#but about the plant thing he was still a little doubtful since he wouldn’t think Kni would disclose that information so easily.

[natashasfilms]

You’re Losing Me

Summary: Dating a colleague has always been an exhilarating experience. However, as you reach a point where you’re ready to take the relationship further after spending years together, doubts start to creep in. You begin questioning whether you’re the only one putting effort into saving something that seems to be slowly fading away.

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner x BAU!Fem!Reader

Warnings: taylor swift’s song “you’re losing me”, angst, fluff, coworker relationship, language, drowning, stabs, injuries, usual criminal minds stuff, use of y/n, lovers to exes to lovers again, not really unrequited love, insecurity, making out, happy ending

Word Count: 7,938 (the longest one shot i’ve written so far…)

Note: It’s been so so so long since I’ve posted anything on here, so enjoy a little Aaron Hotchner one shot! I’m think of writing an Aaron Hotchner/Criminal Minds series, similar to my Steve Harrington/Stranger Things series, but it may take me a while to finish writing the entire thing. Maybe I’ll write a few chapters and then upload those and write along as I go but I don’t want to do that in case I lose motivation throughout the midst of it. We’ll see what happens! It’s just that I’m super busy but I have such great ideas for this series!

Criminal Minds Masterlist

As the sunlight slowly filtered through the windows, you began to awake from your slumber. Opening your eyes, you gazed at the ceiling and felt the comforting embrace of a pair of arms around your waist. Turning your head, you smiled at the man sleeping beside you and planted a gentle kiss on the top of his head. After disentangling yourself from his arms, you got out of bed.

Quickly, you took a shower, brushed your teeth, and dressed for the day. Upon leaving the bathroom, you found your boyfriend, Aaron, sitting at the edge of the bed, rubbing his eyes. “Morning, Aaron.” You greeted him.

He looked up with a grin, standing up to meet you. “Morning.” He responded, giving you a kiss on the cheek before heading to the bathroom himself.

You then entered Jack’s room to wake him up and get him ready for school. Seeing him still asleep, you approached with a gentle touch, waking him with a soft rub on his head. “Jack, sweetie, it’s time to wake up.”

Jack groaned, still half-asleep. “Five more minutes.”

You chuckled, playfully poking his cheek. “Come on, buddy. You’ll be late for school.” Eventually, Jack sat up in bed, and you left his room with a cheeky smile.

Preparing breakfast for your two boys, you heard footsteps down the hall. Setting the plates on the table, you watched as Jack settled into his seat. “Thank you, Y/N! This looks good!”

Nodding, you gave him a quick kiss on the forehead before you and Aaron sat down at the table. He reached out to hold your hand as a gesture of thanks, which made your heart flutter with affection.

After bidding Jack farewell and dropping him off at school, you and Aaron began your drive to work. Upon arriving, you entered the office first, as your relationship with Aaron was not public knowledge except to Strauss. You both agreed to keep it quiet to avoid potential workplace issues, though you wouldn’t mind being open about it if the opportunity arose. You weren’t entirely sure how Aaron felt about that.

Sitting at your desk, you watched Aaron make his way upstairs to his office, trying not to draw any unnecessary attention. Your colleagues, Emily, Derek, Elle, Spencer, and JJ, were already at their desks, engaged in friendly chatter while working on their paperwork. You joined in, laughing at Emily and Derek’s playful banter.

At times, you felt the urge to spend more time with Aaron in his office, but you respected his decision to keep your relationship private. However, you couldn’t help but wonder if you were the only one who truly cared about the relationship. Four years together, and you were eagerly awaiting for him to pop the question. But that seemed to be indefinitely postponed. It sometimes felt like you were the only one putting effort into the relationship.

Fortunately, the entire day turned out to be pleasantly light. With no new cases, the office was buzzing with paperwork and fueled by several cups of coffee. Every so often, Penelope would come over to chat with all of you, as she often felt lonely in her own office. Her presence brought joy, and you always welcomed her with a warm smile, her infectious happiness lifting your spirits.

As the day drew to a close, the office was nearly empty, with only you, Aaron, and Elle remaining on the current floor. Elle grabbed her bag, ready to head out.

“See you tomorrow, Elle.” You called out, waving.

Elle smiled back at you. “You’re leaving right now, right?”

You nodded, turning to your desk to organize your files. “Yep, just need to gather these files and hand them over to Hotch.”

Her eyes shifted to the man in question, who was still seated at his desk in his office. “Does he ever sleep?” Elle asked, furrowing her brows.

Chuckling, you stood up. “I’d like to say yes, but he’s practically a robot.”

Elle hummed, and her gaze returned to you. “Do you want me to wait for you?” She offered.

You widened your eyes slightly, quickly clearing your throat. “Oh, no, you go ahead. I don’t want to keep you waiting.”

“It’s not a problem, honestly.” Elle reassured you, but you waved your hand dismissively.

“No, really. You can go on ahead. I have to ask Hotch a few questions about the paperwork, anyway.”

You noticed a subtle shift in Elle’s eyes, but you couldn’t quite pinpoint it. “Right. Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, Y/N.” She said, bidding you goodbye before making her way to the glass doors and stepping into the elevator.

Feeling a sense of relief, you let out a sigh, almost convinced that Elle had caught on to your and Aaron’s relationship. Shaking your head to dismiss such thoughts, you collected all the files and made your way up to his office, lightly knocking on the door. Aaron’s voice invited you in, prompting you to enter.

As he looked up from his work, his stern expression softened into one of happiness at the sight of you. You couldn’t help but grin, placing the files on his desk. “It’s late, we should get going.”

Furrowing his brows, Aaron checked the time, and his eyes widened in surprise. “Oh, I didn’t even realize how late it got.” He admitted, quickly gathering the files and organizing everything for the next day.

Both of you exited the building and walked to your car. Settling inside, you watched Aaron start the engine and drive off, your mind preoccupied with thoughts. You were contemplating whether to broach the topic of taking your relationship to the next level or even considering making it public. Although you should have felt at ease discussing it with Aaron, anxiety gripped your heart, causing it to beat rapidly.

Despite knowing Aaron to be the most kind-hearted man you’ve known for years, you couldn’t help but fear his response. You didn’t want this conversation to become a make-or-break moment for your relationship, yet you also couldn’t bear to keep hiding in the shadows any longer.

Arriving at your shared apartment, you both entered, setting your bags down by the door and turning on the lights. With Jack spending the night at Jessica’s, you and Aaron found yourselves alone, creating an opportunity for you to bring up a potentially important conversation.

Deciding to allow yourselves a moment to freshen up and have dinner before broaching the important topic, you wanted to ensure neither of you went to bed hungry in case the conversation didn't go smoothly.

After showering, having dinner, and relaxing, you finally felt ready to initiate the conversation. Throughout the evening, you sensed Aaron’s eyes on you, and it was time for him to ask what was bothering you.

“You’ve been tense all night.” Aaron observed, placing a reassuring hand on your shoulder as you both sat on the couch. “Is something wrong?”

Your mind raced through different approaches to the problem, but you still didn’t feel fully prepared as you began to respond to his question. “I’ve been doing some thinking.”

He arched an eyebrow, pulling you closer by wrapping his arm around your shoulder. “Care to share?”

With a tight-lipped smile, you took a deep breath, attempting to calm your nerves. “Have you ever considered...making our relationship public?”

As soon as the words left your mouth, Aaron’s arms dropped from your shoulder. Your heart sank to the pit of your stomach, dreading his response.

“Aaron?” You anxiously waited for his answer, but he fell silent, trying to find the right words to respond to you. “Can you please say something?”

Aaron’s face tightened with hesitation as he tried to find the right words to respond to your question. He glanced away, unable to meet your eyes directly, and sighed heavily. “I...I haven’t really thought about going public.” He finally admitted, his voice tinged with uncertainty. “Our relationship has always been private, and it’s been working for us. I’m afraid of how things might change if we make it public.”

Your heart sank, sensing the reluctance in his response. “But Aaron, we’ve been together for so long, and I’m tired of just hiding our relationship. I want to be with you openly, without constantly worrying about keeping it a secret.” You pleaded, tears welling up in your eyes.

“I know that.” Aaron said, his voice softening. “But we both know how the nature of our work is. If our relationship becomes public, it could jeopardize everything we’ve built here. I can’t risk that, especially for Jack’s sake.”

Frustration and sadness engulfed you, and you felt a surge of emotions welling up inside. “So, you’re choosing your job and keeping up appearances over us? Over me?” You exclaimed, your voice quivering with hurt.

“That’s not what I meant. It’s just not that simple.” Aaron replied, reaching out to touch your arm, but you pulled away.

“Then enlighten me, Aaron. What do you mean? Because maybe it’s not simple for you, but it is for me.” You said firmly, your heart breaking. “I can’t keep living like this. I deserve better than this, Aaron.”

He looked torn, his eyes reflecting his own pain. “I don’t want to lose you.” He murmured, his voice barely above a whisper.

“But you’re not willing to fight for us.” You responded, tears streaming down your cheeks. “Tell me, Aaron. Did you even plan on marrying me?”

His silence spoke louder than words, and it was all you needed to get your answer. The truth hung heavily in the air, and your heart shattered in less than two minutes, your fears coming true. The pain of realization washed over you, leaving you feeling raw and vulnerable.

You desperately wanted things to go back to how they were, to find comfort in the familiarity of your relationship. But deep down, you knew that settling for someone who didn’t put effort into the relationship wasn’t right for you. You deserved someone who cherished and valued you, someone who saw a future with you and was willing to fight for it.

“Looks like you’ve already lost me.” You said, your voice cracking with emotion. You hastily wiped away your tears, determined not to break down completely. Standing up from your spot on the couch, you avoided Aaron’s gaze as you walked away, trying to maintain some composure. “I’m sleeping in the guest room tonight.”

The realization that the love of your life might not have felt the same way about you as you thought shattered your heart into pieces. You couldn’t bear to stay in a relationship that made you feel worthless.

What made it even more painful was that Aaron had always been the kindest man you had ever known. He had made you feel loved, supported, and cared for, especially during your lowest moments. However, now, you couldn’t help but question everything.

“Dad?” Jack spoke, catching his father’s attention as he helped put his backpack on. “When is Y/N coming back?”

It had been a week since you and Aaron broke up, and the impact of the decision weighed heavily on both of you. In the aftermath, you moved out of Aaron’s apartment, leaving behind the memories of a once loving relationship. Aaron struggled with the reality that you weren’t living with him anymore. He had tried to apologize and convince you to reconsider, but you remained firm in your decision. You believed that taking some time and space apart was essential for both of you to figure out what you truly wanted.

“I’m not sure, buddy.” Aaron replied to Jack with a gentle smile, masking the turmoil within his heart. “Y/N needed some time to think about things, and we both agreed it was best to take some space for now.”

Jack frowned, sensing that something significant had changed. He missed having you around, and it was hard for him to understand the complexities of adult relationships. But he trusted his father and hoped that things would work out for the best.

Despite your desire for space, maintaining it was extremely challenging when you had to work together. Nevertheless, you were grateful that the rest of the team didn’t seem to notice any change in your demeanor towards each other. You made a concerted effort to act as you always did while on the job, which wasn’t too difficult, considering you had always portrayed your relationship as strictly professional, pretending to know each other only as coworkers.

Aaron despised himself for not being open and honest with you that night, for jeopardizing the relationship you had built over the years. He loved you deeply, and the thought of marrying you had crossed his mind countless times. However, fear had gripped his heart. The pain of losing Haley had left him hesitant about committing to another relationship, and he believed he could never truly move on. Yet, you had always supported him throughout that challenging time. Your constant presence by his side, understanding, and care had gradually allowed him to let go of his fears. Before he knew it, he had become deeply attached to you, and his love for you had grown immeasurably.

It wasn’t that he was ashamed of you that he didn’t want anyone to know about your relationship. Instead, Aaron feared that making it public might endanger you, given the high-stakes nature of their work and the potential risks involved. He wanted to protect you from any repercussions that might arise if their personal relationship were exposed in the often dangerous and unpredictable world they worked in. Although it pained him to keep your love hidden, he believed it was a necessary precaution to keep you safe. After Haley, he didn’t want to make the same mistake again.

Now, he felt utterly foolish. Regret washed over him as he realized he should have communicated with you more openly, explaining why he felt the way he did instead of leaving you to question his love. The pain of knowing that you thought he didn’t reciprocate your feelings, that you believed he was ashamed of you, weighed heavily on his heart.

He wished he could turn back time and find the courage to share his fears and concerns with you, to let you know just how much he loves and values you. The thought of causing you any hurt had never been his intention, but he had failed in expressing himself clearly.

The team sat aboard the private jet, en route to your destination for a new case that demanded your immediate attention. Three homicides, spread across different cities, all linked by a hauntingly similar MO. The victims shared connections that hinted at a calculated pattern, but local law enforcement had hit a dead end, prompting the call for FBI assistance.

Aaron and you purposefully chose seats away from each other, not wanting to add any awkwardness to the already tense situation. As the team delved further into the case, everyone meticulously examined the evidence within the case files.

You scanned through the disturbing details, striving not to let any grimace betray your inner emotions. Over the years, you had grown accustomed to such gruesome cases that it took an emotional toll on even the most seasoned profilers. Yet, you knew that suppressing your emotions was essential to focus on the task at hand.

“Morgan, Prentiss, and Elle, I want you three to check the latest victim’s crime scene and look for anything new. Reid, JJ, and L/N, I need you to head to the coroner’s office and examine the autopsy reports.” Aaron said, making brief eye contact with you for a second before turning his attention back to the team. “Rossi and I will head to the precinct to talk to the local PD and settle in.”

As soon as the jet landed, you, JJ, and Spencer swiftly made your way to one of the BAU SUVs and drove to the coroner’s office to examine the bodies. You were driving the car, while JJ was in the passenger seat, and Spencer was sitting in the back. You conversed with the other two throughout the entire drive, Spencer spitting his genius facts every now and then.

Once you made it inside, the three of you were greeted by the coroner, who led you to the room where the bodies were laid out. Carefully examining the wounds on the victims, you couldn’t help but notice something intriguing. “They’ve all been stabbed exactly twenty times, each stab in a different part of the body.” You stated, glancing at JJ and Spencer for their input. “This was rage.”

Spencer leaned in, his eyes narrowing with concentration. “The repetitive nature of the stab wounds indicates an intense emotional release, possibly stemming from deep-seated anger or frustration.”

JJ nodded in agreement, her empathy guiding her understanding of the crime scene. “Maybe the unsub had a personal vendetta against the victims, and he was trying to send a message with the way he’s stabbed them.”

Spencer couldn’t help but share one of his characteristic and oddly fascinating facts. “Did you know that throughout history, the number twenty has often been associated with completeness and cycles? It’s interesting that the unsub chose this specific number.”

You raised an eyebrow at him, contemplating the possibility. “Or maybe the number twenty was important to him? It could hold some significance to the unsub, and he chose it to exert control or leave a twisted signature on the victims.”

JJ nodded in agreement, her eyes reflecting the shared curiosity. “It’s definitely not uncommon for unsubs to attach meaning to their actions or rituals. The number twenty might be a representation of something personal or symbolic to him.”

Spencer’s eyes lit up, adding on to you and JJ. “Numerology has been linked to criminal behavior in certain cases. The choice of numbers might reflect the unsub’s belief in its power or its alignment with his twisted motives.”

As you carefully examined the stab wounds on the victims’ lifeless bodies, a particular detail caught your attention. There was an absence of significant bleeding around the wound sites. The wounds appeared uniform in depth and angle, lacking the telltale signs of hemorrhage typically associated with antemortem stabbings.

You turned to the coroner with a furrowed brow. “These stab wounds...they seem different from typical antemortem injuries. Is there any indication that the victims might have been submerged in water before the stabbing?”

The coroner paused, considering your observation. “Well, we did find traces of water in the airways and lungs of all the victims during the autopsies.” The coroner replied. “It’s possible they were drowned before the stabbings occurred.”

“He’s drowning them and then stabbing them?” JJ questioned, her arms crossed against her chest. “What about signs of sexual assault?”

The coroner shook her head. “There were no signs of sexual assault in the report.”

Spencer chimed in, his gaze intense. “It’s possible that this unsub’s violent ritual provides him with a sense of release. The act of drowning the victims may serve as a form of control or domination, followed by the symbolic significance of twenty stabs, and perhaps linked to a personal obsession or fixation.”

You added to Spencer’s insight. “The number twenty might hold significant meaning to him, reinforcing the notion that these killings are deeply personal and methodically planned.”

JJ looked troubled, contemplating the unsettling pattern before you. “If he’s targeting the victims like this, he might have a connection to them. Something in their past could be triggering this cycle of violence.”

You nodded your head, your gaze remaining fixated on the lifeless forms. “Let’s head back and meet with the others.”

The three of you met up with the rest of the team at the precinct, where you all gathered around the crime board, sharing your findings and insights from the investigations. As each detail was added to the board, the case started to take shape, revealing disturbing connections and patterns.

Throughout the meeting, you couldn’t help but sense Aaron’s occasional glances in your direction. Part of you hoped he would approach you and start a conversation, maybe even attempt to mend what was broken between you both. Yet, another part of you felt a tinge of relief that he hadn’t approached you, as facing him would only reopen the wounds that were still raw.

It had only been a week since the painful breakup, and you found yourself torn between wanting to be understood and yearning for his apologies, and the need to protect yourself from further heartache. The longing for him to realize his mistakes, coupled with the desire to put the pieces of your life back together, weighed heavily on your emotions.

You also couldn’t help but miss Jack dearly. Saying goodbye to him before you left had been one of the hardest moments, knowing that he couldn’t fully comprehend the reasons behind your departure. The memories of the mornings you spent with him, preparing breakfast and engaging in playful moments, tugged at your heartstrings. You had cherished those moments, but you knew that staying in an emotionally draining situation wouldn’t be fair to either of you.

At the end of the day, exhaustion weighed heavily on the entire team, the toll of the stressful investigation demanding a much-needed rest. However, they were confident in the amount of evidence gathered, giving them a solid foundation to construct a profile when they regrouped.

Reaching the hotel, the team bid each other farewell, knowing they’d reconvene in the morning to continue the investigation. You let out a weary sigh as you entered your room, eager to collapse onto your bed. Shutting the door behind you, you finally allowed yourself a moment of peace. Without delay, you made your way to the bathroom, seeking to refresh yourself after the intense day.

Emerging from the shower, you felt more relaxed. After brushing your teeth, you slipped into comfortable sleepwear, embracing the coziness that enveloped you.

As you were about to settle into your bed, there was a knock on your door. Confusion washed over you, wondering who could be visiting at this hour. Walking cautiously to the door, you peered through the peephole and let out a soft sigh upon recognizing Aaron’s familiar face.

You opened the door, raising an eyebrow, giving him the signal to speak. His nervous demeanor was uncharacteristic of the stoic Aaron Hotchner, who rarely showed any signs of anxiety.

“Can I come in?” He asked, and a part of you wanted to roll your eyes at his request, but you held back your emotions. Suppressing a disgruntled noise, you opened the door wider, allowing him to enter your room.

Aaron wasted no time, quickly stepping inside as if he feared you might change your mind and shut the door on him. His uneasiness was palpable, and you couldn’t help but wonder what had driven him to seek you out in this vulnerable state.

With the door closed, you faced him, waiting for an explanation as to why he had come to your room at this late hour. “How are you?” He questioned, and you almost scoffed.

“What do you need?” You asked instead, completely ignoring his question.

His heart twinged with pain when he heard your voice, sensing the coldness in your tone, a reflection of the hurt he had caused. Taking a deep breath, he gathered his courage, determined to make things right. “I wanted to apologize for everything. I hated how things ended between us, and if I could turn back time, I would do so in a heartbeat just so I wouldn’t be the one who broke your heart.”

Your arms were crossed protectively over your chest, and he could see the struggle behind your eyes as you fought back tears. The mere week of separation had been agonizing, making him yearn for your presence more than ever. He longed to hold you in his arms again, to kiss you like they had for the past four years. But he understood that he couldn’t expect you to forgive him so easily.

“Jack misses you.” He continued, his voice laced with regret. “He asks for you every day, wondering if you’ll come back. It breaks my heart each time he does.” Your heart ached for the little boy, whom you had grown to cherish as your own. “And I miss you too, more than I can put into words. I’m willing to do anything and everything to fix things.”

Your gaze locked with his, and he saw the emotions swirling within you. “Aaron, I don’t know.” You began, and he felt his heart drop, fearing your answer. “How do I know you won’t do the same thing again? You’re only saying this because you realized what you had after you lost me.”

He shook his head, almost reaching for your hands but stopping himself, respecting the space you needed. “No, that’s not true. I’ve always loved you, Y/N. Yes, I was an absolute idiot, but I’m not just saying this because I realized what I had after I lost you. You mean the world to me, and I love you. If you just let me show you that I won’t make the same mistake ever again. I want everyone to know you’re mine, and it was never my intention to hide you away. I love you, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make things right.” His voice was filled with sincerity, pleading for another chance to prove his love and commitment to you.

You bit your bottom lip, trying to think of what to say. “Aaron, I think I need some time.” You said, truthfully. “I just need some space to figure out what I truly want. Throughout all these years, I’ve longed for you to prioritize us, but it never happened. Maybe I was too naive to believe it ever would.” Taking a deep breath, you closed your eyes, avoiding the pained look on his face. “I love you, too, but I can’t ignore the fact that I wanted you to put me first, instead of this job, and to consider a future together. I wanted to get married, but I don’t think you felt the same.”

He was about to say something, but you held up a finger, needing to continue.

“Honestly, I probably wouldn’t marry myself either.” You confessed softly. “I’ve spent so much time trying to please everyone, especially you. It’s been exhausting, trying to be the perfect girlfriend or even a future wife, when it felt like I was the only one making an effort. I sent you countless signals, hoping you’d notice, but it seemed like you didn’t want to acknowledge the cracks in our relationship.”

You let out a deep breath, relieved to have finally expressed your thoughts that had been brewing for months. Opening your eyes, you looked at Aaron, and his broken appearance tugged at your heartstrings. You longed to turn his frown into a smile, to fix everything, but you knew it wasn’t that simple.

