her and partially because he genuinely felt bad for her)... Would this become the moment Crocodile himself realizes he has to decide if he's going to be a cruel pirate who only cares about his son's safety, or be Robin's guardian? Either demand her to just spit it out if she knows what's good for her, or comfort her and tell her he would never hurt her regardless of what the Poneglyph said? And... almost regardless of what Crocodile would choose, could Robin's outburst still like... both soften the blow of the bad news and emotionally ground Crocodile? So that he wouldn't fall into despair?

If so... Guess the two would just have to flee then. Leave their hostage (be it the (unconcious???) pregnant queen or baby Vivi) behind, and just leave Alabasta. There'd be nothing left in that country for them anyways, nothing but people who could catch Crocodile and report him to the World Government for assasinating their King (mainly Shaka who could probably tell their king was murdered by a heavy smoker thanks to his DF and then realize it was Crocodile if he ever gotten within sniffing distance from him), leading to his Shichibukai Status to being stripped from him. Escaping and never coming back would be their priority.

Whatever the fuck would happen next is a bloody mystery though

Like IDK maybe, after getting over whatever emotional turmoil he'd be going through, Crocodile could start building an organization of some kind?? But this time with the intent of wrecking Kaidou's ass and taking over Wano himself????? (Roccoco Works wouldn't nececarily have to be a secret organization either since if he wanted to take over a non-WG Affiliated country from some pirate... He could just do that. The WG shouldn't care. He would have to be extremely careful though to make sure nobody ever found out his sweet little assistant/secretary Miss Sunday was actually Nico Robin. Also if he was the Rev Army's Secret Sugar Daddy he'd have to be extremely careful who he would hire to work for him. Like the hiring process would be extremely selective still, if not more-so than with BW?) Also he could spend a fuck ton of time just working out to get as swole as humanly possible. Because god knows he'll need to if he wanted to actually fight Kaidou and survive with all his limbs still in-tact. Maybe try to get friendly with Moria too knowing Moria has some serious beef with Kaidou and could be down for getting revenge one day. But mind you, this would be A Whole Process which would no doubt take years if not decades.

All while looking after Robin. Because he was all she had and he couldn't possibly abandon her now. He's in too deep.

And this is where my brain finally hits a brick wall with this AU, I can't imagine how shit would go down from here on. Because IDK, this whole thing started out more as a thought experiment (of "how would things be different if they met earlier") and the further you go down the timeline it stops being wild what if-speculation and more just a fanfic lmao

***(Look if I'm not wrong, the year Luffy was born Robin should be going 11 turning 12, right? (And Croc 27 -> 28). But if enough time has passed that Vivi has been born, well, Robin's birthday is a few days after Vivi's, so she could've turned 13 by now. Or hell, this whole shitshow of a scenario could take place on her birthday if you wanted to be really evil) (But if I'm wrong and Robin was 10 -> 11 the year Luffy was born, then she'd be around turning 12 at this point) (This shit is so complicated aaaaa 😭)

One more note because I might as well put them in the same post

So in my mind, if Crocodad Real IN GENERAL then it would make perfect sense to me if Crocodile's reason for wanting his funny little military nation and to obtain Pluton was to nuke Marijoa and just delete the World Government so his baby boy would be safe. Because god knows if the Government found out Dragon had a son (or that he had been involved with the Revs/plotted against them and that he had a son), that baby boy would become a target for the WG. Thus he couldn't even take his child with him and raise him like Bege or Big Mom did with their kids. Like it wasn't even an option. And because that's like my default headcanon already, I'm obviously applying it to this silly Crocodad AU.

But it raises a fun question; what would Crocodile tell baby Robin about his motivations?

Like, I can perfectly imagine Crocodile explaining to Robin that he hates the WG and wants to destroy them, and that not only would Robin be safe with him (not just in the "I won't hurt you or turn you in to the Marines, we're on the same side", or the "I'm stronk and can protect you from danger" way, but also "the WG can't find you if you're under my wing" way), but also if she helped him find an Ancient Weapon, she could help him defeat her greatest enemy for once and for all and become free herself.

And that's not a bad deal, now is it.

But even if Crocodile explained that to Robin when they'd first meet, just to get her to agree to coming with him, surely it would take Robin some time to actually start trusting Crocodile, after spending the past three years on the run. 'Cause in her mind, either the Government Approved Pirate was lying to get her guard down (so it'd be easier to hand her over to the WG), or the Government Approved Pirate was explicitly admitting to being a backstabber and couldn't be trusted. But hey Papadile could maybe win her trust with some time, plenty of books and maybe a few plushies

However.

I'm sure Robin would wonder WHY Crocodile wanted to destroy the World Government. And Crocodile sure as fucking hell would never tell her it was because he had a son, god knows he would not trust her with that information. I'm not sure if Robin would ask about Crocodile's motivations, and even if she did, I'm sure he'd find a way to respond in a truthful way without telling her anything (Like arguably he isn't free from the WG either, he can either play and pretend to be on their side until they decide they have no more use for him, or try to eliminate them first and ensure his own safety. So he could tell Robin that as an excuse) (Kill-or-Be-Killed is not a great life lesson to be teaching Nico Robin Age 12) And you know, not knowing why this Scary Pirate wants a weapon of mass destruction would raise alarm bells in anyone's mind. Robin isn't stupid.

And now we circle right back to the begining of this post. Again. This post is a fucking timeloop, there is no escape. What would Robin do when Crocodile would ask her to read him the Poneglyph. Because there is that option that she could try to ask him Crocodile why he wanted to destroy the WG, then and there. Possibly defiantly, possibly calmly, possibly with tears running down her little face because she's scared out of her mind and wants to have faith in her guardian, but is unsure because the situation she's found herself in is a train wreck and Croc's on thin ice. And would she start with the question right away, or would she first tell the truth and then, after seeing Crocodile's reaction, ask him about it? And would Crocodile tell her? The TL:DR; of it? That he had a son whom the WG would want dead if they ever found out about it, a son he wanted to protect? That that's what this all was about?

And how would Robin feel about such a revelation?

Because on one hand, it could be calming for her, to understand that Crocodile wasn't out for world domination like a cartoon villian or anything, that his motivations were actually understandable. He just wanted to protect his family. But on the other hand... if Robin had been (conciously or subconciously) hoping to find a father figure in Crocodile... would finding out that Crocodile had his own son, his own family somewhere out there... Would that knowledge break Robin? Because in her mind, even if she hadn't wished for it conciously, Crocodile could never become a father for her? Because if/when Crocodile would get what he wanted, he'd just go be with his son?

Keep in mind. Robin's core fears and trauma come from not just betrayal, but also abandonment. A fear of being alone. Even if it was for Robin's own sake, her mother left her behind. She wasn't able to find friends or community in Ohara at all, even with the people of the library she felt left out because they wouldn't allow her to participate in the Poneglyph research (understandable on their part) And even when Robin's uncle and his family "adopted" her, she was treated as an other in the family. An unwanted burden, a servant. Not a real member of the family.

Finding out Crocodile had a family he wanted to return to could in her mind mean she was going to become abandoned again, left behind to fend for herself. Even if the WG wasn't out to get her, that would still be absolutely soul crushing for a child. And even if Crocodile did decide to adopt Robin, would she not be afraid of being treated as an other in that family too, because she wasn't his daughter? That he'd never love her the way he'd love his own son?

How would the truth behind Crocodile's motivations actually make Robin feel?

And one final gut punch before I go:

Would Crocodile struggle with some kind of guilt and shame over looking after Robin when he had his son somewhere out there? Would he be beating himself up inside because he couldn't stop himself for caring so damn much about this poor kid, but didn't want to treat Robin like some kind of a replacement for his own child? And would those feelings get even worse after finding out he couldn't even get Pluton because the bloody thing was hiding under Kaidou's ass? Would Crocodile feel horrible about how he had to abandon his son seemingly forever and then found himself looking after some other child instead?

Also. If the Dragodile Divorce was bad, especially in the "Dragon wasn't particularly accepting" kinda way, and if Crocodile had this deep fear inside of him about whether or not his son would ever accept him as his other dad and/or be upset about not having a mom (a fear that could get worse over time since he wouldn't have been with his baby from the begining, that he'd have to show up in his child's life later, praying for acceptance and forgiveness for having to leave him behind)... Would Robin potentially expressing that she saw Crocodile as a father-figure kind of break Crocodile (in a good way)? Not just because of the gender affirmation (for the recently transitioned guy mind you), but also because it'd mean that there was at least one person in the world who looked at him and thought they wanted him as their father? And could that happiness then like ADD ON to whatever guilt Crocodile could also be feeling?

These two are such broken people. I can not help but to wonder if they'd be able to navigate through their complicated emotions and find the healing and comfort they both so desperately need.

Anyway yeah that's the post, hope you enjoyed The Thoughts

[vhalesa]

Heeeey, guess what xD

first | <prev | next>

[static-radio-ao3]

@jegulus-microfic // september 24 // prompt: capture // words: 580 // part 1 + part 3 + part 4

Regulus would like to tell you he is here against his will but, unfortunately, that would be a lie.

When James texted him that the frat was doing charity events all week, the car wash flashed through his mind. He is not proud, but his first thought was maybe I can borrow Barty’s car to go to the car wash again. His second thought was what the fuck.

But then James mentioned an activities fair and a kissing booth and all of a sudden, Regulus is standing in line to be kissed. By James Potter.

The line is ridiculously long, which really shouldn’t be a surprise. He caught a glimpse of James earlier. He is once again wearing that dumb fucking snap back and that dumb fucking chain around his neck, but at least there is a shirt this time. Silver linings.

The line inches forward and finally, Regulus makes it to the front. James throws his head back and cackles when he sees Regulus.

“Oh, sweetheart, if you wanted to kiss me, you could’ve just asked. Although I do think you should take me to dinner first,” James tells him. Regulus wants to throttle him. And kiss him. It’s a confusing combination.

“Shut up,” Regulus says. He glances at the menu hanging behind James. It’s two dollars for a kiss on the cheek and five dollars for a kiss on the lips. He hands James a five-dollar bill. “It’s for charity.”

“Well, in that case, c’mere.”

James leans forward, one hand sliding into Regulus’ hair. Regulus can feel James’ breath ghost over the side of his face right as his eyes flutter closed. James captures his lips in a kiss. It’s chaste, a bit more than a peck, but only barely. It’s nothing toe-curling, but still, Regulus’ toes curl.

It lasts less than a minute, probably, but it feels longer. Or maybe it really is longer, because a pointed cough behind him makes him pull away from the kiss. A girl is tapping her foot impatiently and Regulus barely contains a sneer.

“Pleasure doing business with you,” James says with a pleased smile on his face. He tips an imaginary hat at Regulus as he turns away. Which, by the way, looks idiotic considering the fact that James is actually wearing a hat, just backward.

Regulus walks back the way he came, silently counting the number of people currently in line. Eleven. That’s… hmm…

Regulus doesn’t know what comes over him. Jealousy, lust, possessiveness, something else entirely, maybe. But he suddenly finds himself at the back of the line. Again.

Time moves at a snail’s pace, and so does the queue for James’ dumb fucking kissing booth. More people have joined behind him, waiting for their turn, and Regulus feels his eye twitch in annoyance. He does a breathing exercise. Hums a Ke$ha song. Counts the blades of grass but gives up when he loses track for the fifth time. And then finally, it’s his turn again.

James looks startled to see him, but he hides it easily behind a smirk. “Back for more, Reggie?” he asks.

“Shut up," Regulus says, slamming a fifty-dollar bill down on the counter. "Whatever this can get me, I’ll take. It’s for charity, okay?"

James simply laughs, puts the bill in the money jar, and flips the sign from open to closed. Everyone in line behind him groans, but Regulus doesn’t hear it, because James is reeling him in again for a kiss.

[kuni-kuun]

Bold pt.2

[john-smiths-jawline]

John: As top in this relationship, I think we should- Sherlock: I can't believe you're pulling rank on me.

[wren-of-the-woods]

Oh It Seems To Me That You Can't Dance

Geralt's first date with his daughter's favorite musician is quickly approaching, and he's nervous. He doesn't remember how to date. He desperately wants this to go well.

Fortunately, Jaskier has several ideas on how they can have an appropriately romantic evening.

Or: In which neither Geralt nor Jaskier knows how to dance, and that will certainly not stop them from trying.

This is sequel to my fluffy Birthday Bard AU! It also works as a standalone. Geraskier, 5k, on AO3 here.

