#besides he already put the ladders somewhere else

[skeletoninthemelonland]

I am NOT sleeping tonight. Not like this.

[burntheedges-updates]

over again, epilogue: together

Joel Miller x f!reader | 18+ minors DNI | word count: 6.4k

summary: you fell in love with Joel Miller in Austin, Texas, in 2001, but you thought you lost him and your whole family in 2003 when the world turned upside down. now it's 2024, and you find the surprise of your life waiting for you in Jackson, Wyoming. or, five times you and Joel fell deeper in love, on both sides of the apocalypse (and one time you did something about it) chapter tags/warnings: fluff, flirting, banter, light angst, kissing, pet names (darlin’, baby, honey, pretty girl), Joel calls reader a good girl, neck grabbing (no breath play), light manhandling, grinding, oral (f receiving), oral (m receiving), deepthroating, light choking, p in v sex (no condom this time, but use a condom, y’all), creampie, praise kink, light anal play, face sitting, if I missed anything please let me know! a/n: I cannot believe this is the last part (this is the +1 - the time they did something about it). I hope you enjoy it. Please let me know what you think!

series main post | series playlist | ao3 ch 1 | ch 2 | ch 3 | ch 4 | ch 5

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Epilogue: Together

Austin, December 2002

Almost two years in, and sometimes you couldn’t believe how happy you were with Joel. Almost two and a half, really, if you counted the 6 months you spent getting to know each other but holding yourselves back. 

You had a memorable second Christmas together – you stayed with the Millers for your entire holiday break from teaching, only running next door to your house to get random things you needed as they came up. Sarah, then 13, had been excited about it for weeks, though her excitement hadn’t died down after Christmas itself. You weren’t sure why, but she was still practically bouncing off the walls of the Miller household. Joel easily agreed to let her go to a New Year’s sleepover to burn off some of her energy.

A couple of days before New Year’s Eve you came back from a grocery run to an empty house. You knew Tommy had driven Sarah to the mall, but Joel should’ve been there somewhere. You called for him and heard a thump from the backyard, so you set down your bags and wandered out to see what he was up to. You found him up on a ladder, hammer in hand, string lights trailing over his shoulder and already secured in other places on the tall fence around the backyard.

“What’s all this?” you asked, coming to stand beside the ladder to steady it. It had rained earlier, but now it was just foggy and a little chilly. For Texas, anyway. You shivered.

Joel grunted, voice muffled by the nail he was holding with his lips. “I wanted to do something nice for Sarah for New Year’s.”

“Isn’t she going to that sleepover?”

“Yeah, but she’ll be back the next day. Thought we could celebrate it together.” You rested your hand on his ankle and smiled up at him. He was such a good dad, always thinking of little details like this that would brighten her day.

“Need any help?”

“No, I’m ‘bout done. Hey, could you go make us some coffee? Maybe we can sit out here for a bit when I’m done, think about what else we could do to decorate.”

“Sure, baby.” You squeezed his ankle and headed off to do just that.

It took you about 20 minutes to put away the groceries and make some coffee the way you both liked it. By the time you wandered back outside, Joel had finished the lights and put away the ladder. The string lights were glowing softly all around the back yard. You smiled a little, noticing that he’d also put down a large blanket in the middle of the yard and set up the boombox nearby. 

“¡Que Bonito!” was playing quietly, but Joel was nowhere to be seen. 

“Joel? You out here?” 

You whirled to your left, careful with the coffee, as he cleared his throat from behind you, near the door to the house. Somehow he’d managed to sneak in and change without you noticing. He was wearing a black button up and nicer jeans than he had been 20 minutes ago. 

Before you could ask what was going on, he walked towards you and took the coffees from you, setting them carefully on the low table the boom box was sitting on. “Come here, darlin’.” He guided you into a slow dance, starting to sway back and forth.

“What’s the occasion?”

He hummed, pulling you closer. “Just dance with me, pretty girl.” 

You realized he wasn’t going to tell you, at least not yet, so you relaxed into it. You rested your face on his chest as he rested his cheek on top of your head.

You swayed gently together, and the soft glow of the new string lights made everything feel soft and romantic. You sighed and let yourself sink into him. 

When the song ended you felt Joel tense a little. You tried to raise your head, but he suddenly relaxed and tucked your head back to his chest with his left hand. You realized the next track was “Amazed,” and you started to smile.

Sure enough, Joel ducked his head and put his lips right to your ear as he started to sing along softly with the song. You closed your eyes and let his deep voice wash over you.

I don't know how you do what you do I'm so in love with you It just keeps gettin' better I wanna spend the rest of my life With you by my side Forever and ever Every little thing that you do Baby I'm amazed by you

He sang through the first chorus, but then trailed off. He slowly stopped swaying you back and forth. You raised your head, and he let you this time. His eyes caught yours as he stepped back from you, your brow furrowed in confusion as he took a deep breath.

And then he dropped to one knee. 

Your hands flew up to cover your mouth, eyes wide, as Joel reached into his pocket and revealed a small black box. Your whole body was tingling and you sucked in a sharp breath.

He said your name softly as he opened the box, not breaking eye contact once.

“I was planning to wait until New Year’s Eve, bring you out here at midnight and ask you to spend the rest of your life with me. But when you came home earlier, you looked so goddamn beautiful and so right, here in our home. I couldn’t wait any longer. 

“Darlin’, I started falling in love with you standing in my driveway, watching you smile at me and our daughter over those bushes. I didn’t let myself admit it right away, but that’s the truth of it. And then I spent months falling deeper and deeper, sitting with you on your back porch, ‘n every new thing I learned about you just pulled me in more. But I was stuck in my own fear until that day you watched over our girl and took such good care of her and told me you loved her. And I knew it then. I knew you were the one for me, the one for us, and I needed to stop being so afraid to let you in.”

You realized you’d started crying and you wiped away your tears, a huge smile taking over your face. Joel watched you intently and visibly powered through it instead of reaching out to you.

“Every moment with you blows me away, baby. I didn’t think I would ever be this happy. I want to spend the rest of my life making you smile just like that, hearing about your day, watching you be a mom to our little girl, holding you when you need comfort, marveling at how smart you are. I want to bump shoulders in the kitchen as we do dishes together and catch you as you stumble when you’re too tired after a night of dancing to make it up the stairs. I want to dance with you every day, even when we’re old and our backs hurt with every step. I want to watch you watch our daughter grow up. I want to see you every morning when I wake up and I want your cold feet to snuggle under mine in bed. I want to spend every night in bed with you, touching you and kissing you and making you come so hard your legs shake.” He grins and winks at you, and you laugh. You can’t help it.

“I love you so much, darlin’. I want to take the long way with you. I want you here, with us, together, for the rest of our days. Will you marry me?” 

You flung yourself at him before he even finished the question, and he caught you around the waist, laughing and keeping the both of you from toppling over. 

“Yes! I love you so much, Joel Miller. Yes, I’ll marry you. I want all of that too. I want it so bad, baby.” He grinned at you, and you saw he’d teared up a bit too. You were both a mess, teary and smiling, as he slipped the ring onto your finger.

You both looked at it for a moment, stunned, before he took your hand and raised it to his lips, kissing the back of your fingers with his eyes closed. He whispered, “I never saw you coming, darlin’, you took my breath away from the first moment.” He opened his eyes and when he met your gaze he smiled, slow. “Come here, pretty girl.” He pulled you in by your hand and drew you into a deep, slow kiss that stole your breath. With his left hand at your back he lowered you onto the blanket he’d put out, nestled under the trees. 

Joel hovered over you, pressing small kisses all over your face and trailing down your neck. You threaded your fingers through his hair and sighed. 

“Let me make you feel good, baby.” He moved to take off your clothes at the same time your hands moved to his buttons. After a bit of laughter and fumbling, both of you were stripped bare, right there in the yard, hidden by the trees. He looked down at you from where he hovered above you on all fours, cock already hard and hanging heavy between his legs. 

“Look at you, beautiful. Laid out for me all perfect, wearing nothing but my ring.” He dipped down to pull your nipple into his mouth, and you moaned. “That’s right baby, let me hear you.” He reached over and turned up the volume on the boombox slightly. 

You moved your left hand to cup his face, and he immediately turned into it to kiss where your ring sat on your finger. “What do you want, pretty girl?”

You reached down and held his cock lightly in your right hand. You wanted what you knew would drive him over the edge – what always made him lose control. “I want you to fuck my face, baby.”

He groaned, dropping his head to your chest. “Fuck.”

“I want you to come up here and feed me your cock. Come on, cowboy.” You moved your hands to his hips and urged him forward. 

“Baby, I want–“ he started to protest.

You pulled his head up so he had to meet your gaze. “Fuck. My. Mouth.” You could see him shudder, his eyes blown wide as his mouth dropped open. He scrambled to do as you asked. 

His big thighs came up to surround you, sturdy on either side of your head. You hummed, pleased. He leaned forward to find the right angle and you stuck out your tongue to meet the tip of his cock as it lowered towards your face. He groaned loudly. His hips moved closer, suddenly, like it was out of his control. You opened your mouth and extended your tongue, flat. 

Joel was breathing fast, but he lowered his hips perfectly so that the head of his cock landed right on your tongue. You realized he must have been watching and tilted your head back to look. You met his gaze, upside down, his head hanging between his shoulders. He looked completely undone and you’d barely touched him. You smiled as he slowly sank the head of his cock into your wide open mouth. 

He groaned as he pushed inside, not too far yet. He knew you loved this, and he fucking loved it too, but he was always a little afraid of hurting you at first. Always cautious. You positioned your mouth and throat so that he could push father, but he pulled back out and you hummed. You reached up and lightly slapped his ass cheek before grabbing his hips to urge him forward. 

“Ok, baby, ok. I just don’t want to choke you.” He breathed out a laugh, sounding completely wrecked. You pinched his ass. “Ok, I know, I don’t want to choke you too much.” This time he sank down further and you tried to open your throat to welcome him in. You swirled your tongue over his shaft as the tip of his cock kissed the back of your throat. 

“Fuck, fuck, fuck baby that feels so fucking good. Fuck.” He pulled back out and, a bit faster, thrust back inside. You hummed and squeezed your thighs together at the feeling. You were already getting wet.

Slowly, steadily, he started to actually fuck into your mouth. You encouraged him with your hands on his ass and your moans every time he went a little bit farther, a little bit deeper. You could hear him, cursing and murmuring quietly about how good it was, but the blood started to rush in your ears as he settled into it. 

You pressed your tongue to the tip of his cock the next time he pulled out and then sucked, hard, on his next thrust. His hips jumped forward and his cock sank slightly farther into your throat. You choked, just a little, and immediately held onto his ass to keep him from pulling out. “Oh baby, your mouth is fucking perfect,” he growled, accepting that you wanted him right there, down your throat, not moving until you let him. “You want to choke on it that bad? You got it, pretty girl.”

He started thrusting a little deeper, pushing the head of his cock into your throat every time. You moaned, encouraging him, and realized tears were streaming down your face. You clenched your thighs together, pussy dripping wet, overcome by the sound and the feeling of him starting to use your throat. 

On his next thrust you slipped a finger in between his ass cheeks and his hips stuttered forward, almost sinking his entire cock into your mouth. Joel cried out as you choked and your throat tightened around him, before pulling out suddenly and yanking you up the blanket towards him. 

“Holy fucking shit, baby, what did I do to deserve you? Such a good fucking girl for me. You take my cock so fucking well.” He wiped the tears from your eyes and leaned down to lick across your lips before kissing you deeply, tasting himself and groaning loudly. “I need to be inside you, pretty girl.”

“You were, baby.” Your voice was husky, throat a little raw, and he shuddered at the sound. 

“Let me fuck this pretty pussy, baby, I want to make you feel good.” He lifted your knees to your chest, opening you up to him. “I need to put my cock inside this perfect little hole. Fill it up.”

“I do feel good, Joel.” You smiled, dreamily, watching him look at your pussy and lick his lips. 

“I can see that, honey.” You were sure the look on your face was totally blissed out. It’s how you felt. “I want you to feel even better.” As he said it his fingers moved from your legs to your pussy and he moaned. “You’re so fucking wet, is this just from sucking my cock?” You nodded. “Such a good fucking girl for me. Getting so wet just from having my cock in your mouth. Like I already filled you up and you’re dripping, leaking everywhere. So needy, baby.”

“I love your cock, Joel. Love the way it tastes. Love choking on it.” You reached for him, but he leaned down before you could pull him towards you and licked your pussy, tongue flat, from your hole to your clit. You whined and fisted your hands in the blanket. 

“You taste good too, baby. So fucking good.” He lowered his head again and slipped his tongue inside of you, holding you open with his hands behind your thighs. You squirmed, trying to thrust your hips towards his mouth. He twisted his tongue, closed his mouth over your hole, and sucked lightly. You moaned. 

He pulled his face away, gasping. “I need to be inside you, baby.”

You nodded, pulling him towards you. His eyes were dark and his gaze burned into you, making your breath stutter.

“I’m going to fuck your so good, honey. ‘M going to fill this tight little hole, stuff it full of my cock, stretch you open and make it mine.” He leaned down and kissed you as the tip of his cock nestled at your entrance, your legs still wide open for him.

“It’s already yours, Joel. I’m all yours.”

“That’s right, baby. For the rest of our lives.” With that, he pushed forward and sank his cock inside you, slowly, inch by inch. You threw your head back and whined as his hips met yours. You felt stretched full, a perfect fit. He stopped there and watched you for a moment before leaning down and kissing you, so softly and gently it made your breath catch. 

He moved his lips to your ear and whispered, softly, “I am going to ruin this pretty pussy, baby.”

You moaned, clenching down on his cock and twisting your fingers through his hair. “Please, Joel. Do it.”

He moved his face back above yours, giving you a cocky half smile. He pulled out slowly, met your eyes, and then slammed back into you. You could feel your chest heaving as he set a wild pace, strokes fast and deep. You thrust your hips to meet his, panting. He moved his left hand to where it belonged, holding the back of your neck in a strong grip as he held himself up on his elbows.

Joel leaned down slowly towards you, the move totally at odds with the devastating pace he was setting with his cock. You could feel his breath on your lips. He slipped his tongue towards you and brushed it lightly along your bottom lip, teasing you, holding your neck in place when you tried to surge forward to meet him. The soft pressure combined with the feeling of his cock hitting you just right inside made you whine and close your eyes. 

“That’s it, baby. You’re always such a good girl, fucking taking what I give you like you were made to do it.” He leaned to the right and nipped lightly at your jaw. You tried to tilt your head to give him more room but his grip on your neck held you in place, right where he wanted you. He shifted his weight to his left elbow, picking up his right hand and grasping your hip to encourage you as you met his thrusts. He scraped his teeth down your neck.

“Being with you feels like a miracle, baby. It’s so fucking good every time. A man could lose himself in this pussy.” His hips stuttered. “Wish I could stay right here inside you all damn day.”

You felt tears forming at the corners of your eyes as he kept his steady pace, fucking into you, holding your body where he wanted it. “Joel, please.” You couldn't help but beg him even though you didn’t know what you were begging for. You scratched your nails down his back, feeling his muscles moving beautifully under his skin.

“Shhh, let me give it to you. Just take it, honey. That’s it. Be my good girl.” You held your breath as he whispered in your ear, as his right hand moved to your clit. He began to dance his fingers over it in time with his thrusts and you suddenly felt your orgasm, which had been building steadily, coming for you like a meteor. 

“Joel!”

As you cried out his name, you felt yourself clench around his cock, coming so hard you swore you heard ringing in your ears. He moaned your name, low and guttural, and sank his teeth into your shoulder. His hips stuttered and his fingers pinched lightly at your clit as both of you flew over the edge. His orgasm stirred yours higher and your hands went lax. You saw stars dancing in your vision as he ground his cock into you, almost smothering you with his weight.

His hips stilled, but neither of you moved. You both sucked in deep breaths and tried to slow your racing hearts. You could feel his in his chest, beating strong and fast. 

Slowly, Joel lifted his head to meet your gaze. You realized with sudden alarm that he was crying.

“Baby, what–”

He cut you off with a kiss, so soft and gentle it soothed you. He whispered your name.

“How did I get so lucky as to find you, honey?” He spoke right into your mouth, seeming unable to move back, unable to stop kissing you. “I’ve never been so happy. Never knew it could be like this.”

You mustered the strength to move your arms, slipping them around his waist. “I’m the lucky one, Joel. I’ve never been loved this good. No one’s ever come close. I didn’t even realize what I was missing before you.”

He hummed, kissing along your jaw softly. “Maybe we’re both lucky. Sure do fit together like this is how it’s meant to be.” He ground his hips into yours a bit, emphasizing his point. You laughed.

“Well, you know how much I love your cock.”

He smiled, but hid it in your neck, licking and kissing his way down and back up. “Just my cock? I see how it is.” He kissed your ear before biting down on it lightly.

You laughed again, and considered continuing the joke, but you couldn’t. Not that day. You moved your hands up to take his face gently between them, bringing his gaze to meet yours.

“I love you, Joel Miller, every part of you, with all of my heart. I can’t wait to marry you. Every part of me belongs to you and our family. I never want to be without you ever again.” He looked stunned and then he smiled so wide you couldn’t help but return it. 

“We’re getting married.” He looked elated as he said it, like he’d forgotten and only just remembered. You grinned.

“Yeah, cowboy, we are. You even swept me off my feet.” You kicked at his ankles a bit, reminding him. He laughed.

Slowly, he reached down to pull out of you, humming as he felt his cum spill out of you with his cock. He fingered you lightly, pushing it around and making a mess. You raised your eyebrows at him and he grinned ruefully. “Ok, ok.”

He moved to the side and laid down, pulling you in so your head was resting on his chest and your leg was thrown over his. He tugged the part of the blanket you weren’t lying on over the two of you, holding you tight against him. You knew you’d want to go inside and clean up soon — you’d started to notice again how chilly it was — but for now you relaxed into his embrace. You were both quiet, reveling in the moment.

“I feel like you should have something, too,” you mused.

“What do you mean?” Joel picked up your left hand from where it rested on his chest and toyed with your ring before kissing your fingers. “I’ll get my own ring real soon.”

“I just want to get you something. Like, an engagement watch or belt buckle or something.” 

Joel burst into laughter, eyes crinkling. “A belt buckle? Baby, I don’t think that’s a thing.” 

You narrowed your eyes at him and tried not to laugh. “Well, we’ll just have to make it a thing, won’t we?” He laughed so hard he almost bounced you off his chest and onto the blanket. You grinned, making a mental note to enlist Sarah’s help to definitely get him an engagement belt buckle – the cheesiest one you could find, and soon. 

…

Later, when Tommy and Sarah got home, they found you dancing in the kitchen to the mix CD Joel and Sarah had made you the Christmas before, laughing and singing along to “Forever and Ever, Amen” as you made dinner. Sarah immediately gasped and zeroed in on the ring on your finger before you could even say anything. She screamed and jumped across the room to hug you both.

“Finally! I thought you were never going to do it.” She pinched her dad in the side and he squirmed away.

“Hey! I told you I was planning on New Year’s, you little meddler.” He was smiling wide as he teased her.

“Is this what you’ve been so excited about?” you wonder aloud. 

Sarah nodded at you, bouncing on her toes. “We bought the ring a month ago! Do you like it?”

“I love it, sweetheart, thank you. It’s beautiful.” She beamed at you and hugged you again. You laughed, holding on tight. Tommy came in and squished all four of you together in a hug. 

“Welcome to the family, sunshine!” He pulled you away from Joel and started dancing you around the room as Sarah and Joel laughed. “You’re stuck with us now.”

You grinned as he spun you around, catching Joel’s eye. “Stuck, huh? But there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

...

Jackson, Early Fall 2024

After that night you and Joel can be found together more often than not.

You don’t move in together, not yet – you want Ellie to be comfortable, and that’s more important than anything else. 

But you spend a lot of nights in each other's beds.

At first it surprises you, how quickly the two of you fall together again. But it shouldn’t, really. Just like you told Joel, the core of who you are is still the same, and who you are together was always something special. Something that had burrowed so deep inside of you, had become so much a part of you, that you’d mourned a part of yourself when it was lost. You’d assumed it was gone for good, right up until the moment Joel Miller touched you again. 

You have some difficult conversations, difficult in the sense that it’s hard for the both of you to talk about some parts of your past. But just like Before, Joel is there to catch you when you stumble over your words, there to hold you when the memories are too strong. You do the same for him.

And when Tommy and Maria’s baby is born in early summer, you’re there for each other for the hard moments and memories that come along with all of the good ones. (Ellie takes to her baby cousin Isabela and the joy of being the big cousin with wonder and enthusiasm – they’re like two peas in a pod of chaos. You still wish Sarah was there every day, but seeing them together heals you a bit, too.) 

Later in the summer, once he can come up for air after the baby is born, Tommy shows the three of you the lake near Jackson. Joel takes the opportunity to teach Ellie to swim, which results in a couple of hilarious afternoons with both Joel and Tommy ending up soaking wet when they don’t mean to be. You laugh at them from the grass nearby (or sometimes from the lake, with Ellie).

In early fall, on what seems like one of the last warm days of the year, the five of you go out to the lake. Maria leaves Isabela with her closest friend, taking advantage of the summer weather while you still have it. (You were surprised Maria wanted to come, since no one wanted to bring the baby outside the walls of Jackson, but she just shrugged and said she was getting stir crazy and wanted to spend the afternoon with family, that it would only be a couple of hours, anyway. Her smile was a little too knowing, a little suspicious. You’d narrowed your eyes, sure something was up, but couldn’t figure out what.) It’s a day off from work and school and Ellie bounces along beside you, excited to be out exploring. She’s adjusting well, but still needs to get away sometimes. 

You and Joel are walking slowly around the edge of the lake as Ellie and Tommy invent some sort of splashing game with extremely complex rules (that mostly result in Tommy getting soaked and Ellie grinning like a little demon the whole time). Maria just watches and laughs at their antics from her comfortable spot on a blanket next to the lake. Whatever the game is, they’re clearly having fun, and you leave them to it. 

Joel takes your right hand in his left, intertwining your fingers and squeezing, and says, “I still can’t really believe it, that we get to have all of this again.”

“I know what you mean. It’s starting to make the 20 years in between feel like a dream, which seems impossible.” He nods, agreeing. “I don’t think either of us will ever be unaffected,” you share a glance and the knowledge that both of you still have nightmares and rough days, “but it seems too good to be true.”

He pulls your hand up to his lips, kissing the back of it softly. “You know, Ellie pointed something out to me the other day.”

You turn to look at him when he doesn’t say anything more. “Oh?” You elbow him a little to urge him on. He smiles, one corner of his mouth lifting.

“We were talking about Before, and she pointed out that technically, we’ve been engaged for almost 22 years now. You know, we never officially called it off or anything.” 

You stumble a little and laugh, wondering where he’s going with this. “I mean, technically, she’s right.”

Joel grins at your reply and pulls you to stop, turning you to face him by grabbing your other hand. “And technically,” he winks, “that’s probably long enough for an engagement. We could probably, well. We could get married, um. If we wanted.” He looks a little shy, somehow, even after everything you’ve been through. 

Your breath catches in your throat. And for some reason the question that comes out is, “do people still do that?” 

He laughs, crinkling his nose at your question. “Yeah, I asked Tommy. Sounds like at least around here, people still do that.” Of course they do, you realize it as he says it – Tommy and Maria are married, after all. 

“I…” you trail off, words leaving you, overcome by a possibility that you hadn't once stopped to consider. He sees how surprised you are and tries to talk you through it.

“You know, there’s not one particular way, sounds like people just do whatever seems right to them, with a few witnesses or sometimes a party at the Bison or something. Something they like.” 

Your brain is coming back online and with it the force of your desire to be married to this man. It emerges from somewhere deep within you, pushed down and ignored for so many years because of how much it hurt to think about. You never stopped wanting it, not really, you only stopped being able to have it. It was out of reach for so long that it didn’t occur to you that you could have it now, even with Joel right in front of you, miraculously alive. You start to smile and he straightens up, smiling back and looking relieved.

“It’s just too bad we don’t have any kind of rings, you know?” He continues. You clear your throat, suddenly awkward, and he narrows his eyes at you. He knows you far too well. “What?”

“Well,” you start, “maybe we do have some rings.”

“Rings?” Joel’s eyes go wide as he emphasizes the end of the word, clearly incredulous both at their possible existence and at the idea that there might somehow be more than one ring available to you.

“I might have held something back, from the shoebox.” His mouth drops open and he pulls you closer. “I held onto mine, somehow, never lost it. I didn’t wear it of course, but I kept it close and never had it stolen.” He’s shaking his head in disbelief, looking down at your hands that are still clutched in his own like he might find it there on your finger, somehow unnoticed until now. “And then when I went back to the house, I found them. In your sock drawer.” He squeezes your hands so hard and looks so shocked you worry he might fall over.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” It’s a fair question.

“Well, at first it was like the rest of the shoebox – I was just waiting for a good time to tell you about it, and I did as soon as I could. But the rings…” You sighed. “I was trying not to push, you know? You said slow, and I agreed.”

“But we left slow behind months ago, darlin’.” He tugs you in closer, letting go of your hands to move his around your waist. You slide yours up his chest to his shoulders. 

“I know, but well, two reasons. One, it honestly hadn’t seemed possible in so long that I sort of… assumed people didn’t get married anymore. And two, well. It seemed kind of fast, to just bring it up right away. Hey, thanks for the mind-blowing orgasms, did you still want your wedding ring? Then I just made it more difficult by waiting and got all in my head about it.” He laughed and pulled your face into his chest, kissing along your hairline. 

“You could’ve said that. The orgasm thing. We have been engaged for 22 years, after all.” You can feel him laughing as he says it and for a second you marvel at the idea that it’s something you can both joke about. “Let me help get you out of your head, baby. We can work it out together.” He pulls back and to your surprise, for the second time in your life, Joel drops to one knee in front of you. His hands go to your hips and yours to his arms. He holds you up as your knees suddenly feel weak.

“I can’t beat that first proposal, I don’t think, especially not with our family right over there. So I’ll just say that I love you, darlin’, and I never stopped. I can’t believe I get another chance at spending the rest of my life with you. I’m not letting it pass me by. We were made for each other, after all.” You smile, and feel tears slip down your cheeks, just like last time. He squeezes your hips. “I know it won’t be easy all the time, but I’d rather handle the hard things together than apart. Even when the hard things come from us.” 

His eyes are looking a little teary, too, and he says your name softly. “It turns out we really did take the long way ‘round, but I’d like to go the rest of the way with you by my side, however long it turns out to be. Will you marry me, darlin’?”

You say yes, of course. You say yes, and fall into his arms again, just like last time. Joel draws you into a kiss, both of you on your knees, and then laughs when you slide your hand into his back pocket and squeeze. 

“We’re too old for me to take you right here on the ground like last time, baby, and we’ve got an audience anyway.” You look up to see Tommy, Maria and Ellie are all watching you, grinning. When you make eye contact with them they start cheering. It’s ridiculous and it makes you tear up again. Joel leans forward to whisper in your ear as they come running towards you, “I promise, honey, I’ll give it to you so good when we get home that you won’t be able to walk tomorrow.” You shiver. 

You rise, just as Ellie arrives and throws herself at you both, getting you all wet with lake water. She smiles at you both and starts to poke at Joel as Tommy walks up behind her. 

“Well, what am I supposed to do, sunshine, welcome you to the family a second time? It don’t make any sense.” He grins at you, and pulls you into a hug. Maria is right behind him with another, and you realize that all three of them must have known what Joel was going to ask you today. 

Ellie looks up from where she’s teasing Joel mercilessly for being such a romantic. “Hey, why does he call you sunshine, anyway?”