“You’re wrong.” He finally spoke, his voice cracking with emotion. You furrowed your eyebrows in confusion, listening intently. “Of course I wanted to marry you.” He continued, his eyes searching yours for understanding. “But I was just too scared.”

“Scared of what?” You asked softly, urging him to open up.

“Of losing you, though it seems like I already did.” He said, a sad chuckle escaping his lips that didn’t reach his eyes. “After Haley, I never thought I would be capable of falling in love again. I had built walls around my heart, convinced it was safer that way. But then you were always there for me and I let myself fall for you, and it scared me.” He paused, gathering his thoughts, and continued. “I couldn’t bear the thought of putting you in danger because of this job, just like I did with Haley and Jack. I blamed myself for her death, and I didn’t want history to repeat itself. That’s why I kept our relationship hidden. I was afraid it would expose you to unnecessary risks.”

Tears welled up in your eyes as you listened to his heartfelt confession. “Aaron.” You said, your voice filled with empathy. “You didn’t have to carry all that burden alone. We could have faced it together.”

He nodded, his eyes filled with remorse. “I know, and I should have trusted us more. But my fear consumed me, and I made a terrible mistake by pushing you away.”

You walked closer and reached out to gently touch his cheek, feeling the warmth of his skin beneath your fingertips. “I understand why you did what you did, but it hurt to be kept in the dark. We could have faced those fears together as a team, just like we always do in these cases.”

“I know, and I wish I had the strength to open up to you sooner.” He whispered, leaning into your touch. “I’m so sorry.”

You leaned your forehead against his, savoring the closeness between you. Bringing your free hand to touch his other cheek, you felt his arms wrap around your waist, drawing you even closer to him. “This could have gone so differently if you had opened up to me, Aaron.” You whispered, looking into his eyes with sincerity. “But I still think we need some time apart. Just for a little bit.”

He closed his eyes, absorbing your words, and then nodded his head. “I know, and if that’s what you want, then I won’t oppose it.”

“Okay.” You whispered back, feeling a mix of sadness and hope in your heart. He stepped back, giving you a soft smile, before he turned to walk towards the door. “Wait.” You called out, stopping him in his tracks. He turned around, and without hesitation, you gently cupped his face in your hands and leaned up to kiss him on the lips. It was a tender, lingering kiss, full of unspoken emotions. He held onto your hands, cherishing the brief moments of the kiss, until you finally let go. “Goodnight.” You murmured, your voice tinged with both affection and uncertainty.

He looked dazed, as if he were in some sort of dream, processing the intensity of the moment. He tried his best to speak, finally managing a quiet “Goodnight” before he turned and left your room.

The next day, the team gathered at the precinct, ready to delve into the evidence with fresh eyes after sleeping. However, it was a restless night for both you and Aaron. Sleep seemed elusive as you tossed and turned, your mind consumed with thoughts of everything Aaron had said. Meanwhile, Aaron found himself replaying the kiss you shared before he left, and he couldn’t shake the weight of your words and emotions regarding your relationship and his actions.

After a few hours of relentless effort, Penelope’s expertise paid off, and she managed to uncover a name and address for the unsub. Putting on your bulletproof vests, the team raced to the SUVs, determined to catch the dangerous individual before he could harm anyone else.

Arriving at the address, you were met with an empty house. The unsub was nowhere to be seen, so you scanned the surroundings for any possible clues. Aaron spoke up, his voice firm. “We need to find any leads, any hints on where he might keep his victims.”

The team split up, meticulously combing through the scene, searching for any shred of evidence that could provide a much-needed breakthrough. The tension was palpable, knowing that every moment counted in preventing further tragedy.

As you examined the area, some of the photos on the wall caught your eye. The pictures consisted of different landscapes, however, when you looked more closely, the pictures seemed to be connected despite it being in separate frames. You called the team over and examined the photos, sending them over to Penelope to help find the location.

Penelope’s voice came through on the comms, her excitement evident. “Guys, I think I’ve found something. The pictures seem to be at a park near the house! I’m sending you the address now!”

As soon as you got the address, you raced out of the house and back into the waiting SUVs, speeding towards the destination. Upon arriving at the location, you split into groups. You, Elle, and Emily formed a team, eyes fixed on the abandoned warehouse nearby. Silently, you pointed towards the building, an unspoken agreement passing between you. You slowly and quietly walked, guns at the ready as you approached the structure.

You skillfully maneuvered around the back, while Elle and Emily advanced with their guns and flashlight inside, searching the shadows for any traces of the unsub. As you searched the back and began to think it was clear, you suddenly felt a forceful grip clamp over your mouth, muffling any sound you might have made. Before you could react, a sharp impact hit your head, sending you reeling into temporary darkness.

As you gradually regained consciousness, your surroundings came into focus, and panic washed over you at the sight of the unsub standing before you. Fear pulsed through your veins as you realized you were weaponless and vulnerable. His sinister laughter sent shivers down your spine, and you knew you had to act fast.

His sadistic grin filled you with dread as he taunted you, relishing the power he held over you. Every instinct urged you to escape, but he had already restrained you with a cruel grip, leaving you little room to maneuver. Your heart pounded in your chest, and you desperately scanned your surroundings for any possible means of escape.

As terror surged through your veins, you realized you were next to a lake. The sight of its dark waters filled you with dread, as you knew the unsub intended to use it against you. With adrenaline coursing through your veins, you drew upon every ounce of strength you possessed, mustering a deafening scream in hopes that your team would hear you.

But the unsub was swift as well. Before you could make a move, he forcefully plunged you into the icy water. The coldness was shocking, stealing your breath away as he held you submerged. Panic surged through you as you fought against his unyielding grasp, struggling to resurface for air.

Despite your efforts, he held you down, with no chance of escape. Each time you managed to rise, gasping for breath, he mercilessly forced you back into the depths, determined to drown you just like all the other victims.

As darkness threatened to consume you, your mind raced with thoughts of your team. You wondered if they were close, if they could hear your cries for help, and if they would find you in time. You didn’t even know if they were nearby or if the unsub took you to a different location while you were knocked out. The uncertainty only deepened your desperation, as you clung to the hope that rescue was on its way.

As you struggled to hold on, your strength waned, and you found yourself slipping away, succumbing to the relentless pressure of the unsub’s grip. Helplessly, you surrendered to the suffocating darkness that surrounded you. That’s when a sudden, deafening gunshot pierced the air, tearing through the silence.

In the blink of an eye, the unsub’s hold on you loosened, and you were released from his grasp. He tumbled into the water, gone with a well-aimed bullet through his head. Aaron dropped his gun and leaped into the water without hesitation, desperately reaching for your lifeless form before it could go any deeper.

Emerging from the water’s grasp, Aaron clutched you tightly in his arms as the rest of the team rushed to assist. His heart raced with panic, his mind consumed by the fear of losing you. You were unresponsive, your eyes closed, and the once rhythmic rise and fall of your chest had ceased. Time seemed to stand still as he began chest compressions and performed CPR, his every action fueled by a desperation to revive you.

He had tears streaming down his face and his voice trembled with emotion as he begged you to fight, to come back to him. He refused to accept that this could be the end, that he might lose the person he loved with his entire heart once again. The rest of the team looked on, their hearts heavy with concern, but also filled with hope as they witnessed Aaron’s efforts to bring you back.

Derek kneeled beside Aaron, gripping his shoulders with urgency as he tried to intervene. “Hotch! Stop! Let someone else take over!” He yelled, attempting to divert his attention.

But Aaron was relentless, his focus solely on you. He brushed Derek’s hands aside, determination etched across his face. “I won’t stop until she’s awake.” He declared, resuming his life-saving efforts without a second thought. With every ounce of strength he possessed, he continued to administer CPR.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, you coughed and sputtered, water escaping from your lungs. Gasping for air, you struggled to find your breath. Aaron’s arms enveloped you in a tight embrace, holding you close as you fought to regain your composure.

“Oh, thank God.” Emily breathed, her hand pressed against her chest, relief washing over her after the initial fear.

Aaron released his hold on you, and Derek immediately enveloped you in a tight embrace. “Babygirl, you scared all of us.” He murmured, still feeling shaken by the close call. Elle, not one to be left out, quickly shoved Derek away and hugged you with genuine concern.

“We should’ve never let you go out there by yourself.” Elle expressed, feeling guilty that they had split up. “I’m so sorry.”

Emily, kneeling beside you, placed a reassuring hand on your back. “We should’ve gone together.”

You shook your head, offering a small smile to your caring teammates. “Stop blaming yourselves. It wasn’t your fault. You couldn’t have known what would happen. At least I’m okay now.”

“Yeah, but you were dead for a few minutes.” Emily retorted with a scoff, still grappling with the shock of the situation.

You understood their concern, but you also knew that in their line of work, these moments were unfortunately part of the job. You reassured them. “I’m alright now, thanks to all of you.” And Aaron. You thought. You locked eyes with him, offering a reassuring smile. Though he didn’t return the smile, the glint in his eyes spoke volumes, telling you how grateful he was that you were still alive.

The EMT’s thoroughly checked you over, ensuring there were no other injuries, and concluded that you were fine. You sat at the back of the ambulance, swinging your legs back and forth, absently touching the bandage on your forehead where the unsub had hit you.

As you looked around, you saw the scene filled with law enforcement personnel. The unsub’s lifeless body was being carried away on a gurney, wrapped in a white sheet. A mix of relief and anger washed over you. Relief that he could no longer harm anyone else, and anger that he had taken the easy way out, escaping true justice.

Turning to your right, you noticed Aaron glancing back at you from time to time. Summoning some courage, you raised a hand and waved at him. This time, he smiled. A small yet genuine gesture that warmed your heart. Derek, ever the observant one, caught the interaction and couldn’t help but smirk. Playfully, he nudged Aaron on the shoulder, urging him to talk to you. Aaron, true to his stoic self, gave Derek a brief glare, which only made Derek raise his hands in surrender, laughing as he watched his boss walk away.

Aaron’s voice softened as he spoke, genuine concern in his eyes. “Are you okay? Do you need anything?”

You smiled, appreciating his caring nature. “I’m fine, Aaron.” Patting the spot next to you, you invited him to sit, and he obliged. Turning to face him, you brought your legs up to your chest. “Thank you for saving me.”

He shook his head, gazing up at the sky. “Don’t thank me. I’m just grateful that you’re alive.” His eyes met yours, and you could see the tears welling up. “I should’ve been there to protect you. I shouldn’t have let you go by yourself.”

You reached out to touch his cheek, trying to console him. “It’s not your fault, Aaron. I made the choice to check the back alone while Elle and Emily went inside. The blame lies solely on the unsub. Please, don’t carry that burden on yourself.” As he attempted to hold your hand, you pulled away slightly, causing his heart to ache. You were aware of your team’s eyes on you and didn’t want to fuel any rumors.

“Sorry, they might see us.” You explained.

He scoffed, refusing to let go of your hands. “I don’t care if they see us. It would be a miracle if they didn’t suspect anything. I was going insane while trying to save your life.”

“Aaron–”

“I want everyone to know about us. I don’t care anymore. I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe, but I will not let you go. You mean everything to me, and I’m sorry for everything.” His voice trembled with emotion. “Seeing you out there, not breathing, holding your lifeless body in my arms...I swear I didn’t know what I was going to do if you were gone. I love you, Y/N. And I will love you until the day I die.”

At his heartfelt words, you couldn’t contain yourself any longer. You pressed your lips firmly against his, cupping his face with your hands. He held onto your hands, responding with passion and intensity. The week had been long and stressful, but with Aaron finally admitting he didn’t care who saw you together, you embraced the moment, cherishing the love you shared with the man you couldn’t imagine living without.

You pulled away slightly, looking deeply into his eyes. “I love you too.”

“Marry me.” Aaron said, his voice filled with sincerity.

The shock registered on your face, mouth agape. “What?” You asked, your heart pounding.

“Okay, this wasn’t the way I planned on proposing to you, but I couldn’t wait anymore.” He chuckled, leaning his forehead against yours. “Will you marry me?”

You raised an eyebrow, playfully teasing. “I don’t see a ring anywhere.”

He rolled his eyes, a soft smile on his lips. “The ring’s hidden in my desk drawer at the office. I was waiting for the right time to propose, but I can’t wait any longer.”

Your eyes softened, and your heart warmed at his sweet gesture. “You bought a ring?”

Aaron nodded, gently kissing your hands. “I told you, I wanted to marry you. I want to marry you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Tears welled up in your eyes, but you quickly wiped them away, trying to contain your emotions. “Yes, Aaron Hotchner. I will marry you.” You said, a mixture of excitement and love in your voice.

He grinned, relief and happiness evident in his expression. “You will?” He whispered.

“Yes, a million times yes.” You replied, your heart soaring at the prospect of spending your life with the man you loved.

With that, Aaron pulled you into a tight embrace, his lips meeting yours in a passionate and loving kiss. The world around you faded away, and all that mattered was the promise of a future together, as partners in both love and life.

“Did you guys really think we didn’t know you two were together all this time?” Rossi questioned, a playful glint in his eyes as the team sat together on the jet, heading home after a successful case. “We aren’t profilers for nothing.”

Aaron rolled his eyes, trying to focus on the paperwork spread out on the table. You couldn’t help but chuckle at the lighthearted teasing. Finally feeling content in your life, you leaned back in your seat, feeling the warmth of Aaron’s presence beside you.

“It’s true.” Spencer chimed in with a smile. “We always knew you two were dating, but we didn’t say anything because you thought we didn’t know. It’s pretty funny, considering all the looks you give each other when–”

“Reid.” Aaron interrupted, cutting off the young genius before he could go further. The team stifled a laugh as Spencer mumbled out a quick “Sorry,” a sheepish smile on his face, and returned to his book.

JJ grinned mischievously. “Oh, come on, Hotch. We’ve seen the way you look at Y/N, and the way Y/N looks back.”

Elle nodded, adding her own insight. “Yeah, it was kind of adorable watching you two try to keep it a secret.”

You exchanged a knowing glance with Aaron, feeling a mix of amusement and affection. “Well, I guess we weren’t as subtle as we thought.” You admitted, a smile tugging at your lips.

His lips threatened to curl up into a smile, and you noticed it, playfully bumping your shoulders against his. He tried to maintain his composure, looking away and focusing his attention back on the paperwork, but his mind seemed to betray him as a soft smile tugged at the corners of his lips.

You couldn’t help but feel a surge of happiness at seeing that smile, knowing that you were the one who could bring it out in him. He was the tough and stoic leader to everyone else, but with you, he allowed himself to be vulnerable and open.

The rest of the team had amused grins on their faces, watching the two of you with knowing looks. Their usual boss, who rarely showed any emotion, appeared so content and happy whenever you were around. It was a sight they cherished, seeing the man they respected and admired, smile genuinely because of you.

As the night grew on, everyone on the jet was asleep, but you and Aaron were still awake. You laid your head on Aaron’s shoulder, your hand clasped with one of his, as he continued looking through the paperwork. It was a habit for him to bury himself in work, even during quiet moments like this.

You gently nudged the papers away, and he raised an eyebrow at you. “Stop, you need to sleep.”

“You need to sleep, too.” He whispered, his lips pressing against the top of your head in a tender gesture.

You sighed softly, giving him a determined look. “Okay, but you have to stop this. You can look at these when we get back, but for now, you need rest.”

A playful grin spread across his face, and he leaned forward to capture your lips in a sweet kiss. “Anything for you.”

You gladly kissed him back, feeling a rush of warmth and love for this man. His dedication to his job and his team was commendable, but you also wanted him to take care of himself. He deserved rest and peace, especially after the intense case and the events of the day.

You settled into a comfortable position, still holding each other’s hands, and let the gentle hum of the jet lull you both to sleep. In each other’s arms, you felt a sense of comfort that reassured you, everything had a way of falling into place as it was meant to be.

[dark-fics-4-you]

Desperate Measures ch. III

Warnings: noncon, smut, forced pregnancy, gaslighting, abusive relationship

Note: this chapter is kinda short, and it’s basically just smut so enjoy

Gazing up at the ceiling in a daze, you were brought back to the moment when Rafe snapped his fingers in front of your face.

“Still in there, princess?”

Your eyes blurred with more tears, a strange thing, you thought. You didn’t think you had any more energy to cry, but your body was proving you wrong once again.

You blinked the tears away before meeting Rafe’s gaze, you could barely hold your head up.

You flinched as he stretched his hand toward your face, brushing his fingers over the red, angry skin of your cheek where he struck you earlier. The tender gesture made you feel sick to your stomach.

“You know, this wouldn’t have to happen if you just listened to me, Y/N.” He mumbled and you whimpered when you felt him begin to slowly roll his hips against yours.

It had been hours of him rutting into you, tunnel vision so intense that by the fourth round when he pushed his cock into your sore cunt, you gave up on fighting back.

“Please no- Rafe-" your protests were swallowed when he covered your lips with his own. A hand tangled into your hair, tugging your head back to deepen the kiss.

You gasped against his mouth when he began to thrust into you faster, disgusted by the sound of his cum squelching inside of you and helping him push deeper into you.

His lips trailed from your mouth down to your neck, sucking at the tender skin. “Just imagine it, Y/N,” Rafe’s raspy voice could barely containing his excitement. “A bunch of little Camerons…”

Revulsion filled your gut and you blinked your teary eyes, lip trembling as you looked past Rafe.

You tensed when you felt his fingers find your tender clit, unable to hold back your mewl. Burning shame spread across your face when Rafe chuckled.

“Are you gonna try to tell me you don’t want this again? After I’ve made you cum over and over again tonight, hmm?” The condescending bite to his voice pierced through you, doubt beginning to plant itself in your mind.

“Rafe, I don’t- I’m-!” Before you could finish the thought, his hand gripped your throat, cutting off your oxygen supply and shutting you up.

The feeling of him inside you, thrusting at a dizzying tempo had your legs shaking around him. Another twitch of his fingers at your clit and your vision went dark, stars exploding behind your eyes as you squeezed around him. You could feel his fingers closing further around your throat as he fucked you through your orgasm.

“That’s right babygirl, milk my cock,” Rafe taunted as he loomed over you. “So fucking tight when you’re all fucked out and used.”

You choked as his grip around your throat tightened and you looked up at him, panicked, with fearful eyes while your fingers grasped at the ones around your neck desperately.

“It doesn’t have to be this hard, Y/N,” he scowled, “I had to go through a lot of trouble to get you back. Really, you should be fucking grateful that someone actually cares enough about you to want to give you a better life.”

Hurt and anger burned within you. Anger at yourself for sleeping with him the night of the party and rage at Rafe for everything he had done to you since.

And everything he was planning on forcing you to do.

Your chest was tightening from the lack of oxygen, vision growing blurry around the edges and you knew you had to do something to get his hands off your neck.

Rafe let out a frustrated grunt when he felt your nails begin to claw at his hands, scratching with so much fervor you accidentally dragged them against your own tender neck, gasping for breaths when he finally released you.

“Stupid bitch!” The blond roared, staring frantically at the blood you had drawn on his hands.

His nose wrinkled, eyebrows coming together as he sneered, shaking his head and laughing at you, “You really are only good for one thing.”

You tried to protest when Rafe flipped you over onto your knees, pushing deeper into you to make sure you couldn’t get away. Your tears ran down onto the hand he had clamped over your mouth to stop you from screaming.

His hips snapped against your ass as he fucked you harder, his cock dragging agonizingly against your walls.

“Just stay fucking quiet, be a good girl, and I might let you cum again.”

[foreverdolly]

𝐅𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐇𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞 | 𝐛𝐨𝐬𝐬!𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐱 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

summary: you’re hoping to make a good impression on your new boss. there’s just one problem: he’s an asshole. a very hot asshole.

pairings: boss!austin x employee!reader

word count: 2.2k

warning/notes: you guys have begged for more fake dating, so here it is. the beginning of what will be the end. this love story is adorable, and their dynamic is my absolute favorite. can't wait to post part three in the next week.

↰ previous part | next part ↱

“Well I heard he’s quite the looker.” Sophia mumbled under her breath, practically jogging to keep up with your long strides. The last thing you wanted was to be late for the big floor meeting, especially since you were about to be introduced to your new boss. That would be the icing on the shitty cake. Still, you refused to let this morning's parking ticket ruin your good mood. 

“Who said that? Nobody aside from Jeff has seen him, and that was only to finalize his paperwork.” One of the plant's leaves slapped you in the face as you began climbing the stairs, and with a groan you tucked the pot a little closer to your side, freeing up your vision so that you wouldn’t fall forward and bust your ass. You had picked up a little welcome gift for the newbie last night during your trip to the grocery store. It was only once you had gotten home that you realized that the plant didn’t have any plastic marker that stated its “preferences”. You hoped your newfound boss wouldn’t mind doing some googling in order to take care of his new greenery. Thankfully the man would be getting one of the nicer offices, which meant he’d have window space. 

“Martha from the first floor. She greeted him last week when he ran by to sign some papers.” Sophia was already out of breath from quickly climbing the stairs, muttering a few curse words as she tried to keep up with you and your fast pace. 

Martha was also a fifty year old crazy cat lady, so her saying that the mystery man was “handsome” meant nothing to you. If anything you were even more suspect about his good looks than you had been before. You let out a breathy laugh, freeing up one of your hands to open up the door for your best friend. 

“Martha also thinks that the mail delivery guy is a “looker”, and that guy has a receding hairline and buck teeth.” You were quick to fire back. 

Sophia looked like she wanted to argue, but stopped herself, a thoughtful look befalling her face. “Yeah. . . no, you’re totally right. Why didn’t I think of that? He’s probably going to have two heads.” 

You laughed loudly at that, turning to face your best friend as you continued the familiar walk to the conference room. “He’s probably bald- oof!” You grunted as you walked into a solid chest, the potted plant nearly flying out of your grasp. 

The person that you bumped into moved lightening fast, strong arms coming to wrap around both the pot and your arms. A little bit of dirt fell on the ground, and as you stared down at it you began to feel sorry for Javie, the janitor. You loved that tiny man. Behind you Sophia sucked in a breath, though you were too embarrassed to really pay attention to anything else other than the stranger’s dirt covered sleeve. You reached out, brushing off their nice- very expensive- blazer. 

“God, I should have been paying better attention to where I was walking. I’m so sorry.” You apologized, looking up at who you thought was Jeff. 