Many thanks to the lovely @leahseclipse for being an amazing beta! <33

Geralt was nervous.

He was aware that this was silly. It wasn’t as though there would be any major consequences if this went poorly. His relationship with Jaskier had barely even started — logically, he should not be particularly invested. Besides, Jaskier had already been to their house once. Why would the second time be any worse? It didn’t make sense.

Then again, many things about Jaskier did not make sense. Perhaps this was just another example of his entrancing oddities.

Tonight, Geralt would see Jaskier again. Tonight was their date. Tonight was the day that, despite his best attempts to distract himself, he had been thinking about almost every day for the past week.

He had already cleaned the house, found an outfit he was (mostly) satisfied with, and prepared a semi-decent meal. Ciri had done her homework and they had talked about their plans for the evening. Roach was reasonably clean and happily playing with Ciri. Geralt had nothing to do now; all there was left was the wait.

He was, undeniably, nervous about this.

He had not been on a date since he finally broke up with Yennefer. Between dealing with the aftermath of that and working out how to fit Ciri into his life, he’d had neither the time nor the desire. If he was being entirely honest with himself, he hadn’t dated much before his relationship with Yennefer, either. The whole thing involved too much socializing without enough reward; he found it exhausting. He really had no idea what was normal on a date. He had no clue what he was doing.

He liked Jaskier. Ciri liked Jaskier. He desperately wanted not to fuck this up.

On second thought, perhaps his nerves were understandable.

“It’ll be fine,” said Ciri, not looking up from where she was wrestling with Roach. “Jaskier’s nice and you’re nice. Roach is here. Nothing will go wrong.”

Despite his anxiety, Geralt found himself smiling. He didn’t know what he did to deserve such a lovely daughter, but he knew he would be forever grateful.

“Thanks, cub,” he said. Ciri smiled.

Geralt was prevented from spiraling into another round of worries by the sight of a very familiar car pulling into the driveway. Jaskier was here.

Geralt took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and went to open the door.

“Geralt! Hi!” said Jaskier the moment he caught sight of Geralt. “It’s wonderful to see you again!”

“Yeah, you too,” said Geralt. Somehow, he meant it even more than he had expected.

He and Jaskier had exchanged texts not infrequently over the last several days, but seeing him again in person made a whole new host of feelings flutter up in Geralt’s chest. Jaskier, as always, looked beautiful. His blue shirt accentuated his eyes in a way that seemed almost magical, and his artfully tousled hair seemed like it shouldn’t have been as attractive as it was. Geralt’s chest felt tight, though he could not tell if it was due to anxiety or excitement. Jaskier was gorgeous.

“I have something for you,” said Jaskier. For some reason, he sounded nervous.

For the first time, Geralt noticed the way Jaskier was holding his hands behind his back. He cocked his head, curious. “Hmm?”

Jaskier pulled his hands out from behind his back. He was holding two large and colorful bouquets of flowers.

“This one’s for you,” he said, offering the slightly larger bouquet to Geralt. Geralt took it, eyes wide. It was beautiful. He had no idea what the various flowers were, but the many yellow and orange blossoms were artfully balanced by small blue ones. Even though he had only held it for a moment, he could already tell that it smelled wonderful.

“And this is for Ciri,” said Jaskier, gesturing to the other bouquet. It was smaller and had more blue than Geralt’s, but was just as pretty.

Ciri, who Geralt had not realized was standing behind him until that moment, squealed in delight. She took the flowers from Jaskier with a grin bright enough to outshine the sun.

“Thank you so much!” she shouted.

“You like them, then?” asked Jaskier. Though the question was nominally directed towards Ciri, he was looking at Geralt.

“I love them!” said Ciri.

“They’re beautiful,” said Geralt.

“Come on, Dad, we have to put them in water!” said Ciri, tugging on Geralt’s arm. Geralt suddenly remembered that they were still standing in the doorway.

“Good idea. Come in, Jaskier.” He held the door open for Jaskier.

“Thank you very much, kind sir,” said Jaskier. He attempted a courtly bow. Geralt smiled. Jaskier laughed and bounced into Geralt’s house.

Geralt shut the door behind them and subtly smelled his flowers, watching as Ciri and Jaskier began to talk animatedly on their way to the kitchen. Both of them were smiling.

Perhaps this wouldn’t be so hard, after all.

Ciri took it upon herself to show Jaskier around the house, since he hadn’t seen it properly the last time he was there. Geralt listened fondly from the kitchen as he set the table. Jaskier sounded genuinely interested, asking about the various pictures on walls and listening to Ciri’s explanations of the assorted knick-knacks on the shelves.

“And this is Roach!” said Ciri, coming into the living room with the air of a tour guide reaching the most interesting feature of all. Jaskier made appropriately impressed sounds. Through the doorway, Geralt could just see the grin on his face.

“Hello, beautiful!” said Jaskier, crouching down to the dog’s level. He frowned. “Why is such a lovely creature named after a pest?”

Ciri laughed. “Dad claims she’s named after the fish, because of something from when he was a kid. I think it’s because she’s a rescue and refuses to be killed. She’s a little touchy around strangers, by the way. She might shout at you if you try to pet her.”

“Noted,” said Jaskier with a sigh. Then he brightens. “I suppose I’ll just have to get to know her and stop being a stranger!”

Ciri grinned at him. “Exactly.”

Geralt chose that moment to step out of the kitchen. “Sorry to interrupt the tour, but dinner is ready now.”

Jaskier stood immediately. “Wonderful! Lead the way, kind gentleman.”

Dinner mainly consisted of Geralt and Ciri’s favorite pasta. Jaskier seemed more than happy with the food, which was an immense relief. Finding things to talk about, as usual for Geralt, was slightly more difficult. Silence fell over the table after a few minutes of basic small talk and catching up.

“What’s your favorite movie, Jaskier?” asked Ciri. Geralt felt a swell of pride at the question; he had no idea how his daughter became good at making conversation, but he was constantly impressed by the skills she was learning.

“Oh dear,” said Jaskier. “You want me to choose? There are so many good ones!”

“Top three, then,” said Ciri, a challenging grin on her face.

“You drive a hard bargain, but I shall do my best.” Jaskier thought for a long moment, a tiny frown of concentration on his face. The expression has no right to be as endearing as it is. “All right, I think I’m going to say Monty Python and the Holy Grail, The Band Wagon, and Singin’ in the Rain.”

Ciri nodded in approval. “Monty Python is great! I don’t know the other two, though. What are they like?”

Jaskier gasped in mock outrage, then sighed. "I suppose I can't blame you. Not many people have seen them nowadays. They're both musicals from the 1950s and they're utterly wonderful. Very full of joy. I was watching The Band Wagon last week, actually, and it made my day so much better. There’s this one scene where Fred Astaire dances with Cyd Charisse that always gives me chills. Dancing together seems so romantic, and they do it incredibly well. Possibly one of the best dance scenes in film history.”

Jaskier was smiling dreamily by the time he finished speaking. Ciri looked both intrigued and amused.

“I guess Dad and I will have to watch it sometime, then.”

“Absolutely! Maybe we can see it together sometime.”

“I’d love that.”

Jaskier grinned and picked up a fork to continue eating, and the conversation moved on. Jaskier asked questions about Ciri’s school and Geralt’s job. Ciri answered happily and posed various questions about things Jaskier enjoyed, which Jaskier usually wanted to hear her and Geralt’s responses to as well. Geralt did his best to contribute to the conversation even when he was not directly asked a question, though he still worried that he wasn’t talking enough. Jaskier didn’t seem to mind when he went quiet, but Geralt had a history of reading people wrong.

Before long, the meal was finished. Geralt made a show of reluctance as he told Ciri that her bedtime was approaching, which she seemed to appreciate as she sighed but agreed to go to her room. Geralt cleaned up the remains of the meal, went to Ciri’s room to bid her a good night, then returned to the living room where Jaskier was waiting.

For a moment, they simply looked at each other. Geralt found himself at an utter loss of what to say. Ciri’s absence from the room felt palpable, and Geralt suddenly realized that he hadn’t been alone in a room with Jaskier since their first meeting in Geralt’s car.

“Hi,” said Jaskier, smiling a little nervously.

“Hi,” said Geralt. He was still standing awkwardly in the doorway.

“Come sit with me,” said Jaskier, patting the couch cushion next to him. Geralt sat.

“Thank you for the flowers,” said Geralt.

“You’re welcome! I’m glad you liked them. I was worried I might be going a little too far. I have a history of doing that.”

“I liked it,” said Geralt. He couldn’t think of any better words to reassure Jaskier with. He hoped his honesty was clear in his voice.

Jaskier seemed to understand at least a little, because he smiled up at Geralt before returning to his curious glances around the room.

They fell into awkward silence for a few moments. Geralt put his hands on his thighs, then on the couch, before finally lacing them together on his lap. He grimaced, then glanced at Jaskier to make sure he hadn’t noticed the expression. Jaskier was still looking around the room, not at Geralt. Geralt sighed. This was what he had worried about — he had no idea what to do or say.

At least Jaskier seemed to be in a similar predicament. That meant Geralt couldn’t be doing terribly. Perhaps honesty was the best course of action, here.

“I don’t really know what I’m doing,” Geralt confessed. “I haven’t been on a date in… a very long time.”

Jaskier finally looked at Geralt again, smiling a little. “Oh, good. Me neither. I’ve been so busy with music and dealing with all the things that keep coming up that I haven’t had time for anything more than one-night stands.” His smile brightened. “We can figure it out together!”

Geralt found himself smiling a little in response. “I’d like that.”

“Excellent! Do you have anything planned for the rest of the evening?”

“Not really,” said Geralt, slightly embarrassed. “I was mostly focused on Ciri and making dinner.”

Jaskier nodded. “Entirely fair. So, we’ve got a blank slate to work with! What are first date-y activities?”

Geralt thought for a moment. “I… honestly have no idea.”

“Okay. Let’s see, we could watch a movie? Or… go to a museum? No, we can’t do that on short notice. Hmm. I am discovering that I’m not as good at this as my self-esteem would like to believe.”

Geralt chuckled a little. “Still better than me. A movie could work, but we’d have to decide on which one.”

“I am terrible at that,” said Jaskier. “Let’s cross anything that involves choosing more things off the list.”

“That doesn’t leave much.”

“Yeah, I know.” Jaskier sighed. “Let’s see… what are some romantic things?”

“Flowers,” said Geralt. Jaskier blushed a little. Geralt felt rather smug.

Roach trotted into the room, immediately drawing Jaskier’s attention like a magnet.

“Petting your dog?” he said hopefully.

Geralt chuckled again. “You can try, but she might wake Ciri up. She’s loud when she’s disgruntled.”

Jaskier sighed. “I suppose we can’t risk awakening poor Ciri. Oh, well. I will be Roach’s best friend one day, mark my words.”

Geralt’s heart fluttered a little at the notion that Jaskier might want to stick around long enough to befriend the shy dog. He did his best to ignore it. He had more than enough emotions to deal with right now without adding the future into the mix.

“I look forward to it,” he says. Roach pads over to Geralt and hops up to sit on the couch beside him, opposite from Jaskier. He smiles at her fondly.

“Okay, so we’ve got flowers covered and I can’t pet your dog. What else is romantic?”

Geralt wracked his brains. Even when he was in a relationship with Yen, he had never made many romantic gestures — neither of them had found it necessary most of the time. In fact, Jaskier was probably the most romantic person Geralt had ever met. He frowned. What would Jaskier think was romantic?

He thought back to their conversation over dinner. Suddenly, he knew just what to say.

“Dancing together?” he suggested.

He was surprised at himself. Normally, he would never suggest something with so much potential for mishaps and embarrassment. He wasn’t a particularly good dancer; he might end up making a fool about himself.

Somehow, though, he didn’t mind the idea of dancing with Jaskier nearly so much as dancing with anyone else.  

“Oh!” said Jaskier. “I suppose that is quite romantic.” He chuckled nervously. “The only problem is that I’m shit at dancing.”

Geralt looked at him in surprise. “Really? I would have thought being a musician would make it easier.”

“I know! It seems only logical!” He threw up his hands in frustration. “But somehow, every time I try ends up as more of a disaster than the last. One time I took a swing dance class and both me and my partner ended up on the floor. I guess I’m not a particularly graceful person. I do walk into bookshelves occasionally. That might be playing a part.”

“Hmm,” said Geralt.