Joel and Tommy start laughing, and you roll your eyes. “Come on, I’ll tell you the story on the way back.” 

“Aw come on, it’s not a long story,” Tommy grins as he needles you. He looks at Ellie. “We were at some bar and this guy wouldn’t leave her alone, got so far as putting his hand up her shirt. After she’d already pushed him away a couple times. She was dancing, we were over by the bar.”

Joel chimes in, “She took care of him, though. Didn’t need any help.” He’s grinning.

Tommy nods. “Yeah, it was beautiful. She grabbed him by the shoulders, shouted, ‘watch where you put your hands if you want to keep ‘em, fucker’ and kneed him straight in the di– erm, junk.” Tommy corrects himself, glancing at Joel. Ellie rolls her eyes.

“You can say dick. I’m not a fucking child.” Ellie crosses her arms and frowns at Tommy. Joel sighs, long-suffering, but you know he’s hiding a laugh. 

“Anyway,” Tommy shrugs, “the fucker folded in half right there on the dance floor, just fell right over and groaned. Everyone around them turned and laughed at him.” Tommy pretends to wipe a tear away from his eye. “He had to army crawl off the dance floor and creep his way outside. Truly, one of the most beautiful sights I ever saw.”

“Ok that is like, fucking awesome obviously, but it doesn’t explain the nickname.” Ellie raises her eyebrow at Tommy.

Joel and Tommy start snickering again. The absolute dorks.

“Sure, yeah, but you know,” Tommy snorts and says gleefully, “she got him where the sun don’t shine.” He and Joel laugh again, louder this time, leaning into each other. This time you roll your eyes, even as Ellie laughs, too. Tommy’s still just as pleased with himself for coming up with that nickname, more than 20 years later. He’s got the same look on his face as he did outside of the bar, crowing about the way you took the guy down. 

You and Ellie and Maria leave them there, leaning against each other and laughing, as you walk arm in arm back to where you left the horses. 

...

a/n: that’s it, y’all. Thank you for reading!! Every single one of your comments has meant so much to me. Please let me know what you think of the ending?

I bet I’ll add some drabbles showing some of this stuff that didn’t fit in the story. To answer your probable questions:

Yes, you get married. (Your rings don’t actually fit anymore, but neither of you care. You have them, that’s enough. And later you pass them on to Ellie.)

Yes, you do show Jackson how it’s done, dancing at the bar. You even bring out the mix CD. 

I handwaved the cure and resulting issues here but just know that however it went, they took care of it. 

You and Joel do talk about Tess and Michelle and everything else that happened. You tell Ellie all about Sarah and the extended family she would have had in Texas. Talking about them hurts but seeing her wonder, hearing about her huge family, helps. 

You and Ellie talk about Michelle and she eventually opens up to you about her crush on Cat, bringing the two of you closer together. 

Joel still sings to you in the kitchen and dances with you in the backyard. 

You’re all happy, in the end. It’s hard, and sometimes it’s so hard you think it might not work out. But it always does, and you’re happy. Together. 

Tag list

@morgaussy @jay-zzle @bluetattoos @dins-riduur-anthe @huffle-punk @poodlebae

[late-nite-scholar]

Day 4- Moonlight/Sacrifice

Prompt used- Moonlight

@tes-summer-fest

Wordcount- ~1191

Warnings: None

I wrote something a bit different today. Totally not in my normal tense or POV. And, I wanted to use a different character (Wolf Twin love will resume tomorrow, most likely). This is an alternative take on immediately post-Helgen Skyrim.

***

"Meet me in the hayloft, if you're still interested." Ralof’s voice, low and soft against your ear, makes your breath catch. His hand squeezes your shoulder gently, and then he's out the door.

You sit, frozen, listening to your heart beat ever faster. It’s so loud in your ears you’re sure Gerdur can hear it from across the room. You wait a few minutes, trying to calm your nerves. Gerdur notices as you stand and head for the door. She says nothing, but she knows where you're going, and why. You see a small smile lift the corner of her mouth, and you hope that means it's okay. You really hope so. You like Gerdur and her family. They’ve showed you more kindness than almost anyone else had since you came to this province. Only one has done more. 

And now, you're headed out to meet him. You're nervous, and you try to shake the feeling. This was your idea after all. You’d said it, almost impulsively, after the dragon had finally disappeared from sight. You'd been huddled together behind a large rock formation as it had flown overhead. As if to remind you that the whole ordeal had been real and not some terrible dream.

“There he goes. Looks like he’s gone for good this time.” Ralof had said. You’d looked at one another, and then back out again. But the dragon didn’t return, and you’d both begun to laugh. After everything, after it seemed like the whole world was trying to kill you, you’d sat together and laughed. Or at least you had, until your eyes had met his again. You weren’t sure who’d moved first; maybe you’d moved at the same time. You’d kissed; furiously, victoriously.

Then you’d said it. "How about we make it out of here in one piece, and then tonight, after we get to Riverwood, we celebrate our survival properly? You and me and somewhere private?"

Now you’re at the barn. Your feet brought you here while your thoughts were elsewhere. But you don’t hesitate, slipping inside and pulling the door closed. You aren’t entirely sure who the barn belongs to, but you don’t believe there to be any danger. You’d learned to trust one another during your escape, and you’d both proven yourselves worthy of it. You knew he could have left you behind multiple times, abandoned you to save himself at any time from the moment the dragon landed. And he knew you could’ve done the same; given him up to the Imperials to save your own skin. But instead you’d fought shoulder-to-shoulder, and earned your freedom together.   

The loft ladder waits, and you carefully climb up. The loft door is open, and moons-light streams in. A bedroll sits on a small pile of hay, a pack beside it. They match the ones that are sitting in Gerdur’s house right now, that you’ll take with you in the morning.

Ralof’s there, carefully resheathing a knife at his belt. He gives you a wry grin. “I can’t be too careful.”

“I’d expect nothing less,” you reply with a laugh.

Neither of you are interested in any further preamble, and soon hands and lips are moving across skin as clothes are discarded. You find your way to the bedroll, the sweet smell of hay surrounding you. The need overwhelms you; to feel his hands, his lips, his body on yours. A few scant hours ago, you’d knelt at the headsman’s block, already wet with another man’s blood, and watched the axe rise to take your head next. But you’ve both been given a second chance, and you plan to make the most of it. To make the most of this night. Because tomorrow you part ways, maybe forever.

But soon that thought is pushed from your mind. Perhaps it’s the rush of your escape, or the bond you’d made during it, or perhaps the gods themselves put you together, but Ralof seems to know every right place to touch you, every best place to kiss you. His hands are big and rough, but gentle. They move deftly over your body as if he’s always known it. His name falls from your lips over and over, and he whispers yours back like a prayer. The rest of the world retreats. There are no duties, no promises, no obligations here. There is only you and him, the sweetness of the hay, and the moons-light washing everything in silver.

Eventually, as it must, the night ends. You fall asleep in each other’s arms. You’ve never felt so safe. So cared for. You do not dream of the great, black dragon, nor of how you fought to escape its fire. You simply rest.

When you open your eyes, sunlight streams in through the loft door. You give a start. You’re alone. Icy cold twists your gut.

You’re alone.

“Did you think I was going to leave without saying goodbye?” He’s sitting to one side, eating breakfast. You see a second plate of food on a tray, and your pack beside it. He smiles, his eyes as bright and blue as the sky outside.

 “Gerdur had to head out early to the mill. But she sent along something for you to eat. Hard to travel on an empty stomach.”

 You come and sit beside him, but you pick at your food. Being reminded of what’s about to happen robs you of your appetite. It sits like a weight in your chest. You knew it was coming, but you’re still not ready.

He sees this, and puts a hand on your back. His fingers trace up and down your spine. “I’ve been thinking. Whiterun isn’t too far out of my way, and if we could get horses in the city it would make up for any lost time. If you think that’s a good idea?”

The plate drops from your hands. You turn and throw your arms around him. “You would really come with me?”

“Of course. We shouldn’t be traveling alone, anyway. Too dangerous. Better we stick together, right?”     

“Yes!”

He holds you tighter for a quick moment, and murmurs against your cheek, “and I can’t… I can’t bear the thought of leaving you.”

“And I don’t want you to leave.”

“Then we go together.”

When you leave Riverwood, you feel like you’re walking on air. You’ve both hidden your cloaks in the bottoms of your packs, and replaced them with ones of nondescript green. Ralof doubts you’d be welcome in Whiterun if you show up in full Stormcloak blue, and you’re inclined to agree. And taking Gerdur’s message is more important than politics right now. You’ll put them back on once you start out for Windhelm.

But none of that matters at the moment. You have Ralof by your side and the road in front of you. He smiles, brighter than the sun itself, and puts his arm around your shoulders.

“Should we go?” He asks, and plants a kiss on your forehead.

“Yes. We have a message, and we should see it gets delivered.”

“Lead on, then.”

And so you go into your destiny. But you don’t go alone.      

[flownintothesun]

 ⋆ ✰ ⋆ ───    ❛ 𝐥𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐝𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬. ❜ (𝐌𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐥 @ 𝐖𝐞𝐬) 

                                ⋆ ✰ ⋆ ─── 𝟒𝟎𝟒 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝. ( @batteredoptimist )

       𝐈𝐓 𝐖𝐀𝐒𝐍'𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐀𝐆𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐖𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐘 𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐎𝐌 didn’t have a future at all. Looking at a clock was never any good — cause every time a crafty eye would sneak a peek, the seconds would pass so much slower. At first, he’d longed for the passage of time to see him to something better — and then he’d resented it, because all that the shift of minutes, hours, days, weeks, years — all that any of it brought him was more pain. Now he’s sitting on a rooftop nicer than some of the flats he’s lived in, smoking a cigarette and blowing out smoke and cold with every breath beside the two great loves of his life. Fancy that — miracles do happen.

      He’s long since learned to never doubt Muriel when he says that he knows what he’s talking about. So ‘I know a place’ had involved a rickety fire escape — Westley at the top, Muriel at the rear, and James in the middle as Westley prayed to the gods of chaos and discord to spare him learning the hard way that humans weren’t meant to have wings. In the end, they’d made it with their stolen champagne and the chocolate-covered strawberries Westley’d wanted to grab for James. The truth is that they’re not all that poor — but Daddy Ransom has ingrained it into his head to never forget where he’s from. Why pay for things that the taxpayers are already paying for? Big business has no right to the money Wes and his lovers have weaseled away. Stealing and hacking and robbing are all hard work, after all.

       Westley smirks as a premature firework goes off and Muriel gets impatient for his due kisses. “Y’might want to kiss James first,” he teases, tilting his curly head back to wink at his lad, “Strawberries make the cigarettes taste better.” But, in the end, it’s never a competition between them — everyone gets their kisses. Fireworks crackle and spark even though Westley’s watch still reads 11:55 PM and he can’t help but fall over onto his back, laughing even as his lovers follow him and shower him in kisses, and Westley draws them in for more warmth. “Still see fireworks every time I kiss you both,” he grins, wiggling his arm around one of Muriel’s broad shoulders to point even as he’s half- kissing shivering lips, “See, there’s one now. Must mean I love you both an awful lot.”

       If he’s telling the truth — he’s pretty sure he’ll still be seeing fireworks when he’s an old man. Far too old to climb rickety old ladders. Maybe by then they’ll have some kinda mansion somewhere — just them and Daddy Ransom and whoever else comes into the picture. Lately, those have all been happy surprises — like Muriel rumbling and grumbling with a playful thunder, and James’s ‘darlings’ and gentle scoldings as he puts out the cigarette. Westley kisses him again. “You put up with a hell of a lot from me, sweetheart. Are you happy?” He turns to Muriel, asking the same question, only silently this time.

       The clock strikes midnight, and color lights up the sky with the affirmations of his loved ones. For all of his life, Wes never thought he’d be enough — but to them, they are three parts of a whole, and that is everything. This everything doesn’t look so scary, no matter how the passage of time goes — fast or slow. Cold fingers brush cheeks, and lips smear together trembling. There is so much warm and tender hope for the future here — and it sets his heart flying in the sky — green, then yellow, blue and red, and in the streets — people sing for their love, and he won’t be convinced otherwise.

[p33paw]

silent library

kaeya x f!reader

summary | getting fucked by kaeya in a library while trying to keep quiet

warnings | nsfw

words count | ~4.9k

links | ao3

"Don't you have a job?" I ask, tilting my head to meet eyes with the man hovering at my side.

Calvary Captain Kaeya has made it his life's purpose to annoy me. I've had to see him every day since I accepted an internship studying under Lisa. He hovers in the library, doing nothing of use besides staring and occasionally balancing a pencil to entertain himself.

I have to wonder if he has something going on with Miss Lisa, the way he constantly stays in the library, that coy smirk curling his lips, and his stare that makes me jump. I consider him, the glow on his cheeks, and the way he postures his body— scratch that, he definitely has something going on with Lisa.

Kaeya purses his lips, pretending to look at the books next to the ones I'm searching. He runs his fingers along their spines, briefly catching my attention before he steals it back with his voice.

"You know? I do." He says, and that's all he says, before turning back to back to the bookshelf with a smug smile.

I squint, tapping my fingers against the lip of the shelf just beneath where the book I want should be.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be? Anywhere else?" I ask, continuing to stare at him as he coyly keeps his gaze averted. "...maybe even somewhere to do with your job." I draw the last word out, staring him down for the duration, until he turns and looks at me again.

I can tell by the look on his face, I won't like his response.

"What do you mean?" He asks back. "I'm busy helping you."

My eyes roll back in my head before I can stop them. With a huff, I turn away from him, sharp, heading deeper into the library, looking for the missing book.

He's driving me insane.

I slip between the shelves, to a room for storage in the back, and key my way in. I leave the door cracked, walking the room, carefully checking the names of the books, eager to find the last one I need and retreat to Lisa's office for a moment of respite. The book needed takes me all the way to the back of the room, tucked in a corner. I search through the names, glancing away only to catch my eyes on Kaeya as he steps into the room, still following me, quietly closing the door behind him.

I spot the book I need on the top shelf. I lift to my tip toes, leveraging my weight with my other hand planted on a shelf, trying to reach it. I even jump, and nearly graze it with my fingertips. I jump again, but don't get any closer.

I sigh, stepping back. I'll just have to go get the step ladder to get it, as embarrassing as it feels. Before I can turn away, I feel warmth press against the length of my back and something solid wrap my waist. I'm held in place, looking up to watch as Kaeya bumps his chest to the back of my head, reaches over me, and plucks a book from the top shelf.

I know I'm staring, embarrassment warm on my face and my lips slightly parted as I process the proximity. Once it settles, my heart thumps, my hands tightening around the books I already have.

Kaeya lowers himself back down with the book, and though he isn't leaning over me anymore, the arm he placed around my waist to steady me stays there.

"This what you needed?" He asks, dropping the book into my hands. I glance up, startling from my thoughts to view the book in question.

I take one look at the cover, and huff another sigh.

"No, not at all." I say, tilting my head back into his chest to look at him. I try to be confident despite the embarrassment seeding in my core.

He lifts his brows, lifting up to put the book back where he got it.

"Which book?" He asks this time, hovering his hand along the shelf, tightening the arm he has looped around my waist.

I squeak out the name, breath catching in my throat as Kaeya tugs me closer, flush against the front of his body. His fingers press into the spine of another book, tilting it out before he grabs it, bringing it down.

He leans in, until his face is hovering directly next to mine, close enough I can feel his breath against my cheek.

"Am I right this time?" He asks, and my stomach jumps.

"What?" I ask, surprisingly unfocused on what he has to say.

He shakes the book in this hand.

"Is this the right book?" He asks again.

I finally find the wherewithal to focus my eyes, looking at the book, reading the cover.

"Yes." I sputter out, darting my hand forward to lift the book from him and place it with the pile in my arms.

I expect that to end the interaction, but our position holds, Kaeya pressed to my back, his arm around my waist, his hand gripping my hip, and his face—

"Did you need help grabbing another book?" He asks.

"What?" I ask again, swallowing around my tongue.

Kaeya laughs this time, and I can feel it rumbling in his chest against my back. "Do you need help grabbing another book?" He repeats.

"No, that was the last one." I say back, trying to get control of my breath and my racing mind.

He hums, like he understands, but we still don't move from our position.

Do I have to ask him to let go?

Why is he doing this?

His hand does feel nice— warm— his chest is broad— I can smell the mint on his breath, and—

"You're still holding me." Slips from my mouth.

"Oh?" Kaeya says back.

His hand only tightens, his thumb starting to move, petting soothing circles into my hip.

"That's true." He continues, tilting his head in further, until his lips are pressed against my ear. "I didn't think you wanted me to stop." He says, voice low and soft, exhaling a hot breath against my ear.

I shiver, trying to take a grounding breath, stomach fluttering, fingers flexing as I fight to get a grasp on myself.

"What makes you think that?" I ask, the moment I've steadied my voice enough.

Kaeya presses in closer, pushing me in toward the bookshelves, plastering himself against my back. He lifts his free hand to cup my face, stroking the corner of my lips with his thumb feather-light.

"You're making such a pretty face— and your breath is quick." Kaeya says.

He grazes his thumb across my lips, down my chin. His skin is rough from wear as he drags his hand across my jaw, down my throat, and to my chest. He presses against the collar of my dress with his fingertips, slipping them just in, before pausing and holding with his fingers digging into the soft flesh.

"—plus," He continues, "Your heart is pounding."

I take a sharp breath, tilting my head back into his chest, feeling the flush of embarrassment blanket my face.

"And, I know that if you wanted me to take my hands off, you'd use your words and ask me to." He says, sounding proud of himself.

That's... true enough.

I turn my face further into his chest, until I can tilt my chin back and look at him, meeting his eyes. I muster my courage, and ask the question burning in my mind.

"Aren't you involved with Miss Lisa?" I ask.

Kaeya splits into toothy grin, eyebrows flying up.

"With Lisa?" He questions. "She's practically married to Jean. What would ever give you the idea that we're together?"

Oh.

Wait—

Is that why Jean is always here?

I drag my tongue along my lower lip as I think, catching his gaze. Part of his smile fades as he roughly swallows, watching my mouth, holding me even tighter.

"I dont— know." I start, "You're always here and— glowing— and— lingering and— following me— and—" I start, slowing down as I say the words.

Huh, I'm kind of stupid— aren't I?

Kaeya watches me come to my conclusion with a quirked brow and a grin.

"Oh." I mumble, blinking at him.

He's here for me.

"Yeah. Oh." He says back.

New embarrassment rolls into my chest. It's cut short by Kaeya suddenly remembering he's torturing me, his hands twitching to move on my body again. He lifts the first hand from my shirt, back up my chest, then directly to my neck just under my chin. His palm is wide where it rests against my throat, his fingers holding either side of my face. He tilts my head to the side, until my neck is exposed to him, and leans in closer, breathing against it. He brushes up the length with his lips, never landing them on my skin, and back up to my ear.

"Are you going to ask me to stop?" He questions, softening his voice again.

I take another sharp inhale, my thighs pressing together as my stomach jumps.

"No." I breathe out, as resolute as I can manage.

I feel his lips warp into a smile, the hand he had on my hip finally releasing me. He uses it to grab the books from my hands, placing them in a stack on the shelf, one by one, until my hands are free. Once done, he lifts that hand to the side of my neck, dragging his fingers along my skin as he brushes my hair away. He leans in, his lips landing on my skin at the joint where my neck meets my shoulder.

My eyes immediately flutter, my head tilting in his grip to give him better access. He kisses soft, first, a barely there peck like a warning. He pauses for a moment, waiting until I nod in his grip, then presses back in. This time, he kisses with purpose, his lips pressed firm. He opens his mouth, scraping against my shoulder with his teeth, pushing his scalding hot tongue out to brand my skin.

My breath catches, both of my hands darting forward to grip the bookshelf and steady myself.

Kaeya keeps one hand firmly planted on my throat, but the other grazes down my side, across my body, until he reaches the middle of my thigh where my dress rests. He plays with the hem, pressing another sloppy kiss to the bend of my shoulder before his mouth moves up to my neck. He hovers there, letting out an exhale as warning before he lands his lips on my skin, open mouthed. I hardly have time to gasp before his mouth tightens, teeth pressing into the soft flesh as he works the skin, sucking to bruise.

I let out another gasp tailed by a soft but needy moan. I tilt my hips, pressing back into the hard line of Kaeya's body. He follows my lead, using his full weight to press against me, crowding me against the bookshelf as I finally feel his lap connect with my ass, and his thigh force between my legs. His hips roll, grinding himself against me. I squeeze his thigh between mine, then press against it. I move with him, a barely louder moan escaping me as I feel his clothed cock jump against my stimulation.

Kaeya pulls off my neck, digging into the soft flesh of my throat and thigh with his fingers.

"Stay quiet." He whispers.

I find the wherewithal to open my eyes, glancing around at our surroundings, suddenly remembering the fact that we're huddled in the corner of a back room in a public library, and that anyone could walk in on us right now.

Do I care enough to stop? No.

I lift one of my hands, stuffing my mouth with my sleeve to muffle myself as Kaeya's hand slips just under the hem of my dress.

"Good girl." He breathes out, brushing with his fingertips along my stomach and up. The praise makes me warm, melting in his hands.

He continues higher, until he reaches the bottom of my bra. He hooks his fingers into it at the center, lifting the piece until it's over both of my breasts, exposing them under the dress. His hand is quick to move higher, dragging the roughened skin of his fingers against my breast and nipples. He stimulates my nipple with his thumb, playing with it until it stiffens to a peak, lifting his thigh to press between my legs.

It feels fucking good.

I'm suddenly very thankful for the sleeve stuffed into my mouth, quiet whimpered moans escaping from low in my throat like a near constant, my body rolling back into Kaeya's with purpose and desperation. He grunts in return, only playing with my breasts more roughly, groping them, pinching my hardened nipples until I whine. He only slows to kiss my neck again, his tongue burning where it drags against my skin.

I drop my sleeve from my mouth, letting out an unmitigated gasp.

"I'm— surprised—" I breathe out, eyes fluttering as I struggle to focus. "I almost thought your mouth would be— ah— cold—"

Kaeya's hands pause as he releases a breathy laugh. Suddenly, where his fingers rest against my breast there's a shift. His fingers go ice cold, raising goosebumps where they touch. He moves them toward my nipple, and I flinch away as they connect with a sharp breath.

"Kaeya—" I chastise, whining in protest.

Before it even feels like he's started, he stops, and his hands return to the same warmth. He laughs again, brushing his now-warm fingertips down the center of my chest. He follows the line down, between the middle of my ribs, to my stomach, until he's resting with his finger tips at the waistband of my panties. He waits.

"Can I?" He asks, then presses another kiss to my neck, rocking his obviously erect cock against my ass.

I close my already half-lidded eyes, fight to steady my breathing, stuff my mouth with my sleeve then nod.

Kaeya wastes no time, his hand immediately pushing past the waistband of my panties, his fingers sliding against my pussy, dragging through everything soft and sensitive. He moves with ease, collecting slick with his fingertips as he slides between my lips, quickly finding my clit with a practiced ease. He moves slowly, gently, petting my clit as I go limp, sighing in relaxed pleasure.

"How's that?" He asks, breathy, right against my neck.

I make a noise muffled by my sleeve, loosely nodding.

I hear another laugh. "That good?" Kaeya asks.

I make another noise, my eyes rolling back, my free hand gripping the bookshelf in front of me to keep me upright.

I let out a sigh, nodding again.

His fingers push back, moving deeper, until he finds my entrance. With no warning, he pushes in, two at once, and my second hand darts forward, also landing to grip the shelf and keep me upright. I let out a wild moan, uninhibited.

Kaeya grunts, quickly lifting his hand from my throat. He covers my mouth with it, gripping tight, trying his best to quiet me as I moan against his palm. Despite the mishap, he continues, burying his massive fingers inside of me as deep as he can get them.

He keeps his mouth on my neck, moving his lips and tongue against my skin. He curls his fingers inside of me, and I nearly buckle, whimpering against his palm. I feel myself throb from the stimulation, gripping down on his fingers, milking them, trying to drag them deeper.

"You take my fingers so well—" Kaeya breathes out, quiet and soft, pumping his fingers inside of me. "God, you're going to take my cock so well—" He voice starts to take on a desperation. "Won't you, good girl?"

I nod into his hand, eyes rolling back. I'll do any goddamn thing he wants if it feels like this.

Kaeya laughs again, pulling his fingers out from inside of me. He slides them forward, refocusing my clit. He circles it in a rhythm that makes my thighs twitch. I rock my hips into it, into him, desperate enough to ride his fingers.

He notices, and takes a rougher pace, flicking his fingers against my clit fast enough my brain stutters and my hips pause. All I can do is grip the shelf in front of me, melting into his control.

Kaeya's mouth moves up my neck, pressing sloppy kisses as he goes, his fingers never pausing in their stimulation. He kisses the length of it to my jaw, mouths the tendon there, then moves higher, until his lips are pressed to my ear again.

"You're making such a pretty face— so desperate like that—" He breathes out.

I blink hazily, parting my lips only to mouth at his fingers. He presses a kiss to my ear, then nips the lobe before coming back up, breathing hot, heavy breaths against the side of my face.

"Come on my fingers so I can fuck you." He says, voice stern. "Let me watch that pretty little face come for me."

I blink rapidly, nodding into his hand, hips jerking as he continues to expertly stimulate my clit. I feel the pleasure start to build, heat spiking in my stomach, unfurling up, numbing my legs and arms. A tremble starts in my core that branches out, until I'm barely upright with my shaking legs, whimpered moans escaping me into his palm.

It happens like a crash, a wave of numbing relief and pleasure as I gasp into Kaeya's palm, guttural moans ripping through my throat.

He makes a noise as well, a low moan, something like desperation. His hand immediately drops from my mouth, exposing my soft needy noises as he drags it down and back.

"You feel so— you feel so good—" I pant out.

"I know." He says back as I hear a click and zipper, what sounds like him obviously fumbling with his belt, before my panties are roughly jerked down my thighs.

I manage to look back with half lidded eyes, watching Kaeya wrap his hand around the base of his cock. It looks healthy, pretty like him, flushed red at the tip and painfully hard. He pumps it in his hand, staring back at me.

"Lift your dress." He demands.

I loosely nod, still coming down from my orgasm. I lift one hand behind me to bundle the fabric of my dress and lift it up to my waist, holding it there.

Kaeya reaches forward with the hand not holding his cock, and grips my ass, dragging his thumb through my pussy, then holding it open. It's beyond embarrassing to feel the cold air hit the sensitive skin of my pussy, knowing he's staring right at it.

He takes a moment, pressing just past my entrance with his thumb, then pulling it back out and dragging the slick down to my clit. He makes a pleased noise from behind me as he watches it, playing with my pussy for fun. I make a noise, tilting my hips higher, arching my back, trying to invite him in and get him to fuck me already.

He pulls his hand back, using it to slap my ass before he moves it back down, holding my pussy spread as I grip on air.

"Bossy, aren't you?" He chastises, finally tilting his hips forward until the head of his cock slips between my pussy lips.

He rubs against me, dragging his cock through my slick, rubbing against my clit, then resting flush to my entrance, paused just before pushing inside.

"You want my cock, don't you?" He breathes out. "Show me how bad."

I whimper, nodding, then brace myself against the shelves. I tilt my hips, trying to keep steady as I ease back, forcing his cock to push inside of me. The initial stretch pulls a high noise from me that Kaeya catches. He covers my mouth with his hand again, this time forcing his fingers into my mouth. I wrap them with my lips, then fuck myself back onto his cock, finishing burying the length inside of me in one smooth motion. I relax, feeling the full stretch of his cock buried inside of me.