Because this person was practically a giant compared to most of the people on this floor, and the outfit and shoes? That was at least two months worth of your pay- if not more. Designer, no doubt. When you looked up, rather than meeting Jeff’s familiar brown eyes- you were met with blue. 

And there he was, in all of his glory. Him being “quite the looker” was the understatement of the century. This man was a model. His wire rimmed glasses did nothing to make him look boyish. The stranger in front of you was all man. For a few seconds all the two of you did was stare at each other. The blonde looked just as stunned as you did, his plush lips softly parted, eyes wide as he took in your features. After a moment he cleared his throat, his jaw clenching as he must have realized that the two of you were blocking hallway traffic, his hands still firmly wrapped around you. 

“We’re about to be late for the meeting.” He took a step back, and the loss of his firm grip on your arm nearly took your breath away.

Within seconds his warm, even soft blue eyes had hardened, his outwardly caring exterior turning ice cold. You tossed a look behind you at Sophia, dropping your jaw animatedly only for her to see before moving quickly to fall in step next to your new boss. “I’m so sorry about your blazer. I’ll pay for the dry cleaning-” 

He was already unbuttoning the soiled jacket, shrugging it off of his broad shoulders so that he was only standing in his crisp button up shirt and tie. His waist was narrow, accentuated by his belt. You could tell he was fit underneath all of those clothes. You hated yourself for it, but you were practically drooling. 

“Don’t worry about it. Just work hard for me from now on and we’ll call it even. Yeah?” He cut his eyes over towards you, and though you wanted to shrink under his gaze you merely held your head high and nodded. You were above outwardly fawning over the new guy. 

You weren’t, however, above silently crushing from afar. 

The man commanded the room unlike anything you’d ever seen before. Everything about his posture, his broad shoulders, and the surety of his actions told you that he meant business. Everybody stayed mostly silent as he introduced himself. Austin Butler. He looked like an Austin, you supposed. As he spoke you tried to rearrange the dirt in the pot with your fingers, smoothing it out so that it no longer looked ruined. The card in your purse suddenly seemed like overkill. You wanted him to think that you were nice, not a kiss ass. Then again, you needed to fix the horrible impression you had no doubt left him with earlier. He breezed out of the room the second that he was finished with the meeting, seemingly in a hurry to rid himself of the crowded room. Jeff was nowhere to be seen, but he had sent you an email earlier stating that he might be late coming back from lunch. His wife was out of town and their beloved cat, Mr Samson, hadn’t been eating well over the last week. You stood up, addressing the room with a bright smile. 

“Alright everyone, Jeff is going to be busy for the rest of the day, meaning you’ll either report directly to me or Mr Butler. Jenna? Can you drop by my cubicle before you leave today? I’ve got that Henderson file for you.” The blonde nodded, lazily joining the crowd as they dispersed out of the room. For a second you stood at the head of the long table, your eyes nervously darting back over to Sophia. 

“Thank god I work the payroll. I’d probably have a heart attack if I had to talk to Austin every day.” She mumbled, pretending to fan herself. 

You grabbed the plant off of the table, straightening out your shoulders as you walked over towards the door. “Well- let’s just hope that I didn’t fuck it up already. The last thing I need is for the guy to hate me.” 

You waved your goodbyes before heading straight towards the once unoccupied office. There were a few boxes on the floor, but there weren’t any decorations up yet. No pictures of wives or children, which you hoped meant that he was single. Not like you wanted to date him. . . just ogle from afar. You knocked on the open door, ducking your head in to shoot him one of your dazzling smiles. It usually worked on everyone. Almost everyone. Austin didn’t smile back. 

Your heart rate began to pick up as you held the plant up, giving it a gentle shake before placing it on the edge of his spotless desk. 

“It’s a little bit ironic, but I bought this for you. Consider it a welcome gift from me and my team.” Before he could say anything else, you were already digging into your purse, handing over the card too. 

He slowly took it from you, shooting you an incredulous look before opening it. You weren’t sure why. . . but his standoffish attitude was rubbing you the wrong way. Maybe it was the fact that he was outwardly perfect. You should have expected him to be rude. Pretty people are often rotten on the inside. You cleared your throat, pointing at the card. 

“Just a few words of encouragement. I thought it might make you feel a little more comfortable around all of these new faces. If you ever nee-” 

And then he did it. Did this thing. 

He sighed. He sighed like you were bothering him. Like your presence was a nuisance. Your face fell, your teeth clenched, and all at once you decided that you couldn’t stand Austin Butler. He was blowing you off. Shrugging off your kind gestures. Your unnecessarily kind gestures. Your hands balled up into fists at your sides as you tried to fight off the urge to slap the glasses right off of his pretty-boy face. 

“I’m not trying to be rude, but I’m really busy at the moment.” He was cool guying you. He was totally fucking cool guying you right now. 

“Oh,” Your voice had lowered an octave, shaking with anger. He seemed to notice, his eyes quickly flickering up to meet your face. “I can see that I came at the wrong time.”

You started to walk out of the office, flinching back slightly as you saw Jeff headed towards you with a bright smile. You were heatedly walking off in the direction of your cubicle before the older man could say anything to you. 

It was decided. Set in stone. 

You hated Austin Butler with a passion. 

“Well, what was that about?” Jeff closed the door behind him, nodding off in the direction of the female. 

Austin read over the name again and again, signed in her adorable handwriting. He let out another sigh, tossing the card down onto his desk before he covered his face with his hands. 

“I don’t know. I panicked. Shit, now she thinks I’m an asshole.” His office chair creaked as he leaned back, praying that the floor would swallow him up. 

He had been so overwhelmed in the meeting. He probably came off as cold, which was exactly what he didn’t want to do. His anxiety had gotten the best of him today, and you were proof. Because he had seen you in the hall before you bumped into him. He could have prevented all of that from happening. And how could he not see you? He had been so focused on your button up blouse and form fitting pencil skirt that he had forgotten how to function. And then he learns that not only are you working on the same floor, but working directly under him. Meaning that he would have to talk to you. Every day. Austin didn’t do crushes. He was a workaholic. He was the king of heating up leftovers and eating alone every night. He was too busy for relationships, so it shouldn’t matter that the prettiest girl he had ever seen was just a stone's throw away from him. Right? Right? 

“Well, you’re screwed now.” Jeff smiled smugly, crossing his arms over his chest, leaning back against the door. 

Austin’s heart jumped up to his throat, his mouth opening and closing as he tried to form a sentence. He looked like an idiot. 

“W-What do you mean? I’m screwed? Do you think she hates me? Already?” 

Jeff opened the door a crack, peeking his head out. Austin was quick to stand up from his desk, joining him by the door. And there you were, tossing your purse onto your desk like the inanimate object had personally offended you. He had the perfect view of you from his office. He was doomed. Jeff watched her for a few more seconds before clicking his tongue. 

“. . . Oh, definitely.” 

Austin tore the glasses off of his face, tossing them down onto his desk so that he could rub at his eyes exasperatedly. 

“How do I fix it? God. . . Should I go out there right now?” Austin motioned towards the door with one hand, loosening his tie with the other. It felt like it was choking him. 

“Take her out on a date.” Jeff was smiling smugly again, shaking his head in pretend disapproval. “I can’t believe you already offended the most hot headed female that I’ve ever met. I was gone for an hour.” 

Austin sucked in a breath, his knees buckling underneath him. He had to lean against the desk for support. “I’m not going to take her on a date. I’m her boss, Jeff.” The younger male practically gasped. 

Jeff opened the door, leaving the boy with some parting words.  “I wasn’t born yesterday, Butler. I give it. . . six months. You’ll see.”

@knoxvillesshoes@cosmorant@ol1viam@simply-sams-things@haim80s@gabbcabb@8hgel@slutt4him@busy-bee-angel-misska@kaitaesupremacy@dazedshoon @4rt3m1ss@cryingabtab@kittenlittle24@austinsrealgf@austinbutlersgirlfriend@clearbolts @dark-as-love@anni-secret-account-75@ab4eva@starcatchxr @julietamidala @obbsessivereader@gwuide@blurredcolour@the-little-red-haired-girl@meladollsims@poppet05@shrekstheloml@randomwriter888@idc123sworld@vane28282@mirandastuckinthe80s@girlblogger2002@rockerchick05@screechingstrawberrysong@simpforevery1@girlabirla@dre6ming@obetrolncocktails@fairyjanes@jensenswinchester@lo-bells @in-my-body-bag@fxntxsix@petrparkrslut@eliseinmemphis @lelifesaver @screaching-cookie@fantuhsise@areuirish @bcofl0ve@mslizziesblog@shynovelist@ssstrangersblog @harrysthecraic@hangmanswhore@jyvnho@mymamalife @melodydior

[celtic-crossbow]

Whumptober 2023

No. 22 Glass Shard

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Fem!Reader

Setting: Prison Era

Warnings: Injury, Blood

“Don’t take it out!” You swatted Daryl’s hands away from a large glass shard protruding from his right side. “You might bleed out. We don’t know if it hit anything vital.” He scowled at you and murmured something you couldn’t hear but dropped his hands to his sides. “Shouldn’t be picking fights.”

“Ain’t pickin’ no fights. We needed the meds n’ we got ‘em.” He snapped, walking toward the bike with his left hand below the injury. 

“Wait a minute! You can’t possibly think you’re driving us back like that!”

He looked at you like you’d sprouted another head. “Why wouldn’ I?”

Lord, give me patience. Don’t give me strength because I’ll kill him. You pinched the bridge of your nose. “You’ve been stabbed, Daryl. You’re bleeding. When someone bleeds a lot, they sometimes pass out. I’d rather not be behind you on a fricking motorcycle if that happens.”

Scowling again. Typical. “Ain’t gon’ pass out. Le’s go.”

You started to follow but decided against it. Appeasing his pride would get you both killed. Planting your feet, you crossed your arms. “No.”

Daryl had thrown his leg over and plopped heavily onto the seat, raising his brows at your brazen refusal. “Wha’?”

“You heard me. I said no.”

“Woman, don’ make me leave ya here.”

“You would never.” Your eyes narrowed in challenge, flickering down toward his boot when he toed up the kickstand. He really would never, right? When he started the engine, you really started to doubt but would not be swayed. He was already pale and sweaty, droplets of blood pooling behind his boot. With a deep breath, you squared your shoulders. Daryl cared about you. You had to believe that he wouldn’t leave you. 

He watched you with a stoic expression, only faltering once you stood straighter. He must look like shit if you wouldn’t trust him to get the both of you home. Lowering the kickstand, he shut off the bike. “Wha’s the plan?”

You blinked at him. 

“Ya let me start up the bike n’ make enough noise ta attract ev’ry walker in there n’ ya didn’t have a plan?” 

“Well I didn’t exactly think you’d try to bully me into letting you kill us, Daryl!” You dropped your arms and looked around while he muttered to himself. You spotted a pick up next to the gate. It must have belonged to the men that attacked you. The driver’s door was still open. Maybe they just happened to leave the keys and you wouldn’t need to hotwire the stupid thing. “Wha’re ya doin’ now?” The archer called after you when you sprinted toward the truck. 

You leaned inside with a spirited ‘yes!’ upon finding the keys in the ignition. Next up: fuel. “Please be enough. Please be enough.” You turned the key and watched the fuel gauge before leaning out. “Will just below half get us back?”

“Should.” He yelled back, getting off the bike. He stumbled but caught himself, leaving your heart hammering. You definitely couldn’t drag him to the passenger side, much less get him in there.

Climbing back out, you jogged over to help him. “Let’s get the bike in the back and I’ll drive, okay.”

Daryl only nodded. You pushed down your concern and opened the tailgate, helping him lift the bike into the back. Damn thing was fucking heavy but if you were hauling it, that was the only way to get it loaded. Panting, you closed it up just in time to see the man beside you sway on his feet. 

“Whoa!” Small hands grabbed his shoulders to steady him. “You okay? You’re looking a little pekid.” He was panting just as hard as you were, which wasn’t a shocker since the two of you just bench pressed a 400 pound bike into the back of a pickup. Probably not the best idea when one of you has a large piece of glass playing poke-the-vital-organ. 

He lifted his hands to gently grab your wrists, lowering your arms from his shoulders. “M’fine. Le’s jus’ get outta ‘ere. We got company.” A nod toward the area behind you had you turn toward the group of walkers approaching. 

“Okay, hop in.” You walked around him but slowed your steps to make sure he made it all the way to the passenger door. Sure, he was using the truck to steady himself the entire way but he finally climbed inside. You quickly slid behind the wheel and started up the engine. Once you pulled out onto the road, a little of the anxiety churning inside your chest dissipated. “We’ll get back just after dark, I think. Get Hershel to take a look at you.”

When he no more than hummed in reply, you glanced over at him. His head was against the window, eyes closed, lips parted to release shallow pants of breath. His skin glistened with sweat while holding a sickly pallor in stark contrast to the dark circles around his eyes. You would bet anything that if you touched his skin, it would be cold.

“Daryl? Daryl, your wound. How’s your wound?” You asked frantically, trying to split your attention between him and the road. 

“S’fine, Y/N. Jus’ drive.” 

“Let me see.” You requested softly, still trying to stay on course. 

“Drive. M’fine.” Daryl replied. He hadn’t opened his eyes at all. 

Mindful that neither of you were wearing seatbelts, you slowed to a stop and turned in the seat, grabbing at him to turn where you could see. He was slow to open his eyes. 

“Knock it off. Why we stopped?” The shove he gave you was gentle but enough to put some space between you. He didn’t expect you to come right back, this time to roughly grab his vest and pull him down across the seat. 

“You pulled it out?!” You yelled, pressing your hand over the steadily bleeding wound. His blood coated the interior of the door, the seat, and had puddled on the floor. “I said not to take it out, Daryl!”

“Didn’.” He replied quietly, sounding more than tired. “Got…got pulled out loadin’ the bike.”

You gaped at him. “And you didn’t think to say something?”

“Didn’ wanna worry ya. ‘Sides, m’fine.” His eyes slowly closed. “Doc’ll fix…me…righ’…”

“Daryl?” You kept one hand on the wound and used the other to shake him. “Daryl?! Goddamnit!” Peeling off your flannel overshirt, you folded it and pressed it against the injury, laying his arm over it to hold it in place. You climbed back behind the wheel, glad to have him lying across the seat so you could check his pulse while you hauled ass back to the prison. 

You found yourself carding your fingers through his hair, stroking his jaw, feeling his pulse, anything that let you know he was right there. His skin was so cold, his breaths so shallow that you could hardly feel the exhale at all. 

When the prison was within sight, you almost didn’t even stop to let them open the gates. 

Carol found you pacing outside by the picnic benches three hours after you had returned with Daryl. Three hours after you had leapt from the cab of the truck screaming for help. Three hours after you had collapsed to your knees watching Rick and Glenn carry Daryl inside. Three hours after you couldn’t find a pulse.

“He’s alive, Y/N.” The woman said softly. She sat down on top of one of the tables and watched you. You were thankful she had led with that but still couldn’t bring yourself to stop wearing a hole into the concrete. 

“But?” You weren’t naive. There was something more if she wanted to give you the good news first. Wanted you calmer. A very Carol tactic. You loved her for it but couldn’t entertain it. Not now. 

Carol could sense that. “Whatever he was stabbed with nicked his liver. Hershel was able to repair it but there was some internal bleeding. Hey,” she reached out to grab your hand. “He lost a lot of blood so he’s not out of the woods yet but he’s tough.”

“That’s the problem, though, isn’t it?” You laughed wryly. “Everyone thinks he’s invincible, so he feels like he has to be. He didn’t even tell me that he was bleeding out, Carol. He was just gonna sit there and…and…”

“Okay, okay, come here.” Carol pulled you to sit next to her, hugging you tightly. “You’re right. We need to make sure he knows that it’s okay to need help.” Pulling you back by your shoulders, she swept your hair out of your face. “And when he is better, we’ll get to work on that, okay?” You nodded, allowing her to wipe away your tears. “He’ll be okay.”

You sniffled and nodded again, more softly than the first time. “Can I see him?”

Daryl made it through the night. Hershel had said his chances of a full recovery only increased after that. You hadn’t slept much, but couldn’t bring yourself to close your eyes just yet. So you just sat in a chair by the bunk with your head lying on the mattress by his hand. Your own hand looked so small wrapped around his, your skin so much paler than his tan. You counted any freckles you found on his arm. You even cleaned from underneath his nails. 

Carol eventually came by with two bowls of oatmeal. You thanked her quietly while never raising from your spot. True to form, she came over and kissed the top of your head, giving your shoulder a squeeze. Her dainty hand then on Daryl’s bicep, gently rubbing up to his shoulder and back down before she walked out of the cell. 

Eventually, exhaustion won out. When you opened your eyes again, it was dark inside the cell. An almost burned out candle filled the room with dancing shadows but it was the eyes that reflected the flame that had your attention. 

“Daryl!” You leaned closer, touching his face, his neck, anywhere you could while his eyes followed you. “I’m so glad you’re awake. How are you feeling?”

“Tired.” His voice was rough from sleep and lack of use. He coughed weakly, face scrunching in pain before smoothing out again. “Thirsty.”

“Be right back.” You jogged from the cell to fetch some water and to let Hershel know Daryl had finally awoke. The veterinarian came not long after you had finished settling Daryl against the pillows once he had taken a few sips. 

“Blood pressure is a little lower than I’d like but that’s likely from the blood loss. Everything else looks real good, son.” He patted Daryl’s leg before standing with his crutches. “I’m sure you know you’re benched for a while though.”

“Yeah, figured.” Daryl shrugged a shoulder. He looked as though he could fall back asleep at any given moment. 

“Alright. I’ll check in tomorrow morning. Get some rest.” The older man stopped beside you and added “the both of you.” You gave him a nod and wished him goodnight. 

“Ya okay?” Daryl asked before you could even sit back down. You chose to sit on the edge of the mattress instead of the chair. 

“I’m fine now that I know you’re okay. You scared the hell out of me.”

“I know. M’sorry.” He answered quietly, his gaze falling away from yours. He knew exactly what you weren’t saying. “You should have told me.” 

“Hey.” You reached up to brush his hair away from his face, smiling and letting your hand come to rest on his cheek. “Don’t worry. We will be talking about this but I won’t yell at you until you feel better.”

“S’real comfortin’, Y/N.” His smirk was half-assed at best, either from fatigue or guilt. 

“I know. I have a great bedside manner.” You beamed. Getting to your feet, you moved closer to his own and crawled onto the bed and across his legs to his left side. He turned his head to watch you, each blink lasting longer than the one before it. 

“Guess it ain’t half bad.”

“Oh come on, it’s phenomenal. What other caregiver’s gonna crawl in bed with you and snuggle?”

“Hope ta hell Hershel don’ take notes from ya.”

“He had a hard time with the missing foot but you two looked super cozy when my shift began.” You snorted when he shrugged the shoulder you had cuddled against, jarring you back a little. 

“I can’ stand ya sometimes.”

“Pft, you love me.” You nuzzled your nose against his cheek before kissing it. He huffed a tired laugh and let his eyes drift shut. 

“Eh, I migh’.”

“Wait, what?” You blinked. “You might what? Daryl?” The only replies were his deep, even breaths. You laid your head back against his shoulder and watched him, biting back a wide smile. Now you had even more to talk about. 

[inquisimer]

i carried my own ashes to the mountains

for day 1 of @zevraholics' Zevwarden week 2023, tradition and trying new things - some pre-ship Nika and Zevran, a discussion of what will come of her return to Orzammar.

pairing: f!Brosca & Zevran word count: 1200 rating: general audiences tags: hurt/comfort, platonic relationships, fluff, a hint of pining if you squint

Nika stared at her reflection, warped and hazy in the frozen puddle outside their camp. A few hundred yards back through the trees their tents formed a half-circle around the fire. Beyond that loomed the peaks of the Frostback Mountains and within them, the gates to Orzammar.

Orzammar. Nearly three years gone since she’d left and going back now felt as intimidating as leaving with Duncan had then. Her fingertips traced over the faded brand on her cheek, newly bisected by a long, fresh scar. One of three—souvenirs from their battle with the dragon in Haven. Between that, and the weight on her shoulders, and the harsh cynicism regret had etched into her, she wondered if anyone in Orzammar would recognize the rebellious little casteless who dared defy their laws.

Part of her hoped they wouldn’t. Then she wouldn’t be alone in seeing a stranger in her face.

“Reminiscing, chapparita?”

A twig snapped under Zevran’s weight and Nika’s hand fell from her cheek as she glanced at him over her shoulder. She shrugged.

“Something like that, I suppose.”

Zevran hummed his doubt. Of all her companions, he would know. When they stumbled across his ill-conceived trap, she was still fresh-faced and sun-blind, lost without the cavernous Stone to ground her. She'd nearly shanked him in her anger. But his eyes shone with the wild desperation of someone who had absolutely nothing left to lose—he would have welcomed her blade, and it was a look so familiar that to see it in another shocked the rage right out of her.

He repaid her mercy with a curious devotion, sitting up with her through the coldest, darkest watches and fording paths when their inane quests took them through wilderness where even the smallest plants stood well above Nika's head. Bit by bit, he came to know her history, wheedling it out of her as none of the others had even tried to.

Things weren’t so different between the Carta and the Crows. Antiva's operation was larger and more storied, of course, but both were ruthless and cutthroat to a fault and you were only worth as much as the success of your last job. Nika didn't know many assassins, but she knew how they worked, and nothing builds trust like a mutually assured dagger in the back.

Zevran leaned against a tree and regarded her with a knowing look.

"You are apprehensive about returning to Orzammar."

"Am not."

He huffed, an aborted laugh that fogged the air around his mouth. "Dear Warden, there are at least seven paths that could have gotten us here sooner. And don't tell me you don't know of them," he added, for she'd opened her mouth to do exactly that. "I showed you how to read the map myself."

She rolled her eyes. "And?"

"And I think you should know that you do not need to run off into the woods with your woes." Zevran squatted at her side and tilted her face toward him with a knuckle on her chin. "You do not need to hide from me, chapparita. Not after everything."

"I know it's just..." Nika pursed her lips. "It's stupid. I just need a few moments to get it together."

"If it causes you distress, it cannot possibly be stupid."

"Yes it can," Nika grumped. "I get distressed by stupid things all the time. Rain and wagons. Broken lockpicks. Alistair."