“Exactly.” Jaskier paused to consider something. “In my defense, I’m usually distracted when I walk into bookshelves. Getting lost in composition is not great for my spatial awareness.”

“You’re not composing now.”

“True. But that doesn’t change the fact that I have no fucking clue how to dance.”

“I don’t know much either,” said Geralt. “We could figure it out together?” he offered.

Jaskier considered him for a moment, then gave him a lopsided grin. “Why not? What’s the worst that could happen?”

“You break all my furniture and end up in the emergency room,” Geralt deadpanned.

“I am reasonably confident in my ability to avoid that.”

“Then I think we’ll be fine.”

“Excellent! What’s the simplest dance to learn?”

“I don’t know.”

“Let’s find out.” Jaskier pulled his phone out of his pocket and typed a few things. “The waltz, apparently!”

“Hmm,” said Geralt. He was fairly sure he had waltzed before. It had been a very long time ago. He doubted that he remembered much.

“Shall we search youtube?” asked Jaskier.

“Yeah. I’ll get my laptop. Bigger screen.”

“So long as you don’t mind it potentially being broken by me falling over!”

“It’ll be fine.”

A few minutes later, Geralt had a dozen new tabs open on his browser and a very focused Jaskier leaning into his space. Doing his best to focus on the laptop and not on Jaskier’s endearing little frown, Geralt selected a video at random and pressed play. They watched it once on the couch together to get an idea of what they were up against. Jaskier paused it a few seconds from the end.

“Shall we give it a go, then?” he asked Geralt.

Geralt stood.  Roach happily moved to take his warm spot on the couch. After a moment’s hesitation, Geralt offered a hand to Jaskier to help him off the couch. Jaskier took it with a smile and Geralt hauled him easily to his feet.

“Ooh, you’re very strong! How sexy.”

Geralt nearly choked on air. He looked at Jaskier with wide eyes.

“Oh my, you look like a deer in headlights. Should I be more sparing with the compliments? It would be difficult, but I could try it for you. I’m not joking, though. Perhaps we can do one of those fancy jumps dancers do once we figure out how not to trip on our own feet.”

“Not in my living room,” Geralt managed.

“Entirely fair. Shall we start?”

“Sure.”

Jaskier skipped back to the beginning of the video and played the first few moments, then paused it.

“Right,” he said. “Do you want to lead?”

“Yeah. I can steer you away from bookshelves.”

“Good idea.” Jaskier glanced at the video. “So, I put a hand on your shoulder, you put one on my back, and we hold hands with the others? That’s not hard.”

Jaskier stepped fearlessly up into Geralt’s space and put his left hand on Geralt’s shoulder. He waited expectantly for Geralt to move.

Geralt was rather proud of the way he only hesitated a little before placing his right hand on Jaskier’s back, holding Jaskier’s hand with his left. They were very close. Geralt could feel Jaskier’s side rising and falling with each breath he took. His fingers were calloused by guitar strings and very warm. His blue eyes sparkled in the lamplight.

Geralt took a deep breath. The butterflies in his stomach returned in full force. This might be more difficult than he had thought.

“What now?” Jaskier whispered.

Geralt blinked, remembered what he was supposed to be doing, and glanced back at the video.

“I step forward, you step back.”

“Okay. I can do that. One, two, three, go!”

Geralt stepped forward with his right foot. Jaskier also stepped forward with his right foot. Jaskier kicked Geralt’s leg and stumbled, saved from a graceless descent to the floor only by Geralt’s hand on his back. Geralt steadied him. Jaskier giggled self-consciously.

“See? I told you I’m no good at this.”

“Hmm. That was just your first try. Let’s do it again. Your left foot, my right.”

“Right. I mean, yes. Let’s do it.”

Slowly, they managed to execute the move. Jaskier wobbled a little but did not fall.

“Good,” said Geralt. If he wasn’t mistaken, Jaskier blushed a little at the praise. “What’s next?”

“We step sideways, I think.”

Geralt stepped to the side with his left leg. A beat later, Jaskier followed.

“This would be easier with music,” Jaskier grumbled.

“Let’s wait until we know what we’re doing.”

“Fine.”

“Now we do the other foot, right?”

“Yeah.”

They brought their feet together, more or less at the same time.

They repeated the sequence several times, attempting to get the move to flow naturally. The second time, Jaskier forgot a step and nearly fell over again. The third time, Geralt stepped the wrong way. The fourth time, Geralt moved too quickly and almost pushed Jaskier to the floor. His attempts to apologize were waved away. They tried again.

After a while, they started to get the hang of it. Their repetitions of steps flowed together, one sequence leading into the next. They tried a few details from the video that they ignored when starting.

“This isn’t so bad,” said Jaskier with a smile.

Geralt smirked. “Ready to try another step?”

Jaskier groaned theatrically. Geralt chuckled and opened another video.

He lost track of how long they spent there together, slowly figuring out how and when to move. There were mishaps aplenty and a great deal of nervous laughter. Gradually, they started to work it out.

“Can we try with music now?” asked Jaskier. Geralt doubted he would have been able to refuse Jaskier’s pleading expression even if he had wanted to.

“Sure,” he said. “Do you want to find some?”

Jaskier went to Geralt’s laptop and began to search for videos with appropriate music. Geralt felt unexpectedly bereft without Jaskier in his arms.

Jaskier tried several videos, scrunching his nose adorably when the first several were far too fast. Eventually, he encountered something that seemed to satisfy him. He returned to Geralt and struck a pose, holding out a hand dramatically.

“May I have this dance?” he asked.

Geralt smiled. “You may.”

They danced. It was, quite possibly, the least elegant waltz of the decade. They kicked each other several times. At one point, Geralt nearly backed Jaskier into the couch.

It was perfect.

Once Geralt got the hang of what he was doing and looked up to Jaskier’s face, it was as though the rest of the world faded away. Jaskier was still frowning at his feet. There was a little furrow in his brow as he concentrated. Geralt wanted to smooth it away with his thumb and possibly kiss his forehead while he was at it. He restrained himself.

Then Jaskier looked up from his feet, and all thoughts momentarily vanished from Geralt’s mind. His cheeks were ruddy with the exercise and his eyes sparkled. Geralt could get lost in that blue for hours. He tried to look back down to distract himself, but a hum from Jaskier made him remember that he didn’t have to. This was a date. He was allowed to admire Jaskier’s beauty.

Jaskier seemed content to watch Geralt back, smiling softly.

He started moving a little further with each step, slowly swirling them around the room. Jaskier began to hum along to the music. When this elicited a smile from Geralt, he started to sing a wordless accompaniment to the song. His voice was warm and very quiet, nothing like how he sang for the public. Geralt alone was there to bear witness. It was one of the most beautiful things he’d ever heard.

As they stumbled around Geralt’s living room to crackling music from his old laptop speakers, Geralt could not remember the last time he had felt so content.

Eventually, as all good things must, the video with their music came to an end. A different tutorial on how to waltz began playing automatically. Geralt groaned. Jaskier laughed and went to stop the new video.

He flopped back onto the couch with a sigh, still smiling. Geralt sat beside him. Jaskier leaned against Geralt’s side, rested his head on his shoulders, and closed his eyes.

For a moment, Geralt held perfectly still, as though any sudden movement might scare Jaskier away. Jaskier snuggled closer. Slowly, carefully, Geralt relaxed. After a moment, he dared to put an arm around Jaskier’s shoulders. Jaskier sighed happily and took Geralt’s other hand in his own.

Jaskier began to hum again. It was not any of the songs they had danced to; Geralt did not think he had heard it before. It was soft, lilting, and lovely. Geralt closed his eyes. Jaskier’s hair tickled his throat a little. His body was very warm against Geralt’s side. Jaskier started to gently play with Geralt’s fingers. It was oddly soothing.

“That was nice,” said Jaskier eventually, breaking the silence. “I didn’t even fall over.”

“Hmm,” Geralt agreed. “Good job.”

“Maybe I’m not as hopeless as I thought.” Jaskier paused, considering. “Though it’s more likely that you’re just an excellent partner.”

For what felt like the hundredth time that evening, Geralt felt rather flustered by Jaskier’s words.

“What was that song you were humming?” he asked, changing the subject.

“Which one?”

“The one from just now, while we were sitting here.”

Jaskier frowned. “I don’t remember…”

His eyes widened and he sat up. “Bollocks! Do you have a paper and pen I can borrow?”

“Sure,” said Geralt, somewhat confused but wise enough not to question it. He handed Jaskier some notepaper from the side table and stood to find a pen from one of the shelves.

“Thank you so much,” said Jaskier, taking the pen and immediately beginning to write. Geralt glanced at the paper — it was quickly being covered by near-illegible words and what looked like musical notation.

“Are you composing?” he asked.

“Quiet,” said Jaskier. “I’m thinking.”

Somewhat amused, Geralt sat back down on the couch. He watched Jaskier as he worked for several moments, then retrieved his laptop from the shelf where it had been placed and started sorting through the videos they had opened, saving ones that seemed helpful and deleting those that didn’t. After finishing that, he got a start on a few emails that he had been meaning to respond to. They sat together in companionable silence for a long while.

Eventually, Jaskier put down the pen and sat back with a satisfied sigh. He had covered three sheets of paper and started on a fourth. Geralt put his laptop aside.

“Sorry about that,” said Jaskier, sounding rather sheepish. “I had an idea and couldn’t bear to let it be forgotten.”

“It’s fine,” Geralt said honestly. “I don’t mind.” If anything, he was happy that Jaskier was comfortable enough around Geralt to compose.

Jaskier smiled crookedly. “Good. I’m beginning to think being around you will be excellent for my career. Every time I see you, I seem to be struck by new inspiration.”

Geralt looked away, suddenly overwhelmed by a mix of embarrassment and happiness. He had no idea why Jaskier would find him inspiring, but he found that he did not mind at all.

“I’m glad,” he managed.

Jaskier smiled at him and rested his head on Geralt’s shoulder again. Geralt leaned into Jaskier’s side. They stayed there for an undetermined amount of time, simply breathing. Geralt had not felt so at peace with a person other than his family in a very long time.

After a few moments, Jaskier sighed.

“Oh, dear. I just noticed the time.”

Geralt glanced at his clock and realized, to his great surprise, that midnight was rapidly approaching. He had been so wrapped up in Jaskier that he completely lost track of time.

“I should probably go,” said Jaskier with great reluctance. “I have to be up and about tomorrow morning.”

“So do I,” Geralt admitted.

They looked at each other for a moment. Neither made a move to stand.

“Okay,” said Jaskier. “Leaving. Here I go.”

No one moved. After a moment, Jaskier started giggling. Geralt joined him, and soon they were both laughing uproariously.

“Come on,” said Geralt eventually. “You have to go at some point.”

He stood and offered a hand to Jaskier, pulling him effortlessly off the couch once more. Jaskier opened his mouth to speak with a twinkle in his eyes.

“Don’t say it,” said Geralt. He didn’t know if he could handle any more of Jaskier complementing his strength.

“Fine,” said Jaskier, appearing immensely amused. He offered an arm to Geralt. “Why don’t you escort me to the door, kind sir?”

Geralt took his arm with a small smile and did as he was told. Jaskier turned to Geralt when they reached the door, making no move to open it.

“I’ll leave on one condition,” he said.

“What is it?” asked Geralt.

“That I get a goodnight kiss.” Jaskier batted his eyelids up at Geralt, smiling sappily. “Providing you’d enjoy it as well, of course.”

Geralt chuckled. “I would enjoy that.”

“Excellent,” said Jaskier, and nearly leapt into Geralt’s arms. The kiss was a little clumsy, briefer than Geralt would like, and tasted rather like the lemon candy Ciri had offered Jaskier at some point in the evening.

It was perfect.

When they pulled apart, the two of them were both grinning. Geralt leaned in to rest his forehead against Jaskier’s, unwilling to part just yet.

“Thank you for having me over tonight,” Jaskier whispered. “I haven’t enjoyed myself this much in a while.”

“Neither have I,” said Geralt. “Thank you for coming.”

“It was my pleasure.”

Reluctantly, Geralt opened the door for Jaskier. Jaskier stepped outside, gave Geralt a final kiss on the forehead, and scurried off to the sidewalk before Geralt had finished processing the gesture. Before getting in his car, Jaskier turned back to wave at Geralt. Geralt returned the gesture and chuckled when Jaskier blew him a kiss.

“I’ll talk to you soon!” Jaskier called.

“Drive safely,” Geralt called in answer. Jaskier blew a kiss in his direction, climbed into his car, and pulled into the street.