Kaeya's free hand darts up, planting on my hip and gripping down tight. He digs into the flesh hard enough bruise, then holds me in place as he starts to snap his hips against me. His noises are quiet, controlled, just audible beneath the sound of our skin as it connects. His pace is rough, his hips pulling back just to snap forward, fucking me audibly.

Both of us lose our words, solely focused on the friction between our bodies and the fight to keep quiet as we connect, Kaeya's hard cock fucking in and out of me with each roll of his hips. I'm a slobbering mess against his palm, constant moans and whimpers dripping from my throat as he fucks me hard enough I bounce against the bookshelf I'm propped against, holding on for the ride.

Kaeya's hand adjusts, keeping a firm grip on my hip to hold me in place as he fucks himself into me from behind. He finds a rhythm, his hard cock pulsing inside of me as he uses my body to stimulate it.

I crane my neck, looking back to watch his face, staring at his blissed expression, half-lidded eyes, just parted lips. His eyes are locked down, watching where he's burying his cock inside of me. Once he looks up, catching me staring, he smirks, slowing the roll of his hips.

"You look so pretty under me like this." He praises, dragging his hand from my hip to my ass, then up my back to my waist, instead holding there.

I hate how smug he is.

Tired of being a pathetic mewling mess, I take the control that I can. I tighten my pussy, gripping down on Kaeya's cock, pulsing along the length. His reaction is immediate, his hand gripping down hard on my hip, the other dropping from my mouth, his hips stuttering to a stop. He nearly buckles, leaning into me.

"Fuck—" He pants out under his breath, not moving other than to rock himself against me. "You feel so— you— you feel so—"

"Good?" I breathe out. "I know." I try to copy his earlier attitude, giving him what he gave me.

He huffs a laugh, followed by a moaned sigh as I flutter my pussy around the length of his cock. He leans in until he can land his lips back on my shoulder, lifting his hand back up to cover my mouth, forcing his fingers back between my lips.

He presses a single kiss before opening his mouth, dragging his tongue out to taste my skin. He licks, then bites down hard, holding tight. Finally, he snaps his hips again, his moans and grunts muffled by my shoulder as he snaps against me. I do my best to keep myself tightened, gripping down on his cock, milking his orgasm out.

His hand fumbles at my waist, his fingers forcing themselves back between my legs. He slides them against my pussy, going back to feel where he's fucking himself into me first, before landing on my clit. I nearly jump when he presses in with his fingers, focused, stuttering them against my clit rapidly.

I arch my back, having to bite down on his fingers to keep muffled, another orgasm rapidly building with the ebb low in my stomach. He keeps his mouth planted on my shoulder, muffling his own moans, snapping his hips against me hard enough the books on the shelves knock together.

I barely realize I'm about to cum before I do, shivering into an orgasm, gripping the bookshelf as it overtakes my body, pulsing where I'm split on Kaeya's cock. He doesn't slow, instead quickens his hips and fingers, until I have to dart a hand down, scrambling to dig my nails into his wrist as I fight the urge to cry out.

He's quick to listen, lifting that hand to my stomach and supporting me as he loses his rhythm, pounding himself into me with desperate uneven thrusts, grunts low in his throat as he bites harder on my shoulder.

I shiver in relief when I feel his cock jerk, warmth spreading low in my abdomen as his hips snap the final few times, then pause as he rocks against me, fucking his softening cock and cum as deeply as he can get it.

We hold for a moment, collecting ourselves in eachother's arms, wrapped tight, before we remember where we are.

Kaeya pulls his fingers from my mouth, lifting his own mouth from my sore shoulder, leaving it wet where air hits it. He shifts his hips slowly, supporting me with both hands as he pulls out.

"So good— such a good girl—" He repeats murmured praise, low and slow, voice rough. "You made me feel so good."

I'm fucked out of my mind, too far gone to care, only focused on the tremble of my legs as they fight to hold me up. I turn toward Kaeya once he pulls out of me, letting my dress fall back into place. I watch through half lidded eyes as he tucks his cock back into his pants, fastening his belt.

He catches me staring and grins, looking at me with a relaxed look. He takes a step toward me, landing his hand to cup my chin, then finally presses a kiss to my lips.

I consider it our first real kiss, sweet and chaste. He pulls back from it quickly, pressing another kiss to my forehead, then stepping back and looking down my form.

"You're such a mess." He chastises, dragging his eyes down my body.

I finally find the mental power to look for myself, greeted by the sight of cum drooling down my thighs toward my rolled panties tangled at my knees.

Kaeya drops to a crouch in front of me, looking up with a reassuring smile as he reaches forward and pulls my panties off for me. I'm confused for only a second, until he reaches forward, wiping up the length of my leg with the panties to clean the cum off of me.

It's sweet, in a weird way.

He lifts to standing, hovering close to me, the panty cum-rag in one hand, then, the door creaks open.

Kaeya startles, his hands flying behind his back to hide the panties there. My head snaps toward the door as well. I'm left speechless as I make eye contact with Lisa who looks from me to Kaeya, back to me, then her brows lift.

"Are those books giving you trouble?" She looks me up and down after her question.

"No ma'am—" I say quickly, turning to lift the books in question, willing my legs to not give out. "—I found them already."

Lisa's brows lift higher.

Damn. Maybe I shouldn't have told her that.

"Oh." She says, briefly eyeing Kaeya again. "Stop by my office whenever you're done in here, then." She says, then turns and walks away.

I grimace, turning to look at Kaeya. He turns toward me, meeting my eye contact and relaxing into a softer expression.

"I think she might know." I mumble.

Kaeya curls into a smug grin, a glint in his eye. "Good observation." He says, dripping with sarcasm.

I roll my eyes at him, lifting a hand to pinch his cheek. I don't expect the way he leans into my touch. I decide, suddenly, that if he's kissed me, it's only fair that I kiss him. I move until I'm in front of him, lift to my tip toes, then press my lips to his.

Kaeya chases it with his whole body, his free hand darting up to my cradle my waist and pull me in. I hold it for a good few seconds until I move, kissing the corner of his lips, down to his chin, then to his neck.

There, I dart my tongue out before latching my mouth on, holding with my teeth as I tighten, sucking to bruise. Once I'm sure I've left a mark on his skin, I pull back, satisfied, smiling up at Kaeya. He looks blissed out, even more than before.

I lift my hand to his chest, brushing with my thumb.

"You should go do your job." I say, grinning.

Kaeya's lips twitch to smile, then he shakes his head. "I'd rather bother you."

I smile right back, pushing away from him by shoving his shoulder, walking for the exit of the room. Kaeya keeps close, following me out, plastered to my back.

Calvary Captain Kaeya has made it his life's purpose to annoy me. I've had to see him every day since I accepted an internship studying under Lisa. He hovers in the library, doing nothing of use besides staring and occasionally balancing a pencil to entertain himself... but, nothing makes me happier.

[obeiii-mee]

Hello! Can I request an hc about a shady MC who's not phase by anything in Devildom with the brothers (and Diavolo?? he deserves love!!!)? Like, when Luci's like "i CaN KiLL yOu hUmAN", MC's reaction was like "Oh... congratulations then." i need more shady mc who may or may not be planning to ruin your life😂😂 Thanks and take care!!❤❤

The Brothers + Diavolo with an MC that is not phased by DevilDom

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Pls I need more shady MC, they would not take any shit from the brothers. Put any Gen Z-er with these guys and you’ve got yourself a suicidal and reckless human exchange student.

They wouldn’t know what to do with one of those ahaksbakanhaka you’re right, Diavolo deserves all the love >:(((((((

You better take care too >:( thanks for sending me this big brain request. I’ve been preoccupied with other projects so I took a while to get to this ask. Hope you’re doing OK💙

____________________________________

Lucifer:

-He thought having a human exchange student was going to be bad enough as it is but this…..this was so much worse than he could have ever imagined

-The moment you arrived, he already knew you were going to be a problem child and a persistent one at that

-Literally the first thing you asked him was : “Why do you look like an off-brand Levi Ackerman?”

-And he was left there, astounded, confused and offended because he had no idea who you were talking about (cuz at that point you hadn’t met the third eldest) and the tone you had was, frankly, pissing him off

-You kept wondering off on your own????? Without looking like you gave a shit even though you almost walked into a butcher’s shop that specialises in human meat???? Tf MC?

-Also really irritated that you couldn’t be intimidated and that DevilDom was like a playground to you, for some reason? Like, MC get out of the fiery pits of eternally tormented souls- this is Hell, not the McDonald’s ball pit ffs

-Things did not improve for him lmao, by the end of the first week he had already ripped out a good chunk of his hair because of you

-“MC, you should know by now provoking demons like this for no good reason is only going to make life harder for you. Keep this up and you’ll get killed in no time because of your behaviour.”

-“Great, can we have a hip-hip and a hurray?”

-In the span of one day, he’s had to come to your rescue six times (approximately) because you’re too nonchalant about your surroundings around literal creatures of hell

-He doesn’t have enough coffee or will to live for this bs

-“Lucifer, I found this dead plant and brought it here because it reminded me of you.”

-“…..sigh. Why? Why does it remind you of me?”

-“Because it’s cold and unresponsive.”

-He made the consecutive decision to ignore you

-(low-key kept the plant tho)

-Honestly, you get on his nerves a lot and he has definitely contemplated killing you in the past but at the end of the day he really can’t bring himself to do it

-We both know he tried a few times lmfao

-“I will tear you limb from limb, human-“

-“Can I finish my tea first.”

-“You…wait, what?”

-“You’re crazy if you think I’m letting this tea get cold. Try to kill time before I’m done and I’ll smash this cup against your head.”

-If you try hard enough, you might even elicit a laugh out of him, especially if your shadiness is directed at any of his brother which results in him patting your head affectionately

-Nowadays he’s just concerned because you seemed to have made an alliance of sorts with Belphagour and Satan and that’s not a good sign

-For his sake, if not yours, at least try to survive the year without getting chomped on by a random demon please

-He’s too stubborn to let you die just because you’re unbothered by everything so cut him some slack and help out damn it

Mammon:

-“Oi Lucifer, how come I’m stuck babysittin’ this stupid human?”

-“And how come I’m stuck with this asshole for a tour guide, with his fake ass designer shoes and no brand sunglasses. That’s a lot of smack talk from someone with crow shit stains covering the back of his jacket. Also, did you stick your hair in a bucket of mayonnaise?”

-……..

-He was so offended lol

-Normally, humans like you cower in fear whenever demons are as much as mentioned because of the whole “I can eat you whole” thing

-And here you are; insulting the Avatar of Greed and one of the princes of Hell himself just because you didn’t like his attitude

-Don’t worry tho, he warms up to you in less than a fucking month simply because you still come to his rescue whenever his brothers start insulting him and wow, look at that, his heart is now combusting on the floor

-“Y’all have no right to criticise Mammon when he has the most self control out of all of you.”

-“Since when does Mammon have any self control? He can’t keep himself from nicking anything that looks shiny.”

-“Motherfucker, I don’t see him trying to choke me to death, respectfully pls shut the fuck up. I don’t want to say I have favourites but if I do, it’s definitely him.”

-While Mammon’s in the background, with hearts instead of pupils in his eyes like ❤️👄❤️

-He doesn’t even mind running around after you anymore (will still complain about it though because your ass is in constant danger and he’s had enough)

-Honestly, you keep starting shit with random demons, some of which are quite powerful mind you, and you don’t back down even when he’s there to step in

-Would low key love to watch you fight one of your classmates at RAD and organise a ticket selling booth for the event but Lucifer will hang him a new one if he does

-So for now, he sticks to baring his teeth at the aggravator in question and you’re there, giving the same demon the middle finger

-The way you sometimes match his energy gets him so hyped up lmao

-“Mammon, did you steal Levi’s money again?”

-“T’s none of her business human. Now go away, shoo!”

-“Bitch, don’t ‘shoo’ me, I ain’t a bird. Now tell me, did you?”

-“…..Why do you ask?”

-“Because a new flavour of instant noodles just got announced, called ‘Super Hell-Sauce Flavour’ and I thought you might be more interested in that than wasting the money on gambling.”

-“….ok but only if you come with me to buy some.”

-This…this is true love right here

Levi:

-Oh no, now there’s two of you

-Why do I feel like his energy would match MC’s almost immediately? Maybe it’s because he spends too much time in his room on the internet like the rest of us do

-“What do you want, you stupid normie?”

-“300…..”

-“….300 what?”

-“300 mangas collected, thousands of episodes of anime watched, over 60 character figurines, plushies, body pillows, merchandise and several posters only to be called a fucking normie by a demon weeb that’s only known me for 10 minutes.”

-Boom, instant friendship

-He becomes attached to you almost immediately and now that he knows how unphased you are by DevilDom, he is seriously worried

-Hell, you’re making him consider going outside his room just to make sure you’re alive and not dead in a ditch somewhere because you decided to get on someone’s nerves that particular day

-Even during the quiz thing, when he almost kills you, you’re just sitting on the floor and awkwardly watching him as he throws a sissy fit

-Levi feels sort of conflicted with you because one one hand you’re good company and he loves having you around, you’re his Henry after all

-But on the other hand, you put yourself in so much danger it makes him paranoid so often to the point where he wants to keep you locked in his room and wrapped in bubble wrap

-Nearly had a heart attack when you almost walked right into a pit of lava like MC???? This isn’t one of his video games???? You’re not gonna respawn if you die????

-Besides all that, he gets a bit jealous of you confidence and your ability to just do whatever without fearing death or consequence

-“MC, how do you do it?”

-“Do what?”

-“How do you go about your life without a care in the world?”

-“I guess I’ll tell you my secret Levi. I’m not like other humans that’s why, I’m just so unique I do things differently.”

-“You sound like a pick me-“

-As long as you’re OK and not injured because of your carelessness, he’s indifferent about your behaviour and will even applaud you for your bravery when it comes to this sort of thing

-“lmao the human exchange student just dumped Solomon’s cooking in the trash while looking him dead in the eye 💀💀💀”

Satan:

-Your attitude towards DevilDom and demons in general kept him entertained, if nothing else

-You rarely seemed to consider how much of a threat that place really is and usually you were just running around, completely ignoring Lucifer’s rules and doing your own thing

-Which, you know, he’s all about

-I can’t say there were no incidents between the two of you

-With his short temper and your tendency to say things without caring about the consequences, there were definitely moments when he might’ve snapped on you

-“MC for goodness sake, what happened to my room?”

-“What do you mean?”

-“It’s an absolute mess! I just told you to bring me my spells and curses book, not mow through everything!”

-“It’s not my fault this place is built like a fucking labyrinth. You should be grateful I went to get it for you at all, I almost tripped and died several times on my way back. Also, you should get a new ladder for your shelves. It did the broken.”

-“MC….”

-“Yes?”

-“You are so lucky I love you.”

-Other than the fact his anger takes over him when things like these happen, he not so subtly encourages you to keep going because seeing Lucifer scowl at your antics gets him wheezing his lungs out

-I like to think Satan would be very impressed, even in the beginning, at the amount of nonchalance you can radiate at times

-I mean, you sure as hell don’t see it often and he loves how unpredictable you are more often than not

-If anything, he should probably thank you-idk how, but his patience has increased significantly every since you got here and he appreciates having some more control of his emotions

-“I’m gonna go put oil in Lucifer’s shoes.”

-“Do you have a death wish?”

-“Satan, I am old enough to make my own decisions and I concluded that this action is necessary.”

-“Necessary for what?”

-“Raising everyone’s morale! All of you seemed to feel down lately so I thought this would be fun for everybody!”

-“Except Lucifer, right?”

-“Except Lucifer. He grounded me from my D.D.D like I’m a fucking teenager who needs to be supervised-pssshht, I’m the most responsible one here.”

-“Yes clearly.”

-“Goodbye dear Satan, I may die today. But it’s for the greater good! (Dramatic exit with sound effects)”

-“WAIT MC!”

-“(pops head back in) yes?”

-“May I offer you my assistance?”

-You’re basically taking turns pranking his brothers and it’s hilarious

-Satan is not too worried about your well being simply because he knows his siblings and him are always going to be nearby to save you if you pull something stupid again

-Even so, he checks up on you throughout the day; just to make sure

-“Where were you?”

-“Running from a bunch of demons. Who wanted to go munchy crunchy on me, I assume.”

-“……”

-“Either that or people here are a lot friendlier than originally expected.”

-You can be such a handful and it really tests him, especially when he’s angry enough to begin with

-But despite your amazing talent at either getting completely lost around Hell, purposely walking into a prohibited place just because you felt like it or riling up others with how blunt you are, he still cares about you deeply

-You may be a pain the ass, but you’re his pain in the ass <3

Asmo:

-He should’ve known something was up with this particular human when you stood there, completely calm and collected, while Beel salivated at the thought of eating you on your first day

-Asmo just brushed it off for a while but it kept happening???

-The first time Lucifer ever told you off, you really went and said “Or what? Are you going to eat me? If so, you can go ahead and start with-“

-He came to your rescue and covered your mouth before you got to finish and before Lucifer unleashed his wrath on to everyone in that house

-“OOPSIE! I think MC has been spending too much time with me. Sorry Lucifer, we gotta run now! We have a party to attend, don’t we MC darling?”

-“You mean the one hosted by the guy that tried to kill me because I shoved into him on the hallway at school and then proceeded to tell him to go fuck himself right back into whatever hell hole he was born in before you came and charmed our way out of it?”

-“Yes.”

-“Ah OK. “

-You’re tiring for sure but you’re not exactly unlikeable

-You have a certain charm hanging about you that Asmo loves

-“I almost died like…30 minutes ago.”

-“WAIT WHAT?? WHY?? WHAT HAPPENED-MC ARE YOU OK???”

-“Yeah, I almost drank some poison today because someone told me it was water. It smelt off though so I didn’t.”

-“….”

-“Anyway, I got you this bracelet on my way home.”

-He really does wish you would take things a bit more seriously

-This is your life on the line, you know? What would he do if you died?

-“MC, you’re not immortal, you can die so much more easily than I can, you know that right???”

-“I don’t care.”

-“Well I do! And you should too….”

-A lot of people don’t see past his vanity tbh, because he can be such a caring person towards the people he loves

-The amount of videos he has of you appearing to be completely calm while pure chaos is descending in the background is pretty impressive

-Every time he uses his charm on you to try and get you to commit his sin, it just doesn’t work???? For some reason???? And even if it’s just with simple, innocent affection for now, he is determined to tempt you into it

-“MC~gimme a hug!”

-“But that’s social interaction and I don’t support it- do you have a charger for my D.D.D by any chance?

-Or at least die trying to ig

-Asmo loves having you around but you’re giving him wrinkles and that’s not okay >:(

Beel:

-The moment he realised how carefree you actually were, he sort of started checking up with you quite frequently throughout the day

-It’s his way of protecting you but if he could, he would follow you around all the time

-Becomes your body guard because you may not care enough about your safety but he certainly does so get ready to be carried everywhere

-You will not get hurt nor will anyone mess with you if he has a say in it and let me tell you, he does

-Thing is, his brothers mostly know him for being slightly dense in some aspects of day to day life

-He’s not perceptive of things that don’t involve food or his loved ones

-And because you most definitely are a loved one of his, he does notice how careless you are really often

-And it scares, rather worries, him because DevilDom is an incredibly dangerous place-even with all the precautions they had taken when you came

-“MC get down, you could fall.”

-“But Beel, look-I’m finally taller than everyone else! Taller than you even! Hey, should I do a backflip?”

-He has no idea why you thought jumping from 60 meter high cliff into a small river of squashed demon blood was a good idea but he wasn’t going to risk anything just because you felt like showing off your diving skills

-Proceeds to carry you away, completely unfazed

-In this case, I feel like Beel is not someone who gets bothered by the horrible things happening around there either

-As long as he has food and his family is safe and happy then he’s also happy, as mentioned above

-But he knows he’s alright with DevilDom because he’s been living here for centuries now

-A bit curious as to why you’re so unbothered

-And even more curious as to why you weren’t terrified of him transforming in his demon form after he lost control when he found out you ate his pudding

-Or more like Mammon did and pushed the blame on you

-“YOU. ATE. MY. PUDDING!”

-“Beel I love you but if you did not just see Mammon shoving the damn container in my mouth two seconds prior to this, then you might need glasses.”

-He apologised to you later for it but even so, you didn’t seem to mind like at all and he didn’t really understand why

-Unless you end up explaining why exactly you feel so indifferent about your life being in potential danger, he won’t really pry

-But now he has even more reason to follow you around like a lost puppy

-Since it’s clear you don’t really care about protecting yourself

-So now it’s his job to do it

-MC protection squad? Mostly Beel and Mammon

-ahhh he cute

Belphie:

-Oh

-You piss him off so much

-He’s trying to have his moment, you know?

-Finally getting that glimmer of satisfaction after killing a human as a way to avenge his sister’s death

-Trying his hardest to make it as miserable as possible because he has so much rage in him, he needs you to suffer

-“Harder Daddy-“

-“Oh fuck off.”

-Nah but for real, what the fuck MC

-Why does he even bother, he feels like he should be sleeping instead of dealing with your bullshit

-Even afterwards, when your future self shows up and he tries to kill you again, you look more thoughtful than irritated???

-Lucifer and Beel are literally holding him back from doing another Chocky on you and you’re standing there, looking at him with your eyebrows raised

-“Hey Belphie, I have a quick question. I know you’re trying to kill me and everything but do you like the colour blue?”

-“HUH??!?!”

-“It’s a simple yes or no question Belphie. Do. You. Like. Blue?”

-“WHAT DOES IT MATTER???!!!”

-“BELPHAGOUR, AVATAR OF SLOTH-YES OR NO, JUST FUCKING ANSWER!”

-“YES! FUCK YOU!”

-“Ah ok thanks. I like blue too :)”

-????????????

-Pls he felt like sticking his foot down your throat

-As of late, he’s kind of glad he didn’t manage to scare you away that day and that he didn’t traumatise you or something

-At the time, he was mad because he didn’t understand why you weren’t scared but now he just wants to make it up to you

-“You didn’t deserve any of that. I’m sorry MC, I won’t blame you if you decide to stay away from me now.”

-“Stfu dipshit, what’s gotten you so depressed? Did you have another fight with Beel? I told you not to eat the last slice of cake.”

-“Rude ass, I was trying to apologise for my past mistakes-let me repent will you?”

-“Said no demon ever. Now let’s go hang out you emo bitch.”

-Y’all vibe together on a spiritual level once that shit gets sorted out

-But he’s kinda scared you might pull out a knife on him ngl

-Obviously, you’re still annoying as fuck with that indifferent attitude of yours but he can live with it

-He appreciates the fact that you’re not scared of him, even after what he’s done

Diavolo:

-Ah yes, the future King of DevilDom himself

-He’s very enthusiastic about the idea of you having fun this year…..and to keep you alive….

-He, of course, expected a range of reactions from you when he first summoned you here

-None of which were “Ok but could you not have given me a heads up? Before the whole teleportation thing? I face-planted your onto marvellously polished the floor and now I think I lost even more brain cells than before.”

-He felt so bad gagajajahahwgehhsb

-He apologised for bringing you out here without any warning like that and then proceeded to introduce you to everyone

-Diavolo is actually kind of relieved to see you’re handling everything pretty well

-He thought that maybe DevilDom was too much for a human to deal with

-Meeting Barbatos also went incredibly smooth

-“Barbatos? The one that cleans the floors right? Big fan of your work, I could eat off the floor of the main hall.”

-He’s so glad to see you getting along with everyone and not getting intimidated by the brothers

-It gets him excited thinking about how the exchange program is gonna work and all three realms will be united

-But he’s not stupid so don’t think he’ll allow you to stumble around, getting up to all sorts of mischief

-He always has someone watching you because he would hate to see you die, despite being pretty fond of your carefree attitude

-“MC, please be careful. Most demons here aren’t all that nice.”

-“Aye aye Captain.”

-He fears that many demons would take your indifference as a challenge and try to assert dominance or something by kidnapping you

-As far as creatures of hell go, they love installing fear in people

-So he always keeps an extra eye open for you

-And he’ll be there to help you if something goes wrong

-But other than that, he’s pretty chill as well and he finds you so hilarious, it’s been a while since he’s seen someone as eccentric and dramatic as Mammon and Asmo

-Idk what else to add here, Diavolo is very accepting and as long as you don’t get hurt, he’s glad you can get used to your new surroundings so easily

———————————-

Al~

[ithinkhesgaybutwesavedmufasa]

Of Constellations & Creeds

Chapter 21: Fire of Devotion 

Summary/Author’s Note: Din presents you with a gift that he has had for while. You start exploring what it means to work as a team and meet a fiery mechanic that takes a shine to you. 

There is a note at the end for what something looks like if you guys are having a hard time picturing it. I tried to do my best. Thank you for reading! 

Pairing: Din Djarin x F!reader (Alpha/Omega/soulmates AU) Word Count:  5k Warnings/Promises: Mature/18+ - language, sexual themes, weapons/shooting

[Previous Chapter] [Series Masterlist] [My Complete Masterlist]

--

This is what dreaming felt like. 

You were the perfect temperature of warm bodies and crisp blankets. Sprawled among the sheets, you lucidly stretched your body as your mind slowly woke up the rest of your limbs. You started by wiggling your toes while you listened to the birds chitter in the trees outside the barn, your ankles, your back, and lastly your arms. You quietly popped your fingers as you brought them up to rub gently at the back of your sore neck with a groan. 

"Shit."

You winced as you stretched your arms and suddenly remembered why your shoulder was so tender. Rotating the cuff much slower, you worked the stiffness out of the muscle until you could move it more freely. That was at least a little better. 

Before falling into bed last night, Din had ravished you against the wall, then again on the ground, neither one of you able to stop long enough to tear yourselves apart. The idea of moving into the comfort of your bed never came up, due to not wanting to wake the kid and once again...that required you to stop touching each other. Whatever discomfort you felt had absolutely been worth it. 

The morning sun was warm on your face and you opened your eyes to find the Mandalorian facing you...still helmetless. You had worried the moment you fell asleep everything would have ceased to have happened. You really wouldn't have seen his face. You really wouldn't have received his mark. But he had sleepily assured you that closing your eyes erased nothing and he promised to be here when you woke up. Everything you had done last night was no dream. It had been very, very real. 

“Din?” you whispered almost inaudible, as if to test him. 

His eyes were closed and his mouth open ever so slightly as he continued to sleep with his arm bent behind his head against his pillow. He looked younger in the sunlight. The gentle rays tinting his already light brown skin to a warm sienna, it did the same to his hair, finding the small strands of molten gold throughout the tousled dark curls. He was so handsome and you had yet to tell him, but something told you he wouldn't believe you even if you did. 

Did Mandalorians have a concept of beauty? When you spent your entire adolescence with a helmet on, you couldn’t imagine it mattered much what the person underneath looked like. It leveled the playing field so to speak. While society squabbled over such trivial attributes, you imagined Mandalore was more concerned with your ability to win a fight, to negotiate, to contribute to your clan.

It used to be easy to look at him with disdain. Then that disdain turned to something little more than convenient indifference. It was easy to blame him for the destruction of your home world, for the loss of your old life. Anger was always easier. And yet as you looked at him now, and fought the desperate urge to trace the bridge of his nose with the tip of your finger, you knew you felt something else towards him. Something that you hadn't felt in a very long time. Something that felt a lot like affection...a lot like love.

Yes, to you Din was beautiful. But then again when you loved someone, weren’t they always? There was that word again. It made you smile quietly to yourself as you mulled it over in your mind. 

Leaning forward, you pressed your lips to his, a chaste kiss that caused a soft groan to come from somewhere deep in his chest as his arm slid around your middle. 