"While amusing, this deflection won't save you." Zevran caught one of her hands and traced the calloused lines of her palm. "What troubles you so about returning home?"

"Home?" Nika scoffed. "Hardly a home. A place of origin, perhaps. But there was too much anger and never enough food to really call it a home."

"But you have family there, yes? Your sister and the young man...Lester?"

Nika's gut twisted. "Leske. And Rica, yes, they're still there. Or at least, I think they are. Some of the rumors coming up from Orzammar make me think there may well be nothing but carnage when we get there."

"Is that what troubles you, then?"

"Mmm not really. The city can tear itself to shreds for all I care, 'slong as Rica and Leske got out."

"Not worried about the city, not really worried about your family." Zevran tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Your reception upon return, then?"

Nika scrunched up her face. She really was quite transparent these days—if Behraht had been able to read her that well, she'd've never been allowed in the Carta, no matter how well Rica cleaned up. She glanced down at her griffon-stamped chestplate and sighed.

"I'm not the same person who left Dust Town," she finally said. "You know—you were there for most of the changing, the struggling, the growing."

"Not too much growing," Zevran teased, waving his hand over her head. She swatted at it and stuck her tongue out at him.

"The thing is, the time and the experience and even being a Warden—it won't matter to the people down there. You can't change your lot in life in Orzammar, so..."

She brought her fingers back to her marked cheek and Zevran’s gaze followed. "Once a brand, always a brand," she said bitterly. "I'm not even sure they'll listen to the treaties, not if I'm the one asking."

In the silence that followed, Nika stewed. She could feel Zevran considering her, but she didn’t want his comfort or his pity. Not when she had to walk back on the way the surface had changed her perspective. Not when she needed to be as cold and cruel as she’d ever been, to survive a return to Orzammar.

Gentle fingers caught her chin once more and this time the pad of Zevran’s thumb ghosted over the raised skin of her brand.

“They know you by this, as you were. But that is not who you are any longer so: have you considered…changing it?”

“How can I? It’s as much a part of me as my nose.”

“You misunderstand. I am not suggesting you attempt to remove it, anymore than I would suggest expunging your history before the Wardens.” Zevran dropped his hand to her shoulder and gently squeezed. “But the rest of you has changed on this venture. Should your face not change as well?”

Nika went very still. Her eyes darted back to the frozen puddle and the stranger reflected there. She imagined dark ink spiraling out around the blocky lines of the brand, weaving in and around the scar tissue, softening the hard border of the burden she’d worn like a prize all her life, just as this journey had softened all of her sharp edges.

In her heart, the idea slotted into place, so right that it immediately drew her out of her anxious melancholy. With eager eyes, she grabbed Zevran by the wrists.

“Can we do it now? Right now?”

A soft, warm smile crinkled the corners of Zevran’s eyes, a hint of wistfulness keeping it from catching at his mouth proper. But it swiftly gave way to his usual grin and he lifted her small frame effortlessly, swinging her onto his back.

“Of course, chapparita. We can begin whenever you like.”

[the-chosen-fanfiction]

Matthew | I Told You So | Romantic

Requested: Yes

Matthew proves wrong the doubtful Disciples when they question whether he indeed has a special someone back home.

With a tilted head, Matthew observes Thomas and Ramah across camp, narrowing his eyes in curiosity as one moves closer to the other, their gazes loving and affectionate. Something envious sparks within his gut, a feeling quite alien to Matthew, for he wishes he could be close to the one he holds dear to his heart. 

“You know that it is creepy to stare at people, but when you’re staring at two people who are very obviously in love with each other, it’s even more weird.” Simon Peter plants a hand on his hip as he catches Matthew’s current occupation after following the former tax-collector’s gaze, and Matthew sharply turns to the fisherman. 

“What?”

Simon chuffs. “You can’t just stare at people. And they are having a moment. I’m sure that you aren’t aware of these things, but when you find someone you love, you wouldn’t like being gawked at by some tax-collector.”

“Simon, stop picking on him.” Mary Magdalene interrupts their conversation, and Simon crosses his arms. 

“I’m just trying to teach him a life lesson. You’ll understand it in due time, Matthew, but I don’t expect you to know what it is like to have a special someone to make eyes at.”

Matthew shrugs and turns back to the clay writing tablet in his hands. “Actually, Simon, I do have a special someone back at home.” 

Simon’s eyes widen and Mary’s interest is piqued as well. Before Matthew can open his mouth to tell more, however, Simon whistles over his younger brother, who trots over to the others with a confused look on his face. 

“What’s happening?” Andrew asks.

Simon grins and nods at Matthew. “Our tax-collector here just claimed to have a special lady back in Capernaum. If that is the case, Matthew, we must know her as well! Come on, don’t be shy, tell who it is!”

Matthew, not really picking up the tone of Simon’s voice, who is still in doubt on the truthfulness of the tax-collector's words, finally opens up. “It’s (Y/n), the daughter of Jehoiakim.” 

Andrew lets out a sound of disbelief and Simon’s jaw falls open. “What, her? What does she have to do with a publicanus like you?” the curly-haired fisherman exclaims, “I always thought she was still a bachelorette.” His eyes suddenly shimmer a little disappointedly, “Well, if this is true, I’m glad that I haven’t made a fool out of myself by asking for her hand yet.”

“I don’t believe you.” Simon immediately retorts, “A lot of men have always been after her hand, why would she choose you of all people?”

Matthew blinks and fiddles with his handkerchief, formulating an answer. “W-Well, her parents and mine have arranged for us to be married ever since we were very young. We are just waiting for the right moment.”

Simon rolls his eyes and laughs, as if Matthew has just said something pretty funny, whilst Andrew looks rather defeated at the revelation. 

“Who is (Y/n)?” Mary pipes up, not familiar with the name. 

“(Y/n) is a woman in our village, neither of us knows her very well but we’ve seen her from time to time. I know that a few of our friends are interested in asking for her hand, so I’m curious to see how long Matthew can keep up his little joke.”

Matthew stands sharply and looks Simon straight in the eye, something he doesn’t often do, so it genuinely takes aback the son of Jonah. “I wouldn’t lie about such things, Simon.” he firmly states, “(Y/n) and I have been together for a long time.” 

“And everyone just failed to tell us? I don’t believe it.”

A tad nervously, Matthew lowers his gaze. “I think they kept it under wraps because of my occupation.”

“And (Y/n)’s parents still want to go through with it? My, they really have no spine, then!”

“Simon!” Mary snaps, “Stop being mean to him! Matthew, I would love to meet her one day.” She smiles at her abashed friend, “She sounds like she is a lovely person.”

Blushing slightly, Matthew nods at the thought of you. “She is, both inside and out.”

Andrew shakily exhales and runs a hand down his face. “I’m a fool. I’m such a fool, to think that I thought she was available!” Simon puts a hand on his shoulder and squeezes it. 

“Don’t worry, little brother. We’ll be going to Capernaum next week, so we’ll be able to see for ourselves.”

Whilst the sons of Jonah leave both Matthew and Mary behind to process the revelation, Ramah walks up together with Philip and Tamar, who give strange looks to the distressed form of Andrew retreating. 

“What’s wrong with him?” Ramah queries. 

Mary smiles. “Well, Matthew just told us he has a girlfriend.”

“He has?” Ramah squeals excitedly whilst Philip’s eyes widen in surprise and Tamar lets out a noise, “That’s wonderful, Matthew! Tell us all about her!”

Smiling, a tad bashful under the several pairs of eyes on him, Matthew shrinks, a fluster on his cheeks. “Her name is (Y/n), and she is my betrothed. And she’s very beautiful.”

Ramah grins and gives a dreamy sigh. “That’s amazing to hear!”

Tamar gestures towards the two fishermen who are now sitting a little away, the younger of the two sulking. “That doesn’t explain Andrew’s sour face.”

Mary shrugs before explaining: “Ah, it turns out that it isn’t exactly well-known that Matthew and (Y/n) are getting married, so he has just found out that he must look for another marriage candidate.” 

Philip whistles through his teeth and grins. “Good for you, Matthew!” he tells his friend, wrapping an arm around him, “I didn’t know you would be getting married soon!”

Matthew hums and rubs his arm, picking at a loose thread on his tunic. “W-Well, we were still waiting for a good moment, because we had a few mishaps in our families, but she is still very adamant on marrying me, so I am very glad and grateful. She–She is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met, and I’m so lucky to have her.”

The three women let out sounds of delight in unison, which catches the attention of a few other Disciples around. 

It does not take long for the entire camp to hear that Matthew is engaged to a woman named (Y/n), and all of them find out that they’ll get a chance to meet her soon. 

Curious, none of the followers wants to let this opportunity pass up.

_ 

Your smile brightens every room, but your gleeful demeanour is not limited to indoor spaces only. Every merchant at the market knows your name and face, and you are known as the woman who brings a little bit of positivity to every dark day.

When the love of your life had accepted the position as publicanus to work for Rome, your doubts had only been brief. You had been certain that Matthew would one day turn around again, that he would realise who he truly is, and that nothing will ever deter you from marrying him. Although not everyone in your family agrees with your decision and his father had disowned him for some time, you had always believed in him and would determinedly fight for him.

Concluding a morning of browsing stalls and purchasing some necessities, your attention is drawn to the shop selling colourful flowers of all kinds. Deciding to treat yourself, you hoist your basket full of produce a little better around your arm before heading there.

“Shalom, (Y/n),” the woman behind the flower stand says whilst you let your eyes go over her wares, “It is good to see you again. How can I help you today?”

“Shalom, Peninah,” you greet her, tapping your chin in thought. “All of your flowers are blooming so beautifully today, I barely know what to choose!”

The woman smiles and gestures towards her brightest blossoms, shades of pink and purple and blue, and you follow her gesture. “Because it’s you, they can go for a discount.”

“Really?” you muse, “You’re the best, Peninah, thank you!”

She starts assembling a small bouquet whilst you rummage around your pouch of money to take out the amount of shekels she tells you to pay. 

Right when you put the money into her hand, a familiar voice calls out to you. 

“(Y/n)?”

You turn over your shoulder to see nobody less than Matthew, who is holding the strap of his bag, giving you an almost pleading look. The smile that breaks out over your face causes him to brightly blush and you nearly forget your flowers, quickly thanking the merchant before taking your bouquet and rushing towards your lover.

“Matthew!” 

Although you’d love nothing more than to jump into his arms, you wait for him to make the first move, knowing better than anyone else that he is not fond of unsolicited touches, no matter how close you are. To your relief, Matthew has missed you greatly and opens his arms immediately for you to fall into and you laugh softly, whispering his name once again, inhaling deeply to take in his scent.

“I’ve missed you so much!” you murmur. Matthew’s hands tighten on your waist and he buries his face into your neck, smiling against your cheek.

“I’ve missed you, too.” he tells you softly, “You have been on my mind a lot.”

“There is probably so much you can tell me!” you breathe, pulling away from the embrace so that you can look into the pair of dark eyes that you’ve seen in your dreams countless times in the past months of him being away. Matthew nods, flushing a bit as he realises how close he is standing to you out in public for all to see, and he steps back to create some chaste distance between you, but the warmth in his eyes remains. “How are you, my love?”

The nickname makes Matthew look away shyly and he smiles. “I’m good. I’ve been learning a lot recently. And how about you? How are things here? And how is your pottery business?”

Your delighted face falls and you sigh. “Bah, my business idea was no success. People didn’t buy my wares and I had to shut down within a week.” Fiddling with one of the flower petals, you exhale sadly. 

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Matthew mutters, putting a comforting hand on your shoulder. His touch is rare and so, a smile forms on your features again. 

“It is alright,” you say, “I will find some new opportunities. But what have you been up to? Probably to a lot more than me, that’s for sure!”

Matthew shrugs and smiles a bit. “Yes, I have met a lot of different people. Actually… I’d love for you to meet some of them, if you want to, of course.”

Eagerly, you nod, beaming brightly. “Oh, that is just wonderful, Matthew!”

Hooking your hand into the crook of his arm, you let him lead you to the house where most of them have gathered – you recognise this part of town, but aren’t too familiar with it – and follow him inside the home of a few faces you do know, although you don’t know which names are connected to them apart from Andrew and Simon. Your entire body stiffens, for Matthew had sometimes told you stories about them, and how they didn’t seem to be too fond of your fiancé.

“Shalom everyone,” Matthew announces, “I… I would like you all to meet my intended, (Y/n).” 

You curtsy and smile a little as you let your eyes go through the room, met with a few kind expressions, some curious, some beaming, Andrew’s inexplicably crestfallen as he gives you a wry smile. “Shalom, it’s nice to see you all.” you greet them.

Two women immediately head your way to investigate whilst a few others trail behind. 

“It is so nice to finally meet you!” a woman wearing a pink veil breathes, “My name is Mary!”

“And I am Ramah.” adds the other young woman, who shakes your hand. 

You bow your head and smile at them. “Shalom shalom, Mary and Ramah. Thank you for taking care of my Matthew.”

“Of course!” Mary ensures you.

Ramah puts a hand on your arm. “We are so thrilled to meet his bride-to-be! He mentioned you to be beautiful and he was right! Oh, we just– We want to know so much, from how you met, what made you decide to marry him, when you are planning to do so, everything!”

Matthew flusters beside you and you giggle, squeezing his hand. “I will tell you in due time!” 

“(Y/n),” Matthew speaks up, “I want you to meet a few of my other friends!” He gestures to three men who approach with inquisitive looks on their faces. One of them smiles kindly and introduces himself as Philip. The other two are named Thaddeus and Nathanael, the latter who slowly nods at you. 

“Matthew was right when he said he was getting married to a very beautiful woman! He is a lucky man, ha!”

Matthew gives you an apologetic look whilst Thaddeus punches Nathanael’s shoulder. “So sorry about that, (Y/n), Nathanael doesn’t always have a filter.” Philip says. 

You shrug and smile. “Well, thank you regardless. If anyone is lucky, it’s me. Matthew and I go way back, so we are meant to be!”

Simon Peter lets out a sound across the room. “Lucky? Are you serious?” There is a dangerous annoying edge to his voice, which you don’t like one bit.

With an estranged knitting in your brow, you plant a hand on your hip. “What is that supposed to mean, Simon?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Simon huffs. “Well, that a tax-collector gets to marry a popular woman like yourself. You know you could have done better, right? My brother, for example, was looking to marry you as well.”

“Apparently, you’ve got a lot to learn.” you sigh. “To see past Matthews former occupation, for example.”

“She is right, you know.” 

A familiar voice cuts through the air and you immediately spin to the source thereof, coming face to face with the Rabbi who had called your beloved to follow Him standing on the threshold, and you let out a slightly nervous huff. “Shalom, Teacher.”

Jesus smiles and enters, approaching you. “Shalom, (Y/n). It is good to see you again, it has been a while.”

You gulp, nodding. “I… I wanted to thank you again for seeing in Matthew what I saw in him all these years ago.”

Chuckling, Jesus puts a hand on your shoulder and lets His gaze go to Eden. “Actually, you’re not the only person in this room who has that beautiful sentiment towards their partner. I know that the two of you love one another very much, so thank you for letting us bring him along in this ministry.”

With a soft smile, you nod. “Of course, Rabbi. What kind of lover would I be to let him pass up on this opportunity?”

Jesus grins and turns to Simon, then to Andrew. “I understand your confusion regarding Matthew’s betrothal, but he, too, needs someone to come home to.”

Andrew gives a sad sigh and tugs at a loose thread on his tunic. Simon doesn’t dare to look his Master in the eye. 

“There will be someone for you too one day, Andrew,” Jesus promises, “There are plenty of fish in the sea.”

The pun causes a few people in the room to laugh, including you. 

Jesus pats your shoulder and winks. “And don’t you worry, (Y/n). We will be returning to Capernaum every so often, and one day, Matthew will return home. You will have a role in all of this, too, but that is a conversation for another day.”

Fondly, you wrap your arm around Matthew’s waist, holding him close. 

“I know.” you whisper as he looks at you besottedly, smiling. “I can wait.”

Matthew squeezes you gently against him. 

Simon’s wife approaches you. “Shalom, (Y/n), my name is Eden. Since I’ve already got a few guests over for dinner, would you also like to stay?”

With a grateful beam, you hum in agreement. “I would appreciate that.” 

She gives you a nod as she returns to her cooking, and you’re ushered towards the dinner table, where everyone starts talking your ear off by asking about your life as well as your relationship with Matthew. Your fiancé sits beside you, his hip pressing into yours, and you keep your hand in his throughout the entire evening.

For a few days longer, you have your sweet betrothed close to you, holding onto the promise of Jesus that one day, you’ll have him at your side for longer, as well as the words that you will have a part in all of this, too.

[thesoulspulse]

Regarding The Ancients (Part 2)

I think this screenshot says it all. In the last post I talked about the Ancients in general and there are a lot of great candidates for who they were in the Danny Phantom cast. After all, villains could count among them too because all Skulker said was that “...a group of powerful ancient ghosts banded together in a last ditch effort to defeat the King” which when you think about it doesn’t necessarily mean they were all ‘good’ ghosts. They probably had no choice but to become allies to take down someone who threatened the balance of both worlds...

Part 1: https://thesoulspulse.tumblr.com/post/698786699553177600/regarding-the-ancients-part-1

Still, I like to think of most of them as the good guys so we’ll start with them.

Clockwork is obviously the most logical choice because not only is he already wearing a purple cloak that’s extremely similar to the Ancients in the flashback, but he also has statues of the Grim Reaper, aka Death, all over his tower along with lots of scythes. But it makes sense given how he’s probably old enough to have known Death personally. Bonus points if they were brothers since time and death go hand in hand.

Sorjourn is another mysterious figure we know very little about but it would make sense for him to be one of the Ancients too, perhaps even their leader. In fact, before they defeated Pariah he probably had to make himself scarce since he didn’t want his vast knowledge of the Ghost Zone to be abused. Especially since he’s the only ghost rumored to have found a path to the Elsewhereness, aka their version of paradise or heaven. My personal headcanon is that he CREATED the Infimap and then entrusted it to Frostbite who we’ll get to in a second.

Frostbite is definitely up there too just like @ecto-stone​ pointed out since he’s implied to be old enough to have been around with his tribe during Pariah Dark’s original reign of terror. His cloak may be tattered, but he’s wearing one too which is a good sign in my book.

Nocturne is definitely another prime candidate and ironically, I wrote in one of my fanfics that he DID help trap Pariah Dark in an eternal but dreamless sleep so he couldn’t plot anything while imprisoned. Obviously he’s not wearing a cloak but since Nocturne is literally shrouded in shadows its pretty much the same thing. I like to think he didn’t used to be all that evil, he just got tired of having to live off of the ‘scraps’ of human dreams and later on decided to take matters into his own hands and put them to sleep by force to harvest a lot more energy at once.

As much as I like Undergrowth, personally I can’t see him as an Ancient only because from what I can tell he’s been dormant on Earth for a long time and even Frostbite is wary of him when he mentioned him to Danny, implying that he’s never met him but knows how dangerous an enemy he is. I can’t see him working with anyone since his priorities seem to lie with protecting plant life from foolish humans which are mostly found on Earth anyway so I doubt the political affairs of the Ghost Zone back then concerned him much.

That, or as a plot twist maybe he could have been one of Pariah’s allies.

“I have heard tell of this Undergrowth. A powerful ghost he is. Capable of regenerating himself and producing numerous killer offspring. Nearly impossible to defeat.”

~ Frostbite, Danny Phantom Season 3, Urban Jungle.

In exchange for Undergrowth, I think Pandora is a great fit since she already created Pandora’s Box to contain the greatest evil so wouldn’t it stand to reason she could use her skills to build the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep too? Plus, there’s more skeleton symbolism at the altar her box is kept. Greeks had Sarcophagus’s too, but theirs were literally more like ornate coffins or ironically boxes.

Then again, the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep looks more Egyptian than Greek. So maybe an unknown Egyptian ghost was one of the Ancients instead?

The Observants obviously care a lot about maintaining balance but they even say all they can do is watch so I kinda doubt they had an active role in defeating Pariah apart from giving council. Honestly, that’s probably why Clockwork detests them so much because they're all talk while HE and the other Ancients actually did something proactive to stop Pariah.

So anyways, long story short I think Clockwork, Sorjourn, Frostbite, and Nocturne are pretty much locked in as Ancients in my eyes which only leaves the remaining three. Pandora might be one along with an Egyptian spirit like Anubis which I would absolutely love since he’s a god of the dead. I only say A god because I think a lot of different religious figures are real in the world of Danny Phantom and are more likely to be ancient god-like spirits.

Lastly, to go along with Anubis, it’s possible that Death takes on many different forms so they could be the same entity or entirely separate ones. If it’s the latter, then it makes perfect sense that the classic Grim Reaper would be one of the Ancients.

And that makes seven.

In the end though, these are just my personal thoughts and there is no right answer since there’s just not enough information to go off of. It’s all pure guess work which is both a blessing and a curse in the phandom. Still, I hope you enjoyed hearing my thoughts and I’d love to hear more of yours too!

Ah, and before I forget, here’s a bonus idea. I have a personal headcanon that some of Aragon and Dora’s ancestors fought against Pariah and lost, hence why he has skeleton dragons in his army.

[cebwrites]

with a teasing s/o (Rosinante, Law, Killer)

i like this prompt a lot actually, y’all feel free to request more characters for this through my asks ٩(ˊᗜˋ )و 💕 

masc reader, he/they law, poly (KilKidd x reader) word count: 0.7k

Corazon

Oh, poor, sweet Rosi. 

You know damn good and well what you do to him when you pull him down by the little flaps on his hat to plant a big ol’ smooch on his cheek then pretend like nothing happened. His heart rate picks up, his knees feel like jelly, and before you know it you’re pulling him out of a nearby garbage bin or putting out another spontaneous fire on his person - sometimes both. He always turns the brightest shade of red and sputters, spins himself in circles trying to respond to your teases, though sometimes all he manages is a cute little pout and crossing his arms for a mock ‘silent’ treatment; it’s just not fair!

It’s okay, Rosinante can never stay mad at you - he was never really angry to begin with - especially not when you sign ‘I love you’ with a sheepish, apologetic smile and his poor gay little heart swells with all the affection, devotion, and admiration that he has for you.