The evening had been wonderful. As Geralt stood there, watching Jaskier drive away, he could barely remember why he had felt nervous at all.

~~~

Three days later, Geralt received a text from Jaskier with a link to a video file. Geralt opened it with curiosity. Jaskier appeared on his screen, sitting on his bed in his pajamas and holding a guitar. He grinned at the camera, then looked down at something written on a sheet of paper in front of him and started to play. Geralt immediately recognized the tune — it was the same one he had been humming after their waltz. There were no words, but Jaskier hummed as he played. The song was just as beautiful now as it had been on Geralt’s couch.

When he finished watching the video, Geralt found several more texts from Jaskier waiting for him.

Jaskier: i’m calling it Dancing in the Dark. Jaskier: after the song they dance to in bandwagon, actually Jaskier: what can i say. i’m a dorky nerd.

Geralt: I like it.

Jaskier: the nerdery, or the song?

Geralt: Both. Geralt: The song is lovely.

Jaskier: well i did have a lovely muse ;) Jaskier: and don’t try to be modest or some such ridiculousness. it’s true. you can’t deny it

Geralt: I could try

Jaskier’s next message was a string of various outraged and crying emojis. Geralt laughed.

Geralt: I won’t, though.

Jaskier: oh thank goodness. perhaps my sanity shall remain intact

Geralt: That may already be a lost cause.

Jaskier: excuse me!!!! i’ll have you know i am very sane and intelligent

Geralt: I know. I was joking.

Jaskier: :( Jaskier: why do you make it so hard to stay fake mad at you Jaskier: you’re too nice, geralt. it’s not fair

Geralt: I apologize for being too nice.

Jaskier: apology accepted Jaskier: now we should probably stop talking before i’m inspired to write yet another song Jaskier: i’m in a meeting about those songs i sent you last week and i do not have time for deranged scribbling Jaskier: hopefully they’ll be released soon btw!

Geralt: You can’t write songs in the meeting, but texting me is fine?

Jaskier: um Jaskier: in my defense this is boring and my manager mostly has it covered

Geralt: Get back to work, Jaskier. We can talk later.

Jaskier: fiiiiine Jaskier: you’re no fun

Geralt: I know. I have been regularly informed so by Ciri.

Jaskier: ah, adolescence Jaskier: anyway, glad you liked the song! talk to you later :D

Geralt: Goodbye. Have a good meeting.

Jaskier: thanks!! you have a good day too <3

Geralt: Thank you

After their conversation, Geralt found himself smiling over Jaskier’s words several times throughout the day. The song Jaskier wrote was stuck in his head, accompanying him as he worked. Jaskier was making himself a place in Geralt’s heart already.

Normally, such sudden affection would scare Geralt. He would usually fear future betrayal or a stupid mistake that would ruin whatever they tried to build. With Jaskier, though, he found himself significantly less worried than usual. Maybe what they had wouldn't last, and maybe it would. Either way, Geralt wanted to enjoy it as much as he could.

Geralt quite liked being Jaskier’s muse. Somehow, the thought didn’t make him nervous at all.

Humming Jaskier’s song, Geralt went about his day with a smile.

[hand-painted-5tars]

HueKangz!

[evansbby]

I love that you destroyed us all with the death of steve jr and now you give us great moments with him!!!

bestie have you not read part 4 where he is canonically resurrected? 😭😭😭

[kateandcakes]

kosmiccpost -> kateandcakes

[writingoddess1125]

The old men of One Piece finding out they have a child with you. Pt. 2

Due to popular demand I have a part two for you guys!

Shanks, Buggy, Mihawk xFemreader

Healthy Mix of Angst and Fluff

Support me on Ko-Fi

Part 1 <- -> Part 3

Buggy

The crew was quick to follow orders, Cabaji grabbing you as others grabbed your sons. Dragging you from the restaurant you called a home and out onto the streets, screamed fill the air as the village was being ripped apart. Your boys crying out in fear as the crew harshly brought you onto the ship you once were apart of.

You yelped as you were thrown into Buggy's room. Your boys being tossed in as well, you quickly grabbed Dee and Bee and brought them to your chest. Running your hands through their hair as they sobbed against you, shaking like a leaf and terrified.

"Ssshh it's okay my loves it's okay" you whisper trying to soothe them, holding them tightly to try and ward away the bad dream. After a few hours they finally fell asleep, You carefully rolling up and placing them on Buggy's large bed. It wouldn't be best to let them sleep in your arms since they were fairly large and when asleep could kick and roll. You couldn't risk injury if you were going to escape with the twins.

You tucked them into the big stripped bed and sighed- Surrounded by more of this circus shit made them look way more like Buggy then you cared to admit. Smoothing Dee and Bee wild blue locks with your hand you sighed heavily. Trying to come up with a plan to escape- but the plotting was short lived as the bedroom door opened.

Buggy stared at you and then glanced at the boys as they slept soundly in his bed. He was holding a large tray and set it down on the side table, meeting your eyes as he picked up a fork and took a bite from each both and even a bite of the bread, before taking a seat clearly wanting to show it was safe to eat and feed the children. You looked at the food it was 3 healthy servings of pasta with fresh bread and 3 drinks, 2 milks and a ale. You looked at him in question but you didn't dare voice anything. Instead gently shaking the twins awake-

"Eh? Mom?..." Dee mumbled as he rubbed his sleepy eyes. "Dinner is here" You say calmly, holding a bowl out to Dee who gently took it in his tiny hands before waking up Bee with a bit more force and doing the same. Splitting the bread in half and giving each half to your sons to make sure they had full bellies.

You ate your own food, Watching as the twins hungrily ate there like they hadn't had a meal before, havjng to make sure they didnt mess up the nice bed. However you kept glancing back at Buggy, feeling his eyes on you.

He sat across the room stull, watching you closely as you wiped their faces clean with your dress and handing them their drinks and even taking your own ale and sipping it. You saw Bee wat hibg Buggy closely, the two staring at each other silently.

"What are you looking at Old Man?-" Bee snapped as he glared at Buggy. You snapping your finger quickly at him.

"Attitude-" You hissed in warning. However heard a shuffle to see Buggy snorting a laugh and turning away to giggle-

"Damn these really are my Kids- I was at least 90% sure before but now it's 100%!" He laughed, actually Wiping the tears from his face.

"Mom what is he talking about?" Dee questioned first, raising a brow at the Clown in their room.

"Yeah and whats with hi-" You smacked your hand over your sons mouth. Knowing that the following question would lead to a fight you didn't have the strength for.

"Boys this is your father... Buggy the Clown. He's a Pirate Captian"

"Our Dads a clown-" Bee deadpanned as his face looked at you in what can only be described as confused horror. You sighing mentally by this, as Dee stared at Buggy suspiciously.

"How do we know?-" Dee started, But Buggy pulled the hat from his head and bandana to show his blue locks that were identical to their.

"Our Dads a Clown!?" Bee said again this time

"I'm a porate clown-" Buggy shot back as he frowned at the boy. The two locking in gaze of equal stubbornness and attitude.

Dee started to say"Is that why you took us?" But was cut off gloriously by Bee"If you're our dad then you suck! Why did you grab mom by her hair and make her cry!" He proclaimed, Jumping up on the bed and pointing to Buggy angrily. You urging the boy to sit down, But Buggy's gaze softened.

"I apologize- I didn't see it was her or else I would have never raided you town. Instead just picked you three up to take with me" He admitted calmly. The seemed to take the wind from Bee's sails as he sat back down- You also surprised to hear Buggy apologize or be so vulnerable.

"I want to have you three here with me and be apart of my children's life" Buggy started as he stared at you- You started to protest but he held up a hand.

"60 Days, that's all I ask. If in 60 days you don't want me in their lives I'll drop you and the boys off at a Marine Base with some berry. Enough to be comforble for the rest of your lives"

It was a good deal- a damn good deal. It's not like you had a berry to your name or a place to return to. That and he genuinely seemed interested in the boys, you gave a defeated sigh.

"Alright... 60 days- then we will talk from there" Buggy smiled at hearing you agreeing to this. Excitement shining in his eyes as he jumped up from his seat.

"Perfect! You all rest here. I'll leave and bring some supplies for you all" Buggy said calmly as he stood up and quickly left, a grin plastered on his face as he left you.

You should have known that Buggy was planning something. For the next 3 days it was like he turned the ship into a child's dream. There was suddently a absurd about of toys, sweets, every game imaginable too seemed to have suddently appeared. Buggy all to happy to shower the twins in anything they asked for, played any game they wanted.

You inwardly sighed as you watched the twins start to warm up to Buggy, More like clinging to him. Bee seemingly the most interested in him while Dee seemed to just love sailing. Having to be coaxed down from the crows nest were he would hide all day. At the mess hall however is were they fit in the best- It was like Buggy had cloned himself the two perfect best friends, aka himself.

Dee had taken to keeping his hair up due to his time in the crows nest and also had become more confident- pushing his brother back whenever he messed with him a bit too much- As for Bee it was like Buggy 2.0- Loud, flashy and ready to find trouble. It had been only 3 days but so much had changed, Currently it being evening dinner time.

Sitting next to Buggy in the mess hall, who had made it a habit of keeping you close you glared as your son then Buggy who was just laugjing "Benny (Y/L/N) get your monkey ass here right now!" You yelled as you saw your son running down the tables of the mess hall. Singing a made of sea shanty that the rest of the freaks were actually drinking and singing along to.

"Let the boy have some fun (Y/N)! It's not like he's hurting anyone- Besides what's the worse that can happen! Stop with the snooty attitude" Buggy proclaimed with a laugh, you saw Dee get a mischievous look in his eye before slipping under the table. You give a sarcastic smile, knowing your twins all too well.

"Fine then, I won't be snooty for the next hour whatever they damage you gotta clean" You proposes with a smile. He laughed and nodded.

"Deal! Finally now we can have some fu-"

And like a symphony of madness all hell broke lose. Dee had popped put from under the table and grabbed Bee's foot nid step. The singing child falling into a massive bowl of mashed potatos which managed to spray everywhere- coating all the people at the table in potatos and the floor which made a few Crewmates who had been walking slip and slam into tables flinging more food and creating more mess paired with a hunk of cake landing right in Buggy's face. Wiping the frosting as he watched the two boys make a run from the mess hall cackling like two Imps.

"Boys!!" He yelled, trying to wipe more of the pink frosting from his face. You smiled and handed him a napkin.

"Have fun Captian!~" You said with a grin and patted his shoulder as Buggy sat there red faced and glaring at you half heartedly. As if taking your cue, you got up and left. Giggling as you hear Buggy snap at some crewmates to grab something to help clean the mess.

Deciding to take the time for yourself you went to the main deck. Leaning against the rails as you watched the dark waves of the ocean and the setting sun. You couldn't lie and say you didn't miss the ocean, or the time to yourself. You stood there watching as the sun set and plunged the ship into darkness, the lanterns of the ship turning on as well as the ship seemed to be sailing in darkness.

"Enjoying your free time?" A deep voice snapped you from your thoughts. Seeing Buggy walking towards you, his face washed of makeup and hair in a ponytail. Having clearly just bathed after getting the mess hall cleaned.

"Yeah, I forgot how nice it is being on this ship.. How are the boys?" Buggy smiled at hearing you enjoying yourself before shrugging.

"Got them washed up and put them to bed.....They seem to like me" He boated, seemingly proud he had formed such a strong bond.

"That they do" You reply. Watching as he put his hands in his pockets a bit awkwardly, that tough Captian Facade crumbling a bit under his own anxiety.

"(Y/N) Why did you leave?... Was it me? Were you ashamed of me or-" He started, the back of his hand brushing against his nose as the enxiety slammed into his chest.

"What?.. No that's not why I left Buggy- I was scared. How the hell was I suppose to go through pregnancy on a ship? Hell the labor?! That was 36 hours to give birth to both of them!" Buggy winced at the thought, you leaned against the railing and stared at him.

"It was the fact that I couldn't predict how you would react and no idea how to raise a baby here. So in a village with at least some stability seemed like the best option- Even if it ment having to do it alone"

You admit, Buggy messing with his gloved hands. Sadness bleeding through his gaze as he sighed.

"I suppose- I can see your point... but I would have put everything on hold if I knew-" Buggy admitted, before rubbing the back of his head a bit hesitantly.

"You know- We only got 60 days and I've been wanting to take a vacation. Drop off the crew maybe for a bit and I know this really nice island" Buggy said casually. Your eyebrows raising at hearing this- He wanted to stop pirating just for you and the twins?

"What?-" You started but he cut you off quickly. "I mean it would only be a little bit of course- unless something urged me to stay a bit longer. However I think being on the open ocean can be damaging for super long term- I mean the meals can cause scurvy and who knows what else" He quickly justified, even at this distance you could see his ears turning red. You couldn't help but giggle at this, which caught his attention quickly.

"I'd like that Buggy.. But I don't want to take you away from what you love" you say, Watching Buggy take a hesitant step towards you.