"Good morning," you whispered against his mouth and he grunted, not bothering to open his eyes. 

"Ten more minutes."

You smiled, kissing him again as he pulled you closer. You reached down and grabbed the blanket before pulling it up over the both of you more securely. For a man that never took a break, he loved sleep more than anyone you had ever met. 

"Alright, ten more minutes," you said quietly as you moved to kiss his cheek before tucking your head under his chin against his chest and closing your eyes. 

--

Saying goodbye to Omera and Sorgan was more painful than you imagined it would be. She was the first person who understood your struggle. If it weren't for her who knew how long it would take you and the Mandalorian to find one another. But no matter how you felt, you couldn't stay here and she couldn't come with you. It seemed everywhere you went there was something new to lose, a new heartache to experience, and as you hugged her tightly and held back your tears she was added to the long list of loss in your life.

"You'll always have a place here," she said quietly as you squeezed her tighter. It's as if she knew you were trying not to fall apart. She felt the soft cloth that you had used to bandage your shoulder and she leaned back to see your face and give you a knowing grin. “But you are now right where you’re supposed to be.”

"Thank you," you said, wiping your eyes as she fixed the shawl around your shoulders and gave your arms a pat. 

“Keep up with your meditations. They’ll help.”

“I know.”

"Take care of them," she nodded to the man behind you who was holding the child and waiting patiently for you by the cart. "But don't forget to take care of yourself."

"I will."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

The trip back through the woods to the Razor Crest was a somber one and you watched as the child stood at the back of the cart and waved its tiny three-fingered hand at the group of children who were waving in return. You leaned forward and rubbed the space between its massive ears gently. However you were feeling was probably nothing compared to the little guy. He didn't know what was going on, or that there were people hunting him, or why you couldn't stay in such a beautiful place where he had made so many friends. It was tough being a kid in such a big world. Maker, it was tough being an adult in such a big world. 

You looked back as you felt Din put his hand on the small of your back and lean his helmet against your temple for the briefest of moments. You lowered your walls ever so slightly and accepted the comfort that he sent your way. Maybe Omera had been right, maybe he had wanted to stay too. 

--

Being back on the Razor Crest came pretty naturally to the three of you and to say you were surprised was an understatement. Fresh supplies from Sorgan filled the storage bunker and with more variety to eat than prepackaged rations, your spirits were much higher than they had been previously. 

“Come on, kid,” you said, gently as you picked up the child and straightened his burlap cloak. “Nap time.” 

“Ba-to!” he squeaked, raising his arms up and giving you a two-toothed smile that warmed your heart. 

“Just for a little bit,” you assured him. “Then you can come up front and help pilot. Sound good?” 

“Ah-yo!”

“No, no, I promise,” you answered him like you were having a full conversation. “I’ll make him let you. You’re plenty old enough,” you scoffed with a laugh. “You just need a few phone books to sit on.”

He gave another happy squeak as you sat him in the hammock hanging above Din’s bed and tucked him in. You dug out the small stuffed frog that Winta had made for him back on Sorgan, with it’s bright blue felt skin and lopsided eyes, and helped him nestle it under his chin. You gave him a soft pat on the head and waited for him to close his eyes before pressing the button on the panel that closed the door with a quiet hiss. 

You heard your name being said from above you and you went to the ladder that led to the cockpit, looking up to see the Mandalorian looking down. He had brought the ship out of hyperdrive for the time being as you researched a plan of action. Without coordinates, it was pointless to travel in circles and waste precious fuel.

“Can you come up here for a second?” he asked and you nodded. 

Taking one rung at a time, you hauled yourself up into the main hull and gratefully accepted his help in order to plop your butt on the floor with a smile. You didn’t have to see his face to know he was smiling back. 

There had been precious little time for him to take off his helmet once you were back on the ship. Somehow the ship was less private than the bed you had shared in the barn. Although you were disappointed not to be able to look over and see his face whenever you wanted, you understood. This was a new experience for him in a way you would never understand, a type of vulnerability that you would never know, but how you longed to kiss him properly again. You wanted to feel his lips on the back of your neck as he curled himself behind you for sleep. All selfish reasons, of course, but that didn’t diminish them in any capacity. 

“What’s up?” you asked as you leaned back on your hands and looked at him where he stooped beside the captain’s chair. 

“I got you something.”

“Me?” You leaned up with widening eyes as you put a hand to your chest in question. 

“Is there someone else I’m traveling with?” he asked and you glared at him before realizing it was his poor attempt at dry humor. “Yes, you.”

He moved under the chair and dragged a medium sized trunk out from the alcove created by the dashboard and the control panel. You recognized it as the trunk he had received from the armorer back on Nevarro. It was a dark slate colored material and he popped the latches before 

beckoning you closer.

“I hope you like them.”

“Whatever it is,” you encouraged him. “I’m sure I will.”

“You don’t have to use any of it if you don’t want to--”

“Din, just show me.”

“Alright, okay,” he let out a heavy breath and lifted the lid before spinning the entire thing slowly around to show you.  

“You didn’t have to get me anyth--oh, goddess,” you said softly in amazement. 

Inside, carefully protected by a velvet type of lining, were crafted pieces of a silver metal. You hesitated, reaching out to touch one of them and thinking better of it before looking at him as if you needed permission. With a careful nod of his helmet, you picked up one of the cylindrical pieces and brought it closer for inspection. 

“Is it--?”

“Beskar,” he nodded. “It’s yours.”

“Din, I--”

He held up a gloved hand to stop any argument you may have had and helped you take the pieces out one by one. Two bracers that fit perfectly over your wrists and protected your forearms about two inches from your elbows. He took them gently and slipped them over your tender skin before locking them into place and letting you get used to the feeling. You made a fist with both of your hands a few times, opening and squeezing, testing how they felt.

“They lock like this,” he said after completing the motion. “They’ll deflect anything. Blaster-proof. Just hold your arm like you would defensively,” he instructed, pulling your arm up to protect your face and tapping it once with his finger. “Ping. Right off the beskar. We can practice.”

“Handy,” you nodded and he dove back into the box for the next piece. 

“This,” he offered the single pauldron to you, moving around your body slightly to fit it to your non-dominant shoulder. “Protects your dominant side by sitting opposite it.”

“Because I turn my body away from the blow?”

“Exactly.” He put it over your shoulder and clamped it down around your bicep. Hooking it securely across your torso. “Plus, the added weight on your dominant arm would slow you down if you’re using your staff.”

“Makes sense.”

“Move your arm,” he said and when you did, he adjusted it slightly. “How’s that?”

“It’s extremely generous and useful but--”

“No buts.”

“I--”

“You’re my Omega,” he interrupted you gently. “You have the right to wear it. And it’ll help keep you safe--and if you’re safe, I’m focused.” His hand came down to rest gently over your shoulder blade, covering the still tender skin of where he had marked you. 

He had a point but it still made your ears burn with embarrassment. You knew he didn’t mean it as an insult to your abilities. You had more than proven you could handle your own when you first met, but the knowledge that your safety proved a distraction to him still made you feel guilty. You felt the sudden need to apologize but you knew Din wouldn’t want to hear it, let alone entertain such an idea.

“There’s one more piece,” he said gently. He held it out gently and when you looked at him in confusion he offered his hands forward. “Can I?”

You nodded and sat still with your hands in your lap as he made sure any stray pieces of your hair were out of the way. Even with the gloves and his armor, he was always so gentle, so careful. When he was satisfied he held out the silver circlet and slipped it around the front of your forehead and over your temples. The blocky beskar came to a strong point between your brows and the edges came down in front of your ears to frame the sides of your face. Each subtle point that mirrored the larger one turned what would have been an ordinary face guard into something much more symbolic. 

“I feel ridiculous,” you said softly, not wanting to hurt his feelings but also having a hard time wrapping your head around the idea that such a piece of finery was really necessary. 

“You look breathtaking,” he argued and it made you smile. “You’re an Omega, an Ursa at that--people deserve to know.” He swallowed hard and nodded to the box. “If we find more beskar I can have a proper helmet made instead of--”

“A tiara?” you asked with a bite of wit and he chuckled. 

“It has more purpose than that, I promise.” He touched the sides that came down almost level with your jaw line. “These protect your peripherals--keeps light from obscuring your view for long range weapons.”

“Smart.”

“And this,” he touched higher, closer to your ear and a soft static hum came before you heard his next words twice, almost overlapping one another. “Has a direct com line to me.”

“That,” you put your hand over his and spoke into the mic as if to test it the other way. “Is incredibly useful.”

He gave a nod to signal that it had worked and he dropped his hand from your face to rest comfortably on your thigh. You put your hand over his and held in gently. It was beautifully crafted and you were having a hard time coming to terms with the idea that he had spent any of the rarest metal in the world on something for you. But that wasn’t the only issue, no, there was something else. An issue of the timeline. 

“When did you have this made?” you asked, tracing the metal etching that lined the outside of the bracer. 

“When we got the bounty on the kid--I had it made along with mine.”

“But that was before I agreed to be your Omega,” you said carefully, watching his body for any sign of tension. There wasn’t any. 

“I know.”

You bit your lip and looked down. With a shake of your head, you swallowed the lump in your throat before speaking. “What if I would have left? What if I never agreed to this? You--”

“But you didn’t.”

“But I could have,” you argued. “And then all of this would have been for nothing. You--”

“I had a feeling.”

You looked at him in awe and realized how much he had staked on you making the right decision. He would have sooner sold his beskar than taken away your freedom, the freedom to choose what you wanted. He had hoped against all hope that you would eventually want him, but there was no guarantee. To Din it was all left up to faith. Faith in his creed, faith in his people, faith in you. It was hard not to feel undeserving of such things, but it only confirmed that perhaps it was time that you had a little faith in him. 

Going up on your knees, you moved the metal storage box out of the way and grabbed him by the front of his chestplate. He said your name softly as you slid into his lap and his hands came around to rest on the swell of your hips. You tilted his helmet back just enough to kiss his lips, drawing a soft sound from them as he tasted you. 

“Thank you,” you said quietly and you were glad you could see his mouth move up in a genuine smile. 

“You’re very welcome.”

The more moments like this that you had, the easier it became to realize just how ‘all in’ you were when it came to the bounty hunter. When he had stepped off of his ship and chased you through the woods now flight like a lifetime ago and in a way it was. That was a different life completely. And you were okay with that. The world seemed a lot less scary now that you were on the same team. 

You leaned in to kiss him again but there was a loud bang and whoosh of energy as something dropped out of hyperspace and the Razor Crest rocked slowly. Din lowered his helmet and the two of you looked around before you slowly climbed out of his lap and to your feet. 

“What was that?”

“I’m not sure.” 

He moved to the pilot’s chair and leaned over the control board, inspecting the map and waiting for the radar to ping something back. Nearly the exact moment a blip showed up on the neon green screen, a blast screamed passed your vessel and struck the ship, rocking it back and forth. 

“Buckle in,” he barked and the two of you moved to your respective places. 

You fell into the co-pilot bucket seat to the right of the Mandalorian and placed your feet up on the footrest to brace yourself. As soon as you clicked your seat belt, your fingers instinctively wrapped around the control stick in front of you and reached up to flip the buttons on your side of the dash. Your side of the ship whirred to life as you shared control of the panel with Din, making it easier for him to focus on flying. Like you had told him before, if he handled the fancy maneuvering, you could squeeze a trigger.

Another wave of fire lit up the dark atmosphere around you and Din turned the ship to try and find the culprit behind the attack. 

“If the kid sleeps through this, I’ll be impressed,” Din said as he swiveled his own chair around and jammed the buttons for the back up thrusters. 

“I’m pretty sure he could sleep through anything,” you agreed.

“Pa-too!” 

The two of you both whipped around to see the small, green thing standing in the doorway with its arms in the air and a wide smile. 

“You were saying?” the bounty hunter chuckled and the child stumbled its way to you as the ship took a nosedive. You barely had time to grab him by the tiny cloak and haul him into your lap. 

“Got ya!” you said and he squealed with laughter. At least someone found your current predicament funny. You tucked him on your lap securely as a series of blaster fire whizzed passed the sides of the ship.  

“Hand over the Child, Mando.” A deep voice said through the com-system and when the child in question squealed again you clapped your hand over his mouth. Another round of shots pinged around you and the crest gave a jolt as one of the engines took a hit. “I might let you live.”

“Guild?” you asked and Mando nodded before grabbing a large lever to his right and yanking it down quickly. 

“You got both hands on the blaster cannons?” he asked. When you nodded, he continued. “When I say fire, let ‘em have it.”

Another hit rocked the ship as the engine on the left started to sputter and burst into flames before it powered down. Din cursed quietly under his helmet and pulled another lever to quickly power down both engines. “Hold on!” he yelled over the roar of the enemy ship as he rolled the crest out of the way of another round of fire. Stars streaked passed the windows as you both stared upwards and the other ship came directly into view. 

“I can bring you in warm,” the enemy bounty hunter said flatly, “...or I can bring you in cold.”

“That's my line,” Din said in a deadly tone before he hit the thrusters and pointed at you and the kid. “Fire!”

You squeezed the trigger on the gun leavers and shots fired from the front of the razor crest, exploding the smaller ship into a wave of orange fire and metal debris. You flinched away from the bright light and the child clapped its tiny hands as Din gave you an approving nod. 

“Oh-ah!”

“Not bad, little one,” you laughed softly, kissing the top of his green head between his ears. “Not bad.” Din clicked on a few of the switches above his head and the dashboard lit up in a series of red and orange lights. You watched him carefully and waited until he stopped before you spoke. “How bad is it?” 

“We’re losing fuel,” he said, pulling up the map and thumbing through a few different screens. He thumbed through a few of the nearby planets before double tapping the screen and bringing up one of the larger orbs. “Mos Eisley is the closest place where we could dock and get some repairs.”

“Will we make it?”

“Of course.” He pulled another leaver and the ship gave a lurch forward before it evened out. “We have enough in the power reserves to get us there--don’t worry.” 

“I’m not worried,” you said, biting your lip to keep a soft smile from gracing your features. The truth was, with Din, you were never worried. 

--

Mos Eisley was the largest spaceport on the planet of Tatooine. Din explained that what it lacked in a centralized docking bay, they made up for in the fact that they had hundreds of hangars that were each maintained by individual workers and mechanics. It sounded impressive but to you it looked like little more than a patch of dust and poorly refined sandcastles. 

The control tower told you to head for bay three-five and the Mandalorian copied as he steered the ship in that direction. The Crest had definitely seen better days as it sputtered and landed with jerky movements before finally touching down in a puff of sand and a clang of metal. 

As you drifted through the vast emptiness of space before entering the atmosphere, the child had somehow lulled himself back to sleep. It was actually pretty impressive the amount of naps he managed to squeeze in in a day. 

You carefully tucked him back into the sleeping compartment and put on the rest of the clothing you had from Arvala-7. It was still breathable but it wasn’t nearly as light as the cloth you had sported back on Sorgan. The leather riding pants and bantha hide boots would keep the sand out of your more intimate places, while the tan corded top and matching cloak kept your skin protected from the harsh sun without absorbing much of the light. 

The beskar looked out of place with the rest of your attire, but something told you it was just the fact that you weren’t used to it. What was your favorite mantra as of late? One thing at a time. 

You stopped in the doorway to the refresher and couldn’t help but stare at your reflection in the mirror. The metal of the headpiece that Din had tucked gingerly into your hairline. You had spent most of your life running from what you were: an Omega, an Ursa, a royal lineage of some kind that you had no desire to uphold. And yet, the tangible evidence was glittering on your forehead. Had Din designed such a thing or had it been at the behest of the Armorer? Somehow you felt you knew the answer to that. 

You saw Din appear behind you in the mirror before you ever heard him and you prided yourself on not nearly jumping out of your skin. 

"Good to go?"

When you nodded, he hit the button that started to lower the ramp on the main hull and you squinted against the bright sun. As you walked down the ramp a group of rust colored droids popped up from their current task and scurried towards the Mandalorian. Their saucer-shaped heads bobbed in place making them look like mushrooms on stilts as they surveyed the ship and chipped back and forth to one another.

Din pushed back his cloak and drew his blaster, firing one shot from the hip into the dirt. The droid squealed and jumped into the air before clamming up into a tiny ball. 

“Mando!” you jumped and looked at him in surprise before looking back to the shivering droid. 

“Hey!” a woman’s voice screeched from inside the building connected to the hangar. She pointed at the two of you through the window of what looked to be a very dusty office. “HEY!” she yelled again, scrambling out the door and stomping over to you. 

Next to the Mandalorian she was incredibly short, but her demeanor was so incredibly scrappy that you weren’t entirely sure who you would bet on if the two of them were in a fight. Her grey mechanic’s jumpsuit was dusty and oil stained from no doubt thousands of ship repairs. Her hair was incredibly curly, poofing out in tight ringlets all around her head to her shoulders and seemed to be growing by the second as she jabbed her finger at Din’s chest.

“You damage one of my droids, you pay for it!”

“Just keep them away from my ship,” Din said flatly, pointed his own gloved finger to the fear-filled robot.

“Yeah? You think that's a good idea, do ya?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest before looking at you. “Blink twice if this brute is holding you hostage, honey. Though by the looks of ya, I’d say you can handle your own.”

“I’m sorry,” you apologized on Din’s behalf before you introduced yourself and stepped in front of him. “We just need some repairs.”

“The name’s Peli,” she returned the politeness and shook your hand with strong, jerky movements. “He always this grumpy?” she nodded at the bounty hunter.

“Actually you caught him on a good day,” you smiled and she chuckled. Din sighed.

“Alright, well, let's look at your ship.” She picked up a clipboard and walked over to the crest. Looking it up and down slowly, she made a fist and knocked twice on the main hull and listened to the klonk that came from the inside.

“Is it bad?” you asked.  

“Oof…” she winced as she wrote some things down. “Look at that.” She looked over her shoulder at you before gesturing to the sides of the ship. “Bad? You got a lot of carbon scoring building up top. Ya know--If I didn't know better, I'd think you were in a shootout.”

“Well…” you started and Din cleared his throat.

“Can you fix it?”

“Special tool for that one. Oh ya, I'm gonna have to rotate that…” She mumbled. Peli ignored you both as she continued to poke and prod the undercarriage of the ship before pulling down a side panel and coughing at the smoke that it produced. “You got a fuel leak! Look at that, this is a mess! How did you even land? That's gonna set you back.”

Din looked down at her as she walked back up to him and he tossed over a coin purse that jingled when she caught it. “I've got 500 Imperial Credits.”

“That all you got? Well…” she weighed the money in her hand and worried her bottom lip between her teeth. She turned to the droids who were slowly approaching again now that she was there to protect them. “What do you guys think? I mean-- that should at least cover the hangar.”

“I'll get you your money,” Din reassured her.

“Ha! I've heard that before,” she rolled her eyes.

“I promise, we’ll pay you somehow,” you interjected and Peli looked you over again before waggling her finger at you. 

“Now, you I believe.” 

That made you smile and she returned it. 

“Just remember--” Din started.

“Yeah. Yeah. No droids. I heard ya.” She stuffed the credits in her pocket. “You don't have to say it twice. Jeez. Womp rat.” She mumbled the last under her breath as the two of you took her dismissal as a sign you were free to leave. 

You waited until you and Din were out of earshot before you glared at him in disappointment. “We have got to work on your people skills.”

--

Note: When imagining the headpiece Din had made for you, I was drawing heavy inspiration off of Queen Hippolyta’s crown. Something that keeps your hair out of the way, looks futuristic and strong. 

Hey guys, as always there is always room on the tag lists! That being said there are about 300+ of you that want to be tagged in this fic and that is totally cool, but I am human and I miss names and forget tags, SO–if your tag didn’t work, I forgot it, or you want to be moved to another group, please message me or send me an ask. Even if you have already sent me one reminding me, I PROMISE it was not on purpose. A lot of times I wont answer until I have PHYSICALLY put you on the tag list that way I don’t forget! Thank you so much. - K

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[normally-alexis]

||Choked up

Pairings - Wilbur x Reader

Warnings - Heavily implied NSFW, Gore-related topics, knife kinks, spitting kink, Pain kink.

Summary - Nights before L'manburg was destroyed and Wilbur went insane you meet up with him and stay over.

Word Count: 1927

L'manburg was pretty much peaceful even though Dream and everybody else didn't want it on the server. It wasn't really bothering anybody so far even though some people, it's mainly just a place to get out of the tough rules of the smp.

You hadn't got into much trouble since you were partially on dream smp's side even though you switch sides pretty often. Whichever side would win you would switch to that side because you didn't want to pick sides you'd be a villain in either's eyes.

Hanging out with Tommy was fun even though he was three years younger than you. It wasn't weird since you both had a strong relationship with Wilbur and Philza. Philza was a father figure to all of you even though you weren't in the slightest related.

Growing up with Wilbur and Techno as best friends was pretty amazing, they taught you a few things throughout your teenage years. Philza before adopting Tommy was nicer to the three of you manly you and Techno.

Being the only female was different, you didn't have special perks as a kid, you were treated like a boy just with fewer responsibilities. Thinking back from when you were a kid towards now it was very rare for people to have kids on the smp. People just adopted children when you think about it.

Techno wasn't really in the Dream smp anymore he was with Philza somewhere out there. Tommy and Tubbo were kids and nobody really wanted them to do anything, they were still sorta young so they just joined L'manburg.

Nothing to stress about at the moment, still being one of the youngest adults of the smp gave you very few privileges. You had to take advantage of them while they lasted at the moment. Since it wasn't safe to live in L'manburg or on the Dream smp you had a bunker underground.

Why wasn't it safe? Anybody who picks sides cannot change that side, if you were on L'manburg's side you would be a big target considering you did have a private association with Dream.

You were underground sorting out some armor and some blueprints, you always have to move a lot if anybody ever saw you so why not be prepared? You kept sketching and erasing multiple times until you age up and burnt it.

The smoke was pretty bad to inhale so you move to an area where there wasn't much smoke at. It's pretty much clouding up the bunker and you start coughing, it's not that bad so you grab a potion and throw it on the burning blueprints.

It's not clouded up anymore even though you could have let it burn out. You drop your armor and weapons on the ground because you wouldn't be needing it at the moment. making your way over to your seat you sit down and look at all the notes in your notebook.

Flipping through the pages seeing if you found any notes you probably had written but most likely forgot were noted down. You stop at a page because it wasn't remembered from last time, it's a note from an anonymous person saying to come to the back of L'manburg.

You look back to see if anybody's there even though there's clearly nobody there. It must have been written early when you had left out. You push your chair out and then stand up, You take a moment and hesitate to think if you should do it or not.

It's a win and lose situation but what's life without a few risks? You leave from the seating of the area and walk over towards the ladder. Before climbing up the ladder you turn the lights off not wanting to draw any unwanted attention.

You grab onto the ladder and push yourself up placing your legs on the ladder, you climb up the ladder. Once you reach the top you push the top open and the trap door was forced open, you place one hand on the ground and place another hand on the ground.

You push yourself up and get on the top of the surface part of the ground. You take a small breathe and close the top. You push yourself up from off of the ground, you knew where L'manburg was since it was a pretty often visit.

You move throughout all the leaves and in vines, it's pretty normal to walk through it all. A few thoughts crossed your mind thinking about it, Dream wouldn't try contacting you that way he'd just catch you in the middle of the Dream smp and pull you to the side.

Thinking about meeting in L'manburg it would only be Tommy, Tubbo, Wilbur, Eret, Fundy, or Niki. It's not really Important who invited you but you really did want to know. You walk over to the area of the Dream smp and pass Tommy's house. It's pretty abandoned but you didn't bother starring at it too long.

You walk past it and walk towards the bridge that usually leads to L'manburg, you stop for a moment and hear a singing noise. It's not anywhere in sight per say but it's loud enough to hear. It's within the walls beside you and you put your ear on the wall.

It's more of a humming sound, you remove your ear from the wall and roam your hands along it. You hit a button along the wall not surprised but the wall opens up and the humming is more clear.

You enter inside of the cobblestone room not really expecting anything. The floor made a little sound when you entered inside of the room. You look on the ground and there's a few blood clots on the floor and some guts along with it.

You cover your mouth backing yourself backing into the corner. You sorta had a dislike of blood, not Hemophobia but it wasn't your favorite to be in a room filled with something dead. You look up and see Wilbur finishing cutting something up.

He already heard you since you had entered the room. He turns around and removes his gloves which were stained with blood. It's not a human thankfully but it's a dead animal, still very uncomfortable in this situation.

Wilbur looks up at you not very surprised  up at the moment, " What's wrong?" The whole display itself was wrong. You uncover your mouth smelling all the disgusting rotting corpses, "You're killing animals and letting them rot," How is he not disgusted? You roam around the room seeing more dead animals.

Wilbur tries explaining himself while coming towards you, but you get very distracted by all the blood splatter on the ground and much more graphic stuff. You weren't looking at him meaning that he knew your attention wasn't on his apology.

He grabs your hair and tugs on it making you shift your attention at him. Pulling and tugging on your hair really hurt because it's like being forced by Wilbur. As tough as you seemed whenever you had armor on being without armor is a completely different story.

"What's wrong tell me, you had a lot of nerve coming from somebody who would fuck literally anybody attractive enough," It's very weak of you to get degraded by somebody who doesn't even know how to defend himself.

"Or anybody who even found you attractive," You knew your worth but whenever somebody tells you something about criticizing yourself you'd just believe it and fix yourself. Was he right? You can't answer that yourself.

You had gone pretty silent and it causes Wilbur to get more aggressive with you. He knees your in your stomach not damaging your internal organs but it just made you feel weak and you tremble on your knees.

You grip onto your stomach squeezing it together, He's treating you like complete shit. He stops kneeing you and he pinches your cheek practically teasing you. You weren't even supposed to be meeting Wilbur at the moment.

Responding would get you in trouble and not responding would get you in more trouble. He's very agitated at the moment and he grabs the pocket knife from his pocket putting it towards your thigh.

"Can I Carve our Initials on your thigh," He asks you, You weren't too fond of punishment but you did like the attention being craved. You nod your head slightly and he removes his hand from your hair.

He grabs onto your thigh and you fall down stinging your back. He slowly starts carving your initials on your thigh, you don't make the loud noises you want to because he'll just end up cursing you out.

You wanted to curse so badly even though you liked it when he inflicted the pain, But why was it only acceptable when he did it. He was only done carving the 'W' halfway, you flinch and he messes up.

It a swerved 'W' and it looks very crossed out, He's upset with you and gets up from squatting. You try communicating with him, "Wilbur?" He's not necessarily listening to blocking out the thoughts.

He puts his foot in between your legs pushing it further near your shorts, His shoes against your clit. You can't tell what his original thoughts are, before you can even react he kicks you in your side. You fall on your face gripping onto your lower half, it's like a period without the loose blood clots.

He squats down and grabs onto your hair pulling you up making you look up at him, "Such a slut aren't you darling?" He spits on your face and it drips off of your face on the ground, is this really who you were such a despite slut that you would let a man do this to you?

Most definitely, you try smiling at him but it's a half-smile since you were in pain. "You holding up good slut?" He asks while looking you in your eyes, you nod as a response and try getting off of your sides.

You weren't damaged that badly you could always heal from it... He lets go of your hair once you were stable enough to stay on your knees. He takes his belt off and takes his pants down, he places the belt around your neck and ties it.

He takes his boxers off and grabs his dick which was already erected due to sadism. "C'mon slut, suck," He tugs on the end of the belt and you put your mouth on his dick, following rules in such a bad position in your life. Never would you have thought you would be sucking off Wilbur..