Law

They don’t exactly take it well.

Law likes to think that they’re a person that keeps anything worth teasing close to heart, and that is true with anyone he’s not close with - but with his crew in the safety of the Tang, and especially with you, his boyfriend, in privacy of his own room - Law may or may not slip up every once and again, i.e. anything Germa related, the snow leopard plushy that he’s had with him since Swallow Island, or just in general how cute you think he is whenever he gets really into explaining or expanding on his hyperfixations. If you mention it to them as such, they’re appalled. How dare you imply that he’s any sort of cute, this is an outrage - you’re supposed to be the cute one in this relationship, not them.

It might turn into a petty squabble that actually has him avoiding you for a day or two, cooping up in his office for ‘work’ to deliberately minimize interacting with anyone that could possibly tease him. But you return from a late night bathroom trip to find him already under the covers, turned away from your side of the bed, you apologize if you made them uncomfortable, arms instinctively wrapping around their waist as you affectionately nose the crook of his neck from behind. Law huffs, saying that they’re not mad, and even if it is the wrong opinion, he wouldn’t mind trying to ‘debate’ it with you every now and again, but only if you accepted the premise that even if this was hypothetically true, that you’d still be the cuter one.

And, of course, they’re not the only one with things to tease about, darling  ♥️

Killer

He’s a man that gives as good as he takes, so prepare to be repaid in kind whatever you dish out.

Killer’s teasing is subtle, something you’d have to read between the lines to really pick up on and even then, will he tell you? God no, you started this, figure it out on your own. Killer’s just minding his own business, vibing and thriving. Eventually, it evolves into flat out, non-subtle yet passive aggressive flirting - Kill is always on the more reserved side of things but it’s definitely ramped up on his end, too, going as far ass smacking your ass along with his morning greeting in front of god, Kidd, and everybody. You no doubt get him back later with the same gesture as he walks off the ship to do some scouting with Wire, waving him goodbye as if the obscene gesture was nothing more than a peck on the cheek. 

The crew gets used to it relatively quickly, or at least after the first month of it. Kidd, in all of this, is mildly annoyed - partially because he was left out of the loop and he’s not at ALL grumbly (pouty) about it, and mostly because his boyfriends are acting like complete dweebs. At the end of it all, Kidd pulls you and Killer into his lap and makes a noise that more or less signals as ‘enough, quit your squabbling’

You and Kill put water under the bridge, but unfortunately for Kidd, he didn’t expect that this truce was only a pact for you and Killer to turn your combined teasing focus onto him, instead.

[fortheloveoffanfic]

Past Dark

Vampire!John Wick x reader

Chapter 2

Masterlists Chapter 1 Summary:The Den doesn't exactly seem like Y/n's idea of a fun Friday night, but after she encounters the night club's mysterious owner, John, she finds herself becoming increasingly intrigued by him- and embroiled in the secret world of vampires. Chapter summary: Y/n's first date with John has a peculiar end. Warnings- Vampires, mentions of mind control

Hey there pretty girl……

We’re connected now….

With a startle, she awoke; eyes flying upon as she shot up in bed. Her chest rose and fell with heavy breaths while the thin silk of her camisole clung to her skin, drenched in a cold sweat. Letting the duvet gather at her hips, Y/n scrubbed her hands over her face, and just a moment spent with her eyes completely blocked out was enough to stir memories of her barely dissipated dream;

Cold hands exploring her body. 

An oddly familiar voice in her ear. 

A face that she’d lost way too many hours thinking about. 

John. 

Swallowing thickly to remedy the dryness in her throat, Y/n attempted to remedy her heavy breathing, but the more she thought about the dream, the quicker her heart beat and consequently, the more erratic her breathing. For about a week, without fail, she’d thought about John almost constantly; he was interrupting her waking life, and now, apparently her sleep. She’d never been that consumed by another person, and to think that she could become almost obsessive over a man she’d only properly met once- not counting their few phone and text conversations since that Sunday night- was alarming. 

What was it about him?

Glancing at the digital clock at her bedside, Y/n sighed in irritation upon realizing that it was just after two in the morning. Her throat was still dry and after the dream she’d just had, she doubted that she’d be getting back to sleep anytime soon. It had been so realistic, it was hard to believe that her mind had managed to conjure up something so lifelike after just one interaction. She could have sworn that she’d heard his voice like he was speaking merely a centimeter away from her ear,  felt the weight of his lips on her neck and his icy grip on her hips- everything about him was so cold. The whole thing had felt so real; 

Maybe they really were connected. 

Y/n couldn’t determine if the thought was frightening or enthralling. 

As she sat in the darkness, her room only illuminated by a haunting mixture of the moon’s glow and the city lights, Y/n scrubbed her hands over her face again, as if the gesture could eradicate any thought of John from her mind. But it didn’t and upon determining that sleep wasn’t in the near future, Y/n shoved the covers off and  planted her feet on the fuzzy rug at her bedside. Forgoing her robe and slippers, she trudged out of the room and towards the kitchen, up the hall.

With a stifled yawn, she broke out of the hall and into the kitchen, jumping in surprise when she spotted Angie sitting at the breakfast bar that separated their small kitchen from their equally tiny living and dining room combo. Her face, and the area immediately around her,  was illuminated by the harsh light emanating from her laptop and upon noting her in the doorway, Angie pushed her glasses up over her forehead, “Hey, what’re you doing up?” She looked mostly fine, from what Y/n could see, but sounded a little congested.

Y/n huffed, smiling as she rolled her eyes, “I could ask you the same thing.” For a week, she’d been aching to tell Angie about what had happened at the club, and everything since then, but Y/n knew how it sounded and while she trusted Angie to not judge her, she couldn’t count on the hope that she wouldn’t start worrying. The last thing she wanted was for her friend to be concerned for no reason. 

Before Angie could offer up a response, she coughed loudly and Y/n frowned, "Are you okay?"

“I'm fine,” Angie sniffled, "My throat feels funny," she coughed again, "But its whatever." She leaned against the short back of the bar stool, “I’m working on my dissertation because Dr. Mitchell,” her supervisor, “Wants to see something new- like tomorrow.”

“Ang!” Y/n scolded lightly, padding over to the refrigerator to get a bottle of water out. "You sound sick, have you taken anything?"

“You know I do my best work under pressure. And no, because I'm not sick,” Angie defended with another sniffle, “Now your turn. Why are you up?”

Y/n shook her head dismissively, “Its nothing.’ Angie pressed though, doing her best to siphon something out of her, insisting that she knew Y/n well enough to determine that she wouldn’t be up and about at that hour unless something was going on. “It was just….a weird dream,” she relented. At just the thought of it, her cheeks heated up and Y/n was grateful that the lights were off so Angie wouldn’t be able to see her bashful expression. 

Intrigued, Angie hummed, “Weird sexy or weird weird?”

Y/n sighed heavily, “I don’t know…..both?” 

“Okay that you have to tell me,” Angie concluded tone hampered by the subtle hoarseness of her throat and her obviously blocked sinuses, “Come on,” she enticed when Y/n didn’t make an effort to offer anything, “Spill.”

“Ugh,” groaning, she leaned against the tiled counter near the sink, recapping her water bottle but keeping it in hand so she could play with the top. “Fine,” she paused, thinking it over to make sure she didn’t seem completely insane. “It was a dream….about this guy,” She licked her lips, “I have a date with him….today. Tonight?” Squinted her eyes, trying to work out the mechanics of the time. 

“You have a date and you didn’t say anything. Not cool babe,” Angie scolded, pushing her computer away a little in favor of planting her elbows on the smooth surface, “Tell me everything; what’s his name, where’d you meet him?”

Swallowing thickly, Y/n hesitated, “We met….at The Den,” and before Angie could elicit a quip about how that ‘wasn’t so bad’,  Y/n added, “But it was only for a minute,” she exhaled before blurting out, “So I went back, twice.” Upon realizing that it seemed even worse out loud, Y/n grimaced. 

She could barely see Angie, but Y/n knew for a fact that she was flashing her a wide-eyed, shocked stare, “You stalked him?”

“Wha-no!” Stuttering, Y/n struggled to gather a more reasonable excuse, “It was not stalking,” she defended unsteadily, “It doesn’t even matter anymore, I saw him again on Sunday, he invited me to the VIP box and then to dinner. And apparently, he’s the owner of the club.”

“I……still can’t believe you went back there. I mean….are you okay? Because this totally isn’t like you.”

"Yeah, I'm fine," Y/n promised earnestly, "Its just…..have you ever felt like you-"

Don't say it, pretty girl. 

The intruding voice in her head cut her off, and stunned, Y/n shook off her former words. “Actually never mind,” waving one hand dismissively, she pushed off the counter, “I think I’m gonna go back to bed.”

Angie huffed and frowned, “Honey, I didn’t mean to-”

“You didn’t…do anything,” she shook her head, “But its late and I need to get back to bed. And you should finish up and get some sleep you. And take something for that cold!” She rambled, trying to sound as ‘okay’ as possible. As she walked off, Y/n heard Angie call after her, and while she felt bad for running off when her friend was just trying to help, she'd suddenly been overcome with an overwhelming sense of protectiveness; what she’d found with John was special and it was theirs.  

John had picked her up at her apartment promptly at eight in a gorgeous Mustang. She’d never been a car person, but Y/n would be lying if she said that it wasn’t weaving through New York traffic in his muscle car wasn’t thrilling. He’d controlled the vehicle like it was nothing more than an extension of himself, with a wrist on the wheel while maintaining a loose grip on the gear shift. He drove a pro, and his obvious expertise coupled with the impressive rumble of the car was exhilarating to witness.

At the restaurant, John had led Y/n through the establishment with a guiding hand on the small of her back. Their table was up on the mezzanine that overlooked the main floor. It was more private up there, with the lighting a little more intimate and the tables boasting more space between them. John had led her to one near the wrought iron balcony, helping Y/n into her chair before slipping into the opposing one himself. As he did, Y/n couldn’t help but stare; he moved fluidly, like running water on a plane of glass- it was fascinating. 

There was so much about him, so many oddities, that she couldn’t help but be enthralled by. The coldness of his touch, the depth of his baritone and the pull of his rich gaze. 

“You look lovely tonight,” John noted, and as if she’d been beckoned closer, Y/n leaned forward, until her sternum was pressed to the rounded lip of the table.

“Thank you,” she elicited breathlessly, still much too consumed by his quiet grandeur to pay particular mind to anything else. 

John grinned, presumably at her wonder, and reached across the small surface so he could stroke the slope of her jaw with the back of his fingers, “Absolutely stunning,” he licked his lips. Their eyes met again, his chocolate gaze holding her in a trance that was only broken by him suggesting that they get started on wine. 

“You know,” she began when the waiter left after serving them a glass from a vintage bottle that was probably worth more than her share of rent and utilities, “I walk past this place on my way to work every morning, but I’ve never been inside,” she glanced around at the old, Grecian architecture; intricate moldings on the wall, soaring pillars that led to the high ceiling and graceful arches framing the large windows.

“Yeah?” John licked his lips again, intense gaze still fixed on her, “Where do you work?”

Y/n drew in a slow sip of the full bodied red that John had taken the reigns on ordering, “Uh, the university; NYU. I’m a research assistant- and a student.”

“Student?” He pressed curiously. 

She hummed, nodding, “Yupp, I’m getting my PhD in Art History.” John seemed fascinated by her field, asking a few passing questions before delving into his own passion for history. As it turned out, he might have been even more of a history buff than she was, it was most evident when he dove into a recount of the restaurant's life; the building itself had been constructed in the early 1920s as a library which was actually a cover for a speakeasy until the end of the Prohibition, then by turn of the 1960s, it had been turned into a restaurant for society’s highest rungs.  

Furrowing her brows curiously, Y/n took another slow sip of her wine. “So in addition to nightclub owner, you’re also a historian?” She teased, arching a brow.  

John shrugged indifferently, “Most of its from experience,” he explained simply, prompting Y/n to knit her brows in confusion. 

“What?” She tilted her head; maybe she’d heard wrong, he couldn’t have possibly meant ‘experience’. 

Forget about it and say ‘nothing'

John reached for her hand across the table, and Y/n offered it willingly, a little stunned by the return of the little intrusive voice in her head. “What?” He rasped, stroking her knuckles. 

“Nothing,” she shook her head, pushing the strange sensation aside. The more she thought about it, the more unnerving the coldness of his hand became; his skin was the temperature of ceramic left in the refrigerator, he could have been dead and it amazed her that his teeth weren't chattering. Curiously, she glanced down at their joined hands, about to ask if he was cold when a peculiar ring on his right pinky finger, caught her attention- she’d seen it before. “Is that a bloodstone?” Y/n asked suddenly, reaching out with her free hand so she could hold his larger one in both of hers. 

For the first time since they’d met, John seemed like he’d been caught off guard; the deer in headlights expression on his face said it all. “I….uh..yeah. Yes,” he cleared his throat after a moment spent stuttering, “It is. How’d you….?”

It was actually a sunstone with an extremely rare coloring. A blood orange hue with darker red veins and spots that could have been flecks of polished gold- ergo, earning the name, bloodstone.

“Last year I went with a professor from the university to this little museum in Serbia and they had a ring like this, for a smaller finger,” she shrugged with breathless wonder. “This coloring is extremely rare, that one was supposed to be the only one in that country-but I don’t know about that.”

“What do you know?” If she weren’t so intrigued by his ring, John’s urgency might have been alarming.

Tell me everything you know about it.

She chuckled softly, swallowing thickly as that peculiar returned before fading again, “Uh…I know that they’ve been traced back to the eighteenth century. You’re probably not gonna believe this but in the 1720s in Eastern Europe there was this….outbreak of some kind of mysterious disease- corpses started rising from their graves and ravaging the towns. The Great Vampire Epidemic- but they were called upirs back then,” upon realizing that she’d started rambling in her fascination, Y/n shook her head, “Anyway, there was this….I guess subgroup of the Ruska Roma- Russian gypsies- who’d been turned into vampires, their leader, she was turned by the very first vampire and had a sunstone on a necklace, gifted to her by father. Uh...she'd been in a fight while they raided a village and the stone got covered in her blood. When she came to, she realized that she could walk in the sun- and do….anything else that vampires usually couldn’t. After that, she’d find sunstones, soak them in her blood to give them to the members of her clan, so she could turn them into this.....vampire army."

When she was finished, John leaned closer, practically draping himself over the table. They’d avoided the waiter’s for their orders three times by then, and the only reason he hadn’t had them kicked out was because the wine alone must have close to eighteen hundred dollars. “How do you know all of this,” he turned his hand so it would be holding hers again, and John searched her gaze. 

“Oh,” Y/n chortled bashfully, “After we came back from Serbia, I wrote a paper on the stones. Is yours real?” She shifted their hands so she could examine his ring, “It looks real. Where’d you get it?”

John shifted uncomfortably, retracting his hand and trading it for his other. “I’ve had it for…a long time. A friend gave it to me,” he explained, rousing the sense that he was purposefully excluding details. Y/n didn’t think she had any authority to press him further though, and when the soft whisper in her mind urged her to drop the matter, she did.

Dinner carried on with lighter conversation after they moved on; John had recommended the salmon and they’d talked about art exhibitions that he’d visited in the places that he’d lived at. He was well traveled; despite it being completely obvious that he was well off and several years her senior, Y/n was still amazed that he’d been to so many countries. To live in that many places, across so many regions, even at his age, would have only been possible if he’d never worked a day in his life. 

But she let it go. She was probably reading too much into it anyway. 

After they were finished with dinner- John had insisted on picking up the check himself- they’d walked around the city for a while, until he’d glanced at  his watch, found that it was edging close to midnight and declared that it was probably time to head back. In comfortable silence, the drove back to her building; John didn’t strike her as a man of many words and while Y/n would ordinarily be peeved about having to carry conversations on her own, with him she found that it added to his alluring edge of mystery. When he did speak, she caught herself hanging onto his every word, hearing his voice was like a privilege. 

“I had a really nice time tonight,” she offered softly as John put the car into park, his hand hovering over his keys in the ignition. He hadn’t said anything, but she got the feeling that he was expecting something, and Y/n would be lying if she said she hadn’t been thinking about it too. Alas, Angie was- very apologetically- home with a cold that she had earlier insisted was not a cold. “I’d invite you up, but my roommate is sick,” she scoffed a dry chuckle, ducking her head. 

“That’s alright sweetheart,” John curled two fingers under her chin, encouraging her to meet his gaze in the dimness. He leaned in and Y/n excitedly thought he was going to kiss her goodnight and unconsciously melted closer. But then, just before their lips could brush, John turned abruptly to peer out the driver’s side window. “I’ll walk you up,” he suddenly declared, not awaiting her response before getting out and rounding the car to open her door and offer his hand.  

Quickly, John locked up the Mustang before grabbing her hand and practically whisking her into to the building. Their elevator ride up, unlike their car ride back, had been riddled with tension; suddenly, the feeling of John hiding something was no longer thrilling- not when, out of nowhere, he’d started acting like something was wrong. She was still woefully intrigued by him, and the desire to be with him was one that was hard to shake, but Y/n didn’t like the sensation that had followed his odd reaction; his haste, the feeling that there were eyes on her as they’d walked towards the building. 

John only appeared to relax a little when the doors finally slid open on the tenth floor and Y/n stepped out first to lead him to her front door. “Thanks for walking me up,” she dragged her lower lip through her teeth in an attempt to bite back the cheek splitting grin that accompanied the giddiness of having John at her door. 

Their fingers were joined, and John rubbed the pad of his thumb along the back of hers, “No problem.” When he stepped closer, trapping her between his broad chest and the door, he used the pointer of his free hand to tip her chin, causing their eyes to meet. His gaze was nothing short of mesmerizing. “How about a kiss goodnight?” John suggested softly, already bending his head. 

A huffed breath of quiet enthusiasm parted her lips, “Yeah okay.” Standing on her toes, she met him halfway, and when John’s lips were finally on hers, Y/n felt her heart leap; his mouth, as strange as it seemed, was cold too. 

Their kiss started off slow but passionate, gradually becoming aggressive and hungry. There wasn’t really a struggle for dominance though, just the automatic assumption that it belonged to John. Between the impassioned movements of their mouths, Y/n gasped softly; John seemed to be very dismissive of their need to breathe and she was struggling to keep up. But she wanted to. Y/n’s hands moved up his chest until they reached the lapels of his jacket, hastily clutching the material tightly. Meanwhile, John’s grip on her waist forced her against the door while he flattened his other hand on the door, next to her head. 

“We….should….” The ragged words were hard to come by, and it almost hurt to speak, “I….” It was only when she lightly pushed against his chest did he break their kiss, practically ripping his lips away and leaving Y/n to slump breathlessly against the door. Her hands were still on his chest when she finally realized that it wasn’t moving.

No rise and fall of heavy breathing that matched hers. No thump of a heartbeat against his ribs. It made her wonder if there would be a hollow sound if she tapped his chest.

Y/n’s breath hitched at the startling realization and her gaze unconsciously flickered to where she’d laid her palms, before it panned back up to his. Her confusion was undoubtedly reflected in her wide eyes, and John met it with a look she couldn’t quite place. Coolly, he circled his fingers around her wrists, removing her hands from his chest, as the soft voice returned; 

Forget about that, it didn’t happen. You had a good time, you want to meet again. 

“Something wrong?” John peered when Y/n blinked quickly, shaking her head as she did. 

“Uh…yeah, no,” she chuckled nervously, “I just feel like I blacked out for a minute, it must be the wine,” Y/n moved to bring a couple fingers to her temple, only to realize that, for some reason, John was holding onto her wrists. 

“Probably,” letting her wrists go, John agreed.

“Right,” she breathed, nodding absently, “Uh….I had a really good time,” oddly enough, she felt like she’d said that already, but her mind was a little muddled so Y/n wasn’t entirely sure, “We should do this again.”

“We should. I’ll call you?” Y/n nodded, leaning in so John could press a chaste kiss to the corner of her mouth, the tenderness in the gesture acting as a stark contrast to the passion of their earlier kiss. When they broke, quiet good nights were exchanged, and as she opened the door, she watched John retreat down the hall, only slipping inside when he’d reached the elevator. 

“So how’d it go?” Were the first, albeit hoarse, words that Y/n heard as she entered the apartment, head down as she glanced at her phone, which she’d been neglecting all evening.

Jumping, and almost dropping her cell and keys, Y/n brought her free hand to her chest as she yelped in surprise, “Ang, what the hell. Why aren't you asleep?”

After a fit of coughing ended with Angie putting her hoodie clad forearm against her lips, she sniffled and grinned tiredly from where she was laying on the sofa, under a thick blanket, “I couldn't," she shrugged, "I thought you’d be going back to his place,” she teased. 

Setting her purse and coat down on the recliner, Y/n kicked off her shoes before bending to collect a half empty bowl of soup off the coffee table. She hadn’t even thought of going back to John’s place, and now that Angie had mentioned it, she was a little disappointed that he hadn’t asked. “It actually didn’t come up,” she sighed heavily, heading to the kitchen, “Have you taken anything?”

Angie groaned and Y/n caught her throwing her head back against the pillows stacked behind her, “You know how I feel about pills,” she protested, just as Y/n turned on the kettle and plopped a tea bag into a mug. “And what do you mean it didn’t come up? Was it bad or something?” 

“The date? No, it was actually really nice, I had fun and I think he did too. He walked me up,” her cheeks warmed at the thought of what had happened before they’d parted ways for the night, “We kissed….it was a great date,” in spite of all the strangeness that surrounded John. 

“Then why are you here?” Angie coughed. 

Just then, the kettle whistled and Y/n lifted it off its designated plate so she could pour some water in the mug, allowing the tea to steep before spooning some honey into it. On her way back to the sofa, she grabbed a bottle of Tylenol they kept in a drawer in the kitchen. 

As she set the mug and medication down on the coffee table nearest to Angie, Y/n sighed and shook her shoulders, “I don’t know. We’re seeing each other again, so it doesn’t even matter.” Before Y/n turned to head to her room, down the hall, she paused near the living room window, which faced the park actress the street.

It didn’t take long for the strange feeling of being watched to return and that time, without John’s protection, her anxiety and fear was magnified. Even if she couldn’t see anyone, Y/n was almost positive that there was someone amongst the trees. A shiver ran up her spine as a shuddered breath seeped off her lips, eventually pushing her to stumble back when it became too much. 