"Who knows... 60 days can quickly turn into eternity.. if you want it to.. and i lost what i loved once- Ill never let that happen again" He said locking eyes with you which made you smile brighter.

Shanks

It had been 3 weeks since Shanks arrived- and it had been one journey, The man clearly loved to be a father. Willing to do anything for Vivian, her having the powerful pirate wrapped around her little finger and not even knowing it.

Shanks having let his crew take the time for essentially a vacation on his dime while ge stayed in your guestroom. Excited every morning to wake up and play with his daughter. He bought her so many toys, a chest full of pretty dresses, a giant stuffed monkey and a play wood sword since she had been so interest in his.

She had even taken to tying her favorite green ribbon on his sword since "It looks pretty" and he didn't have the will power to take it off. So for the most part, it had been complete and total bliss.

It was early morning when you heard some loud Noises coming from the kitchen area of your home- Getting up from bed and put on your robe and walked to see what all the noise was.

You stood in the kitchen with a raised eyebrow, the only word fitting this situation was- Hilarious. There sat Shanks, sat on the floor with his back leanes against the oven holding a old muffin. His eyes were covered in a thick layer of green glittery eyeshadow (from your makeup bag) hot red lipstick that was sneered on other parts of his face. Some bows randomly scattered in his red hair. His coat that usually covered his missing arm dropped over your daughter who was still in her baby blue tight gown and she was dragging behind her as she adding things to the spread on the floor. A bag of sugar, some water, a scattering of teabags and whatever had been in the fridge- including half eaten sandwiches and cupcakes which Shanks was currently chewing on.

"Starlight, I don't think there is anyway you can make the wate- I mean tea any sweeter" He said calmly, Watching Vi try to pour more sugar into her little China set with her chubby hands. Shanks cringing a bit at this as she poured him a cup and handed it to him.

"See! Now it's perfect!" She chimed and giggled loudly. He gave a smile as he set aside his muffin and sipped the tea, trying to suppress the cringe from the unholy amount of sugar that was mixed with water and a hint of a poor teabag.

"It's delicious Baby Girl- Fantastic" He choked out, working through a smile as he forced himself to take another sip. You couldn't help bit to laugh, which brought the attention of both Red Heads.

"Mommy!" Vivian chimed loudly running towards you still wearing Shank's cloak and you scooped her up carefully.

"I must say Shanks, you look fabulous" You said with a smile. Shanks Grinning up at you as he sat on the floor.

"I always thought I'd look good in green" He said, Gesturing to the sloppy eyeshadow. Rolling himself up to his feet as he smiled down at you.

"By the way are you ready for today?" You raised a brow-

"Oh boy what do you have planned?" Shanks only gave a wide smile before grabbing a box from the kitchen table and holding up a lovely yellow sundress for you and a similar one for Vivian.

"Fun day out!"

Shanks hadnt beem kidding about a fun day, staring with a lovely resturant on the island, sailing, having in a meadow and then time out at the park the sun started to set. Shanks held Vivian who was passed out against him, walking back to your home. The two of you talking about the time you two where together in the past.

"Thank you (Y/N).." He said softly, Smiling as he watched the sun set and the two of you walked up hill.

"For what?" He smiled brightly at you "Making me the happiest man in the world" You couldn't help but blush at hearing this. Looking away bashfully as you came up to your home, Seeing a man standing there a bit awkwardly.

"Yasopp! Glad you stopped by, This is (Y/N) and my darling daughter Vivian. She's asleep right now but I'm sure she'd love to meet ya"

Shank smiled brightly at seeing his fellow crewmate. However the look on Yasopp face said otherwise.

"Its lovely to meet you (Y/N)... but Captian- we have to talk.." He said softly, Shanks frowning at the tone he gave before gently passing Vivian to you.

"I'll be in a sec" He said, nodding you quickly head inside to get Vivian ready for bed. Yasopp and him talked outside, Shanks looked angry. Staring at the letter and running his hand through his hair clearly stressed. You finished cleaning Vivians face and got her in her PJs, tuckering her in for the night. In the hallway you could hear the should of bottles shifting, turning to see Shanks in the kitchen grabbing the bottle of whiskey you kept on the top shelf- his face twisted in anger as he plopped on the couch.

"You have to leave.. don't you-" You finally blurted out, watching him open the bottle with his teeth and take a sip. His eyes shiny with unshed tears, he nodded soberly as he took a hard swig of the drink.

"Shanks you can't finally meet her and just leave her life-" You stressed, anger bubbling in your chest as you stared at him. He sat slunched in the chair a swirling of different emotions in his eyes.

"They need my help.. and I can't risk it (Y/N).... I can't risk them finding out about you and Vi... they would kill you both" He whispered, shock slamming into you. Your eyes drifting to Vivian's room were she laid sleeping.

"...How long will you be gone" You whispered finally, sitting down on your sofa sadly.

"I don't know..." He whispered, defeat written on his face. Holding the bottle out to you, which you took and started to sip before passing it back.

"When do you leave?" Shanks took another heavy swig of the drink and held it out to you. "Tomorrow morning..." You nod at this- Taking another sip of the whiskey.

"...I-Is she going to hate me?" Shanks whispered, Looking up at were he knew Vi was. You shook your head "She doesn't have it in her heart to hate.." You said softly. He nodded at this and messed with the ribbon she tied on his sword, staring at it hard.

"I love her (Y/N).... so much it hurts.." His voice cracked. But he instead stood up, taking a heavy breath.

"I'm going to get some sleep... you should as well" He said softly, Turning and walking back to the guest room. Leaving you alone with the whiskey bottle, as you put it back in its rightful place. You could have sworn you heard hushed sobs... but left them be and went to cry in your own bed as well.

In the morning, the nice breakfast was made. Shanks feeding Vivian her oatmeal and letting her talk his ear off, you knew he needed this moment. Needed to have this with her. Once breakfast was finishes the three of you started the walk to the docks, Vivian holding Shanks hand as they talked about the pretty ocean.

Walking to the docks he saw the ship being loaded up, Vivian staring in awe at the massive vessel and giggled at the sight of all the men who stared at her and gave friendly waves. Shanks taking a deep breath to look at you both. Hurt shining in his eyes as he swallowed a hard lump in his throat. Kneeling down he looked at Vivian, his hand cupping her chubby cheek as he took a shaky breath holding back tears clearly. "Princess, I've got to go for a while.."

"But why?... you just got here?"

"I know baby girl- But, see there is this trouble maker- His name is Luffy. Think of him as your big brother, he needs my help.. And I don't want to put you and your Mommy in danger while I go get him. So I have to leave-"

He said, Biting his bottom lip for a second as he let a few tears roll down his cheek. Reaching into his pocket and pulling out a solid gold coin- it was quite large and he carefully handed it to Vivian. Her little fingers holding the big coin and touching the detailed design thay decorated it, his Jolly Roger.

"But I promise I'll be back.. but until I do- you have to keep this with you. It's special, it will protect you from Pirates- And when I come back, and I promise I will. I'll trade you that coin for your ribbon back okay?"

He said softly, watching Vivian smile up at him at the promise.

"Okay Daddy.." She said softly before jumping and hugging around his neck. He held her tightly, wrapping his arm around her as if he didn't want to let go.

"Captian-" Yassop said softly, Shanks nodding and carefully standing up. Handing Vivian to you a bit reluctantly, Vivian own eyes starting to water. You held her close as tears rolled down your own cheeks. Shanks leaning in and kissing the tears on your face and one gingerly on your lips.

"I'll see you two again, I swear" He said softly, Stepping back as he followed after his crew. The crew somber like their Captian as he boarded, yelling out commands to set sail. Looking back as the ship began to leave the harbor, Waving at the two of you. Vivian waving back gently as tears rolled down her chubby cheeks clutching the coin close to her chest.

You and Vivian standing on the docks as you watched the ship sail and disapear over the horizon. You sniffles and wiped your eyes of the tears you didn't know had still been running down your cheeks.

Your daughter looking at you and wiping your tears, giving you a smile just like Shanks "Don't worry Mommy.. Daddy said he'd be back"

Mihawk

You stood in your tiny kitchen, rubbing your temple as the days situation settled on your bones. Your son standing next to you chopping vegetables silently, Clearly ignoring the elephant in the room.

"Alucare- Do you want to-"

"No" He cut you off quickly, quickly cutting down on a carrot like it had wronged him. You sighed at this setting the kettle on the stove to start a pot of tea. Knowing damn well what was coming- right on cue there was a knock to the door.

Turning you went to let in the Warlord, he looked like a kicked puppy. Awkwardly standing there at your door with his hat removed, his eyes glancing up at you hesitantly.

"(Y/N)..." He said softly, surprising you that he had even remembered your name. He stepped to the side, inviting him into your home and guiding him to your dining room were he took a seat at the kitchen table.

You took a seat as well, Alucare not turning from preparing the vegetables. A awkward silence following the trio as there was only the sound of chopping.

"Mihawk.. It's been a while" You finally speak, the Warlord nodding in agreement. Silence falling over you two again.

"Oh for God's sake. Alucare sit down please, we are going to get this out" You said, Hearing the shuffle of your son moving from his spot and sitting next to you. You couldn't help but stare in awe- The two sitting across from each other made it seem like they were looking at some odd mirror, they looked almost identical except for the age and minor changes.

"Mihawk this is Alucare, your son. As we can clearly can see. Alucare this is your father Dracule Mihawk"

You introduce, swallowing thickly as the two continued to stare at each other. Silence falling again over you all, Mihawk sighed and rubbed his temple. Turning his eyes away from this odd sort of staring contest.

"Alucare.. That's a good name.. How old are you?" Mihawk asked, staring at his child for a moment before Alucare looked away.

"I'm 16..." He said softly, Mihawk nodding at this before his eyes landed on you.

"How come you didn't tell me- I would have been here, helped you. I have a home and more" He asked, his eyebrows betraying him in pure confusion and he frowned. You sighed and rubbed the back of your neck.

"I was scared- How would it look like if some random person claimed to have some famed Warlords child.." You mumbled, still embarrassed by the whole ordeal. "Besides it wasn't even until after are alleyway escapades that I understood who you were-"

"I see..." Mihawk sighed as he stared at Alucare again, who seemed to grow a bit uncomforble at the direction of this conversation.

"Alucare do you wish to ask something of your father?-" You encouraged. Wanting to create a olive branch between the two.

"What is there me to ask? It's not like it's a secret that we are related or his reputation. The only thing I would wonder is how you found out about us-" Alucare said a bit dismissively, you felt genuine surprise at this. He had never shown anyone disrespect before until now-

"There were rumors of you that traveled to a Marine Base I was at- how a child looked like the famed Mihawk... eyes and all" Mihawk clarified. Alucare only rolling his matching yellow eyes at this, standing up from his seat.

"I'll be dismissing myself. Thanks for the talk" He said calmly, walking out the back door and slamming it shut behind him. You sighed and looked to Mihawk

"Hes normally not like that, I don't know what to say" You admit. But the Warlord just stood up with a understanding nod.

"Hes angry... that I understood.. I'll return" He said before following out the back door as well.

Standing by the grove of trees next to the house Alucare let the cool blade of the knives brush over his fingers, sighing as he quickly released the blade at lightning speed at the carved target on the old tree hitting bulls eye. Alucare walking to retrieve the lone blade and repeat the process.

"Impressive shot-" The deep voice only belonging to Mihawk sounded behind the teen. Alucare glancing back at the man as he resumed his position and went back to throwing his blade.

"Thanks I suppose-" Alucare mumbled as he continued to task. Mihawk sighing softly as he glanced at the sky.

"What is the true reason you resent me- One that you don't wish to express with your mother around" He finally asked, staring at the sky. Alucare faltering in his movements for a moment, keeping the blade in his hands for a moment.

"If you had been anyone else she wouldn't have had to suffer so much-" He admitted, his eyes showing a deep sadness as he sighed "I saw the way they looked at her, despite her smiling and ignoring it.. how she acted as a human shield for me. Because we share blood- How she would sit on the bed after working day and night to put that home over our head... how tired she was and then emotionally carying the brunt of people looking at her in either pity, fear otlr disgust for my sake"

He admitted, throwing the blade once again watching the blade stick deeply into the tree the handle being the only thing that showed. Mihawk quietly listened and clenched his hands.

"I understand... if I had known I would have protected her... I would have protected you- Nothing I can say can make up for 16 years of hardship... but I do apologize" Mihawk said, bowing his head gently.