You take it slow at first not wanting to rush it since you weren't experienced as much, you mainly focus on the tip of his cock and rub your tongue over and over on his slit. Whenever he feels like he would release something he tugged on the belt making you gag on him.

It was hard to take him and focus on not being choked up by his belt, He's not the strongest of keeping his moans in. He climaxes inside of your mouth and some gets on your cheek, He wipes the semen off of your face.

"Is this okay darling?" he kisses your cheek and helps you clean yourself up, at least he did aftercare..

[gladerscake]

Blind Spots

(Gally x Reader)

Another lengthy one, because self-restraint means nothing to me. Major fluff ahead. Hope you enjoy!

Gally was back, and it was nothing short of a miracle. All this time, for the last six months, your grieving heart had wept for him, quietly, while you did your best to put on a brave facade and seem alright on the outside. You always made sure that none of your friends could see exactly how much pain you were in. They didn’t need to know. They couldn’t have done anything to change it, and their looks of pity wouldn’t have helped in the slightest. So you kept it locked away, only letting it torment you at night, while everyone else were asleep and couldn’t hear you cry.

And now, seeing him again, alive and relatively unharmed… Truthfully, you were still processing it, but even through your heavy state of shock, every fiber of your being was reeling with joy and relief. You felt a little light-headed, but in the best possible way. Feeling his muscular arms around you again, his warm embrace, looking into his piercing bluish-green eyes that shined into yours with the same undiluted love they had back in the glade… It had almost made you dizzy, and you were surprised at yourself for not having passed out - for a moment there, it felt like you might have.

You never stopped loving Gally, not for one moment. Despite having been convinced you’d never see him again, there was no force in the world strong enough to make you forget him or even begin letting him go.

Having him back filled you with a happiness you had long given up on experiencing ever again. You hadn’t felt anything close to it since the day you thought you’d lost him. The worst day of your life, your most haunting memory… No. You refused to think about it again. It didn’t matter anymore, because Gally was alive, and that’s what you needed to focus on. The light inside you, the one you thought had died with him, was flickering back to life again. It was flourishing and spreading with each passing second, as you realized you were no longer bound to imagine a future that he wouldn’t be in. The bleak and cheerless future you had laid out for yourself was rapidly dispersing before your eyes, giving way to something brighter, something much more hopeful and promising.

However, as much as you wanted to let the euphoria of having Gally by your side again consume you entirely, you knew you couldn’t. Not completely. You still had a mission, a dangerous and inordinately challenging one - rescuing Minho. You could already feel what a “fun adventure” this was going to be…

You had just met Lawrence, and although he’d initially stated that only two people were allowed to be shown the way into the city, Gally managed to bargain for three. The third one being, unsurprisingly, you. He had just got you back, and he wasn’t ready to let you out of his sight, if he had anything to say about it. Not that you minded - you had no desire to be far away from him either. You’d had more than enough of that.

“So… That’s the dead boyfriend, huh?” Brenda asked with a cheeky smile as she walked beside you, pulling you out of your thoughts. Gally was walking ahead, leading you all somewhere only he knew, as you were making sure to keep up.

“Yeah… That’s him.” You responded, keeping your voice down, a slightly dazed grin pulling at the corner of your lips. ‘Not dead anymore’ your heart seemed to whisper in utter excitement.

“He’s different from what I’d imagined!” Your dark-haired friend mused out loud, causing your brow to quirk upwards as you shot her a confused glance.

“Different how?”

“Just different…” Brenda shrugged, her smile widening before she lightly punched you in the arm. “But I’m happy for you, Y/N. Really. Most people don’t get a second chance like this.”

Your grin grew brighter, eyes landing on Gally’s broad back as your abdomen swarmed with butterflies. You were well aware of how minuscule the odds were of a past love ‘coming back from the dead’. Yet, a part of you couldn’t help but feel like, maybe, after all you and Gally had endured, you deserved that second chance.

“I know…”

Soon enough, Gally led you all into a closed-off area of the base, a rather filthy room with a large covered pothole in the middle and a ladder propped up against one of the walls. You took a moment to examine your surroundings, while the rest did the same, all exchanging equally questioning looks.

Before you could ask what this place was, you suddenly felt a large and warm hand descend onto your shoulder. There was no way for you to not know, immediately, who it belonged to. Your question died in your throat as you turned around to face him.

Gally squeezed your shoulder with as much comfort as he could manage, his bright eyes staring, deeply, into yours, making your heart leap. There was so much he wanted to do, so much he wanted to tell you and talk to you about, but the number of people surrounding you was preventing him from doing so. He so badly wanted to be alone with you. Even if just for a few minutes… All he could do was hope that there will be time for that later. You two had plenty to catch up on, and he couldn’t wait for a chance at it.

“You alright? You’re not hurt, are you?” He whispered, hoarsely, scanning you for any sign of even minor injury.

You breathed a slightly quivering chuckle, shaking your head and covering Gally’s hand with your own, the mere contact reminding you of the closeness you and him once shared… and will share again, now that he was back.

“I’m okay, definitely. Much better now…” You whispered in response, your eyes gleaming up at him. A small but sincere smile formed on his lips as he looked at you. He knew what you meant by that - he felt the exact same way. He had been afraid that after everything that’s happened, your feelings for him may have dimmed, or even worse, trickled away altogether. But with the way you were looking at him now, with such warmth and sheer affection, Gally felt those heartbreaking thoughts melt away. You still loved him. Just as much as he loved you. Even if only one person was genuinely happy to see him again, he couldn’t be more thankful that it was you.

Ignoring the presence of your friends, Gally pressed a loving kiss to your forehead. You bit down on your bottom lip, the sweet gesture almost bringing fresh tears to your eyes. However, the next moment, he drew back, gazing down at you “I’ll be right back, okay? I need to grab a couple things before we can go.”

You nodded, understandingly, giving his hand a soft squeeze before letting go “Of course.. We’ll be right here.”

Gally delivered you one more subtle smile before leaving you and the others to look around a bit.

“By the looks of it, we’re going down the bloody sewer.” Newt assumed, eyeing the pothole with slight confusion and just a hint of disgust.

“Wouldn’t be the worst place you’ve been to so far, no?” Jorge scoffed, arms folded on his chest as he stayed close to Brenda.

Frypan chuckled, lowly, glancing at the ladder “True that…”

Although most of your friends had seemingly chosen to look away and act oblivious to your and Gally’s little exchange, one person had not.

Thomas’ dark eyes darted to you, uneasily, every muscle in his body strained and jaw clenched, tensely, as he nudged you in the side.

“Y/N… Can we talk for a second?” He all but grunted, clearing his throat.

“No.” The blatant response tumbled from your lips without hesitation, despite the calmness of your tone.

You already knew what was on his mind. You didn’t want to hear it. Thomas was a close friend and very dear to your heart, but this wasn’t something he had a say in. You knew how he felt about Gally, so naturally, the thought of you two together again did not particularly thrill him. Nonetheless, you couldn’t find it in yourself to care. If Thomas had a problem with it, then that’s just something he would have to learn to deal with.

“Y/N…” Thomas tried again, more insistently this time “Please…”

You felt him grip your forearm, not hard enough for it to hurt, but hard enough to let you know that he needed to speak with you, now, and he wouldn’t let go until you at least attempted to hear him out.

Drawing in a heavy sigh, you shot him a sharp pointed look.

“Fine.” You muttered, curtly. You decided you would give him a chance to just get it off his chest. Nothing he’d say could possibly change your mind, regardless.

With that, Thomas briskly slipped out of the room, as you reluctantly followed him. Once you two were a few feet away from the others, you halted to a stop, not wanting to go too far.

“Can’t imagine what’s so urgent.” You huffed, quietly, your arms crossing as you stared, expectantly, at your friend. “Well? Come on, let’s hear it.”

Thomas frowned, his features painted with exasperation “Y/N, before you go running back to him-“

“I already did.” You hastily cut him off, trying to keep your expression as placid as you could. “Thomas, there’s nothing you can do. You know how I feel.”

He grimaced, his mind refusing to wrap around it. What was it about Gally? How could you so easily forget what had happened and welcome him back with open arms?

“Seriously…? After what he did?” He stared at you in disbelief, dark brown eyes narrowing.

You gritted your teeth, staring right back at him, endeavouring to suppress your own bubbling comtempt for the subject “What happened to Chuck wasn’t Gally’s fault.”

“He shot him, Y/N!”

“It was an accident, Thomas!” Your voice had risen, finally, your hands clenching into fists. You had had this exact argument with him before and you couldn’t stand hearing it for one more second. “Whether you want to admit it or not! You were there - you know exactly what happened!”

Thomas, much to your surprise, fell silent. His mouth twitched as he looked at you as if you weren’t making any sense. Yet, deep down, even though he despised the idea of conceding, a small part of him knew you weren’t entirely wrong.

You took advantage of his silence and continued. You had every intention of standing your ground on this. “Gally never would’ve hurt Chuck! He wasn’t aiming for him! And what part of “he was stung” keeps getting lost on you? Have you forgotten what that does to a person? Because I haven’t!”

“Yeah, he was stung, but he could have-“

“No, he couldn’t have!” Your hands were practically shaking by now, a lump had formed in your throat “He wasn’t himself, he had no control over what he was doing! You just want to blame him, because it’s easy!”

Thomas glowered “I don’t get it… I really don’t, what is it about him?”

“What is it about Teresa?” You countered, not missing a beat.

At that, Thomas trailed off, the familiar pang of hurt shooting through his limbs. Something that occurred every time he thought about her, since the day of her disastrous betrayal.

You huffed, knowing you had struck a nerve, but also knowing that you were right “Come on, look at me and tell me that if she showed up right now, looked at you with those big blue eyes and told you how sorry she was, how much she regretted the whole thing, you wouldn’t immediately want her back.”

“I wouldn’t-“

“You would!” You noted the way Thomas bit the inside of his cheek, as well as the way his knuckles were already turning white. “You would, Thomas… You damn well know it.”

He shook his head, the inner conflict swirling prominently in his dark eyes as his tone dipped “She would have to do a lot more than apologize.”

“Yeah, but you still wouldn’t turn her away.” You retorted, firmly, your penetrating gaze not leaving him.

Silence. Heavy, deafening silence that spoke for itself.

Thomas remained unmoving, his shoulders sagging as he peered at you, solemnly. You didn’t break the agitated eye contact, merely taking a step back.

“That’s what I thought. I guess we both have our blind spots.”

The dark-haired boy looked away from your eyes, finding himself tragically at a loss for words. He hated that you were right. He could lie to himself all he wanted, but at the end of the day, he knew that even after what Teresa had done, he still cared for her. If he were to see her again… He highly doubted he would forgive her instantly, especially while WICKED still had Minho, but if she were to have a change of heart and choose to be on their side again… He knew he would have an agonizingly hard time discarding her.

You watched Thomas’ demeanor shift, his tense expression softening as he exhaled in defeat. Evidently the thought of trying to get you to keep your distance with Gally was no longer the dominant one on his mind. You took no joy in fighting with him, but Thomas needed to understand exactly where you stood, on all counts. You didn’t need his approval on this. You and Gally were together, and if Thomas, as your friend, couldn’t be happy for you, then the least he could was stay out of it.

“At least mine isn’t torturing our friend right now.” You gritted out, your voice barely above a whisper.

Thomas heard it clearly, though. His gaze shot up to meet yours once more, and you almost winced at the miserable glint in his eyes. You suddenly felt like you had just kicked a puppy. Was that a little harsh? Maybe. Was it accurate? Unfortunately, it was.

Still, you couldn’t help but feel bad, your compassion prevailing. You and Thomas may have had moments where you didn’t see eye to eye, but he was a good and loyal friend to you. There was no need to hit him where it hurt.

“I’m sorry…” You breathed out, giving him a forlorn, apologetic look.

Thomas only shrugged in response, eyes momentarily averting to the ground “No, you’re right. I just…” He inhaled, deeply, his hand reaching up to rub the back of his head in irritation “I just don’t want you to get hurt, that’s all.”

You delivered him a soft smile, touched by his concern, even though there was no need for it. At least not in that regard “Gally is not going to hurt me.”

Your friend responded with a tight-lipped smile that read ‘I hope that’s true’, before turning away and beginning to walk back to the room the rest of your friends were in. You were about to follow him, until… you realized how badly you needed just a few minutes alone with Gally, before you, him, Thomas, and Newt would venture into the city. You didn’t know just how dangerous the path was, and you couldn’t bear the idea of something terrible happening along the way. Sure, you could be optimistic and wait until after you all got back, but… could you? Could you really? You had missed him so much, and so far you’d only managed to say a few words to each other.

Oh, screw it. You were not asking for much. You needed it, so you were going to take it.

With a quick look-around, you turned on your heels, following in the direction you thought you’d seen Gally go. Sadly, as you reached the spot where he had disappeared from your line of vision, you had no idea where to go from there.

People were bustling all around you, some reloading their rifles, others fixing their gas masks. In one of the rebels, you recognized the guy that had stood behind Lawrence, while you all were being introduced to him, earlier. You thought his name was… Jasper? Whatever. Clearly he knew Gally, so you hoped he would know where he would have gone to.

You cleared your throat, striding up to him with as much confidence as you had been able to gather “Hi! I’m sorry, do you know where Gally’s room is? Or… wherever it is that he sleeps around here?”

The rugged man looked you up and down, a strangely amused smirk curving his slightly crooked mouth. It confused you and almost made you feel uncomfortable, but not enough to make you retreat without an answer.

“You must be the girlfriend? From the maze? The one he wouldn’t shut up about finding?” He rasped, snickering under his breath.

You relaxed, inwardly, glad that you had apparently picked the right person to ask. Also, hearing that Gally had mentioned you during his time here, undoubtedly made you smile on the inside.

“Yeah, I guess that’s me. So where can I find him?”

The rebel chuckled, pointing upwards to the corridor a level above that led to the more secluded parts of the base “Right up there, seventh door on the left.”

You muttered a quiet ‘Thank you’ before scurrying off, hoping you would, in fact, find him there. Soon, you made your way down the corridor, your gaze bouncing from one door to the next one. Five, six… seven.

Your heartbeat suddenly began quickening as you stared at the tattered, scratched-up door in front of you. You allowed yourself to take a deep breath before finally knocking.

“Yeah?”

You exhaled in relief, a smile instantly making its way onto your lips. Gally’s voice. He was in there.

“Gally…? It’s me. Can I come in?”

After a short pause, he replied.

“Of course. I’m just about done here.”

You pushed the door open with a slight ‘creak’, and there you were met with a sight that brought a burgeoning blush to your cheeks. Gally’s bare back was turned to you as he was changing, about to reach for a grey hoodie that was draped over an old wooden chair. You could see his toned muscles tensing, every crevice generously offered to your view, as you felt your face grow hotter. He looked even stronger than he did back in the glade, his form even more glorious than you remembered it.

You didn’t get to remain in your trance for too long though, as Gally slipped the hoodie over his head and turned around to face you, a loving grin playing at his lips.

“How’d you know where to find me?” He arched a curious brow, making his way over until he was standing right in front of you.

You smiled and took a step closer, minimising the distance between the two of you and gently taking his hand in yours. Your fingers interlocked perfectly, like puzzle pieces. “Jasper told me.”

Gally chuckled at that, eyes widening in slight surprise “You know his name?”

You shrugged “I pay attention.”

His grin widened, warmth filling his eyes as he gazed down at you, giving your hand a tight, grounding squeeze “You always have.”

Your heart raced faster as you raked your gaze over every feature of his face, each faint freckle on his cheeks, his plump lips, his vibrant eyes… You couldn’t help yourself as you threw your arms around him, Gally not wasting a second in wrapping you up in his strong embrace. He held you so fervently, so close to his body, you thought he was almost lifting you off the ground. So many emotions swirled between you two - the relief of both of you somehow having survived every hardship up until this point, the joy of having found your way back to one another, the desperate urge to never let go of each other again, the fear of somehow getting separated along the way of whatever came next. You felt a small shudder pass through your body as you clung to him for dear life, tucking your head into the crook of his neck.

“I’ve missed you… Gally, I’ve missed you so much…!” You uttered on half a breath, succumbing to the compelling warmth that emanated from him.

“I’ve missed you, too, Y/N… More than anything.” He whispered so close to your ear, his arms around you tightening as he slowly rocked you from side to side, making sure you felt how much he meant it.

Tears were beginning to well up in your eyes, in spite of your best attempts at keeping them at bay “I’d spent months thinking you were… Dead… I-I thought it was over, you were gone, I’d never see you again…!”

Gally released a fervid sigh, at last picking you up and allowing you to wrap your legs around his midriff as he nuzzled his face into your shoulder “I know, baby, I know… But I’m okay, I’m right here. And you are, too…”

You stifled a sob, pressing your slightly trembling lips to his temple, basking in the feeling of his heated breath fanning your skin “I’m scared I’m gonna wake up any moment, and you won’t be there. It’s already happened too many times…”

“Won’t happen this time. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere, Y/N…” He promised, lifting his head from your neck so that he could meet your glimmering eyes “I’m not gonna screw it up twice.”

You let out a quivering breath as you gazed into the eyes that reflected all the unyielding love you harbored. Every nerve in your body pulled you into Gally, every thump of your heart resonated within him as he held you in his arms. This was the feeling you thought had been lost forever to you. Something so powerful and burning that no other force could compare to it. He was the piece of your heart that had been ripped out all those months ago, the piece that was now being graciously returned to its rightful place.

With a tenderness no one else but you has ever shown him, you cupped his face in between your soft palms and leaned in, your lips pressing fully and ardently against his.

The long-overdue kiss instantly clouded Gally’s senses, his heart hammering against his rib cage as his lips reciprocated, moving against yours with enough passion and longing to make your head spin. Your legs tightened around his midsection as his left hand moved lower to grasp at your hip, endeavouring to bring you even closer, as if that was possible. Gally swallowed the soft whimper that escaped you as he kissed you deeper, all his conscious thought paralyzed by the enrapturing sensation of your lips on his. He didn’t believe anything in the world tasted sweeter. He had spent countless nights dreaming about the day he would get to do this again. And now that he had you back, just like this, so close, so yearning, so thoroughly his… he wished it would never end.

Your fingertips threaded through the short sandy strands of his hair, your body feeling weightless, almost floating. You bit back a mewl as Gally’s hand reached up to your face, his calloused fingers brushing your cheek and trailing down your neck in a feather-light caress. Every bit of your skin felt so sensitive to his touch. After a few more blissful seconds, you finally broke away from his lips, both of you panting heavily, catching your breath from the heavenly feeling of your kiss.

Gally rested his forehead against yours, his mouth still mere inches away from your own “I’m never losing you again… Never, you hear me?”

You nodded, frantically, holding onto his neck with both hands, his closeness filling you with a searing light. It exhilarated you, made you feel like you could do anything, overcome anything, as long as you two were together.

“Sounds good to me…”

Thank you for reading!

Tags: @seldomabsent @obsessivelycapricious @ultraintrovertedgryffindor @maraudersimp @lattsgocaps @magnoliabloomfield @sherbertscarrothead-2 @moobrvoobl-moobmoob-oobmpoobroom @abundantxadorations @izzymultifan @willseyebrows @annoyinglythoughtfuldestiny

[letarasstuff]

Work Risk

(A/N): This was requested by @maximeevansblog. I hope you like it!

Summary: After hurting herself on set, Sebastian makes it into his mission to take the best of care for his daughter

Warnings: Broken bone, mentions of medication, hospitals

Wordcount: 1.2k

✨Masterlist✨ _____________________________

“Darling, I’m sure you got that. You worked so hard for this and don’t forget the hours you spent with the choreographer learning and repeating the stunts. You got that”, Sebastian tries to reassure his daughter. Both of them sit in the makeup trailer on the Civil War set, where (Y/N) got her first major role in a movie. Acting in a Marvel movie alongside her father is like winning the lottery for the teenager.

“You do know all the things that can go wrong. Dad, there are so many-” “And they won’t happen. I promise you. There is nothing going to go wrong, you are prepared for this. Alright, Dragostea?” The father takes her hand. Still unsure but with a little bit more confidence (Y/N) nods and lets the makeup artist continue doing his work.

Shortly after he is finished, the teenager finds herself in the costume for the next scene, just a simple hoodie/jeans combi, going through the steps of the fighting scene in her head over and over again.

“AND”, sounds the voice of the director from the sidelines. (Y/N) looks up, only to see her father throwing her a thumbs up and a proud smile. She can do it, he knows it and that’s giving her the reassurance she needs. “ACTION!”

Suddenly everything goes fast. The scene is about (Y/N)’s character fleeing from HYDRA agents, in the process she eventually runs into Bucky, who helps her to lay low with him in order to escape their wrath like he does.

The first part of the scene is fairly easy, it’s mainly running and throwing objects behind her or occasionally jumping over something. Even jumping over certain cracks, that will later be edited to make it look like she runs from roof to roof, are not the tricky parts.

It’s the one fighting scene, the one the young actress dreads the most. Just before Bucky notices the chased girl, an HYDRA agent catches up to her and tackles her, which ends in them going one on one. There are a few moves, like a roundhouse kick, that makes (Y/N)’s anxiety skyrocket. But her father promised her that everything will be fine. She is going to ace it.

And it’s true, everything is fine, until it isn’t anymore. At first, the running and jumping and even the fighting go smoothly. But then the slip happens. (Y/N) only wants to climb a ladder, just like she practiced with the choreographer several times. Only this time, she slips just before she gets to the end of it.

In what feels like less than a breath, the teenager falls good two to two and a half meters down. For a moment it seems like the whole set is quiet. This is until Sebastian runs onto the scene, straight towards his daughter.

“Princess, are you hurting somewhere? Does anything feel broken to you? Can you breathe?” He bombards her with questions while laying her flat on her back. But (Y/N) is still in a stupor, too shocked from what previously occurred. “(Y/N)? Please answer me!” The father lightly shakes her shoulders to get her out of her trance.

With a startle all feeling comes back into her body. “My arm- My arm, I think it’s broken. It hurts so much, Daddy”, the teenager looks at him with tears of pain in her eyes. She used it to cushion her fall. He quickly gathers her in his arms, trying to calm her down. At the same time Sebastian tries to gesticulate to the director and surrounding crew to call 911.

Luckily not long after this the ambulance arrives and Sebastian helps his daughter to get into it. He holds her other hand the whole time, while one of the EMTs tries to make an assessment on her injuries.

“As far as I can see, I think your daughter has a concussion and broke her ulna. But she has to take an x-ray as soon as we get to the hospital to verify it.” (Y/N) shivered at that mention, already done with the day. Fortunately the ER is pretty stranded and everything goes down fairly quickly.

As the small family waits for a nurse to come back with the sign out papers after putting a cast on (Y/N)’s arm in her favorite color, she shivers again. “Are you cold, Dragostea?” Sebastian asks, rubbing a hand along her good arm. (Y/N) looks up to him, a miserable look on her face. “It’s- it’s just that I'm tired. I just wanna go home, Daddy."

Her father sighs and messes with his backpack before seemingly conjuring a hoodie out of nowhere. “Here, do you want me to help you putting it on?” (Y/N) looks at him with big eyes, begging him to help her. All of this reminds Sebastian of when she was younger, just a little girl, who depended on her father.

He smiles as she kind of puts her arms up, indicating she wants his help. Not long after this she is snuggled into his clothing article and leans against her father’s shoulder. “Can we get something on our way home? Something to eat?”

He thinks about it for a second, not really in the mood of cooking anything after a day like this. “Yes, of course, Dragostea. Do you have something in mind?” He puts an arm around her shoulders to pull her closer. “McDonald’s? I’m craving my comfort meal.” To those puppy dog eyes Sebastian never was able to say no. And right now is no different.

“If you want, we can get it on our way home. Anything else that you want?” “Yes, I want to go home.” The father smiles a bit, the last time she sounded like this, (Y/N) was a little girl. Luckily they don’t have to wait any longer for the nurse to come and bring the needed paperwork.

On the little family’s way back home they make a quick detour to the Drive Through and order their dinner.

“Ok, I got the food prepared, you took your meds and you are nice and warm thanks to your fluffy blanket. The only question that remains: Which movie do you want to watch?” He asks after plopping down beside his daughter on the couch. While munching on a fry, (Y/N) considers her choices. “Coco!” Sebastian laughs quietly, knowing that this is also her comfort movie.

It doesn’t take her long and the teenager is fast asleep. May it be the exhaustion of the day, the meds or just the cozy moment. Sebastian debates for a bit, but decides to get her to bed. He turns the TV off and gathers the sleeping girl in his arms.

As he is climbing the stairs, (Y/N) stirs. “Shh, go back to sleep, Button. I’m just taking you to your room”, calling her the nickname he had for the little girl she once was.

As soon as she hits her pillows and covers, she lets out a content sigh. Sebastian tucks her in and leaves the room after giving her a kiss on the forehead. “Good night, Dragostea, I love you”, he says at the door.

“Love you, too, even though your promise wasn’t true.” The father smiles and closes the door behind himself.

Taglist:

All works:

@dindjarinsspouse @big-galaxy-chaos

[thetriggeredhappy]

@sniperscout-ship-week I GOT THERE EVENTUALLY

Day 2: Spot

(no warnings)

-

“No, seriously, you’re gonna love it!” Scout insisted, adjusting his bag on his back before starting to haul himself up the rocks before them. “Climb’s only, like, twenty more minutes.”

“Didn’t you say that ten minutes ago?” Sniper asked, staring doubtfully at the rocks Scout seemed to so effortlessly scale and wondering where he should even start.

In his defense, Scout wasn’t rushing him along, and had volunteered to carry the bag since he was a little more in practice climbing things. He was clearly used to moving up these cliffs much faster than this, and besides a lot of bouncing on his heels while he waited, he didn’t make any smart remarks.

The first five minutes, Sniper had been fine. Walking uphill, climbing a few boulders, all simple stuff. He had to climb plenty of ladders in his day job, this wasn’t much different in terms of exertion. It was the ten minutes after that, and the ten after that, where he started having a problem. It wasn’t a strength thing, it was an endurance thing, and that’s where Sniper was rapidly learning his weak point was.

He’d really thought he was pretty in-shape overall. Apparently not.

“Look, we can take a second if you want,” Scout said carefully, helping pull Sniper up to the next ledge. “It’s, uh, kind of a lot of climbing and walking and stuff.”

For a second, Sniper considered brushing him off and saying it was fine, but then it took him a moment longer than he expected to find his footing again and he decided to just shelve his pride for the moment. Clearly Scout could already tell how rough this was. “Yeah, I’ll… yeah. I’ll just—“ He took a seat, pushing his hat back to rake a hand through his hair, trying to get it out of his face. God, it was hot out.

“Yeah, yeah, no problem.” Scout took a seat too, shrugging the bag off his shoulder and starting to dig through it. “Uh, here, if—if you want.” A water bottle nudged against his knuckles, and he accepted it, taking a swig. “These cliffs get pretty, uh… pretty toasty. Only start really cooling down, like, an hour before the sun goes down. Shouldn’t get any worse than this.”

“Couldn’t have waited another hour or so, then?” Sniper asked, glancing over at him.

Scout shrugged. “I mean, I dunno, then we’d, like, have to climb in the dark, and I’ve already had to hit the Medbay way too many times this month from busting my ankles out here.”

“That often?” Sniper asked, blinking in surprise.

“Heh. Yeah, I’m a pretty huge klutz sometimes. And, y’know, just doing laps around the base gets boring, so I started heading out into the… everywhere else. Out here.”

Sniper nodded, not understanding in the slightest.

“Uh, anyways. You, uh… I dunno, I just figured, didn’t you say something about how you like hiking and stuff?” Scout asked, now looking doubtful.