“I uh….I’m gonna get ready for bed,” Y/n announced hastily, suddenly eager to put some distance between herself and the window. “Good night,” she mumbled, not awaiting Angie’s response before retreating to her bedroom with more on her mind than she cared for.

[muzaktomyears]

Mimi and Yoko

[written shortly after John's death] “…After years of battling to be noticed and fighting desperately to be first, now the opportunity has arrived! The centre of notice and attention. At what a cost! Seemingly reveling in it, not a sign of emotion as far as I could detect in conversation on the phone. It will go on. Doesn’t she realize the real centre of attention has gone? She knows she was tolerated because of him. God knows nobody would have heard of her… Meanwhile, all I know is he’s gone and at times I think I’ll go mental. Some days I am more or less able to go on, then I’m devastated and lost… (...) It was through that conversation that [Mimi] began to recall the early years of John and Yoko. “You wouldn’t believe how quickly he changed. He was as different as night and day, just like that. It was almost as if she’d put a spell on him.” (...) [Mimi] adored [Sean] almost from the beginning. He was amazingly intelligent, she said, and she loved talking to him on the phone. I have no reason to believe that adoration didn’t continue until she died. I remember one story she told about Sean. Apparently he had lost his first tooth so Yoko told him to put it under his pillow and the tooth fairy would come and give him money for it. He followed her instructions and came out the next morning, disappointed that he’d received American money. He had hoped for foreign coins. Mimi took that as an early indication of his intelligence and that he would grow up to know exactly how to handle money. (...) [May '82] “I’m hearing a lot from Yoko. I seem to have phone calls nearly every other day. She says she’s very busy. No doubt she is but underlying it all I think she’s realising that without her making an effort etc. nobody will bother much. She needs to be noticed and like an old witch I sense loneliness. Seems next spring Strawberry Fields will be planted. She wanted me to go over for the opening. I can’t give a definite answer. The whole thing may come to nothing. She suggested if I like it over there, would I consider living there as that’s what John wanted. I think I’m too old to do that. I could have one of the flats in the Dakota… (...) [Feb ‘84] “Perhaps you heard of Yoko’s visit? She came here with Sean, and – dear God – bodyguards! Incredible in this country! She had announced she was coming to see me, so of course the damned press were here from 8 a.m. asking to see me, but I refused. They were persistent, knocking and asking for me but I stuck it out and refused. Meanwhile they sat at the door and waited. What was annoying, they got the address and nobody knew where I was until then. Then the retinue arrived and photographs – of Yoko and Sean. “Sean – the dearest little boy. Another John in every way – self-confident and sophisticated, taking photographs with timing on the camera and his arms around me. Left me a little letter with kisses and hearts and ‘God bless Mimi’. I simply could not get over him. We were all taken with him. “With Yoko also was a woman reporter, didn’t say so until she came and sat beside me and asked why I refused to see reporters. I said because they are all liars, then she said ‘I’m on a magazine’… So, if she writes she won’t have anything pleasant to say about me. When she got back to NY she phoned and didn’t seem very pleased when I said I still had nothing to say. So that was short and sharp. Her name was Barbara. I didn’t get the surname. So look out for her article if you can. She was with Yoko everywhere. Came over and went back with her. And – the bodyguards – dear God-" Mimi truly adored Sean, and by the mid-80s was warming considerably toward Yoko. I mentioned how I thought it a bit odd that she would bring a reporter with her when she was coming to see her dead husband’s family for the first time since his death, but she merely shrugged it off. “She can’t help herself.”

The Guitar’s All Right as a Hobby, John, Kathy Burns (2014)

[midnightsunnyday]

Flufftober Prompt 3: Thick as Thieves (Diavolo x MC)

A/N: somehow, someway we're still on a role! My (late) entry for day 3 of Flufftober. I hope you all enjoy it!

No warnings I can think of for this story, other than some slight cursing.

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

It’d been eons since he allowed himself this feeling.

No doubt Barbatos and Lucifer would reprimand him, but that only aided to his excitement. As soon as the clock struck twelve, Diavolo was ready. From the window of his bedroom, his wings burst from behind him in a plume of dark magic. Stepping forward off the still, he plunged then glided off into the night.

On a quiet street beyond the castle walls was where they both agreed to meet. Bathed in the light of a street lamp stood his angel dressed in black, wearing all leather and boots as high as their knees.

Diavolo landed beside them, his wings fluttering. "Good evening."

"Evenin', dollface." Jingling a pair of keys, they smirked. “Your chariot awaits.” The chariot in question being a shiny red motorcycle.

“Lead me to glory, uh, hot stuff,” Diavolo said. He still wasn't quite sure on the lingo. Though not dressed as "bikerly" as his companion, Diavolo tried his best to fit the “biker babe” theme for tonight. He’d torn the sleeves off his dress shirt as well as made a few holes through an (admittedly expensive) cocktail vest. A tutorial on Deviltube showing how to distress a pair of dress slacks helped tremendously, and though he didn’t own any boots, he supposed a scuffed-up pair of dress shoes would suffice.

“I think we look like a fine pair of bikers if I do say so myself,” they said, puffing out their chest. “Also, don’t get mad but…I stole the bike.”

“Goodness.” When they said, “I’ll take you for a ride you’ll never forget,” he didn’t think they'd go through such extremes to do so.

“Don’t worry, the demon I took it from won’t even know it’s gone.”

Diavolo hummed. “I suppose it doesn’t quite count as stealing as long as we bring it back. So no harm done.”

“Hell yeah! That’s the rebel spirit.”

“Hell yes, indeed!” Honestly, he loved humans and their various expressions for his realm. “But I must ask, do you actually know how to ride a motorcycle?”

“Not a clue.”

“Oh.” Diavolo frowned. “Surely this can’t be safe.”

“Not even a little. Buuut,” they wiggled their fingers over the bike. “I figured you could use a bit of your magic to help move things along.”

“That technically is within the realm of my capabilities.” Diavolo gave the bike a look over. In theory, a motorcycle was just a faster, albeit more dangerous peddle bike. Surely using such a thing couldn’t be that complicated. “Alright. I’ll give it a shot.”

“First things first,” they handed him a matching red helmet adorably adorned with little horns. “There’s nothing more outlaw than safety.”

“Is that right?”

“Sure it is. Only losers don’t wear helmets. You think it’s cool to die from brain injury? No thanks.”

“Indeed.” Diavolo was immortal. Though he could, however, sympathize with the sentiment.

Using one leg to plant themselves, they swung the other over the side of the bike. “Hop on, darlin’.”

“How exciting.” Diavolo plopped right down behind them, only to realize…

”Oh. It seems we’re…rather close.”

“That’s um, normal,” they said. “Also, you kinda have to grab my waist. Wouldn’t want you careening down the road.”

Diavolo gulped. Very well, he'd just wrap his arms around--

“Not that tight! Not that tight!”

“Oh, pardon.” Ok, so maybe he was a bit too excited to hold them. Steadily, he loosened his grip, allowing his arms to relax despite his shoulders, which were heavy as a pair of rocks. “Motorcycles…are incredibly exotic.”

“They’re the vehicles of love, baby.”

“Now then. I’ll just need a moment to focus. Also, to do this, I’m going to need to borrow just a tiny portion of your soul.”

They shrugged. "Eh. That’s fine. I gave a bit of it last week to Solomon anyway.”

“We’ll…need to talk about that later. Otherwise, stay still. Also, you may feel a slight pinch.”

Diavolo closed his eyes, focusing his energy. Streams of gold and black swirled around them, gaining force and rising into the air as the motorcycle revved itself to life, spewing exhaust and flashing its lights.  

“I think it’s working,” they yelled over the motor.

“Now remember that it's technically sentient,” Diavolo yelled back. “So let’s try to be careful with our new friend.”

“You got it. Ok, buddy, let’s hit the road.”

Charlie—yes, that’s his name—did not appreciate being awaken in the middle of the night and stolen from his owner. However, Charlie was honored to have the chance to drive the future king of the Devildom wherever they preferred. He'd be the talk of the town! The human not so much.  

“Thank you, Charlie,” Diavolo said. “I am also honored in having the privilege to ride you.”  

“Yeah. Thanks,” said the human.

Charlie inched forward, then with a jerk sped off down the road. Diavolo roared with laughter. The wind was sweet with mirth and mischief, the castle falling further and further behind.

"Go, Charlie, go," the human cheered.

Charlie honked his horn. Such a loud mortal. Though he supposed he'd allow them their fun just this once.

As Diavolo and his "ride or die" drove further into the city, he couldn’t help but wonder if such happiness could last forever?

“Huh? Did you say something?” they screamed.

“Huh?” Diavolo screamed back. Did he say that out loud?

“I said, did you say something?”

“What?”

“Nevermind!”

Oh well. Only time would tell. Until then, Diavolo held tight (but not too tight) and promised to never let go.

**********

Something…was not right.

Such alarm became instinctual. By this point, Lucifer was no longer man nor demon, but a literal walking bag of stress, coffee, and anxiety. He sighed and looked over at the clock that sat atop his dresser. 1:35 AM, it read. He rose from his bed, convinced that eternal damnation wasn't his true punishment, but the lack of a normal sleep schedule. Dawning his warmest robe, he head from his bedroom towards each of his brother’s rooms. Beelzebub and Belphegor were accounted for, as well as Asmodeus and Satan. Leviathan was awake, yet quietly playing his game. Mammon was also still asleep. So where did this feeling of dread come from?  

Just then, his D.D.D beeped with a notification.

[Barbatos]: You wouldn’t happen to know where the Young Master ran off to, now would you?

[Lucifer]: You must be joking?

[Barbatos]: My apologies. I did not mean to make light of the situation.

[Lucifer]: That’s not what I meant.

[Lucifer]: And no, I’m not aware of where he ran off to, though I may have an idea.

[Barbatos]: Is that right?

Lucifer stormed towards the room of the biggest pain in his neck besides Mammon. Surely they weren’t…they couldn’t be…they definitely wouldn’t. Oh hell, of course they would!

“So help me if you aren’t in this room.” Lucifer flung open the exchange student's bedroom door. It was dark. Quiet. What looked to be the silhouette of a body was tucked underneath several sheets, yet upon closer inspection…

Lucifer scoffed. Really? The old “stuffing pillows under your sheets to make it seem like you’re still there” trick? Even his brother’s had come up with better diversions than this. Groaning, he began to tap against his D.D.D.

[Lucifer]: I fear our precious human is gone as well.

[Barbatos]: Oh dear. Did they also stuff their sheets with pillows?

[Lucifer]: Honestly, who do they think they’re attempting to fool?

[Barbatos]: There also seems to be news of a freak motorcycle accident. Apparently several buildings were destroyed while the demon who owns said vehicle is the prime suspect. You don’t suppose…

[Lucifer]: Something tells me this is going to be a long morning.

[Barbatos]: Something tells me you might be right.  

[sad-brunnettee]

Knight in shining armor

knight! Zoro x princess!reader

Modern AU

Warnings: death, blood, kidnapping

Word count: 5,403

—

Being born into royalty didn’t give you the privilege many people thought. It’s true you could have anything your little heart desires but it’s never enough. You’ve always wanted to experience life like any other human being.

You wanted to know what it was like to laugh until your lungs hurt, speak your mind, fall and get back up, get bruises and cuts from experiencing the world. Yet your parents worried about their precious youngest daughter. They believed you should never experience the bad things life had to offer. A hard decision that was made after the death of your older sister, Charlotte. You were merely a few months old when she was kidnapped by some villagers. They knew how much the king and queen loved their kids and knew they will get countless of berries in return for the safety of their daughter.

Unfortunately, they beat her up pretty badly and without thinking- they killed her. They disappeared without a trace and since then, you and your family never got justice. Yet, they still hold on to the hope that even after all these years, they will find the culprits.

Your three older brothers are also being hidden away from the world but unlike you, they have more freedom. Your parents say it’s because they’re older than you and if anything were to happen to them. They’d have a way to defend themselves, which was true and you had no doubt about it. The dresses you wear are too big and it’s hard to run with them and you are also a klutz, there’s no way for you to hold a weapon without dropping it or hurting yourself.

Nonetheless, your brothers always brought you small things whenever they went over to the village. You have gathered a small collection in your room of all the things they’ve given you over the years. From small rocks and shells they got when they visited that beach, books they bought and pictures they’ve taken of the buildings and people.

They had also brought you some seeds for you to plant. Although, they never tell you what they’ll will grow into. It’s all part of their plan to see your surprised face when you find out you’re growing either flowers, vegetables or fruit. Whenever it is food, you always give them to the cooks. Hoping it will help them with the dishes they are preparing. Which they gladly take and make accommodations with what you provided.

You were on your way to water your plants when you older brother called your name from the other end of the corridor.

“Y/n, James, David and I are going out to the village. Do you want us to bring you back something in particular?” Vincent, your older brother spoke as he walked towards you.

“Could you maybe check if there are any new books about romance? I really liked the last one that David picked out.” You spoke as you fiddled with the handle of the metal watering can.

Giving you a dramatic sigh he looked to the side before answering “I mean if that’s what you want, I guess I won’t mind walking around with a romance book sticking out of my hand.”

You let out a giggle “thanks, I’d greatly appreciate it.”

Giving your hair a playful ruffle he walked away shortly after that. Even if their gifts made you happy you still longed for that feeling and wished you were the one going out instead of them. As you stood there softly tapping the watering can, you couldn’t help but feel some sort of loneliness. While your brothers were out exploring and your parents were taking care of the kingdom. You didn’t have much to do or better yet, nobody to talk to.

As of now, your only hope for one day getting out here would come true when you got married. Even then, there’s a high chance that you’ll continue with the same loop. You wouldn’t want to keep living this way, or have your future children living in fear.

Just before you stepped out to your little garden, the voice of a guard called for you. As you looked up, you had to put a strand hair behind your ear in order to see.

“Miss y/n, I’ve been looking all over for you. Your father and mother will like to have a word with you.” William was in his early 40s and has been working for your family for many years and you treat him with respect. Everything saw him as part of the family which is why he is always present in any family events you have.

Without waiting for a response from you, he grabbed your your arm and dragged you to their office. The walk wasn’t long but it was hard for your short legs to keep up with his smiling strides. Unlike him, your dress prevented you from walking fast and you were lying if you said you weren’t starting to breath heavily.

As the two of you reached the doors that led to your parents office, William gave you a quick look to make sure you were presentable. It was then that he noticed your little watering can.

“Miss y/n, you wouldn’t want to greet your parents while holding onto such thing.” He spoke as he took it away from you before you could even comprehend what he said.

“But William, I need it to water my plants.” You spoke almost desperately, trying to get him to give it back to you.

“Nonsense, you have us to do that for you.” William was always stern and it was hard for him to understand some things.

“But I want to-“ you started to speak before he interrupted you as he saw Maggie walking by.

“Miss Maggie, will you be so kind as to water miss y/n’s plants?” He handed her the watering can that you have gotten attached to as if it was a stuff animal.

Once he gave it to her she left without saying a word. As William cleared his throat you turned your body to face to door. Once he made sure you were ready, he opened both doors allowing you enough space to enter.

“King Eric and Queen Isabell your daughter, y/n, is here.” William spoke as he closed the doors and stood to the side.

“Thank you William, y/n, take a seat.” Your father spoke as he also took a seat on the other side of the wide brown desk that was separating you from them. Your mother was watching you tentatively, she was always afraid of seeing some cuts or bruises on you.

“Y/n, we have some news for you. I hope it will make you happy.” Your father spoke while setting down his reading glasses. As you heard this you couldn’t help but bounce your leg in nervousness. You crossed your fingers hoping they will say the words you’ve been dying to hear for years.

“Your father and I were talking and well… we got in contact with some people. We told them about our situation…” your mother started speaking but you couldn’t help to notice how nervous she was.

“They will send out a knight that qualifies and he will get to watch after you… outside of the kingdom.” Your father finished speaking for you mother.

You weren’t sure if you heard correctly. “Wh-what?”

“His name is Roronoa Zoro and he will be with you at all times to keep you safe. Allowing you to go out to village and see things on your own.” Your father gave you the information while holding up his face with his fists.

As the information dawned down on you, a smile started to form on your face and you let out a scream as you stood up. You ran towards your parents and gave them a hug. Even if they were worried about your well-being, your happiness was contagious and they couldn’t help but let out a small laugh. This might be the first time in years that you ever got so excited, not even when your brothers brought you back things did you get this happy.

“When do I meet him?” You asked as you took a step back from them.

“He will arrive tonight at 6pm sharp, be ready by then. We will greet him by the entrance hall and from there we will give him a tour.” You father once again put on his reading glasses and spoke as he shuffled through papers and signing some.

“Thank you, I’ll go ahead and get ready.” You said as you walked out of the room.

You were in your room surrounded by ladies-in-waiting who are helping you choose the best dress for tonight. You stood in front of the mirror that was wide enough for you to see yourself with no problem as well as your surroundings. You’re not sure how many dresses you have tried on but you were exhausted. Your feet were aching and so was your back, all you wanted was to sit down and drink something.

After what felt like ages, you had the perfect dress. It was star brown with off the shoulder puffy long sleeves and it reached the floor. Yet it allowed you to move your feet freely with no worry of stepping on it. You wore matching high heels that couldn’t be seen. Your hair was placed in a simple bun with side braids, all that was left to place on you was your crown.

Just as they had placed it on your head, a knock was heard. As you stood in front of the mirror admiring yourself with a smile, one of the ladies-in-waiting opened the door. As she did, your three older brothers walked in looking perplexed.

“What’s the occasion?” David asked as he stood near you with his hands in his pocket. Vincent and James stood near him wondering the same thing.

You couldn’t help but give them a big smile “a knight will be visiting us today, mom and dad have asked for his service to keep me safe. I’ll be allowed to go out to the village now.”

Your three brothers looked at you as if you had just told them the worst news they’ve ever heard. It wasn’t that they weren’t happy for you, they were just sad to hear your parents trust a complete stranger to take care of their baby sister. Rather than having them protect you, James was younger than the other two. He could see how happy this made you.

“At what time will he be here?” James asked

“At 6pm sharp, we will greet him by the hall entrance and then he will get a tour.” You said as you took a step down from the small step you stood on.

—

“Could you believe the nerve of our parents? What made them think they could trust a complete stranger to take care of our sister?” Vincent spoke as they headed to their own rooms to get dressed.

“We could totally take care of her on our own.” David spoke in agreement while taking angry strides. He said it with so much confidence that it almost made Vincent laugh as he remembered the time he was playing hide ‘n seek with you. He completely forgot about it that by the time he remembered he was playing with you it was nighttime and you had fallen asleep under your bed.

James was debating on whether to say something or not. As he was the youngest of the other two boys, sometimes the teasing went a bit too far with him. Ultimately, he decided on biting his tongue and not say anything.

As the three got to their rooms each one of them kept on worrying for your safety as they got dressed. They just hope the knight will be able to keep you safe. Not just that but they also hope you will feel comfortable. You haven’t spoken with many people outside of the castle, there’s a possibility you will have a hard time communicating with him.

—

It was now five minutes before six yet here you stood near the staircase of the entrance hall. Alongside your parents and brothers waiting for the arrival of Roronoa. You were nervous about what kind of person he will be. Even more nervous about how you will act. He will be the first guy you see and coexist with that isn’t part of your family or workers.

You glanced over to where your brothers stood and they all had the same expression on their face. It seemed as if they were annoyed, you weren’t sure about what but it made you feel rather awkward. While you waited you decided to start a conversation with them.

“Thanks for the book Vince, I’m really liking it so far.” You said as you fiddled with the fabric of your dress.

His shoulders visibly seemed to had relaxed as he heard your voice. “Glad to hear that y/n/n.” Finally turning towards you he gave you a smile.

“I’m glad to hear that y/n, but I once more chose the book.” David spoke as he leaned his head forward in order for you to see him as Vincent was blocking him with his body.

“Yeah but I recommended the store, if it weren’t for me, y/n wouldn’t have her book.” James spoke as well waiting for you to praise him as well.

“Well thanks to the three of you.” You gave them all your charming bright smile.

Silence surrounded the six of you once more as your bodies faced the front door. You were getting more nervous by the minute, and it seemed that your mother was the same. She kept on shifting her body weight from one leg to the other.

“What’s taking him so long? He’s five minutes late.” Your father said as he took a look at his watch.

A few seconds later the doors opened and you saw William standing in front of a guy. Who you presumed will be Roronoa, you straighten out your back and once more flattened out the front of your dress. Your family also stood straight and we’re watching tentatively.

“King and Queen of Mopia kingdom, I will like to introduce you to Roronoa Zoro. The knight that will be taking care of princess y/n.” He extended out his arm before stepping aside to reveal the man. You felt as if you were inside one of your stories, the man standing in front of you was beyond beautiful and he made your breath hitch in your throat.

Roronoa Zoro was nothing like how you imagined, his green hair made his features stand out. The earrings he had made him look even more attractive. The clothing he wore made his muscles stand out, even then you weren’t sure if he was strong enough to fight off any kidnappers. And is he carrying three swords?

While you were admiring him and thinking that he was any better than the guys you read about in your books. Your brothers glared at him, judging by his appearance it made them think he was nothing but trouble. They hoped your parents will change their mind upon seeing him.

“Mr. Roronoa, you are late.” Your father said while staring him down with a glare that made anyone want to crumble. Yet it didn’t seem to faze Roronoa.

“Yeah if you guys would’ve giving out clear instructions, this wouldn’t had happened.” He spoke as he stood in front of you and your family. Upon hearing his response, you left out a small gasp. Nobody and you mean nobody, spoke like that to your father.

“Excuse me?” Your father couldn’t believe how inconsiderate he was. Yet again how thoughtless the company was to allow such man to work with them.

“Look, do you want my service or not?” He spoke without a care, there were countless of other rich families wishing for him to work for them.

As you looked at your dad you saw how his fists were clenching and you were beginning to loose hope of getting out of here. So you did what you knew best, give him your best puppy eyes and hope he will give him another chance.

“Dad, please?” You turned to face him, he flickered his eyes from you to Roronoa and you could see him breaking. It was the same look you gave him the day you begged for him to buy you the biggest plush animal he could find.