Alucare looked at him silently for a moment. Looking away for a moment and went to grab the blade.

"...How do you sharpen a blade-" Alucare asked, In his own way accepting Mihawk apology and extending a form of communication. Mihawk gave a hint of a smile on his lips as he stepped forward.

"I can show you-"

Tag List-

For all the people who requested Pt. 2

@lunanight1021 @lolavegas20 @cuteastrash @thatcharmingmushroom @marsilis @thesadvampire @amecchii @zaphira-san @matronofthevoid @mothmans-left-nipple

[verstarppen]

summary; mercedes is a just a tiny bit worried about your dates with their archenemesis

pairing; max verstappen x fem! mercedes admin! reader [ no faceclaim ]

a/n; due to popular demand here's the part 2; i see your comments: you asked and i deliver 🫶 [ series masterlist ]

liked by lewishamilton, georgerussell63, carmenmmundt and 299,546 others

mercedesamgf1 have some tits to distract you from that crash

view all 12,291 comments

gerogerussell63 Does your boyfriend know you're posting this

mercedesamgf1 his tits are bigger why would he care

staraikkonen THE ADMIN IS KILLING ME

ceruleanwilliams it worked

g3org3zilla THANK YOU ADMIN FOR THE BLESSING 🙏

honeyvettel FOR FREE????

liked by schecoperez, maxverstappen1, christianhorner and 166,267 others

redbullracing Hot weather 🤝 Ice Baths, sorry for the wait. 😉

view all 56,342 comments

mercedesamgf1 booo post the vertiddies

goatlonso GIRL THIS AIN'T YOUR PRIV ACCOUNT strawberryrosberg TEARS

ynusername sorry correct account this time boooo post the vertiddies

schecoperez No comment lewishamilton Really? Seems like you always have an opinion ynusername can we go back to the more pressing issue lewishamilton Don't you already stare at his chest enough maxverstappen1 She does? ynusername ACCUSATIONS

liked by mickschumacher, maxverstappen1, danielricciardo and 295,199 others

ynusername us during wig gate btw

view all 86,280 comments

lewishamilton Blocked and reported

ynusername YOU'RE JUST MAD YOU GOT BAMBOOZLED

danielricciardo Things I ate and survived: That

ynusername i am in awe of your slaynergy (slay energy) mickschumacher 🙏🙏🙏

georgerussell63 Y'all hear something

ynusername stay mad georgerussell63 Praying for your downfall.

applenorizz HOW IS THIS WHOLE SITUATION REAL I-

lionkingseb wig gate is more entertaining than anything during silly season

liked by maxverstappen1, ynusername, pierregasly and 740,191 others

charles_leclerc This is my official audition for the next wig gate model. I'm ready 👠

view all 200,024 comments

ynusername are you sure this isn't an audition to date my boyfriend

charles_leclerc Never insult me like this ever again

arthur_leclerc jumpscare

maxverstappen1 I'll be frank, I dropped my phone.

charles_leclerc Hi, Frank ynusername wow i wish you dropped your phone when you look at me 💔💔😩 maxverstappen1 I would drop everything for you ynusername oh 🤭 charles_leclerc Get out of my comments and get a room.

liked by maxverstappen1, mickschumacher, charles_leclerc and 101,736 others

ynusername he's just a little guy

view all 42,009 comments

lewishamilton Please stop putting him on my timeline

ynusername this is your purgatory

patiencesainz i keep forgetting this man is 1.81cm

troubletauri FAMINE OVER, THANK YOU FOR FEEDING ORANGE ARMY MAX CONTENT

gonestappen LOOK AT HIM

georgerussell63 I wish instagram would create a muting posts feature

ynusername woomp woomp

pic credits: pinterest and instagram

[sh1-n0bu]

♡︎ 𝙨𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙙𝙧𝙖𝙜𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙤𝙢𝙮 𝙥𝙩2 ♡︎

characters: sub!dragons x nb!dom!reader

warnings: finger in vent again so vent fingering, established relationship, monster anatomy, clothes and undergarment stealing, clothes sniffing, the dragons are being a bit more feral, pillow humping, praise, pleading, thigh riding, guided vent fingering, squirting, nipple stimulation, bullet vibrator usage, mind break, fluff, needy dragon boys hehehehhehe

notes: due to popular demand, here is part 2 of dragons getting fucked dumb(●’◡’●)ﾉ im sorry if it took a while. i was having some health issues(;´༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`) part 1 can be read here!! gradient divider from @/benkeibear

word count: 4.9k

ever since you helped out your large lizard lover with his heat, there’s only been one thing on his mind since then. your finger in his vent. the soft coos of your praises, the way you pushed his legs open to fuck him dumber, the way you nudged his hands off of his face so you could see his cute face twist and turn in pleasure as you fuck his hole.

“oh, for fuck’s sake! i need to get them out of my head” the dragon huffs aloud out of a sudden, hunching over his desk at his usual office as he hides the flush of his cheeks behind his hands. already a week has passed since the ending of his heat cycle and yet he was acting like he was still under the influence of his stupid dragon anatomy. he couldn’t even stop thinking about you and your fingers spreading him open while he cried dumbly on the bed, back arching and chasing after your fingers like a whore.

it was after his heat ended and finally able to at least articulate proper sentences that wasn’t about wanting you to wreck him, that the two of you have talked over and decided that perhaps it was time to make your relationship official. how long have the two of you been dancing around each other, making everyone roll their eyes at the way you two flirted with each other like some dumb teenagers? enough to the point people started making bets. enough that a half of the city had become 50 bucks richer and the other half poorer.

despite having already gotten into an established relationship with you, the poor dragon still felt shameful over some of his actions. such as stealing your clothes whenever you come over to his house to stay the night and lying to your face about not knowing where it was. you two were still basically in the baby stages of being an official couple which was why you needed some time to fully move your things into his house and to start living together. it takes time to settle y’know?

so it was definitely weird when some of your clothes started to disappear. the shirt that you usually wear when at the comfort of your or his home. the large, oversized sweater of yours that you have given the nickname of “the ugly one”. and strangely, you even had a hard time finding a certain undergarment amongst the mess of your home and the boxes of things that you packed up, preparing to move. strange. and even more strange, your overgrown lizard lover says he hasn’t seen them in his own home either. you genuinely started to question your own memory.

in the meantime you were busy creating a storm in your home trying to triple check this week about your missing clothes, your boyfriend was having a hard time in his office. no matter how hard he tried to focus on the paperwork stacked in front of his damn face, he just couldn’t.

instead, his mind just kept drifting back to the memory of you helping him during his heat cycle. the praises that constantly fell on his ears as his toes curled, clawed hands scrambling to grasp for something to clutch onto because he was sure that he ascended when your finger fucked the small opening of his vent. and that lewd squelching noises of his slick dripping down from his vent. an oddly sickeningly sweet smelling scent coming from him as if trying to woo you, trails of his juice dripping from his vent down to his fluttering hole to the bed.

he was fucked dumb during those days and by the stars, he wanted it again. he wanted your hand fisting at his cocks, eagerly tugging on them as your finger abuses the squishy spot inside him. he wanted to sob and wail deliriously, bucking his hips, torn between wanting to chase after the pleasure or tearing himself away to save what leftover pride he had, as he begs for mercy. he wanted it. at this rate, if he kept thinking back on that moment, he might as well try to force his body into another heat cycle so soon.

shaking the imagery out of his head, the dragon clears his throat. looking around his office to see if anyone is around — to his luck, no one was — before breathing out a heavy huff. he might as well try to at least do his work during work time.

“maybe that chipmunk’s affinity to skip work is rubbing off on me…”

perhaps even more had rubbed off on him. none which was a good thing.

“i’m sorry… i’m sorry i’m sorry ‘m sorry, [name]…” the dragon whines pathetically, wearing the oversized sweater he stole from you and nothing else. he just couldn’t get that memory out of his head. every time he tried, something small and insignificant would just remind him of it again. unable to keep up with trying to seem all professional, he rushed home straight after work — perhaps even earlier than the hours he gets out of his office — locking himself in his bedroom with a pillow between his thighs, wearing your sweater with your stolen undergarments to his face.

despite having already been fucked shamelessly just ten or so days ago, it still felt wrong to think of you in such a lewd way. in such a defiling way. in a way that it served as a huge disservice to who you really are.

“mmnngh—! [naamee]… m-miss you… missing you so bad…” the dragon whines, completely pent up as his slick continues to drip onto the pillow between his thighs, the outer scales of his vent already puffy and open slightly, weeping his mouthwatering juice. the poor thing was pathetic, trying to recreate the way you wrecked him so good. fingers messily rubbing and flicking against his vent opening as a means to mimic the way you ate him out the other day. spreading his slick around, making a stretching motion with his two fingers on the sides of his vent, flicking the small nub on top. it didn’t help. if anything, it only made it worse.

the dragon was trying to help himself out, to relieve himself off of his pain of unknowingly edging himself for the past few days. without you by his side to help him out or to hear his pleas. without you by his side to fuck him so good again. palming himself with a pathetic whimper, the dragon thinks about slipping a finger inside his vent the same way you did. but could he do it? probably not. he was just too damn of a coward, and there was the looming possibility of losing control of himself and letting his claws grow.

unable to do it in the end, he settles on merely stroking his cock. hand wrapped tightly around his weeping dick, your stolen undergarments wrapped around one of his cocks as he mewls, bucking his hips into the tight space of his closed fist. it was nowhere near to how it felt when you did it. perhaps at the time, it was his heat pheromones working but it felt good. your hand wrapped around his cock as your other hand fingers his vent opening. your hand felt so much better.

biting down on his lips, he cums into his hand, soiling your stolen undergarments as well in the process just the moment he thought back on the feeling. pouting, the dragon’s tail flicks in annoyance behind him, looking over at the clock hanging on the wall.

12:36. were you awake right now? you did indeed had tendency to stay awake a bit too late on some nights…

knock knock knock!

the soft yet annoyingly persistent knocks on your door slowly rouses you from your sleep, making you roll around in the comfort of your bed in a silent declaration of war against the knocking. acting stubborn, clinging onto the cozy warmth of your bed, you groan as a string of curses falls from your lips as you involuntarily drag yourself out of bed. whoever that was outside your door in this ungodly hour shall face your wrath like sun wukong did with buddha.

pitter pattering to the door — where the knocking has become more persistent — you swing the door open, ready to curse the person and their 109 bloodlines before shutting up. standing in front of you with his tail and horns out in the open, slitted eyes glowing slightly, was your dragon lover. strange. he never visits this late.

“dear? wha— what happened? is everything alright? it’s—“ you take a moment to steal a glance towards the clock hanging on the living room wall before turning to face him again, “—nearly 2am” you finish, concern growing more and more when his tail comes to curl around his own ankle. a clear sign that he was feeling anxious or uncomfortable.

“can i… come in? i wanted to see you” the dragon asks in a meek voice, a strange habit that you found concerning and heartbreaking to see since your lover was usually one who is calm and collected at all times. nodding, you usher him inside before locking the door behind you.

quietly, you follow him as your lover makes a straight beeline into your bedroom, making himself comfortable on the edge of your bed as a pink flush starts to grow on his cute cheeks. you were about to ask him if he wanted something to eat or drink but perhaps not as the needy dragon was now staring at you as his tail swishes behind him, impatient. tails expressed emotions after all.

yawning, you move to sit beside him on the bed, to which you accept his hug when you finally settle down. his arms cones to wrap around your middle, tail now calming down from the earlier fussy movement as it curls around your calf possessively. humming, you run a hand through his hair, lightly scratching at his scalp.

the dragon loved it whenever you read him like he was an open book. to others, he was a stone wall, one that was made out of ancient scribbles and unintelligible runes. a warrior forged by blood and scent of death, one who was born and made by the cries of war and blind devotion from others. but to you, he was just a fellow being. one who was lonely from the many centuries he had spent, all by himself. struggling with the many different cultures of life, trying his best to learn and understand the human customs so he could properly court you in human traditions.

you two stay like that for some time. nestled against one another, just basking in the comfort of the peaceful life that you two found between yourselves.

“[name]…” the dragon whimpers from the crook of your neck, soft rumbling purrs mixing with his whining of your name. it was enough to snap you out of your sleepy state, making you hum as you acknowledge his call. he got your attention now. but the main point of hesitancy was — could he do it? could he be so shameful as to not only disturb your night of peace but to also be selfish to want you to pleasure him the same way you did a few days ago?