“Hunting, more than hiking. Just occasionally,” Sniper corrected.

“Similar thing,” Scout said, and Sniper shrugged after a moment, because Scout wasn’t wrong, persay. “Anyways, I, yeah. I dunno. I, I just, I figured you probably wouldn’t bite if I tried to suggest we go, like… I dunno. I’m just usually pretty much the irresponsible type and you’re… not, so, most stuff I like to do I think you’d probably hate, so I figured…”

“I have no idea what you’re on about,” Sniper deadpanned.

“I, I dunno! Bar hops and fast food and causing trouble and shit just don’t seem like your speed so I wanted to like… suggest something you’d actually like. Like hiking. Since jogging out here and stuff is kinda like hiking.”

Sniper thought about pointing out how Scout had just essentially tried to connect jogging to hiking to hunting, a thing which Sniper hadn’t even actually done in a good two years or so, but decided against it, if nothing else because Scout already seemed to be feeling pretty stupid from the dejected expression he failed to hide, face tilted away and down towards where he was scuffing his heel through the dirt. He tried to think of something else to say. “You don’t, er… need to worry so much. About whether I’ll… like, things,” he managed, stumbling on his words. “I like going out and all that, just… I’m just quiet, mate. Doesn’t mean I don’t have fun.”

He wasn’t sure whether that made sense until Scout nodded a few seconds later, brightening a little. “Yeah. Yeah, okay.” A pause. “We’re, uh, we’re almost there, you wanna keep—?”

“Sure,” Sniper sighed, hefting himself back to his feet. Scout practically bounced to his own, and Sniper wondered at the miracles that regular exercise could accomplish. “Might as well.”

Oddly enough, now that he was pacing himself, it really wasn’t so bad. Scout was right about it cooling down, at least, and with the sun going down they were out of direct sunlight, which helped as well. Scout seemed to be in better spirits, too, increasingly excited as they apparently got nearer to wherever Scout was taking them.

“We’re like, super close, seriously,” Scout urged, all but dragging Sniper by the wrist, smiling in that wide way of his.

“Alright, alright, take her easy,” Sniper tried, going for grumpy but just landing somewhere in bemused. It was nice, sometimes, seeing that genuine enthusiasm for life that Scout tended to have.

Then he rounded a corner, and squinted for a moment at the shift in light, then his eyes widened.

Stretching out before them, the entirety of the Badlands. The cliffs were cast in crimson, shades of red and pink, violet in the shadows and almost shimmering as the sun set clear out at the horizon. Scatterings of things just too small to decipher hung in shadow in the distance, shadows magnified and spiking towards them, a few lonely clouds just to one side giving a sense of scale to everything that almost gave Sniper vertigo.

“C’mon,” Scout insisted, now actually pulling him along, urging him up just one more small climb that led to a ledge, flat, on top of which were a few things. Camping chairs, for one, dusty and rusted in some places but otherwise intact. A rock that was clearly moved over there at a height that could almost make a table.

“Wow,” Sniper said, mostly because he was surprised.

“Yeah! Nice little spot, huh?” Scout asked, adjusting some things. “Usually I’m out here around sunrise, and sometimes I just like to chill out here. Like, on weekends and stuff if I don’t sleep in. Don’t gotta put up with Soldier and his trumpet thing, or any of the guys stomping around. It’s all peaceful and stuff.”

Sniper nodded, taking a seat in one of the chairs. Scout took the other one, starting to pull stuff out of his bag. Granola bars, mostly, and water. Sniper settled in to look at the view some more, slightly amazed with how different things looked from this high up. Higher than any of his nests, for sure.

“It’s really nice, though, kinda havin’ a space like this. Because Doc has the Medbay, y’know? And Hardhat’s got that workshop and Heavy has his little place with the—the heater, thing, where he makes his bullets? Melts metal? That thing, and Demo’s got his place he makes bombs and, like, pretty much everyone has like a place they get to just hang out in, but I’ve really got nothin’ like that, so, this place kinda rules. If it wasn’t kind of a hassle to get up here I’d probably be up here, like, all the time. You gotta make sure you don’t tell anyone about this place, by the way. Like, they’re not gonna wanna walk this far probably, but still. Unless I like, go missing or something. Then I probably fell off a cliff. Oh, one time on a weekend I went all the way up here and was just hanging out, like, reading my comics and stuff, and I straight up fell asleep up here and I woke up with the worst sunburn in my life—“

Sniper drank water and nodded along as Scout started in on his rambling, eyes drawn to the view more than his wide gestures. And if he, too, ended up falling asleep up here, needing to be shaken awake by Scout an hour or so later, that was his own business.

And even as he filed away the spot to try and see it later, if Scout wanted, he suggested that maybe next time they go get fast food somewhere, because god did his legs hurt the next day.

[midoriima]

stargazing

www.tokyorevengers_mitsuya/fluff.com

Mitsuya was always too busy to look at anyone romantically, he was too busy with his sisters, the gang, and his studies. That was until you came, it only started as a slight attraction for you, he was attracted to your face, and would sometimes dare to stare at you for a second longer than he should have.

Neither of the members of the gang ever noticed his staring, they were staring too. But he seemed to look at you more and as the days pass, his 'slight attraction' turned to a different direction, where his heart would start beating fast at the sight of you, at the thought of you, even.

His gaze at you would last a second more longer than everyone else, this made it clear to everyone (with the exception of Pah-chin and Peh-yan) that he definitely took a special liking to you.

Baji was first to notice, he would occassionally tease Mitsuya to the other members secretly before he started teasing you about him. He tried to test it out, to see whether or not you'd react differently at the teasing, and you did.

You were more lowkey of it though, only stealing a couple glances at the light lilac-haired boy, sometimes staring at him for a second longer too, but will look away once it seems like someone has seen you.

Now, you and Mitsuya are both oblivious to how you'd both steal glances or stare at the other since your eyes will almost never meet.

And although it wasn't Baji's business, he still gossiped to Draken and Mikey about it anyway, the latter even held a whole meeting about it too.

Days passed and everyone would keep track of how long you'd both stare at the other. Mitsuya with 7.39 seconds and you with 6.20 seconds, now how did they come up with that? A timer. A whole ass timer.

"They just keep staring at each other like weirdos." Draken states, walking beside Mikey and Baji.

"And as far as I know, they've never had a proper conversation with each other. It's just embarrassing at this point." Baji adds,

Mikey only nods before, "How do we get them to talk to each other?"

The three walked in complete silence until Mikey suggests a completely unnecessary idea.

"Okay, Y/n, you stay here for like... forty minutes until I come back, okay?" Before you could even say anything, Mikey had already left to go back downstairs to the party he held in your house. You didn't know what for, but he wanted to.

You are currently sat on the flat surface of your rooftop, just sitting there with nothing but a bunch of snacks and drinks, and a few pillows and blankets for whatever reason Mikey wanted them there. You couldn't even bring your phone since Baji hid it somewhere.

I just hope they're not trashing my house, I'll really beat them all up if something breaks. More so if it's the TV. You could only sigh as you switched from sitting to lying down on the big blanket.

While you let your eyes boredly wander around the sky, you kept a your ear close to the floor to listen to whatever they were doing downstairs.

As for Mitsuya, he could not find you anywhere. He felt a bit sad that despite being in your house, he could not stare at you from afar. Unbeknownst to him, everyone around stole a few glances at him to see if he would look for you anywhere, and he did.

Just in time, Draken shows up behind him, he let out a sigh before telling him to go ask for you (who is at the rooftop) to go downstairs, Mitsuya doesn't know why Draken specifically asked for him, but he did so anyway. He puts his cup down on the table and walked up the stairs before going up the ladder that was open.

You heard footsteps coming up but they were not Mikey's, they were Mitsuya's. Once he showed up, your eyes immediately met, but the both of you stayed quiet, just looking at each other for an entire minute when he averted his gaze,

"Um... Draken asked for me to well, ask you to go downstairs...?" Sounding a little unsure, he told you.

You only nodded and stood up to go follow him downstairs when the latch for the trapdoor locked itself, you caught a glimpse of two blonds and a noirette downstairs and immediately caught on to what they were doing.

Mitsuya looked more panicked in this situation, he awkwardly chuckles at you before turning to the trapdoor and tried to open it.

"Baji, I can see your hair!" He said, trying to push the door open. He could tell that the noirette move away as the black blob wasn't visible anymore through the blurred out trapdoor.

To avoid being stuck with you in awkward silence and possibly with you and him only hearing the fast beating of his heart, he tried to push the trapdoor even harder, but that was when you decided to stop him to fulfill the wishes of the dumbass two blonds and noirette.

And just as Mitsuya feared, the two of you were stuck in awkward silence. You had tried to prevent this a while ago by letting him lay beside you, but that made it even more awkward.

My heart is beating too fast, I hope he can't hear it... It was hard to breath properly with him lying down beside you. Mitsuya, too, was not in a better state. His heart was beating as fast as yours, thinking of nearly the same thoughts as yours.

You wanted to make a move, you've liked the guy for quite a long time already and maybe it was a tad too early, but you still wanted to make it known that you felt something for him.

This gorgeous ass motherfucker is making it hard for me to speak, what the hell. Your nose crunched a little, which caught the attention of Mitsuya.

Do I smell? He started to panic, fuck maybe I should leave?

"Do... I smell?" He asked, dumbass mouth shut the fuck up, they didn't ask.

"N-No!" You turned your head to him and shook your head.

You immediately noticed the close proximity of your faces and your stomach began to feel weird.

I'm so damn nervous I could fart, you prayed to the heavens you wouldn't actually fart 'cause that's embarrassing as hell.

Instantaneously, the both of your heads turned the other way. Silence engulfed you both once more,

"Um... so-" You decided to cut him off and turned to your head to him, with all the courage and guts you had left that didn't get evaporated from all the awkwardness.

"Mitsuya...?"

He visibly gulped and turned his head to you, resulting in your eyes meeting once more. "...yeah?"

"I... um..."

Don't look away, look away now and it's all over. You're going to tell him now, there's no other time but this time. So what if you're just going to wing this confession? He wouldn't mind, right?

"Damn it! I... uh... I really like you!" But he only blinked at you,

"Uh, yeah! El oh el! Haha! Y/n, you're so awkward, LOL!" You awkwardly laughed at your own weird ass. After deciding that this was not going anywhere, you sat up, and was about to go but Mitsuya held you close.

He didn't know why he did that, but he did.

"I like you, too..." It came out as a whisper, his hot breath tickling the skin on the back of your neck, making your heart beat even faster.

The rest of the night, you both stayed on the rooftop, lying beside each other as you let yourselves be surrounded by a quiet, but not awkward atmosphere, leaving the rest of the members downstairs to groan because they didn't exactly hear any dramatic type of confession, but it was still acceptable, at the very least.

i'll do something like this for baji and the others too 🤔

[tammythompson-singslikea-muppet]

Reconciliation (Stan Uris x reader x Richie Tozier, Reddie)

I'm finally back! It's probably been a year since I posted Betrayal and shit has really hit the fan since then, but here I am a year later with part 2!

Here is a link to part 1

Warning: swearing

Aged up: 18/19

You tried to catch up with Stan as he power-walked out of the house. He stopped short when he realized his car wasn't there. "Stan" You catch his attention and he turns around. His chest rising and falling at a quick pace, "You heard everything in there?" Stan's voice was quiet, much quieter than just a minute ago. You nod and he sighs. "I'm sor-" You cut him off "Don't be" You take a step forward and bring your hand up to push some curls out of his face. He leans into your hand, not stopping himself for once. No yearning, no shouting in his head over his actions. Just the feel of your soft palm against his cheek. Stan takes a deep breath, feeling himself calm down in the wake of your touch. "Can we go somewhere?" Stan's voice barely above a whisper. "Of course."

Richie leaned back against the wall and slid down to the floor. He brushed his hands through his hair 'God I fucked up' "Man you really fucked up." Richie looked up. "Thanks, Bill your a real help." Bill put his hands up in defense. "I gotta say I really didn't see that one coming," Eddie spoke up. Bill and Mike nodded in agreement. "I mean I knew *something* was going on but holy shit I didn't think they were in love with each other," Beverly added. "We know Stanley's in love with her but is she in love with Stan? I mean she was just in a serious relationship like a week ago" "Yeah I wonder what happened to that relationship?" Ben's eyes sharp at Eddie, voice stiff and slightly viscous, "Alright! Alright!! None of that!" Mike's authoritative voice made it known he was seriously done with all the fighting. "She loves him" The group turned their heads at Richie's small voice, Ha stared down at the floor and spoke softly. "She may not be in love with him right now, but I could see it. She's falling for Stan."

Eddie looked over at Richie. A mix of emotions reached throughout the boy. He hated seeing Richie like this, but he also hated that it was about you. Mostly he hated that it was about you. He couldn't control it, no matter how much he wished that he could. What is it exactly that Richie is so mad at? Is he upset that he potentially ruined his relationship with Stan? Is he upset that Stan is in love with (Y/N) or that Stan claimed he neither loved nor cared about (Y/N)? Is Richie still in love with (Y/N)? If so is he mad that (Y/N) could be in love with Stan or that she is moving on so quickly? Eddie couldn't help but feel like he was still second to you. It's not like Richie chose to tell you. He kept telling Eddie that he would for at least 2 weeks, but then she found out in her own way. Eddie feared that maybe he was never gonna tell you. Or now that you found out does Richie regret it? 'Alright, Alright Eddie calm the fuck down! Just go talk to Richie.' "Eds?" "Yeah Rich." "I'm gonna go." Richie's tone sounded soft, defeated. It broke Eddie's heart to see him like this. "Yeah sure I'll go grab my keys-" Richie cut him off politely. "I'm just gonna walk. I think I wanna be alone right now. I'll call you later." Richie placed a hand on the back of Eddie's head pulling him close and pressing a kiss to the top of his head. "OK. Be safe please."

"Where are we going?" You ask Stan who is driving and keeping silent. "You'll see. Um, go into the glove compartment a find the clear tape." You scrunch your eyebrows together. "You been stashing things in my glove compartment, Uris?" You found a clear tape and put it into the radio. Temptation by New Order flooded in through the speakers. A smile grew on your face as you turned the volume nob up. Stan looked over at you for a second just to see your growing smile. "I made you a tape and left it in here for the next time you complain that there's nothing good on the radio." A fit of giggles came from your mouth. "Stanley Uris made me a fucking mix-tape." You continued to laugh. It brought a smile, growing wider by the second, to see you so happy and blissful listening to your favorite music, a song he loved as well.

And I've never seen anyone quite like you before. No, I've never met anyone quite like you before.

Richie's emotions were confusing him now more than ever. He loved (Y/N). He truly did, but he just wasn't in love with her. Guilt consumes him every night before sleep and every time he sees you. He never wanted to hurt you. But when it comes to Eddie he's impulsive even a little reckless. Richie knew that he fucked up massively. Not only with you but with Stan and he even feels so with Eddie. He felt that if he just would have been honest with you before jumping into things with Eds maybe Eddie wouldn't have lost his best friend. He still couldn't wrap his head around how much of an idiot and a dick he was about Stanley. What in the fucking hell would lead him to believe that Stanley Uris of all people would fuck around with someone's feelings like that? He had already caused (Y/N) enough pain maybe he was trying to be a hero or something. Do something right for once, but of course, it was just another gigantic fuck up! Executed wonderfully by your very own Richie Tozier. Richie had noticed that he walked straight to the quarry. He picked up a stone and skipped it across the water.

Stan pulled the car over along where the road stopped and the tree's started. "Come on." Stan walked over to your side of the car and opened the door for you and held out his hand. You took his hand and walked beside him into the woods. "You trying to get me to some secret secondary location?" "What, you don't recognize where we're going?" You looked around a bit and shook your head. "Well, then I guess it will be a surprise." "I guess this is the day I get murder in the woods. Goodbye world you were never all that good to me but at least my murder is hot as hell." You almost couldn't see Stan's blush from how much he was laughing. You're hands brush as you walked close together. Stan felt a little nervous to take it, it's not like he hasn't held your hand before but right now he feels it holds so much more. 'Good' he thought to himself. 'It does mean more. Let it mean more.' He took your hand in his and warmth spread throughout the both of you. Just the two of you holding hands walking through the trees with Stan pointing out some birds to you, felt so blissful. At this moment you realized you had never felt this way with Richie. The two of you had a lot in common and play off each other well jokes and conversation-wise. But maybe that wasn't all a relationship needed. You had felt that's why Richie and you were so perfect together. Maybe this was finally the start to forgiving Richie and regaining some normalcy, realizing that maybe we weren't perfect or meant to be after all. If this is how Richie felt with Eddie you felt that you could somewhat understand why he was so in a rush to have it. It was scary how new this thing with Stan was yet how important it felt to you. You would go to the ends of the earth to protect what you had with Stan, no one in the world made you feel as safe and comforted as Stanley Uris. What Richie did, going behind your back, was in no way how he should've handled the situation. You let him into some of the most vulnerable spaces in your mind and life, entrusting him with your heart and your deepest thoughts, that you were his only person. That wasn't something easy to forgive, not something to easily recover from, especially having that trust broken with someone else with who you were very close. You may be happy and blissful at this moment, but you definitely knew the consequences of Richie's actions would come back to rear its ugly head sooner or later. But you believed that understanding was one of the first steps toward forgiveness. The more you walked the louder the sound of running water became. Soon you could even see the running water. You realized Stan had brought you to the barrens.'But why the barrens?' you thought to yourself. You reached the edge of the water and looked over to Stan. "C'mon" he grabbed your hand and stepped out onto a rock in the water. You did your best to follow, it finally dawns on you that you were headed toward the clubhouse.

When you got to the small clearing Stan went ahead and lifted the hatch to the small underground area where the losers used to hang out. "I've only been here a couple of times." You said as you climbed down the ladder. "Yeah, I guess we started hanging out other places more." Stan walked over to the hammock getting in. He smiled and reached his arms out like a little kid asking for a hug. You raised an eyebrow at him. "I know. I always feel like I'm gonna fall out of this thing, but it's safe I promise." "Okay," You say drawing out the word in a skeptical tone. You yelped as it wobbled and Stan gripped his arms around your waist as the hammock swung a little. "See, safe." You let out an amused huff and relaxed into Stan. Your back was pressed against his chest, both of your heads finding slightly uncomfortable spots in the crooks of the other's neck. "I remember one of the first times Eddie ever brought you to hang around with us was down here." Stan played with your hands in your lap. "I remember looking over and seeing you smiling, talking to Beverly. It was really hot out, your cheeks were pink. Richie gave you his shower cap and you, him, and Bill talked about comic books." You closed your eyes just listening to Stan talk softly into your hair. "Beverly came over to me when she noticed. She was joking around told me to stop staring, that it was rude. I hadn't even noticed that I was staring. I got nervous cuz, -hoping you didn't notice. You were so beautiful I couldn't help but stare." You blushed and let out a chuckle, your stomach filling up with butterflies. "I don't expect you to say back any time soon, and I in no means want to rush you, but I-" Stan paused, thinking about the impact of his words. He started to think maybe he should give you a little time, but then you leaned your head up to look at him. And when he looked down into your eyes there was no way stopping the words from falling out of his mouth. "I love you." The look in Stan's eyes was intoxicating, you could have stared in his eyes for the rest of both your lives, but instead, you brought your hand up to his jaw and tilted your head bringing yours and Stan's lips together. Equally as intoxicating as the look in his eyes. The two of you felt as if you were floating on clouds. Like you two were the only two people in the world. You pulled away and smiled, Stan pressed his forehead against yours. "I know" You and Stan laughed.

"Ok Rich. You just need to apologize. I'm sure they'll forgive you. They're your friends, basically your family." Richie walked back into town talking to himself. "And you hurt them and accused them of shitty things and now all your friends will hate you forever cuz you were a total dick and even their grandchildren will hate the name, Richie Tozier." Richie stopped for a second and groaned, rubbing his hands up and down his face under his glasses. He took a deep breath and continued walking.

Mike opened the door to Richie. "Hey man, come in." "Is Eds still here." "Yeah, he's in the living room. Rich," Mike put a hand on his shoulder. "He's worried about you. We all kinda are. There's been a lot going on with you four I just want to remind you that if you need someone to talk to we're all here for you buddy." "Thanks, man." Richie continues into the living room and sees Ben and Eddie talking. He breathes a sigh of relief, knowing how much it hurt Eddie that Ben wouldn't talk to him. They hugged and Ben got up off the couch and saw Richie. "I'm really sorry Richie. It was really rude to treat you like that-" Richie cut him off. "It's ok man really, I get it. She's your friend, I was a dick." "Yeah but you and Eddie are my friends too." "Well then what do you say Haystack," Richie extended out a hand. "Back to buds." Ben agreed and shook Richie's hand. Richie took a seat next to Eddie on the couch. "Hey, I'm glad your back I wanted to-" Richie leaned in and kissed Eddie. "As much as I love you and your adorable rambling I wanted to apologize." Eddie was suddenly very nervous. He thought to himself 'Shit this is it. He still loves Kassidy.' "Sure, Sure yeah. Umm a-about what Rich?" Richie took Eddie's hands in his fiddling with them out of nerves. "About everything. About not telling Kassidy. About not even being decent enough to break it off first so neither of you would get hurt. All of this would have been so much easier and nobody would've had to lose any friends. I'm just so sorry Eddie, I love you and I never wanted to hurt you like that." Eddie was so relieved to hear those words come out of Richie's mouth. He put a hand up to Richie's cheek and leaned to kiss him. "I love you too Richie." Richie chuckled in relief "Thank fuck."

You and Stan walked back to the car hand in hand. "So what do you wanna do now? " You leaned your back up against the car door "Oh I don't know maybe some more of this." Stan leaned himself against the car by his forearm and with his other hand lifted your chin, leaning down connecting your lips. You hummed against his lips. "Well, I do love doing that." "Do you want to go back to your place-" Stan pressed a small kiss on your neck "Watch a movie." "Shit!" Stan's head shot up. "I left my house keys at Bens." "We can sneak through your bedroom window." You push yourself off of the car, past Stan, and walked to the other side pulling your door open. "I don't wanna go back there either but with any luck, Richie won't be there." Stan groaned and got into the car.

You wrapped your knuckles on the door and Mike opened it with a smile. "I just forgot my keys." Mike let you in past him to the table where the keys sat. You quickly walked over to the table and grabbed your keys. Turning around back towards the door you catch Richie staring from the couch next to Eddie. For once you didn't feel the wind knocked out of you. But you couldn't say that the feeling of wanting to punch him had dulled any. You carried on toward the door when Richie called out your name. You sighed and banged your head on Mike's front door and contemplated for a second whether or not you should pretend you didn't hear him and keep walking. Apparently, you had stayed there a bit too long. Richie tapped two fingers on your shoulder. "I was just wondering if you would let me talk at you for a second. You don't need to say anything, or react in any way really-" You turned around and put your hands on his shoulders. He froze silent as you drew a deep breath. "I forgive you." It wasn't easy to say, you weren't even sure it was true. A part of you wanted to keep him dangling in wonder and guilt but you knew that you would eventually fully forgive him and the more you saw him moping around the more you would most likely enjoy watching him suffer for what he did. But if he just thought that you had forgiven him then maybe he would go back to his old trashmouth self and you all could move on.

Richie was taken by surprise, to say the least. He felt relief for a fleeting moment until he remembers Stan. "He's out in the car" He heard him speak softly. She somehow always knew what was going on inside his head, that's what made him think that she was so great, that they would be so great together. Against your better judgment, you grimaced and said, "I can give you five minutes. But he has the car keys so I can't promise he won't dive off on you." Richie threw his arms around you and squeezed you, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" "Yeah, sure get off me" He smiled at you, "Sorry." As Richie walked out the door he turned back to you, "He wouldn't drive off without his best girl." Richie started making trumpets sound in the tune of 'A Long Long Time' by Kitty Kallen and closed the door. You rolled your eyes as you and Mike laughed

Richie fell silent as he walked up to your car with Stan in the front seat. He raised his hand and tapped on the window. Stan kept his stare forward and locked the car door. Richie sighed. "Stan please." Richie heard the click of the car doors unlock and walked around to the other side and got in. "I'm so sorry. I was being a complete shit of a person and totally overreacted. I do care about her, I do! That's why I got so angry and it totally fucked up my judgment." Stan wasn't saying anything and it started to make Richie even more nervous. "I was angry and confused and I honestly don't know where all of that came from. That's not what I think of you at all, you gotta know that, Stan. You're one of my best friends and the best dude I know and I'm so sorry I said all of those things. I know I really fucked up." The two of them sat and stared out the windshield, Richie's leg bounced up and down from nerves until Stanley broke the silence. "I'm sorry too. That I turned my back on you. I couldn't understand how you had the most perfect girl right in front of you and seeing you hurt her made me angry too. I mean we all saw you and Eddie happening eventually, but I didn't think you two would go and do that. I love her and I guess I let that get in the way of our friendship." "I mean dude I don't really think I could blame you. I've seen the way she looks at you. It can make someone do stupid and crazy things." "Well then I guess that explains why you are so stupid and crazy," Stan laughed, "Eddie looks at you like that 24\7." Richie turned away laughing and hoped it hid the bright red flush on his cheeks. "I can't believe she actually forgave me." "Yeah me neither, to be honest." Stanley dead-panned. "Buuut," Stan took a calming deep breath, "If she can forgive you, then I guess I should too."

Eddie walked up to (Y\N) hesitantly as she was laughing with Mike. Mike saw Eddie and took that as his cue to leave, or rather to eavesdrop from the kitchen with Beverly, Ben, and Bill.

"Thanks for uh.. for forgiving Richie, he's been a wreck," Eddie said. "N-not that I've been fine! I-I feel completely terrible for what I did. But I mean I-I-I'm not trying to make you feel bad for me or anything. O-or for Richie. I just mean that we're both really sorry. I'm so, so very sorry (Y/N)." Eddie stammered through quickly. Man, do your shoes look mighty interesting at that moment. 'You forgave Richie why is it so hard to forgive Eddie. Maybe because we only gave Richie a premature apology so we could all get back to normal? Should I have to do that with Eddie too? Fuck that neither of them deserves it!' You fought back and forth with yourself in your head before finally looking up at Eddie. You took a deep breath, "I know...I-" Eddie cut you off "You don't have to." "I feel like I should." "You already kinda forgave Richie I know that's a big thing so you can hate me for as long as you need I deserve it." You smiled at Eddie and walked out of the house. Richie saw you walking towards the car and stepped out leaving the door open for you. You got in and leaned over to Stanley cupping the side of his face to bring him closer and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Stan started the car as you buckled. You tucked your legs up onto the seat and curled up to get comfy. Stan rests his hand over on one of your legs as you closed your eye

taglist: @elisaa-shelby @trashxqueen @igotahammer @pillowjj @screechinglawyer @campcampie

[jinmukangwrites]

Whumptober2021 - October 5th - Betrayal | Misunderstanding

Dragged Away 5/6

Gift fic for @liccy

Fandom: Linked Universe

Ao3

Warnings: implied human sacrifice, blood and injury

Note: THIS IS THE FIFTH CHAPTER TO A RUNNING FIC. PLEASE READ THE PREVIOUS CHAPTERS ON AO3 TO UNDERSTAND THIS ONE.

---

Hyrule waits for a long time to make his move. Long enough to be completely sure that a good amount of hours have passed; though that assumption is mostly based on how his stomach has gone from a churning feeling from the close to rotten food shoved in him, to uncomfortable as it’s beginning to reach the final stages of digestion… which really isn’t something he wants to think about right now. Yes, he has been here for a few days, but it’s not like he’s eaten enough food lately to warrant anything like the final stages of digestion…

Not that that’s something he needs to fret about right now, despite how worrying it is to his health that he’s been too hungry and dehydrated the past alleged three days in captivity for his body to feel the need to get rid of any waste. What he needs to fret about is the key in his pocket now, and his incoming escape.