With a deep sigh he turned to face Roronoa “yes, we do want your service. Follow me.” He spoke as he began to walk ahead of everyone.

Roronoa was the first to go after him followed by your mom and lastly you and your brothers. Who were giving each other annoyed looks. Vincent, was clenching and unclenching his jaw but yet didn’t say anything. He knew better than to interfere with the plans of his dad.

—

You had lost track of how many times Roronoa got lost. It was comically really, you weren’t sure how he could go from standing next to your dad to appearing behind you. It was as if there was a black hole sucking him in and spitting him out somewhere else. It got to the point that he had to be escorted back to you guys by William. Who found him in the kitchen when you were all out in the garden.

Finally, Vincent had enough, “Are you trying to be funny?” He spoke with a loud voice causing all heads to turn towards him. Everyone’s except Roronoa who was picking his ear and looking at your plants.

“You planted all of these?” He asked almost innocently.

His question caught you by surprise, it was the first thing he has said to you since his arrival. “Y-yeah I did.” You tried to sound sure of yourself but it came out in a low voice and you couldn’t help but stutter.

“Hm…they’re pretty.” He said as he inspected the flowers closer and fiddled with the petals of the orange flower.

“Thanks.” You crimsoned after hearing his comment. It was at that moment that you realized he wasn’t that bad. Sure he was pretty blunt but the way he spoke made you feel butterflies in your stomach. You weren’t sure if that was good or bad.

James was the only one who noticed this as the rest continued to stare Roronoa down. He hoped you wouldn’t develop a crush on him simply because he was the first guy you saw. He rather hoped you’d like him for the type of guy he was and his personality.

“Well, Mr. Roronoa, tomorrow you will take my daughter to the village. I hope you take good care of her.” With a motion of his head, your father made everyone leave you and Roronoa alone in order to get to know one another.

Your brothers were the last to leave as they threw glares at Roronoa. He still hasn’t gained their trust and you couldn’t blame them. It seems as if this is just a hobby for him instead of a responsibility.

The both of you stayed there in silence for what felt like hours, but in reality, a few seconds passed by. As he walked around inspecting all the plants, you felt how your hands began to sweat. In an attempt to get rid of it you tried to wipe it on your dress, although that was of no use. The more you did that the more noise it made which caused Roronoa to look at you.

Clearing your throat you took small steps to get closer to him. “So, Mr. Roronoa, are you looking forward for tomorrow?” You really hoped your voice sounded as confident as you thought.

“Hm? Oh yeah, I guess I do look forward for it.” He spoke before standing up. “I have to go now but I’ll see you tomorrow miss y/n.” He placed a hand on your shoulder as he walked away.

You couldn’t help but stand there looking dumbfounded. Once again you felt how your stomach erupted with butterflies that seemed to multiply by the minute.

“Y-you’re going to wrong way.” Was all you could muster to say as you pointed him the right direction with a shaky finger.

—

You woke up earlier than usual feeling ecstatic, it will be your first time going outside of the castle. You weren’t sure what you will see or what will happen but you were looking forward to it. You hoped you and Roronoa will be able to talk more and get to know one another. Yesterday, he gave you the feeling that he isn’t much of a talker. Maybe he will change the more the two of you see each other.

As you got up from your bed you began to panic. You weren’t sure when Mr. Roronoa will show up. What if he was already waiting for you? Or what if he won’t show up until later on in the day, leaving you with nothing to but wait for his arrival?

Getting out of bed, you put on your slippers and headed to your bedroom door. Before your fingers could wrap themselves on the knob, the door opened.

Daisy, the main lady-in-waiting held towels on her left arm and was startled to see you awake.

“Good morning miss y/n, do you need anything? You’re up rather early.” She stated as she closed the door and headed to your bathroom to set the now clean towels.

“Good morning Daisy, I was just too excited to sleep… do you by any chance know when I’ll be leaving?” You asked hopeful.

“He will arrive at noon, I believe you two will be out for almost the whole day.” She said with a smile. “Will you like to get dressed now?” She asked as she walked over to your wardrobe.

With a nod of your head, you walked over to where she stood and helped her set down the dresses she chose. The weather would be perfect, not too hot and not too cold. You took off your pajamas and walked over to the mirror. The dress you chose wasn’t big or complicated to put on but Daisy’s job was to help you get dressed. Once it was on you, you couldn’t help but admire yourself in the mirror. You wore a pink floral French dress and if reached just above your ankles.

Unfortunately, you had just grown out of your sandals. Which left you with no other option but to wear square toe double Velcro strap block heels. You were positive that by wearing those it guaranteed you no comfort for most of the day but you had no other option. Part of you hoped that he will like your outfit, aside from him needing to stay professional. You hoped this could lead to more, of course you knew it was absurd. Yet you couldn’t convince our heart otherwise.

—

As the next hours passed by you once more felt nervous, not just about finally getting out but spending most of your day with a stranger. You just hope he wouldn’t get lost and leave you to fend for yourself.

Your family didn’t help to ease your nerves, your brothers said to not be afraid to speak up if he did anything you didn’t like. They even showed you some quick defense moves, which may or may not had caused James to be unconscious for a while. Your parents also have a list on what things to do and not to do. Not just for yourself but also for Roronoa, you’re sure that they will go over it when he arrives.

You were proved right, as soon as he arrived, on time may you add. Your parents gave him ground rules to follow. All he did was nod and gave them the promise that he will take care of you as if you were one of his swords. You weren’t sure how to take that comment but you were too scared to ask.

Once the lecturing was done, your mom walked up to you at a fast speed to engulf you in a hug. Aside from them wanting to protect you at all costs, you sometimes felt as if they didn’t show enough affection to you or your brothers. You were caught off guard but eventually raised your arms to hug her back. You felt as if she was talking to you through her embrace, begging you to not go. Fearing that you would never return.

“Mother, I… I have to go now.” You whispered, afraid that if you spoke louder reality will hit you hard.

“Right, sorry.” She whispered back and slowly unwrapped her arms around you. As she took a step back she wiped some tears that had managed to fall out.

“Take good care of her Mr. Roronoa.” Your father said as his eyes were fixated on him. “Enjoy your day y/n” was all he said to you as he walked away from the scene.

Your brothers also came up to say their goodbyes. Although they weren’t so nice to Roronoa, you noticed how they each patted his back aggressively.

Once that was all done, the two of you were left alone for a while before William showed up to guide you both to your ride. For the first time, you would be sitting inside the carriage that you’ve seen your brothers get on countless of times. As you walked closer to it, you couldn’t help but admire both the I side and the outside.

As much as Zoro tried to fight it, he couldn’t help but let out a small smile at the sight of you smiling. He wasn’t one for sappy things but he sure hoped to see you smile more often. Even throughout the short drive you kept on looking at the scenery that surrounded the two of you. From the plants and animals that you passed but also to the different people who you saw walking.

You noticed that you got the tendency to fidget with your fingers and the rings that adorned them when you were nervous. Zoro took notice of this and attempted to calm you down.

“It’s my first time visiting this village as well.” He said as he leaned back on his seat and looked outside.

“I hope we enjoy it.” You uttered.

Finally, the carriage came to a halt and the door to your right opened. “Miss y/n I hope you don’t mind but, I have to drop the two of you here. Your parents thought it will stop anyone from knowing where you come from.” He stated as he held the door open for the both of you.

“Thank you.” You said as you got out, followed by Zoro.

As the two of you began walking, it was then that Zoro took notice of your outfit. Especially of your shoes, he thought it was absurd, considering how much walking the two of you would do.

“You didn’t have other shoes?” He asked suddenly.

You were confused by his question and you were beginning to feel self conscious about your outfit. “I only have high heels, I used to have sandals but they no longer fit. I really hope that it doesn’t bring either of us any trouble but I really had no other option.” You rambled in a fast tone.

“What size are you?”

“Size five and half…why?” You questioned.

“I’m sure we’ll find you some comfortable shoes for you to change into.” He said as if it was nothing.

—

And you did find some cute sandals that you’ve seen some girls around you wear. It was your first time wearing simple shoes that weren’t all that expensive and for once you felt some sort of freedom. It was as if you were normal. Even though your parents gave you money to spend, Zoro offered to pay for them.

The two of you walked around and looked inside stores that caught your attention. Everything was going great so far and you were truly enjoy yourself. It wasn’t until the two of you stopped in front of a book store that you lost track of Zoro. You looked around you in hopes of finding him standing nearby but there was no sign of him. You hoped he will find his way to you but as much as you looked around, you didn’t see a glimpse of his green hair.

A lady passing by must’ve noticed the scared look on your face that you desperately tried to hide. She walked up to you cautiously, “hi dear, are you ok?” She asked.

Your head snapped to hear and you tried your best to stay calm, “ye-yeah…I’m fine.” You stumbled on your words and took a few steps back. Afraid of facing the same destiny as your sister.

“Are you lost?” She asked once more.

“No, I’m just…I’m not lost.” You were starting to feel dizzy, all you wanted was for Zoro to come back.

Suddenly, and hand came up to you and grabbed your upper arm. You were so out of it that you couldn’t scream, all you did was jump slightly.

“Don’t wander off without me y/n.” A males voice came to the conversation and even though your mind was fuzzy it still recognized the voice as Roronoa’s.

All you could do was wrap your small hand on his and breathe out a sigh of relief once you confirmed it was him. The lady that was standing in front of you didn’t say anything but only looked at the two of you. Once she was sure you were in good hands she walked away.

“Don’t ever leave me alone again Roronoa.” You spoke in a hushed tone.

The pain in your voice caused a weird feeling to erupt in Zoro’s stomach, he felt bad and wanted to make it up to you somehow.

“Come on, let’s go inside.”

—

The rest of the day, you made sure he wouldn’t leave your side for even a second. Which left you with no other choice but to hold hands with him. You tried to convince yourself that it was for your safety and not because you want to know what it was like to hold his hand.

It was now 5pm and the both of you were walking with food boxes on your hands, trying to find a nice place to eat. You had one arm intertwined with his, you weren’t sure if it bothered him but he didn’t say anything.

“What about…there?” You asked as you pointed with your finger to a bench that was near a small fountain. There weren’t that many people around, which worked for you.

As you two sat there and ate your food you took this as an opportunity to get to know him more. “So Mr. Roronoa-” before you could continue he cut you off.

“You can call me Zoro.”

“Ok, so… Mr. zoro-” you attempted once more before being interrupted, again.

“No need for formality y/n, just call me Zoro.” He said as he took a sip from his drink.

Letting out a small sigh you continued “Zoro… do you have any siblings?”

He was caught off guard, he expected you to ask something about his job. The other princess and prince he had to look after, never tried to get to know him.

“I am an only child.” He responded.

“How is that like? Do you like it or have you always wanted siblings? If you do, I could lend you one of my brothers just not James. He’s always nice to me and I will miss him the most. Even if we’re always arguing over small things…”

As you continued your little rambling, he did nothing but look at you and notice your features. As well as the way you pronounced some words which led to him staring at your lips from time to time. He noticed how they formed into a small smile from time to time. He wasn’t sure for how long your parents will need his service but, he hoped your time with him wouldn’t end soon. Hopefully he will be able to understand why he felt happy when he was with you.

Taglist: @knjsbae

[mosssyyycat]

Does the new warrior cats art look AI to anyone else?

Originally I just thought the artist was lazy or inexperienced, I was a little confused when some people pointed out that it looked AI generated, but after looking closer, I kind of believe it? I could be completely wrong, but I’ll give images as examples for why I believe this. I also don’t own the book yet, so I only have the images uploaded to the official website to use, and I’m unsure if there have been changes to the art since that.

Disclaimer

Some of this information I have I got from other people, I cannot confirm if it’s true, so please don’t take my word for some of this (for the things I’m unsure if it’s true or not I will link back to where I got the information when I can)

I love warriors, I love the stories, characters, unique wood building, all of it! I’m not hating on the books or authors in any way with this post, this Is just a speculation about the cover art. What’s inside the books is still great and i look forward to every book!

I first noticed the art looking AI on a post which mentioned the ableist choices the artist made, hiding cats Injuries behind plants and things like that.

Link to the post https://www.reddit.com/r/WarriorCats/comments/17blwe7/the_new_warrior_cats_ultimate_guide_art_is_hiding/

Some people pointed out that the artist seemed inexperienced in cats, and it’s possible that they were just unsure of how to draw the injuries, which I could believe. But I saw a comment on there saying this same artist did the covers for a book series they read and this person whitewashed the characters on the covers of the books. I don’t know anything of the series so I can’t confirm this, but the comments stating this were found on the post linked above. If this is true, I wouldn’t really trust this person to not decide it would be faster to AI generate their art and just go over it to make it look better.

For the same reason, unless it’s confirmed in some way, I don’t believe the warriors team made the choice to hide the characters disabilities, especially since the previous ultimate guide they did show their injuries. Why would they just suddenly change their mind? And I doubt the last book they did art for asked them to whitewash the characters either. I think it’s just this artist being not so good.

Also knowing the book had previously said Ivy was brown/red and Dove was yellow because who ever added their coat color just color picked from the art with extremely harsh lighting, it would make sense that they also missed some of the things like AI or hiding disabilities. It’s possible whoever was doing that part maybe didn’t really know the characters well enough to catch these things. (or else I don’t think they’d be calling Dove yellow and Ivy red haha)

Here’s the art I’ve seen that has me suspicious..

The first one I believe is Crag.

If you look at the bottom right of the cat, there’s a weird area that looks like his body got cut of and all they did to cover if was add three purple strokes. And his body is just a big blob..? Like, on the left it almost looks like the start of a leg but then it’s just a weird thing sticking out?? I don’t know, it just looks weird to me. You can also see at the bottom left of his body it gets cut off.

Second is Stormfur and Brook.

Brook’s body just melts into the ground, it looks like a badly taken photo or something, like the quality around her body is just really bad. Where are her legs??? Someone please help her find her legs. Stormfur, help her find her legs…

Third is Mudclaw. Not only does his left cheek look really weird, LOOK AT HIS TAIL???? I genuinely don’t understand how someone could draw it like that without going “hm.. that looks kinda weird.” It looks really AI generated. The bottom left corner the plants look really melty and weird… like how do you draw like that? Idk

He also doesn’t have legs, but a body that’s seems to melt together, with some weird looking shapes in it.

There’s also Half Moon’s eye looking really weird, Blackstar’s art… just look at the bushes.. it looks straight out of Dora? Like it’s not even realistic???? Harestar’s mouth looks like it’s covered in blood or something, honestly I don’t know what to say about it. I won’t link these ones but you can find them in the official warriors website, or in the book if you have it.

This art is pretty old, but Sol is known for his big ears, long muzzle, and short fur which is much longer around his neck and tail tip, making him resemble a lion, he has red/orange, white, and black patches. This guy did not do that.. at all. And notice how everything is SO RED you can’t see the real colors of anything, except those blades of grass at the front. That’s so ugly???? How did he think it looks good..?

Ending on a positiv note, Feathertail’s art is SO PRETTY!!! Same for Rootspring!! And what I assume is Ravenpaw and Barley is very cute! I have seen some other really pretty ones but I’m not sure who they are. I really hope the art isn’t AI generated. And though some of these look really bad, some of them are so pretty too! I’m not exactly sure what to think honestly. But I do slightly hope they get a new artist. But if they don’t, at least the books are still good! I’m not buying them for the cover anyway, so I guess in the end it doesn’t matter all that much. But still, I’m curious what other people think? Is this AI, laziness, simply the artist not being skilled enough with cats?

[poisoningwords]

Level Headed

Chapter 1: Freed

“It's so quiet…where am I?”. Ivy shook her head, confused on what just happened, it was all a blur. She caught a glance of herself on the metallic bedding she was on. It worked…she reached for comfort from a near by plant, but nothing…nothing happened.

Ivy: What did you do!?!

(3 weeks later…)

It's been weeks since anyone has seen Ivy around; she left everything behind, leaving no trace after making an escape from Arkham. Her minions were running loose going on a rampage throughout Gotham; with no leader what else could they do in her absence. GCPD was getting overwhelmed with calls about her ghouls creating chaos through the city. Detectives questioned her passed inmates thinking that they may have some in-tell on where she could have gone and why her people were terrorizing the city.

Harley: ...Buzz off...

Harley looked down at her cuffs with annoyance in her voice

Joker: I haven’t heard a word from our little weed friend…but when you do find her, tell her the police are the least of her worries.

Joker leans back in his chair crossing his arms behind his head. He’s probably still pissed that her minions took over the new area he just claimed before he got locked in Arkham.

Harvey: rumors has it she planned to visit freeze up at his lab…

He took a drink of his water before continuing. Harvey: Something about a big experiment he wanted to try on her...

He shooed his hand in the air like he didn’t care to spare them any details.

Harvey: After hearing what freeze’s plans were, I don’t doubt that Pamela went to him after leaving here.

The GCPD headed towards Victor's lab but when they began to question him he claimed had hadn’t seen Ivy after the night she escaped.

Victor: she wanted me to do something out of my power. I told her that it was a stupid thing to even talk about let alone to even do but she wouldn’t take no for answer. She threatened the love of my life and after getting into well…an altercation. she was gone.

He shrugged his shoulders and wincing at the pain it brought. By the looks of him Ivy didn’t leave so quietly that night. With all the evinced they collected they had processed a warrant on poison ivy telling the citizens of Gotham if they see something,say something. They searched in all areas of the city and questioned anyone she had ever contacted but GCPD were coming up with the same answer every time, “She was gone”. James Gordon sent out email to other cities to make sure if she had fled Gotham city limits at least she wouldn’t get that far. Gordon was about to cut his losses and call the search off but he had one last hope; he had flashed the bat signal in the sky but what he didn't know was that HE was already waiting.

Batman: She not at her garden house.

He said with a deep raspy voice as Gordon jumped out of his skin.

Bats: I've went there as soon as I heard that Pamela escaped but when I got to her garden it was in ruins. Pots smashed and all her plants were gone, I'm going to keep searching… I already Nightwing checking the last possible place. With the GCPD roaming the streets it gets harder for us to move around quietly. Call off your men and wait until you hear from me.

Gordon tries to get his concentration back after being startled by the dark figure. He steadied his breathing and turned the signal off and slowly turns back to face the low voice.

Gordon: I really hope you know what you're doing. I got a word from Arkham saying that she wanted freeze to do some kind of experiment to her but fled after being denied. God knows what she was planning and with her men running around destroying the city…it’s out of my hands.

Bats: I’ll take care of her men just call off the search party.

With no other words as Batman walked away deeper into the shadows leaving Gordon frustrated on the roof top.

Meanwhile at an old run down apartment building downtown, Nightwing (Dick Grayson) just arrived. He quickly gave the front building a scan from a rooftop across the way for any possible sign of life…of Ivy.

Nightwing: Come Ivy…where are you?

Nothing…He circled the building and was about to check in with Batman to tell him there's no sign of her when something small caught his eye. A curtain blowing out of an open window, dim lights covered the room creating a shadowing of a familiar figure against the blowing curtain. He smiles confidently.

Nightwing: There you are.

He grappled to the fire escape, landing and leaning against the side of the building he quietly listened. He heard a woman’s voice softly humming a tune and water running from a sink foist. He gradually peaked his head in through the curtains to see where the siren of a song was coming from. He saw the back of a woman. She was by her sink placing a small mint plant on the counter where she gently caressed the leaves of the small plant between her fingers. Her voice…her familiar luring voice. Dick knew without a doubt that it was Ivy.

Nightwing: Gotcha…I knew you wouldn't leave without saying bye…

He whispered as he looked around to make sure he had a clear entrance. Dick quickly grabbed his escrima sticks and straddles the open window waiting to make his move. His heart pounded as she turned giving away her profile as she picked a dead leaf off the mint plant. Without thinking, Dick takes his chance and rolls onto the floor of the apartment.

Nightwing: You’re a tough lady to find Ivy. Now… back away from the plant and turn around.

His hands are steady,holding his weapons towards her and watching for any sudden movements. The women was stunned and frighten. She held her hands up and turns around slowly. Dick’s eyes grew wide and slowly lowered his weapons. The women looked defeated as she looked into his blue eyes.

Nightwing: Ivy…is that you?

[avatar-saiki]

The Gift That Keeps Giving

Mammon/Reader, 3.9k words

Rating: SFW, T

Summary:

Mammon realizes it's not the gift itself that makes him feel special, it's you.

(aka I wanted to write something cute for his birthday)

Birthdays were, without a doubt, one of the best things humans had ever come up with.

After money of course.

Who’d even argue having a day dedicated to themselves wasn’t the greatest thing ever? A whole day for those around them to celebrate and shower them with praises and gifts. It easily, easily made September his favorite time of the year after celebrating that first birthday.

Which was saying a lot, since he never really cared much about the goofy things humans did on Earth and only half listened whenever Belphie got excited about something. Oh wow, humans learned smacking sticks together made fire how cool… Oh look at that now they put the plants where they want them isn’t that neat. Oh ain’t that just swell? They took a river that went one way and made it go another way! Why? Who cares! It’s a stupid river!

But birthdays?

Birthdays were pretty great.

Sure, there were a few that didn’t go as planned, and maybe someone might say he’d get a little carried away with the partying and excitement, but what could they expect? It was a day unlike any other, because it was his day.

His day that…

“Mammon, what’d you get for number seven?” you asked while scratching down an answer on the parchment before you, “I want to compare to see how far off I am.”

“Uh… thirty-two.” he said without a second thought, having, quite honestly, forgotten what the question even was. Being able to study with you helped him focus sometimes, but he had to play things carefully. If his grades improved too fast or too often, Lucifer’s impossible expectations might rise even higher.

“Thirty-“ You sat back in your seat and looked at him, befuddled. “Mammon, it’s a multiple choice. Thirty-two isn’t even an option.”

“Wh- Well I meant that on the next one then!”

Your befuddlement went dry. “Number eight’s a true or false.”

“What! That can’t be right.” He leaned forward and grabbed your textbook, skimming over the page.

You laughed and pushed it closer to him, “Something tells me you didn’t even read the assignment.”

“I did! Well… kinda. I opened the book at least.”

“Yours isn’t even on the right page!”

“Shaddup!” He pushed your book away and leaned over his own, flipping to the correct page this time and crossing out his previous answers.