hearing the familiar noise of his tail hitting the bed constantly in a sense of irritation, you coo his name softly. one hand messing with the long strands of his hair while the other runs through his scalp.

“what’s on your mind now, my pretty?” you ask, taking a look at his face when it comes out of its hiding place in the crook of your neck. he seemed to be conflicted. brows furrowed, slitted eyes glowing slightly in the dark room while his lips tug in a small pout. laughing at the oddly adorable expression, you kiss his brows and pouty lips, making his purrs become louder. such a needy dragon.

“i’ve… been thinking,” the dragon starts after a while, taking his time to try and articulate his request and to convey his feelings that has been bothering him lately. a lot more than he initially thought they would.

“about how you helped me while i was in heat” he takes a moment, watching your expression closely to see if you caught the gist of what he was trying to say. you did, of course you did, you were a smart human after all. his smart human.

“and i was wondering if you could do it again…?” he finally manages to bring himself to ask, peering up at you through his lashes bashfully. how could you ever say no to such a face? such an ethereal and cute begging face alongside the promise of seeing his expression twist into one of someone who’s just fucked stupid. the cute face of your dragon lover drooling and sobbing fat tears while his heart shaped pupils stare at you in a silent plea for more. that face haunted your mind for too damn long, causing unnecessary moments of dozing off while remembering about the moment you slipped your finger inside, making your already horrible work ethnic drop to below ground level.

“sure. i wouldn’t mind it, pretty” you hum, any ounce of sleep leaving your body as you move to a more comfortable position on the bed. pushing yourself to lean against the headboard of the bed, you watch as your draconic lover takes his place on your lap. clawed hands coming to fist at the material of your pajama shirt, whining your name as he pushes himself flush against your chest. you could feel the mounds of his chest pressing against your own, his tail swishing behind him as he arches his back. your lips is pulled against his own, a small peck easily turning into a heated, messy make out. his forked tongue shyly licking at your lips, purring contently as his long tongue slithers inside you, exploring every nook and cranny needily.

you could feel his hips humping your thigh, the wetness of his vent weeping his precum already starting to stain his pajama pants and seeping into your own. you could tell he was too aroused, dumbly chasing after any ounce of pleasure there could be. you could feel the way your mixed saliva dripped down from your sloppy open mouthed kisses, his hands guiding yours to rest on his hips. a position you used to your advantage as your hands traveled downwards to knead his ass, squeezing the soft fat as he whimpers into the kiss.

the poor thing was so pent up, humping your thighs didn’t felt enough. it wasn’t enough to get him to that familiar feeling of high, that exhilarating feeling of feeling your fingers stretch his vent open while he could only keen like a whore.

“want it… want it so bad…” he mumbles into the kiss, guiding your hands to the hem of his pajama pants, tugging on them fervently to get the clothes off. you simply chuckle, finding his desperation adorable in more ways than one before finally relenting and slipping off his pants before he let out an annoyed hiss, pulling away from the sloppy make out session to tear off his underwear with his claws.

“darling! why would you rip it off?” you ask, amused by his eagerness but also slightly concerned for the way he just easily ripped off his clothes like that. you have never seen him get even the tiniest bit ticked off after all, so this was a new side of him that you were seeing.

“wanted more” he only huffs, demanding more kisses as he returns to shove his forked tongue down your throat. the length of his tongue got you groaning and panting, finding it harder to breathe as he becomes more needy with every kiss, with every sloppy slurp of your tongue against his own.

“mmnhp—! [nameee]♡︎” he let out a yelp, pulling away from the kiss to whine out your name as he felt your fingers knead his vent open. the poor dragon whined, huffing and puffing about how you were being so mean to him as he humps your thigh, the tips of his cocks slowly emerging from the scaled vent, both of his cocks weeping pre all over your clothes as his vent drips with his own arousal.

shifting him around, you let him lean his back onto your chest, hands hooking under his legs to spread them open. your dragon let out a little hiss, talking about how you weren’t paying attention to him. you simply shush his hissy fit with a chuckle, placing a kiss on his forehead. taking his hand, you tell him to withdraw his claws. an action he does with confusion before he let out a whimper when you guide his hand to his vent.

“b-but… i-i don’t think i can do it. i’m nervous!” he says in a panicked tone, turning his head to stare at you with cute pouty lips and wide eyes.

“yes, you can. i’ll guide you through it all, okay? it’ll feel good, promise darling” you say, peppering his face in kisses to soothe his worries. the dragon preens at that, his purrs getting louder as his tail whacks the mattress of your bed impatiently. once you get the hint that he was ready and he was okay with continuing, you guide his fingers to tease the edges of his vent. fingers rubbing the soft scales, making a spreading motion to ease the muscles there.

just some foreplay and he was already panting, legs twitching to close them. he was so cute.

“that’s it pretty, now keep your legs open for me” you continue to praise him through it all, your other hand leaving his leg to slip underneath his shirt. squeezing his chest, rubbing your thumb over his areola, you pinch at his nipple when it hardens, causing him to jolt in your embrace. whispering more praises of how he was doing so well, how he was your pretty boy, your beloved dragon, your hand guides his own to slip a finger inside his now loose vent.

“u-uunngh!! mmghh… mnngh… t-tight♡︎ too tight! w-won’t fit…♡︎!” he blabbers, throwing his head back on your shoulder as you slowly ease his finger deeper inside his vent. first, second knuckle until his middle finger was slipped deep inside the tight hole of his opening, legs shaking on the bed already like a fawn’s. there were already tears starting to form in his eyes, jaw slack open as heavy breaths fall. not a single thought behind his teary eyes. nothing but the pleasure your guidance and his fingers were bringing him.

“that’s it… that’s my pretty dragon, keep going” you coo out, pleased by how easily he broke under a simple pleasure of fingering his own vent. when he pathetically humps the air — finger still inside — you pull on his nipple to remind him how to do it. squealing at the amount of pleasure coming from both his nipples and vent, the dragon shakes his head, fat globs of tears already falling.

“c-can’t! can’t do it. [n-name] i need you♡︎♡︎ need your fingers so bad♡︎!“ he stutters, legs already shaking, about to close shut. too caught up in his own pleasure that he doesn’t even know what to do to properly pleasure himself even when you were here to guide him through it. clicking your tongue, you guide his hand to pull his finger out, something he couldn’t even perform without your help. he really was a goner with you.

“then, be a sweetheart and play with your tits for me, pretty. wanna see your cute breasts jiggle while i fuck you” you tell him, watching with endearment as he nods dumbly. hands coming up to push his shirt up, fingers twisting and pinching at his own hardened nipples. stuttered breaths fall from his lips when he could feel your thumb swipe at the slit of one of his cocks, jolting in place when you give his weeping cock a few pumps. the few visible veins in them were bulging, ready to pop and for him to squirt yet again if you just stop teasing him around!

but doing the same thing over and over again sounded boring to you. your sweet dragon deserved some treats for being such a good boy after all. he deserved some pampering.

“ah! gimme a second, darling” you snap your fingers, an idea forming in your head. he lets out a soft confused hum at that, hands still holding onto the soft mounds of his chest as he watches you move away to reach over to your bedside nightstand. opening the top drawer, he watches in curiosity as you bring out an odd small device that was connected to a small remote control by quite the lengthy wire. the color all cute pink, the toy small and nearly the size of a small hairclip but pretty girthy in width. were you… thinking on putting that inside him?

“it’s called a bullet vibrator. apparently, it’s supposed to add vibrations to any place of your choosing. and since i found out of your soft spot, i thought maybe we could try it out?” you explain to him, slowly unwrapping the long wire of the toy. it was quite lengthy. perfect to use it for his soft spot.

“only if you’re comfortable with it, dear. i wouldn’t want you to try anything you think you’re not ready for or feel comfortable with” you quickly say, ready to throw the toy away for another time when you feel the grip of his tail around your ankle. the soft smooth scales creating a soft, bristling sensation on your bare skin. if he could remember carefully, the most he took in his vent were two fingers. but it proved that his vent could be quite stretchy and take something more if given enough foreplay and gentle ministrations.

“i… i don’t think i would mind it. it sounds kind of fun, actually” he says after a moment of thinking on the matter, accepting the fact that yes, he can take it. he wanted to try these new feelings and challenges with you. everything would be right when with you.

“i would love to try this new toy” he finally comes to a conclusion, turning his head so he could place kisses on your neck and cheeks, purring in happiness when he could hear you chuckling. you should laugh more. the dragon loved the sound of your laughter — like soft bells chiming in the morning.

patting his thigh to tell him to open up his legs further, it was now your turn to plant kisses on his neck. you couldn’t exactly bite his shoulders as he still had his pajama shirt on, but you can take care of it tomorrow morning. so, you settle on peppering kisses on his neck, the faint scales that were around his artery, giving it a light suckle to which you got a breathy moan for. all the while you allow his vent to get used to the feeling of the toy, the material of it and its size, simply rubbing it over the soft outer scales.

“gonna push it in, okay pretty?” you whisper in his ear, to which he whimpered and nodded, one of his hands leaving his chest to intertwine his hand with yours. so cute. you can only hope he won’t crush your hand accidentally.

ever so softly, whispering praises to how good he was taking the toy into the shell of his ear, you take in the delicious noises he makes with a great amount of pride. the great and only dragon who could wipe out an entire nation off of the face of the earth, choosing you as his mate and bonding with you. having his faith in you that you would take good care of him and his pleasures. it was a heavy emotion and one that comes with responsibility to a certain degree and you would always be sure to handle the heart of his that he willingly gave you, with tenderness of a first snow.

“aaah mmggh—! uungh♡︎ it’s in! i-it’s aaaanhg♡︎♡︎ hummg♥︎ inside... it’s insiiiecckk—♡︎♥︎!!” your dragon squeals, hips thrusting back and forth into the air as he feels the soft round edge of the toy pressed against the soft spongy spot inside his vent. it felt foreign to have something other than your hand touch him there, perhaps even disrespectful since it was supposed to be the only soft spot that only you must have the privilege to know and touch! but for the sake of this new level of pleasure that you promised, he swallowed his hissy fits, instead replacing them with a whiny soft moan.

“i know, pretty. i know. deep breaths for me, pretty” you murmur, giving soft squeezes to his hand that was tightly holding your own. his tail starting to wrap around your ankle and up your calf further with the fluffy haired end wagging in the air playfully around your knees. you let him get used to the feeling of the toy first. gently rubbing it back and forth on his spongy spot, hearing the way his breathing picks up pace as he throws his head onto your shoulder.

“gonna turn it on now, pretty” you warn him, keeping a close eye on the way his expression shifts. if he shows the slightest bit of pain, uncomfortable feelings or signs of discomfort, you were going to ditch the idea. a moment of pleasure is not worth loosing your comfort over, after all. thankfully, he was reacting well to the new intrusion. only positive notes of his pleasured noises and star crossed eyes. you say it to him again, this time just a bit louder with a squeeze to his hand in case he was starting to lose himself. that seemed to snap him out of his trance. just enough to nod his head to you.

“o-okay… okayhhh i understaaaNGGHH!! [n-name]♥︎♥︎[namenamenamenam]—♥︎♥︎ h-haaangh mmhg s-shoo much♡︎ f-feelsh too much♡︎♥︎!!” just a single switch to the lowest level of the vibrator and he was already shrieking, sobbing and thrashing about on the bed. legs shutting around your hand instinctively, salty globs of tears falling as he goes slack jawed. his entire body shakes as he squirts into his stomach, but this time, he squirted from both of his cocks at the same time. the pretty pink tips weakly letting out a few more drops before he was fully hard on both cocks again.

all the while, you watched with an ever growing jubilation as your lover is reduced to this mess on your lap. legs shaking like a newborn fawn’s, cheeks and pointy ears a lovely shade of red as his jaw hangs slack open. every now and then, he would go quiet, arch his back off of you before a loud shriek would follow as the vibrator hits just right. you could see hearts in his eyes, completely docile as his pupils grow wide, so much so you could barely see the glow of his eye color.

so pathetically cute as he mewls your name in a slurred gibberish, repeating it over and over like a broken record. a broken recording that only had one word and is stuck in an eternal loop to say that recording. the most prettiest one. one that you wanted to be selfish and hear all day, everyday.