His nerves feel so fried that he barely feels anything anymore. So anxious that if he doesn’t do it now, he’ll go insane. The other’s aren’t coming for him, and he can’t just sit around and hope his captors change their minds. He’s a hero, and a shitty one at that, but a hero nonetheless; and heroes don’t wallow in self pity and doubt when there’s work to be done. He can do that later, when the threat that is Ganon is no longer something to worry about.

Besides, he should be fine. The Triforce may not have shown itself to him, but he’s positive he’s felt it. Sensed it’s presence within him, like a whisper.

The key fits in both of the locks of his shackles like he knew—hoped—they would. His shoulders ache as he brings his hands to the front of his body. The skin around both of his wrists are red, but the left one is irritated and seems just a couple more hours away from finally breaking skin. The back of the hand is still bare, but when he cups his right hand over it, he feels comfort. Courage.

He doesn’t need to see the Triforce. He knows it’s there.

He brings his hands up to his face, slowly to not strain his shoulders, and undoes the knot keeping the gag in. Once he spits out the gag and the lingering taste of the cloth and “food”, he gets to his feet and stands fully for the first time in what feels like years. His back pops as he straightens, and when he takes his first step, his hip feels like it’s going to snap out thanks to an irritated old injury he has there. But he persists, because he has to.

He goes to try the key in the door lock—assuming that most locks in this place will be the same, considering these people are enemies to the kingdom, and probably don’t have enough resources or money to take the time to make separate locks—but he’s quickly surprised to find the door not locked at all. Something that feels close to a smile twitches on his lips. He made the leader so upset that not only did he forget to lock the door, but the two lackeys must have been too flustered to think to lock it either.

Before actually opening the door, however, Hyrule goes to his tip-toes and tries to get a look through the barred window in the door. All he sees is a long, skinny corridor lined with flickering torches on the bricked, mossy walls. He doesn’t see any guards; perhaps because he’s humiliated himself enough times during his stay so far that they don’t see him as something threatening enough to be guarded. It would be wiser for them to put their efforts outside of this place and look out for anything that’s much more likely to break in compared to Hyrule breaking out.

That’s good and bad. Good, because leaving this cell will be the easy part. The hard part is getting away from this place and finding safety without being noticed.

He takes a steady breath, reminding himself that he’s defeated Ganon for crying out loud. He can handle a few cultists.

He can.

He opens the door slowly, careful to not let it creak too badly. Once he’s out in the hallway, he chooses to go to his left. Not because he knows that’s the way out, but because that’s the way his gut is telling him to go—and Hyrule’s learned long ago that his gut is right far more often than his overthinking mind.

-o-o-o-o-

Hyrule doesn’t believe in luck. Life isn’t dictated by the universe suddenly deciding if it likes you or not; and things like Goddesses don’t involve themselves in fate, they just give you the tools to use to challenge fate. It’s up to you to take those tools and survive.

Yet, it sure does seem lucky that he doesn’t run into a single enemy while going through the long tunnel-like hallway away from his cell. There’s no one to stop him, and not a single eye watches as he eventually makes it to a water-damaged ladder leading up to a closed trap-door. He takes a deep breath and climbs onto the ladder. It creeks, but holds as he moves up.

The trapdoor is damp and heavy as he pushes it up. He struggles against its weight for a moment, stopping it at just a crack so he can get a look before fully opening it. He resists cursing, as whatever luck he had almost began to believe in disappears. He can see the outside world, as it seems the trap-door rests in the middle of a long ruined home, its walls and ceiling torn apart by time and it’s floors broken away by dirt and budding grass. Through the long blades of grass, however, he can see two figures sitting at a camp-fire, dressed in familiar red garb and white masks.

They haven’t noticed the trap-door opening… clearly more focused on the card-game they’re playing between each other on a fallen over and weathered plank of wood that must have once belonged to the house. Somewhere behind him, Hyrule can smell the strong smell of fresh-water fish, and can hear the soft laps of a gentle lake. To the left, he can’t see anything but disappearing land over a massive cliff. He can’t see anything to his right, as his vision is blocked by the one wall that’s still standing. As far as from what he can tell, the only reliable way out of here would be straight ahead where grasslands stretch into mounding hills, where he thinks he can see a windmill in the distance.

He takes a deep breath. He can do this.

Quietly, he opens the trap-door the rest of the way, pleased to see neither of the soldiers have noticed. He lifts his body out of the hole and crouches in the long grass, moving towards the walls to avoid being seen. He’s not sure how he’s going to go about this… especially now that he’s above the ground fully now, and he can see through a hole in the wall right of him is nothing but rocky cliffs that look too cold for his bare chest. He can try to sneak his way towards freedom, but the only way he can go is nothing but grass and he’ll most definitely be spotted.

He has one option, and that’s to attack the guards and hope that he can come out on top.

Steeling his nerves, he approaches the guards as quietly as he can, keeping to the wall and then keeping low in the grass. He can hear the two soldiers bantering about what they’re going to do once they have won whatever game they're playing… it seems they’re gambling with bananas, and both have different dishes in mind to make with them. He’s beyond thankful that they don’t expect any trouble from his direction, their backs facing towards him, the ruined building, and towering cliffs. They’re looking out towards the grasslands, and they don’t know he’s upon them until he grabs the closest one to him around the shoulders and shoves them into the open campfire before they could realize he's there.

The soldier howls as they stumble into the flames. Hyrule forces himself to not think about it too much, knowing that if he wants to get out of here, he can’t treat these people like… people. He will have to fight like they’re the monsters they act like… and kill if he needs to.

The Triforce of Power feels warm by his middle-finger’s knuckle.

Before the other soldier can react, Hyrule snatches at the first discarded weapon he can find; a miniature curved blade, one that can fit around a neck. His neck, he remembers bitterly. He doesn’t know how to fight with this weapon, but he also has the element of surprise. He charges at the other soldier and swipes, getting them across their chest. They swear as their red armor begins to soak, reaching to their back to pull out a bow with one hand… which seems to be their only weapon. Hyrule full-body tackles into them, wrapping his arms around their middle and bringing them to the ground. They choke on a yelp as their wound is jostled, and then they go silent as Hyrule uses the feathered-butt of the blade’s handle to deal a blow against their skull.

Hyrule jumps up from his defeated opponent and spins around, bringing the scythe up to be level with his chest… but pauses when he sees no one there.

The one he pushed into the fire… they’re gone.

“Fuck,” he breathes.

-o-o-o-o-

After tying up the unconscious soldier with some rope they had on them, he makes his way up the grasslands ahead of him while keeping the dropout of a massive cliff to his left. There’s nothing else he can do. The injured soldier must have run off while he was fighting his buddy, and there’s no telling how much time he has before reinforcements come. His only option is to go as quickly as he can away from here. Safety has to be close; he can see more windmills and a bridge up in the cliffs next to some sort of shrine that’s glowing blue in the shadows of the night.

After only having made a small distance up the steady incline of the grasslands, he’s already out of breath. He’s starving and terribly thirsty, and the adrenaline of the fight with the guards had him only remember to pick up any weapons he could find and not the bananas nor a drink of water from the lake.

He doesn’t stop running, however, because if he stops then that means he might as well give up now after he’s come so much further than he thought he would.

He’s so close. He can feel it. For the first time in days, his chest feels light with determination.

Then, he’s suddenly stopped in his tracks by a massive, skeletal hand shooting up from the ground. He stumbles over his feet in the slick grass, yelping as the hand is followed by an arm, and then a shoulder, and soon Hyrule is gaping at what can only be a stalfos… but this stalfos has three times his height and holds a wicked looking spear.

He doesn’t know what to do. The monster is already howling and aiming it’s weapon at him. He can’t fight this thing with his little, stolen scythe. He needs an actual sword. A shield. He scrambles to his feet, just barely jumping out of the way of a spear heading for hit gut, but the monster swings the spear like a club and catches him in the side with the long shaft of the weapon.

All the breath is knocked out of Hyrule’s body and he’s launched off his feet. His ears ring and his chest feels like something has shattered, and by the time he hits the ground, he finds himself just a few feet away from falling into a scar-like canyon in the land that looks deep enough to already give his stomach butterflies.

Groaning through his teeth and forcing himself to ignore the agony in his side, he pushes himself to his shaky feet, facing the stalfos.

He has to fight it. He’s too injured and weak to run away. He doesn’t know how he can win… but maybe losing won't be a horrible option either.

This Stalfos just wants him dead. It probably doesn’t know about his blood and Ganon… and judging by the words of his previous captors, for Calamity Ganon to rise again he needs to be killed during something called the Blood Moon. And… the moon doesn’t look like blood right now. If he dies here, then… then…

The monster charges at him, and instinctively he brings up his weapon to try—because Hyrule may have no faith in himself, but he’s not completely suicidal… he doesn’t want to die. Dying is just his last option after he’s fought as hard as he could.

But then, before the stalfos can meet weapons, the creature’s head flies off its shoulders. An arrow falls into the grass by its feed. Hyrule can only stand there in shock as a figure rushes into the area, piercing a sword into the fallen skull of the stalfos. Then, just like that, the monster is defeated with a fallen clack of bones.

Hyrule can only gape as he watches the newcomer pull the sword out of the skull. They begin talking. “The best way to get these guys is to go for the head,” they explain, turning to Hyrule.

Hyrule doesn’t give them a chance to finish before Hyrule is crashing into their arms. “Wild!” Hyrule gasps, clutching onto his friend.

Wild goes stiff under his embrace, but then softens to return the strong embrace. “I can’t believe I found you,” he says, relief in this tone. “I’m sorry it took so long. We first tried to look for you at the Yiga base, but you weren’t there and we didn’t know where to go-”

Hyrule shakes his head in his friend’s chest. “You came.”

Wild came. He’s here. And the reason they haven’t come for him right away was because the Yiga lied to Hyrule. Wild didn’t know where he was hidden. They were looking for him… this entire time.

He almost wants to cry. His knees feel weak enough to give out. But he’s reminded that he’s still in danger when Wild takes his shoulders in his hands and pulls out of the embrace. “The others are camped out not far from here. We should get moving. I’ll protect you.”

Hyrule takes a deep breath and nods. Wild smiles back, then takes his hand and turns up the hill, leading the way. Hyrule follows along, doing his best to not let his guard down. Once he’s with the others and safe, he can collapse and sob his thanks to Wild all he wants, but for now he must keep his giddy emotions to himself and try to keep up with Wild’s quick pace.

They follow along the cliffs for an exhausting amount of time, but the whole way Wild keeps a tight hold on Hyrule’s hand, leading the way and giving Hyrule the strength to push forward. Eventually, they find themselves between two cliffs, looking up at another mound in the landscape ahead of them that splits their trail into a fork. To the right, the path returns towards the giant, snow capped cliffs, and to the left looks like the beginnings of a forest made of mushrooms the size of trees.

“They’re waiting for us up there,” Wild says, pointing at the mound ahead of them. “It was the best place to look-out the area. It’s how I spotted you escaping by the lake.”

Hyrule frowns and reevaluates the cliff-surrounded hill. It doesn’t look like you’d be able to see the lake from here, even from its highest point. But… Hyrule doesn’t question it. He just nods and follows along when Wild tugs his hand and begins leading towards the left where the grasslands continue in a steady incline up the cliff.

By the time they make it to the top, Hyrule feels like he can’t breathe. Wild lets him lean against a shattered ledge of rock for a few minutes to regain his energy; which also gives Hyrule enough time to look ahead. It’s a peninsula of cliffs on all sides, and the entire top of the formation is covered in cracked, scale-like rocks jutting out of the ground, making a difficult path to where a small grove of mushroom trees stand near a glowing blue shrine. On top of a particularly large mushroom tree is what looks to be a small wooden structure… where the light of lamps glow.

Once he feels like his chest isn’t on fire anymore, he nods his head at Wild, and Wild takes his hand once again to lead him over the still difficult terrain. To his left, the sun begins to rise, which almost tempts Hyrule to ask Wild how long he’s been captured exactly, as it's been very much just guess-work for Hyrule so far, but he doesn’t ask.

Not yet. He’s almost safe. With the others. Home. This whole thing is within his grasp at being over.

They enter the edge of the grove of mushroom trees, allowing Hyrule to notice a large, circular slab of something not quite rock, but not quite metallic popping out from the earth at the base of the largest of the trees. There’s glowing blue runes in the slab. Something in his stomach churns as he studies the slab, to the point he hardly notices himself letting go of Wild’s hand to stop and stare at it.

Something isn’t right here. It’s too quiet. Still. There’s no calling voices of the others, and when he tears his eyes away from the slab and looks to his right, he doesn’t see the lake or anywhere near it, just more cliffs blocking the view.

And just like that, something in his gut screams at him to run. He almost does, too, before his skull is practically exploding in pain. Something blunt and heavy hits the back of his head, throwing off his balance and knocking him to the floor groaning and clutching at his head. His fingers come away from his skull with red on his pads.

Then, a shoe slams into his stomach, reminding him of his injured ribs and rolling him onto his back, gasping. Above him stands Wild, smirking in a way that’s very much not Wild.

Sinister. Sadistic. None of his boundless empathy to be found.

“The Blood Moon rises soon,” Wild says, stepping forward and planting his foot on Hyrule’s stomach and pressing down, causing Hyrule to weakly squirm. As he talks more, his voice begins to change, into a voice that’s familiar in a whole new way. “You’re little attempt at escape only made it so we don’t have to drag you up here tomorrow. Just one more night now… then our master will return.”

With a cloud of talismans, the form of Wild disappears and is replaced by who can only be the one Yiga soldier that Hyrule hates the most.

A whole slew of emotions rushes into Hyrule. Anger, fear, betrayal, humiliation…

He hasn’t saved himself at all. Only made it easier for the enemy. He can do nothing but try to keep conscious through the pain of his injuries and the pressure in his gut as the soldier begins to wheeze in laughter. From above, where the wooden structure stands, drops more Yiga soldiers. The leader steps off from him, and Hyrule is quickly grabbed. His hands are forced behind his back and rope with the texture of sand-paper wraps around his wrists. Then, the same is done to his ankles. They drag him over to the nearest trunk, near the mysterious looking slab, and wrap the rope around his chest to pin his back against the base of the mushroom-tree. He bites back a cry as the ropes tighten around his injured ribs.

They handle him roughly, and kick his legs as they finish their knots and walk away, laughing.

“You see the way he held Sohgi’s hand the entire time?”

More laughter.

“Pathetic, little mouse.”

Hyrule closes his eyes, fighting pressure at the back of his eyes. He was never a threat to them… just a plaything. A weak little plaything to give them amusement until their Blood Moon arrives. They were right to not bother to watch their backs, nor keep an army of guards watching for his idiotic attempts at escape.

The only thing he can be sure of now is that his only chance at living through this is back to relying on the others, but even if they really are looking for him, judging by the lead Yiga’s words… Sohgi’s words… the words of a human with a human name… they would be looking at the wrong place. Wasting their efforts to find him in a hideout he’s not even at.

He’s doomed.

It’s all over now.

The tears escape his eyes and begin to stream down his cheeks.

He’s a failure, once again.

He’s… he’s so sorry… everyone.

[mackeydoodledoo]

Dead to Me

Pairing: Alcina Dimitrescu and (Fem!)Reader [non-romantic], Cassandra Dimitrescu x (Fem!)Reader

Summary: You escaped once however, leaving the woman you love behind. One day you just show your face once more however, not greeted by the same woman you once loved.

Warnings: Abandonment, Su1c1dal Thoughts, Attempted Su1c1de, Blood, Slight G0R3, MEGA Fluff at the end

A/N: So, this one’s gonna be sad... But it MIGHT just make a slight happy ending.

“Dead to Me” - Crimson Apple

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

One of these days you had to go back. You just didn’t expect yourself to be showing up now of all times. You had been here, serving under Alcina Dimitrescu, pretty much all of House Dimitrescu. You didn’t mind it at first however, listening to the screams of other maidens freaked you out enough.

All of the scars you had to bear from every slip up you caused... It hurt.. However, the only woman that had gotten you through it all was.. None other than the Sadist daughter of Alcina; Cassandra Dimitrescu. 

“Y/n... Y/n I’m sorry... Come back... Come back to me.. Please..” Cassandra cries into the shirt you gave her

You had managed to escape however, you strongly believed that Cassandra didn’t love you. You never meant to hurt Cassandra. However, you were afraid of your fate, should you continue to slip up. 

Months later you had gotten a letter from Alcina. Weirdly enough you were still on somehow good terms with her. Similarities in taste of music gotten you a soft spot in her. The letter alone had mysteriously had given you the urge to go back to the Castle. You slowly push open the doors to the castle and slowly step inside, unready to face whom was going to greet you. 

“Y/n,” Alcina appears, ducking through the doorway

“My lady,” You greet her as formally as possible, “It has been quite some time. I’m glad you’re still in good health.”

“Enough with the formalities,” Alcina sighs, “I’m not here to chat with you.”

You close your mouth just before you try to give your greetings. You walked right into this one. You don’t blame Alcina. 

“Come with me,” he commands, but in a gentle yet demanding voice

You don’t say anything but you begin following her once she turns her back to you. You follow her throughout the castle and leads you to the Opera Room. You were met with three familiar faces... Bela, the first one to look up at you. Daniela, the second one to follow her older sister. She gives you a warming yet hungry smile. Finally, the familiar Brunette is the last to look up. She was about to raise her sickle until her mother raises her hand, calming her daughters. 

“Y/n will be running the entire Opera Room,” Alcina states

What?... I mean- I do have theater tech experience....

You really only rushed back to Castle Dimitrescu when Alcina had mentioned in the letter it was ‘an emergency’. However, you didn’t really see Alcina going into details on said ‘emergency’. 

“Mother I think it would be best if y/n would be-”

“My decision is final Cassandra,” Alcina raises her hand once more, ”I expect the three of you to treat her as such. Should she try to escape once more or slip up more than necessary... Kill her.”

I walked into this one... Plus... What else is there to live for?... 

Alcina makes her exit. Bela begins following her mother, intentionally bumping into your shoulder when she passes you. You look down. Daniela attempts to scare you by growling into your ear when she passes you. This leaves you with Cassandra. 

“Cassadra I-”

In a quick motion, she swarms into her flies and a fly scratches your cheek, making a scar. It begins dripping blood. 

“You keep your mouth shut,” She growls, holding the tip of her sickle in your face, “You try to escape one more time, I will make sure your very own soul won’t leave here.”

She raises her sickle, seemingly ready to slash you. You don’t do anything to guard yourself but look down however, the painful sharp end of the sickle never came. You look up and notice the sickle now down at her side.

“You would have been doing me a favor...” You say, monotonous, walking around her

Before you were out of her reach, she clutches your arm. Not loosely and not tightly. But the perfect grip... A comforting grip. 

“Let go Cassandra,” You say, trying to hold back tears

She doesn’t listen to you but finally subsides and lets you go. You hear her form into her usual swarm of flies and exit the room.

Cassandra.... If only you knew how I felt about you...

You drop onto your knees and begin silently crying to yourself. You reach into your shirt and take out a simple locket until you opened it; revealing a small photo of Cassandra that she had given you at one point the both of you were at the peak of your guys’ friendship.

In the next several days, you were slowly restoring the Opera Room’s curtains. You were attaching a fallen section of the curtain. However, you had gotten the biggest ladder you could find, without asking for any of the ladies of house Dimitrescu, you were already standing on the tips of your toes, trying to clip that part of the curtain back onto its refurbished clip. 

Come on... Come on... Almost there...

Just as you finally got the curtain to clip on, the ladder began falling under your feet. You let out a yelp and expected yourself to fall through the aging wood of the stage. 

It never came.

You open your eyes and notice a small swarm of flies beginning to materialize. Feeling the familiar and gentle touch, you finally gain the courage to look at your savior.

“You okay?” Cassandra asks

“Yeah.” You sigh, “You-you can let go of me now...”

She lets you out of her arms. You expected her to leave however, no sound of swarming flies came into your field of hearing and none that came to your field of vision.

“Shouldn’t you be torturing someone new yet?” You ask, jumping off the stage and over the the couches to breathe

“Been there, done that,” She follows you

“There’s nothing exciting here,” You say, sighing as you sink into the couch, “So, you’d find more excitement somewhere else..”

“Fine...” Cassandra growls

She makes her usual fly make a scar on you somewhere and flies off. You bandage the cut for the time being and stand up, stretching. You walk over to the piano and sit at the piano chair.. You sigh as you wipe off the seeping blood with a cloth. When the bleeding finally stopped, you gently place your fingers along the keys and begin playing some tune that came into your head. 

From behind the doorway, Cassandra listens to you play the piano. She leans her head onto the doorframe.

You still play beautifully... I want you to play to me like you used to..

Before she could continue listening to you, she hears her mother calling for her.

You could hear Alcina’s voice, making you stop playing. You stand from the piano and begin working on any other task in the Opera Room.

By the days end, you realize no one had shown you your quarters. 

I must be in the maid’s quarters... Fine by me... None of them would want my presence anyway...

As you begin walking down the halls, you could remember clearly where everything was.

“You need somewhere to sleep?” Cassandra asks, standing in her doorway to her bedchambers 

“I’m fine,” You say, not making eye contact with her

“Giving you a chance to seep somewhere where it’s comfortable,” She adds, “Besides, I’m more active at night, you won’t see me..”

“Fine...” You sigh, giving in, “Only because you’re offering so kindly.”

You look up at her and you took note of Cassandra’s slight blushing cheeks. Despite the blood all over her chin and slightly on her cheeks. Cassandra shuts the door and begins roaming the halls. Everything in her bedchambers was pretty much the same as how you last remembered it. The only small detail that was different was your shirt on her bed, acting as a pillowcase....

Cassandra?... Why is my shirt a pillowcase?...

You didn't bother to question it any further and just get into her bedsheets. You take a pillow and hold onto it like a body.

When Cassandra returns to her bedchambers as she forgot her sickle, she notices you sound asleep in her bed. Cassandra's heart began swelling with happiness. Seeing you asleep made her all giddy whenever you'd be asleep before her.

You open your eyes and sit up. You mysteriously no longer felt tired and you hopped out of Cassandra's bed and make her bed. Not wanting to leave it a mess. You make haste and make your leave from Cassandra's quarters.

"Leaving so soon?" Cassandra asks, her arm materializing to grab your arm

She puts the end point of her sickle against your back; not to thr point where its piercing your skin but enough to make a slight mark. She ever so slowly pulls your body towards hers. Not willing to have your lung punctured, you follow her movements.

"So pretty," she flirts

You didn't know what to do. Although she threatened you the second you came back, now she's all up in your face, wanting your attention..

"Cassandra," you sigh, "Stop...."

"Why? Didn't you like it?" Cassandra asks as her head drops into the crook of your neck

“St-stop,” You push her away, resulting her drawing blood from your back with her sickle

You immediately beeline it to a bathroom to cover the wound. Luckily for you it was a mere scratch, so stopping the blood came quickly. You sigh, wanting to stay in the bathroom, having a feeling that Cassandra is on the other side of the door. However, feeling bold enough to check, you unlock the door and peek your head out. 

Thank god...

You make your full exit from the bathroom and towards the Opera Room for the usual restoration.

Just as you were sweeping the stage, from your peripherals, Alcina is coming your way. You stop sweeping and brush yourself off of the dust and debris.

“My lady,” You greet her

“How are you my dear?” She asks, sitting at the piano bench

Okay... Yesterday you wanted to kill me... Now you’re being all friendly?...

“I’m alright,” You lie, “What is it that you need my lady?”

“I just wanted to let you know that there is an upcoming play that my daughters want to put on for you,” Alcina expains

For me?...

“For me?” You ask

She nods.

“My Lady?” You ask, “I-I don’t understand.”

“It was Cassandra’s idea,” She says, “Do have the opera hall spick and spam by tomorrow afternoon.”

She makes her leave from the opera room. You were still on the stage cleaning process. However, you only needed to sweep the floors, rearrange the chairs out in the audience seating and set up the piano.

“Won’t be so bad,” You sigh to yourself

While you were in the process of the finishing touches to the lounging area, it was to the piano. You sit down at its bench and begin playing a simple tune that came to mind. 

“You still play beautifully,” A familiar voice sits next to you

“Oh- Lady Cassandra,” You say, clearing your throat, “I’m-I’m sorry I-”

“Play for me some more,” She asks

You were kind of surprised how her tone wasn’t demanding. But, gentle, calm. Almost begging you.

“Aye, as you wish my lady,” You say, stretching your fingers

You play her ‘Stereo Hearts‘. A classic to your life prior to becoming a maid for House Dimitrescu. You used to play it to her when she had asked you. You look over to her and see a slight smile across her face. Her eyes were closed; watching you with her ears. 

I only pray you’ll never leave me behind Because good music can be so hard to find I’ll take your hand and hold it closer to mine Thought love was dead And now you’re changing my mind!

You continue moving with your fingers along the keys as you begin feeling the feelings behind the song you were singing to Cassandra. Once you had finished out the song, you turn your body to face Cassandra, she was already looking at you. Feeling bold, you cup her cheeks and crash your lips onto hers. However, Cassandra was caught off guard. But, she wasn’t complaining. However, the feeling of bliss was short-lived when Cassandra pushes you off of her, making you fall out of the chair. She stands over you, the handle end of her sickle in her hand and the other end close to your face.

“Don’t you dare think if you come back I will just let you become my plaything again!” Cassandra growls, leaning in close to your face, “You’re Dead to Me y/n... You hear?! DEAD TO ME!!”

You lay there frozen, expecting to feel a sharp pain across your face. Your eyes were closed so you wouldn’t see Cassandra. However, that pain never came. You look over and see her already making her leave. 

Fucking god I’m so stupid..

What you didn’t realize was as soon as Cassandra rounded the corner of the door, she slumps into her knees and sobs quietly...

The following night you had managed to finish and avoid Cassandra. A win-win for you. You stand in the back of the opera room while the play was going on. You didn’t quite understand the plotline but you had to give it to the daughters... Except Cassandra... You make your leave from the opera house as soon as the curtains closed at the end of the play. You let your deepest depression and negative emotions get the best of you, you decided to end it all right then and there, but wanted to be alone doing so; so you left.. When the curtains opened back up for a standing ovation, Cassandra didn’t see you. She looks at her sisters, worried. She then looks at her mother, who nods at her. Cassandra runs backstage to strip off her costume and look for you.

“Y/n?” Cassandra calls out for you

No answer...

“Y/n!” Cassandra screams louder

She looks into a hall and notices the widow open... A sheer cold spike pierces her back and she disperses into her swarm and fly out of the window. 

“Y/n!” Cassandra’s screams echo throughout the castle rooftop

From afar, she could see you, walking along the flat parts of the roof. But, you were getting closer to the edge.

“Y/n!” She says in relief, flying into your direction

Before you reached the edge of the roof, you could hear Cassandra’s voice getting closer to you.

“Cassandra?” You ask, “What are you doing here?” 

“I came looking for you,” She says calmly, “Now... Come here... Please... Let’s talk...”

“Now?” You ask, “Of all times you were given the chance to talk to me, you don’t take those chances. But, now you want to talk to me?! Why now of all times?”

“I was scared then Y/n,” Cassandra tries to explain to you calmly, “I was scared of what you thought of me...”

“What I thought of you?” You ask, almost laughing, “All of the other maids told me; ‘be careful of Lady Cassandra. You’ll never know when she’ll end up using you for her own personal gains.’ You know what I did about that?! Not listen to them. Because I was geniunely in love with you. But, you never shown that to me!”