So, okay he didn’t want to try that hard but he didn’t want to look like a total idiot.

You hummed, keeping to yourself for a moment or two while he scribbled his answers down quickly, not-so-subtly pushing your own paper closer to him for easy glancing. “And here I thought you took our study dates seriously.”

Ink bled across his new answer for number six, and he cursed under his breath. Pressed too hard, way too hard.

“W-Well yeah, you know how it is. I can only be strung up so many times before it starts cuttin’ into my schedule. I gotta make an effort once in a while.”

“Yeah, good point.” you said dismissively, leaning back in your seat and leaving him in confused, frantic peace, scribbling away as if he could somehow focus any better than before.

“I was almost starting to think it’s because you like me.”

“What-!”

This time the quill tip caught, tearing a small hole across number seven.

You smirked and nodded to it, “Really hate that question, don’t ya?”

“Sh-shaddup,” he muttered, placing his arm on the desk between the two of you and leaning in a way to block your vision. It did little to block the snickers at his back as he tried to smooth out the page. It didn’t look so bad, it was probably fine, right? The professor could still read it and most of the page was still good. He wasn’t about to waste a whole ‘nother page for one stupid question.

And if they couldn’t or wouldn’t read it, so what? He wasn’t trying to pass anyway.

But maybe he could try to get the next few right since you do help him out sometimes. Just this once. So you wouldn’t feel like you failed.

The thrill of promised freedom began to rise the closer he got to the end, just a few more left! Sneaking a few answers made it fly by even faster, and just as he was about to jot down the last one, you spoke up again.

“Why were you spacing out so much earlier?”

“Homework sucks and I get bored.” he answered easily, swiping the quill across with a lazy swirl.

You hummed, amused. “Fair enough. What were you thinking about?”

He lifted the quill and flashed you a grin, “Oh nothin’, just my birthday comin’ up.”

“Birthday?” you echoed, understandably struck by surprise. Poor human, you must be worried about getting him something nice.

“Now don’t worry, I—“

“I didn’t know demons had birthdays.”

You said it so simply, so why did it make him flinch?

“Wait-“ you said quickly, holding up your hands, “that came out wrong. I meant it like, well. I just had no idea?” You smiled sheepishly and slouched in your seat, “Demons live forever, don’t they? So how would you know if you had a birthday?”

Forever.

He sighed and sat back, tossing the quill on the desk. “Newer demons are born too.”

“Oh yeah…” you said, voice low. Then you laughed under your breath, “I guess I need to study more too.”

“Mm…”

This conversation didn’t go anywhere he wanted, and it’d die if he said nothing, but what else could he say? Yeah, he might know he’d been around longer, and would be around far longer still than you could ever be, but he… didn’t like thinking about it. Thinking about things that made him feel so far away…

Was it… weird for him to have a birthday?

Did it really have to be the day someone was born? Then what about those that weren’t?

Time just… didn’t exist in the Celestial Ream in that sort of way. Everything is and was, nothing never and wasn’t. Even youth was… hard to explain to humans, naivety didn’t always have a consistent number.

He didn’t even count now that he had something to count from. Why bother? He’d never need the number for anything, and all he really wanted was the day.

The day when everyone would celebrate the Great Mammon.

That day…

You cleared your throat, drawing his attention again. “So…” you smiled tentatively, “when’s your birthday?”

“The 10th.”

He’d been the first to choose. After falling and transitioning to a demon, the sudden shock of needs and wants overwhelmed his very soul. Everything felt like euphoric agony, ripping his very being apart and exposing his very being to the soulless gaze of Fate’s never-ending void.

“Wh- of this month?!” you sputtered, the expression on your face making his heart feel just a little lighter.

Was it really so surprising he’d felt the urge to claim something as his own?

“Yeah,” he said with an easy smile, “so… like in a week or so I guess.”

Something that could be his, a day that could be his.

“Well… shit. I wish you would’ve told me that sooner.”

A day that made everyone think of him.

“Ah don’t worry ‘bout it.” he said, picking up his homework and book and getting ready to leave. “I ain’t that picky, and you know,” he paused to wink at you, “cash is king.”

You rolled your eyes and shook your head, “No, cash is lame. You’re getting something, I just have to figure out what.”

“Cash ain’t lame.” he muttered, and you chuckled.

“It’s kinda lame to me, I want it to be something special.”

His heart did another weird little jump again.

“R… Really?”

You stood up and gave him the proudest grin, “Well, yeah. I’m guessing humans don’t really give you gifts, right?”

“Oh…”  He tried to not sound too defeated and walked toward your door, “No, I guess not.”

“Then I gotta make a good impression!” You said cheerfully at his back.

“Mm.” He opened the door and gave you one last smile before stepping out, “Or jus’ keep it simple with cash n’ jewels. I ain’t that complicated.”

He stepped out before you could answer, mostly because he didn’t want to hear it. He liked being given things, always liked being given things. One of these days he’d finally convince Lucifer to increase Goldie’s limit or forgive one of his debts. If nothing else was on his side, he could at least try wearing him down.

‘I’m guessing humans don’t really give you gifts, right?’

Well, that wasn’t wrong. But it wasn’t… right.

‘Then I gotta make a good impression!’

He tossed his book on the pool table the moment he got to his room and sighed, leaning over it and feeling like such an idiot.

How many times did you have to remind him you were just a human?

-------

He didn’t see much of you after that, at least not much as he’d become used to. Only a few quick conversations in the halls or just before meals. Quick, stolen moments but nothing substantial. Hardly any time at all. You’d even joked a few times that you were working hard and he better be impressed, but that just made him feel worse.

Whatever it was, he didn’t want it.

The thought brought a tightness to his chest, and a defeated sigh to his lips.

Okay, he did want it. It just wasn’t going to be what he wanted.

Dammit.

Why’d you even make him feel this way? 

How’d it make any sense at all? Avatar of Greed not wanting a gift.

Silly.

Sometimes his brothers gave him weird things too, but he still liked ‘em anyway. Why did yours need to be any different?

Human or not it was just… just a gift.

More was always better than less.

Whatever it was didn’t matter as much as getting the thing itself.

He’d always known these things, so why did he feel so suddenly anxious when you touched his shoulder, asking him if he could step away from the crowd? Why was it so easy to laugh off that feeling and make a crack about watching his things while he chatted with the human, silently wishing the music could be the rhythm of his heart instead?

You led him to a less crowded corner of the Fall’s floor, away from the dancing and glittering lights. The music still filled the air, but it was far easier to hear your voice here. You leaned back on the edge of a table and looked up at him.

“It’s been awhile. You having a good birthday so far?”

“Yeah,” He glanced back at his friends, then to you. “You could say that.”

You smiled and followed his line of sight. “Get lots of cool stuff?”

He shrugged noncommittally, those strange feelings stirring in his chest again. 

“Sounds like competition is fierce,” you joked, standing up straight with a sigh. “Should’ve figured, there’s only so much I can do.”

“I told you, you—“

“I know,” you interrupted with a sly smile, “that’s why I chose to make you something.” 

“Make me something?”

Your smile turned bashful and you reached into your back pocket, withdrawing a small black box adorned with a golden bow. “Well, sort of. I made it… different. More. If that makes sense?”

Not even a little.

But a gift was a gift.

“Thanks,” he said with an easy smile, plucking the box from your palm and giving it a little shake. Nothing. Hm…

He held the box in his hand and pulled off the lid, seeing you smile and stand up on your toes just as the red velvet revealed itself.

“Pretty, huh? It’s not real gold sadly, I couldn’t pick up enough shifts fast enough for that but…” 

Your voice faded into the background as he took in the offering in his hand. A single, golden ring with his sigil engraved on its smooth, polished metal. The ring alone was something to be treasured, but there was… something else…

“Why’s it buzzing?”

“Huh?” You blinked, taken aback for a moment then recovering with a smile. “Oh, can you see that or something? That’s how I made it better!” You placed a hand on your chest, “I wore it and used a curse to seal my luck into it! I wanted to try to give you like a month or a week, but I think I only managed to get thirty rolls or so in. It’s actually kinda funny becaus—“

“You WHAT?!”

Levi slammed his hands on the table, startling both of you.

“Oh hey Levi, didn’t see ya-“

His eyes were focused on you, intense and distraught. “Why didn’t you tell me?! We almost lost our whole campaign!”

“Sorry…” you said sheepishly, glancing at Mammon again with a small smile. “Like I was saying. I think you might have something that equals like thirty good dice rolls in there.”

“We could’ve used a filler character!”

“Oh yeah that sounds great, let me just give Mammon fake good luck for his birthday.”

“It wouldn’t be fake and your barbarian wouldn’t be just barely hanging on!”

“Hey! It’s just a scratch!” You said with a haughty laugh, crossing your arms and feeding into Levi’s nerdy frustrations.

“It’s not a scratch, they lost an arm!”

“Tis but a flesh wound~”

The conversation, the music, these feelings…

Everything just felt so…

“I need to step outside a sec,” he muttered, leaving you with his brother and focusing on nothing but seeking the cooling relief of night air. Once outside, he breathed in deeply and leaned against the club wall, clutching the box in his fist.

Rings and luck.

Why’d it have to be a ring and luck?

“It ain’t fair…” he said to himself, reaching up to run his fingers through his hair.

“What ain’t fair?”

He jumped, spinning on his heel and holding his fist to his chest. “What- why’d you come out here?”

You shrugged, walking over to lean on the wall beside him. “Do I need a reason?”

“… No.” He lowered his fist and let his eyes drift to the street, idly watching demons pass by. “Guess not.”

Most demons kept walking by without so much as a glance down the alley, and the ones that did were quick to move along. It hadn’t taken long for them to learn to keep their distance, but the habit he’d gained from watching out for you wouldn’t disappear so easily.

“Was the ring a bad idea?” you asked softly.

He winced, “It’s not…” Dammit. 

“It’s not… bad,” he said, the box feeling heavy in his hand. “but humans… humans only have so much luck in life, to just give it’s like—“

“I thought it was worth it.”

“But what if somethin’ happened to ya?” 

Your eyes widened, and he felt the urge to backtrack. Explain it away into something trivial.

“Y-you coulda gotten hurt. I don’t want you doin’ something like that jus’ to get me a gift.”

You said you’d wanted to give him a month, a week even. Just imagining what a week of bad luck could do to you was… was…

“Well,” you shrugged, “that’s why I wore it when I played with Levi. All the bad stuff just happened to my barbarian, not me.”

“That’s not the point!” he said, surprising both of you when he grabbed your shoulders. “You can’t… you can’t do stuff like that.”

You stared up at him in an expression he was more familiar with now. Worry. 

“Do you really not like the gift?”

Dammit.

“That ain’t fair.” He bowed his head, still holding your shoulders to ground himself. “‘Course I do.”

“I just… thought the ring would be fun to wear, even after the luck faded…”

He closed his eyes and held you just a little more firmly. A ring… a ring he could wear… forever.

“I’m sorry, Mammon,” your voice was getting lower, concern creeping in. “I just wanted you to win… at least once or twice…”

“Why?” he asked, lifting his head. “Why risk it?”

Your eyes met his fearlessly, darting between them as color touched your cheeks. “I thought it was obvious.”

He pressed his lips in a thin line and shrugged, “Doesn’t seem to be to me.”

Your eyes darted faster, color rushing as you fidgeted ever so slightly. 

“What?” He stepped back, “C’mon, out with it.” Was it a bribe? You get some cut of his winnings or what? If that was the case, he’d have to give you some more pointers on haggling. For starters, don’t give the demon the object they want without negotiations first.

You held your wrist and looked down to the street again, avoiding looking at him now. “You’re not really going to make me say it, are you?”

“Well if it’s some trick or something, I don’t wanna be fallin’ for it.” he said, crossing his arms.

You scoffed and looked up at him just like he wanted. “Oh don’t even. You know damn well I wouldn’t trick you like that.”

He shrugged and flashed a grin, “Yeah? Then tell me why.”

You blushed and looked away again. 

“It’s… because I like you.”

His heart squeezed, but he urged himself to keep himself neutral.

“Oh, well I like ya too but that ain’t a reason to be riskin’ harm for me. You humans are pretty fragile as is, the last thing ya need is more of—“

You huffed.

“How many times do I have to tell you? You were worth the risk!” 

You both knew what you said, but you recovered first while he was still trying to understand—

“I want to see you win,” you said, placing a hand on your chest and looking up at him, “I love when you win, Mammon. You should see how happy you are, it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“I’m not—“

“Shut up, yes you are!” You stepped closer, sincerity giving your voice more confidence with every word. “Anyone can be cute, demons included.”

He took a half-step back. The way you were talking, almost sounded like…

“But… a ring… those’re special to humans…”

You paused, then reached up to touch your forehead. “If you already knew that, why’d you even make me say anything…”

His heart leapt into his throat, the box suddenly holding a different weight. More.

“So it’s… a ring… because you… like me…?”

You peered up at him through your fingers. “Duh.”

He swallowed, speechless. A human liked him? Liked him? Enough to give him a ring and a piece of their life’s luck…

You sighed and collected yourself, occasionally reaching up to touch your cheeks, never quite meeting his eyes again. 

This ring wasn’t from just any human though.

“Well… I’m gonna go inside now I think,” you said with an awkward laugh, “Sorry I uh, I guess I missed the mark, but I hope it still works for ya.”

As you moved past him, he reached out to grab your arm.

“Wait.”

Even now, no matter how embarrassed you might feel, you still looked up at him when he asked.

“I…”

His mouth felt dry, so many thoughts and wants swirling in his head.

“I-I…”

“C-Can I…”

So much he wanted to say, to know, to feel.

You smiled sadly and reached up to touch his hand. “It’s okay, you don’t have to feel the same. I wasn’t really sure if you did anyway. Just glad I got it off my chest—”

“No!”

You jumped and he loosened his grip, instead pinching your sleeve.

Don’t be scared, but please don’t leave.

“I…” Saying it held so much risk, even now there was no way of knowing if you wanted the same. 

“Me too,” he said, leaning into you, yearning rising from his very soul, “I want you too.”

You bit your lip with a smile. “I don’t think I said want.”

Fuck—

“What I meant was—“

You reached up to cup his cheek, the touch so warm and soft he immediately craved more.

“But I do,” you said, gently stroking him with your thumb, “I want you too.”

Want you too.

How could a human’s words make his chest feel both heavy and light so often and so easily? He couldn’t even remember when it first started anymore, only that these feelings became stronger with every passing day. Every moment he shared… with you.

His hand moved from your shoulder to cup the back of your neck, watching for any changes in your expression and listening for a hastened breath. Instead, you lifted your chin and smiled softly, silently inviting him in closer with a gentle caress on his cheek. 

Just once…

He leaned in, stealing a kiss from you that you willingly gave, treating him to the sweet thrill of want from your lips. 

“Mammon…” you whispered softly, lingering close as if deciding whether or not to gift him with another.

More.

The distant caw and rustle of debris across cobblestone reminded him of where he was and the party waiting for him inside, but he didn’t want to let you go.

“Can I go to your room later?” He asked softly.

You smiled, “We could do that, or,” you closed the distance between you with a gentle kiss, “you could win us an even better room sometime.”

He sucked in a breath and you hummed, stepping out of his arms with a little pinch to his cheek.

“I bet you’ll be rather lucky if you take me along too,” you said with a grin. “Not that I’m trying to bribe a date out of you, but I do think the ring would work better if I was near it.”

“You could bribe a date outta me anytime,” he said without thinking and you laughed.

“I’ll remember that. Now, c’mon,” You reached out to take his hand, tugging him back toward the door, “put that ring somewhere safe and let’s go party!”

Party.

For once in his life he could finally understand why Levi always tried to leave parties early. 

There was so much more he wanted to do somewhere else. He’d leave right now if he could, but if any of his brothers found out he bailed to sneak some alone time with you, that time would be stolen far too quickly.

But being here with you, surrounded by you, his friends, and his family… laughing and drinking, dancing the eternal night away and celebrating hisday…

You laughed and flashed him a smile that shone so bright among the crowd, making his heart dance to its own beat. Thirty rolls… he could win a lot of money in thirty rolls… rent a nice room, maybe even buy a nice dinner or even take you somewhere fun in the Devildom or on Earth if he could sell the idea to Lucifer to let him roam freely.

Maybe he could buy you something to wear too… a ring that matched or… or if that was too much maybe bracelets or a pair of shoes…

Asmo stepped in to join you, offering to refill your drink while Mammon was pulled away by some of his friends, more gifts to be shared. The night was forever young, cheers and celebrations for the Avatar of Greed filling the air. A rare night unlike any other, surrounded by so many things that both made him want, and feel wanted.

Birthdays were the best.

[multifandomfix]

A Little Praise Goes A Long Way - Fanny Button

Summary: After feeling so dismissed in life, Fanny finds it refreshing and maybe just a little bit arousing that you praise her so much.

Word Count: 1,211

Warnings: Praise kink discovery/discussion, suggestive but not overtly sexual

It all started with an offhand comment you made one day after you began to adjust to life in Button House. "I don’t know how you do it, Fanny. With everything that goes on around here and everyone to keep in check, you do such an amazing job." Among other things, it was the first time you, or really any of her fellow ghosts had managed to render her speechless.

You didn’t think a thing of it at the time. Why would you? To you it was a genuine compliment and a well earned one at that. But it set something in Fanny alight in a way she wasn’t accustomed to. And she couldn’t quite put a name to how your words had effected her. So, after a while, she forgot about it.

Then there was a reoccurrence, it again went unnoticed by you, but not Fanny. Yet, it was Julian who was the first to pick up on what was happening. Without being one hundred percent sure of what he was picking up on however, he said nothing. He wanted to be certain before making a fool of himself and getting yelled at by the lady of the house. He’d had more than enough of that in his time. Julian bided his time, waiting for the next opportunity that came along where you gave Fanny a word of praise and this time, he’d be ready.

You often walked around the house during the day, just passing time and taking in the magnitude of the place, and just how lovely it must have been in its day. The ghosts liked to follow you around as you did this and tell stories from when they were alive.

"You kept such a beautiful home, Fanny. I know others have lived here since, but you can still see the way it was in your day and that’s no doubt from your hard work." You continued to marvel at the wallpaper in the room, while unbeknownst to you, Julian was making an assessment of the object of your praise.

Just as he thought, the sudden silence that fell after a stuttered 'thank you', mixed with the subconscious smoothing of her skirt, gave Julian all the information that he needed to confirm his suspicions. Fanny had a praise kink. Now, what he’d do with this information, he had yet to decide. Maybe nothing. Maybe he’d just see how it played out between you and her.

Julian's decision to keep out of it only lasted so long. He wasn’t a patient man in life, and that hadn’t changed after his death. If he mentioned it to Fanny however, she wouldn’t take it well, so naturally that left you. Getting you alone was rare enough, but he managed to carve out the perfect time to do just that.

"Did you know a certain lady of the house has a bit of a thing for a nice compliment," he whispered, leaning over close to you in case any of the other ghosts were still within earshot.

You knew he was up to something, being as covert as he was, but you didn’t quite know what he was getting at. "Julian, what are you on about?"

"Don’t tell me you never noticed how Lady Button acts when you compliment her," Julian tempted, hoping you’d fall into his trap and make his afterlife a little more exciting.

"I—" you went to defend, but Julian, despite your efforts to dismiss his gossip, had gotten to you. "You’re kidding, right? She’d never…" You trailed off and Julian wiggled his eyebrows. "And what business is it of yours anyhow?" Quick to switch gears, Julian held up his hands in mock innocence and left you with your thoughts. The seed was planted, now all he had to do was watch it grow.

Julian's insinuations had troubled you for the rest of the day. Say there was some validity to what he said, what did that mean? You couldn’t lie about the fact that you’d taken a fancy to her, but what of Fanny? Was she fond of you, or simply the way you praised her so? Certainly there was no easy way to discuss it with her. While she may have certain desires, she was far too prudish to discuss them aloud, wasn't she?

Your conundrum eventually, reluctantly, led you back to Julian. "Is it me or the praise," you asked him outright, interrupting his chess game with Robin.

Julian grinned, and all you wanted to do was slap it right off of him. That’s why you hated to have to come back to him for this. "I believe it may be the combination of the two, my dear," Julian replied.

You didn’t know what to do with that information. You supposed there was no way around it now. You’d have to speak with Fanny. You left Julian and made your way to the one place you knew Fanny would be, her old bedroom. You found her looking at one of the paintings on the wall. "Fanny," you broached and though your voice wasn’t loud, she jumped and turned to you, clutching her chest.

"Oh, it’s you. You gave me quite a fright. Did you have something you wished to say?"

She looked at you with what you could only describe as an eager anticipation. She hardly ever gave much care to what others had to say, and this kind of undivided attention was very unusual for her. It’s almost as if she were waiting for you to...to praise her, you realized suddenly.

Now that you were aware, it made it even more difficult to start the inevitable conversation you were going to need to have. "Damn it, Julian," you cursed under your breath.

"You called," Julian chimed in, startling both you and Fanny. Great, he was the last person you needed. Or, was he? He was more well versed in these matters than either of you, so he could be a mediator of sorts. You quickly shook the idea away, favoring instead to keep this a private matter between the two of you, as Fanny would no doubt prefer it to be.

"Go away, Julian. I can handle this without you." Sulking, Julian disappeared through the wall and you took a deep breath.

"Fanny I know about your praise kink," you blurted. Oh real subtle, you internally criticized.

"My what?!? Heavens no. I don’t know where you’ve acquired your information, but—"

"Fanny," you interjected. You hated to interrupt her, but you knew this would happen. She fell quiet at the sound of her name. "It’s alright. I’m not shaming you for it. Quite the opposite," you admitted. "I fancy you, and I know we can’t connect physically, but if this is something you’re okay continuing, then at least we're both aware and consenting, if that makes sense."

Fanny blinked at you for a moment, letting it all sink in. You may not have started off delicately, but you got there in the end. For that, she was grateful. "I—" Fanny began, though she was still unsure of exactly what she wanted to say. She cleared her throat in attempt to order her thoughts. "I believe I could be agreeable to such an arrangement."

For @whenyouhaveanobsession

Fanny Button: @mattxxamryli, @casserole-from-dads-asserole, @megantelegraph, @fog-on-the-moon, @itsaveryalien, @iciclesandsnow