“u-uuuugckk! aaaanhg gyanh!! mrrrph— luv you♡︎ luvyouluvyouluvyous’much♥︎! luv yoouugh [n-naamee], luv you sho muchhh♡︎♡︎ f-fuUUNGK—♥︎♥︎” he trashes about on the bed, constant declaration of love falling from his lips, kicking his legs at the blanket as he sobs deliriously until he squirts yet again. his own cum splattering over to his chest, soiling his shirt and wetting his still hard pink nipples. you give one of them a pinch, delighted as he mewls in a hoarse voice. pinching and tugging on the cute nub, rubbing the still vibrating toy around his spongy spot, you watch in sheer adoration and obsession as he shoots blanks.

turning off the toy, you coax his legs open so you could move your hand and slip the toy out of his vent. when the girth of the toy slowly slips out of his abused now puffy vent, your dragon lets out a sob as his hips jolt violently. you could see his juices dripping out of his fluttering vent, wanting to finger it back inside him but knowing that it would push him way too far over his limits.

“shh shh, there there, pretty. i got you. you did so amazing” you whisper, wrapping your arms around his middle to pull him flush against yourself. wiping away his tears and drool, you places butterfly kisses over his face as you ground him back to his mind. he was far too gone and he hated having baths when he was way too lost in his subspace. if he isn’t responsive enough when bathing together, he will throw yet another hissy fit.

“mmmgh… tired…” you could hear him croak out after a long time of rocking him in your arms. he was slowly coming back which meant it was time for a bath. but until he fully regains his mind, it was better to cuddle him close as his tail has a mind of its own and has yet to let go of your ankle. at all.

smooch! maybe another kiss to his pink cheeks would help him ground himself faster.

[thisblogisaboutabook]

Rainy Season

Azriel x Reader

An angsty little one shot. Azriel’s mate is tired of being at the bottom of his list of priorities.

Update: Due to popular demand, this is being made into a series!

Part 2

The air’s getting heavy and we both know why

There was a time when an evening like this brought solace to my weary soul.

Azriel’s hand wrapped around my waist, caressing my stomach, pressing soft kisses to the juncture of my neck and shoulder. His hair tickling against my sensitive skin as we hid under blankets absorbing the incessant melody of drip, drop, drip, drop and the echoing pitter patter of rain drops hitting the roof. His warmth seeping right through to the coldest depths of my soul.

I’d turn around, pressing my bare breasts against his muscled chest. Our breath hitching as his sunburst eyes of brown, amber, and gold bore into mine, his soft lips whispering promises of forever.

Say that this storm is just passing through

But Azriel wasn’t here. He hadn’t been for 6 days, 23 hours, and 50 minutes now. It would have been laughable, comparing the past to now, if it weren’t so damned sad. In the beginning there’d been long, doting love notes with risqué quips regarding his intentions upon coming home, little gifts that he couldn’t resist bringing back from his travels, and the stolen hours where he’d sneak in a visit during the intermittent downtime on his missions. As a realist, I knew that it was not sustainable long-term but relished in it as the gift it was. Newly formed, passionate love that exceeded anything I had ever imagined upon finding my cauldron-blessed mate.

As the years went on I understood when the love notes became briefs and the thoughtful gifts became pecks on the cheek as he hurried through the door to exchange his leathers for clean ones, wipe down his weapons, and rest before his next mission. But time went on, as is inevitable, and distant were the memories of stolen moments away from missions, the desperate caress of his hands roaming my body as if he couldn’t quite believe I was fully corporeal before him - needing to touch me to reassure him that this was real. Now the touches were detached, perfunctory, another task on his never-ending to-do list.

Drop after drop we’re destroying this house and eachother.

The boiling point had been simmering for a while, left on the fire with reassurances of “Things are just busy right now”, “It’ll slow down soon”, “I would stay if I could, love. You know I would. I have no choice.”

But we both knew all too well that there was always a choice. There were times when Rhys let it slip that Azriel had volunteered for missions that his other spies were perfectly suited for, times when all I wanted in the world was to be curled up and listening to the rain with my mate.

Missions became tasks with the Valkyries, “chaperoning” Cassian and Nesta, and emotionally supporting the lovely doe-eyed fawn - Elain - who was the delicate cherry blossom of spring opposite of my wild summertime storm.

It wasn’t her fault. The trauma inflicted upon her, the loss of autonomy that came with being thrown into the cauldron and having her mortality stripped away without her say. The powers she never asked for overwhelming her senses. Hell, maybe it wasn’t Azriel’s fault for responding to the traumas of his past and the need to overcompensate for every ounce of blood he’s drawn by saving anything and everything that needed rescuing.

The problem lay with the fact that where Elain is a “seer”, my ability to “sense” when things are amiss was strong and Azriel’s intentions with her were becoming blurred. Feelings of lust had become more frequent down the bond along with flutters of joy and adoration. When it began I thought maybe things would look up in our relationship - he was missing me, fisting his cock to fantasies of taking me over and over when he returned home - but he only became more distant. He’d return more often than not smelling of jasmine and honey. The strength of the scent coating him correlating with the increase in enamored feelings slipping through the bond.

Six days ago when I’d asked him to skip out on training with Cassian and Nesta and whatever it was he and Elain would do - that was when the thunder clapped and the sky opened. “I can’t just stay home and cater to you all the time. I have duties to this court. Why can’t you find a hobby to occupy your time? Nesta reads and trains with the Valkyries, Feyre paints, Elain gardens and she evens bakes! Why can’t you be more like-“

He caught himself too late, immediately reaching out to place a gentle hand on my shoulder and apologize but it was too late for that.

Please, make it stop

It wasn’t that I wasn’t a forgiving or understanding person. i appreciated his dedication to his court and family and those in need but…

“Why can’t I be more like what? You can stop mid-sentence but you already said it all.” I looked down, shaking my head as silver lined my eyes. Gods, I hate that I’m an angry crier. “You want to know why I can’t be more like Elain in your eyes, Azriel? Because I exist in your fucking blind spot! I have been helping Feyre AT the studio, volunteering at a food pantry in Velaris, and teaching self-defense classes to women and children at the park but you wouldn’t know because you never ask me what I’ve been up to while you’re gone.”

He started to speak but I wasn’t finished. “The reason I cannot be more like Elain, or Feyre, or Nesta is because I’m none of them. I am ME. And you know what? I like me. I don’t want to be anybody else.” Trying and failing miserably to hold my head high I pathetically fell to my knees, shuddering as tears of rage flowed freely.

Warmth enveloped me as Azriel knelt down to soothe my quaking form. I let him if only because I didn’t have the composure to tell him otherwise as he began pressing kisses to my forehead. “I’m so sorry. I have been a terrible mate. I love all that you are- I- I’ll stop with Elain. She’s doing much better and Nuala and Cerridwen can keep an eye on her, so can Rhys and Cassian, and her sisters. It will be okay.”

That consolation attempt only drove the blade of bitterness deeper into my heart. Elain had so many in her corner and who did I have anymore? My chronically absent mate? The family I left behind to move to Velaris with Azriel? There was nobody close by.

“I think you should leave.” I sobbed out.

Azriel ignored the shaky command, continuing to hold me. Fuck - is this what it took for him to notice me? Breaking my heart so he could stitch it back up again?

“Azriel.” I stated firmly.

He met my eyes.

“You should leave.”

His look grew puzzled. “I thought you wanted me to stay - to spend time together? Please, Y/N. Let me make this better.”

“I need space. Give me one week.”

“But-“

“One. Week.”

Azriel’s shoulders slumped, head hanging low for several minutes before realizing that my decision was firm.

“I love you.” He said before heading out the door.

——————

Like clockwork as 7 days, 0 hours, and 1 minute were up, the front door to our home opened and Azriel’s footsteps padded in behind me, my gaze remaining fixated on the rain falling outside the window. A lump formed in my throat as I avoided turning to meet his gaze.

So dance one more dance and tell one more lie.

Azriel stepped around me, wordlessly extending a hand, patiently waiting as I avoided his gaze a moment longer before taking it. His shadows began humming faintly, increasing their melody and reaching a crescendo as Azriel began dancing with me through the room.

Say that you love me even if it’s not true

I let myself melt into the warmth of his chest. The thick air remained heavy upon my soul but I could have this. I could let myself enjoy this moment.

We wordlessly danced through the room in the soft glow of the fae lights.

We made our way through the hall into our shared bed that had become so neglected.

“I love you, Y/N.” he murmured as he laid me down, stripped bare underneath him.

“I love you too, Azriel.”

——————

Wish I could just say it and words were enough to keep you from being the one giving up.

The middle of the night left me restless as he lay soundly asleep beside me. My senses tugged me toward his bag that he’d discarded at the entryway. I brought out his dirty clothes from the week only to be greeted with the fresh scent of jasmine and honey.

Like the sky letting go for no reason

I packed my essentials and voyaged out into the pouring rain. Its patter on my skin washing away the salty tears streaming down my face. Following my senses to where the love was true back to my Summer Court home, my family. As free as a summer storm.

It's just the rainy season.

—————————————

A/n - I know there are plenty of Azriel x Reader and Elain fics out there. It was rainy and dreary here yesterday and this song was in my head for the first time in like 10 years so…. I wrote this.

[radiance1]

Bruce has been chasing after Damian for years now, the once child now a young adult. He's missed 5 years of his son's life, due to a conversation where they both said the wrong words which resulted in Damian running away and somehow managing to evade all of them for so long.

He has to get to his son, before Talia sucks him right back up into the league.

They managed to track his location down to a nightclub, apparently, he was participating in a regularly held event that's been going on ever since 6 years ago.

So they went to the city the nightclub was in, disguised themselves in the crowd and was told to let each other know if they've found Damian.

He didn't expect to meet Talia and the same nightclub, but it made sense. If he was able to find Damian, then it makes sense for Talia to be able to do so as well, even after years hiding from the both of them.

He was keeping an eye on Talia, and she was keeping an eye on him as well, when the event started. The most popular-and only- DJ appeared and played music that had the civilians going wild, and then an entire stage sprang from the ground, multicolored lights coming to life.

This was an event in which multiple dancers had to compete against each other, for what was previously the chance to battle Wraith, the champion who also acted as the DJ, but that changed when Demon came around, overthrowing Wraith and yet, the two seemed to be evenly matched, taking the champion title from each other over the period of 5 years.

Now, who ever got far enough had the option to pick between the two, the Wraith or the Demon.

===

Danny, or otherwise known as Wraith, managed to find a place for himself after losing everything to the Nasty Burger explosion, with the help of Vlad to get him back on his feet, he managed to find a place for himself in a nightclub in another city.

It was in that same city, that he didn't expect to see his twin, Damian Al Ghul, by himself. He explained that he left his father, and was on the run from their mother, Damian didn't know what to do with himself anymore.

Which-as much as he wasn't on a cordial relationship with Damian- reminded him of himself after the explosion of Nasty Burger. So, he took him in at his pretty decent size apartment, fully prepared to do what was needed for his older brother until he got back on his feet.

Then Damian followed him to the nightclub one day, and then the next demanded that Danny teach him so that he could earn his keep.

And Danny did.

He didn't expect for Damian to progress so fast that he was able to dethrone him, though. But he gave credit where credit was due, and if Damian was hellbent on doing this for a living, then he had to wear a mask to hide his identity, from you know, some types of fans and the League as well.

He asked Vlad for another neon mask- he had one himself- and Vlad gave him one surprisingly easy, and then he gave that mask to Damian.

And that, was how Wraith and Demon became regular champions that dethroned each other, until the manager told them to stop because no one else would be able to display their skills and instead made them both champions.

Either pick one or get two.

Their lives fell into an endless motion of DJing, dancing to earn money, and then going back home to a messy apartment, eating and then passing out.

It was a perfect routine that neither of them whished to disturb.

Then Danny saw Talia, and Damian saw Bruce, and suddenly that peace was threatened. Neither of them wanted to go back now, not after establishing this little thing for themselves that they carved out with their own two hands.

But it would be okay, as long as their masks stay on they would go unnoticed, after all.

They wouldn't even think that their children were dancers, would they?