“I know,” Cassandra winces at her own stupidity, “I thought... I thought you wouldn’t fall for someone like me...”

“Well, newsflash honey, I have fallen for you!” You say

You realize how you put the present tense... It was still true, you were still in love with Cassandra. However, you still don’t believe she loves you back.

“I know I’ve been a huge bitch to you in the past,” She says, beginning to cry, “But in the time you were gone, I’ve thought about you. Fuck it, I still think about you. Your smile, your laugh, the way you sing to me when I need you to help me calm down... And I took it all for granted...”

“Why does it matter what you think of me now?!” You scream at her, inching closer to the edge of the roof, “Aren’t I dead to you?! Isn’t that what you told me?!”

“Because I’m in love with you y/n!” Cassandra confesses, “I only said that so we wouldn’t end up the way we ended last time!”

Wait... What?...

Before you could stop shaking, your leg lost its footing and you found yourself slipping down the roof of the tower.

“Y/n!!” Cassandra screams, leaping off of the rooftop, turning into her swarm of flies

You couldn’t let out a scream. You were done with everything. You had nowhere else to go, no one that loves you... You had nothing. You close your eyes and await the other side. 

“I got you y/n,” A familiar voice whispers into your ear

Your eyes shoot open and you look over. Cassandra’s arms are materialized along with her lips and a part of her head. You notice how you’re falling a lot slower now. 

“Cassandra...” You manage to say before you found your arms around Cassandra, what was physical of her in her fly swarm

The next thing you felt was a soft sheet underneath you. You realize it was Cassandra laying along her bed. You turn over to face her as she gets in the other side of the bed with you.

“You... Are in love with me?” You ask, cupping her cheek

“I always was” Cassandra says, blushing and leaning into your touch, “Now and forever...”

“If I’m going to be honest,” You start, stroking her cheek with your thumb, “It pained me to leave... But I was so scared... Not only death but to watch the one I fell in love with walk away... Well, After I did leave I had nothing to go back to but somehow made it work until I did come back..”

The both of you were standing in the night air the following night, making up for lost time between the both of you.

“You should have seen me when you left,” Cassandra makes fun of herself

“I wish I did,” You sigh, playing with the pendants of her necklace, “I would have stayed...”

“What matters most is that you’re here... With me.. Right in this moment,” Cassadra states

“Hey, I want to share a song with you when I was in the outside world,” You request

Cassandra looks down when she sees a bright light coming off of your face. You put one earbud in your ear and place the earbud into Cassandra’s ear. You hit the play button.

“Falling” - Chase Atlantic

“I don’t get why I need to listen to this with you,” Cassandra states

“Just shut up and listen to it with me,” You demand gently, giggling

“Yes ma’am,” She sighs, letting a soft smile out 

With the light from the full moon, you place your hands on Cassandra’s shoulders and Cassandra snakes her hands around your waist. The both of you stand along her balcony, beginning to sway to the song when it got to the pre-chorus, feeling the cool wind against the both of you. You stand on your tip toes as your lips and Cassandra’s meet, sharing a tender kiss when the song reached the post-bridge. 

[starshine583]

New Girl on the Block (17)

(sorry for the late update everyone! I spent time with family this weekend and got a little side tracked lol anyway, please enjoy chapter 17 of “New Girl on the Block” and as always, feel free to check out the mini series connected to this called Journal Entries!)

Ch.1 / Ch.16 / Ch.18 (ao3)

Chapter 17: Subtlety Is Key

The platform ladder that Marinette was standing on sat firmly in Felix’s grip as he watched her attempt to pin a stream of hearts to the wall. She appeared to be having trouble deciding which angle was best, moving her end of the stream up and down while staring at the other end, which was already pinned up, and squinting. He half wondered if she was going to take this long on every stream of hearts she pinned up, since she'd been doing the same up-and-down motion for a while now, but he also didn’t mind waiting if she did. The longer he stood here, the better his chances were of escaping the task of writing those “thank you” cards that Allegra liked to put in her party favors. She always managed to rope him into it, saying that his handwriting was the best amongst them, which, in truth, it was, but why not save the trouble and type out the message on the computer in a curly font? Surely, it would have the same effect.

“Felix, does this look straight to you?”

Felix dragged his gaze back up to Marinette, who was frowning at the spot that she’d finally decided to stop on. The stream of hearts hung to her right, making a nice curve on the wall that looked fine, but he wouldn’t be able to say for certain until he acquired a level, which they didn’t have.

“As straight as it can get, I imagine.” He replied. Even if it was a tad off, the guests would hardly notice. They’ll be too busy mingling and dancing around.

A sigh fell from the ravenette, and she lowered the hearts to give him a tired look. “How is that supposed to help me?”

“Well, it’s definitely not straight now. Does that help?”

Marinette pressed her lips into a thin line, obviously disgruntled, and Felix clenched his jaw to avoid smiling. Perhaps he should wait until she got off the ladder to continue. She might kick him in the face otherwise.

“Why are you here if you’re not going to be useful?” She grumbled, turning back to the wall.

A snort escaped Felix’s lips. “I am being useful. I’m holding the ladder so you don’t fall and break your neck.”

“Bold of you to assume I won’t fall whether the ladder is steady or not.”

“Which is another reason why I’m here.” He replied smoothly. “To catch you.”

Marinette hummed, glancing down at him from the corner of her eye. “How kind of you.”

“Yes, it really is, isn’t it?”

She breathed out a small laugh and shook her head, coaxing a smirk from Felix as well. 

It’s been about a week since they stayed up all night talking at Allegra’s house, since things between them changed, since things with him changed. He couldn’t quite place what had caused it, except that it was most definitely her. The way she listened to him wholeheartedly throughout the entire night, hanging on his every word, offering support when needed and trading a few stories herself- It made him feel heard, which was immensely strange. Because he’d been heard before, plenty of times in fact. It was nothing new. So why was that night different? Was it because of the soft atmosphere that the moon provided? Or because they were both somewhat tired despite saying otherwise? Why did his entire being feel so clear and refreshed when they went up to bed later on?

Whatever happened, he’d assumed that the feeling would be gone by morning, since nighttime conversations hardly travel to the next day, but imagine his surprise when the feeling swelled full force in his chest the next day, specifically when he greeted Marinette in the hall. It was as crystal clear as the night before, and it had yet to fade even now. 

Felix didn’t understand. Not at all. But he certainly wasn’t going to dispute it. He actually began encouraging the feeling, talking with Marinette on a more constant basis, muttering in her direction during conversations, asking more casual questions, throwing around a joke or two about the others when it seemed appropriate- he even found himself teasing her at one point, which led him to the wonderful realization that Marinette Dupain-Cheng was much sassier than he’d given her credit for. Despite her surprise, she’d snapped back immediately, a playful glare in her eyes and a smirk on her lips, and with an unexpected reaction like that, Felix couldn’t not tease her more. That would simply be a waste.

In the following week, he continued to talk with her, and continued to learn how much of a wild card she truly was. She never reacted to his teasing the same way. For example, one minute, she would blush, the next she would smack him, or roll her eyes and shoot right back without a second thought, or even pout. There was no telling what she was going to do next, and Felix eagerly anticipated her next move each time. It was fun for him now, fun to talk with her, fun to see her smirks and glares and giggles when he did. He could understand why Claude, Allegra, and Allan would want to talk with everyone and anyone if they all acted like her.

Their dynamic had definitely changed over the last few days, and although he wasn’t sure how much Marinette had noticed it herself, Felix knew he was thoroughly enjoying the shift. 

“There.” Marinette said above him, leaning back to put her hands on her hips. “How’s that?”

Felix’s eyes glazed over the stream of hearts again, and he let out a hum. “A bit more to the left.”

Her shoulders drooped. “Are you serious?”

“No.”

The narrowed yet playful glare that she shot him had Felix holding back another chuckle, and he innocently moved to grab one of the pink, inflated balloons on the table next to them to hand it to her.

“Why do I ask you anything anymore?” She asked as she took the balloon from him. 

“Because you know I’m an excellent judge when it comes to fine craftsmanship, such as the stream of hearts hanging above us on the wall right now.”

Marinette scoffed, tacking the balloon to the wall just above the first decoration. “What, are you kissing up to me now? Are you trying to butter me up so I’ll bring you more cheesy croissants?”

Felix shot her a look of feigned offense. “I wouldn’t dream of it, not after the amount of pain and effort that went into the making of those decorations.”

Now she was glaring at him. “Exactly how long do you plan on holding that paper cut against me?”

“I haven’t the faintest idea what you’re talking about.” Felix replied, a slight smile betraying his lips as he did.

Marinette huffed, letting her eyes flick up in an eyeroll, and started back down the ladder. Felix moved back to let her off, before grabbing the ladder again to lift it over to the next wall. They still had two more streams to put up.

“You seem to be more present today.” He commented, thinking back on the get-together they had yesterday. She’d been lost in her own thoughts through the first part of it, so much so that Allegra felt the need to ask her if she was alright. Marinette didn’t get to answer due to Claude jumping in, but when Felix asked her about it again a bit later, she quickly froze up, saying that she’d rather keep it to herself for the time being. 

Felix understood, of course, and he said as much, but that didn’t stop him from being curious. Or even a bit concerned. She always had a specific look when that model was involved, and she’d worn it openly yesterday. Therefore, he could only assume that that was part of the trouble, but how much trouble? Did they run into each other again? Did he text her? Did he go looking for her somewhere? There were too many possibilities and not enough clues for Felix to draw a firm conclusion. He couldn’t even be sure that Agreste was the problem in the first place. 

“Did your troubles sort themselves out?” He added, trying not to look at her too much as he did. Felix didn’t want to pry, but he did want to make sure she was handling herself alright. (Not that that was really in question at this point. After that run-in with the akuma, they all knew quite well that Marinette could take care of things when she needed to.)

Marinette paused at the base of the ladder, tilting her head at him with a questioning glance. “My troubles?”

A slight frown tugged at the corner of Felix’s lips. Had she forgotten already? It must not have been that important, then..

“You said something was bothering you yesterday.” He said anyway.

“Oh!” Understanding washed over her features, but a grimace quickly followed. “Oh.”

Felix rose a brow. Did that mean the problem wasn’t resolved?

“Um.. no.” She said, offering a bit of clarity as she fiddled with the next stream of hearts that they were supposed to be hanging up. “No, it’s still very much there, unfortunately. I’m not sure how everything’s going to work out yet.”

Felix nodded. “I see. I apologize for bringing it up, then.”

“No, no, you’re fine.” She insisted as she climbed the ladder. “I know you were just trying to help.”

“Besides,” Marinette threw another smile over her shoulder, one that was clearly softer than the smirks she’d been giving him earlier, “if it gets to be too much, I’m sure you’ll come to rescue again. So you can have something else to brag about.”

Felix’s eyes widened, admittedly knocked off balance by the comment. Joking about being rescued wasn’t entirely unusual, but ‘again’? What did she mean ‘again’? Did she think he rescued her before? When? Why did he find himself feeling immensely pleased with the thought?

“Of course..” He muttered absently. “I do love to brag, you know.”

It was a bland remark to be sure, not nearly one of his best, but Marinette laughed anyway, as she always did, and turned back around to start pinning the next stream of hearts to the wall.

Felix continued to watch.

~~~~~~

Bzzt. Bzzt.

Adrien lunged for his phone, unlocking it with his fingerprint before it could even finish vibrating, and tapped the notification. Was it her? Had she finally decided to text him? Please let it be her!

A news app flashed onto his screen, and his shoulders sagged as he realized that Marinette hadn’t texted him. How long was she going to wait? It’s already been a full day, and winter break was fading fast. He knew these things could take time, but they honestly didn’t have a lot of that right now. Once school started up again, his schedule was going to go right back to packed, and he’d barely be able to breathe let alone go see her. He didn’t want their precious chance to hang-out to go to waste. 

“You good, dude?” Nino asked next to him. “You’ve been hovering around your phone all day. Is something going on?”

“Oh, uh-” Adrien sat up, pushing away his phone and disappointment. Marinette was going to text him eventually. He just needed to be patient. “No, everything’s fine. Père just likes to stay in touch with me while I’m out, so I want to make sure I don’t miss any text messages or anything.”

Nino frowned. “Isn’t sending Gorilla with you enough?”

Adrien shrugged. “Yeah, but you know how he is. He likes to stay on top of things.”

Disgruntlement flicked across Nino’s features, and he tugged his hat down slightly to hide it, muttering, “Or he just likes to control everything.”

Adrien smiled despite the comment. “Come on, he’s not that bad. He let us hang out today, right?”

Nino nodded, though his frown didn’t fade. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.. Just don’t let him distract you from our game. We still have a tie to break.”

Adrien straightened and grabbed the controller that he’d dropped earlier. “Course not! Père or no, I still have plenty of focus to beat you.”

Nino let out a playful scoff. “Sure, dude. We’ll see who beats who this time.”

Adrien chuckled and positioned himself on the couch, and the two jokingly counted down before starting the next match.

Keeping Nino in the dark about Marinette wasn’t something Adrien enjoyed- they were best friends, after all -but he didn’t want to risk talking about her now. The class was only just now starting to be suspicious of Lila, and even then, it was light, joking. They weren’t serious about it yet. If they knew he was meeting up with Marinette, the person they still weren’t entirely fond of, it might serve as a disadvantage to him. What if they stopped listening to him because he was talking with her? He couldn’t take that chance. He needed to get his feet planted firmly on the ground before taking any rash steps forward.

That said, he did need to take some sort of step forward. Lila trying to make a deal with him last week was extremely reassuring, since it meant that she herself thought of him as a threat, but he also knew that he couldn’t slack off because of it. Muttering over her shoulder wasn’t going to work forever, and if he didn’t find a way to crank up the pressure soon, she would start countering his subtle attacks. Maybe he could start talking to people directly? While they were alone. He could talk to them more about Lila and ask if her stories are suspicious.. But what if he talks to the wrong person? Depending on who he conversed with, they might round on him in an instant, and his plan would crumble again. No, he needed to be careful about this. He needed to start with someone he could trust.

“....So,” Adrien glanced at Nino, because who better to start with than his best friend? “what are your thoughts on Lila?”

If Adrien wanted to change everyone’s opinion of Marinette and Lila, he supposed he would have to know those opinion’s first, and Nino, he felt, was the perfect candidate for that. He was a chill, relaxed person, who pretty much liked everybody. (Everybody except Adrien’s father, that is.) His opinion of Lila should be similar to an average of everyone else’s opinion, and Adrien could use that as an estimation of Lila’s- hopefully decreasing -popularity.

Nino scrunched up his nose, clearly confused by the change of subject. “Lila? I mean, she’s alright. Pretty nice. Alya really likes her.”

Adrien nodded thoughtfully. That was about what he expected him to say. “What do you think about her stories? It seems like she’s been everywhere, doesn’t it?”

Nino snorted. “Right? She says she knows everybody and anybody. It’s pretty crazy.”

Adrien’s eyes widened slightly, though Nino didn’t notice. ‘She says she knows everybody’? Not ‘she knows everybody’? If Adrien didn’t know any better, he might say that sounded a little bit like doubt.

“You don’t believe her?” He asked, carefully.

“No, no, I do.” Nino rushed to say, ignoring the game console that was now blinking ‘defeat’ on his side. “It’s just.. you know.. crazy. She’s been all over the world, knows all these different people, and she’s only fifteen. And she kept up with the school the whole time. It sounds like a lot.”

“Yeah, it definitely does.” Adrien agreed, setting his controller aside and hiding a smile. “And now, she’s been taking up the job as class president, even though she’s still planning charity events and working at homeless shelters and hanging out with Alya and the rest of the girls and doing homework.. It makes you wonder how she fits it all into her schedule.”

Nino chuckled. “Yeah, I- It’s.. I don’t know. I definitely couldn’t do it. What about you, though? What do you think about her? You seem to be really interested in her lately.”

Adrien had to bite the inside of his cheek to avoid laughing. Interesting was a word.

“Ah, well.. I guess I’m just curious about her more than anything. I’m a model who goes places and meets people all the time, and I haven’t met nearly as many famous people as she has. I wanna learn how she’s managed to not get in any news or magazines so far-”

Bzzt. Bzzt.

Adrien paused mid-word to whirl around and check his phone. He was honestly preparing himself for the disappointment already- why would this time be any different? -when his eyes landed on the tiny speech bubble that represented his text messaging app. His insides leaped at this sight, and he tried to swallow his excitement as he tapped the notification. Was it her? Had she finally texted him?

Marinette’s name splayed across the top of the screen, and it took every ounce of discipline for Adrien not to leap off the couch and cheer. She’d texted him! Marinette had finally texted him back!

~Hey, sorry it took me so long to text you. I’ve been helping my friends out with something. If you want, I can meet up with you at (something) café for lunch on Feb. 15th? Does that work for you?~

Lunch! Adrien wanted to scream. She was inviting him to lunch! Marinette did want to hang out with him more! This was perfect!

He quickly texted her back. 

~That sounds great! I’ll see you then ;D~

Adrien hadn’t even checked his schedule yet, but that didn’t matter. He was making this lunch date no matter what. Then he could talk with Marinette about his plans and maybe convince her to come back and-

“Was that your dad?” Nino asked, breaking Adrien from his thoughts yet again. That was probably a good thing though. He shouldn’t be getting too ahead of himself. From the way things looked, Marinette was really enjoying her new school life. It will probably take a lot of convincing to get her to come back. For now, he needed to take things slowly.

Slowly.

“Oh, yeah.” Adrien said, cool as a cucumber. “He was just telling me about my next photoshoot.”

“Another one? It’s not going to stop us from hanging out, is it?”

“No, no, it shouldn’t.” Not that he knew of, anyway. The only thing his meeting with Marinette would hopefully affect was everyone’s opinions of Lila. 

Nino relaxed slightly at the answer. “Good. He over-works you way too much. You should ask for a raise or something.”

 Adrien laughed. “I think I’d rather keep the time off that he gives me. Anyway, you ready to play another round? You lost, so now you have to catch back up.”

Nino eyed his controller with a slight smile. “Whatever, man, you know I’m gonna pass you up without a problem.”

“Sure you are.” Adrien smirked. “Just like how you were gonna pass me up last round.”

Nino laughed and snatched his controller up. “Oh, it’s on, dude.”

~~~~~~

Allegra drew in a deep breath, reveling in the scent of the special candles she’d ordered. Patchouli and Rosewood- the perfect thing to accentuate the rose bouquets delicately placed on the round tables and encourage the romantic mood for their party. With the lights dimmed and everyone dancing together on top of that, hearts were bound to be captured, and she couldn’t wait to see it, especially when it came to a particular pair.

Allegra set her candle down and subtly glanced over her shoulder at Felix and Marinette, who were currently stringing up the last stream of hearts on the other side of the room. They were both laughing and talking together, completely comfortable as Felix held the ladder steady and Marinette pinned her last balloon at the end of the stream. It was a cliché couple, really- the stoic, uptight rich boy falling hard for the sweet, adorable bakery girl -but Allegra was determined to see it work out. She’s always prided herself on getting unlikely people together, and these two were going to be her ultimate achievement. Of course, at this point, she supposed she could hardly call them an unlikely couple. They’ve been rather in-step with each other as of late. What with their muttering to each other during group-hang outs and sharing secret looks and sitting near each other on a regular basis. She might be inclined to be excited for the progress if she had any idea as to why they were suddenly so close. Last week, Felix was still gritting his teeth about being caught looking at Marinette, yet today, he’s talking and smiling and laughing with her openly. Laughing! Felix doesn’t laugh. He scowls and hisses and maybe smirks when he’s in a good mood, but he doesn’t laugh. Something monumental must have happened between the two that would encourage him to do so. So what was it? When was it? Her entire body was itching to know, and the fact that she knew she couldn’t ask only made it worse. If she tried to ask Felix about the event, he might clam up again, regressing the friendship. If she tried to ask Marinette about the event, the ravenette would probably become flustered or more hyper aware of Felix’s subconscious advancements, which, again, would probably regress the friendship. She was stuck either way.

“They’re driving me crazy.” She finally said, knowing the boys would hear her. If she couldn’t confirm her theories about Felix and Marinette’s interactions, she would rant about them to Claude and Allan instead.

As usual, Claude was the first to respond, glancing up from the party favors she had him arranging to ask, “What? Who’s driving you crazy?”

Allegra turned to him with a sigh and tilted her head ever-so-slightly in the “lovebirds’” direction. “They are. They’re acting differently than they were before, and I don’t know why.”

Claude straightened to glance over her shoulder for a moment, his brows furrowing slightly.

“You mean Felix and Marinette? They look the same to me.”

Allegra scrunched up her nose with a scoff. “What do you mean they look the same? You think Felix just laughs like that on a regular basis?”

Allan wandered over to their conversation then, also watching Marinette and Felix. The blond and ravenette didn’t even look up from the hearts on the wall, which was another big sign that they were becoming increasingly engrossed in each other. Felix was normally highly aware of his surroundings, as was Allegra, and he usually would have noticed the trio’s stares by now. But he didn’t, because he was too busy looking at Marinette instead.

“They have been a bit chummy lately.” Allan agreed, bringing a smile to Allegra’s lips. At least someone besides herself was paying attention.

“Well, yeah, but we knew that already.” Claude said. “They like each other, don’t they? Of course they would be chummy.”

“Yes, but not like that.” Allegra insisted. “Whether Felix likes her or not doesn’t change the fact that he’s technically being open around all of us right now. Isn’t that a bit strange to you? Besides, we still don’t actually know for sure that Marinette has a crush on Felix.”

Claude gave her a look. “What? I thought you said that she got all blushy and stuff when you talked about Felix at the sleepover.”

“She was, but Marinette gets blushy about a lot of things. And I was talking about how comfortable Felix is around her. That would probably make any girl blush.”

“She has a point,” Allan spoke up, “but I do think she might like him. She always gets this certain vibe when he’s around.”

“Oh, it’s definitely a possibility.” Allegra agreed. “You can totally spot the little ‘glow’ she gets when he talks with her, and even that’s improved since Felix changed things up.”

Claude’s eyes widened as he glanced at the pair again, seeming to study them closer this time. “Do you think she’s glowing more because he’s changed?”

“I’d say so,” Allegra answered, tapping her finger to her lip, “But what I want to know is why he changed and when. It can’t have been anything short of last week, because they only started acting this way recently, but what could have happened that we didn’t see? We’ve been with them the whole time.”

“Maybe they’ve been hanging out by themselves?” Allan suggested. “They’re not tied to us, you know.”

“I know, but wouldn’t we have heard about it? Marinette sends us pictures and such all the time. She would have mentioned her and Felix hanging out by themselves.”

Unless Marinette simply didn’t want to offend them, but Allegra still didn’t buy that explanation. As far as she knew, Felix and Marinette’s shift happened sometime after the sleepover, if not right after. It was as though they’d fallen asleep as usual, then woke up as different people entirely when it came to each other. So whatever happened must have happened during the sleepover.. but when? They were all together most of the night. Allegra supposed it could have happened during Hide and Seek, when they were all spread across the mansion, but moments like those were too quick and too tense and she certainly would have noticed Felix’s change in behavior then. That left her with.. A dead end, because the rest of the night, Marinette and Felix were always with one of the trio, even when they were all sleeping.

Unless the two hadn’t been sleeping..

“I don’t think we should overthink it.” Allan said, lightly nudging his shoulder into Allegra’s. “Marinette seems happier around Felix, and Felix is definitely happier around Marinette, so I say we take the win and let them keep getting closer on their own.”

“I agree.” Claude chimed in, surprising Allegra. He normally enjoyed meddling in others’ affairs as much as she did. “If they’ve made it this far without us getting too involved, they're bound to confess to each other at tomorrow’s party, especially with the ‘fake date’ we have planned for them.”

A smile found its way back onto Allegra’s lips. So he did intend to meddle. He just didn’t want to overthink Felix and Marinette’s sudden progress. She should have known. 

“That reminds me: I still have to finish arranging that.” Allegra remarked.

She spun on her heel, leaving the boys to their tasks again, and began crossing the room to Felix and Marinette. Their chuckles and smiles quieted down as she approached, but she paid it no mind. Felix was mostly the one to stop laughing, anyway.

“Are you guys all done?” Allegra inquired, not missing the way Felix gently touched Marinette’s arm to help her get off the ladder.

Marinette flashed her a smile. “Yep! We just finished the last streamer. What’s next?”

Allegra let out a hum. “Well, Felix still has to write all of those ‘thank you’ letters for the party favors-”

A tired sigh left the blond.

“-and we have to set up the caterer’s foods, but they aren’t coming in till tomorrow. So I think we’re pretty much done. Claude and Allan are just now finishing their last tasks too.”

“Oh, good!” Marinette beamed. “The place looks great already. I can’t wait to see everyone’s reactions tomorrow.”

Allegra smiled. “Neither can I. By the way, since everything’s practically set up, you two can go ahead and stay home until the party starts. That way you both have time to get ready.”

A hint of concern flicked across the ravenette’s features as she knitted her eyebrows together. “Are you sure? I don’t mind coming in early with you guys.”

“I do,” Felix cut in, a slight smirk on his lips as he added, “and I will gladly take the extra free time.”

Allegra smirked as well, because she knew that comment had to be for Marinette’s viewing pleasure. He wouldn’t have had a smirk otherwise, nor would he have held that mischievous glint in his eyes.

Of course, Marinette breathed out a chuckle and briefly rolled her eyes, capturing Felix’s attention immediately. She then offered Allegra a meaningful smile. 

“Well, if you change your mind, you can always text me.”

“Of course, but in case I don’t, why don’t you have Felix pick you up for the party tomorrow? Since you’re both not going to be arriving until later.”

Marinette and Felix exchanged a look, as though they were silently asking each other’s opinions, and Allegra had to hold back a snort. They were already reading each other and communicating in their own way. It was too cute and all too obvious. How did Claude not notice the difference earlier?

“I wouldn’t mind if you need a ride,” Felix finally spoke, pulling his shoulders up in a slight shrug, “but it’s your decision.”

Allegra swallowed a coo and glanced to the side, because this person in front of her who used to be dead-set on not helping anyone or scowling the whole way was being incredibly considerate, and she desperately needed a before-and-after video.

Marinette smiled up at him. “A ride would be nice, thanks. That way I don’t have to bother Maman or Papa about taking me at the end of their work shift.”

It was just the answer Allegra wanted to hear. Felix will be the first one to see Marinette in her new dress, and he will have plenty of time to become flustered over it during their drive to the party. Missing Felix’s face when he went to fetch Marinette was going to be a shame- since he himself mentioned how stunning she would look -but if they were lucky, perhaps he’ll still be wearing the expression when the two arrive.

“Great! I’ll call my driver so we can start getting ready to leave then.” Allegra said with a smile.

Marinette nodded. “Sounds good. I’ll go grab my purse and put up the ladder.”

“I’ll put up the ladder.” Felix cut in, already moving to close it. 

A frown tugged at the corner of her lips. “Are you sure?”

“Yes. They like their tools to be put back a certain way.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks, then.”

Allegra watched Marinette walk off, feeling a fresh wave of determination.. Gosh, they were already acting like they were in love with each other. Well, Felix was at least. Marinette was about that kind to anyone. Either way, things were going smoothly now, and it should only take a carefully-timed push for the two to really get the ball rolling. 

Valentine’s Day, Marinette and Felix being dressed up, both of them being alone together while dressed up, the sudden closeness- finally, all of her plans were coming together. The only thing that could possibly make this better was if Cupid himself came out to see them swoon over each other. 

That wasn’t going to happen, of course, but it didn’t need to, because Allegra was going to be glad to take his place.

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